Angel 4.6 FAQ
What’s it called?
“Spin the Bottle.”
Who’s responsible?
The episode was written and directed by series creator Joss Whedon.
What did Herc say about this one in his Sept. 18 “Angel” spoilers?
Details on “the what” with “Angel’s” estranged Mr. Wyndam-Pryce have been in short supply, but we’ve just learned he finally reunites – kinda – with the Angel Investigations crew in 4.6.
Faster than you can say “Tabula Rasa,” it looks like the amnesia Cordelia will contract by 4.3 will spread by 4.6. Everybody loses his or her memories.
Wes and the gang forget they’re mad at each other. And everybody seems to forget that the demon Krevlornswath is one of the good guys. Angel calls him “The Devil” and Charles is keen to separate The Host’s noggin from the rest of his body. (Of course, we learned at the end of season two that this isn’t a particular problem for ol' Lorne.)
The big news: Wes now seems capable of magically sprouting stakes and swords from his arms. They may emanate from his clothing, but Herc’s guessing these implements spring right out of Wesley’s flesh, Wolverine-style.
Did Herc guess right? Do the implements spring from Wesley’s flesh?
Herc guessed wrong. They emerge (with the help of computer-generated imagery) from devices strapped to Wesley’s wrists.
What does TV Guide say?
“Desperate to reverse her amnesia, Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter) takes a stab at Lorne's supposedly surefire memory-restoration spell. It works as promised, but not as expected. There's one doozy of a side effect - Cordy, Angel, Wesley, Gunn and Fred revert to their teenage personas. Rendered strangers to each other, the unlikely adolescents team up to figure out why they're stuck together in an unfamiliar hotel. Wesley believes it's a test, the object of which is to find and kill a vampire. Things get more complicated for the quarrelsome quintet when Angel (David Boreanaz) realizes he is a vampire. Series creator Joss Whedon wrote and directed the episode. Lorne: Andy Hallett.”
At the end of last week’s exciting “Angel,” Cordy asks the title character if they were in love. Does Angel answer?
He does.
How does he answer?
“I don’t know!”
The big news?
We get our first glimpse tonight of The Beast (Vladimir Kulich), the fourth season’s big bad.
What’s Wes doing at the Hyperion?
Krevlornswath invites him. Apparently to do the spell, you have to have a bunch of friends, or six willing people, or something. It’s not really explained how Lorne decided to invite who he did.
Why isn’t Connor affected?
He doesn’t get an invite from Lorne.
Is Connor in this episode?
Yeah, but he’s kind of a troublemaker, so he doesn’t bother to help fill in the memory blanks.
When does the spell kick in?
End of act one. Hey, just like “Tabula Rasa”!
What else is TV Guide not telling us?
There’s also something about Angel’s – er – Liam’s lack of an Irish accent. The gang says he doesn’t sound Irish, and Liam says, “There’s something wrong with me voice.” But what does Angel mean? Has it ever been explained in the 200 Buffyverse episodes (and yes, tonight marks, I believe, the 200th) what caused Angel to adopt an American accent?
Does Cordelia still get visions?
Now this is a question. She gets something near episode’s end, but it may be a memory rather than a vision. Or perhaps a memory of a vision?
Does she still have demony superpowers?
None in evidence this week.
Do we learn how or why she got out of the boring bright-light place?
Not really, but one can now form theories. Herc’s theory is she’s back to help deal with the big bad. The “powers that be” needed to send somebody, and Cordy was the whiniest and/or most anxious to return to the mortal plane.
Hey, what about Lilah and Wes?
For perhaps the first episode this season, evil attorney Lilah Morgan isn’t lurking.
Does Wes rejoin Team Angel this week?
Only to help with the memory spell.
And the lightning lass? Does the fabulous Gwen Raiden lurk about?
Not this week.
But she’s coming back?
This I swear.
What’s great?
All the geniusy comedy! The wittily-utilized Lorne flashback framing device (or LFFD). The re-emergence, following last week’s murderous events, of the Wes-Fred-Gunn triangulation. The Steve-Martin-esque way Wes pronounces “karathmama...nyuhg.” “Hello, salty goodness!” “They’re nocturnal?” “I mean, ‘Ha’!” “Finish It!” The entire bathroom sequence in which Liam realizes he’s a vampire, but especially Cordy’s reply of “No you’re not.” Fred’s unexpected (and unflagging) enthusiasm for a certain controlled substance. The way Wes shoves the blade back in following Fred’s tale of nakedness and probing. Cordy in the pink towel. So much more.
What’s not so great?
One senses Lorne wouldn’t need help to escape his sticky bondage.
What’s a “moussaka”?
Mediterranean entrée made with eggplant, potatoes and ground beef. Herc believes he’d enjoy one right now.
How does it end, spoiler-boy?
Angel asks Cordy, “Were we in love?” And Cordy answers.
Herc’s rating for “Angel” 4.6?
****1/2
The Hercules T. Strong Rating System:
- ***** better than we deserve
- **** better than most motion pictures
- *** actually worth your valuable time
- ** as horrible as most stuff on TV
- * makes you quietly pray for bulletins
9 p.m. Sunday. The WB.
