Angel: Sanctuary

"Don't you dare take the moral high ground with me after what she did?"

This is simply a superb episode, and such a heady brew of themes, simmering for a long time on both Buffy and Angel, which now finally boil over. This is the most intimidating episode to write about for some considerable time.

Redemption, and how you deal with overwhelming feelings of guilt, is both the main theme of this show and the absolute centre of Angel's character. It's not surprising, then, that he should emphasise so strongly with Faith's deep desire for redemption and her helplessness at the enormity of what she has to atone for. The scene with Faith, Lady Macbeth-like, looking at her bloody hands might as well serve as the episode's defining image.

Of course, no one else has Angel's empathy for Faith. Not Cordelia, who buggers off in the first few minutes. Certainly not Buffy. Not Wolfram and Hart, who don't like being cheated. Not the Watchers' Council. Not the police, and especially not X-Files viewer Kate. Everyone is outraged that he should be harbouring such a notorious criminal, the sole Guardian reader on Planet Daily Mail. For someone like me, with deeply unfashionable, wishy-washy opinions on crime and punishment, this is actually quite moving. It's often not easy to be the only person in the group who thinks that, actually, it isn't a particularly good idea to string anybody up, not even the very worst.

The twist, of course- that Angel's ultimate purpose is to convince Faith to give herself up willingly to the law- is even more deeply, deeply rich with meaning. For so long, albeit in Buffy rather than Angel, we've splayed with the question of whether those with power, Greek style heroes such as slayers, should be subject to the same laws as the rest of us. Faith, in Bad Girls, just before her fall, stated that they shouldn't. This episode, co-written by creators Joss Whedon and Tim Minear, states unequivocally that they should. This is a heavy theme, redolent of Crime and Punishment, The Outsider (I read it last month on a long train journey, incidentally; if you haven't read it, do so now), and even, for such a secular show, theological stuff.

There's one name, incidentally, whom I left off the list of people who turn against Angel: Wesley, the person recently tortured by Faith. He has every reason to help the Council, during their cosy little chat with good English beer, to seize Faith, but his deep loyalty to Angel means he doesn't. He may not entirely agree with his boss, but he's no traitor. And once again it's notable that he's moved a long way on his journey from klutz to badass. He's bloody good at darts. He punches Weatherby for calling him a ponce. And he feels a sense of purpose and pride working for Angel that he never did while working for the Council.

But perhaps the most interesting element, arc-wise, is the clash between Angel and Buffy. They part on very bad terms with each staking out their territory, almost, in metatextual terms, as though the two shows are diverging and divorcing from this point. I suspect this is the last time we'll ever see the two of them meet.

Oh yes, and there's Wolfram and Hart. Once again, we have Lilah and Lindsey. And we get what I believe to be out first reference to the "Senior Partners". Something is cooking…