Angel

THAT OLD GANG OF MINE (anyone else keep expecting Gunn to break into a number from Sweet Charity?)

The Good;
Angel apologising to Merl is hilarious but this is Gunn's ep. Love Fred singing at Caritas and she shows some steel for the first time.

The Bad;
Evidence bags. Hmmm? Are we on CSI or something? Weird how they appear this week as an important part of the plot but then we never see them again.

Best line:
Fred; "Oh. Oh! Ohhhhhh!" (all in the delivery)

Jeez, how did they get away with that?
The killing of the balancing entity is particularly gruesome

Apocalypses: 5

Angel Cliches
Inverting the Hollywood cliche;
Human's bad, demons, well if not good not inherently evil

In disguise; 8

DB get's his shirt off; 12

Cordy's tattoo; 8,

Cheap Angel; 7

Fang Gang in bondage:
Cordy: 5
Angel: 10
Wes: 6
Gunn; 3
Lorne; 2

Fang gang knocked out:
Cordy: 11
Angel: 13
Wes: 5
Doyle; 1
Gunn; 1
Lorne; 2

Kills: one demon for Gunn
Cordy: 5 vamps, 3 demons
Angel; 28 vamps, 40 and 1/2 demons, 3 humans
Doyle; 1 vamp
Wes; 7 demons+1 vamp
Kate; 3 vamps
Faith; 16 vamps, 6 demons, 3 humans.
Gunn; 8 vamps+ 6 demons.

Fang Gang go evil:
Cordy: 2
Angel: 2

Alternate Fang Gang:
Cordy: 2
Angel: 6

Characters killed:
40

Recurring characters killed; goodbye Merl. Gunn is still haunted by killing his sister which you can't blame him for.
7;

Total number of Angel Investigations:
5, Angel, Cordy, Wes, Gunn and Fred

Angel Investigations shot:
Angel: 11
Wes; 1

Packing heat; Gunn with a shotgun. He seems to object to the gang using Uzis but under his leadership they didn't hesitate to use a flamethrower.
Wes; 3
Doyle; 1
Angel; 1
Gunn; 1

Notches on Fang Gang bedpost: Angel and the Furies
Cordy: 3 ?+Wilson/Hacksaw Beast+Phantom Dennis
Angel: 5; Buffy, Darla and The Transcending Furies
Wes; 2; Virginia and the bleached blonde

Kinky dinky:
It's implied that Angel beds the three Furies (genuine characters from Greek mythology and very popular on TV at the time also turning up on Xena and Charmed, Piper even becomes one for a while). Singly or all three sisters at the same time? (Every man's ultimate fantasy? Or would that include their milfy mom joining in as well?) He's now happy to do so as after Darla he knows he won't lose his soul because he doesn't love them. Of course this is what we all assume. I read a very funny fanfic once where we learn that the Furies actually dig Angel due to his exquisite foot massage technique.

Captain Subtext;
CC describes Fred as 'sweet and adorable'. Lorne describes Gunn as 'sweetie'. The Furies tell Cordelia she is not equipped to pay this debt but I once read a rather good fanfic on the subject which ended in the words "MMMMmmmmm Cordelia!". What exactly did Rondell flee from in Florida? Who is the girl who trusted him to the end? Someone he betrayed or someone who he couldn't save?

Know the face, different character; 3

Parking garages;
5,

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

Questions and observations;
Wes saves Fred in Caritas. Wes' new image makes him look like some form of student teacher or something. Surely shooting Lorne would do him no harm if cutting his head off doesn't kill him? One demon keeps saying "Oh god", the other says "He's not listening", weird that demons refer to god.
Now, are Rondell and the guys right or wrong? When they raid Caritas they kill at least one vamp and a babyeating demon, it's hard to say that's really wrong? The problem is they don't distinguish as AI do. The ending is probably as good as you can get in this dilemma. Interesting that Wes warns Gunn about divided loyalties a subject he's going to learn all about later in the season.
Marks out of 10; 7/10

That Old Gang of Mine is probably one of the worst episodes of Angel and maybe the entire Buffyverse. It's dull and frankly, aggravating. Gunn's gang episodes are always boring no matter what the scenario and this is the worst of the lot.



