Dear Boy (Angel)

"Dear Boy" is episode 5 of season 2 in the television show Angel.

Summary

After Angel finally meets Darla outside of his dreams, she kicks her mind games into full force in order to turn him back over to the dark side, while Wesley and Cordelia fear for Angel’s sanity. Meanwhile, Lindsey plans to have Darla, who turns out to be a perfectly normal human resurrected, frame Angel for a string of murders, and have Kate Lockley track Angel down for them hoping to either turn him, or kill him.

Also, a flashback to 1860 England shows Angel and Darla as a wandering vampire couple who target a wealthy noblewoman named Drusilla with psychic abilities, and who goes insane after Angel kills her whole family.

Expanded overview

Angel wakes up to even more bickering from Cordelia and Wesley then Cordelia gets a vision with sketchy details. While Cordelia and Wesley try to find the demon and location from Cordelia's vision, Angel daydreams of Darla. The entire gang arrive at a convent where two groups of cloaked men are fighting in front of a Thrall demon. The men then attack Angel and friends. Gunn uses his new ax to destroy the demon and all the cloaked men stop fighting. Walking home, Angel is shocked to see Darla walking the streets.

In the past, Angel walks through the streets until he finds Darla, after she killed two people. She points out a young woman to Angel, who we recognize as Drusilla. Angel takes the young woman, pure and with the gift of visions, as a challenge. A potential paying customer presents a case to Cordelia and Wesley about his wife who is cheating on him with another man. Angel tells Wesley and Cordelia about seeing Darla in his dreams and in real life but they think he's starting to lose his sanity.

Lindsey and Darla talk about Angel and how he's progressing. At a police station, Kate works a desk job where she receives notice from a friend that Angel has moved his company into the old Hyperion Hotel. Angel Investigations spy on a woman having an affair, but Angel spoils their cover by confronting the woman and telling her to talk to her husband. As they're leaving, Angel spots Darla but when he confronts her, she's human and claims to be DeEtta Kramer. Angel sings "Everybody Have Fun Tonight" at the demon bar in order to get information about Darla from The Host but gets no answers.

Angel finds the Kramer home and lurks outside while inside, Darla waits for the plan to take form. Stephen reveals himself to be nothing more than an actor, posing as a husband for Darla. Meanwhile, Cordelia and Wesley warn Gunn about the dangers of an evil Angel and Darla combined. In a flashback, Angelus and Darla fool around while a frightened human Drusilla watches on. Although Darla doesn't seem to approve, Angel announces that he'll make Drusilla a vampire.

Darla and Lindsey's plan goes into effect when Angel breaks into her home in time to find himself setup for murdering Darla's supposed husband. The police arrive on scene, but Angel is able to escape without getting captured. Kate talks with Darla on the scene, but when Kate turns her back, Angel grabs Darla and takes her away to the convent. He does everything he can to bring the real Darla to the fore and with some persuasion, she does. The two kiss and Darla tries to convince Angel to let her make him happy. He tells her she never made him happy, but still she persists and tries to bring his demon out.

With plenty of backup, Kate breaks into the hotel to search for Angel. She's determined to believe that Angel is and always will be evil. Cordelia and Wesley try to convince Kate that Darla was once a vampire and that Angel didn't kill anyone. Darla refuses to give up on Angel, but she leaves him underground until sunset. Angel broods in his room until Cordelia and Wesley confront him to make sure he's not evil. He tells them that much trouble is on the way, and he's looking forward to it.

Writing

• While David Greenwalt is the credited writer for this episode, significant scenes between Angel and Darla were actually written by Marti Noxon.^[1]
• The conversation Wesley and Cordelia have about Cordelia's visions (and how they affect Wesley's salary) mirrors one between Cordelia and Doyle at the end of the season one episode "I Fall to Pieces."

Arc significance

• Wolfram & Hart's plan to turn Angel over to their side becomes more clear as Darla's manipulation has a strong effect on him.
• The Angel Investigations team and Kate all find out Darla has been brought back by Wolfram and Hart, albeit as a human.
• Angel learns that Darla was actually present during the dreams he had about her in previous episodes.

References

1. ↑ Bratton, Kristy, The Grass is Always Greeny-er, retrieved 2007-07-15 

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Dear Boy

• "Dear Boy" at the Internet Movie Database
• "Dear Boy" at TV.com