Angel Season 5, Episode 4: "Hell Bound"
Tara I. – TwoCents Staff Reviewer
tara@thetwocentscorp.com
Angel Broodometer: 5
It's all about Spike this week as Fred tries to turn Spike back into a real boy only to discover that there is a very evil spirit living in the Wolfram & Hart building. Well...duh! Of course there is! It's Wolfram & Hart. What were they expecting? Puppies? Also, Angel and Spike bond, which is probably the scariest moment of all.
Brood Along...
Posts
Angel
ReplyDeleteSeason 5, Episode 4: "Hell Bound"
Tara I. – TwoCents Staff Reviewer
tara@thetwocentscorp.com
Angel Broodometer: 5
It's all about Spike this week as Fred tries to turn Spike back into a real boy only to discover that there is a very evil spirit living in the Wolfram & Hart building. Well...duh! Of course there is! It's Wolfram & Hart. What were they expecting? Puppies? Also, Angel and Spike bond, which is probably the scariest moment of all.
The episode opens with Spike trying to scare Fred. Unfortunately, his ghost mojo is so far gone that Fred is only pretending to be scared of him to keep his spirits up. She can't do anything about his ambient temperature, though, which is still dropping. As if to prove the point, Spike himself drops through her desk and falls right into the basement. It's not just any basement though; this one comes complete with a ghost who likes to cut off his own figures and do his own plastic surgery. Yikes.
Fred is a little alarmed by Spike's vanishing act. Angel, however, is less worried about Spike and more concerned that Fred has exceeded her quarterly budget by 800,000. That is a lot, but somehow it still seems like a drop in the proverbial evil bucket. Fred, rightly, calls Angel on his attitude towards Spike. She points out that Spike is also a champion. Angel isn't convinced. He's still certain that Spike can't be saved.
Spike, meanwhile, is encountering some other ghosts, and they all seem to have the same message: something is coming. I'm just going to assume that that something is not good. I don't know why. It's just a feeling.
Concerned, Spike decides to talk to Angel. Mopey Angel informs Spike that there's no point to doing anything. That no matter what, they're both going to hell. And then they start bickering about the old days and how much they still dislike each other. It's hilarious. Finally, Angel confesses that there is one thing about Spike that he did like: his poems. Spike is not impressed by this since, after all, Angel likes Barry Manilow. Ah, Mandy. How could we ever forget?
On this touching note, Spike sees yet another ghost standing in the room with them. Unfortunately, he's the only one who is seeing him. Spike pleads for help, but fades away to the point where Team Angel can't see him.
Unable to communicate with the team, Spike decides to confront whatever is coming himself. He follows the trail back to the basement where he finds the Reaper (Simon Templeman). No, not that Reaper. This Reaper is just a former mass murderer who was killed by Wolfram & Hart so they could deconsecrate the land for their headquarters. They didn't take into account the Reaper's knowledge of black magic, though. Instead of dying, the Reaper has just been feeding all the other souls who died at Wolfram & Hart into hell...which really doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but okay.
Spike manages to communicate the Reaper's name to Fred and ogle her while she's showering—it's always nice when people can multi-task. Fred figures out a way to bring Spike back, but it requires a massive force of darkness. Wesley thinks a volcano in South America might be the way to go, but Gunn's magical brain suggests that they steal some energy from the White Room's conduit. The conduit accedes to Gunn's request, much to Angel's dismay.
Icky fluid from the conduit obtained, Team Angel prepares to bring Spike back. Just in time too, because Spike is getting his ectoplasmic ass kicked. Fred flips the switch, but Doctor Death beats Spike to the lab. He gives Spike a choice: Fred's life or becoming corporeal. Spike sacrifices his chance to become corporeal and makes the Reaper corporeal instead. Angel takes the Reaper down and imprisons him in a little tube forever.
The good news is that Spike can be seen again; the bad news is that he's still a potential Ghostbuster victim. Spike decides that it's okay, though. He's tired of trying to cheat death.
The Broodometer was at 5 this week. Angel was very cranky and broody.
Now, it's your turn. What did you think of the episode? Are you tired of the Spike/ghost storyline? Do you think that Angel singing Mandy was one of the best moments of the series? If not, what was? Write your Two Cents below.
Yeah, the whole bonding between Spike and Angel was so soemthing else! Something I thought I would never see. And yes, Angel singing Mandy was classic!
ReplyDelete