Not Fade Away (Angel episode)
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Not Fade Away is the 22nd episode of season 5, and the final episode of the series, of the television show Angel. See also List of Angel (series) episodes.
Plot synopsis
Summary
Angel and his team take on Wolfram & Hart, the evil law firm.Expanded overview
In a continuation of the previous episode, Angel has joined the evil Circle of the Black Thorn, but at a price of killing Drogyn in order to become a member. Angel now convinces his team, and even his old enemy, Lindsey McDonald that they must take out every member of the Circle of the Black Thorn in a defiant and probably futile stand against the Senior Partners of Wolfram & Hart. But during that time, Marcus Hamilton, the Senior Partners' liaison and henchman, is not convinced of Angel's loyalties to the Black Thorn and keeps a closer eye on Angel and his group.At the next meeting of the Black Thorn, the members express their doubts about Angel's loyalties and put them to the final test when they tell Angel that he must sign away his role in the so-called Shanshu prophecy of becoming human once evil on Earth has been vanquished. Izzy the Devil produces the true and original Scroll of Aberjian for Angel to sign, with Angel's blood, therefore relinquishing his claim to the prize. Angel, after a moment of hesitation, signs the paper.
Meanwhile, Spike, Wesley, Gunn and Lorne arrive at Spike's apartment where they find Illyria bloodied and unconscious from Hamilton's visit - he had abducted Drogyn to be killed by Angel. After a while, Angel arrives fresh from his meeting with the Black Thorn and informs his friends that they are killing the Black Thorn members tonight. Angel advises his friends to spend the rest of the day as if it were their last since it "probably is".
Angel visits his son, Connor, who is now at college. Connor reveals that he knows that Angel is his father, for he did get his old memories back and they had been "mixed in" with his new ones. Angel explains he gave Connor those new memories so he would have a better life away from him and his group. Lorne sings at a demon karaoke bar, "If I Ruled the World". Lindsey spends the day with Eve who expresses suspicion about Angel and his role for him. Gunn spends his day by helping and getting advice about fighting the good fight from Anne, who still maintains a homeless shelter in Gunn's old neighborhood. Spike goes to a bar and drunkenly recites poetry (originally written for Cecily, his old infatuation), to a crowd of rough motorcyclists and street gang members. Wesley spends his day tending to Illyria, to help her heal from her wounds. He tells her there is nothing else he wants and nowhere for him to be.
That night, the team takes on their assigned targets. Angel explains that they cannot take out the Black Thorn members all at once because they are too powerful, so they must kill each member individually and simultaneously. Angel gives his assignements to the group: Gunn is to eliminate Senator Bruckner and her vampire bodyguards; Wesley is to attack Cyrus Vail, a powerful demon sorcerer (under the pretense that he is turning on Angel and wishes to join the Black Thorn); Illyria will take out Izzy the Devil and three other members of the Black Thorn; Spike will rescue an infant from, and eliminate, the demonic Fell Brethren; Lorne and Lindsey will fight the Sahvrin demon clan. Angel tells them that he will take out the chairman Archduke Sebassis. He also whispers something to Lorne, and then tells them that once they complete their missions, they are all to meet in the alley north of the Hyperion Hotel for the expected onslaught by the Senior Partners. Lorne tells Angel that this is the last thing he's going to do for him; and that he won't be in the alley, and he and Angel can never meet again. Angel reluctantly agrees, and they all go to their respective jobs.
Angel goes to the offices of Wolfram & Hart to presumably get weapons when he's met in his office by Hamilton who reveals that he knows that Angel is going to kill Archduke Sebassis. With that, Hamilton throws Angel through his office window into the building lobby. It is revealed that Hamilton had earlier seduced Harmony, who told him about Angel's plans to meet Sebassis. Angel gets up, fires Harmony (who leaves the building), and gets ready to face Hamilton. But Hamilton is too strong and literally knocks Angel across the room, asking if Angel really thought he could get away with killing Sebassis. Angel replies that he may already have. In a flashback explained by Angel, during the last meeting with the Circle of the Black Thorn, Angel used a finger ring with a mini hypodermic needle tipped with venom to stab Sebassis' demon servant, knowing that Sebassis and others of his demon race drink each others blood. Cut to Sebassis' living quarters, he is taking a bubble bath while his servant serves him a glass of his blue-colored blood. Sebassis take a sip, realizes it tastes awful, and seeing his servant collapse and die, realizes too late that he's been fatally poisoned. Sebassis drops the glass as he begins to convulse and die. Having finished listening to Angel's explanation, Hamilton, amused but not pleased by Angel's ploy, begins to attack Angel.
Across town in Senator Bruckner's campaign office, Gunn arrives and immediately begins fighting with some of the senator's vampire workers, while she casually talks on the phone bashing her political opponent. Gunn throws an axe at the senator, hitting her on the head, putting an end to her campaign. But, Gunn still has to face about a dozen of the senator's vampire bodyguards who surround him.
