I Will Remember You (Angel)
"I Will Remember You" | |
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Angel episode | |
Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 8 |
Directed by | David Grossman |
Written by |
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Production code | 1ADH08 |
Original air date | November 23, 1999 |
Guest appearances | |
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"I Will Remember You" is episode 8 of season 1 in the television show
Plot
Buffy surprises Angel with a visit to Los Angeles. Their emotion-driven discussion is interrupted by the arrival of a Mohra demon. Angel stabs the demon, but it retreats to the sewers. Buffy and Angel hesitantly follow, discussing their future as a couple and their feelings for each other. They split up, and Angel meets the demon on his route. As they fight, the Mohra demon cuts Angel. Angel kills the demon, and its blood, eventually found to be the Blood of Eternity, merges with his own, making him human.
Realizing what this means for their relationship, Angel spends the night with Buffy. However, Doyle shares the news that the Mohra demon is alive: the demon's rejuvenating blood also worked on itself. So, Angel sets out with Doyle to kill the demon, without Buffy's much-needed supernatural assistance. Angel fails miserably until Buffy shows up and slays the demon. Angel realizes how useless he is in his human form, and asks the Oracles to turn back time to make him a "demon with a soul" once more. They consent, and time is set back twenty four hours despite a heartbroken Buffy begging Angel to remain human before the Mohra demon is killed, with only Angel as a witness to the night he and Buffy shared in the erased timeline.
Production details
In his essay on the music used in Angel, Matthew Mills points out how, when Angel asks the Oracles to turn back time, the slow tempo and use of the clarinet in the background music adds "emotive weight to the Oracles' sympathy" for his situation. As the Oracles explain that only Angel will remember the moments he shared with Buffy, Angel's theme ends on a minor key, underscoring the sacrifice being made.[1]
"Angel is one of those heroes who flourish on frustration," Peter S. Beagle says, "who thrive on never achieving their hearts' desire." This episode, in which Angel relinquishes the chance to have a normal, happy life with Buffy in order to "fulfill his penance," perfectly typifies Angel's character and fate, says Beagle.[2]
Reception
Noel Murray of The A.V. Club liked the premise but not the whole execution, writing, "It's an undeniably sweet episode, but I have to say I found the set-up clunky and the complications a little forced, no matter how beautifully it all plays out."[3]
In
References
- ISBN 1-85043-839-0, retrieved 1 November 2007
- ISBN 1-932100-33-4
- ^ Murray, Noel (7 August 2009). ""The Initiative", etc". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
- ^ Bernardin, Marc; Vary, Adam B. (24 September 2009). "25 Best Whedonverse Episodes". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 12 January 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
- ^ Top Angel episodes, BBC, 18 January 2005, archived from the original on 19 March 2005, retrieved 2007-10-16
Further reading
- ISBN 9780786437559.
External links
- "I Will Remember You" at IMDb