Angel
"The Trial"

Airdate: November 28, 2000

There's a lot of things to like about Angel, but my current personal favorite aspect of the show is this: No matter what the plot, no matter how unrelated it is to the storyline, Angel always somehow manages to get shirtless and chained up.

Normally I'd complain about something like this, often done for no real reason. Is there some point to having him shirtless while chained? Could he be just as easily restrained with his shirt on? Well, sure. But where's the fun in that? Angel's been chained up shirtless by some damn sexy people, like Buffy and Spike. Now some British butler-like fellow is getting in on the act, which is less sexy, but still appealing 'cause hey... Angel shirtless. And did I mentioned chained?

Some men just look great in the bondage gear.

"The Trial" is another episode in the Darla-Arc-That-Has-No-End, wherein Angel tracks down Darla (again), with a little help from Gunn, and goes about trying to save her. She doesn't really want any help, and hits the vampire bars trying to get someone to turn her back into a vampire. As it turns out, when she was human the first time she was dying, and now she suffers again from the same disease, which just happens to be everybody's favorite funny STD, syphilis.

The demon karaoke bar once again serves as a plot device here, but it's funny enough that nobody really cares. Darla sings for no particular reason, and the Host tells Angel he can undergo a trial which will most likely kill him in order to save Darla's life. I see to recall him doing pretty much the same thing in an earlier episode, except that there was a horse then. And I'm cranky about the lack of a horse now. The winning combination was hot-guy-on-horse, and they just screwed the dynamic. Angel, being the big dufus that he is, engages in the trial, fighting a big and really not-so-scary demon, running through a hallway covered in crosses to get to a key hidden under holy water, and finally facing death in order to save Darla's life. Unfortunately the first two of Angel's three trials really don't seem that daunting, considering what we've seen him go through before. And the third and final trial is too easily predicted for any real build of suspense.

Also unfortunate is that there's no end in sight to all this Darla-ness. I never liked the character in the first place, probably because of Julie Benz, who never fails to grate on my nerves and who's never really delivered a performance that I've enjoyed. While the other characters' reactions to Darla are interesting, and I might even think Darla was a cool character were she played by another actress, enough is really enough, and some closure to this storyline would be more than welcomed so Angel can get back to his whole saving-people business.

In the end of "The Trial", however, in what is definitely the somewhat lackluster episode's best moment, Lindsey busts into Darla's motel room with a couple of thugs, who restrain Angel while Drusilla sweeps in all her glory and turns Darla back into a vampire. On the down side, this means Darla is immortal again and may well go on annoying me for the rest of the show's run. On the up side, Drusilla's in town, which can only lead to fun and games and murder and mayhem, with a slight chance for Spike.

-- Lisa Kincaid

Angel airs at 9/8c, Tuesdays on the WB.

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