User Reviews

I love this episode. Flat out LOVE it. It's one of the most creative, interesting, fantastic episodes of the whole series. "Are You Now or Have You Ever Been" redefines Angel's past, clarifying the idea that --even with a soul-- he can still be a real hard ass. It builds into the dark path he'll take later in the season and also fills in some the blank pages of his long history. Plus, it's just a cool story, filled with great 1950s touches and really fun scenes. I love vampire flash back episodes and "Are You Now or Have You Ever Been" is one of my very favorites. I highly recommend it.

"Are You Now or Have You Ever Been" revolves around Angel's history back in the 1950s. It seems that Angel spent the Golden Age of Hollywood brooding alone in a room at the Hyperion hotel. He stumbled across the hotel again in "Judgement" and it brought up a lot of memories for him. Now, in "Are You Now or Have You Ever Been," he's determined to go back to the hotel and face his ghosts... Or demons. In the 1950s Angel wasn't the hero that he is today. Basically, he ignored the people around him and stayed out of their problems. When a woman named Judy comes to the Hyperion hotel, she's clearly running from her past. She's stolen some from money from the bank where she worked and they're trying to get it back. Angel is annoyed when Judy keeps dragging him into her problems. He grudgingly helps her out, but he insists that he just wants to be left alone.

Unfortunately, there's bigger trouble brewing in the Hyperion. A paranoia demon has infested the hotel and it's building mistrust amongst the guests. It driving one man to suicide and then convinces the rest of the hotel that it was a murder. The guests start suspecting each other of the crime. Angel realizes that a demon is a work in the Hyperion and prepares to battle it. Unfortunately, Judy is attacked by the other guests. Scared and desperate, she shouts that Angel is the killer. The Hyperion guests lynch Angel right there in the lobby. Being a vampire, he's not that easy to kill and he survives the attack. Deciding that helping people isn't worth it, he leaves Judy and the other guests to their fates. Now, 50 years later, he's back. The paranoia demon is still haunting the hotel. Angel, Wes, Cordy and Gunn work to exorcise it. Upstairs, Angel finds Judy still hiding in her room. She's dying and she asks for Angel's forgiveness. He accepts her apology, then decides to move Angel Investigations into the Hyperion.

There's just so much to like about this episode. It uses the problems of the 1950s to explore and forecast the issues that will face Team Angel this season. "Are You Now or Have You Ever Been" explores ideas of paranoia, racism, and isolation. It's got the McCarthy hearings, reflecting the suspicions that will build within the gang as the season wears on. It's got Judy being ostracized because of her heritage, just as Angel is often ostracized because he's a vampire. And it's got Angel dark and alone in his hotel room in the 1950s, just as he'll be dark and alone in a lot of the episodes to come. "Are You Now or Have You Ever Been" sets up so much and it really establishes Angel's bad ass side. Even with a soul, he can be a ruthless, uncaring sort of guy. I just love watching him in the 1950s. He's so apathetic and mean to everyone, that I always end up grinning. He doesn't care about the rest of the guests or mind that they're scared of him. (The guy in the next room shoots himself, and Angel just glances at the wall and keeps sipping his blood.) As the episode goes on, though, you begin to see that he's still Angel. He's just depressed and lonely. Underneath his Spike-like flat hair and chain smoking, Angel really is a good guy. He's trying to help Judy and he's so hurt when she turns on him that my heart just breaks. I also like how the episode is edited. It flashes from the present, back to the 1950s, and then to the present again. It's just really cool how the story unfolds over the two different time lines. Finally, I like Wes paranoid that people think he's paranoid.

On the down side, I wish Judy had gotten to go outside again. It's just sad that she feared going to jail so much, that she wound up imprisoning herself in the hotel for 50 years. And is Cordy crazy saying that vampires don't photograph well? Angel looks fantastic in those pictures. Also, how is Angel paying for that room in the hotel? He doesn't seem to have a job, so where's he getting money? And speaking of money, what happens to Judy's bag full of stolen cash? Is that what Angel uses to buy the hotel? Finally, the bellhop guy was kind of funny. Too bad he was executed...

My favorite part of the episode: All the fun "Rebel Without a Cause" allusions. There's Angel dressed in a red jacket like James Dean. There's the scene at the Griffith Planetarium. "Judy" is the name of Natalie Woods' character in the film and it's the name of Angel friend. Plus, Angel really is a "rebel without a cause" in this episode. He's now a "rebel" vampire, unable to continue his evil ways. But, he doesn't have a "cause" yet, either. He's not trying to be a champion or help the helpless. He's just drifting through his existence, not quite a part of anything. It's just really cool.

