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Best of Gunn, part 3 of 3!
Round 3! Gunn's most important episodes from the seasons 4 and 5! |
Part 1 is here!
Part 2 is here!
"Best of Gunn, part 3 of 3" by angel-fan, translated into English by Oceanic!
Finally the last part with 4 more episodes analysed! Enjoy Gunn's most important episodes of season 4 and season 5!
 Season 4
4x02 Ground State
When Angel desperately tries to learn something about Cordelia’s whereabouts Wesley who in the meantime slays demons with his own gang gives him the advice to look in another dimension and to ask the demon Dinza. Dinza on the other hand points out the axis of Pythia, an old artefact able to find the souls of those who are in another dimension.
Moreover the character of Gwen is introduced to the show. As Gwen’s body is electrically charged she can’t get close to other people. She’s hired by a shaky client who wants her to steal the axis.
Fred finds out tht the axis is in the highly secured part of an auction house in L.A. and that it’s soon to be sold. Therefore Angel, Gunn and Fred go to steal the axis but when they arrive the auction house they have to detect that Gwen got there first. When they meet in the vault Gwen isn’t willing to give the axis to them and they fight. Gwen touches Gunn accidentally and he dies of an electric attack. Gwen however remembers a situation where she killed a boy when she was little and these feelings of guilt make her save Gunn by giving him another, controlled electronic attack. In the further course of events Angel makes a deal with Lilah to get Gwen’s customer’s name. After a fight at this customer’s place Gwen gives Angel the axis and he manages to find Cordelia’s soul in another dimension.
“Ground State” is one of the most important episodes for Gunn’s character development with the key scene bein Gunn’s death and the following resuscitation. Gunn doesn’t die a heroic death like anyone would’ve expected but a death caused by a simple accident. Gwen’s following successful attempts
at resuscitation undo the previous events, but a conversation between Fred and Gunn reveals the true
momentousness of his death. Fred bursts into tears and vents her pent-up emotions consisting of anger, frustration and fear. After Wesley’d been excluded of Angel Investigations and Angel and Cordelia had vanished it was more or less her task to keep the group and Angel Investigations together. This she could only manage with Gunn’s help and the strength he gave her. That Gunn was nearly leaving here by dying would’ve destroyed her world completely. Fred’s emotional reaction to Gunn’s death shows once more how close the two have grown and that Gunn’s the last good thing for her in a dvastated world. Furthermore it shows how much Fred and Gunn are depending on each other and how the previous months drained their energy.
 4x05 Supersymmetry
When one of Fred’s articles about alternate dimensions is released in a science magazine she’s asked to give a lecture at her old university. Accompanied by Gunn and Angel Fred meets old friends, among them her former physics professor Seidel. Also Wesley who has a hot and strong affair with Lilah has read the article and watches the lecture, as he still has feelings for Fred. During the lecture a portal opens and several tentacls attack Fred. Although Gunn and Angel save her Fred falls into her old behaviour pattern and backs away from everyone. The next day Fred visits Professor Seidel although she’s still distracted and tells him what has happened in the past years of her life. When the professor leaves the room for a moment Fred finds a book with conjuring spells for other dimensions and she realizes that it was Professor Seidel who sent her to Pylea. Gunn and Angel have also learnt, that Professor Seidel sends students who are intellectually smarter than him to other dimensions. Vengeful for what he did to her Fred wants to kill Professor Seidel but as Gunn and Angel refuse to help her Fred turns to Wesley who helps to find a spell to send the Professor to another dimension so that he learns what he has done to others. When she arrives Angel and Gunn are already there to solve the case in their manner but the professor opens a portal from which a demon escapes who attacks Angel. Meanqwhile Fred has opened a portal which is about to suck the professor in another dimension. As Fred doesn’t respond to Gunn’s attempts to stop her he makes a decision: He breaks the professor’s neck and throws him into the portal.
 “Supersymmetry” isn’t only one of the most central episode of Gunn’s relationship with Fred but it’s also the beginning of the end of the former dream-relationship. Gunn isn’t able to get through to the vengeful Fred and to soothe her. Instead she turns to Wesley who still has feelings for her and who therefore can be seen as Gunn’s rival. This decision makes clear that an estrangement between Gunn and Fred must have taken place and that the large differences between Gunn and Fred got clear when Fred talked to her former university colleagues which made Gunn look like an illiterate outsider. Although Fred has never wanted Gunn to be an intellectual wiz, this situation obnubilated her mind and heart with vindictiveness. When Fred wants to kill Professor Seidel Gunn tries to intervene again. He loves Fred too much to let her carry the burden of having killed a person. Instead he takes this burden from her, kills the professor and throws him into the portal. This scene makes clear how big Gunn’s feelings towards Fred are, that he even murders for her to keep her safe from herself. In comparison to Fred his own life isn’t worth anything wherefore he rather kills somebody than to allow her to worry about this deed for the rest of her life and to destroy their relationship thereby. What he didn’t know was that the relationship would come to an end after the murder one way or another. The murder on Professor Seidel wanted by Fred but accomplished by Gunn was henceforth like a shroud on their relationship which broke apart some time later due to jealousy and bitterness.
