Angel Season 5 - Episode 18 - Origin (part 2 of 2)
Part 2 (of 2)
Meanwhile, back at Wolfram and Hart, Wesley is inching ever closer to the truth. With Lorne’s assistance he is going through a stack of paperwork related to Vail and they discover that the warlock was paid a fortune by the firm to orchestrate a massive spell; a reality shift of some kind is Wesley guess, on the day they were handed the reigns to Wolfram and Hart. Angel and Connor join them. Angel brings the information that Connor is to kill Sahjahn. Connor is incredulous -why does he have to do it?
Angel: because you’re special. There’s a prophecy that says you’re the only one who can kill him.
Wesley can’t believe they are even considering this. Vail can’t be trusted. But Connor is determined - his family is in danger. He’s willing to act even though this world of fighting and prophecy is completely foreign to him. He doesn’t have a choice and Angel doesn’t have time to find another solution anyway. Truth is running against him.
Just in case we’ve forgotten, Gunn is still labouring away in his holding cell, enduring the daily removal of his heart. This is a waste of a valuable resource. The senior partners want him back at work; they want their investment working for them. Hamilton arrives with the deal. He’ll get Gunn out if…
But Charles has learnt his lesson. He doesn’t make deals like that anymore; he doesn’t want to escape his punishment. He doesn’t let Hamilton complete his sentence, he just asks for his necklace back. Come on Sparky, this heart ain’t gonna cut itself out.
Angel tries to prep Connor for the big fight. Says he’ll be there to back him up:
Connor: You’re gonna hold Sahjahn down while I stab him?
Angel: Prophecy doesn’t say you can’t have a little help.
Connor: Hardly seems fair
Angel: That’s not something we worry about.
Connor: Maybe you should. I’m not a bully. If I’m gonna do this, you gotta let me do it my way. Now I just got figure out what my way is.
Angel: You have your whole life for that.
Connor: Might as well start now.
Conner is noble and righteous; he believes in fairness and next to him Angel looks positively Machiavellian. For Angel fairness doesn’t matter in the short term, you’ve got to do with what you’ve got to do to win. Fairness, personal integrity, they are only of concern for the dim, distant future. But Connor contradicts him - there is no time like the present, it’s what you do in the ‘now’ that matters. Hmmm - sound like someone else we known?
Angel’s approach to this case has lit a fire beneath Wesley. He is in archives searching through files, looking for answers. He is accompanied by his shadow. Illyria doesn’t understand his concerns with times and dates. But Wes is determined; reality has been changed and he wants to know why:
Illyria: Define change. The world is as it is.
Wesley: Not necessarily.
Illyria: You are the summation of recollection. Exchange is simply a point of experience.
Wesley We are more than just memories.
That may be so but memories are vital to existence. Without them we are shadows of ourselves. Memories and experience inform our behaviour, they initiate change, they teach, they motivate. They are a safety net in difficult times; they are cautionary in times of excess. They are invaluable. The robbery of them is inexcusable. Cordelia was right when she likened it to rape. Tara was corrected to assess it as violation. The mind, with all its thoughts and memories, is the true domain of the individual and by stealing his friends memories without their knowledge Angel robs them of themselves. As Wesley continues searching Illyria reveals that Fred’s memories were changed. He is thrown. He hadn’t thought that this involved them personally. Illyria can’t see what went before, that is all gone.
Illyria: Does this change your view of Fred? Is she still person you thought she was?
Wesley: No, none of us are.
He has found what he’s looking for, all the evidence he needs; a contract with Angel signature signed in blood.
Connor and Angel arrive at Vail’s. Connor is determined and brave and awkward and endearing as he promises to get the Sahjahn thing done to ensure the safety of his family. He goes to meet Sahjahn but Angel finds it very difficult to suppress his Fatherly urges, straightens Connor’s collar and freaks him out with too much good advice. Once Connor is in the room with Sahjahn’s urn a magical barrier is activated. Angel and Vail can see Connor but Connor can no longer see them. Vail explains:
Vale: I can’t risk Sahjahn getting loose. He has a nasty habit of trying to kill me. But don’t worry, you’re boy is very brave. I’m sure he’ll do you proud.
