Angel is one step closer to bringing Giles back to life, or condemning himself to a life spent comatose in a mental hospital. Either way, he will have to rely on his friends to save him and help bring his plan into action because he’s certainly in no state to do it himself. Ah, Angel, that push for forgiveness is going to kill you permanently one day.
Note: This recap may contain spoilers!
Remember when Giles was bad-ass? When he staked a vampire with his guitar? That’s one of the scenes we got treated to as this month’s comic opened. I will always love Ripper the best, so these brief glimpses at his youthful life is always welcome. And he’s not the only one who had determination in his family. His grandmother was pretty tough herself! The whole family was destined for greatness and power, but it’s how they used those gifts that mattered. Giles may not have wanted to walk the path his father did, but being a Watcher was always his destiny. However, it’s his experiences of rebellion that made him a better Watcher. With all his missteps, his need to combat the choices he made in terms of Eyghon, he was the perfect person to mentor Slayers as they found themselves. Grandma knew that, and in time so did Giles.
Back to the present, Giles is still part of the walking dead of Eyghon’s army, but there’s a new ally who has joined the fight. Spike has left behind his bug minions and his spaceship, instead wandering the world and coming to provide assistance at Angel’s request. They may not be best friends and their ties to Buffy seem to always get in the way, but they are worthy allies, and Spike’s one of the best chances they have in defeating Eyghon while saving Giles. The baby Slayers like Spike just fine, so I’d say that’s a nice vote of confidence, even if Faith has her doubts. There’s no time for second guesses, they have a war to win.
Eyghon and his army of zombie loved ones break into the house and bring the fight to them. While others are squaring off against mindless soldiers, Zombie!Giles has his sights set on Faith, taunting her and trying to undermine her confidence. His attempts are for naught, though, because he’s soon netted and subdued. The focus turns to Eyghon, who has managed to do what they thought impossible — possess Spike. Faith has a new enemy to battle as she takes on Spike and Angel takes on Eyghon, who has turned his attention to the souled vampire. Angel’s not going to go down so easily, considering he not only has Angelus within him, but also Giles, so he is more able to fight off Eyghon’s attempts at control. With aid from Faith, he beheads Eyghon and the spell cast over his army is soon broken. Seems like a winning day, except this is Angel and nothing can go so smoothly.
Once Eyghon is defeated, the part of Giles that he possesses gets transferred over to Angel. That means he’s got three personalities running around in his head. That’s a few too many and he cannot take the strain of it all, going into a comatose state. He’s the only one who knows how to get the soul of Giles back into his original body, but Angel’s not going to be much help now, so Spike and Faith are left on their own to figure it out. I foresee the next Spike comic being him and Faith paired up in their search for answers. I said I wanted an overlapping storyline. Guess I got my wish!
Rating: 4 / 5 Stars
