Over the Rainbow (Angel)

Last updated
"Over the Rainbow"
Angel episode
Episode no.Season 2
Episode 20
Directed by Fred Keller
Written by Mere Smith
Production code2ADH20
Original air dateMay 8, 2001 (2001-05-08)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Belonging"		Next →
"Through the Looking Glass"
Angel season 2
List of episodes

"Over the Rainbow" is episode 20 of season 2 in the television show Angel , originally broadcast on the WB network. This episode begins immediately where the previous ends: Cordelia has been inadvertently sucked into a dimensional portal. She ends up as a slave in an alternate world called Pylea, until her owners learn of her precognitive visions. Back in Los Angeles, Angel, Wesley and the Host attempt to rescue Cordelia, while Gunn discovers he has alienated his old street gang.

Contents

Plot

The group realizes Cordelia has been sucked into Lorne's home dimension of Pylea, which Lorne says he was glad to leave. Caritas, the bar he runs, was once the abandoned building where the portal from Pylea opened up. Angel reads from the book to reopen the portal, but it fails to open; Wesley's researching discovers that the portal can only open in hot spots and Caritas is currently cold. Lorne seeks help from a psychic friend in order to find a hot spot, but she won't provide the information until he agrees to go with the others to finish his business in Pylea. Two lawyers from Wolfram & Hart appear at Angel's hotel, informing Angel that the law firm plans to buy the hotel when the current lease expires. Angel vamps out and lawyers take their leave, but not before threatening to make Angel's life difficult. Angel leaves a message on an answering machine with information about saving the hotel in case they don't make it back from Pylea.

Cordelia finds herself in a new dimension, where she is chased down and captured by a demon who declares her a "cow", or human slave. Her demon owner forces her into a collar that can be used to shock her when she doesn't obey. As she later mucks out the stables, wondering aloud if she can remove the collar, a runaway slave warns her through a hole in a wall that she shouldn't bother fighting. Cordelia is unable to see that the woman is Fred from her vision, crazy after all her years in Pylea. Before any more information can be exchanged, Fred is caught and taken away. Later, Cordelia follows her owner, carrying purchases from the market, until a vision causes her to fall and drop everything. She reveals she saw a villager being attacked by a Drokken in her vision, and a crowd draws, declaring her cursed. Cordelia is brought before Constable Narwek and explains she has precognitive visions.

Angel pulls his car up to the gate of a movie studio lot, following Lorne's information that it is a psychic hot spot. Although Gunn had earlier stated that George's death made him realize he's needed in this dimension, Angel's depressing phone message persuades him to join the mission. Wesley reads from the book, and with final good-byes to L.A., Angel drives his car through the portal. The book falls onto the sidewalk as the car vanishes. As the car arrives in daytime Pylea, Angel rushes to cover himself before realizing the two suns are not fatal to vampires. Happy and amazed, Angel goes off to gather branches to hide the car while enjoying the rare opportunity to be in sunlight. After covering the car, the guys realize that the book is gone and that they'll have to find another way to get back home. In town, Lorne advises that they stay to the shadows, as humans are treated as slaves. The Host tries to get help from an old friend but is met with bad reception. Chased by villagers, the gang is eventually caught and tied up in the middle of town.

After the Constable arrives, Lorne is taken away for questioning while the rest are chained in a dungeon until they are sentenced. In the dungeon, the guys brainstorm for escape plans and then with his vampire hearing, Angel overhears a conversation about Cordelia and her "sight." Guards bring Angel, Gunn, and Wesley to the Constable, who announces they will all be killed. For their death sentence, they are brought before the Princess of Pylea... Cordelia.

Production details

Production designer Stuart Blatt says the Angel location department had found a movie ranch with a standing set for a "Tijuana town," which they dressed for the Boxer Rebellion scenes of "Darla" and used again for the village of Pylea. He says, "it just so happens that the Chinese province town which looked a lot like Mexico also happens to look a lot like England, or Pylea or any other medieval pseudo Euro-space, alternative dimension with two suns kind of world". The set designers added timbers to the existing clay buildings, put thatching on the roofs, and created stalls for merchants and vendors. Blatt says their animal wranglers brought in "medieval chickens and goats and pigs and yaks" and old chariots were reconstructed to create the vehicles. [1]

The scene in which Angel opens the portal to Pylea was shot outside Paramount Pictures, where the series is filmed. [2]

Alternate version

The opening scene for this episode is missing on the Region 1 DVD release: The "Previously On Angel" segment led directly into the teaser for this episode, and featured Angel, Wesley and The Host surprised to find Cordelia has vanished into the portal with Landok. They immediately begin searching for her, and the scene cuts to Cordelia's current location on Pylea. This scene is missing because the Region 1 DVD release of season 2 does not feature any of the "Previously On Angel" segments, but the scene and segments are intact on the Region 2 and Region 4 DVD releases.

Writing

Despite fan speculation that the Pylea episodes were due to Julie Benz being unavailable for the conclusion of the Darla storyline, writer Tim Minear says the writers decided they were "weary of the Darla drama" and wanted the finale to be something "totally unexpected" instead. [3] Julie Benz confirmed that she left because the writers had "played out the storyline as much as possible." [4]

Acting

This episode is the first appearance of eventual Lost actor Daniel Dae Kim as Gavin Park, who became a recurring character in the third and fourth seasons.

