Angel Season 5 - Episode 19 - Time Bomb (part 1 of 2)
Angel 5.19 - Time Bomb
Written by Ben Edlund
Directed by Vern Gillum
A time bomb, as any of us who’ve watched cartoons or action flicks would know, is an explosive device that is designed to go off at a particular set time. It is also a colloquial saying that is used to describe a person (or situation) that is expected to explode or go pear-shaped at any moment. There are many time bombs in this episode; Illyria, on the point of atomic-level molecular breakdown; Angel and his situation, yeah, the one that has had him careering towards breaking point all season long and Team Angel itself, fractured, bruised, depleted and with trust in very low supply. Time Bombs each and every one all going tick, tick, tick…
Time bomb opens in Gunn’s torture basement. He’s lying there on his slab waiting for dissection, just as he’s done everyday since he took up residency there. But today is different. Today, with the subtlety of an earthquake, Illyria comes to his rescue. She makes short work of the torturer demon, rips the necklace from Charles’ neck causing the return of memories and self-awareness. She orders him to move. Although not averse to the idea of leaving, he tries to explain the conundrum of the chamber; that a void cannot exist, that someone must wear the necklace in his place to facilitate their departure. Illyria is perplexed for a mere fraction of a second. The solution presents itself as the dungeon master charges towards them. Illyria cocks her head sideways and knows precisely what to do; let the beast be the bearer of the pendent.
Back at the office Wesley and Angel bicker over Illyria’s ‘mission’ to rescue Gunn. Wesley denies ‘sending her’ and really, as if he could wield that kind of influence with the hell-god, to give directorates and make her do his bidding. Angel is suspicious - why would she help them out? What could she possibly have to gain by taking the risk? Wesley doubts the task poses much danger:
Wesley: She has the power of a god.
Angel: She has the ego of a god.
Wesley: She was ruler of the world, after all. This sort of thing goes to one’s head.
Wesley! Is this a subtle dig at your master and commander? At Angel, who is ‘king’ and ruler of his little domain and doesn’t like anyone to forget it?, Nah, he hasn’t let it go to his head at all (oh, and in case you couldn’t tell, that was my sarcastic voice). Maybe it’s a case of power-envy? Wesley, on the other hand is all too aware of his place. He knows he is nothing to Illyria; an amusement, a novelty whose appeal could wear off without notice. Angel doesn’t disagree but suspects that she’s attracted to the power that Wolfram and Hart exudes and theorises that she’s out to get what once was hers back. He doesn’t trust her. She’s too dangerous to have in his kingdom. But Wesley can see potential. If they could just find some way to integrate her into the fold, harness her power - what an asset, what an ally she could be! Wesley is her pseudo-Watcher, she his Potential, he is her teacher and mentor and he’s trying desperately to think of ways to school her into elegant submission. Angel is dubious. He doesn’t see Illyria as a team player. Her priority is power, not integration.
The discussion is interrupted by the appearance of a portal through which Illyria pushes Gunn before following herself. She picks Gunn up by the throat, strangling him as she dangles him before Angel and Wes. Angrily, Angel demands that she let him go but Wesley approaches with caution and understanding:
Wesley: Illyria, stop.
Illyria: It holds value, worth beyond price.
Angel: I said let him-
Wesley: Yes, great worth. A great debt, you’re talking of the debt, aren’t you… of what we owe you?
She drops Gunn to the floor once she is understood:
Illyria: Of what you owe me.
She is trying to assert herself, she’s putting her ducks in a row, jockeying for position within this group of lowly beings, biding her time until she can make a move, manoeuvring them into her debt.
Angel: Go team!
