Angel/To Shanshu in L.A.

To Shanshu in L.A.
Season 1, Episode 22
Airdate	May 23, 2000
Production Number	1ADH22
Written by	David Greenwalt
Directed by	David Greenwalt
← 1x21 Blind Date	2x01 → Judgement
Angel — Season One

To Shanshu in L.A. is the twenty-second episode of the first season of Angel. Wolfram & Hart raise a demon to eliminate Angel's ties to the Powers That Be and recruit an old ally against Angel.

David Boreanaz (Angel), Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia Chase), Alexis Denisof (Wesley Wyndam-Pryce)

Guest Starring: Elisabeth Rohm (Kate Lockley), Christian Kane (Lindsey McDonald), Stephanie Romanov (Lilah Morgan), Sam Anderson (Holland Manners), Todd Stashwick (Vocah), Carey Cannon (Female Oracle), Randall Slavin (Male Oracle)

with David Herman (David Nabbit)

and J. August Richards (Charles Gunn)

Special Guest Star (end credits): Julie Benz (Darla)

Co-Starring: Louise Claps (Homeless Woman), Daren Rice (Uniform #1), Jon Ecklund (Uniform #2), Lia Johnson (Vendor), Robyn Cohen (Nurse), Susan Savage (Doctor), John Eddins (Monk #1), Gerard O'Donnell (Monk #2), Brahman Turner (Young Tough Guy)

Plot Overview

Wolfram & Hart conjure a demon to perform a raising that will bring about a great evil. Meanwhile, Wesley tries to decipher the text in the scrolls Angel stole, as they pertain to his destiny. However, the scroll also contains the rites the demon needs for the raising and goes about severing Angel’s link to the Powers That Be.

Notes

Monster of the Week

• Vocah: Vocah is a powerful demonic warrior of the underworld. He wields a battle scythe and wears a bronze mask on his face to conceal maggot infested decaying flesh. Other than his knowledge of the prophecies at hand, he doesn't seem to have any special abilities.

Body Count

#	Whom	By Whom	How	Where
1/2	The Oracles	Vocah	Cut Open	Oracle Sanctuary
3/4/5/6/7	Vampires	Lindsey/Vocah	Dusted	Mausoleum
8	Vocah	Angel	Decapitated	Mausoleum

Music

• Grant Langston - "Time of Day"

Arc Advancement

Happenings

• Wolfram & Hart: The lawfirm hires a demon for the purposes of separating Angel from the Powers That Be. They fail at this, but they do manage to bring something else back.

• Angel Investigations: Angel's headquarters is blown up and his associates are incapacitated by a demon raised by Wolfram & Hart. Although Wesley and Cordelia heal, his home is still destroyed.

• Shanshu Prophecy: Angel's final reward is explained in the prophecy. He will be turned human after he fulfills his destiny. This includes enduring "the coming darkness, the apocalyptic battles, a few plagues, and several fiends that will be unleashed".

Characters

• Lindsey: Lindsey took the promotion that he was offered in the last episode. He's now a junior partner at Wolfram & Hart. He's also now missing one of his hands, thanks to Angel.

• Darla: After being killed in the first season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Darla has been resurrected by Wolfram & Hart.

Referbacks

• 1x08 - I Will Remember You: Angel has been human once already this season, but only he and Cordelia know about the events of that day at this point. The Oracles' mockery of his assertion that the Powers That Be made him human ("Did you save humanity? Avert the Apocalypse?") makes more sense in this light.

Trivia

The Show

• Meta-Reference: Lilah mentions a Wolfram & Hart lawyer who was forced to eat his own liver after displeasing the senior partners. This lawyer's name is Robert Price, which is also the name of an executive producer on the series.

• Final Appearance: Obviously, because it was blown to pieces, this is the last episode which features Angel's home and office.

Behind the Scenes

• Ratings: On its first airing, this episode scored a 4.7/7 in the overnight Nielsen ratings. It was ranked 3rd out of the 16 WB shows which aired that week.

• Strike the Set: The reason why Angel's home home and office were blown up was because shooting in the apartment was so cramped that it was tough to film in. Although, David Greenwalt also admitted that he just likes to blow stuff up. The following season would replace it with a much roomier location.

Allusions and References

• To Live and Die in L.A.: The title, translated, is a reference to a 1985 movie starring Willem Dafoe and William L. Petersen about a secret service agent attempting to seek out and exact revenge on a criminal who killed his partner.

• Judas: In the biblical story of Jesus' betrayal, it is said that Judas was given 30 pieces of silver by the Roman authorities for turning in Jesus. However, details have come to light in 2006 that Judas and Jesus may have co-conspired in order to complete Jesus' holy journey.

Wesley: After all you did for him, he sells his soul for thirty pieces of silver.

• Pinocchio: An animated puppet first introduced in Carlo Collidi's novel, Le Avventure di Pinocchio (1881–83), Pinocchio longs to become a real boy, which is mirrored by Angel's desire to become human again.

Cordelia: Oh yeah, break out the champagne, Pinocchio.

Goofs

• Angel tears off Vocah's mask, but it repeatedly cuts to a different shot where you can see that he's still wearing the mask.

• In the penultimate scene, when Angel tells Cordelia that Wesley is "not used to the new you," a boom mic can be seen briefly dipping into frame directly above David Boreanaz.

Quotes

• Wesley: It's an ancient, sacred text, not a Magic 8-Ball.

• Cordelia: Angel's going to die?

Angel: Oh. Anything else?

Cordelia: He certainly took that well. Is this that opportune time to talk about my raise?

• (after a headache-inducing vision)

Cordelia: Pain... killer.

Wesley: Painful killer demon.

Cordelia: Pain killer!

• Angel: Cordelia, I'm gonna fix this. Promise. I'm gonna get you back. I need you back.

• Gunn: If God was a busboy, he'd look just like you, Jesús.

• Lilah: Aren't we going to be late?

Holland Manners: You never want to be on time for a ritual. The chanting, the blood rites - they go on forever.

• Angel: Don't believe everything you're foretold.

• Wesley: Here's something.

Angel: What is it?

Wesley: The beast of Amalfif. A razor-toothed, six-eyed harbinger of death. No, wait. That's due to arise in 2003 in Reseda.

Angel: I would have guessed Tarzana.