Harm's Way

Season 5, Episode 9, Aired

Episode Summary

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8.4
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Keeping her job as Angel's assistant is the least of Harmony's worries when she wakes up with a dead vamp-bite victim in her bed and no memory of the previous night's events. And things go from bad to worse when the gang's investigation reveals that the dead guy was a demons' rights activist negotiating between two warring clans.moreless
  • In perfect Harmony

    7.0
    "Good"
    HARM'S WAY

    The Good;
    All things Harmony, love the demon summit stuff and Fred and Harm bonding. Great bitchfight between Harmony and her rival. The WR&H corporate video is also great they should have got Troy McClure to do the voiceover.

    The Bad;
    It's lightweight and inconsequential but it's meant to be.

    Best line;
    Fred; "I'm sure Angel can help you"
    Harmony; "Angel's not a helper, he's a chopper" (as her friend Eli found out)

    Jeez, how did they get away with that?
    You feel so sorry for poor lonely Harm, just because she's evil doesn't means she doesn't have feelings.

    Apocalypses: 5

    Angel Cliches
    In disguise; 8

    DB/JM get's his shirt off; 17,

    Cheap Angel; 8 he refuses to give Spike any travelling cash but will lend him a car if it gets him out of town "Typical, you cheap sod".

    Fang Gang in bondage: Lorne and Fred tied up
    Cordy: 5
    Angel: 14
    Wes: 7
    Gunn; 7
    Lorne; 6
    Fred; 4

    Fang gang knocked out: Fred and Lorne knocked out by Harmony
    Cordy: 15
    Angel: 19
    Wes: 8
    Doyle; 1
    Gunn; 3
    Lorne; 8
    Groo; 1
    Connor; 1
    Faith; 1
    Fred; 5

    Kills; one demon for Angel
    Cordy: 5 vamps, 3 demons
    Angel; 45 vamps, 62 and 1/2 demons, 5 zombies, 12 humans, one werewolf and one cyborg
    Doyle; 1 vamp
    Wes; 14 demons+5 vamps, 5 zombies, 3 humans, 2 cyborgs
    Kate; 3 vamps
    Faith; 18 vamps, 6 demons, 3 humans.
    Gunn; 11 vamps+ 13 demons, 5 zombies, 1 human.
    Groo; 1 demon
    Fred; 3 vamps+ 2 demon, 5 zombies
    Connor; 16 vamps, 5 zombies, 2 demons, Jasmine

    Fang Gang go evil:
    Cordy: 3
    Angel: 3
    Gunn; 1
    Wes; 1

    Alternate Fang Gang;
    Cordy: 4
    Angel: 11
    Fred; 2
    Wes; 1
    Gunn; 1
    Connor; 1
    Lorne; 1

    Characters killed: poor Toby
    2261

    Recurring characters killed;
    10

    Total number of Angel Investigations; 5,
    Angel, Gunn, Fred, Lorne, Wes,

    Angel Investigations shot:
    Angel: 14
    Wes; 2

    Packing heat;
    Wes; 11
    Doyle; 1
    Angel; 4
    Gunn; 3
    Fred; 3

    Notches on Fang Gang bedpost:
    Cordy: 5 ?+Wilson/Hacksaw Beast+Phantom Dennis+Groo+Connor plus possibly the Beast
    Angel: 6; Buffy, Darla, The Transcending Furies, Eve
    Wes; 3 definite; Virginia, the bleached blonde and Lilah, 1 possible, Justine
    Gunn; 2 Fred and Gwen.
    Fred; 1 Gunn
    Groo; 1Cordy
    Spike; 3-Buffy, Anya, Harmony

    Kinky dinky:
    Harmony 'sluts it up' and beds a guy she picks up in a bar. She comments that Fred doesn't have 'a lot up front', sad but true and something she's a little self-conscious about to judge by Spin the Bottle. Fred actually knows that Wes and Knox are after her, you think back to her remark at the end of Waiting in the Wings. She thinks both are hot. Harmony offers to show Angel her abs. The demons refer to Angel as a 'filthy man whore'.

