The Price (Angel episode)
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| Angel episode | |
| "The Price" | |
 |
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| Episode № | Season 3 Episode 19 |
|---|---|
| Guest star(s) | Andy Hallett (Lorne) Mark Lutz (Groosalugg) Stephanie Romanov (Lilah) Daniel Dae Kim (Gavin) Vincent Kartheiser (Connor) John Short (Mr Spivey) |
| Writer(s) | David Fury |
| Director | Marita Grabiak |
| Production № | 3ADH19 |
| Airdate | April 29, 2002 |
| Episode chronology | |
| Previous episode | Double or Nothing |
| Next episode | A New World |
"The Price" is episode 19 of season 3 in the television show Angel. See List of Angel (series) episodes for a complete list.
Contents |
[edit] Plot synopsis
[edit] Summary
While Angel tries to deal with the loss of his son, the hotel is invaded by silicone, slug-like creatures that invade and dry up their human hosts. The parasites are apparently the by-products of the dark magics that Angel conjured to try to find his son. As a result, Angel, Cordelia, Groosalugg, Gunn, Lorne, and Fred become trapped within the massive building to prevent the creatures from escaping into the world. But when Fred herself becomes infected, Gunn is forced to slip out of the building and turn to the angry and reclusive Wesley for help. During the fighting, Angel learns from a possessed Fred about a prophecy where a vicious killer, called the Destroyer, is coming into the world. Meanwhile, at Wolfram & Hart, Lilah and Gavin once again quarrel with each other over their handling of Angel and whether to help him or not.
[edit] Expanded overview
The gang work to repair Angel's bedroom in the aftermath of the earthquake and debate about color patterns. Gunn attempts to throw out an antique that is destroyed beyond repair, but Angel is determined to keep the room as much like before as possible and stops him. A snow globe music box catches Angel's attention and he admires it and the sound until thoughts of Connor and the past become too difficult to think about. Angel quickly changes the subject to work, but without any cases, he lacks a distraction. Downstairs, a man enters the hotel, looking for Angel Investigations. When the man's back is turned, a transparent slug-like creature slithers across the counter and then jumps into the man's mouth when he turns back around.
Angel arrives after that and tries to help the man, but the man leaves, commenting on behalf of himself and the slug inside of him. Cordelia joins him downstairs and tries to talk Angel into telling her exactly what happened with the black magic he used. She persistently reminds him of the potential consequences of his actions and manages to get him to open up a bit about his feelings. Cordy questions why he didn't call her and Angel explains, but she offers a convincing argument as to how helpful she could have been if he had called her.
At a juice bar, the slug-hosting man from the hotel, Mr. Spivey, chugs glass after glass of peach smoothies to the point where the staff ask him to leave. His skin is grey and cracking. The man insists that "we" are thirsty and demands more. Gavin finds Lilah at the office and raises the issue of her work on the Angel case. He offers her congratulations on her success, but Lilah isn't very convinced by his act. They talk about getting to Angel through his shattered friendship with Wesley and Lilah is prepared for her next move. Gunn and Fred watch Angel as he works in the office and talk about the vampire and what would happen if Wesley ever did try to come back.
Meanwhile, Cordelia and Groo try to clean the floor of red paint, but their efforts aren't very successful. When Groo leaves the room, Cordy goes on to Fred about how great he is, purposely preventing Fred from asking her to talk to Angel. The ladies go on to talk more about Angel and the complications with Wesley. Groo returns and overhears Cordy comment about her priorities being with Angel. Suddenly, Cordy gets a vision about Angel getting thrown across the hotel, but she has a hard time letting him know. Lorne comes in and informs them of the disturbance at the juice bar across the street and the gang rush over to resolve it.
Angel knocks the deteriorating man out and the gang gets him back to the hotel so Angel can investigate the case. Cordy tries to tell Angel about her vision, but he's more concerned with the case at hand and doesn't want to think about any threat to himself. Mr. Spivey rises and accuses Angel of being the cause of the problem before the dried out man collapses into the middle of the pentagram, a pile of human dust.
The slug-creature exits from the dust and moves across the floor and the gang realize the man really was speaking for two. The hotel is locked up tight and Angel sends everyone out with weapons to hunt for the slug within the hotel. They realize that the slugs are sucking the liquid from the human body hosts and effectively killing the humans once the body is completely dehydrated. Angel suspects that the slug is a result of "thaumogenesis", a price for the powerful magic used in the pentagram. Lorne and Angel talk about whether Angel's actions were worth the consequences and Angel asserts they were. They find the slug in one of the hotel bathrooms, drinking from the toilet, but fail to kill it.
