"Calvary"
Written by: Jeffrey Bell & Steven S. DeKnight & Mere Smith
Directed by: Bill Norton
Connor, Wesley and Cordelia force their way into the Shaman's chambers and question him about Angel's soul. He doesn't have any useful answers for them other than the fact that Angel's soul still remains in it's container. Angelus gets restless in the cage while Gunn and Fred talk tensely about the current Angelus situation. From downstairs, Angelus taunts the couple about their questionable relationship and threatens Fred, motivating Gunn to shut off the TV. Then, unbeknownst to Gunn and Fred, Lilah emerges from the basement shadows holding a crowbar. Lilah asks him to destroy the Beast, and although Angelus plays difficult, he thinks a deal can be arranged.
Fred and Gunn argue about their relationship and because of Fred's decreasing interest in Gunn, he admits to not being able to continue their relationship. The others return with nothing but bad news and they all begin to discuss their options until Gunn finally spots Lilah on the TV. He rushes downstairs to put a tranquilizer dart in Angel and Lilah runs off into the sewers. While the others question Lilah's intentions, Wesley runs off after her into the sewers. When he finally catches up with her, they talk about Angelus and the fact that Lilah wanted Angelus to kill the Beast so she wouldn't have to run and hide anymore. Wesley finds a book Lilah has and although he has the same book, her copy has a passage about the Beast that his did not. The discovery makes Wesley wonder if there are more books with hidden secrets that had been erased in their dimension, but not others.
Angelus wakes up and informs the gang that the Beast actually works for someone or something. The gang question Angelus's knowledge about the Beast, but he's sure that there's something bigger and badder out there calling the shots. Wesley returns with Lilah, but the gang are extremely suspicious of her and drill her about her intentions. Wanting to be away from the gang, Gunn goes to the basement, much to Fred's dismay. While Gunn sits with his flame thrower in the basement, Angelus comments on Gunn's skills, relationship with Fred and his killing of Fred's professor. Eventually, Angelus pushes the wrong buttons and Gunn sends a blast of fire at the vampire.
Fred informs Wesley that she's no longer with Gunn, but Wesley takes the news as an opportunity to make another move on Fred. It's interrupted by Cordelia and Lilah who want an update on Wesley's research attempts. Lorne returns to the hotel, but he doesn't bring any news about Angel's soul. Lilah suggests they release Angelus and solve all their problems, but the others find her plan that involves all of their deaths, a bad option. Cordelia addresses Lilah's lack of confidence in their attempts to save the world, but Lilah thinks she just has realistic view of the situation. In the midst of the argument, Cordelia gets a vision that allows her to see how to get Angel's soul back. Fred goes downstairs to inform Wesley about Cordy's vision and she exchanges barbs with Angelus. As Fred and Wesley head upstairs, Angelus casually mentions Wesley's involvement with Lilah, which shocks Fred.
Gunn and Connor dig up the grave of a soul eater, the skull of which is needed to return Angel's soul. Once they hit the coffin, the soul eater proves to be more active than dead and attacks the duo. Gunn and Connor find themselves at a disadvantage until the soul eater tries to drain Connor's soul and Gunn takes the opportunity to chop the demon to bits and retrieves the head. Meanwhile, the Beast offers a gift to its unseen master. Cordelia and Fred present the talismans they built for the spell while Gunn and Fred return with the fresh demon head. Wanting to be accurate, Wesley has Gunn and Connor clean the head of everything but the bone.
The spell is set up in the basement while Angelus tries to discourage them from trying. Wesley chants and a white soul-like mist emerges from the skull, passes through the talismans and surrounds Angelus in the cage. The skull breaks and the spell ends. Angel's soul seems to be returned and once Angel sings for Lorne, it's concluded that his soul really has returned. Still worried, Angel decides to stay in the cage and direct the others. He sends everyone out on missions, but Cordelia refuses to take his orders because he's acting like a coward. She convinces him that he needs to be out of the cage in case he's the only one who can help and then unlocks the door. Free, Angelus grabs Cordy and informs her that his soul really isn't back after all. Cordy fights back and tries to hide in the cage, but Angelus knocks her out and heads upstairs to continue his Angel charade.
Angelus drops in on Fred in the office and explains that he decided to not be in the cage. The others eventually find that Angel is out as well, but they don't get long to chat as he leaves spouting an excuse about going out to save the world. Spotting an unconscious Cordy in the cage, Gunn and the others realize that Angelus is still around. They wake Cordy and depart to find Angelus before he causes too much damage in LA. A consensus is reached that they won't be saving Angelus, they'll be killing him on sight now. Angelus roams the crazy streets of LA, but can't find anything but dead bodies and vampires and gets frustrated.
At the hotel, Cordy talks with Lilah about the failed spell, but the chat is interrupted by Angelus, who reveals himself above them on the second floor. Lilah fires a round of bullets at him and Cordy tries to shoot him with the crossbow, but none of the attempts are successful. Angelus throws the crossbow bolt back at Cordelia's stomach, taking her down and leaving him to deal with Lilah. Connor tracks Angelus to a certain point, but the gang finally realizes Angelus went back to the hotel. At the hotel, Angelus stalks Lilah until he finally finds her trying to hide. He takes her ax from her, but before he can kill her with it, she tosses him over a stair railing and runs off. Cordelia catches Lilah on the run and in a surprising move, Cordelia stabs Lilah in the neck, informing a dying Lilah that she let Angelus out for a reason.
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