Gunn, completely divested of his usual business suit and tie and now attired in his traditional street wear, goes to his office and sees a pile of files waiting for his attention. The sight is not inviting so he goes to visit Wesley instead. Wesley’s office is in an all together different kind of disarray; books and papers and charts litter the floor. Wesley is wild and unkempt and completely absorbed in his quest to know what makes Illyria tick. There is a certain awkwardness between Wes and Charles, what with the stabbing and all. They don’t want to rehash the past, besides Gunn’s experience in the holding cell has given him new perspective:
Gunn: I ain’t looking for sorry. Don’t know if I’d accept it. Besides, I just got my heart cut out of my chest everyday for two weeks straight. Compared to what, a little jab in the gut? Kinda over it.
Wesley wonders what he is looking for but Gunn isn’t entirely sure:
Gunn: I don’t know, a compass maybe? The thing that killed my friend just saved my life. No one knows why. This place just went Poseidon on my ass, I don’t know which way is up.
Wesley says that it’s all about adjustment. Man, have we heard that a lot this season! ‘Adjustment’, ‘it’ll just take a little time’, ‘we all need to adjust’- but that’s the problem in a nutshell! Each time they nudge themselves a little this way or a little that, each time they make tiny, infinitesimal adjustments to the way of life at Wolfram and Hart they inch further away from their goals, lose sight of their original objectives, become distanced from who they were before they moved in and succumb to the senior partners strategy for nullification. Adjustment is compromise. Compromise, in this situation, is corruption of the soul.
But the boys aren’t seeing the bigger picture. Gunn can’t help but agree that Illyria requires some adjustment. Wesley knows exactly what he means:
Wesley: You can’t…look at her without seeing…her body’s former owner.
And Lorne too:
Gunn: Guess It’s still the headline around here.
Lorne: Front page news and a walking obituary. Strange times huh?
God, no wonder they’re verging on crazy! Illyria is Illyria, who killed Fred, Illyria is Fred, an animated corpse, Fred is the woman Wesley loves, they all loved, so beautiful and she looks exactly like…
Except that she’s not. She’s Illyria, who thinks she’s still God-king of the universe, who makes this patently obvious by the ‘pure, unadulterated vertigo’ that spills from her mouth every time she opens it. They see them both, at the same time, all the time and, not surprisingly, the effect is completely unsettling.
But Spike has no such issues with identity confusion. As he spars with Illyria he doesn’t hesitate to give as good as he gets. He sees through the façade of physical resemblance so it doesn’t cloud reality for him. This is not Fred pure and simple. This is something else entirely, he can smell it and he has no problem hitting it. Spike has made progress since we last saw them fight. Now he can anticipate her moves and actually land a punch here and there.
Illyria: You’re adapting.
Spike: We do that.
She’s talking to a master of the art here. Spike sees adaptation as learning and takes pride in his progress, it reinforces his humanity. Illyria sees adaptation as compromise, an admission of weakness; it denies pre-existing omniscience and so therefore should be avoided at all costs. All season long, adaptation has meant compromise; we’ve been shown that time and time again. So what is different between Spike and Team Angel’s versions of adaptation? In short, Team Angel is lacking Spike’s vital ingredient - learning. Team Angel adapted but never learnt. They adapted, they adjusted to life in the firm but they never learnt to wield the weapon once thought so promising. They didn’t learn what they could about exploiting weakness, anticipating moves, instead they fell for the company line that Wolfram and Hart was all powerful with no weakness whatsoever and so they let themselves be amalgamated into the conglomerate whole. Adaptation without learning is just adjustment.
Spike is not in awe of Illyria. He likens her vertigo, her hyperbole, “when the world met me it shuddered and groaned, it knelt at my feet” to the exaggerated fantasy of a correspondent to a girlie magazine, her self-centric world view as outmoded. Times change and if you don’t change with it then you risk irrelevance (hmmm, didn’t Senior Cinco teach us something incredibly similar?). Despite all his progressive thought, Illyria is still the one with the tricks up her sleeve. She can still bend time, still has almighty power and wants to crush the world like an ant. She scoffs at the pretensions of the humans, even the wealthiest amongst them she considers paupers.
Illyria: To never die…and to conquer all, that is winning.