The main story of humans killing friendly demons is a bit.. meh. It's obviously a metaphor for "never judge a book by its cover" but did they really have to include Rondell etc? Their episodes are always bad (except maybe The Thin Dead Line) and does anyone really care about Gunn's torn loyalties or whatever? Cause I certainly don't. The entire scene in Caritas annoyed the hell out of me and mainly because of one character: Gio. The writers seemed to have went out of their way to create the most annoying character to appear on T.V. Everything that came out of his mouth was worthless garbage and his whole speech segment was awful and made me want to smash up the television. The actor who played him was awful and made the character worse with his mannerisms and voice. The whole character was truly horrendous and I've never felt happier at a character dying than I did here.



Gunn was also annoying here. He realises his gang are killing innocent creatures but doesn't say anything and withholds evidence- what? Why? It's not as if Angel and Wesley were going to go and murder them all bloodily (unfortunately). He came across as unlikeable here and it's no wonder his character isn't as popular as the rest- he doesn't really have much character development at ALL.



Everyone else was excellent however, especially Fred. Her courage at standing up to Gio was amazing- especially seeing as she's a nervous wreck in the best of times. This girl has brains- I think she's possibly smarter than Wesley. Cordelia was great as always as was Wesley and I really liked Angel in this episode for some reason. The two bright points in this episode were the Furies- hilarious- and the demon drinking the soda- also hilarious. I like that even in a bad episode of Angel, there's always something good or some redeeming quality. No episode is truly terrible (although The Cautionary Tale of Numero Cinco was very bad).



That Old Gang of Mine is an OK although mostly annoying episode that is Angel almost at it's worst. It shouldn't be missed however- it's Angel and therefore should be seen, as it's still great T.V. However, it won't be seeing too many spins in the DVD player.

This issue was skirted many times in Buffy but not directly addressed, where her righteousness in her calling as the Slayer eclipsed the moral implications of her slaying, at least in the telling of the story. She mercilessly killed almost anything (unfortunately/confusingly not Spike) that was an 'evil' demon or vampire, and conveniently she was never wrong.

In Angel, the shades of gray of demon behavior are more apparent, with a larger proportion of the demons shown being something less than pure evil, or not at all. In fact, the revelation of other dimensions where demons come from, not quite 'hell' or 'heaven' dimensions, shows that the demons are just people too, even though not human. Frankly in the context of this show I believe the word 'demon' is misleading and derogative--a racial slur.

Here Gunn is confronted with this issue. When first meeting Angel earlier in the series, Gunn behaved in a very similar fashion to Gio (but significantly less annoying) in that he saw the issue as black/white. We have seen his racism towards demons fade as he joined the gang, but by the end we can see that he is still struggling with himself to fight it, as he tells Angel that he could never be his friend. This episode shows that it can take time to abandon our preconceptions of others based on fear and ignorance, but that we should grow more accepting to those that are different from ourselves.

That Old Gang of Mine was a really great episode of Angel. I really enjoyed watching this episode which had a lot of character building for Gunn and Fred as well. I really enjoyed Cordelia trying to help Fred come out of her shell. Fred had some great scenes and really came through for the gang. I thought Gunns old gang had some interesting points of view. There was a lot of action, drama, intrigue and classic humor in this episode. The poor Host is always having his club destroyed when Angel and the Gang are around. I suppose its his curse, like Cordelia always being impregnated by demons, etc.... I can't wait to find out what happens next!!!!!!!

That Old Gang of Mine-Gunn finds himself stuck between old and new allegiances when he learns that a string of brutal and indiscriminate demon murders is the work of members of his former gang. Even Lorne's usually peaceful club isn't immune to the violence. Cordelia, meanwhile, attempts to help Fred readjust to the world.