Connor opens the jar. Sahjahn emerges. They chat. Connor reveals they are supposed to fight and the demon realises who this boy is. Sahjahn inquires as to Quor-Toth but Connor has no idea what the demon is talking about. Sahjahn attacks, he’s beginning to think that these prophecies are over rated, that he went to an awful lot of trouble for nothing. Free will, that’s the ticket. Angel wants to get in there and go to Connor’s rescued but the magic barrier prevents his entry.
Vale: sorry, not your fight
Angel is frustrated he wants to get in, help his son. Vail produces his magic box, reminds Angel where he stands.
Vail: Relax. Your son has to grow up sooner or later. Sit back and watch his future unfold. There’s no need to bring back the past if we don’t have to.
It’s not going well; Conner is a complete amateur in this reality. He has no idea how to fight. Sahjahn and has him on the ropes. Angel is getting desperate he turns to Vail to demand entry but something is not right - Vail is in some sort of suspended animation and the box is no longer on the palm of his hand. Wesley and Illyria have arrived, Illyria has done her trick with time, Wesley now has the box and wants the truth. He feels betrayed, that they had been sold out. Angel doesn’t want the box to break. He wants to protect his son from the truth, from all those horrible, disappointing memories. He wants the box kept in one piece.
Wesley: You changed the world.
Angel: He’s my son Wesley. Connor’s my son.
Wesley: Did you trade her? Did you trade Fred for your son?
So, Wesley has jumped to a pretty wild conclusion, that their memories were traded, that Fred was sacrificed for Angel junior. He wants to know if the box can change it back, make it how it was, how it should be. Angel says it won’t bring Fred back but he’s lost Wesley’s trust. Wes throws the cube to the ground shattering the fragile container and releases a glittering explosion that sends everyone reeling backwards. Memories come rushing back, memories that affect them all - the whole sordid history of Connor from Darla’s mysterious pregnancy through to his sacrifice by Angel in order to give him this new life…
Conner is prostrated against the table, Sahjahn throttling him. Suddenly, Connor’s hand shoots out and he throws his assailant away, twists turns and strikes are menacing pose, axe in hand. He makes short work of Sahjahn now, a few punches and he’s set for a simple beheading. Prophecy validated. But only because the memories were restored; without the memories he was useless in the fight, he would have been killed. With the memories he’s skilled, he’s a survivor. It’s ironic, if Sahjahn and had never interfered then Connor would never have gone to Quor-toth and been forced to hone those fighting skills, he wouldn’t be the warrior he is today but rather, would have been a two year old baby living with his not-so-normal daddy and would have been no imminent threat to the demon. Or was it all meant to happen this way? The shadow of pre-destined fate once again passes across the stage.
Wesley is a shattered man.
Illyria: You betrayed Angel. You stole his son. He tried to kill you.
Wesley: Yes.
The sins of yesterday have come back to haunt him en mass. He’s suffering, paying all over again, for the things that he has done, things that had been lived with, been dealt with, been forgiven… and learning the truth didn’t bring his beloved Fred back either. He feels guilty and shamed all over again, only the second time around he’s lost the conviction that he was right to take Connor in the first place. In the midst of it all he forgets that Angel betrayed him, he lets it slip beneath the weight of his own burdens. Illyria observes that it is confusing, two sets of memories, it’s hard to tell which is which. Wesley advises her to push the new memories, reality, aside; focus on the other ones, they were created for a purpose.
Illyria: To hide from the truth.
Wesley: To endure it.
Remember those walls that protect from the devastation of truth? How Wesley needs those walls now.