Angel calls Spike away from the ‘training session’, Illyria kindly gives him permission to go. Angel says the sessions must stop. Spike objects, says he’s just starting to make headway in figuring her out (though that time-stop thingy is a royal bitch), but Angel is insistent:
Angel: We’re not testing her Spike, she’s testing us.
Angel understands her thirst for power, he knows they ought to be suspicious of her every move and that they shouldn’t be handing her free access to data. She’s too dangerous to have around. At that moment Illyria appears before them, just as suddenly she doubles over as pain grips her. Spike takes credit for the injury:
Spike: Got her winded at least, didn’t I? That’s right little Shiva, reckon you’ll think twice next time.
But if this was the case then the reaction was mighty delayed. We suspect that something is not quite right.
Angel calls a team meeting. Illyria is top of the agenda, how to get rid of her, to be precise.
Spike: So are we talking pasture…or slaughterhouse?
Angel takes the ‘she did it first’ argument. She had no problem killing Fred, so why should they have a problem with terminating Illyria? Wes comes to her defence. What Illyria did was not malicious; he likens the transaction to the detached randomness of a viral infection. Angel accuses Wes of not being able to think clearly because he’s ‘bonded’ with her. Wesley instantly falls into line, sees the situation from his commander’s perspective, or seems to.
Wesley: But she’s unpredictable, dangerous, too powerful a being, too close to being an enemy. Yes, Angel, it’s self evident.
Angel wants to find a weakness, vulnerability and a way to kill her. When questioned if he has a problem with this strategy Wesley looks Angel right in the eye and tells him, no, there is no problem. Because they have more than enough problems to worry about. Like the apocalypse that they are right in the middle of, that evil is winning and, oh yeah, they’re playing for the winning side and they don’t know how to fight an invisible war against an enemy they can’t pin down. Hamilton arrives at the meeting not at all happy with the astronomical cost of the collateral damage caused by Illyria’s rescue of Gunn and advises that reimbursement will be coming out of their division’s profits. To make matters worse he also has a task, a special request from the Partners, that he’d like Angel to personally oversee. It’s a simple matter but with some very big players. Angel is not overly concerned with getting back into the Senior Partners good graces and says so with belligerent bluntness. Hamilton waves aside Angel’s insolence and recommends Angel to keep his mind on profit making:
Hamilton: Its profits that let you keep this plucky little boatload of good above water. It’s a business boys, not a bat cave.
It goes right back to the ‘catch’ that Eve told them about right back at the start. To make the business run, they have to make the business run. The rule still applies, same situation and nothing has changed. The senior partners and their liaison are indulgent to a point - as long as they remember there is work to do in between their personal woes and crusading ideals, work that keeps them busy, keeps them distracted from the real game.
Illyria pays a visit to Wesley. She want’s to know what day of the week it is in the human cycle. Wesley tells her, after a long moment’s consideration, that it is Monday.
Illyria: This conversation, we’ve had it before
Wes thinks she means they’ve talked about this information before, that he’s taught her about the systems that govern human existence. Illyria is edgy, she seems upset about something; she accuses Wesley of being her betrayer, of wanting to re-write history when he shattered the Orlon window (in Origin). Wesley admits the truth - he wanted Fred back but all he got was more painful memories.
Wesley: I’ve come to understand how irreversible the works of time are.
Illyria is stung by the betrayal, that to get Fred back he would destroy her, but nevertheless she argues against these foreign feelings:
Illyria: Betrayal was a neutral word in my day, as unjudged a word as water or breeze. No. Or perhaps…I am only bothered because I’m bothered.
Which came first, the chicken or the egg? It sounds suspiciously human to Wesley, and he tells her so. The comparison only irritates her further and she lashes out at her adoptive species:
Illyria: Motes of dust! Mayflies who die so soon after they’re born they might as well not live at all!
Wesley: Now, now, manners.