Like I have said once before, the one of Angel's best messages of the show was how humans can be just as evil and heartless as demons, and in some cases, like this episode. They are much worse! One of the few decent episodes centered around our street smart and born leader Gunn, J. August Richards gives a great performance, and should get more credit from Angel fans about his acting. You just feel bad for Gunn being stuck in this situation because he had tochose between Angel's mission and the one he started. Becuase of his choice, what he started became the complete opposite of what it was. Also this episode raises some questions that Angel's parent show, Buffy, only played with. Should all demons be destroy or are they're some that truly deserve not to be harmed? Can't they're be a grey area in this black and white wold we live in? Most of all, is being a demon really a bad thing? I mean we've seen Angel fit that grey area because of his soul, then there's Lorne, not to mention countless other noble demons who fight for good, so I'm think being a demon can go both ways, good or evil, just how humans can be good and evil. I just love how the episode makes that statment. The way Gunn's old gang are seen as the monsters in this episode is well played, especially Khalil Kain (Juice, Girlfriends) who gives a good performance as the new arrogant leader of street gang. I just love the scene where Lorne reads him and gets into his head, the tense is just really great in that scene. We also get to see how Gunn truly feels about Angel, which is shocking but actually believeable for Gunn's personality. On a lighter note, I liked Fred with the crossbow, she's just so cute and Cordy with the three mystic chicks as they moan "Hmmmmmm Angel", lol. All and All, That Old Gang...is saldy underrated episode for all the wrong reasons, when is a truly great episode with some good morals with what is means to be human or demon in realistic poitn of view!

Unfortunately, after three episodes, Season 3 isn't really doing it for me, yet. I just know it's going to get better and they have to set up some things that will come to play later on. I have faith!



In this episode, we see the last of Merl, the squirrely demon that helps Angel out sometimes. He's harmless but he ends up dead, and this looks like a trend. It turns out that Gunn's old gang has a new member and he is the one encouraging them to kill any demons they find, not just the evil ones. Gunn is forced to choose sides.



Clearly this episode is meant to develop Gunn's character and his growing bond to Angel's team as his ties to his old gang fade away. Gunn is perhaps my least favorite character, because so far I fail to see what he really adds to the team. He is not someone they can always count on, nor can they necessarily identify with his point of view in all cases. He has been there when they needed him sometimes, but not always. I think the fact that he went with them to Pylea to bring Cordelia back was a turning point for him, but he's not 100% on board for Angel yet.

Fred also begins to interact with the rest of the group at Angel Investigations and I eventually she will become a useful part of the team. I still think her shyness is a bit overdone, it was somewhat endearing at first, but it's growing old. I'm looking forward to seeing Fred use her incredible brain power in the future.



In sum, a necessary episode to bring Gunn closer to Angel's team by forcing a split with his old gang, but not very elegantly done.

I like Gunn alot, but this wasn't my choice of episodes that mainly featured him. I liked that we got to see the internal struggle he was having between his life now and what his old gang wanted him to be. I can't believe after all of the stuff they have been through that he would tell Angel that they aren't friends. He sure *acted* like they are friends since way back when. Or at least more that just co-workers. I am glad he finally was able to see that he was headed down the wrong road if he went back to his gang and their new way of thinking. In the end he made the wise choice, and bravo for Wes for putting him in his place at the end.

season 3 is the best but this episode is a little boring because gun is boring. but he had some great moments and some funny moments.



i loved fred getting demon blood in her face that was hilarious and funny. i did not like gunns gang because they were annoying and so were the demons but that is ok. cordelia was the best again and those furies were funny.

I am so delighted that this season is showing so much promise. The wit in this episode surrounding fred was brilliant! "I swear to god she picked the song herself" and I was really hoping Gunn would kill his old fellow gang members! B******s! This episode of course saw the end of Merl's character and I for one am glad he's gone, he was very annoying! Fred doesn't seem to be having the best luck getting out and about! the first time she came out of her room a vampire was attacking and now she's out in the real world the club is ambushed! this girl appears to be a jinx! Again you could see Gunn beginning to be attracted to fred and I am looking forward to seeing how it starts having never seen the beginning of the relationship.

this episode starts with a great interaction between a very stubborn angel and merl, the whiney informant... it shows a new side to angel and marks the start of the new comedic curve the show will begin to follow throughout the rest of the series... it also brings about some closure on the gunn and his gang storyline, with him choosing "the mission" over his friends. the furies are great, with their obsession with angel and how he can "pay them" for reversing the sanctuary spell. the only downside is gio... he is simply annoying. i know he is supposed to be disliked, but come on.... i was willing fred to pull the trigger...