Spike sneaks into the Fell Brethren's living quarters dressed as one of them wearing a long brown robe. He finds the baby and picks it up out of a ceremonial bassinet. He is then faced with several Fell Brethren demons whom order him to put the baby back. Spike slips off his robe and goes into battle, with a sword in one hand and the baby in the other.
Meanwhile, Illyria confronts Izzy and the other members of the Black Thorn as they are walking out of a local restaurant and get into their car on a back street. They apparently don't have any time to get out of their car to engage her as Illyria destroys their car, with all of them still inside.
Lorne and Lindsey accomplish their attack against the Sahvrin. As they leave the Sahvrin den, Lindsey says it's good to be part of the solution. Lorne replies by shooting Lindsey in the chest several times, revealing his one last job for Angel. Lorne tells him, "You're not part of the solution, Lindsey. You never will be." Lindsey dies, stunned and upset that it wasn't Angel himself who killed him, but rather one of his "flunkies". Having had enough of Angel's fight, Lorne leaves the room with his final words, "Good night, folks."
Wesley's mission is problematic. He uses the advantage of surprise, but Vail quickly recovers and employs his magic to hold Wesley helpless in mid-air. Wesley tries to kill Vail with a switchblade, but Vail telepathically summons a knife of his own, and disembowels Wes. Wesley releases a final burst of magic, momentarily stunning Vail. Illyria storms in, and upon finding him mortally wounded, she becomes distraught. She asks him if he'd like it if she lied to him now by taking on the form of his dead love, Fred. He replies yes, and she changes into Fred's form, crying and telling him how much she loves him. He says he loves her too, and she tells him they'll be together soon. He dies in Illyria's arms. Vail awakens, to find a crying woman holding Wesley's body. He taunts her as she stands before him, calling her a little girl, and tells her to take her best shot. She transforms back into Illyria and shatters Vail's skull with a single blow.
Back at Wolfram & Hart, Angel tries to engage Hamilton in a one-on-one fistfight, but Hamilton is much too strong for Angel, and Hamilton keeps throwing him against the walls and support columns. Just when Hamilton takes out a broken stick of wood to stake and kill Angel, Connor appears and knocks Hamilton across the room and through an office window. Connor has figured out Angel's plan and has come to help him. Both Angel and Connor take on Hamilton, but even with their combined strength, they cannot even inflict a single bruise onto him. Connor is thrown against a wall and knocked out while Angel is again punched and thrown across the room. Hamilton then boasts that the power of the Senior Partners runs through his blood and that Angel cannot stop him. Angel chastises Hamilton by saying: "Can you pick out the one word there you probably shouldn't have said?" Angel assumes his vampire form, rushes at Hamilton, gets one good drink from his neck, and draws off some of that power. After another minute of combat, Angel gets the upper hand and kills Hamilton by breaking his neck. As soon as Hamilton is dead, the whole building begins to shake as Connor regains consciousness. Angel tells Connor to go home, because this is his fight. Connor reluctantly leaves Angel to his fate. Angel enters his office where Eve has taken refuge and she asks what's going on. When she asks about Lindsey and Angel replies that he won’t be coming for her, Eve realizes that Angel has betrayed Lindsey. Angel grabs a sword off his weapons rack runs out of the office and the collapsing building, while Eve elects to stay behind, knowing that without Lindsey to protect her, she has no place left to go.
The survivors meet in the back alley of the Hyperion Hotel in the pouring rain. Angel arrives armed with his battle sword and finds Spike already waiting. Spike's rescue of the baby and the killing of the entire Fell Brethren was successful. Spike is bloodied and beaten, but still ready for battle. Gunn shows up armed with a large battle axe, having killed all of Senator Brucker's vampires, but he's apparently mortally wounded, bleeding from a wound somewhere on his chest and he can barely stand. Illyria arrives seconds later and informs them of Wesley's death, saying that she grieves for Wesley and wishes "to do more violence". Suddenly, the armies of the Senior Partners begin their charge on the four survivors. Demons of all sizes, including a 100-foot tall giant and a flying dragon, advance on Angel and his team. As the demon army approaches, Angel ends the series with the line, "Let's go to work." He charges into battle.
Writing and acting
Production details
Music
- Regina Belle - "If I Ruled The World" - Lorne chooses to sing knowing that the day may be his last.
- Spike - "Effulgent" - Spike reads his poetry in a bar.
Quotes and trivia
- Joss Whedon discussed the final battle in SFX Magazine.
- :''"Gunn is dead. Illyria keeps fighting. Angel loses an arm. Spike gets Shanshu. And Xander loses another eye, which is funny, because he isn't even there."
- This is all said in humor.
- Despite many rumors, this episode was written some time after the series had been cancelled. It is not a cliffhanger.
Continuity
Arc significance
- This is the last episode of Angel and, barring any future series or TV movies, the last Buffyverse TV appearance.