Angel’s stands in front of the windows looking out as he’s done so often this season. Connor stops in to say goodbye. He’s kept the full truth from his family. He’ll tell them that he’s…different; that it’s not a bad thing. They’ll feel better knowing that Angel is taking an interest.
Angel: We still haven’t found Vail, but we will
Connor: I’m not too worried. Nothing he can show me I haven’t already seen. Anyway…I just want to say goodbye. I gotta go back to my life now.
We see a glimpse of the world weary, jaded Connor than returned from Quor-Toth but, like Wesley, he chooses to resume the manufactured life. It’s understandable; who would choose horror and displacement and hate over safety, belonging and love. The memories haven’t destroyed Connor as Angel feared they would, they’ve made him stronger. Angel doesn’t want him to go, wants to stay with him longer. It hasn’t been nearly long enough. But Connor’s priority is his parents, this isn’t their world. He wants to protect them.
Connor: You gotta do what you can to protect your family. I learnt that from my father.
He leaves Angel with a gift; acknowledgement of their connection and assurance that he understands why Angel did what he had to do. Finally Angel was able to teach his son something valuable.
…But that’s not all there is to this story. Sure, it’s about Angel and a prophecy he can’t fulfil, it’s about Angel and his son. But look deeper and you’ll see that it’s also about Angel taking the first steps towards accepting his growing conviction that there is another prophecy that is not his to vindicate. Since Spike got the soul it’s been in the back of his mind that he was no longer the only candidate for the Shanshu. In Destiny he was practically beaten over the head with the idea that a chosen soul has got to be superior to one gained by curse and hell; Spike won the freaking cup. It might not have meant anything much in the scheme of things but it meant something to Angel. It sent him into a spiral of self-doubt and further weakened his already fragile sense of purpose and hope. What if he’s not the guy? What if there is no great and glorious prize waiting at the end of the rainbow, for him? It’s almost too unbearable to consider…and yet, Spike says he doesn’t want it, doesn’t need it and he doesn’t labour under the weight of his past. He worries about today, not tomorrow or yesterday. Even Angel recognises he’s a champion now and surely the fated champion vampire with a soul wouldn’t be, how shall we say - reward oriented, as Angel knows he has been on the *odd* occasion. And was it really so bad, watching your son fulfil a prophecy? He got to see his son succeed and he got to feel incredibly proud. Nah, it wasn’t so bad.
All season long there’s been a substitute son living in the kingdom and, not surprisingly, said substitute is hardly seen while the real thing is in the house. We see Spike only briefly as he ‘studies’ Illyria. But the short scenes serves to remind us of one thing; like Connor, Spike is amazingly strong. The pair also share similar philosophies, have both changed dramatically and become better people before they re-entered their father’s house. Connor and Spike are reflected in one another just as Sahjahn’s prophecy reflects the Shanshu. Don’t be mistaken, this is not about making a definitive judgement call on which of the vampires might get ‘Shanshued’ one day. It is about showing us what is going on in Angel’s head, what he is thinking. He gets told throughout the episode:
‘It’s not you’re fight.’
‘Don’t worry, you’re boy is very brave, he’ll do you proud’
‘Sit back and watch his future unfold’
And it doesn’t matter that these things are said about Connor - he hears the words and takes them on board in regard to that particular thing that’s been on his mind. Then, at the end of the episode he’s standing in front of the windows in his office, his thinking place, his epiphany position. And right about now he’s starting to come to the conclusion that he’s not the prophecy boy, probably never was. Then, just before he leaves Connor tells him the thing he’s grateful to have learnt from his father - you gotta do what you can to protect your family. Angel finds himself at a critical point. He’s pretty much suspecting that the Senior Partners have the wrong guy, they don’t seem to realise Spike’s full potential, yet…but its only a matter of time. And Spike’s here, a loosely affiliated member of the team, dangerous place to be for a vampire with a soul. So now the clocks ticking, you gotta do what you can to protect your family. . .