Wesley reprimands her surly behaviour with a flick of his pointed finger. He is not without some power in this ‘relationship’ after all. She may possess physical strength and special abilities but Wesley can halt her with his words. Illyria gets increasingly neurotic. Time doesn’t exist till it cracks apart and Wesley’s concern and opinions weigh less than sunlight. Suddenly she bends over, grips her stomach in agony but when she rights herself again she is suddenly in the training room. Wesley is pointing a large, futuristic weapon at her; Angel orders “Do it now”. Pain grips her again, abruptly she finds herself back with Angel and Spike
Spike: Got her winded at least, didn’t I? That’s right little Shiva, reckon you’ll think twice next time.
And we begin to understand that haunted look in those azure eyes. Time is coming unstitched; she’s loosing control of her command over time. Time doesn’t exist till it cracks apart…
Another spasm of pain propels her back to Wesley’s office. Another seizure and she lurches forward knocking a glass of water to the floor as she reacts to the pain. Illyria is worried and vexed. She takes it out on Wesley:
Illyria: You tried to murder me! Again.
She lashes out, kicking Wesley’s desk with considerable force, sending it flying across the room and pinning its terrified occupant against the wall. Wesley has no idea what she’s raving about or why she’s so furious. He’s in utter confusion; they’ve already discussed this and he doesn’t know what she means by ‘again’. He tries to calm and placate her. “I don’t want you dead, believe me.” But Illyria is unconvinced:
Illyria: I was there; I saw it.
Gunn goes to see Angel about the Senior Partners special assignment; he needs the boss’ signature on some documentation. Angel inquires as to exactly where Gunn and Hamilton met before (as implied by the liaison at the earlier meeting). Charles explains that Hamilton visited him in the holding cell and offered him a way out.
Angel: And what’d you say?
Gunn: Do you really have to ask me that?
Angel: I really do.
That’s how thin the trust is now. Gunn is cut to the quick that Angel even has to ask but trust is not a given at Angel Investigations anymore. Betrayal, whether it be witting or not, is too common place now to foster unconditional faith between the remaining members of the team. Gunn swears he’s not going to make deals anymore - and he doesn’t mean lawyer-type deals, that’s part and parcel of his occupation - he means deals that result in compromise of self, friends and principles.
Continued here...
Written by Ben Edlund
Directed by Vern Gillum
A time bomb, as any of us who’ve watched cartoons or action flicks would know, is an explosive device that is designed to go off at a particular set time. It is also a colloquial saying that is used to describe a person (or situation) that is expected to explode or go pear-shaped at any moment. There are many time bombs in this episode; Illyria, on the point of atomic-level molecular breakdown; Angel and his situation, yeah, the one that has had him careering towards breaking point all season long and Team Angel itself, fractured, bruised, depleted and with trust in very low supply. Time Bombs each and every one all going tick, tick, tick…
Time bomb opens in Gunn’s torture basement. He’s lying there on his slab waiting for dissection, just as he’s done everyday since he took up residency there. But today is different. Today, with the subtlety of an earthquake, Illyria comes to his rescue. She makes short work of the torturer demon, rips the necklace from Charles’ neck causing the return of memories and self-awareness. She orders him to move. Although not averse to the idea of leaving, he tries to explain the conundrum of the chamber; that a void cannot exist, that someone must wear the necklace in his place to facilitate their departure. Illyria is perplexed for a mere fraction of a second. The solution presents itself as the dungeon master charges towards them. Illyria cocks her head sideways and knows precisely what to do; let the beast be the bearer of the pendent.
Back at the office Wesley and Angel bicker over Illyria’s ‘mission’ to rescue Gunn. Wesley denies ‘sending her’ and really, as if he could wield that kind of influence with the hell-god, to give directorates and make her do his bidding. Angel is suspicious - why would she help them out? What could she possibly have to gain by taking the risk? Wesley doubts the task poses much danger:
Wesley: She has the power of a god.
Angel: She has the ego of a god.
Wesley: She was ruler of the world, after all. This sort of thing goes to one’s head.