Timing
- Stories that take place around the same time in the Buffyverse:
| Location, time (if known) | Buffyverse: Spring 2003 – 2004 (non-canon = italic) |
|---|---|
| Sunnydale, Cleveland, Italy, Summer 2003-2004 | Buffy book: Queen of the Slayers (Buffy novel)>Queen of the Slayers |
| L.A., 2003 | A5.01 Conviction (Angel episode)>Conviction |
| L.A., 2003 | A5.02 Just Rewards (Angel episode)>Just Rewards |
| L.A., 2003 | A5.03 Unleashed (Angel episode)>Unleashed |
| L.A., 2003 | A5.04 Hell Bound (Angel episode)>Hell Bound |
| L.A., 2003 | A5.05 Life of the Party (Angel episode)>Life of the Party |
| L.A., 2003 | A5.06 The Cautionary Tale of Numero Cinco (Angel episode)>The Cautionary Tale of Numero Cinco |
| L.A., 2003 | A5.07 Lineage (Angel episode)>Lineage |
| Europe, 2003 | |
| L.A., 2003 | Angel comic: ''Spike vs Dracula (Angel comic)#Spike vs Dracula #5>Spike vs Dracula #5 |
| L.A., 2003 | Angel comic: |
| L.A., 2003 | A5.08 Destiny (Angel episode)>Destiny |
| L.A., 2003 | A5.09 Harm's Way (Angel episode)>Harm's Way |
| L.A., 2003 | Angel comic: |
| L.A., 2003/4 | A5.10 Soul Purpose (Angel episode)>Soul Purpose |
| L.A., 2003/4 | A5.11 Damage (Angel episode)>Damage |
| L.A., 2003/4 | Angel comic: |
| L.A., 2003/4 | Angel comic: |
| L.A., 2003/4 | A5.12 You're Welcome (Angel episode)>You're Welcome |
| L.A., 2003/4 | A5.13 Why We Fight (Angel episode)>Why We Fight |
| L.A., 2004 | A5.14 Smile Time (Angel episode)>Smile Time |
| L.A., 2004 | A5.15 A Hole in the World (Angel episode)>A Hole in the World |
| L.A., 2004 | A5.16 Shells (Angel episode)>Shells |
| L.A., 2004 | Angel comic: |
| L.A., 2004 | A5.17 Underneath (Angel episode)>Underneath |
| L.A., 2004 | A5.18 Origin (Angel episode)>Origin |
| 2004 | |
| L.A., 2004 | A5.19 Time Bomb (Angel episode)>Time Bomb |
| L.A., 2004 | A5.20 The Girl in Question (Angel episode)>The Girl in Question |
| L.A., 2004 | A5.21 Power Play (Angel episode)>Power Play |
| L.A., 2004 | A5.22 Not Fade Away (Angel episode)>Not Fade Away |
| Romania, 2004 | Angel graphic novel: The Curse (Angel comic)>The Curse |
| L.A., 2004 | Angel graphic novel: Old Friends (Angel comic)>Old Friends |
| 2004/5/6 | Spike (film)>Spike movie |
| Buffyverse | ||
| Main | Canon | Index Chronology: Ancient | Modern | BS1 | BS2 | BS3 | BS4/AS1 | BS5/AS2 | BS6/AS3 | BS7/AS4 | AS5 | Future | Flashbacks | |
| Buffy | Characters (main) | Characters (minor) | Episodes | Plot | Comics | Film | Pilot (unaired) | Promo: History.. | Novels | Promos: Pre-"Bargaining" | |
| Angel | Characters (main) | Characters (minor) | Episodes | Plot | | |
| Spin-offs | Comics | Fan made productions | Fray | Novels | Spike movie | Undeveloped productions Buffy Animated | Card Game | RPGs | Tales of Slayer (prose) | Tales of Slayers | Tales of Vampires | Toys | Video Games Upcoming: Blackout | | | | | | Portal Through Time | Spike vs Dracula | | |
| Powers | Angel Investigations | Circle of the Black Thorn | Order of Aurelius | The First Evil | The Initiative | Monsters | Old Ones | The Powers That Be | Ra-Tet | Scooby Gang | Senior Partners | Watchers' Council | Wolfram & Hart | |
| People | Adam | Amy | Andrew | Angel | Anya | Buffy | Caleb | Connor | Cordelia | Dawn | Darla | Doyle | Dru | Eve | Faith | Fred | Giles | Glory | Gunn | Harmony | Holtz | Illyria | Jasmine | Jenny | Joyce | Jonathan | Kate | Kennedy | Lilah | Lindsey | Lorne | The Master | Mayor Wilkins | Oz | Professor Walsh | Riley | Spike | Tara | Warren | Wesley | Willow | Xander | |
| Places | L.A. | Sunnydale Bronze | Caritas | Hellmouth | Hyperion | Library | Magic Box | Pylea | Sunnydale High | |
| Music | Complete Tracklist | Use of Music in Buffy & Angel | Dingoes Ate My Baby | Film | | | Once More, With Feeling | |
| Key Terminology | "Demon" | "Slayer" | "Vampire" | "Watcher" | "Werewolf" | "Witch" "Child of Senior Partners" | Shanshu | Sunnydale Syndrome | Tro-Clon | |
External links
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