"The Bachelor Party"
Angel is sitting behind his desk, his feet resting on top of it, reading a book.
Doyle enters, pacing anxiously, wanting to know if reading is all Angel is planning on doing for the evening. Doyle was hoping they could go out and have some "fun".
Angel asks what kind of fun.
Doyle shoves Angel's feet off of the desk and sits down on top of it. He suggests they go to a sports bar.
That suggestion meets with a 'yeah, right' kind of look from Angel who turns his back to Doyle, plants his feet back on top of the other side of the desk, and returns to his reading.
Doyle pleads with Angel to come along and do something.
Cordelia enters the office, dressed to kill, excited to be heading out on a date with someone who's gorgeous and rich. His name is Pierce.
Doyle reminds her that money doesn't necessarily equal happiness.
Cordelia responds that he has a nice car too along with a couple of exclusively located properties, one of which has a pool.
Doyle reconsiders his comment on money not being able to buy happiness.
There's a knock on the office door. As Cordelia moves to open it, she tells the guys that if she's not in the office in the morning, they should just clear her desk out because it will mean she's not coming back
Cordelia comes out of Angel's office to meet Pierce, who has entered the outer office. Pierce compliments Cordelia on her appearance.
Cordelia tries to rush him out the door but Angel interrupts her as he and Doyle enter the outer office, asking if she's going to introduce them.
Cordelia hurries through an introduction of sorts, pointing at each guy and saying his name, then again attempts to rush out the door with her date.
Angel asks Pierce if he has a job. Pierce responds that he's a futures trader.
Angel seems to think that's acceptable. He wants to know if Pierce is taking Cordelia to dinner.
Pierce tells him the name of the restaurant. Doyle chimes in that it's a nice place but some of the food is a bit "dry".
Angel asks Pierce how late he intends to keep Cordelia out.
Cordy tells Angel not to wait up for her and tells Pierce to ignore him. They leave together.
Doyle tells Angel it doesn't look like Cordy is going to give him a chance.
Angel thinks it's not likely, unless it turns out Doyle's family has money and he's just been keeping it quiet.
Doyle says the only money his family has is what's fallen between the cushions on the couch and besides, one side of the family is made up of demons. He thinks if Cordelia found out he was half demon, his chances with her would be less than zero.
As Doyle is talking, he's flipping through a book of Angel's, sending a picture that was buried within it falling to the floor. As he picks it up, he whistles appreciatively. He is quite taken with the picture and wonders if this is an old girlfriend of Angel's.
Angel quietly acknowledges that it is.
Doyle wonders how she feels about Irishmen. He notes the pained expression on Angel's face and realizes the picture is of Buffy. He apologizes then suddenly puts his hand to his head and falls back onto the couch in pain.
Doyle's vision shows a young man in a dingy place, in chains, hung by his wrists. Doyle tells Angel what he sees, and that it's vampires who have the guy. They have a nest and they're planning to feed on him.
Angel pulls Doyle off the couch, they head for the vampire nest.
At the restaurant, Pierce is going on about agricultural markets, hog futures, soybeans. He's obviously very into his work, Cordelia is just as obviously not. He asks if he's boring her.
She assures him he's not, but the glazed look in her eyes says otherwise.
Pierce accepts her word, and continues regaling her with talk of the glories of futures trading.
Angel and Doyle are battling vampires at the site of the nest in Doyle's vision. Doyle is thrown against a wall, his face morphs into its demon visage which he immediately shakes off, returning to his human face.
Just as one of the vamps is about to bash Doyle in the head with a metal keg, a piece of wood bursts through the front of his chest. He turns to dust. Angel was standing behind him and had driven the stake through him.
Angel tells Doyle they need to get the guy home.
They walk the vampires' intended victim down the hallway. Angel has the guy's arm around his neck and is pretty much bearing most of the burden of supporting his weight. Angel notes that Doyle is stronger when in demon mode, he wants to know why he didn't stay that way for the fight.
Doyle responds that he doesn't want to fight that way.
Angel reminds him that it's every one for themselves, nobody expects to fight fair.
Doyle is firm in that it's not something he wants to do. He inquires whether Angel wants help in getting the guy home.
Angel replies he'll take care of it and tells Doyle to go on back to the office.
As they leave, a large vampire guy emerges from around a corner behind them, watching.
As Doyle enters the office building of Angel Investigations, he's being watched from outside by the large vampire guy.
Pierce pulls up in front of the steps. He tells Cordy he's sorry she's feeling ill, he had planned a full evening and regretted seeing it cut short. He asks if she'd like him to take her home.
Cordy tells him her car is there, at the office.
Pierce offers to walk her to her car, noting the neighborhood isn't the safest.
Large vamp guy agrees with Pierce about the dangers of the neighborhood as he grabs Cordelia by the neck.
Pierce screams and jumps into his car, lighting the tires in his rush to get out of there.
Cordelia bites the vampire's arm and yells for help. The vamp yells when she bites him and lets go of her briefly, then nabs her by her hair.
Doyle comes out of the building, crossbow at the ready. He tells the vamp he's the one he wants, leave Cordelia out of it. The vampire assures him his turn is coming.
Doyle has difficulty finding a shot with the crossbow that won't endanger Cordelia. He finally shoots the vamp in the foot. He yells and throws Cordelia to the ground then pulls the arrow out of his foot and charges Doyle with it.
As they scuffle, the arrow falls free. Doyle ends up on the ground, the vamp on top of him. After some effort, Doyle manages to get a hold of the arrow and stake the vamp.
Doyle asks Cordy if she's all right. She says she's okay and that Doyle's actions were very brave.
Doyle wonders if she could say that without sounding so surprised.
Cordelia apologizes and offers her gratitude for his actions.
The next day Angel is sitting at his desk, perusing some papers.
Cordy is sitting on the edge of the desk, her back to him, detailing the previous night's adventure, beginning with her deadly dull dinner with Pierce. She admits that in spite of the fact Pierce had the kind of financial assets that appealed to her, she was bored stiff by him. She says while he was talking endlessly about his work, all she could think about was how she was sure he'd hightail it for the hills if he ever saw a monster. She notes that his running out while she was being attacked by the large vampire guy proved her right.
Angel reckons that's not exactly an unusual or unexpected reaction.
Cordelia admits that's probably so but she realizes that good looking and wealthy aren't the only things that matter to her in a potential boyfriend now. She also wants someone with courage, who's interesting. She blames Angel and Doyle for this.
Angel suggests maybe it isn't so much them as perhaps it is Cordelia herself who is changing. He suggests maybe that isn't such a bad thing.
Cordy doesn't agree. She feels it's hard enough to find someone, without having to add even more requirements to the list of qualities she's looking for. She tells Angel that even though Doyle got pounded pretty good, his first concern was that she was okay. She's thinking that shows substance of character.
Angel agrees that Doyle is definitely more than what's obvious on the surface.
Cordelia suggests it's time to do herself in. She doesn't want another "fixer upper". She feels she's been there with Xander, doesn't want to travel that road again. Then again, she thinks maybe Angel is right, maybe there are some depths to Doyle after all. She decides she should buy him a coffee to thank him for helping her out and asks Angel what he thinks.
Before he can answer, Cordelia decides it's a great idea, tells Angel they'll be back in 30 minutes and instructs him to answer the phones.
In the outer office, Doyle is recreating his battle of the previous night, fending off an invisible assailant with a ruler. While he's doing so, he's narrating his version of the events the night before.
He notices Cordelia watching and quickly puts an end to his reenactment.
Cordy notes perhaps she was wrong about him, maybe he has some potential after all.
Doyle sarcastically offers his thanks.
Cordelia tries to explain that she was trying to be sincere when they are interrupted by a pretty young blonde woman entering the office. The woman looks at Doyle who returns her stare.
