Angel: Hero

"Is this a private catharsis or can anyone watch?"

Before I say anything else, we all know what happens in this episode, right? I can't imagine there'll be anybody reading this who doesn't know about the massive elephant in the middle of this particular room, but if you don't… well, stop reading now.

We don't need to look far for the metaphor here; in fact, both the Scourge and the half-demon refugees have a very 1940s look, which is a nice touch. From the very moment we first meet the demon refugees, hiding as the basement as they often have before, the Anne Frank echoes are obvious; we're looking at Jewish people in Nazi-occupied countries, living in perpetual fear of discovery. We don't get to actually see the Scourge until quite late only, only being told about how terrible they are, which really works to build them up. The moment when they finally appear- and yes, they look like the Nazi demons they are- is all the more effective for that.

It's impressive that such a potent metaphor can be used so well and so effectively, mainly by the focus on the lives of the persecuted, especially as the episode is just forty-two minutes long and the character stuff takes precedence. But the other reason for the Scourge is to give Doyle something to atone for. Many years ago, he refused to give refuge to another of his people who needed shelter from the Scourge. There may be extenuating circumstances, but Doyle has essentially failed to shelter a fellow Jew from the Nazis, and this lead to his death. There have to be consequences.

Watching the episode in hindsight, the build-up to the inexorable moment is handled perfectly. The humour is front-loaded into the first ten minutes, as we begin with Cordelia directing a fantasy television advert for Angel Investigations, in which she critiques a good few tropes from this show's visual style. I love metatextual fun, as you know, and I also love Cordelia. This is a match made in heaven. And the use of the video recorded with Doyle is, of course, a piece of structural beauty.

Angel's feelings over Buffy are properly dealt with, as he tells Doyle everything. But there is deep dramatic irony here, too, as an admiring Doyle admits that he just isn't cut out to be as heroic as Angel. There's so much foreshadowing throughout the episode that it almost hurts to watch.

There's some more arc-related foreshadowing too, of course; it seems that the Soldiers of Darkness and the End of Days, mentioned last episode, are still on the horizon. But most of the foreshadowing is blatantly pointed at Doyle. And it becomes most painful when Cordelia is involved. Doyle's feelings for Cordelia, and his agonising over how she'll react to the fact that he's half-demon, have simmered throughout the whole series. But Cordelia obviously has affection for him. If she insults you, that means she likes you, and she's insulted Doyle an awful lot. It's all been rather sweet.

That last scene between the two of them is so heartbreaking, from the slap right through to the kiss. Cordelia's "Would you ask me out for dinner already?" tortures us with what could have been, and then Doyle goes to his nervous and heroic sacrifice. In the end, he's a better man than anybody thought he was, especially himself.

Beautifully, the rest is silence. A heartbroken Cordelia and a stunned Angel can't find the words, so it's left to Doyle himself. Where now?