Awesome / Angel

Gunn: Okay, you take the thirty thousand on the left…

Illyria: You're fading. You'll last ten minutes at best.

Gunn: Then let's make 'em memorable.

Spike: And in terms of a plan?

Angel: We fight.

Spike: Bit more specific?

Angel: Well, personally, I kinda want to slay the dragon. Let's go to work.

— The final episode

As a Trope Overdosed work (and a Joss Whedon show, at that), Angel has had some of the coolest Crowning Moments of any show out there.

As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.

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Season 1

The first season had the titular character feeling lost and alone after the third season of Buffy. He'd just left his girlfriend left him, he lost his home and all of his former friends allies acquaintances have barely started to not hate him after he turned evil and went on a rampage. So it stands to reason that a vampire hero with a troubled past and his band of ragtag misfits would have some awesome times fighting evil in the streets of Los Angeles. Here are some examples:

"City Of" (1x01)

• In the beginning five minutes, faced by two incoming vampires, Angel flicks his wrists and dusts them both with concealed stakes in his sleeves. It was so awesome, it stayed in the title credits until the final season.
  • And just how did Vampire Batman get to them? He's in a bar acting drunk, talking about how much he loves Buffy until the vampires makes their move, before following them.
• Cordelia being Genre Savvy enough to realize that Winters is a vampire based on the lack of mirrors and his mannerisms, and then fighting back a little even before Angel arrives.
• This little exchange:

  Russell: I pay my taxes, I keep my name out of the paper, and I don't make waves. And in return, I can do anything I want.

  Angel: Really. Can you fly?

  • And then he kicks the vampire out the window into bright Los Angeles sunlight, about a hundred stories above the ground, and says "Hmm. Guess not." Keep in mind that this is just after Angel waltzes by Lindsey McDonald, who had threatened to destroy Angel if he even came near his client. That didn't stop him.

"In the Dark" (1x03)

• Spike makes his first appearance in the series when he and a vampire lackey torture Angel, but not before significant snarking from the rooftops as Spike watches his rival save a damsel in distress.
  Spike [as Rachel, falsetto]: How can I thank you, you mysterious, black-clad, hunk of a night thing?
  Spike [as Angel, basso]: No need, little lady, your tears of gratitude are enough for me. You see, I was once a bad-ass vampire, but love and a pesky curse defanged me. Now I'm just a big, fluffy puppy with bad teeth. [Rachel sways closer to Angel; he steps back, warding her off with his hands.] No, not the hair! Never the hair!
  Spike [as Rachel]: But there must be some way I can show my appreciation.
  Spike [as Angel]: No, helping those in need's my job. And working up a load of sexual tension and prancing away like a magnificent poof is truly thanks enough!
  Spike [as Rachel]: I understand. I have a nephew who's gay, so...
  Spike [as Angel]: Ah. Say no more. Evil's still afoot ... and I'm almost out of that nancy-boy hair gel that I like so much. Quickly! To the Angelmobile — AWAY! [Rachel and Angel leave. Spike lights a cigarette.]
  Spike [as Spike]: Go on, Liam. Play the big, strapping hero while you can. You have a few surprises coming your way—the Ring of Amarra, a visit from your old pal Spike, and— oh, yeah— your gruesome, horrible death.
• Team Angel and Oz vs Marcus, Spike's Psycho for Hire.
• Angel jumps out of a van and catches fire in the sunlight for a few seconds to tackle Marcus off the pier.

"Rm w/a Vu" (1x05)

• Cordelia: I think you are gonna pack your little ghost bags, and get the HELL out of MY HOUSE!

"Sense and Sensitivity" (1x06)

• Angel and Kate beat up a gangster and his crew who try to kill her while they were still under a sensitivity spell.

"Bachelor Party" (1x07)

• Doyle he breaks free and starts brawling with the demons that are trying to kill him and eat his brain. While under the influence of a drug that made him feel numb, and slightly drunk.

"I Will Remember You" (1x08)

• Buffy vs an Elite Mook demon, with her winning handily.
• Angel gets one for demanding his condition back, just to save Buffy from a life of looking after him when he's mortal and helpless. This impresses one of the Oracles enough to reverse time back twenty-four hours, when normally they don't involve themselves in mortal offerings.

"Hero" (1x09)

• Doyle's Heroic Sacrifice.

"I've Got You Under My Skin" (1x14)

• Wesley can't perform the exorcism in so Angel does it instead. This involved Angel picking up and clinging to a freaking crucifix. Even with the cloth he'd wrapped around it, his hand was smoldering.
• Wesley gets one when even though he is visibly scared, he tells a demon he is a coward and a bully for picking on a child. And this was before Wes started taking levels in badass.