Angel has had a soul for a long time now but he wasn't always a protector. In the 50s he was nothing but a wandering recluse. Coming to live in a thriving hotel he meets a mysterious woman named Judy who seems to be on the run. Turns out her life was going downhill when her employers found out she's mixed (black and white) and fired her. This was the 50s and unfortunately this was the norm.She decides to steal as much money as she can from them,takes off and tries to lay low at the hotel. On the other side of things,voices are surrounding the hotel causing fear,paranoia and murder. Everything comes to a head when everyone finds out about Judy and accuses her of a murder she didn't commit. When Angel shows up she turns the blame on him and the townspeople...er...I mean residents decide to hang him. After the smoke clears Angel is still alive obviously and the real culprit a Thesulac Demon shows itself claiming to have caused all the conflict in the hotel and gives Angel the choice of saving the lost souls he's about to feed on to which Angel responds by leaving. A very different side to Angel than we're used to. Of course Angel rectifies what happened in the present time and the episode ends with a very poignant scene with Angel and the aged Judy. Very beautiful episode and one of the best written.

Pros: Racism, paranoia,compassion for humanity and lack there of are well told themes in the episode.

Different kind of period piece episode for Angel

Angel and Judy reconciliation scene

New base of operations for Angel Investigations

Cons: Thesulac Demon was defeated way too easily

Overall Score: 9.2/10

It's kinda like a puzzle. The "Who Died Horribly Because Angel Screwed Up 50 Years Ago" Game - One of the biggest season 2 classics, it's all around brilliant. This is one of Joss' favorite episodes and I can definitely see why, the flashbacks to the 50's were so well done, it truly felt like the 50's. Racism was kind of a big issue at then and I think that it's well used in this episode as the character 'Judy' (played by the wonderful 'Melissa Marsala') she passed on as white but when she was discovered having a black mother she lost her work and boyfriend because she wasn't 'pure' white or whatever, seems really exaggerated but I bet that things like that truly happened back then. This episode also introduced 'Denver' who gave 'Angel' some supplies to kill the thesulac demon, he appears later this season again only a lot older. What I mostly loved about this episode was 'forgiveness', 'Judy' betrayed 'Angel' to save herself and because of that 'Angel' got hanged, 50 years later they met again and 'Angel' forgives her for what she did and then she can finally rest in peace. After electrocuting the paranoide demon that fed on all those people's paranoide, 'Angel' decides to move into the hyperean hotel, which I love as it's my favorite set of the show. WESLEY: Well, now we know one thing for certain. CORDELIA: Yup! It's not that vampires don't photograph. It's just that they don't photograph well. (10 out of 10)

Are You Now or Have You Ever Been is about a malevolent presence in a hotel, in which Angel's staying in the 50's.

A small piece of Angel's past that impacted him. Judy imposed herself on him, he helped with the intent of ridding the hotel of the demon only to be stabbed in the back. In the present day, extinguishing the demon, retrieving the money and moving in. The setting's well captured, mood-wise and all, lacks a bit of feeling though. It may have been better had Angel recounted the events, with some reflection. Quality episode regardless.

ARE YOU NOW OR EVER HAVE BEEN?

The Good; Very good allegory of the McCarthy age and we get an idea of what Angel got up to after 'Why we fight?'.

The Bad; According to the commentary Angel sends the money back to the bank. I wouldn't, they're a bunch of racists, I'd have given it to charity or something.

Best line: DENVER; "No other cat but me"

Jeez, how did they get away with that? Seeing Angel lynched is nasty in the extreme.

Apocalypses: 4

Angel Clichés Damsel in distress; 16,

Inverting the Hollywood cliché; Angel doesn't save the inhabitants of the hotel, just leaves the demon to feast upon them. When he finally returns to rescue Melissa it's to let her die.

In disguise; 4

DB get's his shirt off; 7

Cordy's tattoo;3

Cheap Angel; 4

Fang Gang in bondage: Cordy: 5 Angel: 8 Wes: 2

Fang gang knocked out: yep, Angel Cordy: 9 Angel: 11 Wes: 5 Doyle; 1

Kills: Cordy: 3 vamps, 1½ demons Angel; 1 demon for Angel so 16 vamps, 17 and 1/2 demons, 3 humans Doyle; 1 vamp Wes; 1/2 a demon Kate; 3 vamps Faith; 16 vamps, 6 demons, 3 humans. Gunn; one more vamp so 4 in all. Fang Gang go evil: Cordy: 2 Angel: 2

Alternate Fang Gang: Cordy: 2 Angel: 6

Characters killed: 25

Recurring characters killed; 4;

Total number of Angel Investigations: 3, Angel and Cordy and Wes

Angel Investigations shot: Angel: 8,

Packing heat; Wes; 2 Doyle; 1 Angel; 1

Notches on Fang Gang bedpost: Cordy: 2 ?+Wilson/Hacksaw Beast Angel: 1;Buffy

Kinky dinky: The starlet is obviously supplementing her income through prostitution. Nevertheless she refers to Melissa as a slut as an insult.

Captain Subtext; The leading man is obviously gay and hiding it Rock Hudson style.