Fred complains to Gunn about being stuck on research duty and her inability to understand the material. While Gunn is turned away, two more slugs appear from mid-air and scurry across the floor. Lilah receives a top-secret e-mail about the consequences of Angel's dark magic at the hotel. Gavin, who also received the e-mail comes in to notify Lilah of the problems she may have to deal with since she was involved in the spell. Cordy and Groo talk about the pain Angel is in and Groo reveals that he heard Cordy speak of Angel as her priority. She tries to explain herself and then a slug appears on the wall, distracting them both. It's discovered that there are more than one slug in the hotel and since the creatures glow in the dark, Angel plans to shut off all of the lights in the hotel so they can find the little slugs.
Researching by the light of a lantern, Fred hears a noise and turns around only to be attacked by one of the slugs that invades her body through her mouth. Gunn goes to Fred in the office and finds her very upset and reserved. He tries to comfort her but she tries to send him away and then breaks the snow globe on the desk and drinks the water from it. Angel and the others follow a screeching sound into a room that is locked up with a chain. Angel breaks the door down and they find a large ballroom.
Knowing Fred has been possessed by one of the slugs, Gunn brings her to the rest of the gang in the abandoned ballroom. Guzzling water, Fred tries to explain what the slugs want and what it will do if freed. Gunn wants to get her to a hospital, but Angel stands in the way, determined to keep more innocents from dying. Groo locates the sound as coming from under the floor and breaks through the wood with an ax. Below, there is a pool full of the little glowing slugs and they begin to rise up and chase after the gang. Everyone retreats to a kitchen and barricade themselves there.
Lilah proceeds with plans to rid the hotel of the slugs but Gavin makes her think twice about her actions. Gavin relays the message that Linwood wants Angel and the others to die for the torment he was put through so any efforts on her part to help Angel will cost her. Angel takes the water away from Fred and tries to force the slug to talk to him. She talks of The Destroyer bringing pain to the slugs because it wants to come after Angel. Gunn appears at Wesley's apartment and asks for help with the slugs. Wesley isn't interested in offering any help but when Gunn mentions that Fred has been infected, Wesley offers his assistance only because it's Fred's life on the line. He tosses Gunn a bottle of alcohol.
Angel tries to press Fred for more information, but her condition worsens and Angel panics. As Groo and Lorne start towards the exit of the hotel, Gunn shows up and directs them to set her down. Groo and Lorne hold Fred down as Gunn forces her to drink the alcohol that slowly dehydrates her. She coughs up the slug and Groo stabs it with a sword. Angel and Cordy remain in the kitchen as the slugs close in on them. Cordy catches one of the slugs in mid-air and suddenly begins to glow a bright white that illuminates the entire hotel. The glow she emits kills off all of the slugs and leaves everyone stunned by her new power.
Gunn explains himself to Angel, but leaves out the part where he went to Wesley for help. Fred comes to her senses and lets everyone know the Destroyer is on its way right now. Lights flash and a big nasty demon appears. Soon after though, more lights and another figure appears and quickly slays the demon. The young man smiles and points a weapon at Angel, offering a telling greeting: "Hi Dad."
[edit] Quotes and trivia
- According to the DVD commentary, the kitchen scenes in this episode were shot in the Ambassador Hotel in the kitchen area that Robert F. Kennedy passed through right before he was shot.
- In the first scene, Groosalugg mentions that his mother's name is ""Pomegranate."
[edit] Continuity
- Cordelia mentions it snowed once in Southern California, this refers to the Buffy episode "Amends".
- The concept of thaumogenesis, a price for the use of magic, was previously mentioned in the Buffy episode "After Life".
[edit] Timing
- Stories that take place around the same time in the Buffyverse:
| Location, time (if known) |
Buffyverse chronology: January 2002 - Spring 2002 (non-canon = italic) |
|---|---|
| Sunnydale, 2002 | B6.13 Dead Things |
| L.A., 2002 | Angel book: Fearless |
| L.A., 2002 | A3.13 Waiting in the Wings |
| Sunnydale, 2002 | B6.14 Older and Far Away |
| L.A., 2002 | A3.14 Couplet |
| Sunnydale, 2002 | B6.15 As You Were |
| L.A., 2002 | A3.15 Loyalty |
| Sunnydale, 2002 | B6.16 Hell's Bells |
| L.A., 2002 | A3.16 Sleep Tight |
| Sunnydale, 2002 | B6.17 Normal Again |
| L.A., 2002 | A3.17 Forgiving |
| L.A., 2002 | Angel comic: Spike: Old Times |
| Sunnydale, 2002 | B6.18 Entropy |
| L.A., 2002 | A3.18 Double or Nothing |
| Sunnydale, 2002 | B6.19 Seeing Red |
| L.A., 2002 | A3.19 The Price |
| Sunnydale, 2002 | B6.20 Villains |
| Sunnydale, 2002 | Buffy books: Wicked Willow |
| L.A., 2002 | A3.20 A New World |
| Sunnydale, 2002 | B6.21 Two to Go |
| Sunnydale, 2002 | B6.22 Grave |
| L.A., 2002 | A3.21 Benediction |
| L.A., 2002 | A3.22 Tomorrow |
