Template:Angelepisode
"Darla" is the seventh episode of the second season of Angel and the twenty-ninth episode overall. Written and directed by Tim Minear, it was originally broadcast on November 14, 2000 on the WB network. It is the second part of a crossover with Buffy the Vampire Slayer that begins in "Fool for Love".
Angel tries to rescue Darla from the clutches of Wolfram & Hart, as she begins suffering from the guilt of her demonic past and staying around Lindsey, who has feelings for her.
In flashback, several important moments are shown: Darla's vampire origins in 1609; Darla's decision to leave the Master to be with Angelus in 1760; Angelus, Darla, and Drusilla's first meeting with Spike in 1880; Darla, Spike, and Drusilla's destruction of a Romani camp in retaliation for them cursing Angel with a human soul in 1898; Darla's attempts to bring Angel back to evil during the 1900 Boxer Rebellion in China.
Synopsis
In his bedroom, Angel sits sketching a picture of Darla when Wesley enters asking if he wants to talk. Angel claims there's nothing on his mind, despite being surrounded by dozens of similar pictures. Meanwhile Darla is sitting in her apartment surrounded by smashed mirrors. Lindsey arrives and Darla, who is now starting to experience the weight of the soul she was resurrected with, tells him she's started remembering everything she did as a vampire. As Lindsey laments sending Darla to Angel too soon, she tells him that she and Angel are now far more than enemeies... they're soul mates.
Virginia Colony, 1609 - In a bedroom, the human prostitute who will become Darla lies in her deathbed, covered in sores from the syphilis that is killing her. Asking that the blinds be closed, she receives a visit from a hooded figure who appears to be priest who asks everyone else to leave. Darla states she needs nothing from God and should just be allowed to die, but the priest tells her she is not to die but will be reborn. At that point, he pulls back the hood and reveals himself to be the Master. Darla believes from the monstrous visage that he is death, but he tells her that he is her savior and promises to help her just like God has refused to. With that, he bites her and turns her into a vampire.
In the hotel, Angel is still desperate to track Darla down, but Wesley and Cordelia are trying to talk him out of it telling him not only will it be dangerous but difficult when it comes to working out exactly where she is. Surprisingly, its Gunn who shows some detective instinct by reminding them that Wolfram & Hart will be housing Darla and they should be able to work out where she is by following their real estate acquisitions and expenses. Cordy and Wesley begin chasing up this lead as Angel tells them Darla always liked somewhere with a view.
London, 1760 - Darla has brought Angelus before the Master to show off her wonderful new creation (bragging about the destruction they caused through South Wales and the North of England) and have him inducted into the Order of Aurelius. Angelus is unimpressed at the fact the Order, supposedly an elite group of vampires, are reduced to living in the sewer. The Master explains that the Order of Aurelius gives tribute to the Old Ones while waiting for the day to rise, but Angelus questions why they don't simply just go on the surface now before insulting the Master directly and sitting on his throne. Darla is horrified and quickly tries to apologize for Angelus, who receives a beating for his words. Regardless, Angelus regrets nothing and asks Darla if she really wants to stay in a rat-infested stink hole or join him in a trip to Naples where he'll treat her to luxury and promises her anything she wants. The Master initially expects Darla to remain loyal to him, her sire, only to realize she's choosing 'the stallion' over him. Despite his anger, the Master allows them to leave knowing the day will come when Darla returns to him.
During his research, Angel has found that the name 'Darla' didn't come into common use until over a century after Darla was born. This makes Angel realize that the Master gave it to her and he never knew his sire's real name. Wesley arrives with no new leads, and Angel wonders why Wolfram & Hart brought her back as a human. Wesley suggests it may have been the only way they could bring her back, or it may have been so they could control her before warning Angel the whole point to resurrecting Darla may have been to keep them all distracted and if that was the plan then its working perfectly.
Lindsey has taken Darla to Wolfram & Hart to stop her from hurting herself, only to bump into Holland. After exchanging pleasantries with Darla he reminds Lindsey that she wasn't meant to be brought into the firm after she made contact with Angel. However when Lindsey mentions she's starting to show signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, Holland tells him that things are moving faster than they thought and tells him he did the right thing. He then orders that Darla not be allowed to leave the building before suggesting all sharp objects are removed from her reach.
London, 1880 - Angelus, Darla and Drusilla are just fed on a sailor and while Angelus and Darla relish the meal Dru is feeling despondent due to her lonliness. Darla offers to share Angelus with her, but Dru tells her that Angelus's mind is too 'full' of her. Angelus therefore suggests that Dru make her own partner, and Dru quickly latches onto the idea, dreaming of taking a brave knight and making him hers forever. At that point, a crying poet named William bumps into the group as he flees a party. As Darla and Angelus sneer, Drusilla is captivated by the young blonde man.