Cordelia tells the woman that if she's looking for Angel Investigations, she's found it but they're kind of busy right now. She asks the woman if she would give them a few minutes.
The blonde woman pays little attention to Cordelia and greets Doyle as "Francis".
Doyle seems a little nervous and returns the greeting addressing the blonde woman as "Harry". Doyle asks where she's been.
Harry responds that she's been all over the world, in various non-tourist type destinations.
Cordelia wants to know who Francis is.
Doyle tells her he is Francis, "Alan Francis Doyle". He then introduces Cordy to Harry, his "wife."
Harry enters the office and closes the door behind her. She apologizes for not calling first but says she was afraid.
Doyle asks if she was afraid he'd run off, and reminds her that's not his way.
Harry defensively asks if he's implying that it's hers. She offers to remind him who started the events that lead to her leaving, then thinks better of it, decides to leave it in the past and offers a tentative hug instead.
Harry and Doyle exchange small talk briefly. Angel enters the office and asks what's up.
Cordelia introduces Angel to Doyle's "wife". Without missing a beat, Angel reaches out to shake Harry's hand. Cordelia just stares at him.
Harry compliments the look of the offices. Doyle tells her the business is his, Angel and Cordy are his assistants.
Cordelia starts to correct that statement but is interrupted by Angel who elbows her in the back.
Cordelia asks if Doyle and Harry were actually married.
Harry replies that they still are, since the final paperwork was never filed.
Cordelia assumes it must have been for a green card.
Doyle tells her no, it was a "madly in love thing", but that was four years ago and times change. Doyle wants to know exactly why Harry has come.
Harry suggests they talk alone. Doyle agrees.
The office door opens, a guy sticks his head inside. Harry obviously knows him, she tells him she thought he was going to wait in the car.
The guy comes into the office, admitting he was going to wait outside for her but he got curious. He shakes Angel's hand and introduces himself as "Richard Straley". He tells Angel he's heard a lot about him. He looks at Harry and tells her she never told him that Doyle was such a good looking guy.
Angel tells him he's not Doyle and points Richard in the right direction.
Richard thinks Doyle looks more like he expected, not that he doesn't think he's good looking too.
Harry tells him to settle for a handshake. Richard apologizes for being a bit scattered, saying that with the wedding only a few days away, he's got a lot to think about.
Doyle asks Harry about a wedding. Richard realizes she hadn't told Doyle about it yet.
Cordelia wants to hear all about it but Angel pulls her off the couch and toward his office. He tells her they have reports to go through. Over Cordelia's protests, Angel leads her out.
Richard apologizes for spilling the beans before Harry was ready, saying he just wants them all to be friends. Harry assures him they will be, but for now, she'd like to talk to Doyle alone. Richard agrees and leaves.
Harry is sorry that Doyle found out about the wedding that way. Doyle is still trying to process the fact she's getting married and to that guy. Harry tells him she knows they seem to be an odd couple but he's a good man and they compliment each other well.
Doyle thinks Richard is kind of dull. Harry firmly tells him that it wasn't his approval she was seeking when she came to the office.
Doyle wants to know exactly why she came then. He asks if it was just to hurt him with the news. She assures him that's not the case, as she removes a folder from her bag. She tells him she needs his signature on the papers in the folder.
Doyle looks at the folder contents and notes they're divorce papers.
Harry remarks that sooner or later one of them was bound to find someone and be ready to move on.
Doyle tells her he wants his people to look at the papers to be sure they are what she says they are. He doesn't want to agree to anything he hasn't fully read and understood.
Harry agrees to that and tells him she'll be back for the papers in a few days. She says it was nice to see him again and calls him "Francis".
He tells her he goes by "Doyle" now.
Harry nods and departs.
Angel is setting up two glasses on the table in his apartment. He pours into the first one but as he starts to pour into the second, Doyle stops him. He tells Angel that Harry is right, alcohol doesn't do him any good.
Angel sits at the table and asks if Doyle has had any contact with Harry since they broke up.
Doyle says the ending of the relationship was difficult, he and Harry were both kids when they got married and didn't really know how to work things out when problems arose. They fought, they did damage to each other, then Harry left. Doyle believes Harry had a reason to leave, since he didn't turn out to be the man she thought she married.
Angel doesn't think he should be so hard on himself, both he and Harry were very young when they got married, change is natural.
Doyle says his being half demon was far from natural.
Angel is surprised Doyle didn't tell Harry about his heritage before he married her.
Doyle explains that he didn't know about it himself at the time. He had never known his father and his mother chose not to say anything until it was certain that Doyle had inherited his father's demonic genes. At the age of 21, he found out by experiencing it. This happened at a time he and Harry were thinking about starting a family of their own, so Doyle feels the revelation pretty much killed things between them. He thinks it probably worked out for the best in the long run. He's not the domestic type, really. He says that Richard seems like a nice guy, someone who can give Harry the kind of life she deserves. He goes on to repeat that Richard does seem like a friendly guy, seemingly trying to convince himself.
Angel agrees Richard is nice, but he thinks there's something amiss.
Before he has a chance to expound on that, he's interrupted by Doyle who exclaims that he knew Richard was no good and he feels it's his duty, even though he's an ex, to look after Harry's best interests. He asks Angel to check Richard out.
Angel agrees.
Doyle picks up Angel's glass and drinks the contents down in one gulp.
As Richard walks down a darkened street, he is shadowed by Angel who is following him by way of the rooftops.
Richard stops to chat with someone in a black car. When Richard steps away from the car, he is carrying a package. He looks around as if checking to see if anyone is watching then continues on his way as the car drives off.
Richard unlocks and enters a restaurant, "Straley's Steakhouse".
Angel watches him go inside.
Richard enters the restaurant's kitchen and stores the package he's been carrying in the refrigerator.
Harry enters the restaurant kitchen toting a box, Richard is following behind. She's anxious to show him something she bought. Richard wonders if it's something for the honeymoon. Harry makes a wisecrack about how tiny a negligee would have to be to fit in one of the small boxes she's carrying.
Richard laughs and tells her not to go anywhere, he'll be right back.
Richard pours himself some wine, takes a drink of it and morphs into demon face. He heads back toward the kitchen where Harry is, picking up a knife along the way.
Harry is fighting with the straps on the box, trying to undo them to get the box open. She asks Richard what he's doing.
Richard tells her he's on his way.
As he approaches Harry from behind, knife in hand, he is jumped by Angel who crashes through the window and tackles him. Angel pounds him a bit. Richard tries to deflect the blows with his hands, but doesn't hit back.
Harry grabs Angel by the arm and tells him to stop. Angel tells her Richard is a demon. Harry already knows this. Angel points out the knife he was carrying. Richard explains it was for cutting the straps on the box. Angel asks about the package he took from the man in the car.
Richard explains that they serve a lot of delicacies at the restaurant, the methods of procurement for some of which are a little shady but not "illegal" by strictest definition.
Harry interrupts, telling Richard he doesn't have to explain anything to anyone. She asks Angel if Doyle instigated this investigation of Richard, she already knows the answer. She's angry that nothing has changed with Doyle, he's still taking it on himself to decide what's best for her.
Richard tries to soothe her anger, assuring her he's okay with Doyle's actions. He understands that Doyle cares about her and just wants to make sure she'll be taken care of.
Harry tells Angel she's in very good hands with Richard, his family owns the restaurant. Yes, they are demons, "Anomovic Demons" but they are peaceful and completely integrated into human culture.
Back at Angel's apartment, he's looking through a book as he tells Doyle what he found out about Richard. Doyle is surprised to learn Richard is a demon, he wants Angel to tell him if Richard is a really ugly demon..
Angel shows Doyle an illustration in a book he's looking at, explaining the picture is of an Animovic Demon, the same species as Richard. Angel goes on to read from the book that these demons were nomadic, and at one time in their history did have violent tendencies.