Wesley! Is this a subtle dig at your master and commander? At Angel, who is ‘king’ and ruler of his little domain and doesn’t like anyone to forget it?, Nah, he hasn’t let it go to his head at all (oh, and in case you couldn’t tell, that was my sarcastic voice). Maybe it’s a case of power-envy? Wesley, on the other hand is all too aware of his place. He knows he is nothing to Illyria; an amusement, a novelty whose appeal could wear off without notice. Angel doesn’t disagree but suspects that she’s attracted to the power that Wolfram and Hart exudes and theorises that she’s out to get what once was hers back. He doesn’t trust her. She’s too dangerous to have in his kingdom. But Wesley can see potential. If they could just find some way to integrate her into the fold, harness her power - what an asset, what an ally she could be! Wesley is her pseudo-Watcher, she his Potential, he is her teacher and mentor and he’s trying desperately to think of ways to school her into elegant submission. Angel is dubious. He doesn’t see Illyria as a team player. Her priority is power, not integration.
The discussion is interrupted by the appearance of a portal through which Illyria pushes Gunn before following herself. She picks Gunn up by the throat, strangling him as she dangles him before Angel and Wes. Angrily, Angel demands that she let him go but Wesley approaches with caution and understanding:
Wesley: Illyria, stop.
Illyria: It holds value, worth beyond price.
Angel: I said let him-
Wesley: Yes, great worth. A great debt, you’re talking of the debt, aren’t you… of what we owe you?
She drops Gunn to the floor once she is understood:
Illyria: Of what you owe me.
She is trying to assert herself, she’s putting her ducks in a row, jockeying for position within this group of lowly beings, biding her time until she can make a move, manoeuvring them into her debt.
Angel: Go team!
Gunn, completely divested of his usual business suit and tie and now attired in his traditional street wear, goes to his office and sees a pile of files waiting for his attention. The sight is not inviting so he goes to visit Wesley instead. Wesley’s office is in an all together different kind of disarray; books and papers and charts litter the floor. Wesley is wild and unkempt and completely absorbed in his quest to know what makes Illyria tick. There is a certain awkwardness between Wes and Charles, what with the stabbing and all. They don’t want to rehash the past, besides Gunn’s experience in the holding cell has given him new perspective:
Gunn: I ain’t looking for sorry. Don’t know if I’d accept it. Besides, I just got my heart cut out of my chest everyday for two weeks straight. Compared to what, a little jab in the gut? Kinda over it.
Wesley wonders what he is looking for but Gunn isn’t entirely sure:
Gunn: I don’t know, a compass maybe? The thing that killed my friend just saved my life. No one knows why. This place just went Poseidon on my ass, I don’t know which way is up.
Wesley says that it’s all about adjustment. Man, have we heard that a lot this season! ‘Adjustment’, ‘it’ll just take a little time’, ‘we all need to adjust’- but that’s the problem in a nutshell! Each time they nudge themselves a little this way or a little that, each time they make tiny, infinitesimal adjustments to the way of life at Wolfram and Hart they inch further away from their goals, lose sight of their original objectives, become distanced from who they were before they moved in and succumb to the senior partners strategy for nullification. Adjustment is compromise. Compromise, in this situation, is corruption of the soul.
But the boys aren’t seeing the bigger picture. Gunn can’t help but agree that Illyria requires some adjustment. Wesley knows exactly what he means:
Wesley: You can’t…look at her without seeing…her body’s former owner.
And Lorne too:
Gunn: Guess It’s still the headline around here.
Lorne: Front page news and a walking obituary. Strange times huh?
God, no wonder they’re verging on crazy! Illyria is Illyria, who killed Fred, Illyria is Fred, an animated corpse, Fred is the woman Wesley loves, they all loved, so beautiful and she looks exactly like…
Except that she’s not. She’s Illyria, who thinks she’s still God-king of the universe, who makes this patently obvious by the ‘pure, unadulterated vertigo’ that spills from her mouth every time she opens it. They see them both, at the same time, all the time and, not surprisingly, the effect is completely unsettling.
