Werewolves in Los Angeles! With Fred still missing and a killer on the loose, Angel and the gang must try to balance their time and ensure the safety of LA citizens. But conflicting motives among the ranks may cause more stress than they can handle.
Note: This recap may contain spoilers!
As we begin the issue, Angel is thinking about his past and current state. He’s been a vampire for two hundred years and feels the weight of both the beliefs he committed to as a man and the sins he committed as a vampire. And the woman he swore to keep safe is now at the mercy of Wolfram and Hart. Fred’s been missing for weeks, Buffy will always see him as a monster, and Spike may well be the death of him. But still he pushes on because he’s trying to do good despite the monster inside.
They cannot focus their attention on finding Fred just yet because Lilith has brought them a case. Some demon has carved up and skewered half a dozen tramps. Spike doesn’t care, but Angel does. In fact, he has to. Lilith says this case is connected to his purpose, the final walk toward redemption. However, solving the mystery may prove difficult as the team has differing opinions on who might be at fault. Gunn thinks the culprit is Lukas, but Spike doesn’t think it’s that clear-cut.
Angel calls Kate and they head to the latest crime scene to examine the area. Gunn starts live-streaming, swearing his vengeance against Lukas and then takes off, so Spike has to chase after him. That leaves Kate and Angel to investigate on their own. We get a clear confirmation Kate understands that the visions she’s been getting are actually memories. I foresee this becoming a major part of the storyline, since she and Angel are bound to become closer as the memories surface.
Switching over to Wolfram and Hart, we see what Fred’s been up to. She’s getting the rundown of the law firm, as she’s now in charge thanks to Baphomet’s possession. Fred has to find new ways for suffering to thrive and she’s got a lot of administrative tasks she needs to do in order to keep distress high in the world. Her first assignment is deadly. One of their big pharma clients disclosed about their price gouging, which broke their NDA with Wolfram and Hart. Fred’s been tasked to deal with it by killing the executive in charge. We get a glimpse inside her mind and the constant war she’s waging against Baphomet in trying to resist his control, but he is too powerful.
Meanwhile, back at the crime scene, Angel finds clothing that is shredded, like it burst off someone. And then Spike comes crashing through the wall behind them, screaming that they quickly find some silver to deal with the werewolf chasing him. That would be the killer they’re searching for and the owner of said clothing. After knocking away Kate and Gunn, who is still convinced that Lukas is behind it, it’s just Angel and Spike left to face off against the massive creature. While ultimately Angel manages to subdue the werewolf and they get it back to house, caged up in the basement, the fight left them all a bit battered.
Gunn is sorry for putting them all in danger, but he keeps seeing Lukas every time he closes his eyes. He’s lost one person in his life, he doesn’t want to lose another. Gunn wants them to refocus on what’s important – finding Fred, even if Angel’s still dealing with his connection to the werewolf case. And that case is about to get a whole lot more interesting. After Gunn heads to bed, Angel, Kate, and Spike go down to the basement to see the werewolf. Only, he’s no longer a beast, but instead it’s Oz! I look forward to seeing where the storyline takes us now. Great to see beloved characters showing up.
Rating: 4 / 5 Stars