He is interrupted by Doyle who's convinced that Richard's "Mr. Nice Guy" routine is an act. He thinks the guy has cast some sort of spell on Harry.
Angel continues reading from the book, explaining these demons gave up the violence around the turn of the century, along with the language and other orthodox teachings of their kind. He tells Doyle that they now own restaurants "with expensive windows".
Doyle assures Angel he'll contribute to the bill for the broken window, since it was his idea for Angel to investigate Richard in the first place. He reflects on all the times Harry told him how interesting his demon self could be, he never believed her. He thought she was trying to make him feel better about himself, that she was just feeling sorry for him. Now, he realizes that she meant what she'd said and he tells Angel that Harry didn't leave because he was half demon, she left because of the way he was behaving and that had nothing to do with his demon side.
Doyle signs the divorce papers.
In the A.I. office, Doyle hands the divorce papers to Harry, who thanks him. Richard also offers his thanks.
Harry asks if there's a copier around so she can make a copy of the papers.
Doyle directs her to Angel's office and tells her Cordy will assist her with it.
Harry heads for the office.
Richard tells Doyle he's glad they have the opportunity to talk alone.
In the back office, Harry tells Cordelia that Richard wanted some time alone with Doyle, he wants to invite him to his bachelor party.
Cordelia is puzzled why Harry's fiancé would want to invite her ex, someone he doesn't even know, to his party.
Harry explains that Richard and his family wanted Doyle's blessing on the marriage. She says they're very nice, very into having positive energy flowing.
Cordelia agrees that they do sound nice.
Harry tells her Richard's mother told her she could invite her friends to a shower they are having for Harry, but since she's been spending most of her time with Mrs. Straley, she really hasn't made any. She invites Cordelia to attend the shower.
Cordy agrees.
Richard tells Doyle that his attendance at the bachelor party would mean a lot to him and to Harry.
At the Straley house, the clan is gathered around the dining room table for a family dinner. Richard is complaining about a suggestion to have Buffalo Wings at his bachelor party, he'd rather have something with a bit more class.
His father reminds him it's a bachelor party, he's supposed to enjoy bad food and cheap beer.
Mrs. Straley brings a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken to the table. She tells the others not to forget the stripper. Everyone looks at her. She assures them she knows what goes on at bachelor parties.
Richard starts to say what he doesn't want, but is interrupted by one of his brothers telling him it's a bachelor party and they're going to see to it he has a good time whether he wants to or not.
Richard is simply concerned that Doyle not get a bad impression.
One of the females asks who Doyle is and is told by another of Richard's brothers that Doyle is Harry's ex, he was invited by Richard.
Richard says Doyle is a really nice guy, he thinks the family will like him. He agrees to the stripper and asks what's next on the agenda.
His father reads from a list of activities; greet the guest of honor, drink, eat, drink some more, bring on the stripper, play some darts .... then the ritualistic eating of the ex husband's brains, and finally charades.
One of the brothers is shocked by the plan for charades! Another indicates his dislike of the idea as well. Richard thinks charades will be fun.
Everyone agrees charades it is then, since it's Richard's party.
Doyle and Angel walk into the Straley restaurant for the bachelor party. Richard is there, along with the rest of the males in his family.
Richard starts to hug Doyle in greeting. Doyle makes it clear he's not comfortable with that so Richard apologizes and settles for resting one arm around Doyle's shoulder. He introduces Doyle to the others in the restaurant.
One of the attendees notes suspiciously Doyle has brought someone.
Richard acknowledges Angel, expressing his surprise to see him there. Doyle tells Richard he invited him along, he hopes it's not a problem. Richard assures him it's fine and then tells everyone present that the party is as much for Doyle as it is for him, maybe even more so since he's the "real bachelor" present.
Richard offers Doyle a drink and they head for the bar.
Angel follows closely behind. He passes a booth where Richard's brothers are chatting in some foreign tongue. They both look at Angel grinning, he slightly nods, smiles and moves on past them.
Richard raises his glass at the bar in a toast to Harry. Doyle returns the toast. Richard wants to know what Harry was like when Doyle knew her. He wants to know all about her.
At Harry's shower, Harry is telling Cordelia that it was a nightmare then corrects herself to admit it wasn't that way at first. She rather liked the way Doyle took charge in the beginning.
Cordelia is having a tough time picturing Doyle "taking charge" of anything.
Harry tells her it was nice at first, but it wore thin. She says sometimes she felt he treated her like one of his students.
Cordelia asks what she means. Harry tells her she didn't enjoy being treated like a third grader.
Cordelia is amazed to hear that Doyle had taught school, she asks if Harry meant the "kind with children".
Harry confirms that's right, telling Cordy that Doyle got his teaching certificate before they met at the food bank.
Cordelia thinks the soup kitchen sounds more like the Doyle she knows. Harry tells her he was a volunteer there.
One of the women shouts it's time to play "pornographic pictionary".
At the party, Angel is standing off from the crowd, scanning the place. The other attendees are wondering where the stripper is, she should be there by now.
Angel's gaze settles on Richard's brothers, still seated at the booth, engaged in conversation.
Richard and Doyle are sharing a drink at the bar. Richard tells Doyle that he feels like he's been living in Doyle's shadow since finding out Harry had been married before. He says Harry will always love him [Doyle] but she needs something different in her life now and that he [Richard] can give her that. He assures Doyle he can, and will, make Harry happy and he wants Doyle to be a part of that. He says he needs to have Doyle's blessing, he can't marry Harry without it.
One of the party attendees leads Richard away telling him, "It's time!"
Richard is set in a chair in the center of the room, looking slightly embarrassed, as the stripper comes in and begins her act.
Angel joins Doyle at the bar as they both watch the stripper do her thing. Angel asks Doyle if he's all right. Doyle says he is.
Angel watches as the two Straley brothers he overheard chatting at the table earlier both leave the room. Angel follows them.
Angel walks through the kitchen and upstairs to a private area of the building. He peers into one of the rooms where he finds Richard's father holding dagger, standing over a candle burning next to a container.
He says some words in a foreign language, then slides the dagger across the palm of his hand and lets the blood drip into the container next to the candle.
A flame flares from the container as the blood drips into it. He continues reciting words in the same language as before as Angel looks on from the doorway.
At Harry's bridal shower, Cordy answers her cell phone. Angel is on the other end of the line, wanting to know where Harry is. She tells him, he asks to speak to her. Cordelia gives Harry the phone.
Angel asks Harry how her "Aratuscan" is. Harry says she's a bit rusty and reminds Angel it's a dead demonic language. Angel notes it's not quite dead and asks for a translation of the words he heard Richard's father recite during the ritual.
Harry wants to know what's up.
Angel tells her he's not sure but needs her to look into a translation of those words.
Harry figures she can use the Straley family library to do it. Angel thanks her and hangs up.
As Angel turns to leave, he's confronted by one of the Straley brothers, who wants to know what's going on. Angel tells him nothing. He becomes more confrontational, accusing Angel of disrespecting him. Angel says that's not true. He continues trying to pick a fight, accusing Angel of calling him a liar. He hits Angel a couple of times before Angel retaliates.
More Straley relatives enter the fray, resulting in a full scale melee. It's now four of them against Angel.
Angel is beaten then slammed head first into a wall. They grab him again and throw him through a ventilation grate, sending him rolling down the roof, landing hard on a metal garbage container and finally ending up on the ground, unconscious.
As the stripper departs, Richard rises from his chair and rejoins Doyle at the bar. He tells Doyle he hopes Harry doesn't find out about the stripper. Doyle assures him he won't say anything to her. Richard asks Doyle if he's thought over what they talked about.
