Angel Investigated - 2.8 The Shroud Of Rahmon
Posted by Jason Chamberlain on 12.09.2009
Angel and Gunn team up to infiltrate a demonic heist, but the treasure they target might turn them against each other! And Cordelia gets an awful, awful hair cut!
2.8 The Shroud Of Rahmon
Writer: Jim Kouf
Director: David Grossman
Whedon Speak
Wesley: What happened to your head? Cordelia: Excuse me? Wesley: Your hair. It's.. new. It's great. When did this happen? Cordelia: Ten days ago.
[Cordelia returns to the hotel with a large red stain on her blouse.] Angel: Cordelia. What happened? Cordelia: It's not blood, it's cocktail sauce. Courtesy of Mr. Star Shmoozer here. Angel: I mean your head. Your hair. It looks.. great. When did this happen? Wesley: Ten days ago. Pay attention.
Gunn: And what am I supposed to do? Sit home and knit? Angel: I could use a sweater. Something dark.
Angel: This is such an honor. Hi! I'm a big fan! When the boss said Jay-Don was coming in, I was just like.... Wow! Hey, can I see the glasses? Jay-Don: Hey, nobody touches the glasses or the hair, doll. Angel: (Laughing) Yeah right... 'doll.' You got it! That's cool. OH... I was supposed to ask you something, oh, what is it? Oh, god what is it? Oh yeah! What's the password? Jay-Don: There is no password. Angel: Oh. (Angel stakes him) Just checking.
Case Files
Tony Todd, who plays the demon Menlo, is well known for his roles in horror films like Candyman. He has also appeared on a number of genre shows like Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Smallville and Chuck.
Ronny Sarnecky has the full review!
From the opening scene, this was a very intense episode. The sight of seeing Angel sucking the life out of a woman, while Wesley is telling the police that “it wasn’t supposed to go down like this” was riveting. Was the old Angelus back?
This episode did not feature a “big bad” or a progression of the Wolfram & Hart storyline. However, the danger of this episode was whether or not Angel would be turned. The plot of this episode was that Angel and Gunn had to team together to stop the theft of a demonic shroud that makes people psychotic.
This was the first time since Gunn and Angel have been working together that there was tension between the two. Even before they were around the shroud, Gunn and Angel were at each other’s throats, because Gunn didn’t want to play second fiddle in HIS, not Angel’s, case.
The big scene in the episode has Angel biting, and drinking the blood of Det. Kate Lockley. As it turned out, Angel used this as a ruse to make the other demons think that he killed Det. Lockley. However, this incident leaves us with many questions as the show comes to a close. Does Angel now have the blood lust of a vampire, since he has tasted the blood of a human again? How will this bite, even though it was meant to protect Kate, effect the already tense relationship between Angel and Kate? In what has become commonplace amongst the “Angel” series, this was yet another great episode.
Jeremy Thomas
This episode really gets off with a bang. A couple of cops are sitting there, talking about a murder and another one who's close to death. When they go in to talk to the person, it turns out to be none other than our own Wesley Wyndham-Price, saying "It all went horribly wrong" before we see Angel in vamp mode, with blood on his lips. Now that's how you kick-start an episode. The point of this whole episode was to push Angel ever further to the edge of going bad, and they certainly did that. The Road to Hell is paved with good intentions, and good intentions take the Angel Investigations crew down a very dangerous path. Angel's already showing some definite signs of darkness from the beginning point of this episode. Angel tells Gunn flat-out that he's not working a case that he found, and then he tells Kate that if she comes between him and Darla it will be the last thing she ever does. And that's before they find the mystical shroud that makes everyone insane.
I appreciated this episode because it's a necessary part in Angel's descent to the best parts of this season. There's also a lot of very good humour, particularly with Angel playing the flashy Jay-Don. It's so different from what Angel's used to that you can't help but laugh. On the down side, Kate is a little more annoying in this episode than she's been through the show thus far. While it's easy to understand her motivations, and her trust issues with Angel make sense, she just comes off as more petulant than pissy. I'm one of Kate's bigger fans amongst us, but even I think she was a downer in this episode. Other than that, there's not a lot to dislike. In keeping with the noir aspect of the series, this is the requisite heist film tribute and they have a lot of fun with it. Lastly, there is the awesomeness of Tony Todd, he of Candyman and the Final Destination films, playing the monstrous Menlo. You just can't beat that.
8
Mike Gorman
Gotta be honest. I am not the biggest fan of this episode. It has some nice drama and funny moments but as a whole it feels like filler. Character relationships are not really developed any further than they have been already and it does not really tie into the main continuity of the season. "Rahmon" does however feature some nice comedic moments for David Boreanaz. His turn as "J-Don" is the highlight of the week. It does not redeem the entire episode for me and that is why it is one that I could take or leave without really batting an eye.
6
Jason Chamberlain
This episode has an uphill battle to fight, being a standalone instalment amongst a kick ass arc. No, we’re not dealing Darla or Wolfram and Hart, so I can understand disappointment there. But if you give it a chance, this episode is actually pretty cool, if admittedly not up to the standards of most of season two.
The idea of the gang involved in a supernatural heist is great and it’s executed well, from the classic set up scene to the heist itself and how it inevitably goes awry. The Shroud was an interesting element to play with, in bringing out the darkness in the characters, especially Angel and Gunn, who get on each other not just at the Shroud’s behest.
JT is right, Kate was really annoying here and I almost wish Angel hadn’t faked it and just sucked her dry, or maybe just given her the deluxe Jenny Calendar package. Strange how I can’t stand Rohm in this role, seeing as now, almost ten years later, I’m digging her quite a bit on Heroes.
Cordy's hair? Just terrible. Not as bad as her awful third season blonde bob, but pretty bad all the same.
The highlight, though, is easily Angel as Jay Don. Boreanaz has great comedic chops when he’s allowed to play and seeing him take on a ‘Rat Pack’ type vampire was hilarious. And the moment when he stakes the real Jay Don and grabs his sunglasses before they turn to dust with the rest of him? Badass.
7
GRR!!! ARGH!!!
The 411: This episode isn’t a must-see episode, due to the fact that it doesn’t further any existing storylines, or feature a memorable “Big Baddie of the Week.” That being said, it is a really good episode that is definitely worth watching.
The big scene in the episode has Angel biting, and drinking the blood of Det. Kate Lockley. As it turned out, Angel used this as a ruse to make the other demons think that he killed Det. Lockley. However, this incident leaves us with many questions as the show comes to a close. Does Angel now have the blood lust of a vampire, since he has tasted the blood of a human again? How will this bite, even though it was meant to protect Kate, effect the already tense relationship between Angel and Kate? In what has become commonplace amongst the “Angel” series, this was yet another great episode.
