So when do you think Lorne is telling this story? I love the way it is set up, with Lorne acting as narrator to the action. But every time I see it I get the feeling that his part is set long after the main story took place. There's just an element of sadness mixed in with his jokes that makes me think that he's talking to an audience sometime after seasons five's "Not Fade Away." Like he's remembering one of the last semi-fun times all of Team Angel had together. Lorne even finishes his story by telling the audience to "hug your families while you can," which seems like he's speaking from experience. It's just an interesting idea. Anyway, "Spin the Bottle" is probably the funniest episode of the season and it sets up some important stuff for the future. It also has dozens of great BTVS references. I highly recommend it.
This episode revolves around yet another spell going wrong for Team Angel. In an effort to get Cordy's memory back, Angel, Cordelia, Wes, Lorne Fred & Gunn gather to preform a magic amnesia cure. Things, predictably enough, do not go as planned and everyone but Lorne thinks they're 17 years old again. (On a side note, there's a similar episode to this one over on BTVS season six called "Tabula Rasa." It's also pretty fun.) Anyway, Lorne is knocked out and the rest of the crew is baffled as to where they are. Gunn thinks he's still a street fighter. Angel thinks it's the 18th century. Cordy's back to being a snobby cheerleader. Fred is a nerdy conspiracy nut who just want to score some weed. And Wes is loudly proclaiming that he's "Head Boy" at the Watcher's Academy.
As they try to piece together what's going on, they stumble across Lorne's unconscious body and tie him up. Sure that there are demons, vampires and "devils" on the loose, they begin searching the hotel. Angel discovers that he is a vampire and winds up chasing the other around the Hyperion. Conner arrives and stops him from attacking Cordy. But as Angel complains about his own father, Conner actually feels a little bit for Angel. Lorne finally wakes up and restores order. However, when Cordy's memory returns, it brings something dark with it. She runs off, but not before telling Angel that she loves him.
A lot of the jokes in this episode are funnier if you're seen certain other episodes on "Angel" and BTVS. Angel screaming that cars are demons comes from the BTVS season two episode "Halloween." Wes talking about the Watcher's test comes from the BTVS season three episode "Helpless." Cordy's "Hello Salty Goodness" line is the same thing she said the first time she ever saw Angel over on BTVS season one's "Never Kill a Boy on the First Date." Even Wes being "Head Boy" plays into "Angel" season five, when Spike learns about that title and mocks Wes with it for ages. And then there's Fred's plant-thing. Illyria talks to them in season five. And the aptitude test to see if your crazy includes a question about whether or not you like shrubs, which comes right out of BTVS season two's "What's My Line?" All in all, I don't think any other "Angel" episode packs in so many cool references to other Buffyverse happenings.
There are some great parts to "Spin the Bottle." I love the last few seconds when Angel asks, "Were we in love?" Cordy says "We were." Then she runs off. Angels stares after her with tears in his eyes and it's just a lovely scene. Also, I'd forgotten how funny Wesley can be. His attempts to take charge of the group and lecture them all about demons are hilarious. But he still, tries to protect Fred and Cordy when Angel vamps out. And I like Gunn and Wes' rivalry. Gunn is getting more and more annoyed with Wes' attitude. When they finally start to fight, Angel sides with Gunn because he hates "English pigs." He thinks he's living in Ireland. Cordy's flirting with Angel also cracks me up. She sort of squints at him when he tries to find the tiny minstrels hiding in the radio, but he's so good looking that's she willing to over look a few flaws. Then they all try and discover who the vampire is and Fred waves the cross around like a metal detector at an airport. Finally, like I said, I just love Lorne telling the story in flash back. He's so cool and good at narrating that I which they'd used this format in more episodes.