"The Ring" (1x16)

• Wesley is confronting a gang of loan sharks, and they laugh him off. He pulls out a crossbow, fires a bolt into the leader's hand, then disarms him and tells them all not to shoot or else.
  • Similarly, all the demons breaking free and wreaking havoc on the guards, before offing Darin. Too bad a lot of them turned out evil afterwards.

"Eternity" (1x17)

• Cordelia punking out Angelus with her acting.

"Five By Five" (1x18)

• Faith comes to Los Angeles in an attempt to assassinate Angel and his friends. Wesley gains a CMOA when, while she's brutally torturing him, he tells her that he knows her better than anyone else, and that even if she kills him she's still a piece of shit.
• Let's not forget this:
  Faith: (waving an open flame in Wesley's face, visibly prepared to start roasting his eyeballs with it) I think I want to hear you scream!
  Wesley: You never will.
  • And this doesn't even mention Wesley punching Faith so hard that he knocked her flat on her ass!
• Faith herself gets a CMOA when she starts a Bar Brawl - for no particular reason, of course - and then dances through it as if nothing is happening.
• Faith sneaks up behind Angel with a crossbow and shoots him, only for him to spin around and catch the arrow before it can hit him. And bear in mind that he didn't even know she was in LA yet - he was acting purely on instinct.

"Sanctuary" (1x19)

• After being tortured by Faith and brushed aside by Angel after that when he resented taking her in, Wesley proves his mettle by subverting the plans of a wetworks team of Watchers, and taking one of them out by using a syringe as a dart.
  Wesley: That's for calling me a ponce.
• Angel and Buffy versus the wetworks team itself is rather awesome, as Buffy takes out one of the gunmen while Angel jumps out of the skylight, onto a freaking helicopter, disarming the gunman and forcing the pilot to land.
• Angel wants to protect Faith. Buffy wants to kill her, and Faith is prepared to let her because of all the evil things she did. In the end Faith turns herself over to the police, and the prison time sticks until season four when Wesley goes to Faith because he knows she wouldn't kill Angelus.
• Buffy shows up looking for Faith, who timidly begins to say "I'm sorry" and Buffy silences her without even having to raise her voice.
  "You apologise to me, I will beat you to death."
• Buffy finally calling Faith on every bad thing she's ever done to her is oh so satisfying after the amount of times she's been offered help and rejected it (only now ironically being the time it's actually stuck).
  "My life was just something for you to play with!"
• While Buffy's anger towards Faith is justified, her throwing her new relationship with Riley in Angel's face to hurt him wasn't. This leads to Angel reminding her that he can't move on and find someone new and then snapping at her that she doesn't know him anymore and she has no right to come into his city and expect him to just fall in line with her way of doing things. For better or worse, this moment truly establishes that Angel is a protagonist in his own right.

"War Zone" (1x21)

• Gunn has a truly legendary introduction mixed with some Leaning on the Fourth Wall.
  You expecting somebody else?
• A rare villainous one goes to the Villain of the Week gang of vampires. When Gunn eventually tries taking them on with his Vampire Hunter team, their solution is to go all Gas Mask, Longcoat, flush out the hunters with gas, and kidnap Gunn's sister.

"To Shanshu in L.A." (1x22)

• Angel's fight with Vocah, which was immediately followed by him cutting off Lindsey's hand from across the room.
  • And the lawyer who warns Angel about the demon? He's droning on about why he works for Wolfram & Hart as Angel pretends to be asleep, before he demands the lawyer get to the part about being evil.

Season 2

"Dear Boy" (2x05)

