"Rm w/a Vu"
Airdate: November 2, 1999

About a block and a half from my house, there's this tree. One of the limbs was whacked off years ago, and now people claim to see the blurry image of the Virgin Mary in the whirls of the wood. They set up a shrine around it, with a little staircase for close-up inspection of the "miracle" and votives and icons and cards. Obviously, these people are insane.

But hey, call me crazy... I'm thinking of doing the same for Jane Espenson. I don't expect her to stand still while I erect staircases around her and light lots of candles, of course. That's a fire hazard, and I wouldn't want her to get injured. No, I was thinking more along the lines of ritual sacrifice. Say, an entire bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken for her work on Buffy, and in honor of Angel (okay, and Thanksgiving too), a turkey.

Of course, I expect you'll want to see proof of Espenson's genius before joining the cult. That's okay. All the evidence you'll ever need is in this little episode called "Rm w/a Vu". Co-written with Angel exec-producer David Greenwalt, the episode is easily the best we've seen of Angel so far, and if the show stands only to get better, that would explain why it's rapidly becoming my favorite series.

It all starts with Cordy and her apartment. She's slumming it, and one night when the cockroaches and brown water finally push her over the edge, she moves herself into Angel's basement apartment. Doyle's being chased by a big demon who's collecting on a debt, and he works out a deal with a desperate Angel: if Doyle will find Cordelia a place to live, Angel will take care of the demon.

After looking at some truly frightening apartments and meeting some even more frightening landlords, Cordelia finally agrees to let Doyle find her a place, and he takes her to a beautiful apartment that she falls instantly in love with. Angel sort of handles Doyle's creditor-turned-hitman, and all appears to be well. Except that we're only about halfway through the episode. Cordy's new place turns out to be haunted, Doyle's still in some deep serious, and they all have to figure out a way to cleanse the apartment of the hostile spirit that appears to be killing the apartment's subsequent occupants.

There's several reasons that this episode is an obvious masterpiece. Primarily, there's the heavy involvement of Doyle -- unlike many past episodes, he's in most of the scenes here, and he's taking an active part in every major plotline. It's really a showcase for Glenn Quinn, and he makes good use of it. Charisma Carpenter and David Boreanaz have some excellent interaction going, too; the Angel we saw on Buffy was all broody and mysterious and guilty. This Angel is seriously annoyed with his secretary, who can't file, doesn't answer the phone, and then moves in, only to get peanut butter on the bed, wet towels on his leather chairs, and holes in his linoleum floor. His constant exasperation with Cordelia's occupation is palpable and provides a lot of comic relief. Who would've thought that a big bad vampire could be brought to his knees by a mortal girl using all his mousse?

All of this, and many wonderful past Buffy episodes to boot, proves that Jane Espenson is a god-like writer to be revered and worshipped. Now if you'll excuse me, it's time for the four o'clock chanting of the Followers of Espenson, and I still have to get my ceremonial robes dry-cleaned.

-- Lisa Kohles

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