On the down side, I'm still not clear on the whole demon inside Cordy thing. Did the spell really wake it up? It seems like a really complicated plan for this demon to have, if it needed a magical memory spell to be preformed before it could take over Cordy's body. I think that, somehow, the spell knocked out that last little bit of Cordy fighting to get through the amnesia and the demon-thing. But, honestly, I'm not really sure. Also, didn't Cordy already know Angel and Wes when she was 17? Why doesn't she remember them
My favorite part of the episode: Wes's retractable swords. Not only are is it hilarious as he tries to control them, but they tie in with the BTVS season seven episode "Storyteller" which is very cool.
This episode revolves around yet another spell going wrong for Team Angel. In an effort to get Cordy's memory back, Angel, Cordelia, Wes, Lorne Fred & Gunn gather to preform a magic amnesia cure. Things, predictably enough, do not go as planned and everyone but Lorne thinks they're 17 years old again. (On a side note, there's a similar episode to this one over on BTVS season six called "Tabula Rasa." It's also pretty fun.) Anyway, Lorne is knocked out and the rest of the crew is baffled as to where they are. Gunn thinks he's still a street fighter. Angel thinks it's the 18th century. Cordy's back to being a snobby cheerleader. Fred is a nerdy conspiracy nut who just want to score some weed. And Wes is loudly proclaiming that he's "Head Boy" at the Watcher's Academy.
As they try to piece together what's going on, they stumble across Lorne's unconscious body and tie him up. Sure that there are demons, vampires and "devils" on the loose, they begin searching the hotel. Angel discovers that he is a vampire and winds up chasing the other around the Hyperion. Conner arrives and stops him from attacking Cordy. But as Angel complains about his own father, Conner actually feels a little bit for Angel. Lorne finally wakes up and restores order. However, when Cordy's memory returns, it brings something dark with it. She runs off, but not before telling Angel that she loves him.
A lot of the jokes in this episode are funnier if you're seen certain other episodes on "Angel" and BTVS. Angel screaming that cars are demons comes from the BTVS season two episode "Halloween." Wes talking about the Watcher's test comes from the BTVS season three episode "Helpless." Cordy's "Hello Salty Goodness" line is the same thing she said the first time she ever saw Angel over on BTVS season one's "Never Kill a Boy on the First Date." Even Wes being "Head Boy" plays into "Angel" season five, when Spike learns about that title and mocks Wes with it for ages. And then there's Fred's plant-thing. Illyria talks to them in season five. And the aptitude test to see if your crazy includes a question about whether or not you like shrubs, which comes right out of BTVS season two's "What's My Line?" All in all, I don't think any other "Angel" episode packs in so many cool references to other Buffyverse happenings.
There are some great parts to "Spin the Bottle." I love the last few seconds when Angel asks, "Were we in love?" Cordy says "We were." Then she runs off. Angels stares after her with tears in his eyes and it's just a lovely scene. Also, I'd forgotten how funny Wesley can be. His attempts to take charge of the group and lecture them all about demons are hilarious. But he still, tries to protect Fred and Cordy when Angel vamps out. And I like Gunn and Wes' rivalry. Gunn is getting more and more annoyed with Wes' attitude. When they finally start to fight, Angel sides with Gunn because he hates "English pigs." He thinks he's living in Ireland. Cordy's flirting with Angel also cracks me up. She sort of squints at him when he tries to find the tiny minstrels hiding in the radio, but he's so good looking that's she willing to over look a few flaws. Then they all try and discover who the vampire is and Fred waves the cross around like a metal detector at an airport. Finally, like I said, I just love Lorne telling the story in flash back. He's so cool and good at narrating that I which they'd used this format in more episodes.
On the down side, I'm still not clear on the whole demon inside Cordy thing. Did the spell really wake it up? It seems like a really complicated plan for this demon to have, if it needed a magical memory spell to be preformed before it could take over Cordy's body. I think that, somehow, the spell knocked out that last little bit of Cordy fighting to get through the amnesia and the demon-thing. But, honestly, I'm not really sure. Also, didn't Cordy already know Angel and Wes when she was 17? Why doesn't she remember them
My favorite part of the episode: Wes's retractable swords. Not only are is it hilarious as he tries to control them, but they tie in with the BTVS season seven episode "Storyteller" which is very cool.