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In The Dark - 1ADH03
The Long: We open on the streets as a girl named Rachel is running from her psycho boyfriend Lenny. He pulls a gun on her and Angel pounces on Lenny, saving Rachel. From far above Spike watches and mocks Angel's heroics (see Cool Quotes #1 and Reference #1). As spike watches Angel and Rachel walk off Spike mentions he's here for the Gem of Amarra and Angel's death. (Listen to the teaser here.)
Cordelia and Doyle write up and send off their first invoice for Angel's services (see Reference #2 and Goof #1). Oz has also made a little trip to Los Angeles, and he stops by the office. He came to town primarily for a gig, but also to give Angel something Buffy wanted him to have, the Gem of Amarra. This gem, set in a ring, renders the wearer 100% unkillable, if he's a vampire (see Reference #3). Spike dug up Sunnydale looking for it, but as Oz explains, he got a fist full of Buffy instead and left it behind (see Reference #4 and Continuity #1). Buffy wanted to be sure it was in good hands, so she sent it with Oz to give to Angel. Doyle, Cordelia and Oz head off to have a drink at the pub, but Angel stays behind, and instead of putting on the ring, he hides it, under a brick in a sewer tunnel under his apartment. The next morning Doyle is nursing a hangover (see Reference #5-#6). Angel takes a call from Rachel, and leaves
his apartment to help her, but as he heads to his car, he's greeted by a two-by-four to the head, wielded by Spike. Spike, of course, wants the ring, but Angel's not about to give it up (see Goof #2). Though Spike has the weapon, Angel wins this battle. Doyle and Cordelia show to see Spike go down for the count, but Spike won't go away easily, and Angel, concerned that Spike is out for blood, sends Doyle and Cordelia to stay at Doyle's place, just to be safe.
Doyle starts calling up everyone in his phone book, trying to track down Spike (see Reference #7-#9 and Continuity #2). Angel spends some time trying to get Rachel into a shelter (see Reference #10-#11). Doyle gets a lead and Angel goes to check it out (see Continuity #3). After roughing up several informants Angel is lead to Spike, and Angel chases him down, but Spike's got a friend along, a friend with a chain-link lasso, which is soon around Angel's neck (see Reference #12).
Spike and his vampire friend, Marcus, take Angel to an abandoned warehouse, where they hang him by his arms and prepare to torture him (see Continuity #4). Marcus, a torture expert, goes to work, driving hot pokers through Angel's body (see Reference #13-#14). Spike, meanwhile, heads to Angel's place to look for the ring, and Doyle and Cordelia find him there (see Reference #15). Spike tells them Angel's being tortured, and that as stubborn as he is, he might die before he gives up the ring. If they find the ring and give it to him, he'll let Angel go. They have until sundown to save him. Doyle and Cordelia search Angel's apartment for the ring, to no avail. Then it hits them, he's probably buried it in the sewer tunnels where he gets around during the day. Using his half-human, half-demon sixth sense, Doyle sniffs out the ring, but they don't want to just give it to Spike.
They need a plan. They tell Spike that the ring isn't on them, but they know where it is. Once they see that Angel's alive, they'll give up the ring (see Reference #16). Spike leads them to his little house of pain to show them that Angel's still alive, and demands the ring. Doyle tosses it on the floor, and demands that Angel be set free, but that was never part of Spike's plan. Fortunately for Angel, Oz is in town, he busts into the warehouse in his van, Doyle and Cordelia help Angel down, and they all drive away. Spike, frustrated, looks for the ring, but finds it gone as well. Marcus has picked it up, and he's enjoying its benefits with a walk in the sunlight.
Spike is not a happy vampire. As the van drives away, everyone is worried about Angel, except Angel. He's worried about Marcus (see Reference #17-#18). Oz turns the van around, and heads for the beach (see Goof #3). There Marcus is stalking a pack of Cub Scouts. Oz rams him with the van, but he gets up. Then Oz shoots him with a crossbow (see Goof #4). Marcus pulls out the arrow. After all, he's got the ring. Then Angel steps in. He jumps from the van into the sunlight, bursting into flame, but he tackles Marcus, and they both dive into the ocean (see Goof #5). They surface, and in the shade of a pier, a fierce battle begins. When Angel impales Marcus on a wood beam, it's Marcus who's being tortured. Angel slides the ring from his finger, and Marcus turns to dust. Placing the ring on his own finger, Angel walks out from under the pier and into the daylight, the first he's known in 200 years. Later Angel
and Doyle watch the sunset from the rooftop. Angel says he's not going to wear the ring. He knows he was brought back for a reason, to help the people who need help in the night (see Reference #19 and Continuity #5). He's enjoyed his day in the sunlight, but he has a mission. He crushes the ring, destroying the Gem of Amarra.
The main villain of this episode is Spike, a reoccurring vampire from Buffy The Vampire Slayer. He was raised in the ways of being a complete bastard by Angel himself during his bad years, and wants the Gem of Amarra.
A unique magic item in this episode is the Gem of
Amarra. It's a magic
ring that makes any vampire who wears it unkillable. Sunlight, crosses
and holy water don't burn them any more, and any wound immediately heals,
including stakes to the heart.
The Sixth Sense is a 1999
film starring Bruce
Willis as Malcolm Crowe. Plot: A boy who communicates with dead spirits
that don't know they're dead seeks the help of a disheartened child
psychologist.
(Thanks to Starshine of the Watcher's Diary for the picture.)
David Boreanaz as Angel
Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia Chase
Glenn Quinn as Allen Francis Doyle
Seth Green as Daniel ''Oz'' Osborne
James Marsters as Spike
Kevin West as Marcus
Malia Mathis as Rachel
Michael Yavneili as Lenny
Ric Sarabia as the Sunglass Vendor
Thomas Rosales Jr. as Manny the Pig
Gilbert B. Combs as the Bouncer
Buck McDancer as the Dealer
Jenni Blong as the Young Woman
Malia Mathis, who played
Rachel, is a singer with the Brian Faith Band and has her own web site at http://www.geocities.com/maliamathis/home.htm.
Gilbert B. Combs, who played the Bouncer, played the second assassin in the Kindred: The Embraced episode The Kindred 1.01.
Jenni Blong, who played
the young woman Spike was feeding on, has her own online acting resume at http://www.actorsbone.com/ActorPgs/ActressResumes/BlongJenni.htm.