• When Angel tracks down Darla with absolutely zero evidence that it's actually her except that she smells the same, and throws down with her.
  Angel: So you're what Wolfram and Hart brought back in that box. And they brought you back as human. They think I won't kill one. You know what I think? I think...they don't know me that well.
• Wesley, Cordelia, and Gunn absolutely refusing to be intimdated by Kate when she charges into Angel Investigations with police backup, demanding to know where Angel is after he kidnapped Darla (with Kate thinking she's actually just an innocent human named DeEtta Kramer).
  • After Kate makes it clear she plans on taking down Angel and asks if they plan on cooperating, Wesely and Cordelia simultaneously fold their arms in defiance and coldly stare back at Kate.
  • Kate then makes her way over to Gunn and runs his name through the police database as a way of coercing him into helping her out. When Kate reads all of Gunn's priors back to him and snarks that hanging out with Angel Investigations won't help much with the resume, he simply shrugs off her words.
  Gunn: I can see you're looking out for me, detective.
  • Then, Gunn, who seemed to be on-the-fence about Angel this episode after finding out about his and Darla's history (and the possibility of Angel turning back into Angelus), ultimately comes through by pointing out a huge flaw in Kate's justification for hunting him down.
  Cordelia: Okay, okay, lets not get off track here. We want to find Angel as much as you do.
  Kate: No you don't. You want to protect him even though he's lost it: he stalked that woman because he thought she was this Darla from his past. She begged him to stay out and he knocked down the door and killed her husband. I've read about him, too, I know he is and I know he hasn't changed.
  Gunn: No he hasn't, he's still a vampire.
  Cordy: Gunn - not helping.
  Gunn: So, how'd he get in the house? She invite him in?
  Kate: Of course she didn't in... (Stunned Silence)
  Cordelia: The only way Angel could get in that house uninvited is if the real owners were dead. It's what he was saying all along; she isn't DeEtta Kramer!
  • When Kate still proves resistant, Wesley finishes thing by showing her a picture of Darla from over 100 years ago to prove that she and DeEtta are one and the same.

"The Trial" (2x09)

• A villainous example: at the end of the episode, after Angel has done everything in his power to save Darla, they both share a Heartwarming Moment, deciding to Face Death with Dignity... which is then immediately subverted when a W&H team crash through the door, incapacitate Angel, and in swoops fucking Drusilla who proceeds to kill and sire Darla while staring Angel right in the face. Extra points when you consider that W&H could have used any vampire in LA, but decided to track down the one who still had emotional ties to both Angel and Darla.
  Lindsey: How'd you think this was going to end?

"Reunion" (2x10)

• Darla and Drusilla decided to follow Holland's suggestion of a massacre, by busting a Wolfram & Hart party, and butcher all present. Then enters Angel, and after a short conversation with Darla, says he will let her and Drusilla eat the lawyers.

  Darla: Come on love, I never did get that goodbye kiss.

  Angel: You will. But not tonight.

  Lilah:For God's sake, Help us!

  Holland: Angel, please. People are gonna die.

  Angel: And yet, somehow I just can't seem to care.

  • Angel shuts the door, effectively imprisoning the lawyers with Darla and Drusilla for certain death. We know that it was a step to the Dark Side for Angel, but the nonchalant way in which he did it, after those bastards where playing with his head since the beginning of the season gave an incredible sense of satisfaction.
  • The fact that Angel closed with the exact same line that Holland Manners used during their first confrontation makes it even better.
  • Also, take into account what's happening; two vampires - known to be dangerous vampires - have just burst into a party where there's no security and no hope of escaping alive. All the lawyers are rightfully terrified...except Lindsey. He doesn't even flinch, doesn't panic, and even smirks at the two vampires. Darla even says she smells fear on everyone except him, and must have been impressed enough to spare him. Sure, he was the one who was taking care of Darla and brought in Drusilla, but it still takes guts to not be afraid in that kind of situation.

"Redefinition" (2x11)

• Darla and Drusilla have begun gathering an army/gang of the strongest demons in L.A. They go to the warehouse where they've gathered the demons - and find Angel standing over their corpses, casually smoking a cigarette. He then just as casually tosses the cigarette into the trail of gasoline the girls are standing on, setting them both on fire (they get better).

"Reprise" (2x15)

• Despite having (partially) foiled the plans of Wolfram & Hart, Angel finds himself in deeper and darker trouble than ever, with his sire returning from the dead with the sole purpose of screwing with him.

"Dead End" (2x18)

• Lindsey singing at Caritas and later quitting Wolfram & Hart pretty much redeemed him. Too bad it didn't last.

"There's No Place Like Plrtz Glrb" (2x22.

• Cordelia beheading Silas the priest before he can detonate the slave's collars.
  Your cow-princess is tired of hearing you yak, padre.

Season 3

"That Vision Thing" (3x02)

• Fred figuring out how to intercept the brainwave signals that are hurting Cordelia and trace them back to their origins. Science Hero indeed!
• Lilah manipulates Cordelia into having visions designed to further her goals at the cost of threatening Cordelia's life. That's not the awesome part, the awesome part is Angel's Tranquil Fury reaction. First he chokes her for forgetting the name of the person she's putting through so much agony with her plan, and once the exchange is done, he impales the psychic who was doing that to Cordelia appears right behind Lilah and tells her that if she does anything like that again, he'll kill her. Seeing Wolfram & Hart's resident Manipulative Bitch being shown that there are some lines not to cross in such an intimidating fashion can feel cathartic for fans.
• Wesley initially seeming to be securing Angel out of taking Lilah's deal, only for it to be revealed that he's actually volunteering to accompany Angel to the hell dimension to save whoever's there.
• Skip casually discussing his job with Angel and then initially winning a fight with him.

