n the last episode of Angel, "Peace Out," Angel (Boreanaz) and his
crew finally managed to defeat the almighty Power That Was, Jasmine (Gina
Torres). With the end of another evil villain, it would seem the world should
be a better place—or not. While Angel and the team managed to ended Jasmine's
reign, they may also unfortunately have ended world peace.
As the fourth-season finale of Angel opens, back-from-the-dead
Lilah (Stephanie Romanov) makes Angel and the team an offer they may not be
able to refuse. It seems that with the end of Jasmine, the evil law firm
Wolfram & Hart has returned bigtime. And as a thank-you for ending world
peace, the senior partners decide to give Angel and the gang their Los Angeles
branch to do with what they will.
No one on the team quite wants to admit they might have actually ended
world peace. Still, Lilah's offer of a tour of the facilities draws them into
the ivory towers of Wolfram & Hart. With the offer of having every resource
imaginable at their fingertips, it may end up being an offer they can't
refuse. The offer plays on the team's desires, as well as on Angel's desire to
find the missing Connor (Vincent Kartheiser) and the comatose Cordelia
(Carpenter). With unlimited resources and endless financial backing, Angel
Investigations might have an infinite possibility to do good.
Meanwhile, Connor wanders the streets as the distraught people of Los
Angeles find themselves suddenly without Jasmine's loving influence. At first
he helps people, but quickly he lashes out in anger. As that anger builds, there
may be only one being on earth who can stop him. But will a father's love be
enough to save his child from hell on earth?
A heavenly finale for Angel fans
When Angel first spun off from Buffy the Vampire Slayer,
undoubtedly only Joss Whedon could have imagined where it might go. It would
have been easy to do a simple show about a detective vampire with a soul,
covering the same material over and over again, week after week, and never
moving the story forward. Arguably that might even have helped it get higher
ratings. However, then it wouldn't be a Joss Whedon show.
Angel started out of the gate a little slower than Buffy as
far as finding its identity, but the series has gone on to become
Buffy's equal in storytelling and character. There's no denying that
this season of Angel is one of the best any television show has ever
had. While the climax with Jasmine in "Peace Out" may have seemed just a bit of an
anticlimax after the events of the season, there's nothing anticlimactic about
the fourth-season finale, "Home." This fully satisfying episode tackles some
of the emotional loose ends of the season while offering the same mix of
humor, horror and angst that has become the trademark of the series.
As with its best episodes, "Home" works as a completely believable
story that fits within the Angel universe while also being a metaphor
for the human condition. Connor's fury and Angel's anguish are totally
believable and true to the characters. Characters in a Joss Whedon universe may
not live happily ever after, but they do live and breathe through the kind of
rich characterizations that are seldom seen on television.
Consulting producer Tim Minear wrote and directed this fine finale, and
it's the perfect conclusion to a stunning season. The WB hasn't yet released
its decision as to whether or not Angel will be given a fifth season.
If this is the end of Angel and the series doesn't make its way over to
UPN, then "Home" offers a wonderful conclusion to a great series. If
Angel does go on, then the episode sows the seeds for another epic
season, with emotional stakes that will reverberate through the rest of the
series. Very few season finales have ever been able to make that claim.
