''When faced with unbeatable odds, a man's got to do what a man's got to do - turn to a woman for help.''

That Old Gang Of Mine - 3ADH03

Written by Tim Minear - Directed by Fred Keller - First Aired on October 8th, 2001
Synopsis - Creature Feature - Cool Quotes - References - Continuity - Goofs - Trivia - The Morgue - Cast - Famous Faces - Points Of View

Synopsis

The Short: Someone is killing demons seemingly randomly, even harmless ones. Gunn must choose sides when he learns his old gang is killing all non-humans they can find, good and evil. During a standoff at Caritas, Gunn chooses the side of Angel Investigations and helps save the host and Angel.

The Long: After a ''Previously on Angel'' segment (see Continuity #1) we open on Angel giving an apology to Merl at Caritas, but Merl finds it insincere. When Merl takes a punch at Angel, Merl is unable to hurt Angel at Caritas because it is a sanctuary against demon violence. Merl storms out, and then gets Gunn to give him a ride home. Once Gunn drops Merl off a lone Merl gets jumped by assailants in his home. (Listen to the teaser here.)

Gunn wakes from a nightmare about his sister Alonna becoming a vampire and having to slay her (see Continuity #2). He is paged and responds to find Angel and Wesley looking around Merl's place, with demon blood and guts covering the walls. Gunn wonders why they are investigating, Merl being a demon. Wesley argues Merl was harmless. Angel and Gunn exchange unpleasantries, and Wesley sends Gunn home if he can't get behind their investigation. Gunn drives off to visit his old gang, but ends up getting jumped by the guard, who doesn't recognize him. Gunn meets a new gang member named Gio, who rides Gunn about working for a vampire. At Angel Investigations Cordelia and Angel talk about how Fred never goes out into the world (see Continuity #3). Angel wants Cordelia to talk to Fred, but she is reluctant. Cordelia gives in, and passes him a list of enemies of Merl list, which Angel is surprised to find himself on the list. On the street Gunn and Rondell talk about how they haven't seen Gunn since George died, and how Gunn changed since Alonna died. Angel and Wesley break into an apartment of an enemy of Merl, only to discover another dead demon. In the sewers a gurgling monster drinking a pop gets jumped by a gang, and we see Gio among them.

Unfinished.

Creature Feature

A Yarbnie is a balancing entity. They tend to nest in urban areas under roadways and are utterly non-violent.

The second demon was an insect like creature with two forms. One was frail, while the other was a powerful beast that could swallow a human head. The script referred to it as a Nurbtach demon and it said that lead makes it stronger, but that was cut from the final release.

The third demon we see is a tough one that eats babies. Before it died it said: ''I'll taste your children... Listen to them scream. Tear off a piece. Have me a meal... I live in the playgrounds... Tear up their tiny, tiny bodies. Leave them for husks...''

This episodes introduces three women called the Transuding Furies. They can float, cast protective spells, and seem to be linked mentally. They demand payment from their male clients and seem to know Angel very well. Angel explains that the host hires them monthly to cast a Sanctorium spell on Caritas, preventing any demon violence inside it.

Cool Quotes

Fred: ''I'm sorry. I just can't die in here.''
Angel: ''It's okay. I understand.''
Gio: ''All right, now you wanna get it in the heart or it's no good.''
Fred: ''Although I thought I might just shoot you in the throat instead. Now, if I pierce one of your carotid arteries, considering the temperature in here, 'cause I think somebody shot the thermostat, the blood loss is gonna be heavy, and there's a chance I'll puncture a vocal cord and you won't even be able to scream, but you'll want to when the blood loss to your brain results in a cerebral vascular event. That's a stroke. I wasn't trying to sound snooty.''
Fred has brains and style. Listen to the quote here.

References

Rondell: ''Gio's from Miami.''
Miami, Florida is the Capitol of the Caribbean, especially its financial capital. It is well populated by people from countries all around the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. Miami's first language is Spanish; its second language is English. Miami suffers from racial tension, multicultural misunderstanding, and hurricanes. It is blessed with a great climate, near-tropical wildlife, and beautiful art & architecture. Also mentioned in I've Got You Under My Skin by Cordelia. (Thanks to Melissa Evans for this information and to Poppedijn for the picture of Miami.)