Doyle tells him he has thought things over. He realizes that one of his greatest regrets was how things worked out between himself and Harry. He feels he has the chance to make it right now, by letting her move on with someone who can make her happy. He gives Richard his blessing.
Richard announces the "good news" to the room, that Doyle has offered his blessing to Richard's marriage to Harry. The room erupts in cheers. Richard offers a toast to Doyle.
Richard's father and the others who pounded on Angel enter the room. They tell Doyle they have something for him and shove him into a large box on wheels. They lock him into the box, leaving only his head sticking out from a hole in the top of it.
Richard tells him he truly appreciates his sacrifice. He hopes that Doyle won't think less of him for this.
Doyle is still looking for a clue as to what's going on as all the attendees morph into their demon faces. Doyle is thinking this is a bad sign.
One of the demons sticks a syringe into the side of Doyle's head. He notices his head is getting numb.
Richard, who's donning a lobster bib, tells him that's the plan, they don't want him to suffer when they cut into his head.
Doyle watches as the demons hand the carving knife to Richard.
Cordelia and Harry are going over some books at the Straley house. Harry finds something in the translation.
Cordelia asks what she's found.
Harry replies it's something about "ingesting past love".
Cordelia points out that would be Doyle.
Harry gets up and goes to talk with the Straley women. She asks them about the bachelor party. She says Richard mentioned there was some kind of tradition involving the ex-husband and she was just wondering what that was about.
One of the women laughingly tells her that it's not like they're going to eat his brains.
Harry and Cordy rush out of the house and head for the restaurant.
Angel is lying in the alley, still unconscious, while Doyle is desperate for him to show up
Richard's father draws a dotted line on Doyle's head with a magic marker. Richard tells Doyle that he heard Angel started a fight, they had to ask him to leave.
Doyle wants to know how Richard thinks Harry is going to react to this. Richard assures him that she will accept it because she accepts him and his culture, just as she accepted Doyle's.
Richard's father picks up a fork and asks one of his sons, "Nick," what it is. Nick tells dad that he said to "get a utensil." Dad Straley points out that the fork is for eating shrimp, it's not suitable for eating brains. Nick points out there wasn't a brain eating fork around. Dad Straley suggests a soup spoon.
Richard asks Doyle's forbearance, seeing as how they haven't done this ritual in centuries.
Dad Straley explains that the books say that in the case of a previous marriage, the eating of the brains of the ex insures a happy second marriage. The books say this practice allows Richard to absorb the love shared in the first marriage and will make his union with Harry whole. It's an Animovic thing, he doesn't really understand it either.
Doyle tells Richard that he likes his family and all, but he'd really rather they not eat him.
Richard explains that only he will do the eating. He wants to know if Doyle is trying to back out, now that he's given his blessing.
Doyle definitely wants to take that blessing back.
Richard isn't sure now he even wants to eat Doyle's brains, he's not very happy with Doyle's change of heart.
Dad Straley tells Richard to stop being childish and eat Doyle's brains, once a blessing is given it's a done deal. He can't take it back.
Richard tells Doyle his father is right, apologizes for being rude and says eating his brains will be an honor.
Out in the alley, Angel gets up. There's a bloody gash on his forehead that disappears as he morphs into game face.
Richard's dad hands him the knife and asks if he's ready to dig in. Everyone in the room is watching Richard and Doyle.
Angel kicks the double doors in, shattering them into splinters along with part of the door frame. He announces to the room that the party is now over.
Richard's brother expresses his offense that Doyle invited a vampire to Richard's party.
Angel takes on just about everybody in the room, throwing demons here and there. The box Doyle is in keeps getting hit and run into, sending it rolling on its wheels all over the room.
Doyle morphs into demon face, breaks the box open and throws himself into the fracas. As Angel and Doyle are battling Animovic demons, Cordy and Harry rush into the restaurant.
Harry yells at them all to knock it off. Everyone stops fighting.
Angel morphs back to his human face, while Doyle painfully pulls himself up from the seat of the booth he was sprawled in.
Richard tells Harry the party was for guys only.
Harry says she knows what he was up to.
Richard thinks she's talking about the stripper and assures her that it wasn't his idea. He tells Harry and Cordy they really shouldn't be there.
Cordelia tells Richard that they shouldn't be trying to feed on Doyle's brains. She thinks they're awful for contemplating such a thing.
Doyle sits up in the booth next to Cordelia, still in demon face. Cordy sees him, picks up a silver serving platter and smashes him over the head with it, several times. Angel rushes up to her and stops her, telling her things are okay.
As Cordy is distracted by Angel, Doyle slowly gets back up, his face now human again but bruised from the bashing Cordy gave him. Cordelia tells Angel it's not okay, then sees the bruises and asks Doyle what they've done to him.
Harry asks Richard if he was actually going to eat Doyle's brains.
Richard admits he was sort of planning to.
Harry wants to know if he was planning on telling her. Richard didn't think he'd have to. Harry is appalled that he intended to begin their marriage with a lie.
Doyle is a bit disconcerted that Harry seems more upset by the fact Richard didn't discuss it with her than the fact he was actually going to chow down on her ex's brain matter.
Richard tells Harry he just wanted their marriage to be blessed, as it instructs in the old ways.
Harry wonders just when they started adhering strictly to the ancient ways.
Richard's uncle says they always have, they just don't talk about it.
Harry asks when was the last time he tore himself away from the sports channel long enough to actually do any of these rituals.
Harry tells Richard that he knows she doesn't approve of the old ways. One of the attendees accuses her of being "racist."
Richard apologizes for not telling her about it but says that if they don't finish the ritual, he cannot marry her. The family would never give its consent.
After a moment, Harry takes Richard's hand in hers briefly. She releases his hands and walks away. Richard looks down at his open hand to see that Harry has returned his engagement ring.
Harry walks out. Cordy, Angel and Doyle follow.
At the office of Angel Investigations, Doyle gets up from the computer and goes to lay down on the couch. Angel and Cordelia watch him through the windows from Angel's office.
Cordelia confirms with Angel that Doyle spoke to Harry, she assumes it didn't go well judging by Doyle's mood.
Angel tells her Doyle just needs some time to deal with things.
Cordelia observes that Doyle cared a lot about Harry.
Angel agrees, and adds that Doyle probably didn't even know himself just how much he cared until he saw her again.
Cordelia determines that somebody needs to cheer Doyle up.
Angel starts to go into the office but is stopped by Cordy who thinks someone who's actually living might be a better choice. She goes into the office, Angel following, and approaches Doyle. She greets him and asks if he's going to be broody, miserably guy full time now because they don't really need another one of those in the office.
Angel and Doyle both protest that observation. Cordelia tells Doyle that Angel can get away with it, he has the look to pull it off but before she can finish her thought Angel tells her she's cheered everyone up enough now.
Not easily deterred, Cordelia tells Doyle to let go of the past, look forward to tomorrow. She sits next to him on the couch and assures him this will pass, he'll be okay because "nice guys don't always finish last."
This perks Doyle up a bit who wants to know if Cordy really thinks of him as a "nice guy."
Cordelia replies if she said it, she thinks it. She's direct that way.
Doyle suddenly doubles over in pain, sending Cordy jumping from the couch denying she was responsible for what was happening.
Angel notes that Doyle is having a vision.
Cordelia thinks it's kind of late for that sort of thing.
Doyle's vision shows him a young blonde woman fighting off attackers. It's Buffy.
Angel asks him what he saw in his vision.
Doyle just looks at Angel in response.
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| Written by: Tracey Stern | Original Air Date: November 16, 1999 |
Angel is sitting behind his desk, his feet resting on top of it, reading a book.
Doyle enters, pacing anxiously, wanting to know if reading is all Angel is planning on doing for the evening. Doyle was hoping they could go out and have some "fun".
Angel asks what kind of fun.
Doyle shoves Angel's feet off of the desk and sits down on top of it. He suggests they go to a sports bar.
