Angel: Slouching Toward Bethlehem

"You like shoes. And doughnuts. And you're very brave."

This episode has a simple job to do; ensure that the newly amnesiac Cordy ends up just a little wary of Angel and the gang, who clumsily say and do all the wrong things, and trusts Connor, who is at least honest. The result, perhaps, is a little over-contrived, although the acting is superb all round. This episode feels somewhat functional, fascinating though the events are.

There are some moments of humour, of course- I love Cordy's reaction to her old Sunnydale High yearbook- but the episode is oddly linear for something so focused on the season's already-fascinating story arc. I think, though, that this odd little realignment of this new Cordy with Connor, whom she trusts more than his simple honesty would warrant (hmm...), may be connected with the apocalyptic horrors in her future that so traumatise Lorne, and which Wolfram and Hart know all about, thanks to Lilah's tricking of her boyfriend.

Ah yes, Lilah and Wesley- at this point we see them looking almost lovey-dovey and almost like a real relationship (Wesley uses the "r" word), and then Lilah goes and uses him for Wolfram and Hart's purposes just to remind us (and him) that she's literally evil. There doesn't seem to be much else character development, though, in an episode that may have snappy dialogue (this is, after all, the Whedonverse) but seems unusually focused narrowly on plot,plot, plot.