Angel Investigated - 2.5 Dear Boy

Posted by Jason Chamberlain on 11.18.2009

While his friends think he's just seeing things, Angel discovers that Darla is back, in league with Wolfram and Hart... and human!

2.5 Dear Boy
Writer: David Greenwalt
Director: David Greenwalt

Whedon Speak

Angel: This is why personally I rarely go to church. (Silence) I thought it was funny.

Wesley: He’s an eccentric, all the great ones are.

Husband: Do you think my wife is cheating on me?
Angel: Probably.

Angel: I saw her. I'm not crazy.
Wesley: Where?
Angel: Right between the clowns and the big talking hot dog.

Wesley: Angel you can't just sniff a person and know.
Angel: You had sex last night with a bleach blonde.
Wesley: Good lord!

Darla: See? No matter how good a boy you are, God doesn't want you... but I still do.

Angel: There’s gonna be a lot of trouble. And I say bring it on.

Mike Gorman has the full review!

Angel finally gets his head in the game this week as his dreams finally become reality. During "Dear Boy" he learns that his visions of Darla were more than fantasies. She is alive and working with Wolfram & Hart, and that can only mean bad news.

The episode begins with Angel, Wesley and Cordelia responding to one of Cordy's visions. During the ensuing fight Angel loses focus on what is happening and starts to beat on one specific demon. Cordy and Wesley confront him about how his behavior is changing and he decides to take a walk to clear his head. While on the walk he sees Darla but cannot catch up to her. Instead we are launched into a flashback of when Angel was Angelus. This series of flashbacks will continue throughout the episode and tell the story of how Angelus selects Druscilla to be converted to a vampire. It speaks to his relationship with Darla and how twisted his nature had become.

Back in the present day Angel tells the gang that he saw Darla but they do not believe him. They push off his concerns and pull him right into another case. Angel soon again sees Darla and speaks with her. She claims she is not Darla but is a human woman who is married. When she breaks free from his grasp she runs out into the sunlight and the arms of her husband. Angel is confused because clearly this woman is human. He asks Cordy to find out anything he can about this woman while he goes to see the Host. After Angel performs a truly horrid rendition of Wang Chung's "Everybody Have Fun Tonight," Lorne warns him that he should stay away from Darla and that entering her path with lead to trouble. Unphased by the warning, Angel calls Cordy to get the info on the woman and heads out to find her.

This whole sequence is handled very well because as viewers we do not know if we can trust Angel's judgment at this point. Might this really just be a look a like and not Darla taunting him? Of course not! The entire scenario is a set up by Darla and Lindsey to make it look like Angel killed the human woman's husband. As the police arrive, Angel kidnaps Darla. Cordy, Wesley and Gunn deal with the aftermath of the police involvement while Angel confronts Darla. She does eventually reveal her identity and confirms that she is now somehow human. She tries to lure Angel over to her side but he resists. Darla uses a crucifix here to burn Angel reminding him that regardless of his intentions, God still does not want him, but she does. She then flees into the sunlight leaving Angel shaken by the day's events.

This episode is great because it really is about laying all of the cards on the table. Angel is not crazy or imagining things. Darla is back and in cahoots with the evil lawyers. The action cannot help but be propelled forward here as the Angel/Darla conflict has been built to a wonderful crescendo. What will she do now that he knows she is back and she no longer needs to hide? How will Angel react now that he knows she is not just alive but human? And how will his behavior impact his friends? Angel is not known for being open about his feelings nor does he seem to want to let anyone in on this personal battle. What follows will definitely be great television.

Jason Chamberlain	While Buffy is struggling with crappy little sisters and annoying big bads, Angel just keeps kicking ass! Bringing Darla back was an absolute stroke of genius for the show. Seeing her presence and its effects on Angel is great, as is the views of their former life together. Seeing Angel’s torture and turning of Drusilla is awesome, since we had heard so much about it on Buffy. These scenes really give us a glimpse of how monstrous he really was back then and how much he has to atone for. It makes those endless ‘guilty conscience’ scenes carry some weight and not be annoying. But Kate... God she’s brutal!	9
Jeremy Thomas	"Dear Boy" starts with a brief sequence of the sun coming ominously up, and a quick flash of Darla superimposed over the time-lapse shot. It's a small touch but a lovely little piece of work that has a greater meaning when we learn later in the episode that when Darla was brought back from the dead, she was brought back as a human. It's the little touches like this that make this episode so enjoyable. We journey into the past again, and while I've never particularly liked Angel's 1800's hairstyle, the rest is good and brings back the lovely and talented Juliet Landau as Drusilla. She'll be back again soon, too. We have the scenes in the convent, which is all nicely constructed, and the set of scenes with Angel and Darla once again show the crackling chemistry they have. On the other hand, we learn how much chemistry Darla has with Linsdey, too. This will be one of the defining things in the series-long feud between Lindsay and Angel is their rivalry over Darla, which gets just enough focus to be significant. Plus, Angel sings again...which is always good.	8
Ronny Sarnecky	Finally, Angel has learned the truth. Not only is Darla alive and well, but she’s alive and HUMAN! Despite that fact, unlike Angel, she doesn’t have a soul. She’s still evil. In an interesting twist, instead of trying to destroy Angel, Wolfram & Hart with Darla tried to frame Angel in order to have him arrested. The best part about that plan was the way Kate realized that Angel was not the guilty party. Since Kate knows that Angel is a vampire, they informed her that he couldn’t have entered the home without being invited, and if he was inside, the original owners of the house were already dead. It was a unique angle, as I temporarily forgot about the whole “vampire needs to be invited in” deal. My favorite part of the show was the flashback scenes between Darla and Angel. What I liked about those scenes is that Druscilla was hanging out in the background. This was after Angel drove her insane, but before he turned Druscilla into a vampire. A very cool moment that gives the viewer more insight into the characters. This was a solid episode. While I’m not sure if it was a can’t miss show, it deffinately isn’t a bad show.	7

GRR!!! ARGH!!!

The 411: At this point we are really seeing Team Angel develop with Gunn's role growing and Lorne showing up more often. I feel like with this storyline the series really does hit a great stride that will carry it through this amazing second season.

Final Score:  8.5   [ Very Good ]