Cordelia has managed to track down Darla's location (thanks to her and Darla's fictional parents in their fictional coma winning round the housing manager) and Angel is ready to head there immediately. However the location is Sun Valley, so he agrees that Wesley and Gunn should head there instead. In Lindsey's office, Darla admits to the lawyer that she cannot remember her real name as she considered that life to be done as soon as the Master turned her into a vampire. She has been Darla far longer than she was anybody else, and wonders who it was the firm brought back from hell; the prostitute without a name or the vampire who killed hundreds? Lindsey replies that they just brought back her, and Darla moves in for a kiss accusing Lindsey of wanting her since the first moment they met. Lindsey tries to resist, but soon gives in to his repressed passions. After a few seconds of kissing though, Darla bites his neck telling Lindsey that's how vampires get what they want. Tearfully, she tells him she can feel her body slowly dying while describing her soul as a cancer.
Romania, 1898 - As the newly ensouled Angel wanders around aimlessly and half-crazed, Darla has tracked down the gypsies that cursed him and asks them to reverse the spell. The elder refuses, telling him Angel must suffer as his victims did but Darla is desperate to have her lover returned to her. Drusilla asks Darla where Angelus is, as she is loathe to begin a massacre without him, but Darla sends her on her way to enjoy the people in the camp. Darla then tells the elder that in a nearby caravan are his wife and daughters who are safe for the moment and will be allowed to survive if Angelus is restored... only for Spike to emerge having already feasted on the lot of them. Her ransom gone, Darla snaps the elder's neck and unleashes Spike and Dru on the rest of the camp.
Wesley and Gunn show Angel the photos of the trashed room where Darla was staying, and he notices that the mirrors were all smashed proving to him Darla is starting to feel guilt for all she did. Cordy is confused since Angel feels guilt but doesn't smash mirrors, only for him to point that unlike Darla he doesn't have to look at himself in them. Cordelia answers the phone as Angel and the others discuss their next move only for Cordy to reveal she has Darla on the phone. Angel quickly gets the phone off her and asks Darla where she is, but Darla reminds him he promised her anything. Angel tells her he'll do what he can for her, when Lindsey interrupts. Angel hears Lindsey telling Darla he can give her what she needs, Darla trying to leave and a shot when a security guard tries to stop them.
Later, Lindsey and Holland watch the tape of Darla shooting the guard dead before Lindsey helps her escape. Holland is very unhappy that not only was Darla allowed to escape but was helped despite his orders to the contrary in regards to her leaving the building. Holland then assures Lindsey that they have a suspect in custody in regards to the dead guard and Darla has been picked up. Lindsey is worried the Darla project is going to be handed over to someone else but Holland tells him that project is being scrapped due to it going out of control. Holland orders Lindsey to get some rest and they'll start again the next day, but Lindsey knows that the firm will now have Darla killed.
Angel is heading out of the hotel's door to rescue Darla despite knowing he could be walking into a trap. Wesley tells him he agrees that since Darla asked for help she shouldn't be denied it especially as Angel knows what she's going through but also reminds him that he wandered the globe for a century without seeking redemption. Angel tells Wes that he did seek something in that time...
China during the Boxer Rebellion, 1900 - As Darla exits a house, Angel pushes her up against the wall having tracked her down since her rejection of him after he got his soul back. Darla asks if he's come to be killed, but Angel tells her that instead he wants them to be as they were. Darla tells him its impossible since he has a soul, but Angel counters that he's still a vampire and can still be the Angelus she knew. Darla's feelings for her lover reignite and she accepts him back, with the two leaving to enjoy the chaos of the rebellion.
In Wolfram & Hart's parking garage, Angel wraps a cable around Lindsey's neck and is ready to throttle the life out of him only to find the lawyer was calling him anyway. Lindsey tells Angel that Darla is to be killed as well as the location where it'll be likely carried out. Angel leaves to try and save her, warning Lindsey that if its a trick he'll come back... then adds he may just come back anyway.
China during the Boxer Rebellion, 1900 - Angel wanders the burning streets, unable to enjoy the carnage despite his earlier promises. He comes across a missionary family with a baby hiding in an abandoned house, but cannot bring himself to harm any of them. When Darla arrives and tries to investigate, Angel leads her away claiming there to be nothing but bodies. The two then bump into Dru and a bloodied Spike, where Dru boasts that Spike has just killed a slayer. Angel attempts to disguise his distaste, and while Spike believes the muted congratulations are just jealousy Darla picks up what is really going on. Dru then senses fear coming from the direction of the missionaries Angel encounted, and Angel claims he is bored with the rebellion and orders everyone to leave. Later, he returns to the house he is sharing with Darla only for her to reveal she knows the truth that he hasn't changed and still can't enjoy a kill. Angel reminds her that he has fed off people since their reunion, but she knows they were all criminals and he has yet to kill anyone truly innocent. She then tells him she returned to the rebellion and found the family Angel had refused to kill and is furious that while Spike was killing a slayer he was protecting missionaries from her. She has already killed the family except for the baby, whom she now expects Angel to kill in order for him to fully prove himself.