"That Old Gang of Mine" (3x03)

• Gunn's old gang under the prompting of Gio (a Smug Snake and one of the most slimy and unlikeable baddies on the show) took over Caritas and started taking advantage of its "no demon violence" policy to kill innocent demons. A Nurbatch Demon spent the whole episode cowering unable to do anything. Then as soon as the anti-violence spell was lifted, it suddenly transformed into a form that was a whole lot scarier and bit his head off.
• Fred threatening Gio with a crossbow:
  Gio: Alright, now you wanna get it in the heart or it's no good.
  Gio takes a step back to give Fred room. Fred looks at Angel takes a couple deep breaths, then spins around to aim the bow at Gio.
  Fred: Although I thought I might just shoot you in the throat instead. Now, if I pierce one of your carotid arteries, considering the temperature in here, 'cause I think somebody shot the thermostat, the blood loss is gonna be heavy. And there's a chance I'll puncture a vocal cord and you won't even be able to scream. Butt you'll want to when the blood loss to your brain results in a cerebral vascular event. - That's a stroke. I wasn't trying to sound snooty.

"Billy" (3x06)

• When Cordelia was a cheerleader she only had to be shown a move once to completely memorize it. This skill comes in very handy when Angel is teaching her how to fight with a sword.
• Angel vs Billy Blim. After being touched by the half-demon Billy, who infects men with a 'primal misogyny' that makes them murderously violent and hateful towards women, Angel begins to advance on Cordelia and it seems like things are about to get very bad, only for Angel to spin around and punch Billy to the ground, declaring that he has no power over him!
  • How this happens is another moment of awesome, the reason that Angel couldn't be infected by Billy is because he lacks the capacity to hate people in a way that Billy could affect, calling it something he "left behind a long time ago". Even as Angelus he never actually hated his victims, his atrocities were driven by sadism rather than any personal hate or feelings of any kind towards his prey, which Cordelia notes actually makes him far less petty than most beings.
• A Brainwashed and Crazy Wesley attempts to kill Fred with an axe. He naturally assumes that she's hiding in the wardrobe due to her exoerience in small, dark places. She surprises him and pulls on a rope. A fire extinguisher swings free and hits Wes, knocking him back onto the tarp. He falls through the place in the floor that broke under Fred's weight earlier.
  Fred: You were right about me liking dark places to hide in. But you forgot I also like to build things.
• Lilah gunning Billy down.

"Offspring" (3x07)

• During their sparring session, Cordelia actually manages to land a hit on Angel that hurts him.

"Lullaby" (3x09)

• Darla, a vampire, stakes herself in order to save her unborn child. One of the most incredibly moving scenes of the series.

"Dad" (3x10)

• Wolfram & Hart and various demons are after Angel's baby. What does he do? He leads them to a construction site and appears to hand him over...only for it to be a bomb.
• Wesley fending off vamps with a flamethrower. Somewhere, Buffy is pestering Giles for one.

"Forgiving" (3x17)

• Angel completely and utterly losing his shit at Wesley when he tries to kill him for kidnapping Connor. No threat to Buffy ever had him so enraged. Nothing that happened as Angelus ever caused him to go off the deep end that far. But in a scene closer to 24 Angel shows more anger rage and fury than any character in both series when he tries to kill Wesley with a pillow over his face, screaming the son of a bitch who took his son is a dead man.
  • Also one for David Boreanaz on an acting level; he flawlessly goes from soothing and soft-spoken to downright scary in an instant. If his performance in that scene doesn't convince you He Really Can Act, nothing will.

"Double or Nothing" (3x18)

• Angel willingly gambles his soul to save Gunn's. That itself is impressive, but he has a plan that is awesome either way you look at it. He hands Cordelia a stake and tells her she knows what to do if he loses. When he does, Cordy immediately rams the stake through Jenoff's palm, holding him in place so Angel can lop off his head, saving both their souls and leading to almost every in-debt gambler in the room, demon and human, charging the broker and presumably killing him.

"The Price" (3x19)

• Connor gets one in his first appearance when a giant demon comes out of the portal to Quor-Toth. The gang are terrified, then Connor shows up, kills it with one blow, and stands before them, before delivering a true Wham Line: "Hi, Dad."

"A New World" (3x20)

• Connor beats the hell out of a group of drug dealers who are about to assault a girl. This is while he is still in shock from arriving in a new world. Made better by him tearing off the leader's ear as a trophy.