Meanwhile, back at Wolfram and Hart, Wesley is inching ever closer to the truth. With Lorne’s assistance he is going through a stack of paperwork related to Vail and they discover that the warlock was paid a fortune by the firm to orchestrate a massive spell; a reality shift of some kind is Wesley guess, on the day they were handed the reigns to Wolfram and Hart. Angel and Connor join them. Angel brings the information that Connor is to kill Sahjahn. Connor is incredulous -why does he have to do it?
Angel: because you’re special. There’s a prophecy that says you’re the only one who can kill him.
Wesley can’t believe they are even considering this. Vail can’t be trusted. But Connor is determined - his family is in danger. He’s willing to act even though this world of fighting and prophecy is completely foreign to him. He doesn’t have a choice and Angel doesn’t have time to find another solution anyway. Truth is running against him.
Just in case we’ve forgotten, Gunn is still labouring away in his holding cell, enduring the daily removal of his heart. This is a waste of a valuable resource. The senior partners want him back at work; they want their investment working for them. Hamilton arrives with the deal. He’ll get Gunn out if…
But Charles has learnt his lesson. He doesn’t make deals like that anymore; he doesn’t want to escape his punishment. He doesn’t let Hamilton complete his sentence, he just asks for his necklace back. Come on Sparky, this heart ain’t gonna cut itself out.
Angel tries to prep Connor for the big fight. Says he’ll be there to back him up:
Connor: You’re gonna hold Sahjahn down while I stab him?
Angel: Prophecy doesn’t say you can’t have a little help.
Connor: Hardly seems fair
Angel: That’s not something we worry about.
Connor: Maybe you should. I’m not a bully. If I’m gonna do this, you gotta let me do it my way. Now I just got figure out what my way is.
Angel: You have your whole life for that.
Connor: Might as well start now.
Conner is noble and righteous; he believes in fairness and next to him Angel looks positively Machiavellian. For Angel fairness doesn’t matter in the short term, you’ve got to do with what you’ve got to do to win. Fairness, personal integrity, they are only of concern for the dim, distant future. But Connor contradicts him - there is no time like the present, it’s what you do in the ‘now’ that matters. Hmmm - sound like someone else we known?
Angel’s approach to this case has lit a fire beneath Wesley. He is in archives searching through files, looking for answers. He is accompanied by his shadow. Illyria doesn’t understand his concerns with times and dates. But Wes is determined; reality has been changed and he wants to know why:
Illyria: Define change. The world is as it is.
Wesley: Not necessarily.
Illyria: You are the summation of recollection. Exchange is simply a point of experience.
Wesley We are more than just memories.
That may be so but memories are vital to existence. Without them we are shadows of ourselves. Memories and experience inform our behaviour, they initiate change, they teach, they motivate. They are a safety net in difficult times; they are cautionary in times of excess. They are invaluable. The robbery of them is inexcusable. Cordelia was right when she likened it to rape. Tara was corrected to assess it as violation. The mind, with all its thoughts and memories, is the true domain of the individual and by stealing his friends memories without their knowledge Angel robs them of themselves. As Wesley continues searching Illyria reveals that Fred’s memories were changed. He is thrown. He hadn’t thought that this involved them personally. Illyria can’t see what went before, that is all gone.
Illyria: Does this change your view of Fred? Is she still person you thought she was?
Wesley: No, none of us are.
He has found what he’s looking for, all the evidence he needs; a contract with Angel signature signed in blood.
Connor and Angel arrive at Vail’s. Connor is determined and brave and awkward and endearing as he promises to get the Sahjahn thing done to ensure the safety of his family. He goes to meet Sahjahn but Angel finds it very difficult to suppress his Fatherly urges, straightens Connor’s collar and freaks him out with too much good advice. Once Connor is in the room with Sahjahn’s urn a magical barrier is activated. Angel and Vail can see Connor but Connor can no longer see them. Vail explains:
Vale: I can’t risk Sahjahn getting loose. He has a nasty habit of trying to kill me. But don’t worry, you’re boy is very brave. I’m sure he’ll do you proud.
