Recap / Angel S 04 E 18 Shiny Happy People

After bursting from Cordelia's womb in a flash of blue-green light, the goddessly woman materializes and covers herself with a blanket. She appreciates the world around her and thanks Cordelia for giving her life. Guiltily, Angel offers the woman his sword to punish him for his earlier intentions of killing her. Fred cleans up around the office while she worries and rants to Lorne about what happened with Cordelia and whether Angel could have really killed her. Connor returns to the hotel and Fred pulls a knife on him, but his strange peaceful behavior confuses her. Angel shows that he's returned as well with a no-longer pregnant Cordelia and he's just as strangely happy as Connor. Wesley and Gunn come upstairs from the basement where they were dismembering Skip, and they all marvel over Cordelia's return and the strange behavior of Angel and Connor.

Awe-struck Angel and Connor boast about this goddessly creature that rose from Cordelia whom they don't want to kill, but merely to worship. Wesley tries to convince Angel that he's under a magical influence and this creature is evil, but then the woman arrives and kindly offers to help the gang as they all fall to their knees. Later, as Cordelia rests in a bed and candles are lit around the room, the woman explains how she was a power in the very beginning, before man, then became a watcher as humans developed, and finally could not stand to watch any longer and planned a return. She explains how Angel's trip to the trials to win Darla's life bought not Darla's life but Connor's, which was just one of the miracles necessary to bring her into the world. Once Connor was born and Cordelia had ascended to a higher plane, she had the vessels necessary to bring her into the world. She then tells the group that they have all been drowning in the war against evil, but that soon she will take them on the offensive and turn the tide.

A group of vampires tries bowling with a human head for a ball, but it doesn't work. One of them tries to explain that they're there for a good reason, but he doesn't have time to finish as the gang appear and start to fight. The woman and Fred sit and talk about a name, but as they sit, one vampire scratches the woman with its claws. Angel chases the vampire outside and stakes it in front of a crowd of dining people. The woman comes outside, her arm bleeding from the scratch and the crowd falls to their knees. She preaches to them about her power and how wonderful the world will be now that she's there. A man in the crowd grabs a knife and charges at this apparent "monster," but Angel vamps and stops the man, punching him repeatedly. The woman stops Angel and brushes her hand across the man's face before asking Wesley to call for an ambulance. She continues to preach to the crowd about good things as the beaten man wonders why the others can't see what he sees.

At the hotel, the gang tries to brainstorm ideas for a name that fits for the woman. Fred feels guilty about letting the woman get hurt, and muses about how she can clean the shirt for the woman, despite the lack of need for it. As Fred rushes off to continue trying to clean the shirt, the woman observes the common love Wesley and Gunn have for Fred. Connor apologizes for allowing the woman to be hurt, but she shows that the wound has almost healed completely already. He questions why the man tried to hurt her, but she doesn't have much of an explanation for him. The woman moves outside to see Angel, admiring the smell of the jasmine in the Hotel's garden. Angel feels terrible about failing her again and worries about becoming too happy, but the woman offers him inspiration and comfort for his feelings.

Fred scrubs roughly at the shirt while Angel and the other males set out on a mission to destroy vampires and demons, guided by the all-powerful woman. The next day, Fred returns to the lobby, revealing that she had to buy a new shirt for the woman, then breaks down into tears because she can't stand not being around the woman. Upstairs, Lorne shows the woman her new, beautifully decorated room and she loves it. After Lorne leaves, she senses Connor walking in the halls outside and invites him in to talk. She explains why he's special, why he deserves happiness and why he was chosen to be her father. Fred comes into the room to give the woman the new shirt, but instead of the woman's normal beauty, Fred sees a decaying corpse covered in insects. She panics and as the others come in to see what the fuss is about, but she quickly excuses herself.

Fred goes to talk to a still unconscious Cordelia, and tells her about the seriousness of their situation since no one else seems aware that there might be a problem or how to deal with it. Angel catches Fred and talks to her about the great new woman in their lives. Fred tries to get him to think about the strangeness of their situation and this seemingly wonderful woman, but Angel's faith is unwavering. Later, Fred goes to the local hospital to check up on the man that tried to attack the goddessly woman. The receptionist eventually tells Fred where she can find the man, John Stoler: in the Psychiatric ward. Fred sneaks into John Stoler's room, where he's strapped to a bed, and confronts him about what he saw. She convinces him that she saw the same thing and then he reveals that the side of his face that Jasmine touched has become deformed and decayed. He tells her she's been called like him to stop this woman and her evil, but Fred doesn't like that idea very much and runs off.

Fred returns to the hotel to find that the hotel is full of people that followed Jasmine back to the hotel after she took a walk. Fred talks covertly to Wesley about her visit to the hospital and what she saw. Wesley says he believes her then goes over to talk to Gunn and then the woman upstairs. The news spreads amongst the gang and Fred panics, heading for the weapons cabinet. She grabs a crossbow and lets a bolt fly at the woman. Angel takes the bolt in the shoulder and drops to the floor below with Connor chasing after. Lorne tries to confront Fred about her actions, but she pulls a knife on him and uses him to keep the others at bay. The woman tells Fred that her love will always be there and Fred lets Lorne go to run away alone.

Fred drives alone and stops along the street, crying to herself. Later, after the other guests have left, Angel brings the woman a bundle of jasmine flowers, while the others talk about the fact that Fred is now evil. The woman tries to motivate and keep the mood positive, but classifies Fred as a danger to their purpose. The gang decides that they need to kill Fred, but the woman suggests they wait and try to help her first. A depressed Fred has breakfast at a diner and she watches as the morning news program has a special guest: the goddessly creature, Jasmine.

