Angel # 6: Orpheus

Season 4, Episode 15
First Aired March 19th, 2003

It was a tough choice between this episode and the preceding episode, but I ultimately went with this one because it nicely wrapped up the Angelus and Faith storylines. And because it had an Angel vs. Angelus fight. The previous episode ended with Angelus biting Faith in order to turn her into a vampire. "Orpheus" begins right there, but Angelus quickly learned that Faith intended for him to bite her, and she injected herself with a bizarre drug, called Orpheus, in order to incapacitate Angelus. She felt that capturing Angelus was so important that she subjected herself to the effects of the drug too, and it had a much more powerful effect on her because although Angelus had the drug "filtered" through Faith's blood, she got the full blow from it.

Orpheus is a mystical drug that induces visions that are supposed to torment the user. Angelus and Faith can communicate to each other in their comatose states and they simultaneously get the same visions. Angelus is forced to rewatch the best deeds that Angel performed, including saving a puppy in 1920s Chicago, while Faith has to watch Angel's worst and most desperate deeds, such as failing to call the police after a robbery so he could feed off the victim. Their visions climax with a suddenly aware past Angel taking on Angelus and trying to tell Faith what it means to be alive.

In the waking world, Cordelia desperately tries to stop Willow from restoring Angel's soul and eventually reveals her "pregnancy" to the rest of the group. She also further turns Connor away from the rest of the group.

The end sets up Faith's story in the remainder of Buffy and brings Angel back to the group.

Up next: Angel #5...