Angel S1E10

Parting Gifts
First Aired: Tuesday December 14, 1999

A little background information: I recently collected the final seasons I had been missing from my Angel and Buffy DVD collection. I have decided to watch both series through again in tandem from season 4 of Buffy and season 1 of Angel on through to the end of each. For some reason, which I think was because I was just starting college at the time, I don't remember much from the first two seasons of Angel, so it is nice to go through it again. I had already watched up until this episode before I decided to start reviewing them, so here we are.

It is apparent that the death of Doyle is hitting Angel and Cordelia both very hard, but it is a bit lightened by the fact that it was his sacrifice to save lives. While brooding, an empath demon named Barney comes looking for help from Angel because he is being pursued by an unknown force. Angel takes the case and, in the process of searching Barney's apartment, meets up with Wesley, of all people. It turns out that he is now a rogue demon hunter after being fired from the Watcher's Council for failing so badly with Faith and Buffy. It is quite fun to see the indifference that Angel holds for Wesley, but he allows him to help with the case after it turns out they are searching for the same demon, a Kungai. Upon finding the creature, Angel and Wesley find out that the demon was actually a victim of Barney, who has been harvesting demon powers and selling them at auction. Cordelia is taken by Barney as a result of her having "seers' eyes" and is sold at auction to a representative of Wolfram and Hart for $30,000. Wesley and Angel show up in time, however, and stop the sale from being finished. The episode ends with the three of the them having breakfast with, what appears to be, the unspoken resolution to have Wesley join Angel Investigations.

I really enjoyed the dynamic of the show with Glenn Quinn, but I understand now why he and his character removed from the series. Still, one can only wonder where things may have gone in regards to storylines. I think his giving of the "gift" to Cordelia is sweet in a way but horrible in another. Now she can't be too much of a slouch for Angel Investigations. At the time this episode and the subsequent ones appeared on television, I don't believe I was very receptive about Wesley joining the group. However, I now know where it will lead and look forward to the coming episodes again. The humor in this is top-notch, with such zingers from Cordelia as "what's a Rogue Demon" and her kissing all of the male characters in hope she can pass on the visions.

This episode was a good starting point for the new group, though not as riveting as the previous episode. I am happy with the final product, however.

Score: 8.5 / 10