Unleashed (Angel episode)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Angel episode | |
| "Unleashed" | |
 |
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| Episode № | Season 5 Episode 03 |
|---|---|
| Guest star(s) | Jenny Mollen (Nina) John Billingsley (Dr. Royce) |
| Writer(s) | Sarah Fain, Elizabeth Craft |
| Director | Marita Grabiak |
| Production № | 5ADH03 |
| Airdate | October 15, 2003 |
| Episode chronology | |
| Previous episode | Just Rewards |
| Next episode | Hell Bound |
"Unleashed" is episode 03 of season 5 in the television show Angel. See List of Angel (series) episodes for a complete list.
Contents |
[edit] Plot synopsis
[edit] Summary
A young woman named Nina, whom Angel saves from a werewolf, gets bitten and slowly undergoes a transformation into a werewolf during the three nights of the lunar cycle. Angel tries to help Nina, unaware that she is being hunted by an exclusive club, run by wealthy restaurant entrepreneur John Crane, which specializes in exotic meals. A member of the club is working undercover for Wolfram & Hart under the alias of Dr. Royce as a member of Fred's new science department. He helps capture Nina after promising her to the other members, but Angel, Wesley and Gunn arrive to rescue her.
[edit] Expanded overview
The gang are in a park, having a nighttime picnic with Chinese food. Fred scans everyone for bugs, since the gang are trying to meet without Wolfram & Hart listening in. She tries to tell the others that not everyone at the firm is evil; Wesley wonders if she can really trust Knox. Angel points out that the Senior Partners are evil and have put them in this position for a reason they still don’t know. Fred wonders if Gunn knows more than the rest of them do, since the firm put a bunch of knowledge in his head (see “Conviction”). Gunn says that they all made deals and everyone got something out of it. Angel got “fear, mistrust, a great motor pool,” and Lorne got “the Nancy Sinatra collection.” Wesley got a nice pen. Gunn accuses the others of thinking that he’s a spy for the Senior Partners; Angel replies that they just need to be prepared. As the others talk about Spike (see “Just Rewards”), Angel asks Wesley if he can borrow his pen. Nearby, a young woman named Nina (Jenny Mollen) is attacked by a werewolf. The werewolf bites the woman, then gets attacked by Angel, who shoves Wesley’s silver pen into his chest. The werewolf turns back into a human and the woman runs off. At Wolfram & Hart the next day, Angel has a sketch of the woman from the park and tells Gunn that the werewolf bit the woman. Gunn says that there are two more nights in which the werewolf can be wolfy. Angel says that they need to find the woman, since she won’t know what happened to her. Gunn says that McManus, the werewolf Angel killed, has been leaving trails of the people he’s killed; Angel thinks that he felt that he was alone, but the woman doesn’t have to be.
Spike pays Fred a visit in her office, asking her to consider his condition a priority over the woman from the park. He tells her that his disappearances “to the netherworld” are lasting longer, like something’s trying to pull him over to the other side. Fred suggests that Spike let Wesley help him, but Spike says that he and Wesley have a history stemming back to when Wesley had just graduated from the Watcher’s Academy. Fred doesn’t believe him, so Spike admits that he just doesn’t want anyone else to know what’s going on with him, especially Angel. Fred assures him that they’ll figure things out, since she has a lot of resources. Later, though, Angel complains to the others that the firm is useless since they can’t find the woman from the park. He sends them out to try to get more information. A man named Dr. Royce studies McManus’ body, noting that he’s a rare breed of werewolf. Spike brags about a long battle he once had with a werewolf and Fred tells him that Angel killed McManus with a pen. At her place, Nina wakes up after a restless sleep and heads to the kitchen, where her sister Jill and niece Amanda are cooking. Nina discovers that her hearing is a little improved and she doesn’t remember getting the bruise on her neck. She closely studies hamburgers cooking on the stove and imagines slashing Amanda’s neck. Back at the science lab, the gang try to follow some leads. Gunn finally gets access to traffic camera feeds, getting Nina’s license plate number, address, and name. That night, Nina baby-sits Amanda; she starts feeling sick and goes upstairs, where she begins to turn into a werewolf.