That suggestion meets with a 'yeah, right' kind of look from Angel who turns his back to Doyle, plants his feet back on top of the other side of the desk, and returns to his reading.
Doyle pleads with Angel to come along and do something.
Cordelia enters the office, dressed to kill, excited to be heading out on a date with someone who's gorgeous and rich. His name is Pierce.
Doyle reminds her that money doesn't necessarily equal happiness.
Cordelia responds that he has a nice car too along with a couple of exclusively located properties, one of which has a pool.
Doyle reconsiders his comment on money not being able to buy happiness.
There's a knock on the office door. As Cordelia moves to open it, she tells the guys that if she's not in the office in the morning, they should just clear her desk out because it will mean she's not coming back
Cordelia comes out of Angel's office to meet Pierce, who has entered the outer office. Pierce compliments Cordelia on her appearance.
Cordelia tries to rush him out the door but Angel interrupts her as he and Doyle enter the outer office, asking if she's going to introduce them.
Cordelia hurries through an introduction of sorts, pointing at each guy and saying his name, then again attempts to rush out the door with her date.
Angel asks Pierce if he has a job. Pierce responds that he's a futures trader.
Angel seems to think that's acceptable. He wants to know if Pierce is taking Cordelia to dinner.
Pierce tells him the name of the restaurant. Doyle chimes in that it's a nice place but some of the food is a bit "dry".
Angel asks Pierce how late he intends to keep Cordelia out.
Cordy tells Angel not to wait up for her and tells Pierce to ignore him. They leave together.
Doyle tells Angel it doesn't look like Cordy is going to give him a chance.
Angel thinks it's not likely, unless it turns out Doyle's family has money and he's just been keeping it quiet.
Doyle says the only money his family has is what's fallen between the cushions on the couch and besides, one side of the family is made up of demons. He thinks if Cordelia found out he was half demon, his chances with her would be less than zero.
As Doyle is talking, he's flipping through a book of Angel's, sending a picture that was buried within it falling to the floor. As he picks it up, he whistles appreciatively. He is quite taken with the picture and wonders if this is an old girlfriend of Angel's.
Angel quietly acknowledges that it is.
Doyle wonders how she feels about Irishmen. He notes the pained expression on Angel's face and realizes the picture is of Buffy. He apologizes then suddenly puts his hand to his head and falls back onto the couch in pain.
Doyle's vision shows a young man in a dingy place, in chains, hung by his wrists. Doyle tells Angel what he sees, and that it's vampires who have the guy. They have a nest and they're planning to feed on him.
Angel pulls Doyle off the couch, they head for the vampire nest.
At the restaurant, Pierce is going on about agricultural markets, hog futures, soybeans. He's obviously very into his work, Cordelia is just as obviously not. He asks if he's boring her.
She assures him he's not, but the glazed look in her eyes says otherwise.
Pierce accepts her word, and continues regaling her with talk of the glories of futures trading.
Angel and Doyle are battling vampires at the site of the nest in Doyle's vision. Doyle is thrown against a wall, his face morphs into its demon visage which he immediately shakes off, returning to his human face.
Just as one of the vamps is about to bash Doyle in the head with a metal keg, a piece of wood bursts through the front of his chest. He turns to dust. Angel was standing behind him and had driven the stake through him.
Angel tells Doyle they need to get the guy home.
They walk the vampires' intended victim down the hallway. Angel has the guy's arm around his neck and is pretty much bearing most of the burden of supporting his weight. Angel notes that Doyle is stronger when in demon mode, he wants to know why he didn't stay that way for the fight.
Doyle responds that he doesn't want to fight that way.
Angel reminds him that it's every one for themselves, nobody expects to fight fair.
Doyle is firm in that it's not something he wants to do. He inquires whether Angel wants help in getting the guy home.
Angel replies he'll take care of it and tells Doyle to go on back to the office.
As they leave, a large vampire guy emerges from around a corner behind them, watching.
As Doyle enters the office building of Angel Investigations, he's being watched from outside by the large vampire guy.
Pierce pulls up in front of the steps. He tells Cordy he's sorry she's feeling ill, he had planned a full evening and regretted seeing it cut short. He asks if she'd like him to take her home.
Cordy tells him her car is there, at the office.
Pierce offers to walk her to her car, noting the neighborhood isn't the safest.
Large vamp guy agrees with Pierce about the dangers of the neighborhood as he grabs Cordelia by the neck.
Pierce screams and jumps into his car, lighting the tires in his rush to get out of there.
Cordelia bites the vampire's arm and yells for help. The vamp yells when she bites him and lets go of her briefly, then nabs her by her hair.
Doyle comes out of the building, crossbow at the ready. He tells the vamp he's the one he wants, leave Cordelia out of it. The vampire assures him his turn is coming.
Doyle has difficulty finding a shot with the crossbow that won't endanger Cordelia. He finally shoots the vamp in the foot. He yells and throws Cordelia to the ground then pulls the arrow out of his foot and charges Doyle with it.
As they scuffle, the arrow falls free. Doyle ends up on the ground, the vamp on top of him. After some effort, Doyle manages to get a hold of the arrow and stake the vamp.
Doyle asks Cordy if she's all right. She says she's okay and that Doyle's actions were very brave.
Doyle wonders if she could say that without sounding so surprised.
Cordelia apologizes and offers her gratitude for his actions.
The next day Angel is sitting at his desk, perusing some papers.
Cordy is sitting on the edge of the desk, her back to him, detailing the previous night's adventure, beginning with her deadly dull dinner with Pierce. She admits that in spite of the fact Pierce had the kind of financial assets that appealed to her, she was bored stiff by him. She says while he was talking endlessly about his work, all she could think about was how she was sure he'd hightail it for the hills if he ever saw a monster. She notes that his running out while she was being attacked by the large vampire guy proved her right.
Angel reckons that's not exactly an unusual or unexpected reaction.
Cordelia admits that's probably so but she realizes that good looking and wealthy aren't the only things that matter to her in a potential boyfriend now. She also wants someone with courage, who's interesting. She blames Angel and Doyle for this.
Angel suggests maybe it isn't so much them as perhaps it is Cordelia herself who is changing. He suggests maybe that isn't such a bad thing.
Cordy doesn't agree. She feels it's hard enough to find someone, without having to add even more requirements to the list of qualities she's looking for. She tells Angel that even though Doyle got pounded pretty good, his first concern was that she was okay. She's thinking that shows substance of character.
Angel agrees that Doyle is definitely more than what's obvious on the surface.
Cordelia suggests it's time to do herself in. She doesn't want another "fixer upper". She feels she's been there with Xander, doesn't want to travel that road again. Then again, she thinks maybe Angel is right, maybe there are some depths to Doyle after all. She decides she should buy him a coffee to thank him for helping her out and asks Angel what he thinks.
Before he can answer, Cordelia decides it's a great idea, tells Angel they'll be back in 30 minutes and instructs him to answer the phones.
In the outer office, Doyle is recreating his battle of the previous night, fending off an invisible assailant with a ruler. While he's doing so, he's narrating his version of the events the night before.
He notices Cordelia watching and quickly puts an end to his reenactment.
Cordy notes perhaps she was wrong about him, maybe he has some potential after all.
Doyle sarcastically offers his thanks.
Cordelia tries to explain that she was trying to be sincere when they are interrupted by a pretty young blonde woman entering the office. The woman looks at Doyle who returns her stare.
Cordelia tells the woman that if she's looking for Angel Investigations, she's found it but they're kind of busy right now. She asks the woman if she would give them a few minutes.
The blonde woman pays little attention to Cordelia and greets Doyle as "Francis".
Doyle seems a little nervous and returns the greeting addressing the blonde woman as "Harry". Doyle asks where she's been.
