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Picking up roughly where we left off. An hour has passed since Holtz and Connor jumped into the portal, if that. Angel is staring blankly into Connor's empty crib. Fred and Gunn are searching Wesley's apartment for any sign of where he might be. Wesley is still unconscious in the park, but at least the bleeding has stopped. Justine returns to the HoltzCave and tells the posse it's time to saddle up and kill us an Angel. Four separate quiet moments, all morphing together into something much more intense.
Fred and Gunn go back to the hotel and hear the whole story from The Host's mouth. He explains his reading of Wesley and everything that went down with Angel, Holtz, Sahjhan, and the Commandos. And just watching Amy Acker break down when she heard it involved a portal was great. She perfectly showed how vulnerable Fred, and everyone else, is now. Meanwhile, Angel has slipped down the stairs and is in full on dark Angel mode. People will pay, starting with Sahjhan, who we now learn sent Connor to the Quortoth dimension, and ending with Wesley.
After a brief moment where Lilah explains to her boss why she couldn't procure Connor we're back at the hotel and the Avengers are in research mode. Things are not going smoothly though as Wesley knew all the demon languages and Cordelia did the filing. Fred suggests they call her, but Angel clumsily nixes the idea. I understand what they were trying to do with Angel's pleas not to call Cordelia. They wanted to show that Angel thought this would just be another trip into a portal and Connor would be in his bed by nine. But it didn't come off that way. It came off more like the last remnants of Angel's crush on Cordelia.
Wesley is now semi-conscious in the park, awake just long enough to see a homeless guy steal his wallet and drag him behind a bush. Man, he is not having a good night. Angel is staring again, this time at the weapons cabinet. He plays with staplers and pins as The Host explains what his sources told him about Quortoth. Apparently the seventh level of Hell is a beach resort compared to this place. Angel stays silent as he walks up to his room. The Host says to get to Quortoth requires dark magic they don't have access to. Angel opens the door to show us Linwood, one of the Wolfram & Hart higher-ups, tied to a chair. I was just thinking this season hadn't met its quota of torture scenes yet.
I gotta say, Angel kidnapping Linwood was great. You could tell he wasn't having fun torturing this guy, but rather playing mind games with him. Linwood says W&H won't like that Angel has kidnapped one of their own. Angel counters with the fact that W&H would kill Linwood before they'd kill him. Linwood acts all unafraid and defiant, until Angel brings over his table o' torture instruments.
Fred and Gunn go looking for Wesley again, this time checking out the HoltzCave. After a little banter with Justine that confirms Holtz wanted a friend with benefits the posse comes back looking for a fight. Justine decks Fred and one of the posse members holds a knife to Gunn's throat. Justine has a quick flashback to Wesley and feels enough remorse to let them leave. Angel meanwhile has been given the run of W&H. Lilah is his tour guide as she takes him to The White Room. The White Room holds a source of pure evil which is, of course, personified by a creepy little girl. A little kid as pure evil has been done many, many times, but somehow it still works. It could have something to do with the creepy girl requesting Angel kill Lilah for her help. Without hesitation Angel moved for her throat, but the creepy girl called him off. You just have to love that.
Fred and Gunn go back to Wesley's place and find his diaries dumped in the, well, dump. They find the prophecy, The Father Will Kill The Son. Angel has decided to follow the creepy girl's instructions to bring Sahjhan to them. The spell requires human blood and the look Lilah gives to Linwood before donating the pint herself is priceless. Lilah's so great, she must never change, I decree it. The spell technically works, Sahjhan is brought into the world and can be killed, except nowhere near the hotel. Let the carnage begin.
Fred and Gunn tell Angel the prophecy, but he doesn't want to believe it. He's going after Sahjhan and threatens Fred before leaving. Which means Gunn gets to say: "If he hurt you, I'd kill him myself." So Angel leaves to track Sahjhan, and Fred and Gunn follow Justine, who's half-assed ambush of Angel was over almost as quick as Spike vs. Doc in "The Gift." They all converge on Sahjhan's cave. Four separate quiet moments, all morphing together into something much more intense.
Angel and Sahjhan stare down. Like any good villain he pours out his entire diabolical plan. Connor was one day prophesized to kill him. So he changed a few things. Made the prophecy read The Father Will Kill The Son. He explains about the Quortoth, how it can never be opened again without destroying the world. "Bad for me. Bad for America." And generally just acting like a true mortal enemy should. It's too bad The Mayor is dead. He and Sahjhan would have gotten along great.
Then the fighting, oh the fighting. A beautiful four-way battle between Angel, Gunn, Fred, and Sahjhan. The fight was fast-paced, wild, and truly spectacular. Punches were flying, fire was burning, things were breaking. And just when it looked darkest, as Angel was about to be staked, Justine comes in and captures Sahjhan's essence in that jar Holtz waved at him many weeks ago. The day had been won, Sahjhan was defeated. Connor was gone, but Sahjhan was defeated. It's a shame we might never see him again.
The team gathers together. They found Wesley early the next morning. He was rushed to the hospital. He's still alive. Don't ask me how, but he is. Angel understands what Wesley did. He's ready to forgive.
It was in the back of my mind during Angel's visit with Wesley. Back there, nagging at me. They couldn't. They wouldn't. "You need to know this isn't Angelus talking. It's me... Angel. You know that right? Good..." Then it happened. Angel smothering Wesley with a pillow. Spewing death threats and running on pure rage. It was brutal. It was the perfect end.
Gunn and about five other guys pull Angel away. Wesley's still alive, barely. Fade to black.