Darla

Season 2, Episode 7, Aired
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Episode Summary

Angel is desperate to rescue Darla from the clutches of Wolfram & Hart and flashbacks reveal what a dangerous and powerful relationship they shared as history weirdly seems to be repeating itself. The trip down memory lane begins with Darla being sired by the Master and ends with the gang of Spike, Drusilla, Darla and Angel being torn apart when Angel is cursed with a soul.moreless
9.3
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Fan Episode Reviews (14)

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  • The undead odd couple

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By joxerlives, Jan 19, 2012 Report Abuse
    DARLA

    The Good;
    Everything between Angel and Darla is just superb, adds a whole new dimension to the Buffyverse

    The Bad;
    ?

    Best line:
    Angel; "You damned me!"

    Jeez, how did they get away with that?
    Everything with Darla, Dru and Spike is just TRAGIC. Angel garroting Lindsey is also pretty near the knuckle.

    Apocalypses: 4

    Angel Cliches
    Damsel in distress; 17

    DB get's his shirt off; yep,10

    Cordy's tattoo;3

    Cheap Angel;
    5

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

    Fang gang knocked out:
    Cordy: 10
    Angel: 12
    Wes: 5
    Doyle; 1
    Gunn; 1

    Kills:
    Cordy: 5 vamps, 1 demons
    Angel; 17 vamps, 18 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; 5 vamps.

    Fang Gang go evil:
    Cordy: 2
    Angel: 2

    Alternate Fang Gang:
    Cordy: 2
    Angel: 6

    Characters killed: Dru kills the sailor, Spike kills the Slayer offscreen.
    29

    Recurring characters killed;
    4;

    Total number of Angel Investigations:
    4, Angel, Cordy, Wes and Gunn

    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
    Wes; 2; Virginia and the bleached blonde

    Kinky dinky:
    "You're leaving with the stallion" You know they just don't have dialogue like that on Dawson's Creek.
    Darla asks Lindsey to kiss her. We have confirmed what we always suspected, that she was a prostitute in her human life (women weren't allowed to own property during the Elizabethen era so she could hardly be anything else)

    Captain Subtext;
    Gunn shows his legal mind for the first time, working out that WR&H would place Darla's expenses as a tax rebate. Angelus appreciates human life whilst the Master wishes to end it. That said he let's Darla go as he seems to have genuine affection for her. Darla wonders if Lindsey has either a boyfriend or girlfriend. Little hints of humanity in Dru, she hints she could be Darla's mummy as she will eventually be when she sires her. Once again Spike calls Angel(us) a poofter.

    Know the face, different character; 2

    Parking garages; yep, where they go to kill Darla
    5,

    Guantanamo Bay;
    Buffy characters on Angel; 13 The Master rears his ugly head
    Wetherby, Collins and Smith. Angel, Cordy, Oz, Spike, Buffy, Wes, Faith, Darla, Dru, Master

    Questions and observations;
    Dru sires Spike. The cleverness of this scene is that when we see it on Buffy we think the Fang Gang are the kings of the world. Although when we see it on Angel we realise it's all a lie, Angel is resouled. Despite being resouled Angel still kills criminals, rapists and murderers, an undead version of the Punisher. So what's Darla's real name? In season 1 of Buffy 'Angel' he comments that the last time he saw Darla she was dresssed in kimonos which fits here. So what happens to the baby Angel saves? I like to think that she grows up under his watchful eye, much like Rachel in the Highlander series, that Angel visits her as an old lady on her deathbed and holds her hand as she passes to the afterlife and rejoins the rest of her family. Interesting when we compare Angelus, the bullying father of the fang gang with his own domineering father.
    Marks out of 10; 9/10
    moreless

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  • Darla

    10
    "Perfect"
    By TrueTvWatcher, Sep 23, 2011 Report Abuse
    Darla was a perfect and classic episode of Angel because it explored more of Angel and Darla's past. We also got to see other familiar faces such as Druscilla, Spike, and the Master. I really enjoyed the way the story was told in this episode. There was lots of drama, intrigue, some action, and character driven scenes. It was interesting to watch Lindsey falling for Darla, and her begging Angel to make her a Vampire again. This episode had a tone of darkness tempered by our Hero's quest. I must say that this season is great so far and I can't wait to watch the next episode!!!!!!!moreless

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  • Through Darla and In Hell...