Angel makes it to Darla before Wolfram & Hart's agents can kill her and returns her to the hotel. Later at Wolfram & Hart Lindsey spies Holland talking to the guard who was supposedly killed. Confronting his boss, Lindsey accused Holland of playing him but Holland tells him they just needed him to believe what was happening as now they have their desired conclusion - Angel is with Darla. Lindsey warns Holland that there's no way Angel is going to experience a moment of pure happiness with Darla as he's too noble to take advantage but Holland assures him that everyone is aware there's no chance of physical intimacy between the two. Instead, they're hoping he's going to save her another way.
In the hotel, Darla wakes up where Angel is waiting for her and admits that she feels lucky that she's with someone who can understand the pain she's suffering. Darla notes that she was originally supposed to get to him, but now finds that she needs him to help her pain stop. Angel tells her that it'll take time, but she reminds him it takes seconds, as she wants him to end her suffering by turning her back into a vampire. Angel, of course, refuses outright and tells her the life she's got back is a gift but she can only see life as suffering and pain and wants him to return the favor she did for him. Angel tells Darla that by turning him into a vampire she didn't help him but damned him. Darla then tells him it doesn't have to be a favor but revenge if he prefers that instead. Angel tells her that he still can't do it...
...just like in 1900, when Angel couldn't bring himself to kill the baby and instead escaped with it ending his relationship with Darla forever.
In the hotel, Darla angrily flees telling Angel not to seek her out again.
Continuity
- This is the first mention of Holland's last name on the show.
- The flashback to Romania, in 1898, reveals more of the events surrounding the return of Angel's soul. The events take place soon after those from a flashback from "Five by Five", where Darla first realizes Angel has a soul. The murder of the Romani girl is also shown in that episode, and the return of his soul itself is shown in the Buffy episode "Becoming, Part One".
- During the flashback to the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, Spike mentions killing a Slayer. This would be Xin Rong, the first Slayer he killed, which he recounts in the Buffy crossover episode "Fool for Love". This fight is the source of Spike's scar, which is still freshly bleeding in the flashback.
- Darla is sired by The Master, and initially brings Angelus to him and the Order of Aurelius. Although she leaves the Order with Angelus, by the time Buffy arrives in Sunnydale in "Welcome to the Hellmouth", Darla is once again with The Master.
- This episode marks the only appearance of the Master in Angel.
- Drusilla's line "Don't be cross. I could be your mummy" foreshadows her siring of Darla in the episode "The Trial".
- Gunn's deduction and explanation on where Wolfram & Hart could be housing Darla foreshadows the personality he would adopt on Season 5 when he becomes a lawyer after having a brain "upload".
- This is the only episode of the Buffyverse in which Spike appears in flashback scenes but no present day scenes.
Body Count
- Darla, sired by The Master in 1609
- Kalderash clan, drained by Darla, Drusilla and Spike in 1898
- Romani man's family, drained by Spike in 1898
- Romani man, snapped by Darla in 1898
- Missionary family (with exception of the baby), drained by Darla in 1900
Appearances
Locations
- Los Angeles, CA
- Virginia, Virgina Colony, 1609 (only in flashbacks)
- Borşa, Romania (only in flashbacks)
- London, England (only in flashbacks)
- Beijing, China during the Boxer Rebellion (only in flashbacks)
Behind the Scenes
Music
- Robert J. Kral - "Rebellion"
- Robert J. Kral - original score
International titles
- German: Darla
Quotes
| Priest: "You can't save her life - perhaps I can still save her soul." [the doctor gets up and leaves] |
| Darla: "My soul is well past saving. Let the devil take me if he'll have me. It doesn't matter. Either way, I die." |
| Priest: "No..." [the priest steps closer and pulls his hood back to reveal the Master] "...You will not die." [Darla looks up at his inhuman face without flinching] "You will be reborn." |
| Darla: "I know you." |
| Master: [leans down and takes one of Darla's hands] "I came to you last night. I sang to you from that window." |
| Darla: "Hmm, I remember now. You're death?" |
| Master: "No." |
| Darla: "What then?" |
| Master: "I'm your savior. God never did anything for you... but I will." [leans down and sinks his fangs into her neck] |
| Drusilla: "I'm full and warm, yet all alone." |
| Angelus: "That's not true, precious. You've got us." |
| Drusilla: "Not in the least. You won't even hurt me just a little bit." |
