From The TV IV

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

Special Guest Star: Julie Benz (Darla)

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

With: David Herman (David Nabbit)

And: J. August Richards (Charles Gunn)

Co-Stars: Louise Claps (Homeless Woman), Daren Rice (Uniform #1), Joe 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)

Contents 1 Plot Overview 2 Notes 2.1 Monster of the Week 2.2 Body Count 2.3 Music 3 Arc Advancement 3.1 Happenings 3.2 Characters 3.3 Referbacks 4 Trivia 4.1 The Show 4.2 Behind the Scenes 4.3 Allusions and References 4.4 Memorable Moments 5 Quotes 6 Reviews

[edit] Plot Overview

[edit] Notes

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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

[edit] Music

There is no licensed music in this episode.

[edit] Arc Advancement

[edit] 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".

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Trivia

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Memorable Moments

[edit] Quotes

[edit] Reviews

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