Angel - S1E22

To Shanshu in L.A.
First Aired: Tuesday May 23, 2000

In the season finale of Angel, Wolfram and Hart bring forth the demon Voka, who is enraged they let Angel get the Scroll. Vowing to retrieve it in order to complete the ritual, he targets Cordelia, Wesley, and the Powers That Be.

As this season finale begins, Wesley is hard at work translating the Scrolls that Angel obtained from the WR&H vault in the previous episode. In particular, he finds the word Shanshu, which he translates to mean that after Angel fulfills his duties, he will die. Elsewhere in the city, Lindsay, Holland, and Lila welcome the Warrior of the Underworld, Voka, who is angered that Angel has the Scroll. He needs it for a ritual that specifically targets Angel, so he vows to retrieve the scroll himself and cut off his communication with the Powers That Be. He first goes to the Oracles and slays them before putting a curse on Cordelia that makes he power of clairvoyance increase astronomically. Angel gets word she is in the hospital and rushes to her side, locking the scrolls in his office. Wesley returns minutes before Angel does again and the office is blown up by a bomb left by Voka after he had taken the Scroll. With Wesley now also in the hospital, Angel is confronted by Kate who he finally loses patience with and tells her to stay out of his way. Going to the Oracles, Angel discovers their bodies and the ghost of the female who is able to tell him that he must retrieve the Scroll in order to save Cordelia. He takes Voka's scythe and tails Lindsay and the other WR&H lawyers to the ritual area. Angel breaks into the party and engages Voka in battle. Lindsay continues the ceremony himself and is able to complete it, allowing the WR&H people to get the box out before Angel is able to kill Voka. Though he tries to burn the Scroll before Angel can do anything, Angel throws the scythe at Lindsay and cuts off his hand. He takes the Scroll to Wesley, who then does the spell and releases Cordelia. On the mend at Cordelia's home, Wesley realizes that his translation of Shanshu was wrong, and that Angel will actually become human once he fulfills his destiny. This makes Angel happy and he smiles. The season ends with Holland, Lila, and Lindsay all talking about the box before we see that inside of it is none other that a frightened Darla.

A wonderful episode, it is just a notch below stellar. We get to see the really coming together of Angel's "family", of his loving bond between Wesley and Cordelia (and the eventual others in coming seasons). I really liked the demon Voka and kind of wish that he would have survived a bit longer; I could have seen him teaming up with Darla. However, Angel was very determined, so it made sense that he was able to kill it. I also enjoyed Angel finally telling off Kate, because while she may have started out as great character, she has become too much of a bitch. As far as a season finale, the two twists at the end with Shanshu and with Darla were good vehicles to push for the next season. Buffy's pushes for season five were a bit more subtle and mysterious instead of Angel's straightforward "Here's Darla". Overall, a great season ender.

Score: 4 / 5