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Best of Gunn - Part 1!
Charles Gunn's most important episodes analysed! |
"Best of Gunn" by angel-fan, translated into English by Oceanic.
 1x20 War Zone
Angel is hired by the software millionaire David Nabbitt to cook a blackmailer’s goose who filmed David visiting a demon-brothel. As soon as Angel has tracked down the blackmailer and retrieved the photos, whereby he shows his “true” face, he’s coincidentally watched and attacked by a vampire slaying gang led by Charles Gunn. During the battue on Angel Gunn’s sister Alonna gets in the line of fire but is saved by Angel whereupon Gunn lets him escape. In the meantime the usually hunted vampires plan a counterattack on the youths and kidnap Alonna. Caring for the kids Angel returns but is captivated. When Gunn and his gang go to save Alonna he has to learn that the vampires already sired her and that his sister’s lost. After a moment of hesitation he stakes her. After the vampire’s have been killed by thefreed Angel, Gunn sees that things aren’t always as easy as they seem to be and that a believed enemy can possibly become an ally…
No “Best of Gunn” edition would be complete without his first appearance in the show, which was after all responsible for Gunn shwing up more often. In this episode the character of Gunn is introdued as a tough street fighter and leader as well as a loving brother whose aim is to fight the creatures of the underworld in LA with the help of other homeless youths. So instead of killing each others a gang is shown who fights demons whereby also the tough set of difficulties of gangs is shown on the show taking place in LA.
 Gunn is the undisputed leader of this gang who’s admired by all his comrades. His only weak point is his sister. At this point of time Gunn has a very narrow-minded view of life, where only good and bad exist, and where he has to fight to survive. He fights for himself but also for the others who wouldn’t have any perspective or who’d be exposed to devastating dangers. Apart from his bigotry concerning tolerance we get to know Gunn’s essential traits. He’s strong and he knows how to battle, he supports others and weaker ones and he fights for a good cause. He’s loyal and has also a soft trait. When he loses his sister he has to acknowledge that he’s been going the wrong way and that his view of life has been to narrow-minded. He realizes that Angel’s not a enemy but an ally, and that there’s a cross between “good” and “bad”. Furthermore he sees that the battle he’s been fighting brings him to a dead-end, as he can’t win it this way but only kills the people he loves one after another. All this leads to a change of Gunn’s mentality, which is to become important in the later episodes.
Season 2
2x08 The Shroud of Rahmon
When Gunn’s cousin Lester comes to Angel Investigations he asks Gunn for help. He’s supposed to work for a group of criminal demons and fears to be left behind at the next coup. Angel decides to take the case and to infiltrate the gang. Therefore he kills a vampire who shuld’ve been part of the gang and takes his place. As Gunn has a similar idea he takes his cousin’s place against Angel’s orders. It turns out, that the gang plans to steal and sell the Shroud of Rahmon. But there’s one problem: Anyone who comes near the shroud becomes crazy. That happens to the whole gang when the box containing the shroud is damaged during the theft. A result of this is an argument between Angel and Gunn which reveals that there’s still a gap between them, although they’re working side by side. Just before everyone’s going to kill each other Angel takes the shroud and burns it.
 Although „The Shroud of Rahmon“ isn’t an episode that deals intensively with the character of Gunn it shows his splitted relation to Angel. When the plot takes place Gunn’s still a new member of Angel Investigations and hasn’t been integrated to the group. He rather exists between his new life at Angel Investigations and his old life as a leader of a gang which leads him to a conflict of loyalty. Should he be loyal to Angel and take his orders without asking questions or should he support his cousin (who can be seen as a metaphor for Gunn’s old life with the gang). He decides to take his cousin’s side which shows that Gunn still can’t adjust working for someone else and therefore does, what he thinks is right.
In the course further events it gets clear that Gunn’s problem with Angel is more than a matter of authority and subordination. Influenced by the shroud of Rahmon Gunn admitts that he still doesn’t trust Angel and that he still hates all vampires for his sister’s death. Although Gunn overdoes his arguments under the influence of the shroud Angel acknowledges that there’s a certain amount of truth in them. During a clearifying talk the interpersonal gap between Gunn and Angel seems to be filled, but both of them know that there are still a lot of problems between them and that it would take a long time until Gunn is integrated in Angel Investigations and until he would accept Angel as the leader.
2x14 The Thin Dead Line
Anne who’s an old friend of Gunn’s and who carries a shelter for homeless kids asks Gunn for help as again and again kids visiting her shelter are tracked and beaten up by sadistic cops who don’t seem to have any reason for their doings. Gunn, Cordelia and Wes who carry Angel Investigations independently from Angel take the case. When Angel follows them secretly he’s attacked by one of these cops. During the fight Angel has to kill him whereby it turns out that these cops are zombies.
 After Angel has contacted Kate they find out that the policeman has been dead for a while and that other policemen’s graves have also been raided. In the meantime Gunn and his old friends work out a plan in which Gunn confronts the sadistic cops while one of his friends films the unprovoked attack. At the shelter Wesley and Cordelia who have worked on another case before learn about Gunn’s plan whereupon Wesley goes to find Gunn and to keep him out of trouble. When Wesley’s shot by the policeman Gunn had encountered Gunn, his friends and the badly wounded Wesley have to retreat. After the zombies shoot the driver of an ambulance Gunn brings Wesley to the shelter. There the youths barricade the complete house while the zombie cops show up to get rid of all the kids. Meanwhile Angel and Kate find the person in charge of the zombies in the police HQ. Destroying the voodoo items which have been needed to control the zombies Angel thereby kills all the zombie cops and Wesley can be brought to a hospital.
”The Thin Dead Line” shows the development of Gunn. While Angel fights his own battle against evil Gunn, Wesley and Cordelia carry Angel Investigations on their own, secretly supported by their former employer. Working together without a champion the three of them develop a true friendship. When Gunn came on Angel Investigations he was a freelancer who showed up now and then but who was still closely connected to his old gang. Very slowly his relation to Wesley, Cordelia and not to mention Angel grew. Suddenly left by Angel the three of them decide to fight the battle between good and evil together. Although he could’ve gone back to his old gang Gunn stays with Cordelia and Wesley. The battle against the zombie cops was one of the first challenges for the group which they mastered with teamwork and the will to sacrifice their life for each other (and obviously with the help of Angel). The fact that Wesley got shot brings the group even closer together and a true friendship between Gunn and Wesley takes shape which would only break at the topic which destroys most of the friendships between men: a woman. But that’s another topic…
Furthermore the episode shows that Gunn’s still closely connected to his old friends and that he’s willing to help them without hesitation.
by angel-fan, translated into English by Oceanic.
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