Harry responds that she's been all over the world, in various non-tourist type destinations.
Cordelia wants to know who Francis is.
Doyle tells her he is Francis, "Alan Francis Doyle". He then introduces Cordy to Harry, his "wife."
Harry enters the office and closes the door behind her. She apologizes for not calling first but says she was afraid.
Doyle asks if she was afraid he'd run off, and reminds her that's not his way.
Harry defensively asks if he's implying that it's hers. She offers to remind him who started the events that lead to her leaving, then thinks better of it, decides to leave it in the past and offers a tentative hug instead.
Harry and Doyle exchange small talk briefly. Angel enters the office and asks what's up.
Cordelia introduces Angel to Doyle's "wife". Without missing a beat, Angel reaches out to shake Harry's hand. Cordelia just stares at him.
Harry compliments the look of the offices. Doyle tells her the business is his, Angel and Cordy are his assistants.
Cordelia starts to correct that statement but is interrupted by Angel who elbows her in the back.
Cordelia asks if Doyle and Harry were actually married.
Harry replies that they still are, since the final paperwork was never filed.
Cordelia assumes it must have been for a green card.
Doyle tells her no, it was a "madly in love thing", but that was four years ago and times change. Doyle wants to know exactly why Harry has come.
Harry suggests they talk alone. Doyle agrees.
The office door opens, a guy sticks his head inside. Harry obviously knows him, she tells him she thought he was going to wait in the car.
The guy comes into the office, admitting he was going to wait outside for her but he got curious. He shakes Angel's hand and introduces himself as "Richard Straley". He tells Angel he's heard a lot about him. He looks at Harry and tells her she never told him that Doyle was such a good looking guy.
Angel tells him he's not Doyle and points Richard in the right direction.
Richard thinks Doyle looks more like he expected, not that he doesn't think he's good looking too.
Harry tells him to settle for a handshake. Richard apologizes for being a bit scattered, saying that with the wedding only a few days away, he's got a lot to think about.
Doyle asks Harry about a wedding. Richard realizes she hadn't told Doyle about it yet.
Cordelia wants to hear all about it but Angel pulls her off the couch and toward his office. He tells her they have reports to go through. Over Cordelia's protests, Angel leads her out.
Richard apologizes for spilling the beans before Harry was ready, saying he just wants them all to be friends. Harry assures him they will be, but for now, she'd like to talk to Doyle alone. Richard agrees and leaves.
Harry is sorry that Doyle found out about the wedding that way. Doyle is still trying to process the fact she's getting married and to that guy. Harry tells him she knows they seem to be an odd couple but he's a good man and they compliment each other well.
Doyle thinks Richard is kind of dull. Harry firmly tells him that it wasn't his approval she was seeking when she came to the office.
Doyle wants to know exactly why she came then. He asks if it was just to hurt him with the news. She assures him that's not the case, as she removes a folder from her bag. She tells him she needs his signature on the papers in the folder.
Doyle looks at the folder contents and notes they're divorce papers.
Harry remarks that sooner or later one of them was bound to find someone and be ready to move on.
Doyle tells her he wants his people to look at the papers to be sure they are what she says they are. He doesn't want to agree to anything he hasn't fully read and understood.
Harry agrees to that and tells him she'll be back for the papers in a few days. She says it was nice to see him again and calls him "Francis".
He tells her he goes by "Doyle" now.
Harry nods and departs.
Angel is setting up two glasses on the table in his apartment. He pours into the first one but as he starts to pour into the second, Doyle stops him. He tells Angel that Harry is right, alcohol doesn't do him any good.
Angel sits at the table and asks if Doyle has had any contact with Harry since they broke up.
Doyle says the ending of the relationship was difficult, he and Harry were both kids when they got married and didn't really know how to work things out when problems arose. They fought, they did damage to each other, then Harry left. Doyle believes Harry had a reason to leave, since he didn't turn out to be the man she thought she married.
Angel doesn't think he should be so hard on himself, both he and Harry were very young when they got married, change is natural.
Doyle says his being half demon was far from natural.
Angel is surprised Doyle didn't tell Harry about his heritage before he married her.
Doyle explains that he didn't know about it himself at the time. He had never known his father and his mother chose not to say anything until it was certain that Doyle had inherited his father's demonic genes. At the age of 21, he found out by experiencing it. This happened at a time he and Harry were thinking about starting a family of their own, so Doyle feels the revelation pretty much killed things between them. He thinks it probably worked out for the best in the long run. He's not the domestic type, really. He says that Richard seems like a nice guy, someone who can give Harry the kind of life she deserves. He goes on to repeat that Richard does seem like a friendly guy, seemingly trying to convince himself.
Angel agrees Richard is nice, but he thinks there's something amiss.
Before he has a chance to expound on that, he's interrupted by Doyle who exclaims that he knew Richard was no good and he feels it's his duty, even though he's an ex, to look after Harry's best interests. He asks Angel to check Richard out.
Angel agrees.
Doyle picks up Angel's glass and drinks the contents down in one gulp.
As Richard walks down a darkened street, he is shadowed by Angel who is following him by way of the rooftops.
Richard stops to chat with someone in a black car. When Richard steps away from the car, he is carrying a package. He looks around as if checking to see if anyone is watching then continues on his way as the car drives off.
Richard unlocks and enters a restaurant, "Straley's Steakhouse".
Angel watches him go inside.
Richard enters the restaurant's kitchen and stores the package he's been carrying in the refrigerator.
Harry enters the restaurant kitchen toting a box, Richard is following behind. She's anxious to show him something she bought. Richard wonders if it's something for the honeymoon. Harry makes a wisecrack about how tiny a negligee would have to be to fit in one of the small boxes she's carrying.
Richard laughs and tells her not to go anywhere, he'll be right back.
Richard pours himself some wine, takes a drink of it and morphs into demon face. He heads back toward the kitchen where Harry is, picking up a knife along the way.
Harry is fighting with the straps on the box, trying to undo them to get the box open. She asks Richard what he's doing.
Richard tells her he's on his way.
As he approaches Harry from behind, knife in hand, he is jumped by Angel who crashes through the window and tackles him. Angel pounds him a bit. Richard tries to deflect the blows with his hands, but doesn't hit back.
Harry grabs Angel by the arm and tells him to stop. Angel tells her Richard is a demon. Harry already knows this. Angel points out the knife he was carrying. Richard explains it was for cutting the straps on the box. Angel asks about the package he took from the man in the car.
Richard explains that they serve a lot of delicacies at the restaurant, the methods of procurement for some of which are a little shady but not "illegal" by strictest definition.
Harry interrupts, telling Richard he doesn't have to explain anything to anyone. She asks Angel if Doyle instigated this investigation of Richard, she already knows the answer. She's angry that nothing has changed with Doyle, he's still taking it on himself to decide what's best for her.
Richard tries to soothe her anger, assuring her he's okay with Doyle's actions. He understands that Doyle cares about her and just wants to make sure she'll be taken care of.
Harry tells Angel she's in very good hands with Richard, his family owns the restaurant. Yes, they are demons, "Anomovic Demons" but they are peaceful and completely integrated into human culture.
Richard tells Angel that Harry is an "ethnodemonologist",
and a very good one. He explains that's how they met, Harry was researching
demon clans in South America.
Angel is surprised that the study of demons is Harry's profession.
Harry wants to know if he has a problem with that. Angel tells her
he doesn't, and begins to explain what Doyle had said when he is interrupted
by Harry.
She assumes that Doyle told Angel that the first time he changed caused
her to panic, which she acknowledges is true, but she says she adjusted
to it and realized there was an interesting world to be researched
and explored there.
Angel wonders why she didn't tell that to Doyle.
Harry insists she did, she even tried to get him to go to gatherings
to meet other demons but he couldn't accept them, or himself. She
says he was always angry and became impossible to live with.