Connor opens the jar. Sahjahn emerges. They chat. Connor reveals they are supposed to fight and the demon realises who this boy is. Sahjahn inquires as to Quor-Toth but Connor has no idea what the demon is talking about. Sahjahn attacks, he’s beginning to think that these prophecies are over rated, that he went to an awful lot of trouble for nothing. Free will, that’s the ticket. Angel wants to get in there and go to Connor’s rescued but the magic barrier prevents his entry.
Vale: sorry, not your fight
Angel is frustrated he wants to get in, help his son. Vail produces his magic box, reminds Angel where he stands.
Vail: Relax. Your son has to grow up sooner or later. Sit back and watch his future unfold. There’s no need to bring back the past if we don’t have to.
It’s not going well; Conner is a complete amateur in this reality. He has no idea how to fight. Sahjahn and has him on the ropes. Angel is getting desperate he turns to Vail to demand entry but something is not right - Vail is in some sort of suspended animation and the box is no longer on the palm of his hand. Wesley and Illyria have arrived, Illyria has done her trick with time, Wesley now has the box and wants the truth. He feels betrayed, that they had been sold out. Angel doesn’t want the box to break. He wants to protect his son from the truth, from all those horrible, disappointing memories. He wants the box kept in one piece.
Wesley: You changed the world.
Angel: He’s my son Wesley. Connor’s my son.
Wesley: Did you trade her? Did you trade Fred for your son?
So, Wesley has jumped to a pretty wild conclusion, that their memories were traded, that Fred was sacrificed for Angel junior. He wants to know if the box can change it back, make it how it was, how it should be. Angel says it won’t bring Fred back but he’s lost Wesley’s trust. Wes throws the cube to the ground shattering the fragile container and releases a glittering explosion that sends everyone reeling backwards. Memories come rushing back, memories that affect them all - the whole sordid history of Connor from Darla’s mysterious pregnancy through to his sacrifice by Angel in order to give him this new life…
Conner is prostrated against the table, Sahjahn throttling him. Suddenly, Connor’s hand shoots out and he throws his assailant away, twists turns and strikes are menacing pose, axe in hand. He makes short work of Sahjahn now, a few punches and he’s set for a simple beheading. Prophecy validated. But only because the memories were restored; without the memories he was useless in the fight, he would have been killed. With the memories he’s skilled, he’s a survivor. It’s ironic, if Sahjahn and had never interfered then Connor would never have gone to Quor-toth and been forced to hone those fighting skills, he wouldn’t be the warrior he is today but rather, would have been a two year old baby living with his not-so-normal daddy and would have been no imminent threat to the demon. Or was it all meant to happen this way? The shadow of pre-destined fate once again passes across the stage.
Wesley is a shattered man.
Illyria: You betrayed Angel. You stole his son. He tried to kill you.
Wesley: Yes.
The sins of yesterday have come back to haunt him en mass. He’s suffering, paying all over again, for the things that he has done, things that had been lived with, been dealt with, been forgiven… and learning the truth didn’t bring his beloved Fred back either. He feels guilty and shamed all over again, only the second time around he’s lost the conviction that he was right to take Connor in the first place. In the midst of it all he forgets that Angel betrayed him, he lets it slip beneath the weight of his own burdens. Illyria observes that it is confusing, two sets of memories, it’s hard to tell which is which. Wesley advises her to push the new memories, reality, aside; focus on the other ones, they were created for a purpose.
Illyria: To hide from the truth.
Wesley: To endure it.
Remember those walls that protect from the devastation of truth? How Wesley needs those walls now.