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Tropes

• Answers to the Name of God:
  Wesley: My god...
  Jasmine: (smiles) People keep saying that.
• Apologetic Attacker: Fred trying to kill Jasmine.
• Bad Liar / Relatively Flimsy Excuse: Fred trying to see the man Jasmine hospitalised.
  FRED: Um, hi. Um, yes. I'm looking for a patient — a man. He was brought in Thursday, named Stover.
  NURSE: Are you a family member?
  FRED: Am I—? Yes. I have a family. I'm a member. (nurse looks at Fred again) He's my brother. Father. My father's brother.
  NURSE: (looking at the computer) I have a Stoller.
  FRED: Half-brother. Uncle. Half-uncle. Stoller...
• Bait-and-Switch Comment: After fleeing from Jasmine's Nightmare Face, Fred has a Hope Spot re Angel.
  Angel: Sometimes, when I look in her eyes, I've seen it too. It's overwhelming. The lies, the deceit...just melts away. (smiles) Nothing left but the beauty.
• Comically Missing the Point: Gunn and Wesley are trying to think of a name for She Who Has Not Yet Been Named. Gunn suggests Helen, which was his grandmother's name. Wes prefers Aristophila, "Supreme Lover of Mankind." Fred enters from futilely trying to scrub the blood from Jasmine's blouse.
  Wesley: All right. What about—
  Fred: Clorox.
  Gunn: "Clorox — She bleaches away the hate."
  Wesley: Probably best we avoid brand names.
• Convenient Coma: Cordelia. She'll stay that way until Season 5's "You're Welcome".
• Chekhov's Gun: Fred saying she washed Jasmine's blouse till her fingers bled.
• Decapitation Presentation: A vampire is shown holding up a human head which he then hurls down a bowling alley.
• Disposing of a Body
  Lorne: Oh, relax. It's just a buzz saw. Nothing to get worked up over. It's Gunn and Wes down in the basement. They're dismembering that armor-plated demon, Skip.
  Fred: Oh, right. Well, there's been an awful lot of dismembering going on in that basement lately, if you ask me.
• The Evils of Free Will
  Fred: Have you noticed how we all just kinda do what she says; don't ask questions?
  Angel: Isn't it a relief? Constant questioning — it's finally over.
• Facial Horror / Two-Faced: Stoller's face has become infected where Jasmine touched him.
• Gambit Roulette: Jasmine claims that virtually everything that's happened in the series up to the point of her arrival on Earth was the result of her manipulation. She may have just been trying to be impressive, though.
  • The odd thing is of how little importance to her actual plan was the stuff that she was obviously directly responsible for. It's revealed that she is the master of the Beast, the demon that came to LA to slaughter a group of mystical beings in order to black out the sun and cause LA to become a haven for vampires and force the gang to release Angelus to deal with the Beast, only to have to deal with the trouble of re-ensouling Angelus after the whole ordeal. And this is all AFTER she has possessed Cordelia and has a vessel to release herself to Earth. The excuse given is that this is all a distraction so no one notices that she has possessed Cordelia, when in fact she could've just ran off somewhere for the time being before giving "birth".
  • They do mention that she claims all the disasters she had caused where in fact "a higher being's birth pains", and the people claiming that this was "all part of the plan" were either working for her, or came out of her mouth. In other words, Unreliable Expositor.
• Glamour Failure: Fred and Stoller have seen Jasmine's true face, decayed and crawling with maggots.
• Go Mad from the Revelation: Stoller
• Human Shield: Fred holds a knife to Lorne's throat to escape the Hyperion and her Mind Controlled friends.
• I'm Standing Right Here: The gang ask what evil form Cordy's spawn has taken.
  Fred: Eight legs, three heads, horns...?
  Lorne: Hey!
• Kneel Before Zod: The automatic response of everyone who sees Jasmine.
• The Man Behind the Man: The true Big Bad of the season makes her appearance.
• Mind Control: Anyone who sees Jasmine instantly loves her.
• Naked on Arrival: Jasmine.
• The Nicknamer: Fred calls Jasmine "Your Holy Bodiness". Gunn asks if she's a "Power That Was".
• Nightmare Face: The viewer who can see the one Fred sees more than once is made of sterner stuff than all the Fang Gang put together.
• Not Himself: Connor turns up at the Hyperion acting "not evilish". Then Angel talks about finding Cordelia's child and worshiping her. Uh huh. The Fang Gang exchange a Meaningful Look. Wesley tries to explain to Angel that he's under a spell, then Jasmine enters the room and puts the whammy on everyone. By the end of the episode only Fred is regarded as the odd one out.
  Angel: She was acting weird earlier, and I just thought it was Fred being Fred.
• One True Threesome (In-Universe): Jasmine tells Gunn and Wes that their mutual love for Fred should bring them together, not force them apart.
• Only Sane Man: Fred is smitten with Jasmine like everyone else, until she sees her true face.
• Oh, Crap! / Cliffhanger: Jasmine appears on a morning talk show, bringing the entire city under her influence.
• Pals with Jesus: Jasmine uses the Fang Gang as her Praetorian Guard.
• Please Kill Me if It Satisfies You: Angel is stricken with remorse because he came to the warehouse to kill Jasmine, and offers her his neck and his sword. Jasmine graciously forgives him.
• Serious Business: Fred trying to clean the blood from Jasmine's blouse.
• Taking the Bullet: Angel leaps in front of the quarrel fired at Jasmine.
• Titled After the Song: "Shiny Happy People" by R.E.M..
• Walk-In Chime-In
  Bowling Vampire: I'm telling you, something big is coming, and when it gets here, we're gonna be in prime position for—
  Angel: (with the entire Fang Gang, who are brandishing sharp objects) An ass whoppin'?
• Weapon Twirling: Connor does a Buffy-like stake-twirl after dusting a vamp.

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