Back at Angel's apartment, he's looking through a book as he tells Doyle what he found out about Richard. Doyle is surprised to learn Richard is a demon, he wants Angel to tell him if Richard is a really ugly demon..
Angel shows Doyle an illustration in a book he's looking at, explaining the picture is of an Animovic Demon, the same species as Richard. Angel goes on to read from the book that these demons were nomadic, and at one time in their history did have violent tendencies.
He is interrupted by Doyle who's convinced that Richard's "Mr. Nice Guy" routine is an act. He thinks the guy has cast some sort of spell on Harry.
Angel continues reading from the book, explaining these demons gave up the violence around the turn of the century, along with the language and other orthodox teachings of their kind. He tells Doyle that they now own restaurants "with expensive windows".
Doyle assures Angel he'll contribute to the bill for the broken window, since it was his idea for Angel to investigate Richard in the first place. He reflects on all the times Harry told him how interesting his demon self could be, he never believed her. He thought she was trying to make him feel better about himself, that she was just feeling sorry for him. Now, he realizes that she meant what she'd said and he tells Angel that Harry didn't leave because he was half demon, she left because of the way he was behaving and that had nothing to do with his demon side.
Doyle signs the divorce papers.
In the A.I. office, Doyle hands the divorce papers to Harry, who thanks him. Richard also offers his thanks.
Harry asks if there's a copier around so she can make a copy of the papers.
Doyle directs her to Angel's office and tells her Cordy will assist her with it.
Harry heads for the office.
Richard tells Doyle he's glad they have the opportunity to talk alone.
In the back office, Harry tells Cordelia that Richard wanted some time alone with Doyle, he wants to invite him to his bachelor party.
Cordelia is puzzled why Harry's fiancé would want to invite her ex, someone he doesn't even know, to his party.
Harry explains that Richard and his family wanted Doyle's blessing on the marriage. She says they're very nice, very into having positive energy flowing.
Cordelia agrees that they do sound nice.
Harry tells her Richard's mother told her she could invite her friends to a shower they are having for Harry, but since she's been spending most of her time with Mrs. Straley, she really hasn't made any. She invites Cordelia to attend the shower.
Cordy agrees.
Richard tells Doyle that his attendance at the bachelor party would mean a lot to him and to Harry.
At the Straley house, the clan is gathered around the dining room table for a family dinner. Richard is complaining about a suggestion to have Buffalo Wings at his bachelor party, he'd rather have something with a bit more class.
His father reminds him it's a bachelor party, he's supposed to enjoy bad food and cheap beer.
Mrs. Straley brings a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken to the table. She tells the others not to forget the stripper. Everyone looks at her. She assures them she knows what goes on at bachelor parties.
Richard starts to say what he doesn't want, but is interrupted by one of his brothers telling him it's a bachelor party and they're going to see to it he has a good time whether he wants to or not.
Richard is simply concerned that Doyle not get a bad impression.
One of the females asks who Doyle is and is told by another of Richard's brothers that Doyle is Harry's ex, he was invited by Richard.
Richard says Doyle is a really nice guy, he thinks the family will like him. He agrees to the stripper and asks what's next on the agenda.
His father reads from a list of activities; greet the guest of honor, drink, eat, drink some more, bring on the stripper, play some darts .... then the ritualistic eating of the ex husband's brains, and finally charades.
One of the brothers is shocked by the plan for charades! Another indicates his dislike of the idea as well. Richard thinks charades will be fun.
Everyone agrees charades it is then, since it's Richard's party.
Doyle and Angel walk into the Straley restaurant for the bachelor party. Richard is there, along with the rest of the males in his family.
Richard starts to hug Doyle in greeting. Doyle makes it clear he's not comfortable with that so Richard apologizes and settles for resting one arm around Doyle's shoulder. He introduces Doyle to the others in the restaurant.
One of the attendees notes suspiciously Doyle has brought someone.
Richard acknowledges Angel, expressing his surprise to see him there. Doyle tells Richard he invited him along, he hopes it's not a problem. Richard assures him it's fine and then tells everyone present that the party is as much for Doyle as it is for him, maybe even more so since he's the "real bachelor" present.
Richard offers Doyle a drink and they head for the bar.
Angel follows closely behind. He passes a booth where Richard's brothers are chatting in some foreign tongue. They both look at Angel grinning, he slightly nods, smiles and moves on past them.
Richard raises his glass at the bar in a toast to Harry. Doyle returns the toast. Richard wants to know what Harry was like when Doyle knew her. He wants to know all about her.
At Harry's shower, Harry is telling Cordelia that it was a nightmare then corrects herself to admit it wasn't that way at first. She rather liked the way Doyle took charge in the beginning.
Cordelia is having a tough time picturing Doyle "taking charge" of anything.
Harry tells her it was nice at first, but it wore thin. She says sometimes she felt he treated her like one of his students.
Cordelia asks what she means. Harry tells her she didn't enjoy being treated like a third grader.
Cordelia is amazed to hear that Doyle had taught school, she asks if Harry meant the "kind with children".
Harry confirms that's right, telling Cordy that Doyle got his teaching certificate before they met at the food bank.
Cordelia thinks the soup kitchen sounds more like the Doyle she knows. Harry tells her he was a volunteer there.
One of the women shouts it's time to play "pornographic pictionary".
At the party, Angel is standing off from the crowd, scanning the place. The other attendees are wondering where the stripper is, she should be there by now.
Angel's gaze settles on Richard's brothers, still seated at the booth, engaged in conversation.
Richard and Doyle are sharing a drink at the bar. Richard tells Doyle that he feels like he's been living in Doyle's shadow since finding out Harry had been married before. He says Harry will always love him [Doyle] but she needs something different in her life now and that he [Richard] can give her that. He assures Doyle he can, and will, make Harry happy and he wants Doyle to be a part of that. He says he needs to have Doyle's blessing, he can't marry Harry without it.
One of the party attendees leads Richard away telling him, "It's time!"
Richard is set in a chair in the center of the room, looking slightly embarrassed, as the stripper comes in and begins her act.
Angel joins Doyle at the bar as they both watch the stripper do her thing. Angel asks Doyle if he's all right. Doyle says he is.
Angel watches as the two Straley brothers he overheard chatting at the table earlier both leave the room. Angel follows them.
Angel walks through the kitchen and upstairs to a private area of the building. He peers into one of the rooms where he finds Richard's father holding dagger, standing over a candle burning next to a container.
He says some words in a foreign language, then slides the dagger across the palm of his hand and lets the blood drip into the container next to the candle.
A flame flares from the container as the blood drips into it. He continues reciting words in the same language as before as Angel looks on from the doorway.
At Harry's bridal shower, Cordy answers her cell phone. Angel is on the other end of the line, wanting to know where Harry is. She tells him, he asks to speak to her. Cordelia gives Harry the phone.
Angel asks Harry how her "Aratuscan" is. Harry says she's a bit rusty and reminds Angel it's a dead demonic language. Angel notes it's not quite dead and asks for a translation of the words he heard Richard's father recite during the ritual.
Harry wants to know what's up.
Angel tells her he's not sure but needs her to look into a translation of those words.
Harry figures she can use the Straley family library to do it. Angel thanks her and hangs up.
As Angel turns to leave, he's confronted by one of the Straley brothers, who wants to know what's going on. Angel tells him nothing. He becomes more confrontational, accusing Angel of disrespecting him. Angel says that's not true. He continues trying to pick a fight, accusing Angel of calling him a liar. He hits Angel a couple of times before Angel retaliates.
More Straley relatives enter the fray, resulting in a full scale melee. It's now four of them against Angel.
Angel is beaten then slammed head first into a wall. They grab him again and throw him through a ventilation grate, sending him rolling down the roof, landing hard on a metal garbage container and finally ending up on the ground, unconscious.
