"In the Dark"
Air Date: October 19, 1999

Continuing the crossover from "The Harsh Light of Day":

I think that "In the Dark" writer Douglas Petrie has discovered the secret of losing all of Angel's viewers. Don't get me wrong, it's not because he's bad or anything like that. God, no. It's because after seeing the opening scenes of "In the Dark", I could easily imagine viewers all over the States having to go change their pants. I laughed so hard I nearly peed mine.

Beyond the utter brilliance that was Spike's mocking of Angel's new vampire detective routine ("Quickly, to the Angelmobile... away!"), "In the Dark" just plain rocked my world. The wit! The banter! The shirtless Angel!

In this conclusion to the first Buffy/Angel crossover; Spike's somehow figured out that the Gem of Amara, which Buffy took from him in "The Harsh Light of Day", is on it's way to Angel in Los Angeles. Putting on the speed (I'm amazed the ol' DeSoto didn't break down on the freeway), Spike beats the Gem's courier, Oz, to LA. He has a plan, a good one; carefully plotted and well-laid-out. But he gets bored. So instead of carrying out that good plan, he just attacks Angel in his garage, demanding to get the ring back. When he's defeated and flees the scene, Angel tries to track him down. Of course he finds his errant offspring, but only to be caught himself.

It seems that Spike's employed a fellow vamp, a torture specialist naturally, whose sole mission is to get the Gem's location from Angel. There's lot of ouch there. Spike tosses Angel's place, looking for the ring, and ends up meeting Cordelia and Doyle. He strikes a bargain of sorts with them, either they find the ring and bring it to him, otherwise it's curtains... er... I mean sunlight for Angel! The Gem falls into the wrong hands, Angel catches on fire, there's a big fight, some touching moments, and Spike proclaims himself a lone wolf. I won't say more about the plot, though cause I don't wanna give it away.

This episode immediately became one of my favorites, though I can't decide if it's a Buffy favorite or an Angel favorite or both since they're the same characters and it's almost like one long two-hour show, what with the crossover. But the main reason for my liking it is that the Spike we see here is the real Spike: he's not drunk, he's not mooning over a girl... he's just mean. And he's got this wicked sense of humor. And good hair. And that leather coat.

The Spike episodes do tend to be amazing just because of the character's nature and James Marsters' ability, but the first few minutes of this episode alone sport some of the most amazingly creative, hilarious writing that any of the Buffy/Angel crew have ever turned out.

The only downside I see? Unlike "The Harsh Light of Day", Spike spends the entire episode fully clothed. That's okay, Doug... I know you'll write him some shirtless scenes next time. Right? I said... Right?!

-- Lisa Kohles

Angel airs Tuesdays on the WB. Check your listings for local airtimes.

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