"Benediction" (3x21)

• After raising Angel's son (in a Hell dimension, no less) to hate Angel as much as he does, Holtz then has his lover/assistant Justine stab him twice in the neck to make it look like Angel killed him, in order to permanently turn Connor against Angel. The result is Connor sticking Angel in a And I Must Scream state until the beginning of the next season. YMMV on Holtz's character, but you have to admire how he was able to pull this off.
  • Holtz might just be a walking CMOA as he planned and carried out a complex gambit, was barely fazed by arriving in another century, effortlessly got people to follow him on his crusade, and managed to outsmart both Wolfram & Hart and Team Angel.

Season 4

"Deep Down" (4x01)

• Wesley, having nearly died and been abandoned by his friends, finds Angel's undersea coffin and pulls it up to the boat. In spite of threats to his life from Angel, Wesley looks after the starving vampire. When he realizes that Angel isn't recovering well enough, Wes cuts his own arm and feeds him.
  • He gets back at Justine here as well. After she slit his throat, he hunted her down and kept her in a cage for months before looking for Angel, forcing her to cooperate. When she tries to attack him while his back is turned, he doesn't even react except to threaten to take away the bucket she uses as a toilet, and she backs down. What the Hell, Hero?? Maybe. A well-deserved Pay Evil unto Evil moment it certainly was.
• Fred tasering Connor for his part in Angel's torture.
• How Lilah got her promotion.
  Linwood: You went over my head?
  Lilah: Actually, I went under it. *blade extends from Linwood's chair and slices his head off.*

"Apocalypse Nowish" (4x07)

• During the four-on-one battle with the Beast, the heroes can't even harm the enemy. While the fights in the series normally go down like in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, this time Wesley pulls out a gun and shoots the bad guy. The viewership cheers because finally someone drops the Idiot Ball, although the shots from the pistol are useless. Wesley pulls out a freaking shotgun and blasts the Beast repeatedly.
• The Beast effortlessly knocks the team around like ragdolls and then stabs Angel in the neck with his own freaking stake.

"Salvage" (4x13)

• Wesley goes to see Faith in prison, and she's cavalier, telling him they'll just have to deal with whatever it is. He tells her that Angelus is back. Faith turns deadly serious and tells him to step away from the glass. She then shatters the reinforced window with one punch, beats up the guards, then grabs Wesley and leaps out the exterior window, landing on a car. All in under one minute.
  • And, of course, a major part of the awesomeness of that scene is that it reminds that Faith has only spent the last few years in prison because she turned herself in and wanted to (or at least, felt she deserved to be) and that she could have broken out at any point.
  • Even better, diving out a fourth-story window, Faith uses her body to break Wesley's fall. The last time they met she was slowly torturing him to death. This and subsequent scenes clearly show Faith had Took a Level in Kindness. Then she quickly establishes command.
• Connor disobeys an order and she sends him back to the hotel. He gets miffed and she puts him in his place by beating him in a fight. One-handed.
  Faith: I get it, you're a superbeing. (puts crossbow to Connor's throat) Are you a murderer? 'Cause I am, and if it comes down to you or Angelus, you haven't shown me a thing to make me want to take your side.
• Angelus gets one when The Beast is about to kill Faith and Angelus stabs him with a knife made of his skin. Although given that it brought back the Sun, it also qualifies as a "Nice Job Fixing It, Villain" moment.

"Release" (4x14)

• The Beastmaster cowing Angelus into following her orders.
  Beastmaster: This isn't the way, my sweet. We should be friends, you and I.
  Angelus: No, and I'll tell you why. One, because, you know, I'm evil, so the friends thing, that's out. And two, if I did have any friends, they sure as hell wouldn't be living inside my head.
  Beastmaster: Like you're forced to live inside Angel's? Because you're the voice in there, aren't you? Just beneath the surface, buried under all that goodness, fully conscious, fully aware, but trapped. Unable to move or speak, powerless to act on your desires. So thirsty, so helpless...it must be agony.
  Angelus: I'm getting real bored with this game.
  Beastmaster: Then how 'bout a round of show-and-tell? Soul, soul, who has your soul? Oh, right.
  (The jar containing Angel's soul appears on a table in front of Angelus)
  Beastmaster: Me.
  (Angelus lunges for the jar and tries to grab it, but his hands go right through it like it was a mirage.)
  Angelus: More smoke and mirrors?
  Beastmaster: Only a glamour, yes, but I assure you, my sweet, this very moment I hold the real thing in the palms of my very corporeal hands, and I will restore it if you don't behave. I'll put you back in your box, Angelus, and bury you so far inside Angel, you'll never claw your way out again.
  (looks pained, stares at the ceiling)
  Angelus: All right. What do you want me to do... [grits his teeth] ...master?
• When Faith and Wesley finally catch up with Angelus, he and Faith have a very impressive fight, which ends on a cliffhanger with him biting her.