That Old Gang Of Mine



Great episode, one of Gunn’s best. He’s old gang comes back only one is new ‘Gio’ he wants to make Gunn miserable. The best thing of this episode is the racism background and story. Very well written and brings Fred’s character more into the lights. Only week thing is the end. That was rushed.



cut to Angel telling someone he's sorry. it's Merl and he sees that Angel is reading. Merl just wants Angel to make it right but Angel tells him to hit him and then Merl hits him but can't because he can't there so he wants to go home and Gunn takes him. over there Merl goes in his home and there is someone waiting and they kill him.



the credits start



cut to Gunn dreaming of killing his sister and then he wakes up. the gets peeped to Merl's place where he's dead but Gunn doesn't want to help because it's just a demon and Wes tells him to go away then. Gunn goes to his old place where he gets attacked. there he meets Gio who's new. he knows that Gunn has a boss like a vampire. he tries to diss Gunn but Rondell tells him to leave Gunn alone. cut to Angel talking to Cordy about Fred. he wants Cordy to talk to her. but Cordy doesn't get Fred. but Angel only wants her to talk to Fred. then he sees a list that Merl had as enemies and Angel is on top but he says he didn't kill Merl or else he wouldn't have brought donuts.



cut to Gunn and Rondell talking about Gunn leaving and they say he went away when Alonna died. he says he can't do anything for them but Rondell says he can and has. cut to Wes and Angel going over to a place where another demon was killed but this one was a good demon like Merl. cut to the sewer another demon getting attacks by Gio's gang. cut back and Wes is having evidence and Gunn sees something that leads to his old gang. Gunn wants to go away and Angel sees that Gunn is acting a but strange.



cut to Gunn talking to Rondell but he says it was a demon and goes away and Gio tells Gunn that they know that Gunn isn't a hero. cut to Fred going outside and Angel tells Cordy to go too. Cordy wants to talk to Fred and says Angel needs her to leave...the house and Fred is afraid but Cordy is going with her. cut to the karaoke bar where Fred is singing and Gunn arrives. then someone starts to shoot at demons and they all duck for cover. the gang kills some demons but Gio knows Gunn is there. then they grab him and Lorne and he tries to save him. they want to kill him because he's a demon. they let only Cordy go to get Angel.



cut to Angel and Cordy he's going back only tells Cordy to go to someone to take that spell away. cut back where Gio is singing and then he shoots all those things. then Lorne knows that he knows why Gio ran. and that after what he did she still trusted him and then Gio hits him. then a demon tries to escape but they grab him. then Gio tells Gunn why he thinks he's with the demons because he wants to be approved and then he pisses Gunn off until Gunn shoots the demon dead. the comes Angel in.



They all want Gunn to kill Angel, he makes it easy for Gunn and he vamps out and tells him to make a choice. cut to Cordy with those woman and they like when Cordy talks about Angel. cut back. Gunn ain't killing Angel he says Angels not his friend but he isn't gonna kill him because he got the mission and Rondell doesn't. Gio says he is gonna kill everyone except the one that kills Angel and then Fred stands up. cut back to Cordy and they say that Angel is the only one who can pay and Cordy realises what they mean.



cut back and then Fred points the weapon to Gio. she can't kill Angel so Gio then pushes her away. and the spell gets lifted and they all start to fight and Gio is pissed off and then one demon bites off Gio's head. cut to later. Gunn says goodbye to his crew. he goes to Wes says that he will fire Gunn the next time he doesn't tell him something. then is Angel waiting and he says that it's good Gunn said it cause he knows that Gunn will kill him when he has to and then leaves.



Black Out



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Best episode quotes:



Angel: That night still haunts me. I'm ashamed of how I treated you. The way I used you. I took - what I needed, then I cast you aside and that - that was wrong of me. Was very wrong.

Merl: He's reading!

Angel: I made some notes.

Merl: I don't feel the sincerity here.

Angel: I told you this was a waste of time.

Merl: Real friends don't need notes.

Angel: We're not friends Merl! We barely even know each other.

Merl: Not like you made the effort either, is it?!

Angel: No, you know what? No, no, no. Let him go if he wants to.

Cordelia: Merl, you said you'd listen to what Angel had to say.

Wesley: You promised you'd make an attempt.

Merl: You get a load of that insincere tripe he was reading?

Angel: I apologized...

Cordelia: I hardly think it's fair to blame it on the writing.