Angel heads to Nina’s and pulls her out through her bedroom window to the ground. They fight a little until Wesley stops Nina with a tranquilizer dart. The next day, Nina - back to being human - wakes up naked in a cell. Angel pays her a visit and tries to tell her that she’s safe. He shows her a video of herself as a wolf in the cell the night before. She’s upset with her new condition and the fact that she wanted to hurt Amanda. He tries to tell her that it wasn’t really her, but the monster inside of her; he confides that he’s a vampire (with a soul) and isn’t evil, just as she isn’t. Nina asks if he can cure her and Angel says that he can’t, but he can protect her. Angel meets up with Fred and Royce, telling them that Nina agreed to stay in the holding cell again that night. Spike appears, excited to be able to observe a werewolf. Royce warns that Nina might hurt herself, but she might be okay if they take her back to her place so that the familiarity will calm her. Spike says that Nina is a killer now, and sooner or later, she’ll get out of her cage and kill. He adds that she’ll feel guilty afterward, since she has a soul. Angel finally agrees to let Nina go home and Fred offers to take her. Fred and Nina head to Nina’s place (accompanied by security guards); Fred tries to tell her that her life doesn’t have to change too much, since she’s only a werewolf three nights out of the month. She talks about how Angel saved her from Pylea and Nina notes that he saves a lot of women. She asks if he and Fred are dating and Fred says that Angel doesn’t date a lot. However, he’s not that lonely, because the gang are his family.
Angel meets with Gunn in Gunn’s office; Gunn tries to cheer him up by reminding him that he saved Nina’s life. Angel says that that doesn’t change the fact that Nina has to deal with being a werewolf. Lorne arrives as Gunn leaves and tries to get Angel to sing for him. He notes that Angel has been cranky ever since Spike came back, adding that he’s letting it affect his work. As Fred and Nina are about to enter Nina’s house, Nina says that she’s changed her mind because she doesn’t want to have to face Jill and Amanda yet. Inside, Fred introduces herself and makes up a story about Nina leaving suddenly because Fred needed her help. Nina and Jill fight and Nina leaves while Fred grabs some familiar things for her. They head back to the van they came in, but Fred notices that the door is open, then sees that the security guards are dead. She tells Nina to run as she pulls out her tranquilizer gun, but a guy knocks her out and grabs Nina. Nina is taken to the basement of a mansion and chained up. A woman cuts off her clothes and scrubs her down. Back at Wolfram & Hart, Royce sings "Jessie's Girl" for Lorne, who confirms that he’s clean. Next door in Angel’s office, the others try to figure out who might have grabbed Nina and why. Fred criticizes herself for going near the van when it was obvious that something was wrong; she also worries that Spike hasn’t materialized for awhile. As Royce arrives with some info, Fred spots Spike in the hallway and goes out to talk to him. She tries to follow him, but he doesn’t seem to hear her. She winds up in an office and sees something strange in a trash can, but is interrupted by Royce. She babbles for a little while, then knocks Royce out with a lamp.
Fred explains to the group that she found an empty vial in Royce’s trash can which contained Calendula; Royce must have suspected that he would have to sing for Lorne, so he took a drug that would make him appear to be clean when he wasn’t. She reveals that Spike led her to the vial. Gunn discovers that Royce’s desk has a false bottom which holds photos, papers, and a knife. Angel beats up Royce and demands to know where Nina is; Royce doesn’t want to tell him, thinking that the guy he’d be betraying is scarier than Angel. Angel would like to prove otherwise. Fred, Wesley, and Gunn search through Royce’s private stuff and find a paper that contains something shocking. They give it to Angel, who’s figured out where Nina is. On the paper is a menu, and come moonrise - in about 15 minutes - Nina (who’s tied up at a banquet hall in a mansion) will be the main course. The gang head to the banquet hall; Wesley says that they have to keep Nina alive because once she dies, she’ll return to her human state. Therefore, werewolves have to be eaten alive. Angel starts to rescue Nina, who tells him to just let her get eaten. She doesn’t think that she can ever go home and is resigned to being a werewolf. Angel frees her anyway, but before the gang can leave, they’re surrounded by men with guns. The fighting and shooting starts, and Nina turns into a werewolf, providing some unexpected help to the group. Gunn hesitates before shooting Nina; Wesley shoots her with a tranquilizer dart to save him. Angel announces that they’re taking Nina home, but the guy hosting the party says that he promised his guests a werewolf. Nina bites Royce’s leg and Angel says that in a month, Royce will be a werewolf and they can eat him then. Royce is understandably unhappy about this development.
