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"Life of the Party" is the fifth episode of the fifth season of Angel and the ninety-third episode in the series. Written by Ben Edlund and directed by Bill L. Norton, it was originally broadcast on October 29, 2003, on The WB network.

Synopsis[]

The consummate entertainer Lorne works around the clock to throw the ultimate Halloween party at Wolfram & Hart. When their guests begin to behave strangely and out of character, Angel and the gang investigate to find out what's causing the mysterious happenings.[1]

Summary[]

As Halloween approaches, Lorne will throw a Halloween party for all the firm's clients and employees and even got a reluctant Angel to invite to the party a powerful demon lord, Archduke Sebassis. Other guests include the Fell Brethren, the Britzai, Devlin, and a Thraxis demon.

During the gathering, Lorne's timely advice to his friends start happening literally. Fred and Wesley get drunk after Lorne tells them that their problem is that they are sober and should be "three-sheets to the wind" already. Gunn begins relieving himself around the office after Lorne tells him to "mark his territory." Angel and Eve have sex after Lorne tells them to "get a room" due to the sexual tension he could sense. Finally, Spike begins enjoying himself dancing, listening to the music, and becoming overly happy and agreeable once Lorne tells him to "be a little more positive."

There are more trouble when Lorne's sleep deprivation causes his empathic subconscious to manifest itself as a a hulking demon. The deprivation itself is the result of Lorne having Wolfram & Hart remove his ability to sleep entirely, just like Madeline Chu in accounting. Lorne's subconscious causes much violence before the gang restores Lorne's sleep, which neutralizes the manifestation.

The chaos and destruction have a positive side, since most of Wolfram & Hart's employees fell that the carnage made the party much better.

Continuity[]

  • The pink dress Harmony wears is the same Anya wore in "Crush."
  • Spike comments that only "posers" went out on Halloween. He confronted a similar group in "All the Way."
  • On their way to meet Archduke Sebassis, Lorne tells Angel he believes the party has a purpose that can help Angel. Angel's alliance with Sebassis will help him join and attack the Circle of the Black Thorn ("Not Fade Away").
  • The changes caused by Lorne's increased empathic abilities have a similar effect to the spell Willow cast in "Something Blue."
  • During the party montage following Artode's untimely demise in the bathroom stall, a green demon can be seen on the dance floor wearing the same tunic worn by El Eliminati in "Bad Girls."
  • Several employees comment about the previous year's party. As Lilah stated in "Calvary" that the Beast had killed everyone who worked at the Los Angeles branch — lawyers, janitors, secretaries, people out sick that day, etc. —, this makes little sense. However, it is possible (and indeed quite likely) that the employees were transferred from other branches.2.
  • Lorne catches Angel secretly watching a Hockey game during the party - Angel expressed being a hockey fan before during the episode "Loyalty", as the games are usually indoors and at night, ideal for a Vampire.

Appearances[]

Individuals[]

Organizations and titles[]

Species[]

Events[]

Locations[]

Objects[]

Rituals and spells[]

Death count[]

  • Artode, killed by Lorne's subconscious.
  • Devlin, killed by Lorne's subconscious.

Behind the scenes[]

Broadcast[]

  • "Life of the Party" had an audience of 3.0 million households upon its original airing.[2]

Pop culture references[]

  • Lorne is on the phone to someone called Jerry, who he refers to as "the Big B," and then someone he refers to as "JC," before ending the call and saying "directors." This alludes to the directors Jerry Bruckheimer and James Cameron, also known for their science fiction films.
  • Lorne describes a movie idea as "Grapes of Wrath in outer space" and mentions its character Tom Joad, referring to the 1939 novel.
  • Referring to a calling, Lorne mentions the wireless service operator Nextel.
  • Lorne considers the possibility of resurrecting the actor Henry Fonda (1905–1982).
  • Harmony calls Lorne "Lorney Tunes," a pun with the cartoon series Looney Tunes.
  • Lorne questions Angel's views by calling him Mr. Magoo, the cartoon character known for his his extreme near-sightedness.
  • Lorne says "party with a capital P and that rhymes with 'me'," which is a reference to the song Ya Got Trouble from The Music Man.
  • Lorne calls Fred Tweety bird, the cartoon character.
  • Lorne says: "Et tu, Brutuses?" quoting the moment Julius Caesar recognizes his friend as one of his assassins in the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar.
  • Fred says she went out for Halloween dressed as the book character Raggedy Ann.
  • Eve says she went to the University of California in Santa Cruz.

Music[]

International titles[]

  • Czech: "Síla podvědomí" (Strength of Subconscious)
  • Finnish: "Juhlien keskipiste" (Party Focus)
  • French: "Une fête à tout casser" (A Smashing Party)
  • German: "Der Lorne-Effekt" (The Lorne-Effect)
  • Hungarian: "Alvásmegvonás" (Sleep Deprivation)
  • Italian: "Lo spirito della festa" (The Spirit of the Party)
  • Portuguese (Brazil): "A Essência da Festa" (The Essence of the Party)
  • Russian: "Душа компании" (Soul of the Company)
  • Spanish (Latin America): "El alma de las fiesta" (The Soul of the Party)
  • Spanish (Spain): "El alma de las fiestas" (The Soul of the Parties)
  • Turkish: "Parti Hayatı" (Life of the Party)

Gallery[]

Promotional stills[]

Behind the scenes[]

[]

Quotes[]

Angel: "This really matters to you, doesn't it?"
Lorne: "Well, of course. The new Wolfram & Hart. I mean, we have to."
Angel: "No. I mean, this really matters to you. Personally."
Lorne: "Yeah. You know, Angel, I don't have superhuman strength, and I'm not a fighter. Quantum physics makes me nauseous, and I barely made a passing grade at mystical studies. But I'm on your team. This is something I can do. I believe it has a purpose that can help you, even if you don't."
Wesley: "Lorne's sleep should be in here... somewhere."
Fred: "Lorne's sleep. Looking for Lorne's sleep. You know, I think we have pretty interesting lives."
Wesley: "I'd say that's true, given the average..."
Fred: "And I'm having such a good time right now. We should do stuff like this more often. You know, just hang out like we used to. Friend stuff."
Wesley: "Absolutely. Frankly, I always... I always thought we'd be better friends than we are."
Fred: "Oh, we should be. Let's be better friends than we are right now."
Wesley: "Great."
Fred: "You know, share stuff, talk to each other, tell each other what we're thinking."
Wesley: "Yes, that would be... I would..."
Fred: "It would be nice. We could be confidantes. Confiding confidentially."

References[]

  1. "angel: Life of the Party." TheWB.com. Archived from the original on June 16, 2004.
  2. "Nielsen Ratings for Angel's Fifth Season." Nielsen Ratings for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, & Firefly. Archived from the original on February 16, 2008.
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