Simon Templeman

Simon Templeman, who played Matthias Pavayne in Hellbound, has also appeared in Charmed, Just Shoot Me!, Zoe, Duncan, Jack & Jane, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Northern Exposure, Mad About You, Melrose Place, Father Dowling Mysteries and Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Matthias Pavayne

Matthias Pavayne, also known as ‘The Dark Soul’ and ‘The Reaper’, was an English aristocrat doctor from the 18th century. With a vast knowledge of the dark arts, Pavayne liked to perform unnecessary procedures on his patients. The Los Angeles offices of Wolfram & Hart were built on the site of a Spanish mission and Pavayne’s blood was used to deconsecrate the land.
His knowledge of the dark arts allowed Pavayne to remain within this world by feeding the lost souls within the W&H offices to Hell and keeping him out of it’s reach. Pavayne saw Spike as perfect offering and attempted to get Spike to go into the black void of Hell. However Spike, with the help of Fred, was able to make Pavayne corporeal, and placed him in a storage unit within W&H unable to move, to touch, or to feel, or to affect anything in the world.

Effulgent

In the Angel finale ‘Not Fade Away‘, Spike finally has a chance to read his poetry to an appreciative audience. Here is the full poem that he was writing in a flashback in Fool For Love:

Spike recites the poem in a biker bar and the crowd love it. Whilst they are applauding, Spike shouts, “That was for Cecily! All right. This next one’s called The Wanton Folly of Me Mum“. This is a reference to Lies My Parents Told Me, when we saw Spike’s mother make a pass at him.
In Hellbound, Angel finally tells Spike that: “Yeah, I never told anybody about this, but I—I liked your poems.”

Never take me to hell

When the lights suddenly go out in Lineage, Spike shouts, “You’ll never take me to Hell, Pavayne!” This is a reference to the episode Hell Bound, in which the ghost of Pavayne was trying to send Spike into Hell. Spike is clearly still frightened by the experience.

Shanshu Prophecy

For reasons unknown, even to himself, Angel stole the Scrolls of Aberjian whilst in Wolfram & Hart and gave it to Wesley to translate. Wesley discovered in To Shanshu in L.A that the scrolls contained a prophecy about a vampire with a soul who would be restored to a human, after fulfilling his destiny.

The Shanshu prophecy tells that the vampires will play a major role in the Apocalypse. Wesley realises that “Shanshu” means both to live and to die - so the vampire will become human and, as all mortals, eventually die. The trials the vampire would have to endure are unclear, but they would clearly be hard and numerous. No indication of time was given to the prophecy, but it filled Angel with a new hope that he would be redeemed.

Wesley: “Ah, the vampire with a soul, once he fulfills his destiny, will Shanshu. Become human. - It’s his reward.”
Cordy: “Wow. Angel a human.”
Angel: “That’ll be nice.”

This hope remained with Angel until the fifith season, when he began to doubt himself. Having taken over the L.A. branch of Wolfram & Hart, another vampire with a soul suddenly comes on the scene - his old nemesis, Spike. Spike had fought to regain his soul and had died saving the world, making Angel jealous on a basic level, and deeper, feeling the prophecy may in fact regard Spike. Spike was first told about the prophecy in Hellbound. Angel acted disinterested in the prophecy, but it was revealed that it would be the vampire who drinks from the Cup of Perpetual Torment that will become human. After a race to the cup, and a huge fight, Angel was defeated by Spike, who drank from the cup, only to discover that the story was a hoax.

Angel began to lose his way, but was finally put back on track by Cordelia, seemingly ressurected, who gave him a final vision, showing him the Circle of the Black Thorn, agents of the Senior Partners. Deciding to perform what would most likely be a suicide mission, Angel and his team assassinated each member of the Circle, thereby delaying the Apocalypse for an untold amount of time. In order to learn of the identities of the Circle members however, Angel had to infiltrate the group. To prove his loyalty, Angel was forced to sign his name, with his own blood, on the Shanshu Prophecy, thereby revoking his part in it.

Spike: “What do you think all this means for that Shanshu boogaboo? If we make it through this, does one of us get to be a real boy?”
Angel “Who are you kiddin’. We’re not gonna make it through.”

Pinocchio

In Once More, With Feeling, Spike says, “Strong. Someday, he’ll be a real boy”, when he notices the strength of one of Sweet’s henchmen. This is a reference to Italian author Carlo Collodi’s children’s novel The Adventures of Pinocchio which features an animated marionette whose dream is to become human. The story was made famous by Walt Disney’s film Pinocchio.

In To Shanshu in L.A, Wesley realises that the Shanshu prophecy means that Angel will become human after fulfilling his destiny. The gang have the following conversation:

Wesley: “Well, it’s saying that it won’t happen tomorrow or the next day. He has to survive the coming darkness, the apocalyptic battles, a few plagues, and some - uh, several, - not that many - fiends that will be unleashed.”
Angel: “So don’t break out the champagne just yet.”
Cordy: “Yeah, break out the champagne, Pinocchio. This is a big deal!”

In Hellbound, Spike says,”To making me a real boy again?” - an echo of the comment he made in the Buffy musical. It’s also a Pinoccio reference. In Soul Purpose, Freds says that Spike, “Deserves to become a real boy.”
In Smile Time, Lorne says of the injured puppet-Angel, “Medic! Doctor! Is there a Gepetto in the house?” Gepetto was Pinocchio’s wood-carver father.