"Orpheus" (4x15)

• The Reveal that Faith getting bitten was the plan all along - She couldn't bring herself to kill him, so she drugged herself and let him bite her instead. Which means that she was high as a kite through that whole fight, and was still able to fight the Scourge of Europe to a standstill for three minutes. (Which is about 90 seconds longer than Buffy's personal best in that field.)
• Faith gets to torture Angelus by first drugging him, then being on hand to snark as he freaks at being forced to relive the part of his life when he wasn't evil. What else is there to say but tee hee.
• Faith wakes up just in time to stop Connor from killing Angel (who he still thinks is Angelus). Cue hilariously one-sided battle.
  Faith: Break me off a switch, boy. It's about to be a whoopin'.
• When Angel fights Angelus in his head.

"Inside Out" (4x17)

• During the fight with Skip, Wesley goes to the guns again and proves that they're not always useless. Skip has armored skin that blocks most of the bullets, but there's a hole in the armor due to Angel having broken off one of Skip's horns earlier in the episode. A very small hole. Wesley puts a bullet through the hole, in mid-air while diving across the room, giving Skip only enough time to say, "Well, that ain't right," before he dies.

"Peace Out" (4x21)

• After Jasmine imprisons the gang in the cage in the basement, Gunn keeps kicking at the reinforced steel door while the others tell him to stop wasting his time. He keeps kicking it for almost the entire episode until...
  (door flies open)
  Gunn: Never give up. Never surrender.

Season 5

"Conviction" (5x01)

• This exchange between Angel and a rebellious leader of a squad of commandos who ostensibly work for him.
  Hauser: You're minuscule. A dust mote on the shelf of that great institution. Now, you think I'm just a trigger-happy jerk who follows orders. But I'm something that you'll never be: I'm pure. I believe in evil. You and your friends, you're conflicted. You're confused. We're not. That's why you're going to lose. Because we possess the most powerful thing in the world: conviction.
  Angel: There's one thing more powerful than conviction. Just one: mercy. (kicks Hauser's rifle up under his chin and triggers it)
  Commando: What happened to mercy?!
  Angel: You just saw the last of it.

"Destiny" (5x08)

• Spike and Angel's entire fight, but especially when Spike used the cross to beat Angel, after Angel was hardly able to touch the thing. And Spike's angry tirade.
  Spike: 'Cause every time you look at me, you see all the dirty little things I’ve done, all the lives I’ve taken. Because of you! Drusilla sired me, but you made me a monster.
  Angel: I didn’t make you, Spike. I just opened up the door— and let the real you out.
  (Spike knocks Angel across the face with the cross, sending Angel flying across the room.)
  Spike: You never knew the real me. (Throws the cross to the side just as smoke can be seen coming from where his hands are holding it) Too busy tryin’ to see your own reflection. Prayin’ there was someone as disgusting as you in the world. So you could learn to live with yourself. Take a long look, hero. I am nothing like you.
  • At another part of the fight, he gives Angel a Badass Boast combined with a "The Reason You Suck" Speech as he declares that he's more heroic and more deserving to be a savior. He reminds Angel that a big reason why they're different is that Spike fought for his soul, risking death several times in the Demon Trials, while Angel had his soul forced on him as punishment, and without it he would still be the monstrous Angelus. Angel replies that Spike sought out a soul just because he wanted Buffy, not because it was morally right, but even so, Spike's claim still rings very true.
    • Then again, Angel's response that Spike only got a soul for Buffy is a solid reminder that despite Spike's proclamations about doing the right thing and fighting for his destiny, he's still not that noble yet and doesn't understand the full weight of atonement or being a champion.

"Harm's Way" (5x09)

• Harmony gets her own moment she single-handedly figures out who set her up for murder, dusts the real killer and prevents a demon war. Almost makes you wish she and Spike had stayed together.

"Damage" (5x11)

• Andrew's dorky yet utterly badass verbal takedown of Angel and co for working with Wolfram and Hart.
  Andrew: (stands right up in Angel's face): No. I don't think you heard me, Angel. (a group of young women walks out from the shadows to back up Andrew) Think we're just gonna let you take her back to your evil stronghold? Well, as they say in Mexico...No. We're not...gonna...let you.
  Angel: She's psychotic, and I'm not turning her over to you.
  Andrew: You don't have a choice. Check the view screen, Uhura. I got twelve Vampire Slayers behind me, and not one of them has ever dated you. She's coming with us one way or another.
  Angel: You're way outta your league. I'll just clear this with Buffy.
  Andrew: Where do you think my orders came from? News flash! Nobody in our camp trusts you anymore! Nobody! You work for Wolfram and Hart! Don't fool yourself...we're not on the same side! Thank you for your help...but, uh...we got it.
  • Even Spike's impressed:
  Andrew double-crossed us? [Beat] It was a good move. Hope for the little ponce yet.

