Archaeus is still gunning for a family reunion, Niles Weatherford is still searching for answers to his statue mystery, and Angel is still trying to work through his abandonment issues. Somehow, I don’t think any of them are going to have a happy ending before this storyline is all over.
Note: This recap may contain spoilers!
While I like the continuing mystery about the statue Weatherford has stashed in his house, I feel that we’re not moving forward at a quick enough pace to sustain interest. We start off the issue with him on the phone. He is speaking with Brenda over at the museum, still researching answers and not getting very far. We did get to see two nice points regarding that storyline, but both were connected to Dru, so of course my interest would be raised. First off, she tries to gain entry into Weatherford’s house by posing as a stranded motorist. Alas, he turns her away and her mission to get the statue for Archaeus fails. But don’t count her out just yet, because she later kills pretty much everyone in the vicinity of Brenda at the museum and forces her to call Weatherford about recalling the statue to the safety of the museum. So, if she can’t gain access to the goods, Dru is going to make the statue come to her.
Poor Dru needs something to go right in her life, since she keeps failing and disappointing dear, old Daddy Archaeus. He is not pleased with his beloved child, and puts the fear into her. She would not like it when he’s angry, so she’d best find a way to get both the statue and Angel in Archaeus’s presence. With the statue taken care of, she’s just got to worry about getting her siblings back into the fold. First Angel, then Spike. Ah, if only it were that easy. Archaeus has gangs of vampires out causing problems around Magic Town. But Angel and Faith are training helpers to make sure the streets are safe, namely Tricia and Parker. While they are not perfect fighters yet, much to Parker’s frustration, they are learning the ropes and getting better. It will just take some time to get there. They are part of the overall plan to trap Archaeus. Word will spread that Angel is around, patrolling Magic Town, and then Archaeus will ease up on the attacks. That will give them an in to go after Archaeus directly. Good plan, if only Angel would play along nicely.
Angel wants to stick around Magic Town for real and have the rest of them go after Archaeus. Faith is, understandably, not happy with that since Angel’s making decisions all on his own. But a heart-to-heart chat, after an explosive fight, reveals the true reasons behind Angel’s attitude. The vampire still resents that Faith left him, and he’s afraid Archaeus might take control of him again. It takes some doing, but Faith finally convinces Angel that he has to trust them, that they are stronger together, and finally everyone seems to be on the same page.
Well, almost. Brandt gives Angel a lead about some sewers around Magic Town, which sends him off on a search, but we later see that Brandt has apparently been turned into a vampire. And the bad news only gets worse as Angel starts exploring the sewers and gets attacked. He easily takes down the two vampires, and doesn’t have to deal with Angus quite yet, but Dru gets him in front of Archaeus for a little chat. She tries to get Angel to see the reasoning in joining Archaeus, but when Angel won’t go willingly Archaeus exerts his power and turns him into Angelus. I guess Angel’s fears turned out to be true. Without Spike there to pull him back from the edge, Angelus just might destroy those near and dear to him before he can return to his non-evil self. Ah, the possibilities!
Rating: 3 / 5 Stars