Angel: What does he want from me?!

Merl: What do I want? Huh? I tell you what I want. I want back the three months I spent in therapy after being hung upside down in a sewer. That's what I want.

Cordelia: Angel, read the cards.

Angel: No. He's - he's right. He's right. Every time I went to Merl for information he came through. So, I'll tell you what, Merl. - Take a shot. Take a shot, Merl.

Cordelia: Oh, knock it off, guys.

Angel: Come on, take your best shot.

Wesley: Angel, please...

Angel: Come on, Merl.

Merl: You see this? He's goading. He's goading me.

Angel: Take a shot, Merl. Come on, this one's free.

Merl: No. No. Shameless with the goading. You see?!

Angel: Come on, Merl-la-la. Merl-la-la-la.

Merl: Okay! Whoa! Man. You did that on purpose! You knew that was gonna happen. You tricked me! Huh?

Lorne: Why, now, I'm sure Angel just forgot for the moment that any demon violence is impossible in Caritas.

Angel: Yeah. I-I - I forgot.

Merl: Yeah, yeah. Whatever! Okay? 'cause I'm done listening to this bloodsucker! And the same goes for the rest of you, alright? I never want to see any of you ever again! Uh, so, who's gonna give me a ride home?



Angel: You made it.

Gunn: Yeah. I called the hotel. They said you were down at Merl's. What is that?

Angel: That's Merl.

Gunn: Where is the rest of him?



Gunn: That's right.

Gio: I know all about you. That name is part of the reason why I came out here.

Rondell: Gio's from Miami.

Gunn: Ah, coast to coast, huh?

Gio: Little something like that. - Hey, you might be able to help me out. Why is it - that places like LA and Miami bring out the teeth you suppose? I mean, you would think that the vamps would wanna hang in less sunny climes, you know what I'm sayin'?

Gunn: Yeah, I think I do.

Gio: Well, maybe we could ask your boss why that is.

Rondell: Yo, Gio.

Gio: You can't beat 'em, right, Chuck?

Gunn: It ain't even like that.

Gio: Nuh? - Okay. If you say so. See, 'cause I heard - that you was like this - big time, alpha vamp killer - and now you working with one? What's up with that?

Rondell: Gio - who's supposed to be on point out back?

Gio: That be me.

Rondell: So why aren't you back there?

Gio: Yeah. A'right. It's cool. Y'all can have your nice little visit. You might wanna do that outside - in the sunshine - just to be on the safe side, you know?"



Cordelia: Some people just need a little time alone. I wouldn't worry.

Angel: She's had time alone. Five years. I think that's the problem. She's been back in this world for three months and she still hasn't gone out into it.

Cordelia: Right. And it's not like the last time she went out into it she got sucked into an interdimensional portal and ended up living like a hunted animal in a hostile demon alterna-world or anything. Oh, wait. Kinda is, isn't it?

Angel: Which is why I'm asking you to, you know, talk to her.

Cordelia: I'm not so sure that's a great idea.

Angel: You don't like her?

Cordelia: Sure I like her. What's not to like? She's sweet and adorable and - seems to be laughing at something that shrub just said. Look, it's not that I don't like her. It's just - I don't get her.



Angel: What's this?

Cordelia: Enemies of Merl list.

Angel: Hey. - Why is my name at the top of this list?

Cordelia: Ah - 'A'?

Angel: Merl and I where not enemies.

Cordelia: Oh, okay, my mistake.

Angel: I'm the one that found the body, remember?

Cordelia: Oh. And that's not suspicious. The one time you pay Merl a social visit and he ends up - dead?

Wesley: I recognize quite a few of these names, actually.

Cordelia: You should. Half of them weren't 'enemies of Merl' until we made him snitch on them.

Angel: Oh, sure. I went dark and I killed Merl.

Wesley: We'll work backwards, end with the 'A' s. How's that? We should start tracking these names.

Angel: You know, ask yourself this: if I'd killed Merl would I've - brought donuts?



Gunn: I guess that's the word on me around here nowadays, huh? Traitor? Vamp lover?

Rondell: Hell, don't go listening to Gio, man. He don't know you.

Gunn: No, but you do. So what you got to say, Rondell. You think I turned my back on you all to hook up with one of them?