"You're Welcome" (5x12)

• Really, pretty much the whole thing, but we'll lead off with this particular scene, as Angel's heading down to confront Lindsay and his doomsday weapon.
  Angel: Be ready to evacuate. If this thing gets past me, get the hell out of the building.
  Cordelia: Past us.
  Angel: Oh no, no. Cordy-
  Cordelia: Yeah, save it Angel. You can order me around all you want, but I know my rights. (Grabs a katana off the wall, draws it) And I wanna see a lawyer.
  • Angel's line to Lindsey: "Doesn't matter how bad you think you are. I'm Angel. I beat the bad guys."
• Spike attacks Cordelia after being tricked into thinking the latter was evil by Lindsey. When Angel interferes, Spike reminds him that he won their last fight. Angel beats him down and tells Spike that if harms Cordelia again, they will have a their very last rematch.

"Why We Fight" (5x13)

• Spike gets two, although the first (effortlessly dusting a vamp and insulting the victim for wearing heels down a dark alley and being out this late) is more a Funny Moment. The second comes when he saves two people and dusts the vamps using the hidden stakes Angel used in the first episode.

"Smile Time" (5x14)

• Despite being arguably one of the funniest episodes in the series, manages to be awesome as well when Team Angel power walks out of the office... with Puppet!Angel leading the way.
• Angel's fight against the Smile Time puppets' leader; unaccustomed to being a puppet, Angel has his hands full for most of the fight, until he finally gets a few shots in, only to have the puppet taunt him: "So, you got a little demon in you after all, huh?" Angel glares and replies: "Oh, I got a lot of demon in me." Cue Puppet Angel vamping out, and his opponent making the most glorious Oh, Crap! face you'll ever see a puppet make.
• Once again, Angel and Spike fight. And once again, Angel emerges victorious. Despite being a puppet.

"A Hole in the World" (5x15)

• Lorne threatening Eve as to what he'll do if it turns out she's withholding any information that might be useable to save Fred's life. And note, "these two" refers to the vampires formerly known as Angelus and William the Bloody.
  Lorne: If I hear one note, one quarter-note, that says you had anything to do with it, these two won't even have time to kill you.
• When they're still trying to figure out what's wrong with Fred:
  Employee: I'm sorry to interrupt. I just need to know if the Holbine Clan history was here. It was supposed to be faxed to my office.
  Wesley: It can wait.
  Employee: These guys are really important. I just need— I mean, the whole company can't be working Miss Burkle's case.
  Wesley: Of course. *reaches into his desk for a gun, casually blows the guy's kneecaps off*
  Wesley: Jennifer, please send anyone else who isn't working Miss Burkle's case to me.
• Angel and Spike fighting Drogyn's henchmen.

"Shells" (5x16)

• Wesley's entire reaction to the rise of Illyria. Note, he's a man who just spent half a day by the bedside of the woman he loves, watching her and cradling her in his arms as she dies horribly in agony. He has every reason to be... distracted. Instead, as soon as Illyria rises up in Fred's dead body he first engages her in conversation to see if Fred is still in there, then without hesitation goes for her neck with an axe once he's determined that Illyria is only inhabiting Fred's corpse. And the instant that fails, he tries psychological warfare. On an Old One. Almost any other man would be either overcome by grief or enraged at this moment. Wesley is both, at the same time, and yet still fighting with everything he has, at a genius level.
  Illyria: Oh... now I remember. Winifred Burkle is the shell I'm in.
  Wesley: (tearfully) She's the woman you killed.
  Illyria: This is grief. I'm watching human grief. It's like offal in my mouth.
  Wesley: (softly, almost hypnotically) If you stay here, you'll taste it every day, every second. Look. Humans rule the Earth. They will last for millennia... like roaches crawling everywhere. Crying and sweating and puking their feelings all over you. Go back. Sleep until the humans are gone. They are stupid and weak. They'll kill each other off and you can return to the world you deserve. (he holds his hand to her shoulder, nearly touching it) Leave this shell.
  • And the only reason it failed is...
  Illyria: You seek to save what's rotted through. This carcass is bound to me. I could not change that if I cared to.
• Wesley's execution of Knox. Keep in mind he is the one responsible for what happened to Fred. A Misanthrope Supreme few others could hope to equal. And in a scene that had most every fan cheering Wes just blows him away. He's sure come far from bragging about facing two vampires, in controlled circumstances.