Angel’s stands in front of the windows looking out as he’s done so often this season. Connor stops in to say goodbye. He’s kept the full truth from his family. He’ll tell them that he’s…different; that it’s not a bad thing. They’ll feel better knowing that Angel is taking an interest.
Angel: We still haven’t found Vail, but we will
Connor: I’m not too worried. Nothing he can show me I haven’t already seen. Anyway…I just want to say goodbye. I gotta go back to my life now.
We see a glimpse of the world weary, jaded Connor than returned from Quor-Toth but, like Wesley, he chooses to resume the manufactured life. It’s understandable; who would choose horror and displacement and hate over safety, belonging and love. The memories haven’t destroyed Connor as Angel feared they would, they’ve made him stronger. Angel doesn’t want him to go, wants to stay with him longer. It hasn’t been nearly long enough. But Connor’s priority is his parents, this isn’t their world. He wants to protect them.
Connor: You gotta do what you can to protect your family. I learnt that from my father.
He leaves Angel with a gift; acknowledgement of their connection and assurance that he understands why Angel did what he had to do. Finally Angel was able to teach his son something valuable.
…But that’s not all there is to this story. Sure, it’s about Angel and a prophecy he can’t fulfil, it’s about Angel and his son. But look deeper and you’ll see that it’s also about Angel taking the first steps towards accepting his growing conviction that there is another prophecy that is not his to vindicate. Since Spike got the soul it’s been in the back of his mind that he was no longer the only candidate for the Shanshu. In Destiny he was practically beaten over the head with the idea that a chosen soul has got to be superior to one gained by curse and hell; Spike won the freaking cup. It might not have meant anything much in the scheme of things but it meant something to Angel. It sent him into a spiral of self-doubt and further weakened his already fragile sense of purpose and hope. What if he’s not the guy? What if there is no great and glorious prize waiting at the end of the rainbow, for him? It’s almost too unbearable to consider…and yet, Spike says he doesn’t want it, doesn’t need it and he doesn’t labour under the weight of his past. He worries about today, not tomorrow or yesterday. Even Angel recognises he’s a champion now and surely the fated champion vampire with a soul wouldn’t be, how shall we say - reward oriented, as Angel knows he has been on the *odd* occasion. And was it really so bad, watching your son fulfil a prophecy? He got to see his son succeed and he got to feel incredibly proud. Nah, it wasn’t so bad.
All season long there’s been a substitute son living in the kingdom and, not surprisingly, said substitute is hardly seen while the real thing is in the house. We see Spike only briefly as he ‘studies’ Illyria. But the short scenes serves to remind us of one thing; like Connor, Spike is amazingly strong. The pair also share similar philosophies, have both changed dramatically and become better people before they re-entered their father’s house. Connor and Spike are reflected in one another just as Sahjahn’s prophecy reflects the Shanshu. Don’t be mistaken, this is not about making a definitive judgement call on which of the vampires might get ‘Shanshued’ one day. It is about showing us what is going on in Angel’s head, what he is thinking. He gets told throughout the episode:
‘It’s not you’re fight.’
‘Don’t worry, you’re boy is very brave, he’ll do you proud’
‘Sit back and watch his future unfold’
And it doesn’t matter that these things are said about Connor - he hears the words and takes them on board in regard to that particular thing that’s been on his mind. Then, at the end of the episode he’s standing in front of the windows in his office, his thinking place, his epiphany position. And right about now he’s starting to come to the conclusion that he’s not the prophecy boy, probably never was. Then, just before he leaves Connor tells him the thing he’s grateful to have learnt from his father - you gotta do what you can to protect your family. Angel finds himself at a critical point. He’s pretty much suspecting that the Senior Partners have the wrong guy, they don’t seem to realise Spike’s full potential, yet…but its only a matter of time. And Spike’s here, a loosely affiliated member of the team, dangerous place to be for a vampire with a soul. So now the clocks ticking, you gotta do what you can to protect your family. . .