Angel saves a woman from a werewolf attack, but not before the creature has bitten her. Reaching her before she can hurt anyone close to her, he takes her to Wolfram & Hart, but there are other parties who want to get their hands on her.

Okay, I have to come clean here: having run an interview with John Billlingsley recently in which he spoke about his guest starring role in this episode, I knew everything that was going to happen. So while it might taint my review as nothing was going to surprise me, I’ve had that problem before and enjoyed what I’ve watched. Not this time.

Werewolf episodes have always been a problem for any show; indeed, Wolf Lake only got round it by only showing humans or wolves and nothing inbetween. Back in the Oz days, Buffy could never really pull it off, and while the werewolves are kept out of the spotlight as much as possible during this episode, they’re still pretty ropey. The story itself is the main problem though; maybe it’s something about werewolves, but the characters really aren’t interesting enough to care much about, and when the first 20 minutes of the episode are taken up with the newly-converted Nina whining about her plight and Angel trying to convince her that everything will be okay, it gets old very quickly.

The rest of the story isn’t much cop either; the revelation that the W & H doctor is part of a group of monster-eating gourmets is very sudden and doesn’t quite gel, and the ending, when he becomes the next snack on the menu, while quite dark and Angel-esque in outlook, also doesn’t really work. What gives Angel and company the right to decide one person’s life is worthless and another’s isn’t? While there’s the feeling the poor doc brought it on himself, the last time Angel pulled a stunt like that was in the darker days of season two. Here it seems a little out of place, especially with the rest of the team around, even if they have done some morally reprehensible things in their time.

It’s not all bad news. There’s some good writing on show in a couple of key scenes. Lorne gets some fantastic material when he offers Angel a shoulder to cry… well, lean, on, and it’s the first time we’ve really seen this side of him, as someone Angel can trust and rely on. He’s never really had a close relationship with anyone before, and there are the makings of a firm friendship here that’s missing a bit between the main cast. The Spike/Fred material is also very good, as the two characters bounce off each other well and know each other better than they might first think. Spike’s sadness at what’s happening to him after being given his second chance to make right is very touching, and it’s well played by James Marsters, who’s really got into the head of the character now. Although his Brit accent seems to be wandering a bit for some reason…

**

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