Season 5
5x01 Conviction
 The first episode of season 5 „Conviction“ shows how the members of the gang try to adjust to their new surrounding at Wolfram & Hart. While Fred, Wesley and Lorne direct special departments (Fred leads the science department, Lorne the entertainment department and Wesley the mysticism department) Gunn tries to fit into the new job. Already at their first day at job the gang has to solve a tough case as the felon Corbin Fries wants Wolfram & Hart to represent him in court. As Angel denies Wolfram & Hart’s support Corbin tries to blackmail him with a biological bomb. While Angel tries to find and disarm the bomb Gunn is made a very special offer by Eve: In order to be an important part of the gang and the firm again the knowledge of a perfect lawyer will be implanted in Gunn’s brain. Convinced that this is the only possibility to be a use to his friends Gunn agrees and is implanted the knowledge in a very painful procedure. Finally it’s Gunn who takes Corbin’s case, defends him in court and thereby prevents the bomb to be burst.
Again this episode isn’t a Gunn centered episode but it contains a complete change of Gunn’s character. Already in episode 4x22 “Home” it’s been indicated that Gunn would in the best case scenario have a place in the security department at Wolfram & Hart. However during his visit in the “White Room” which is some kind of spiritual link to the senior partners it’s revealed to him that there’s a greater task for him. “Conviction” pays up with these expectations and Gunn receives a unique and precious weapon for the fight against evil which is better than his strength: enormous knowledge. Knowledge is power and it’s this knowledge that makes Gunn a complete new person. He’s transformed from the street fighter to a highly educated lawyer. Despite this huge change in Gunn’s character his essential character traits stay the same which is rather odd at first. So it takes a little while to accept Gunn’s unfamiliar new stile but after a little while Gunn’s completely in his new role.
 5x17 Underneath
Fred is definitely dead and the gang is extremely depressed. While Wesley’s busy with Illyria Gunn’s still in the medical department of Wolfram & Hart recovering from Wesley’s stab with a knife. Meanwhile Angel tries to find out what the plan of the Senior Partners is and why they are playing with him. To this effect Angel and Spike seek Eve who’s still hiding. But her disguise is discovered and someone or somewhat is hunting her. Angel tempts to protect her whereupon Gunn advices to put her under his protection so no one can harm her. Angel advises Gunn not to hide any longer as he paid a huge price for his gift and that he should use it now for the good instead of sinking into mourning and shame. Eve informs Angel that only Lindsey can offer more information about the Senior Partners and that he therefore must be released from a hell dimension created by Wolfram & Hart. Angel, Spike and Gunn go to this dimension which looks like an idyllic American suburb. Whenever Lindsey whose mind has been overcast goes into the cellar of his house he has to suffer the most horrible tortures. At the attempt of freeing Lindsey the three have to find out that Lindsey canÄt leave this dimension without somebody else taking his place. Gunn volunteers to take Lindsey’s place so that Lindsey can help Angel. Meanwhile Hamilton took Eve’s place as the link to the Senior Partners. Lindsey provides Angel with the information he needs about the Senior Partners while Gunn’s exposed to terrible tortures in the hell dimension.
 “Underneath” isn’t one of the Gunn centred episodes, too but I chose it exemplary to show the changes the new Gunn made in the 5th season and in particular to show his role at Fred’s death / Illyrias resurrection. During the previous episodes it became clear that Gunn played a mayor part in Fred’s death as he granted Dr. Sparrow the favour to bring Illyria’s sarcophagus to America in order to conserve Gunn’s slowly evanescing lawyer knowledge as a return service. No doubt that Gunn tried everything to undo the deal after Fred died but it was definitely too late. As he knew that he was guilty for Fred’s death he didn’t even fight back when Wesley driven by vengeance stabbed him.
“Underneath” clarifies that Gunn’s befallen by a deep mourning and shame for what he did. So for the last time it’s shown what Fred means / meant to him which hasn’t been shown in the previous episodes of season 5. Watching these episodes one could’ve assumed that Fred and Gunn had never been a couple. As a consequence of these feelings Gunn retreats to the hospital. Only when Angel arouses Gunn and tells him that he’s needed Gunn realises that he paid a huge price for his knowledge and that he has to use this knowledge now to limit the damage and to do good. By taking Lindsey’s place in the hell dimension so that he can help Angel Gunn finds a way to do penance for his behaviour and the consequences of his behaviour. In the following episodes it gets clear that although he still has his super lawyer knowledge Gunn doesn’t want to accommodate to Wolfram & Hart but that he abjures the temptation of the Senior Partners by wearing informal clothes and that he thereby wants to show that his knowledge isn’t worth anything for him as it’s cost was Fred’s life.
By angel-fan.
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