| Darla: "All you have to do is ask." |
| Drusilla: "No. His head's too full of you, Grandmother." |
| Darla: "Stop calling me that." |
| Drusilla: "Don't be cross. I could be your mummy..." |
| Angelus: "Well, if you're lonely, Dru, why don't you make yourself a playmate?" |
| Drusilla: "I could! I could pick the wisest and bravest knight in all the land and make him mine forever with a kiss." |
| William: "[walking past] Bloody... watch where you're going!" |
| Darla: "Or you could just take the first drooling idiot that comes along." |
| Angelus: "You think she'll find a good one?" [they walk on but Dru keeps looking at William] |
| Darla: "I found you." |
| Darla: "You took him from me! You stole him away! You gave him a soul!" |
| Romani Man: "He must suffer, as all his victims have suffered." |
| Darla: "That is no justice! Whatever pain he caused to your daughter was momentary, over in an instant... or an hour. But what you've done to him will force him to suffer for the rest of eternity! Remove that filthy soul so my boy might return to me!" |
| Drusilla: "Angelus is gone on away. Where is he?" [grabs the Romani's neck] |
| Darla: "Drusilla, the camp - go on - kill things!" |
| Drusilla: "He shall be very cross if he finds we had a lovely mass slaughter without him." |
| Darla: [closes her eyes for a moment] "He'll join us soon. Now do as you're told." |
| Drusilla: [licks one of her fingers and nods] "Okay." [walks off] |
| Darla: "In that wagon is your family. Your wife and daughters will die tonight without my protection." [strokes the man's cheek] "But if you'll do as I say, your family can live." |
| Spike: [steps out of the wagon in vamp face with blood on his chin and burps then Darla looks at him] "What?" |
| Darla: [closes her eyes, turns back to the Romani, and snaps his neck] |
| Drusilla: [swaying by the fire] "Pretty music, pretty, pretty music." [Spike comes up to her and she pulls him into her dance] "They cry out for mercy. They cry out for mercy." |
| Darla: "Show none." |
| Angel: "She needs help." |
| Wesley: "That might very well be. It might also be what somebody would like you to think." |
| Cordy: "Angel..." |
| Angel: "Cordy, just take a message." [to Wesley] "So you think this is a setup." |
| Wesley: "We mustn't rule it out." |
| Cordy: "Angel!" |
| Angel: "Cordy, please, I'm talking." |
| Cordelia: [into phone] "Hi Darla, he can't talk right now, he'll call you back once he's found you." [Angel rushes over to take the call before Cordelia can hang up] |
| Darla: "So, where have you two been?" |
| Drusilla: "Can I tell?" |
| Spike: "No need to be humble." |
| Drusilla: "My little Spike just killed himself a Slayer." |
| Darla: [to Angel] "Did you hear that?" |
| Angel: [to Spike] "Congratulations. I guess that makes you one of us." |
| Spike: "Don't be so glum, eh? The way you tell it, one Slayer snuffs, another one rises. I figure there's a new chosen one getting all chosen even as we speak. I tell you what, when and if this new bird shows up, I'll give you first crack at it!" |
| Drusilla: [steps past Angel in the direction of the alley] "Hmm, I smell fear." |
| Angel: "This whole place reeks of it." |
| Drusilla: [Spike wraps his arms around Drusilla from behind] "It's intoxicating." |
| Angel: "Let's get out of here. This rebellion is starting to bore me." |
| Darla: "Do it! Now!" |
| Angel: "What?" |
| Darla: "Make me what I was again!" |
| Angel: "Darla..." |
| Darla: "You said you'd help me!" |
| Angel: [backs away but she won't let go of him] "I will! I want to but not like this." |
| Darla: "Then turn me back! My God! I can't bear this pounding in my chest for another instant!" |
| Angel: "It's a gift... To feel that heartbeat. To know, really and for once, that you're alive. You're human again, Darla. Do you know what that means?" |
| Darla: "Of course I do. It means pain and suffering and disease and death! Look, I released you from this world once. I gave you eternal life. Now it's time for you to return the favor." |
| Angel: [backs away and looks at her incredulously] "Favor? Is that what you think? You think you did me a favor? You damned me!" |
| Darla: [beat] "Fine. Fine then, if it's such a punishment, take out your revenge, pay me back!" [Angel just looks at her] "Please." |
| Angel: [swallows and shakes his head ever so slightly] "I can't." |
| Angel: "Come on, guys. We're a detective agency. We investigate things. That's what we're good at." |
| Cordelia: "That's what we suck at. Let's face it. Unless there's a website called www.OhByTheWayWeHaveDarlaStashedHere.com, we're pretty much out of luck." |
| Wesley: "It's not going to be easy." |
| Cordelia: "Before, he said he could smell her. How about we cruise around with the top down and you take big whiffs?" |