As the stripper departs, Richard rises from his chair and rejoins Doyle at the bar. He tells Doyle he hopes Harry doesn't find out about the stripper. Doyle assures him he won't say anything to her. Richard asks Doyle if he's thought over what they talked about.
Doyle tells him he has thought things over. He realizes that one of his greatest regrets was how things worked out between himself and Harry. He feels he has the chance to make it right now, by letting her move on with someone who can make her happy. He gives Richard his blessing.
Richard announces the "good news" to the room, that Doyle has offered his blessing to Richard's marriage to Harry. The room erupts in cheers. Richard offers a toast to Doyle.
Richard's father and the others who pounded on Angel enter the room. They tell Doyle they have something for him and shove him into a large box on wheels. They lock him into the box, leaving only his head sticking out from a hole in the top of it.
Richard tells him he truly appreciates his sacrifice. He hopes that Doyle won't think less of him for this.
Doyle is still looking for a clue as to what's going on as all the attendees morph into their demon faces. Doyle is thinking this is a bad sign.
One of the demons sticks a syringe into the side of Doyle's head. He notices his head is getting numb.
Richard, who's donning a lobster bib, tells him that's the plan, they don't want him to suffer when they cut into his head.
Doyle watches as the demons hand the carving knife to Richard.
Cordelia and Harry are going over some books at the Straley house. Harry finds something in the translation.
Cordelia asks what she's found.
Harry replies it's something about "ingesting past love".
Cordelia points out that would be Doyle.
Harry gets up and goes to talk with the Straley women. She asks them about the bachelor party. She says Richard mentioned there was some kind of tradition involving the ex-husband and she was just wondering what that was about.
One of the women laughingly tells her that it's not like they're going to eat his brains.
Harry and Cordy rush out of the house and head for the restaurant.
Angel is lying in the alley, still unconscious, while Doyle is desperate for him to show up
Richard's father draws a dotted line on Doyle's head with a magic marker. Richard tells Doyle that he heard Angel started a fight, they had to ask him to leave.
Doyle wants to know how Richard thinks Harry is going to react to this. Richard assures him that she will accept it because she accepts him and his culture, just as she accepted Doyle's.
Richard's father picks up a fork and asks one of his sons, "Nick," what it is. Nick tells dad that he said to "get a utensil." Dad Straley points out that the fork is for eating shrimp, it's not suitable for eating brains. Nick points out there wasn't a brain eating fork around. Dad Straley suggests a soup spoon.
Richard asks Doyle's forbearance, seeing as how they haven't done this ritual in centuries.
Dad Straley explains that the books say that in the case of a previous marriage, the eating of the brains of the ex insures a happy second marriage. The books say this practice allows Richard to absorb the love shared in the first marriage and will make his union with Harry whole. It's an Animovic thing, he doesn't really understand it either.
Doyle tells Richard that he likes his family and all, but he'd really rather they not eat him.
Richard explains that only he will do the eating. He wants to know if Doyle is trying to back out, now that he's given his blessing.
Doyle definitely wants to take that blessing back.
Richard isn't sure now he even wants to eat Doyle's brains, he's not very happy with Doyle's change of heart.
Dad Straley tells Richard to stop being childish and eat Doyle's brains, once a blessing is given it's a done deal. He can't take it back.
Richard tells Doyle his father is right, apologizes for being rude and says eating his brains will be an honor.
Out in the alley, Angel gets up. There's a bloody gash on his forehead that disappears as he morphs into game face.
Richard's dad hands him the knife and asks if he's ready to dig in. Everyone in the room is watching Richard and Doyle.
Angel kicks the double doors in, shattering them into splinters along with part of the door frame. He announces to the room that the party is now over.
Richard's brother expresses his offense that Doyle invited a vampire to Richard's party.
Angel takes on just about everybody in the room, throwing demons here and there. The box Doyle is in keeps getting hit and run into, sending it rolling on its wheels all over the room.
Doyle morphs into demon face, breaks the box open and throws himself into the fracas. As Angel and Doyle are battling Animovic demons, Cordy and Harry rush into the restaurant.
Harry yells at them all to knock it off. Everyone stops fighting.
Angel morphs back to his human face, while Doyle painfully pulls himself up from the seat of the booth he was sprawled in.
Richard tells Harry the party was for guys only.
Harry says she knows what he was up to.
Richard thinks she's talking about the stripper and assures her that it wasn't his idea. He tells Harry and Cordy they really shouldn't be there.
Cordelia tells Richard that they shouldn't be trying to feed on Doyle's brains. She thinks they're awful for contemplating such a thing.
Doyle sits up in the booth next to Cordelia, still in demon face. Cordy sees him, picks up a silver serving platter and smashes him over the head with it, several times. Angel rushes up to her and stops her, telling her things are okay.
As Cordy is distracted by Angel, Doyle slowly gets back up, his face now human again but bruised from the bashing Cordy gave him. Cordelia tells Angel it's not okay, then sees the bruises and asks Doyle what they've done to him.
Harry asks Richard if he was actually going to eat Doyle's brains.
Richard admits he was sort of planning to.
Harry wants to know if he was planning on telling her. Richard didn't think he'd have to. Harry is appalled that he intended to begin their marriage with a lie.
Doyle is a bit disconcerted that Harry seems more upset by the fact Richard didn't discuss it with her than the fact he was actually going to chow down on her ex's brain matter.
Richard tells Harry he just wanted their marriage to be blessed, as it instructs in the old ways.
Harry wonders just when they started adhering strictly to the ancient ways.
Richard's uncle says they always have, they just don't talk about it.
Harry asks when was the last time he tore himself away from the sports channel long enough to actually do any of these rituals.
Harry tells Richard that he knows she doesn't approve of the old ways. One of the attendees accuses her of being "racist."
Richard apologizes for not telling her about it but says that if they don't finish the ritual, he cannot marry her. The family would never give its consent.
After a moment, Harry takes Richard's hand in hers briefly. She releases his hands and walks away. Richard looks down at his open hand to see that Harry has returned his engagement ring.
Harry walks out. Cordy, Angel and Doyle follow.
At the office of Angel Investigations, Doyle gets up from the computer and goes to lay down on the couch. Angel and Cordelia watch him through the windows from Angel's office.
Cordelia confirms with Angel that Doyle spoke to Harry, she assumes it didn't go well judging by Doyle's mood.
Angel tells her Doyle just needs some time to deal with things.
Cordelia observes that Doyle cared a lot about Harry.
Angel agrees, and adds that Doyle probably didn't even know himself just how much he cared until he saw her again.
Cordelia determines that somebody needs to cheer Doyle up.
Angel starts to go into the office but is stopped by Cordy who thinks someone who's actually living might be a better choice. She goes into the office, Angel following, and approaches Doyle. She greets him and asks if he's going to be broody, miserably guy full time now because they don't really need another one of those in the office.
Angel and Doyle both protest that observation. Cordelia tells Doyle that Angel can get away with it, he has the look to pull it off but before she can finish her thought Angel tells her she's cheered everyone up enough now.
Not easily deterred, Cordelia tells Doyle to let go of the past, look forward to tomorrow. She sits next to him on the couch and assures him this will pass, he'll be okay because "nice guys don't always finish last."
This perks Doyle up a bit who wants to know if Cordy really thinks of him as a "nice guy."
Cordelia replies if she said it, she thinks it. She's direct that way.
Doyle suddenly doubles over in pain, sending Cordy jumping from the couch denying she was responsible for what was happening.
Angel notes that Doyle is having a vision.
Cordelia thinks it's kind of late for that sort of thing.
Doyle's vision shows him a young blonde woman fighting off attackers. It's Buffy.
Angel asks him what he saw in his vision.
Doyle just looks at Angel in response.
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