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Original Air Date: November 27, 2000

Teleplay by Douglas Petrie and Tim Minear
Story by David Greenwalt
Directed by Bruce Seth Green

Summary

Cordelai and Wesley are still worried about Angel and his obsession with Darla but Angel seems fine and happy and says that he's no longer worrying about Darla. Suddenly gunn bursts in saying he's found Darla at some motel. Angel and Gunn head out, despite Cordelia's protests. Meanwhile Lindsey finds Darla in her motel room, he too has been looking for her everywhere. She's taken back to the offices of Wolfram & Hart where they tell her that she's their moral responsibility; they hand her a file with devastating news about herself. When Angel and Gunn get the motel room they find nobody there and nothing to give them a clue about where Darla is.

Flashback -- Darla and Angelus are in a barn hiding from a mob. They're attacked by the mob and Darla knocks him out in an effort to save herself. She says that if he lives through this, she'll meet him in Vienna.

Present -- Darla is in a bar talking to a vampire who admits that he's been a vampire since 1992, much to Darla's disgust. She offers to be his lover for eternity so long as he makes her into a vampire. They go into a back alley where Darla runs him through the procedure on making her into a vampire. Before he can sink his teeth into her neck, Angel appears and dusts him from behind. He tells her he'll hunt her down and kill her again if he has to. She then tells him that she's dying and in about two months her medical condition will kill her. After hearing Darla's story, Angel takes her back to the office where Cordelia and Wesley are none too happy to see her. Angel explains the situation but he thinks the papers Darla was shown concerning her condition were forged. Angel goes out while Cordelia and Wesley watch over Darla. Angel goes to Lindsey's where he's invited in immediately. Lindsey willingly hands him 10 separate files each saying that Darla is dying from syphilis, like she had been in her past life. Lindsey, who admits to being in love with Darla, tells Angel that he should change her into a vampire to save her from the disease. Angel returns to the office where Darla asks him to change her but he refuses. Angel then takes her to the demon karaoke bar where Darla sings on stage while the anagogic demon tells Angel that no matter how much he may want her to, she may not live. The demon then tells him he can go on a quest to possibly spare her life. Angel's given an address which leads him and Darla to and empty pool. Angel takes a leap of faith and dives into the pool which transports him into another dimension. A host greets him and tells him that Darla will live if her completes the trials and dies if he does not. Darla is kept in a separate room while Angel will be facing the trials. The first trial will involve combat but the host has to knowledge of the remaining two trials because no one has ever gotten that far.

The first trial starts and an unarmed Angel faces a huge demon who's swinging chains. After getting battered around quite a bit Angel manages to grab the demon's sword and slice him in two. Unfortunately the demon reattaches itself. Angel slices him in half again but this time chains the separate pieces to different walls, completing the first trial. Darla is watching all this through Angel's eyes. The second trial begins and Angel enters a hallway covered with crosses (floor, ceiling and walls) with a water basin in the middle. Angel gathers his courage and runs across the crosses which burn his feet. He falls and his chest is burned. He reaches the other end but the door is locked. Angel runs back to the water basin and reaches his into the basin full of holy water for the key. With burned skin Angel returns to the door and opens it with the key. Angel moves on the third trial where he's locked into place by chains. The host greets him and tells him that death is the final challenge and in order for Darla to live, he must die. A wall of stakes appears and the host tells Angel that he must agree to his death before they can proceed. Angel accepts his defeat and the stakes fly towards him. Everything stops and Angel returns to Darla, unhurt. The host congratulates him and agrees to heal Darla. The host begins to heal Darla but discovers that he cannot because she has already been given a second chance to live and there's nothing he can do to help her. Infuriated Angel beats up the guards and starts punching a concrete wall until he collapses on the ground.

Later on they return to Darla's motel room and she has now accepted that she's going to die. Angel promises to stay with her until her end. Suddenly Lindsey bursts in with guards. Angel is held down while Drusilla walks in. Incredulous Angel watches while Drusilla drinks from Darla's neck and then as Darla drinks from Drusilla, securing her fate as a vampire.

Summary written by Nika

Quote of the Week

Vampire: We're a lonely sort, we creatures of the night. Doomed to walk the earth, that kinda deal.
Darla: How long have you been...
Vampire: An eternal child of darkness? Since, uh, '92.
Darla: Nineteen ninety two?
Vampire: Hard to believe its already "last century."

Rating

5/5

Nika's Comments

I loved this episode! I loved the trials! It reminded me so much of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and I loved that movie! The whole way the trials were set up in the dank dark atmosphere and how he had to sacrifice himself in order for the third trial to be complete. I was a little baffled by the whole Darla's sick with syphilis, how the hell would a disease like that follow her through 400 years of hell and back. Dramatic irony I guess. Anyway, there were a lot of good points in this episode and I was happy at the end when it seemed like Darla had redeemed herself and was ready to accept her death and move on. But then Lindsey had to show up with his brilliant plan to "save" her. In pops Drusilla and the rest is vampire history. How touching how Drusilla made Darla the same way Angel was done. But I am looking forward to this. Darla and Dusilla being the badasses to LA? I can totally see it. And it's about time we had some kickass women badasses on this show! Rock on girls!

Cast

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