Episode Guide
Summary:
Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt’s Angel spent its first year establishing a workable premise, ensemble, and, most importantly, tone. Newly spun off from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the WB network’s zeitgeist-capturing (or, in Buffy-speak, “zeitgeisty”) teen horror-comedy drama, Angel began its run as a tongue-in-cheek adventure series. In the pilot, “City of Angels,” a chance meeting between depressed vampire-with-a-soul Angel (David Boreanaz) and fellow Sunnydale transplant Cordelia Chase (Charisma Carpenter) leads to the formation of Angel Investigations, a Los Angeles-based supernatural detective agency dedicated to “helping the helpless” — for a nominal fee whenever possible. With his brooding good looks and his quest for redemption from evil, Angel provides the heroism and the hunkiness; money-grubbing would-be actress Cordelia, meanwhile, provides the laughs and more eye candy. Romantic angst and plot points come in the form of Doyle (Glenn Quinn), their half-demon ally. His direct line to the mysterious Powers That Be provides the firm with a steady stream of cases, while his attraction to the unattainable Cordelia makes up for the title character’s limited romantic horizons. As the first season reached midpoint, however, the producers wrote Doyle out of the show and awarded his mysterious visions to Cordelia. At the same time, a new ally arrived in the form of ex-watcher Wesley Wyndham-Price (Alexis Denisof), another Buffy transplant. (This core trio would remain in place for the next three and a half years.) Despite the cast changes, Angel retained its creature-of-the-week format for most of the season. Continuity came in the form of occasional flashbacks to Angel’s demonic past; several Buffy crossovers, including a two-part story line involving Angel’s friendship with rogue slayer Faith (Eliza Dushku); and the emergence of police detective Kate Lockley (Elisabeth Rohm) as the hero’s reluctant ally and occasional nemesis. Future cast regular J. August Richards, as street-smart vamp-fighter Charles Gunn, arrived just as the season was wrapping up. More importantly, however, the writers began to realize the long-term plot possibilities of Wolfram & Hart, the demonic law firm introduced in the very first episode. The idea that the lawyers who run Los Angeles are not only literally evil, but also part of an interdimensional demonic conspiracy, helped shift the show’s tone from light comedy and derring-do to heightened emotion and sustained suspense. A pair of warring Wolfram & Hart associates, conflicted Lindsay MacDonald (Christian Kane) and vampish Lilah Morgan (Stephanie Romanov), rescued the show’s rogues’ gallery from a procession of rubber masks. Meanwhile, the season finale saw the return of Darla (Julie Benz), Angel’s vampiric consort, whose resurrection would drive the extended story lines of the next three seasons. All Movie Guide
Angel Season 1 Episode Guide:
Season 1, Episode 22 – Aired: 5/23/2000
Wolfram & Hart summon a demon and charge him with the task of separating Angel from the Powers That Be. While Angel is busy dealing with this threat, Lindsey and his coworkers are working on summoning something else which will make Angel’s unlife a lot more interesting.
——————————————————————————————————
Season 1, Episode 21 – Aired: 5/16/2000
Lindsey McDonald, Wolfram & Hart’s wunderkind, finally has a crisis of conscience when a vicious, blind assassin is sent after a group of young kids. Now he must convince Angel that, despite his past actions, his motives this time are honorable.
——————————————————————————————————
Season 1, Episode 20 – Aired: 5/9/2000
Angel tracks down a nerdy millionaire’s blackmailer, but gets caught in the middle of a gang war between street kids and vampires and meets the leader of the vampire hunters, Charles Gunn. Although Gunn is suspicious of Angel, he soon realizes Angel may be a valuable ally in the cleaning up of the City of Angels.
——————————————————————————————————
Season 1, Episode 19 – Aired: 5/2/2000
Buffy comes to Los Angeles seeking vengeance under the guise of protecting Angel from Faith’s violent nature, but Buffy is shocked and hurt to discover her former love siding with her nemesis as he attempts to shelter her. Meanwhile, Wesley is faced with a crisis of loyalties when the Watcher’s Council offers a chance at reinstatement if he gives up Faith.
——————————————————————————————————
Season 1, Episode 18 – Aired: 4/25/2000
Faith, the rogue Slayer, arrives in L.A., and Wolfram and Hart make plans to use her in their fight against Angel.
——————————————————————————————————
Season 1, Episode 17 – Aired: 4/4/2000
Angel takes a job protecting a well-known actress from a crazed stalker. When a mirror happens to be in just the wrong place, however, she begins to suspect what he really is.
——————————————————————————————————
Season 1, Episode 16 – Aired: 2/29/2000
A routine missing person investigation leads Angel to an underground arena which uses captive demons for sport. When Angel is captured and forced to fight in the arena can he survive long enough to find a way to free himself and the other captives?
——————————————————————————————————
Season 1, Episode 15 – Aired: 2/22/2000
Usually docile demons are flying into violent rages, and innocent humans are paying the price. The realization that Kate’s father is somehow involved brings up a lot of painful memories about Angel’s own father.
——————————————————————————————————
Season 1, Episode 14 – Aired: 2/15/2000
When one of Cordelia’s visions shows a young family in trouble, Angel goes to investigate. Before long, he suspects that one of the family is suffering from demonic possession, but he must determine who is possessed and how to remove the creature without harming the host.