    Captain Subtext;
    The girls doubt Wesley could be interested in Fred because 'Everyone knows he's...muffins'. Vamps consider live people to be 'straight'. Despite implying that a male vamp would have to be gay to bite another man Harmony eyes up the necks of the office girls and has bitten Willow in the past. Fred and Harmony's night out resembles a date

    Know the face, different character; 5

    Parking garages; yep, where Harm dumps the body
    9,

    Buffy characters on Angel; 16.
    Wetherby, Collins and Smith. Angel, Cordy, Oz, Spike, Buffy, Wes, Faith, Darla, Dru, The Master, Anne, Willow and Harmony. POSSIBLY The First Evil

    Questions and observations;
    Always thought that Harmony's rival looked familar, finally recognised her as Karen, one of John Lithgow's students from 3rd Rock from the Sun. Angel and Spike are still bashed up from Destiny. We knew Spike and Fred were chummy but he seems to be on good terms with Lorne too. Was Harm ever really popular or did she just ride on CC's coatails? WR&H 'own' the LAPD which must have been news to Kate. It strikes me that if you really are an astronaut it must be a useless pickup line as no one actually believes you. Spike comes back to Harm in the end, shows his sensitive side and appears to finally give up any hope of ever being with Buffy

    Marks out of 10;7/10 a lot of folks loathe this ep but I rather like it

    moreless
  • harmony part 2

    3.0
    "Bad"
    another rotton episode of season 5 and this time it was about harmony. so stupid comedy and they did this in season 2 and it did not work so why do it again? even the season 2 episode was much better because it had at least a point.

    this episode was plotless and pointless and only had that blond idiot screwing everything!
  • Harm's Way

    10
    "Perfect"
    Harm's Way was a perfect and classic episode of Angel. I really enjoyed this episode which revolved around Harmony and her place as Angel's assistant at Wolfram and Hart. I really liked the way the directors, actors, and editors created the flow of this episode. We learned a lot about Harmony who has grown as a character since we first met her in Buffy. This episode was a fun look at the inside of Wolfram and Hart through Harmony's perspective which gave us a unique picure. This episode showcases the way the soundtrack really adds to the scenes. I really like the ending of this episode and look forward to watching the next episode!!!!!!!moreless
  • Harmony! Harmony! Harmony! Angel: A Harmony story

    9.5
    "Superb"
    This is one of my favorite comedy episodes of Angel. I've always liked the character of Harmony all the way back to when she was a human in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, so when I saw that she would be there for season 5 I was very happy.

    In Harm's way is I believe the second Harmony episode in Angel, this one being way better than the previous. It just shows that the character of Harmony had a lot of potential if Angel hadn't been canceled.

    The episode shows Harmony being a loner in Wolfram and Heart, but then something happens to her she finds herself in the middle of a murder case in wich the evidence leads to her. But she's being framed by a co-worker, and that sequence is hilarious those two fighting with wooden sticks.

    Apart from the Harmony storyline I loved the Demon Clans the way they speak is just funny.

    moreless
  • And by silly, I mean hilarious.

    9.1
    "Superb"
    Harm's Way is a hilarious episode that gives us insight into everyone's favourite dumb blonde vampire- Harmony!

    I love this episode. It is genuinely funny and while Harmony isn't the deepest or most interesting character, she's simply hilarious and has some great lines. It also seems she isn't as stupid as she seems- her knowledge about ordering the camel was good and she seems to read people well- she was the only who knew it wasn't Gunn who loved Fred but Wesley. Also she has one of my all time favourite lines ever "Maybe I'll change my name.. Harmonita". Tgat line gets me every time. Mercedes McNab was great in this episode- she's very good at comedy and did some good drama near the end. This episode basically showed how Harmony is adjusting to life at Wolfram and Hart and where she fits in. All throughout this episode she tries over and over to find somewhere to fit in- whether it's with the girls at the lunch room or with Team Angel. Also her repeated attempts to talk to Mrs Jacobi (or whatever her name is) show that she is basically ignored everywhere, a far cry from the popular Sunnydale girl she once was. Harmony reminds me a lot of early Cordelia- once popular now alone. She also seems thoroughly not evil for a vampire and doesn't really seem to miss the evil, which is unusual for a vampire without a soul.

    It seems Fred also isn't so clueless about Wesley's affections for her- she let slip she knows he's giving her the eye. If only she had realised earlier that she loves Wesley, then they could of at least had some time together before her death. Silly Fred.

    Harm's Way is an excellent, funny and light hearted episode that keeps you laughing all the way through and warms us to Harmony and finally gives her a place within the group and the show. A really fun episode that should not be missed.moreless
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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • TRIVIA (10)

    ADD TRIVIA
    • The second time Harmony removes the bowl from the microwave to put in Angel's blood, there is a brief glimpse of it behind her as Danny confronts her about it. In that shot, a metal spoon can be seen sticking out of the bowl that was not there when she removed it from inside the microwave (and good thing, too).

    • At 34:38 when Harmony is yelling at Danny, the fridge door is open behind him. Yet when she shoves him back, the door is suddenly closed.