    9.7
    "Superb"
    By lenzinoH20, Nov 10, 2010 Report Abuse
    Darla-Angel is desperate to rescue Darla from the clutches of Wolfram & Hart and flashbacks reveal what a dangerous and powerful relationship they shared as history weirdly seems to be repeating itself. The trip down memory lane begins with Darla being sired by the Master and ends with the gang of Spike, Drusilla, Darla and Angel being torn apart when Angel is cursed with a soul.

    The Darla arc continues to get better with this wonderful episode that's completely centered around the fallen sire of Angel. The flashbacks are at their finest, where we see how Darla was sired and by the Master no less, who makes an amazing return on Angel. I love how Angelus taunts and shows no respect to the Master and the Master delievers this line as Angelues leaves with Darla:

    Master: "I'll give it a century...tops!"

    Also there are some other great flashback scenes like Spike eating the gypsy family that cruse Angel and Darla testing Angel with wanting him to eat a baby. The present day scenes are also disturbing like with Darla being worn out and so depressed because of her soul she cuts herself violently. But what's also great is the Lindsey's growing attraction toward Darla and the way Darla flirts with him to play with his heart. But the ending is just a incredidle ending with Darla so desperate to get Angel to make her a vampire again and Angel so shocked by it as these lines are said:

    Darla: "I made you who you are, you owe me!"
    Angel: "Owe you, you..damned me."

    It's just such a powerful ending with David and Julie being so perfect in that scene with the flashback scene intertwined. All and All, a stunning episode that continues the Darla arc on a high note and one of the best episodes from Season 2.moreless

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    2 0

  • When the past comes back to haunt you...

    10
    "Perfect"
    By fatfreeoreos, May 31, 2010 Report Abuse
    This stirring episode is basically side B of the Buffy episode 'Fool for Love', flashback-wise. But it carries itself with grace anyway.

    Darla, after being brought back from the dead and made human again after nearly 400 years as a vampire, is starting to feel the weight of guilt on her soul. She desperately seeks Angel for help.

    Sprinkled throughout the episode, like FFL, are flashbacks: Darla's turning by the Master in 1609 in the Virginia colonies, her choosing to stay with Angelus over her Master, the flipside of the scene when William bumps into a group of people, and her retaliation on the Gypsies who cursed Angelus with a soul. The last long flashback is during the Boxer Rebellion, 2 years after Angel's cursing. He comes back to Darla to try to be who he was.

    In the present, Darla has intense moments with Lindsey, including a kiss during which she bites his neck. Angel later saves her when Wolfram and Hart try to take her out. He takes her back to the hotel.

    In China, after the mirror scene from FFL, Darla is suspicious of Angel. She doesn't think he's really bad again. So she tries to tempt him with a baby. He refuses.

    Back at the hotel, Darla wants Angel to turn her into a vampire again. Again, he refuses. She runs out and tells him not to look for her.

    I love this episode because I love flashback episodes. I love finding out and seeing things about characters that we previously didn't know about. This ep is beautiful in its costuming, styling, writing, acting and directing. There is no fault at all.moreless

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    1 1

  • Angel desperately seeks to rescue Darla from Wolfram and Hart as her mental state deteriorates.

    9.7
    "Superb"
    By TwistedConverse, Jul 07, 2008 Report Abuse
    Oh. My. God. Darla was simply amazing. There wasn't a bad thing about it. It was simply excellent the entire way through. It's the kind of episode you wish every episode could be as good as. The story was epic. The dialogue was brilliant. The performances were out of this world. What isn't to love?

    This episode advances the Darla arc so much in the space of 42 minutes. I kind of wish they'd made it a two parter so we'd have more (I wouldn't miss The Shroud of Rahmon greatly). The teaser before the opening credits sets the tone of the entire episode. Angel's obsession with Darla is continuing to escalate to the point he does nothing but think about her. Darla is starting to feel the weight of her soul so much so that she destroys every mirror in her home so she doesn't have to look at herself. She's becoming more human and is starting to feel guilty for her murders-"so many terrible things". We can see she isn't in a good state of mind- she seems disorientated and even though she's talking to Lindsey, her conversation seems to be with herself. She refers to her and Angel as soulmates- highlighting their deep connection. This teaser has so much packed into it and it truly does deliver.