——————————————————————————————————
Season 1, Episode 13 – Aired: 2/8/2000
Wesley becomes an official part of Angel Investigations just in time to take part in their latest case. A series of horribly burned corpses lead to a race of creatures from another dimension whose gender warfare is spilling over into the streets of L.A.
——————————————————————————————————
Season 1, Episode 12 – Aired: 1/25/2000
After a wild night on the town, Cordelia wakes up to find that she is at least six months pregnant. When it is found out that it is a demon that Cordelia is carrying can Angel and Wesley find a way to prevent the imminent birth from killing her?
——————————————————————————————————
Season 1, Episode 11 – Aired: 1/18/2000
Angel’s past deeds come back to haunt him as he dreams about killing again but when the dreams become identical to a number of murders in the area Angel fears that he is killing in his sleep.
——————————————————————————————————
Season 1, Episode 10 – Aired: 12/14/1999
Cordelia discovers that she has inherited Doyle’s visions, and it plays havoc with her career. Meanwhile, Angel must save a new client from the creature that is hunting him, and a Rogue Demon Hunter comes to town.
——————————————————————————————————
Season 1, Episode 9 – Aired: 11/30/1999
Doyle must overcome his fears when the gang tries to protect a group of half-human demons from a vicious group of racist demons. The Scourge are a Nazi-esque organization of “pure-blood” demons who are bent on destroying all half-bloods. Including Doyle and Angel.
——————————————————————————————————
Season 1, Episode 8 – Aired: 11/23/1999
Buffy arrives in L.A., furious that Angel did not tell her that he was in Sunnydale. While they are talking, they are attacked by a Mohra demon, and some of its blood gets onto Angel. After a brief hunt, they kill the demon, but its blood is having a strange effect on Angel. He feels short of breath, dizzy, and disoriented, and then suddenly his heart begins to beat. Now fully human, Angel must decide how this will affect his relationship with Buffy and whether or not he can still be a Champion.
——————————————————————————————————
Season 1, Episode 7 – Aired: 11/16/1999
Just as Doyle is inches away from finally making a connection with Cordy, his estranged wife shows up at Angel Investigations begging for a divorce so that she can marry the new love of her life. After the initial shock, he consents to the divorce. Doyle agrees to attend the new groom’s bachelor party, but soon finds out that the groom’s family have some very unusual customs where ex-husbands are concerned.
——————————————————————————————————
Season 1, Episode 6 – Aired: 11/9/1999
Kate is forced to enroll in sensitivity awareness training with her fellow police officers. When she uncharacteristically breaks down and makes a scene at her father’s retirement party, Angel begins to suspect that something unusual is happening. Kate and the rest of the force seem to be completely unable to control their emotions and focus on their jobs, and this distraction may turn deadly.
——————————————————————————————————
Season 1, Episode 5 – Aired: 11/2/1999
When Cordelia decides that she cannot stand her roach-infested apartment for one more day, Doyle offers to help her find a new place. He makes good on his offer and finds her a beautiful apartment that is well within her budget. But when she starts hearing strange voices, seeing things fly across the room, and waking up at night with her bed levitating off the floor, Cordy must decide how much the perfect apartment is really worth.
——————————————————————————————————
Season 1, Episode 4 – Aired: 10/26/1999
As Cordelia and Angel continue the debate over whether or not to charge their clients, Doyle receives a vision of yet another woman in distress. Angel pays a visit to her workplace and learns that the woman is being terrorized by her neurosurgeon who is somehow mysteriously able to watch her every move.
——————————————————————————————————
Season 1, Episode 3 – Aired: 10/19/1999
Oz visits L.A. with a present for Angel from Buffy. It’s the Gem of Amarra, a ring which has been a vampire myth for millennia. While wearing it, a vampire is immune to crosses, stakes, and can even walk in daylight. It isn’t long before Spike arrives in town, searching for the ring. And he has no plans of leaving until he gets it.
——————————————————————————————————
Season 1, Episode 2 – Aired: 10/12/1999
Doyle receives a new vision that sends the group to the club scene. They soon learn they are looking for a serial killer who has been seeking his prey in D’Oblique, a local singles bar. While searching the crowd, Angel meets a woman named Kate who seems to be the type that the killer has been targeting. Distracted because he is making a real, human connection with Kate, Angel does not notice another young woman being lured out of the bar. The next night Angel manages to find a clue to the killer’s location, and he races against time to prevent another innocent death. However, someone else is heading to the same place perhaps to help Angel, perhaps to stop him.
——————————————————————————————————
Season 1, Episode 1 – Aired: 10/5/1999
Having left Sunnydale and his true love behind, Angel is searching for a place to call his own and a means to redeem himself for his past sins. Doyle, a half human, half demon, is sent to him by “The Powers That Be” to help him on his path. Doyle has a vision of a young girl in trouble, prompting Angel to go on his first mission to help the helpless.
The girl’s name is Tina, and Angel learns that she is being stalked by a powerful vampire. As the investigation goes deeper, Angel learns that this creature preys on many aspiring actresses, and his latest target is an old friend from Sunnydale who has just arrived in the City of Angels.