"Apocolypse, Nowish"
Written by: Steven S. DeKnight
Directed by: Vern Gillum
Lorne wants to know what Cordelia remembers about her time as a higher power, but Angel insists that they wait for a while before drilling her on her memories. At Connor's, Cordelia watches horror movies and eats junk food. Cordy thanks him for his help, but she's terribly disturbed by the vivid vision of a horrible evil she gets every time she closes her eyes. In a flash, the demon of her vision appears looming above her and grabs her throat before she awakes with a start and Connor comforts her from the horrible nightmare. Lorne takes a call about an abundance of snakes and whether it's a case they'll take, but it doesn't seem to be demonic enough for their purpose. Fred and Gunn check out a rich house that's been experiencing loud noises coming from their bathroom. The noises begin to sound and once they stop, rats start to emerge from the walls, drains and ceiling. Gunn and Fred both freak out and get out of the house quickly, recommending an exterminator.
Wesley returns back to his place after fighting off an excess of bugs to find Lilah waiting for him, dressed up like Fred. She lets her jealousy of Fred show, but Wesley ignores it long enough for the two to have sex on the couch. Fred and Gunn return to the hotel, both eager to get cleaned up after being around the rats. Fred wants to take a bath, but not with Gunn and it sets off an argument between them. She's not able to get over the fact that Gunn killed her professor for her and runs off on her own. The hotel continues to get numerous calls with strange incidents occurring all over L.A. Angel fusses over organizing the weapons cabinet while Lorne continues to press the Cordelia issue. Connor drops by to talk and pleads with Angel to talk to Cordelia.
Realizing the importance of the situation, Angel goes to see Cordy and she is finally able to talk to him. She tells him how much she loves him, but also that while she was a higher being, she saw and relieved everything he did while he was Angelus. Her in-depth knowledge of that part of his makes it too hard for her to be involved with him. Suddenly, she starts breathing hard and her eyes turn while as she warns Angel that he's coming. Cordelia lies down and tells Angel and Connor about what she remembers about her vision. They wonder about whether Lorne reading her mind would help them again, but Cordelia needs more answers than that. The calls continue to flood in and amidst it all, Lorne picks up on Gunn's relationship troubles with Fred. A sparrow flies directly into one of the glass windows, distracting them both. Quickly, the hotel assaulted on all sides by the birds flying blindly to their death against windows and walls.
Lilah talks on her cell phone about the impending apocalypse until she gets into her office and finds Angel waiting for her. He's already beaten up and tied up Gavin and he wants answers about what Wolfram and Hart knows about the apocalypse. She's not very helpful, but Angel convinces her that she wins whether she helps him or not and it'll be easier on her if she helps him. Cordy paces and tries to leave Connor's place, but he stands in her way and makes her talk to him. She wonders why she was sent down to Earth again and Connor accompanies her on a quest to find the answers she needs. They walk to an alleyway that Cordelia recognizes as the place where Darla died and Connor was given life. A large, horned demon bursts from the ground in front of them, knocking Cordelia and Connor down.
Connor tries to attack, but his strength is not enough to stop the demon and he takes a brutal beating while Cordelia is also grabbed and hurt before the demon takes off, sparing them both. Gunn gets restless after not being able to locate Fred and tries to leave to find her, but Wesley shows up and interrupts his departure. Aware of all the strange occurrences around town, he offers they all work together to deal with this seemingly big problem, but Gunn's too angry with Wesley to even consider the idea. Angel stops them all from leaving because he has information from Lilah that they have to figure out before the world ends.
The guys sit around and examine the pages that contain the information that was pulled from Lorne's head. Lorne goes to answer the phone again and Angel instructs him to start mapping out the locations where the calls are coming from. The pages don't make any sense until Gunn sees that the pages fit together like a puzzle to build an even bigger clue. It builds a symbol shaped like a square with an "X" inside representing the "Eye of Fire." Lorne adds even more good news by showing that the locations of strange occurrences all over town are occurring in a pattern on a map that matches the symbol.
A waitress at a diner recommends Fred ease off of the continuous coffee she's been drinking and tries to advise Fred on her relationship troubles. An earthquake strikes and the patrons of the diner down away from the windows. Cordelia tends to Connor's wounds and finds that he's even broken ribs, something that's never happened to him before. Determining the location on the map that appears at the middle of the X, which turns out to be a popular club on a high rooftop. Angel and the gang arrive at the club to find a mass of dead bodies and the demon waiting for them.
Angel takes the demon on personally and despite his talents, he's overpowered by the demon. Crossbows and axes and swords don't seem to have much of an impact, so Wesley tries a series of guns that also fail. Angel gets back into the battle, but the demon stabs him in the neck with a stake and with parting words about Cordelia's safety with Connor, sends him flying off of the roof onto another building. The demon forms the Eye of Fire with the bodies and sets them ablaze. Angel rips the stake from his neck and slowly begins to recover.
The fire on the roof raises towards the sky and soon, fire starts to rain down while Connor and Cordelia watch on. Connor blames himself for the whole situation ever happening, but Cordelia comforts him and reassures him that he's not to blame. Knowing how he feels about her and expecting the end of the world, Cordelia kisses Connor and offers him the chance to feel something real. While everyone else watches the fire rain down, fearing what little future awaits them, Connor and Cordelia find comfort in each other's arms. Angel looks on into Connor's window from the roof of a nearby building.
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