Later that night, Fred returns to her office to find Spike. He tells her that he wasn’t sure he would return from the netherworld this time. She notes that he led her to Royce’s office, though he probably didn’t do it on purpose. She wants to tell Angel what’s going on with him, but Spike refuses. Fred tells him that she’s going to find a way to keep him in the world for good. Angel drives Nina home and she asks how he can live, knowing that he’s killed people. Angel tells her that fighting back wasn’t bad for her to do, since the people were going to eat her. He says eventually she’ll accept being a werewolf as a part of her. She doesn’t want to tell Jill and Amanda and Angel says that she doesn’t have to, but she can if she wants to. “If you separate yourself from the ones you love, the monster wins,” he tells her. She tells him that she’ll see him in a month, then gets out and reunites with her sister and niece. That night, the gang meet up in Angel’s apartment (which has a nice view) and have some drinks. They decide to order Chinese food again and Angel offers to buy, which shocks the others. Gunn wonders if Angel has a shot with Nina; Angel says that she gave him “a look.” The gang settle in to spend a laidback evening together.
[edit] Production details
[edit] Music
- Ryan Adams - "La Cienega Just Smiled"
- Rick Springfield - "Jessie's Girl"
[edit] Quotes and trivia
"Don't be ridiculous, Lepechauns aren't real." -Mr. Crane
The above quote is a two-time gag, originally used when Buffy says at some point in season 3 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer "There are two things I don't believe in: Coincidences and Leperchauns."
[edit] Continuity
[edit] 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 |
| L.A., 2003 | A5.01 Conviction |
| L.A., 2003 | A5.02 Just Rewards |
| L.A., 2003 | A5.03 Unleashed |
| L.A., 2003 | A5.04 Hell Bound |
| L.A., 2003 | A5.05 Life of the Party |
| L.A., 2003 | A5.06 The Cautionary Tale of Numero Cinco |
| L.A., 2003 | A5.07 Lineage |
| Europe, 2003 | Tales of the Vampires: Antique |
| L.A., 2003 | Angel comic: Spike vs Dracula #5 |
| L.A., 2003 | Angel comic: Wesley: Spotlight |
| L.A., 2003 | A5.08 Destiny |
| L.A., 2003 | A5.09 Harm's Way |
| L.A., 2003 | Angel comic: Spike: Old Wounds |
| L.A., 2003/4 | A5.10 Soul Purpose |
| L.A., 2003/4 | A5.11 Damage |
| L.A., 2003/4 | Angel comic: Spike: Lost and Found |
| L.A., 2003/4 | Angel comic: Gunn: Spotlight |
| L.A., 2003/4 | A5.12 You're Welcome |
| L.A., 2003/4 | A5.13 Why We Fight |
| L.A., 2004 | A5.14 Smile Time |
| L.A., 2004 | A5.15 A Hole in the World |
| L.A., 2004 | A5.16 Shells |
| L.A., 2004 | Angel comic: Illyria: Spotlight |
| L.A., 2004 | A5.17 Underneath |
| L.A., 2004 | A5.18 Origin |
| 2004 | Connor Spotlight |
| L.A., 2004 | A5.19 Time Bomb |
| L.A., 2004 | A5.20 The Girl in Question |
| L.A., 2004 | A5.21 Power Play |
| L.A., 2004 | A5.22 Not Fade Away |
| Romania, 2004 | Angel graphic novel: The Curse |
| L.A., 2004 | Angel graphic novel: Old Friends |
| 2004/5/6 | Spike movie |