Rondell: Hell, I don't know. I haven't even seen your back in months, bro. I don't know which way it's facing.

Gunn: That's no answer.

Rondell: Truth? I ain't heard word one from you - not since we spread what was left of George in the river. Some of us were even starting to wonder if you were still in this world.

Gunn: I didn't mean to disappear on y'all. I didn't plan it. - Guess after George...

Rondell: You were gone way before George. - It was Alonna, man. Things - they were never the same after Alonna.

Gunn: Couldn't keep my own sister safe. What can I do for the rest of you?

Rondell: A lot, man. You done a lot. There's people alive today because of something you started.

Gunn: No, man. Something we started.

Rondell: You got that right.



Gio: Hey. You know something? - He still thinks you're some kind of hero. - But me and you, we know better, right? - Yeah. Yeah, we know better.



Cordelia: Hi.

Fred: Ah, oh, you-you startled me!

Cordelia: I'm sorry.

Fred: No. No, it's my fault. I'm sorry, okay?

Cordelia: Yeah.

Fred: Well, I'll get out of your way.

Cordelia: No, Fred I want you to stay! Stay. Actually I - I was hoping we could - you know, talk?

Fred: Well, yeah, of course. Did you mean now?

Cordelia: Yes! Yes. I'm sorry. It's just I feel a little awkward. Angel wants you to get out.

Fred: Oh, I see. - Okay. No, I understand. I only have a few things to pack. It won't take long.

Cordelia: No, Fred! That's not what I meant. Out, into the real world, you know, just for an evening or something.

Fred: Oh! Oh? Oh...

Cordelia: Well, not by yourself or anything. What if I... - What if we went out together?

Fred: Well - I suppose I would be okay if I was with you, right?

Cordelia: Sure!

Fred: I mean, that'd be safe, right?

Cordelia: Of course it would.

Fred: No one would even bother to look at me twice with you around!

Cordelia: Exactly. - Ah. No. - Now, that's just not true! People will notice you!

Fred: They will?

Cordelia: Yes! And you know why? - Because you'll be standing on a stage in the white-hot spotlight.

Fred: I will? Oh.



Angel: Here. I want you to go this address.

Cordelia: What is it?

Angel: Transuding furies.

Cordelia: Gesundheit.

Angel: Three sisters. Lorne hires them monthly to cast the sanctorium spell on Caritas. Tell them to lift the spell, then I'll be able to fight back.

Cordelia: They lift the spell then you can fight - all twenty of them and still get killed. Great idea.



Lorne: Miami.

Gio: Did you say something to me, green boy?

Lorne: Was three thousand miles really far enough, I wonder? I know why you left. Why you ran. - You couldn't stay there, could you? - After what you did. - She trusted you.

Gio: Shut up.

Lorne: Right up until the end she trusted you. Did you know that?



Gio: So who does he go after? Who does he draw down on? The baby-killing monster? No, me, that's who. What does that tell you?

Gunn: Tells me there's a whole lot of monsters in this room to choose from.

Gio: Yeah, maybe you one of them. You one of them, Chuck? Have they turned you already, huh? You one of 'em?

Gunn: Come at me and find out.

Gio: Yeah, I think he's one of them. Or - maybe you just wanna be. Yeah. That's more like it. I bet they won't even let you in their little club. Huh, Chuck? Damn. You ain't even good enough for the vamps, the demons and the baby-eatin' monsters. Huh. Yeah, that's what I'm guessing. Wine 'em and dine 'em, stick up for them "Oh, yeah. That one's okay" and they still won't put you on! Ain't that a blip?

Gunn: Shut up.

Gio: And all that what we heard about his sister might not be quite right. He was the only one there to see it. You know what I'm sayin'? You're the one that let her get vamped in the first place, right Chuck? Because I know I wouldn't let no bloodsucker get that close to my sister. And why? Where you thinking that finally she was gonna give it up to you? Was that the plan? And that's why you let her get bit. And then when she was there, all vamped out and hungry, you thought you might get that eternal kiss finally and when she said 'no' that's when you stuck it to her! That's what I'm thinkin'."

Gunn: Shut up!

Lorne: No. Not in here. No. No.

Gio: Is that why you start in here? Is that why you up in here, truckin' with vamps and demons, thinking you're gonna get your little piece of the action?!