But Spike has no such issues with identity confusion. As he spars with Illyria he doesn’t hesitate to give as good as he gets. He sees through the façade of physical resemblance so it doesn’t cloud reality for him. This is not Fred pure and simple. This is something else entirely, he can smell it and he has no problem hitting it. Spike has made progress since we last saw them fight. Now he can anticipate her moves and actually land a punch here and there.
Illyria: You’re adapting.
Spike: We do that.
She’s talking to a master of the art here. Spike sees adaptation as learning and takes pride in his progress, it reinforces his humanity. Illyria sees adaptation as compromise, an admission of weakness; it denies pre-existing omniscience and so therefore should be avoided at all costs. All season long, adaptation has meant compromise; we’ve been shown that time and time again. So what is different between Spike and Team Angel’s versions of adaptation? In short, Team Angel is lacking Spike’s vital ingredient - learning. Team Angel adapted but never learnt. They adapted, they adjusted to life in the firm but they never learnt to wield the weapon once thought so promising. They didn’t learn what they could about exploiting weakness, anticipating moves, instead they fell for the company line that Wolfram and Hart was all powerful with no weakness whatsoever and so they let themselves be amalgamated into the conglomerate whole. Adaptation without learning is just adjustment.
Spike is not in awe of Illyria. He likens her vertigo, her hyperbole, “when the world met me it shuddered and groaned, it knelt at my feet” to the exaggerated fantasy of a correspondent to a girlie magazine, her self-centric world view as outmoded. Times change and if you don’t change with it then you risk irrelevance (hmmm, didn’t Senior Cinco teach us something incredibly similar?). Despite all his progressive thought, Illyria is still the one with the tricks up her sleeve. She can still bend time, still has almighty power and wants to crush the world like an ant. She scoffs at the pretensions of the humans, even the wealthiest amongst them she considers paupers.
Illyria: To never die…and to conquer all, that is winning.
Angel calls Spike away from the ‘training session’, Illyria kindly gives him permission to go. Angel says the sessions must stop. Spike objects, says he’s just starting to make headway in figuring her out (though that time-stop thingy is a royal bitch), but Angel is insistent:
Angel: We’re not testing her Spike, she’s testing us.
Angel understands her thirst for power, he knows they ought to be suspicious of her every move and that they shouldn’t be handing her free access to data. She’s too dangerous to have around. At that moment Illyria appears before them, just as suddenly she doubles over as pain grips her. Spike takes credit for the injury:
Spike: Got her winded at least, didn’t I? That’s right little Shiva, reckon you’ll think twice next time.
But if this was the case then the reaction was mighty delayed. We suspect that something is not quite right.
Angel calls a team meeting. Illyria is top of the agenda, how to get rid of her, to be precise.
Spike: So are we talking pasture…or slaughterhouse?
Angel takes the ‘she did it first’ argument. She had no problem killing Fred, so why should they have a problem with terminating Illyria? Wes comes to her defence. What Illyria did was not malicious; he likens the transaction to the detached randomness of a viral infection. Angel accuses Wes of not being able to think clearly because he’s ‘bonded’ with her. Wesley instantly falls into line, sees the situation from his commander’s perspective, or seems to.
Wesley: But she’s unpredictable, dangerous, too powerful a being, too close to being an enemy. Yes, Angel, it’s self evident.
Angel wants to find a weakness, vulnerability and a way to kill her. When questioned if he has a problem with this strategy Wesley looks Angel right in the eye and tells him, no, there is no problem. Because they have more than enough problems to worry about. Like the apocalypse that they are right in the middle of, that evil is winning and, oh yeah, they’re playing for the winning side and they don’t know how to fight an invisible war against an enemy they can’t pin down. Hamilton arrives at the meeting not at all happy with the astronomical cost of the collateral damage caused by Illyria’s rescue of Gunn and advises that reimbursement will be coming out of their division’s profits. To make matters worse he also has a task, a special request from the Partners, that he’d like Angel to personally oversee. It’s a simple matter but with some very big players. Angel is not overly concerned with getting back into the Senior Partners good graces and says so with belligerent bluntness. Hamilton waves aside Angel’s insolence and recommends Angel to keep his mind on profit making:
Hamilton: Its profits that let you keep this plucky little boatload of good above water. It’s a business boys, not a bat cave.