"Origin" (5x18)

• Gunn has trapped himself in a private hell, in order to redeem himself for his mistake. He is tortured for who knows how long. A plate piled up with multiple hearts carved out of his chest. Marcus makes him an offer that could get him out an eternity of agony, and his reply?
  Gunn: Come on, sparky. Let's go. This heart ain't gonna cut itself out.

"Time Bomb" (5x19)

• Thanks to a Timey-Wimey Ball, Illyria kills the members of Team Angel. Like You Would Really Do It is in effect, since it's pretty much the entire main cast getting killed with three episodes left in the season (Joss Whedon is an emotional sadist, but he's never gone THAT far), but it's still amazing to watch, with Illyria starting by appearing behind Spike and staking him and ending in Angel leaping at her and her decapitating him, his head still dusting as it hits the wall.

"Power Play" (5x21)

• Hamilton's fight with Illyria. Even if he is the villain, the way he beat an Old One's face in, proclaiming he hoped for more of a challenge, was pretty badass.

"Not Fade Away" (5x22)

• Angel is getting his ass kicked by Hamilton, even with assistance from his son Connor - until Hamilton gets cocky.
  Hamilton: Let me say this as clearly as I can. You cannot beat me. I am a part of them. The Wolf, Ram, and Hart. Their strength flows through my veins. My blood is filled with their ancient power.
  Angel: Can you pick out the one word there you probably shouldn't have said?
  Angel's face changes, and he leaps on Hamilton, sinks his fangs into Hamilton's neck, and begins drinking his, you guessed it, blood.
  • And the classic line afterwards...
  Angel: Wow! You really are full of it!
• Hamilton gets his own awesome moment with this exchange of dialogue:
  Angel: People who don't care about anything will never understand the people who do.
  Hamilton: Yeah, but we won't care.
• Gunn takes on a roomful of vampires armed only with skill and stakes. A feat normally reserved for Slayers and having the time to kill the evil Senator by hurling an axe into her head. And he still had enough guts to wander down to meet up with the fang gang for one last stand, making Charles Gunn the last living member of Team Angel. Bonus points for using Angel's sleeve-stakes from way back in the first episode.
  • For perspective; there were at least eight vampires in that room, and that's just the ones we saw. When Vamp Willow hit the Bronze with a gang of "eight, maybe ten" vampires in "Doppelgangland", Angel took one look at the odds and called in Buffy and the Scoobs for backup before going in. And they were seriously considering calling in Faith, too! And Gunn solo'ed those kinds of odds, even if he took a mortal wound in the process.
• Spike killing every single one of the Fell Brethren singlehandedly. Literally. Because he only has one hand free. Because he's holding a baby.
• Illyria consoling a dying Wesley by turning into Fred as he dies. Then dealing with the Smug Snake killer by morphing back into Illyria while delivering a punch that smashes his head. In slow motion. Pure awesomeness. Not to mention the fact that Vail doesn't realize he's dealing with the Godking of Primordium, so he stands there and taunts her.
  Vail: Take your best shot, little girl. (skull smash)
• The final scene. As quoted above they're staring down an army of demons several of which are as tall as the buildings. One of their members horribly injured. Their reaction? "Personally I want to slay the dragon. Let's get to work," and ends with Angel bringing his blade down to cut them up. This has to be mentioned twice due to the sheer awesomeness of the moment.

IDW Comic

• Angel continues to help the helpless in Los Angeles even after he's been turned back to a human by the Senior Partners.

Real Life

• On February 12, 2014, The Daily Show did a segment where correspondent Jason Jones investigates Russia's policy against gays. It seems that everybody he interviews, young and old, have no problem with this discrimination by the government and is homophobic. The segment ends with Jason asking a middle aged woman at rally protesting the country's anti-gay laws if there's any hope for the country. The woman turns out to be a longtime fan who posts at Whedonesque.com under the name "Moscow Watcher":
  Jason Jones: Are you hopeful your country can change?
  Woman: I have to hope because otherwise it's too depressing.
  Jason Jones: It really is (bleep)ing depressing.
  Woman: Yes. I really just protest just to not be ashamed of me, of my way of living. I want to look into the eyes of my children and grandchildren and say I did all I could. There's a quote from an American TV show-It's called Angel. There is a wonderful phrase: "If nothing we do matters, then all that matters is what we do."

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