Continuity

Gunn: ''Previously on Angel.''
Blood Money - Lilah talks to Merl about him working for Angel.
Redefinition - Angel hangs Merl upside down in water to get information from him.
Judgement - The host of Caritas sings with Liz.
Guise Will Be Guise - Wesley and Cordelia explain how the host reads people.
War Zone - Charles and his gang jump some vampires. Angel says he's going to find them.
Belonging - George is killed and Gunn confronts Rondell.
Reprise - Angel and Darla get fleshy with one another.
Epiphany - Angel kicks Darla out.
Alonna: ''Hey big brother...''
War Zone - Gunn's little sister Alonna got vamped, and he had to slay her.
Angel: ''She's had time alone. Five years. I think that's the problem. She's been back in this world for three months and she still hasn't gone out into it.''
Cordelia: ''Right, and it's not like the last time she went out into it she got sucked into an interdimensional portal and ended up living like a hunted animal in a hostile demon alterna-world or anything. Oh, wait. Kinda is, isn't it?''
Belonging and Over The Rainbow - We learned Fred had been sucked into the hell dimension of Pylea, where she was enslaved.

Goofs

Unfinished.

Trivia

The official WB photo gallery for this episode is at http://www.thewb.com/Popups/PhotoGallery/0,8200,21910,00.html.

You can download the official trailer for this episode at http://www.thewb.com/Popups/Trailers/0,8204,20310,00.html.

Fred sings Patsy Cline's hit Crazy. You can listen to her sing it here. You can download a clip of the real song here.

Gio sings the song Wind Beneath My Wings. This is the song Buffy wanted as her first dance after she married Spike in Something Blue. You can listen to him sing it here. You can download a clip of the real song here.

There is a problem with the closed captioning when the final fight breaks out in Caritas. During the fight Gio yells ''Come on guys! Fight back! It's ten against three! This is pathetic! Hey, I'm done with you people. I don't even know why I came out to this coast! L.A. sucks. I'm going back to Florida.''. The closed captioning merely says ''Hey, I'm done with you people. Every stinking monster left in this place dies tonight. I'm going back to Florida.''.

The shooting script for this episode called for a bigger fight with the Nurbtach demon at the end, with Angel, Rondell, Gunn and Wesley having to team up to kill it.

The shooting script also called for the host to have the following line, talking to Angel, after the fight in Caritas:
Host demon: ''You know, I'm always so damned clever when it comes to reading what's going on with other creatures... but when it comes to me... nothin'. Zip. Zilch. Bupkis. Just a blind spot.''

New name of Charles Gunn: Chuck (by Gio).

New name for the host: Green Boy (by Gio).

The Morgue

Merl: In his home, beaten by Gio and the gang.
Yarbnie demon: In the sewers, beaten and shot with arrows by Gio, Rondell and the gang.
Anonymous vampire: In Caritas, shot in the heart with an arrow by a gang member.
Tough demon guy: In Caritas, shot by Gunn.
Gio: In Caritas, head bitten off by the cowering demon.
Anonymous Nurbtach demon: In Caritas, shot by Rondell.

Note: A demon named Samuel Larch and 6 other demons were killed by Gio and the gang off camera or before the episode started.

Cast

Starring:

David Boreanaz as Angel

Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia Chase

Alexis Denisof as Wesley Wyndham-Pryce

J. August Richards as Charles Gunn

Amy Acker as Winifred "Fred" Burkle

Guest Starring:

Andy Hallett as the Host Demon (Krevlornswath of the Deathwok Clan)

Jarrod Crawford as Rondell

Khalil Kain as Gio

Co-Starring:

Matthew James as Merl the Parasite Demon

Gaincarla Carimona as Gang Kid

Steve Niel as Huge and Horrible (Yarbnie Demon)

Josh Kayhe as Cowering Demon (Nurbtach Demon)

Sam Ayers as the Tough Demon Guy

Heidi Marnhout as Fury #1

An Le as Fury #2

Madison Gray as Fury #3

Michele Kelly as Alonna (Uncredited, seen in flashback to Warzone.)

Stephanie Romanov as Lilah Morgan (Uncredited, seen in flashback to Blood Money.)

Candice Cook as the Dead Masked Demon (Uncredited)

Famous Faces

Sam Ayers, who played the tough demon guy, played a minon of Glorificus in season 5 of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. He has his own web site at http://samayers.com/.

Candice Cook, who played the dead masked demon, played a vampire in Disharmony.

Points Of View

Mathew:

I liked seeing Fred sing. Gunn was a little too indecisive for me. I know people are upset to see Merl die, but remember when we first saw him in Judgement he did try to get Jo and her baby killed, and he was the one who arranged for Angel to kill Camal.

Page by Webmaster Mathew - January, 2003

Special thanks to The Complete Buffy Episode Guide for inspiration and technical help, as well as Buffy episode links and all the readers of the Watcher's Diary for their feedback in making this page what it is.