Know the face, different character; 2

Parking garages; 4,

Guantanamo Bay; The McCarthy era is a strange one as after the fall of communism it was revealed that many of those he persecuted were indeed Soviet agents (it's an interesting parallel of George Bush/Barack Obama being pressured to release some the Guantanamo inmates only for 1 in 7 going back to terrorism) but the important point here is that we rail against all lynch-mobs and witch-hunts which are inherently evil no matter their justification, Angel season 2 of course was during the War on Terror and the point is well made.

Buffy characters on Angel; 11 Wetherby, Collins and Smith. Angel, Cordy, Oz, Spike, Buffy, Wes, Faith, Darla

Questions and observations; 2nd appearance of the Hyperion which is also in Judgement and 'I fall to pieces' under a different name . Presumably Angel must be pretty rich just to be able to give the money away like that. After this we presume he must go into his hedonistic phase, henceforth to be known as 'The Manilow Era'. He does return to hotel later however as he's in the picture when the police arrest the bell-hop (who goes to the electric chair despite being innocent of the charges against him). First appearance of Denver who'll crop up again later. In an ep about the 50s Cordy's dress seems very sixties? If this ep is 9 minutes over as the commentary says, why not Special Edition DVDs with the footage restored? Marks out of 10; 8/10

There's not much to say about the episode that hasn't already been said. It's great. I love the idea of examining paranoia and the darkness of humanity during the 1950s, an era widely regarded as the most idyllic time in American history. As writer Tim Minear posits, it wasn't such a great time for everybody.

I think probably the episode's boldest idea is that the very things that make characters sympathetic--their vulnerabilities, their insecurities, their secrets, their traits that society might view as "lesser-than"--are the things that can most easily be weaponized. Twilight Zone explored this territory many times over. A reclusive Angel comes out of his shell this episode to try and assist a young woman named Judy, persecuted for her mixed-race heritage. She enjoys a status, passing for white, that will be torn away if her ancestry is revealed. Yet by the end of the episode, to save herself from the rage of a mob whipped into a frenzy, Judy will point an accusing finger at Angel--the only person who has been willing to help her throughout her ordeal--and he is lynched. Of course it doesn't take, given his undead nature, but he's bitter enough at the attempt to abandon the human race to its own self-destructive devices. I understand why.

We'd all like to be the heroes of our own story. We'd all like to think that, when the chips are down, no matter how little power we wield or what we risk, we'll stand up for those that do right. We'd like to think that the misfits and the oppressed will band together in times of hardship, instead of devouring each other. In reality, I suspect most of us are like Judy; in the right circumstances, we would point the finger at somebody else to save face. It's a hard truth to face about human nature, but a necessary one.

On a more superficial note, the episode is beautifully shot. It evokes the Los Angeles of noir films, the seedy, shadow-tinged dream factory that's a far cry from the '90s sunshine-and-valley-girl La La Land represented in Clueless or The Brady Bunch Movie (or even the lighthearted movie incarnation of Buffy). It makes me wish Angel did more flashback episodes, although I guess no other time period would feel so fitting, given that thematically the series has always skewed toward the hard-boiled and the pulpy.

The teleplay also feels more relaxed than any given episode of season one, in which the pressure for writers who were not Whedon to try and sound like Whedon strained many dialogue exchanges to their breaking point. I am guessing the removal from the normal timeline gave Minear the freedom to explore a more naturalistic conversational pace rather than forcing a punchline every thirty seconds. It's a style that is borne out by the rest of season two, generally speaking, with the treatment of the Darla storyline.

Also, I love that Wesley fixates on being perceived as paranoid after an off-hand comment made during the showdown with the Thesulac. He wants so desperately to be a respected member of the team, yet he is constantly questioning his role, his usefulness, his value. He hides the insecurity well enough, until incidents like this lay it bare. There's always an undercurrent of tragedy to Wes stemming from his inability to completely fit in; nobody in Angel Investigations ever really seems to need him most; he's like the last kid to get picked for a team in gym class, and that will only be exacerbated as time goes on. Poor guy.

This is episode is one of my favorites from Season 2. It's actually better then the Season 2 Premiere.

In this episode, Angel runs across an abandoned building, which he finds familiar. That's because it used to be an old hotel, which he used to live in, back in the 1950s. Half of the episode are flashbacks, to when he was living there. And we learn that he was framed for a murder, which he didn't commit. Basically, the bell-hop guy, killed this tenant, everyone thought it was this girl who was staying there, because she had a fake name, and she said it was Angel, to saver her own butt. They actually hung Angel, but since he's a vampire, it didn't hurt him. Now, almost fifty years later, that girl is still in the hotel, being the victim of a pain-sucking demon. They eventually kill the demon and Angel chooses to buy the hotel and make it their new office for Angel Investigations.

Overall, I give this episode a 7 out of 10.