Angel/The Trial

The Trial
Season 2, Episode 9
Airdate	November 28, 2000
Production Number	2ADH09
Teleplay by	Douglas Petrie & Tim Minear
Story by	David Greenwalt
Directed by	Bruce Seth Green
← 2x08 The Shroud of Rahmon	2x10 → Reunion
Angel — Season Two

The Trial is the ninth episode of the second season of Angel, and the thirty-first episode overall. Angel discovers that Darla is not long for this world and attempts to save her life, even if it costs him his.

David Boreanaz (Angel), Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia Chase), Alexis Denisof (Wesley Wyndam-Pryce), J. August Richards (Charles Gunn)

Guest Starring: Christian Kane (Lindsey McDonald), Andy Hallett (Caritas Host), Sam Anderson (Holland Manners), Jim Piddock (Trial Overseer), Julie Benz (Darla),

Guest Starring (end credits): Juliet Landau (Drusilla)

Co-Starring: Evan Arnold (Vampire)

Plot Overview

Angel learns that Darla has resumed dying from the syphilis she had before she was originally made into a vampire. Wanting to find a way to help her, Angel is sent by the Host to engage in a trial that will hopefully save Darla’s life.

Notes

Monster of the Week

• With the exception of the yellow demon from the first trial who could reattach severed body parts, there was no "monster of the week" in this episode.

Body Count

#	Whom	By Whom	How	Where
1	Vampire	Angel	Staked	Bar Alley
2	Darla	Drusilla	Turned into Vampire	Hotel Room

Music

Music is listed in order of appearance in the episode:

• Ella Fitzgerald - "Ill Wind (You're Blowing Me No Good)"

Arc Advancement

Happenings

• Wolfram & Hart: Lindsey has Darla turned back into a vampire. Although it is unknown whether or not the firm itself was complicit in his actions, he was carrying a fair amount of muscle.

Characters

• Darla: Because she was brought back as a human, Darla was also brought back with the syphilis that was killing her prior to being turned into a vampire by the Master. She ultimately forgives Angel for not turning her again after seeing how he felt during the Trials, but is turned anyway by Drusilla.

Referbacks

• 2x07 - Darla: During one of the flashbacks, Drusilla made a comment to Darla that she "could be her mummy." This is likely foreshadowing to this episode where Drusilla becomes her sire, which is a little odd considering that in vampire terms she's technically Drusilla's grandmother.

Trivia

The Show

• Previously On: J. August Richards does the voice-over for the "previously on" recap for the first time.

• Crazy Credits: In order to keep her cameo a surprise, Juliet Landau is credited with her guest appearance at the end of the episode rather than the beginning.

Behind the Scenes

• Ratings: On its first airing, this episode scored a 4.1/6 in the overnight Nielsen ratings. It was ranked 4th out of the 17 WB shows which aired that week.

Allusions and References

• Survivor: The reality show is centered around a group of people that have been stranded on a desert island. Every few days, the contestants assemble in a so-called tribal council and vote one member off the island. The first season of Survivor became a surprise summer hit and had finished airing just three months before this episode of Angel.

Cordelia: I'm sorry, but after four hundred years of death and destruction it seems to me you get voted off the island.

• Space Oddity: Lorne quotes a line from "Space Oddity," a song off the album of the same name by David Bowie. The song tells the story of Major Tom, a fictional astronaut who becomes lost in space after something malfunctions in his space ship. The full lyric is: "Ground Control to Major Tom / Your circuit's dead, there's something wrong / Can you hear me, Major Tom?"

Host: It means "ooh, ground control to major Tom" we may not be able to save this bird.

Goofs

• As Drusilla walks up to Darla in her human face, in one particular angle, you can see from the side of her face that she has already vamped out.

Quotes

• Darla: It wasn't my will to be here in the first place. I never asked for this life.

Holland Manners: Well, no one ever does. God doesn't give us a say in these matters.

Darla: God wasn't the one who brought me back.

• Darla: (to Angel) I wasn't in any danger, Angelus. Believe me, I picked a stupid one. I always pick the stupid ones. Didn't you know that?

• Darla: I don't trust them, but I know a thing or two about mind games. (to Angel) So do you. We played them together for over a century.

Cordelia: Yes, but you were just soulless bloodsucking demons. They're lawyers.

Angel: She's right. We were amateurs.

• The Host: There is one way. It's a bit of a quest. It will probably kill you.

Angel: I'll take it.

• Angel: (about to leap into the empty pool) I'm either coming back with a cure or you're about to see something kinda funny.