    The next scene takes us back to where it all really began for her- being sired by the master. We see Darla (the human) lying on her deathbed, asking for the shutters to close as she doesn't feel right dying in the sunlight. She's already accustomed to dark- prefers it over the light. The Master enters pretending to be a priest, barely able to contain the sarcasm in his voice. He pulls back his hood- and Darla doesn't even blink at his complete demonic appearance. Darla seems to want this embrace- she doesn't fight or scream in any case. This scene is so important- it's basically where the show all began- without Darla there would be no Angel. It's chilling and sends tingles down your back.

    Throughout this entire episode, Darla's mental state is getting so much worse. She refers to the vampiric Darla as the "other thing". She has no sense of person- is she human Darla or the vampire Darla? She wants to be the vampire but can't seem to shake off her guilt and be what she's not. She looks all over the place- pale and clammy (foreshadowing the fact that she has syphilis). She keeps asking who she is- but Lindsey is only interested in kissing her so she bites him. This tells us of her desire to be a vampire again. Julie Benz is so fantastic in these scenes- we can feel Darla's pain and angst and although she's technically the villain this season, we don't hate her. Her situation is a parallel to Angel's.

    The flashbacks show this parallel marvellously. They are basically one half of another episode ("Fool For Love" shows some of the same encounters from a different perspective). The Boxer Rebellion is also exactly like present times- Angel is desperate to be Angelus but can't be evil. His last encounter with Darla with the newborn baby as his test proves this- Angel is not an evil person. He's terrified of what he is and the only he can react is to be Angelus- he's been him for 150 years, but his natural instinct isn't to be evil. The last scene is incredibly hard to watch. Darla begging Angel to kill her is heartbreaking- she's so messed up. But she has an alternative where Angel didn't- she can be the soulless monster again easily. Angel doesn't want to let her lose her chance for redemption- if he kills her she'll be damned. Darla just wants to escape her guilt with the easy way out but in the long run, it isn't right. This scene is so magnificent. Darla was an amazing episode. It helped us get inside the mind of Darla, showing us events from her life and the present day scenes are completely fantastic also.moreless

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    2 0
 

Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

    ADD TRIVIA
    • In the first flashes of this episode, if you pause it, you can see David Boreanaz smiling on set, Julie Benz & David laughing together and flashbacks from the previous episodes "First Impressions" (2x3) and "In the Dark" (1x3). Edit
    • Darla is shown dying in Jamestown, Virginia in 1609, when the Master turns her into a vampire. First off, this is historically inaccurate, because women weren't brought over from England to the colony until around 1619. Also, the attempt to excuse Darla from her inability to use a British accent by making her "American" is inaccurate because settlers did not start developing the "American" accent until the later 1700s. Edit
    • When Darla cuts Angelus' throat, the cut is first shown mid-way down his throat. In the next shot, the cut is much higher, almost obscured by Angelus' chin. The shots with the higher cut also have a much lighter, almost invisible, scratch on his left eyebrow compared to the fairly prominent one of moments before. Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • This is the only episode in the history of both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel that the characters of Angel, Darla, Drusilla, Spike, and The Master all appear in one episode. Although we never see them all together in one scene. Edit
    • This episode won the 2001 Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild Award for "Best Period Makeup - Television (For a Single Episode of a Regular Series - Sitcom, Drama or Daytime)". Edit
    • When Angel saw Darla in China she wore a kimono, this was the last time he saw her before Buffy, we know this because of what he said in Angel: "What's with the Catholic schoolgirl look? Last time I saw you it was kimonos" And the part where Spike tells he killed a slayer was also seen in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but we didn't know there that Angel already had a soul (if we didn't do the math ourselves) Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Cordelia: (about Darla) Am I the only one who thinks this is just a really bad idea?
      Angel: We can't just sit around here waiting for Wolfram and Hart to make a move. It's time we got ahead of the game.
      Cordelia: This won't involve kidnapping again, will it?
      Angel: All we're going to do is find her.
      Cordelia: And, this would be the same woman that you didn't notice was in your bedroom every night for, like, three weeks straight?
      Angel: That was different.
      Cordelia: Different in the sitting-right-on-top-you sense, yeah!
      Wesley: Cordelia has a point.
      Cordelia: Finally!
      Edit
    • The Master: (about Darla and Angelus) It won't last. I give it a century. Tops.
      Edit
    • Angel: Let's find something warm. Darla: Yes. Some missionaries. We'll drain the piety right out of them. Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • Drusilla: I could be your mummy someday. Drusilla may seem to be speaking in her usual cryptic way, but this line foreshadows the events of "The Trial" (2x09). Edit

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