Gunn: I said shut up!!



Cordelia: So, ah, Angel says you and he go -way back?

Furies: Mmm, Angel.

Cordelia: Uh, yeah. So, uhm, about that sanctorium mojo you got on at Caritas. Any chance you can pull the plug on that like now - for instance? Kind of an emergency.

Furies: You would have us lift what has been put in place by mutual consent and contract?

Cordelia: If you don't, Angel will die.

Furies: Mmm, Angel.



Gunn: You think I won't kill him because he's my friend? That ain't why. Truth is, he can never be my friend. It's on account of what he is. Not his fault, really. Just the way it worked out.

Rondell: He ain't your friend. I am. And you gonna chose that over me?

Gunn: Looks like. It's about the mission, bro. He's got it. You don't.



Cordelia: Look, this is really urgent. I know Lorne pays you to cast this spell. What will it take for you to lift it.

Furies: This is not a debt you can pay.

Cordelia: You don't know that. My credit has been very good this last year.

Furies: Only Angel is equipped to make good on this debt.

Cordelia: Angel. I don't know. For a guy, who's a couple of centuries old - not very big with the wise investing. And when you say 'equipped' that isn't what you mean, is it?

Furies: Mmm, Angel.

Cordelia: Got it. And 'eww!'



Fred: I'm sorry. - I just can't die in here.

Angel: It's okay. I understand.

Gio: Alright, now you wanna get it in the heart or it's no good.

Fred: Although I thought I might just shoot you in the throat instead. Now, if I pierce one of your carotid arteries, considering the temperature in here, 'cause I think somebody shot the thermostat, the blood loss is gonna be heavy. And there's a chance I'll puncture a vocal cord and you won't even be able to scream. Butt you'll want to when the blood loss to your brain results in a cerebral vascular event. - That's a stroke. I wasn't trying to sound snooty.



Gunn: Don't guess Rondell and his crew are gonna be crossing Venice boulevard again any time soon.

Wesley: It's never easy - the pull of divided loyalties. - Whatever choice we do end up making we feel as though we've betrayed someone.

Gunn: Yeah.

Wesley: If you ever withhold information or attempt to subvert me again, I will fire you. - I can't have any one member of the team compromising the safety of the group, no matter who it is. If you do it again you will be dismissed, bag and baggage, out of a job onto the streets.



Gunn: So, now you're gonna get on me about all those things I said to you in there.

Angel: No.

Gunn: You understand I had to stall. Just had to keep it going.

Angel: Yeah. I get that.

Gunn: Doesn't mean I meant any of it.

Angel: No, you meant all of it, but that's okay.

Gunn: I can't help the way I feel, man. That's just the way it is. - Doesn't mean I don't wanna work with you. Doesn't even mean that I don't like you. - Maybe some day, I don't know.

Angel: I don't know either. - But I got time.

Gunn: Hey! No matter what else, I think I proved that you can trust me when I could have killed you and I didn't.

Angel: No. - You'll prove that I can trust you when day comes that you have to kill me - and you do.



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Story: 10

Acting: 10

Writing: 9

Picture: 10

Gripping: 10

My Rank: 9

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Total: 9.7

By season three, Gunn's involvement with his old gang had waned indefinitely and for the show writers to ignore this would have been a major flaw on their part. Additionally, some of the questions raised by Gunn and accentuated by Gio (why Angel Investigations tolerated certain unsavory demons, such as the nastier patrons of Karitas) were valid and were perhaps questions that viewers were asking themselves. But these premises alone were not enough to carry the show.



My major beef with this episode was the 15 to 20 minute hostile take-over of Karitas. The scene is annoying to watch and was no doubt written to make the viewer uncomfortable, but the scene could have effectively made all of the points it needed to make in a much shorter time span. If the scene had been shorter, certain contrived plot devices could have been avoided: Lorne's lame condemnation of whatever Gio did in Miami, Gunn being uncharacteristically at a loss for words when Gio is babbling about Gunn's sister, the condescending allegory for blind discrimination.



Nevertheless, That Old Gang of Mine is an episode that achieves its goal of elucidating where Gunn's loyalties lie and also sermonizing about the shades of gray that make morality difficult.