It goes right back to the ‘catch’ that Eve told them about right back at the start. To make the business run, they have to make the business run. The rule still applies, same situation and nothing has changed. The senior partners and their liaison are indulgent to a point - as long as they remember there is work to do in between their personal woes and crusading ideals, work that keeps them busy, keeps them distracted from the real game.
Illyria pays a visit to Wesley. She want’s to know what day of the week it is in the human cycle. Wesley tells her, after a long moment’s consideration, that it is Monday.
Illyria: This conversation, we’ve had it before
Wes thinks she means they’ve talked about this information before, that he’s taught her about the systems that govern human existence. Illyria is edgy, she seems upset about something; she accuses Wesley of being her betrayer, of wanting to re-write history when he shattered the Orlon window (in Origin). Wesley admits the truth - he wanted Fred back but all he got was more painful memories.
Wesley: I’ve come to understand how irreversible the works of time are.
Illyria is stung by the betrayal, that to get Fred back he would destroy her, but nevertheless she argues against these foreign feelings:
Illyria: Betrayal was a neutral word in my day, as unjudged a word as water or breeze. No. Or perhaps…I am only bothered because I’m bothered.
Which came first, the chicken or the egg? It sounds suspiciously human to Wesley, and he tells her so. The comparison only irritates her further and she lashes out at her adoptive species:
Illyria: Motes of dust! Mayflies who die so soon after they’re born they might as well not live at all!
Wesley: Now, now, manners.
Wesley reprimands her surly behaviour with a flick of his pointed finger. He is not without some power in this ‘relationship’ after all. She may possess physical strength and special abilities but Wesley can halt her with his words. Illyria gets increasingly neurotic. Time doesn’t exist till it cracks apart and Wesley’s concern and opinions weigh less than sunlight. Suddenly she bends over, grips her stomach in agony but when she rights herself again she is suddenly in the training room. Wesley is pointing a large, futuristic weapon at her; Angel orders “Do it now”. Pain grips her again, abruptly she finds herself back with Angel and Spike
Spike: Got her winded at least, didn’t I? That’s right little Shiva, reckon you’ll think twice next time.
And we begin to understand that haunted look in those azure eyes. Time is coming unstitched; she’s loosing control of her command over time. Time doesn’t exist till it cracks apart…
Another spasm of pain propels her back to Wesley’s office. Another seizure and she lurches forward knocking a glass of water to the floor as she reacts to the pain. Illyria is worried and vexed. She takes it out on Wesley:
Illyria: You tried to murder me! Again.
She lashes out, kicking Wesley’s desk with considerable force, sending it flying across the room and pinning its terrified occupant against the wall. Wesley has no idea what she’s raving about or why she’s so furious. He’s in utter confusion; they’ve already discussed this and he doesn’t know what she means by ‘again’. He tries to calm and placate her. “I don’t want you dead, believe me.” But Illyria is unconvinced:
Illyria: I was there; I saw it.
Gunn goes to see Angel about the Senior Partners special assignment; he needs the boss’ signature on some documentation. Angel inquires as to exactly where Gunn and Hamilton met before (as implied by the liaison at the earlier meeting). Charles explains that Hamilton visited him in the holding cell and offered him a way out.
Angel: And what’d you say?
Gunn: Do you really have to ask me that?
Angel: I really do.
That’s how thin the trust is now. Gunn is cut to the quick that Angel even has to ask but trust is not a given at Angel Investigations anymore. Betrayal, whether it be witting or not, is too common place now to foster unconditional faith between the remaining members of the team. Gunn swears he’s not going to make deals anymore - and he doesn’t mean lawyer-type deals, that’s part and parcel of his occupation - he means deals that result in compromise of self, friends and principles.
Continued here...