    • Tamika worked at Wolfram & Hart and therefore should have been tested for human blood regularly, as all the vampires are, so she should have been caught at some point.

    • In this episode Harmony makes a big deal over the fact that she is a "right-biter" with Fred. But in just the previous episode, "Destiny", we see her doing a "left-bite" on Spike.

    • In the scene that Angel is listening to a tape while Harmony is reading him his appointments, his hair is shorter than in the next scene when he decapitates Eli.

    • It's pretty clear in the scene where Harmony is gulping blood from the thermos that it's empty - there's a easily-recognizable metallic echo rather then anything like a liquid-gulping noise.

    • What's Danny complaining about? His stuff's already in the microwave, and Harmony takes it out. The microwave wasn't running, so he wasn't heating stuff. Either he just put it in and let it set there, or it was done running. Either way it was hogging up space in the microwave, which is poor office-microwave etiquette.

    • In the scene where Toby's body is on the table in the lab, notice the first close up shot on his face. You can clearly see him blinking.

    • When we first see Harmony at the desk on the phone with her checklist, it has "To Do: Big Demon Summit" in big balloon letters and six checklist items. When we see the hand checking off the final item the letters are plain and there are just four items.

    • During the scene with Spike and Harmony talking at the bar, when Spike says, "Everybody's talking about it," and the camera cuts to Harmony her makeup and hairstyle are obviously different.

  • QUOTES (8)

    ADD QUOTES
    • Harmony: Ok, that's it! I gotta get out of here. Leave the country. Maybe Mexico. I like Mexico. Or Cancun. I hear that's... Anyway I'll... I'll start over. Change my name... Harmonita...

    • Harmony: You're forgetting one thing: (vamps out) kinda have the advantage. Tamika: (vamps out) Kinda not!

    • Tamika: You want to know the first thing I'm gonna do when I get your desk? Smash all of those stupid, ugly-ass unicorns!

    • Spike: (turns to leave) Yeah. Here's the thing. Could use a little walkin'-around money. How 'bout a few hundred? Angel: How 'bout no? Spike: Typical, you cheap sod. Right, then. Settle for some wheels. Angel: If it's gonna get you out of here faster, fine. Just not the Viper. Spike: Viper it is, then.

    • Spike: Anything you want me to tell Buffy? Angel: Yeah...Tell her you're a moron.

    • Harmony: Oh, what? I don't get a good-bye just because I went crazy and tried to rip your throat out while we were having sex? Spike: Keep it simple, Harm. It suits you.

    • Gunn: Hardest part of the job - terminating the employee.

    • Fred: There haven't been any side effects since you recorporealized, have there? Spike: Bit of a hangover. But that's to be expected after all the drinkin'.

  • NOTES (6)

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    • This episode received a 3.8/5 in the overnight ratings.

    • David Fury usually writes Harmony's bigger episodes (see "Disharmony" and from Buffy: "Real Me" and "Crush"), but because he was writing and directing "You're Welcome" Elizabeth and Sarah were assigned to write "Harm's Way."

    • The song that plays as Harmony wakes up is "Hey Sailor" by Detroit Cobras.

    • Harmony mentions that she was sired at her high school graduation, referring to the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode "Graduation Day Part 2" (3x22).

    • Harmony has unicorns on her desk, in seasons 4 & 5 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer you will notice Harmony loves unicorns. Harmony also had unicorns on her thermos, the one that was spiked with human blood.

    • This is the second episode named after Harmony - the first was Disharmony (2.17). She is the only character to have a second episode named like that.

  • ALLUSIONS (4)

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    • Fred: Grab some wine, jam to the Dixie Chicks. The Dixie Chicks are an all female country music trio; this country music group is very popular in Fred's native Texas. At the time this episode was filmed, the band had been widely criticized by conservatives for making anti-George Bush remarks, so this may also be an indication that Fred has fairly liberal political views.

    • Narrator: News Corp.
      News Corp. is the parent company of Twentieth Century Fox Television, the studio that produces Angel.

    • Narrator: Weyland-Yutani
      In the opening orientation film, Weyland-Yutani is mentioned as one of Wolfram & Hart's clients. Weyland-Yutani is the evil/ruthless futuristic "Company" of the Alien films.

    • Narrator: Yoyodyne
      Yoyodyne Industries is the fictional company created by John Bigboote and the evil Lectoids of the 8th Dimension in the movie The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai," although it was taken in turn from Thomas Pynchon's novel "The Crying of Lot 49."

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