Cultural references

Reception and reviews

The "Pylea" arc, which begins with this episode and concludes with the season finale, "There's No Place Like Plrtz Glrb", appears ninth on Slayage.com's list of the top 10 episodes of Angel. [5] Charisma Carpenter was praised for demonstrating "true strength as a comedic actress." [6] However, UGO Networks felt that the episodes were "something of a disappointment" because the "Dungeons & Dragons style world" of Pylea broke the dark tone that had been established. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cordelia Chase</span> Character in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel

Cordelia Chase is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer; she also appeared on Buffy's spin-off series, Angel. Portrayed by Charisma Carpenter, the character appears as a series regular in the first three seasons of Buffy, before leaving the show and becoming a series regular during the first four seasons of Angel. The character made her last television appearance in 2004, appearing as a special guest star in Angel's 100th episode. Cordelia also appears in both canonical and apocryphal Buffy and Angel material such as comic books and novels.

<i>Angel</i> (1999 TV series) American television series (1999–2004)

Angel is an American supernatural television series, a spinoff of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The series was created by Buffy's creator, writer and director Joss Whedon, in collaboration with David Greenwalt. It aired on The WB from October 5, 1999, to May 19, 2004, consisting of five seasons and 110 episodes. Like Buffy, it was produced by Whedon's production company, Mutant Enemy.

"Are You Now or Have You Ever Been" is episode 2 of season 2 in the television show Angel. Written by Tim Minear and directed by David Semel, it was originally broadcast on October 3, 2000, on the WB network. In the episode, Angel recalls a traumatic experience during the 1950s at the Hyperion Hotel.

"To Shanshu in L.A." is episode 22 of season 1 of the television show Angel. Written and directed by David Greenwalt, it was the Season One finale, and originally broadcast on May 23, 2000 on the WB network. In this episode, Wolfram & Hart lawyers send a demon named Vocah to reclaim the mystical scroll Angel stole from them, which is needed to raise the Beast. Angel eventually takes back the scroll but fails to prevent the ritual in time. Meanwhile, Wesley translates the Shanshu Prophecy, and discovers that it means Angel will become human, after he fulfills his destiny. At the end of the episode it is revealed that the Beast is in fact Darla, Angel's sire.

"Darla" is episode 7 of season 2 in the television show Angel. Written and directed by Tim Minear, it was originally broadcast on November 14, 2000, on the WB television network. In this episode, Angel tries to rescue Darla from the clutches of Wolfram & Hart and Lindsey's affections, as she suffers guilt of her demonic past. Flashbacks show Darla as a syphilis-stricken prostitute being transformed into a vampire by the demonic Master, her retaliation when the Gypsies cursed Angelus with a soul, and the Boxer Rebellion in China.

"The Trial" is episode 9 of season 2 in the television show Angel. The episode was written by Doug Petrie and Tim Minear with a story from David Greenwalt and directed by Bruce Seth Green, this episode was originally broadcast on November 28, 2000 on the WB network. In "The Trial", Darla discovers that she is again terminally ill with syphilis, which was killing her before she was made a vampire in 1609. She begs Angel to turn her back into a vampire to halt the disease's progress, but instead he engages in a series of mysterious trials to attempt to win Darla a second chance at life.

"Reprise" is episode 15 of season 2 in the television show Angel. Written by Tim Minear and directed by James Whitmore, Jr., it was originally broadcast on February 20, 2001 on the WB network. In this episode, Angel learns that during the impending Wolfram & Hart 75-Year Review, the firm is visited by one of the demonic Senior Partners. The demon wears a ring with the power to transport to the firm’s hellish Home Office, which Angel steals with the aid of a magically protective glove. Angel travels to the Home Office and learns it is on Earth. Depressed, Angel seeks solace in Darla's arms. Meanwhile, Kate's life falls apart when she is fired from the police force.

"Through the Looking Glass" is episode 21 of season 2 in the television show Angel. Written and directed by Tim Minear, it was originally broadcast on May 15, 2001 on the WB network. It is the second episode in a three-part arc.

"Fredless" is episode 5 of season 3 of the television show Angel. Written by Mere Smith and directed by Marita Grabiak, it was originally broadcast on October 22, 2001 on the WB network. Fred's parents, Roger and Trish Burkle, arrive in town from Texas to take her home with them, prompting Fred to run away. Angel learns that Fred's problems with her mother and father are purely emotional while Mr. and Mrs. Burkle prove themselves to be formidable fighters against demons. Meanwhile, the gang is unknowingly in danger after Angel beheads a vicious demon whose head is the breeding ground for a strain of insect demons, causing a swarm of giant cockroaches to lay siege to the hotel in order to retrieve their offspring.

Waiting in the Wings (<i>Angel</i>) 13th episode of the 3rd season of Angel

"Waiting in the Wings" is the thirteenth episode of season 3 in the television show Angel. Written and directed by series creator Joss Whedon, it was originally broadcast on February 4, 2002 on the WB network. In "Waiting in the Wings", Angel takes the gang out for an evening at the ballet but becomes suspicious when the prima ballerina is the same one he saw dance more than 100 years ago. When Cordelia and Angel sneak backstage to investigate, they are consumed by overwhelming passion for each other as they are possessed by spirits of unrequited ballet lovers held captive by the sinister ballet troupe leader. Also, Fred finds that both Wesley and Gunn have feelings for her too, but she must eventually choose one of them.

"Couplet" is episode 14 of season 3 in the television show Angel.

"The House Always Wins" is episode 3 of season 4 in the television show Angel. Written by David Fury and directed by Marita Grabiak, it was originally broadcast on October 20, 2002 on the WB television network.

"Supersymmetry" is episode 5 of season 4 in the television show Angel. Written by Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain and directed by Bill L. Norton, it was originally broadcast on November 3, 2002, on the WB network.

"Spin the Bottle" is episode 6 of season 4 in the television show Angel. Written and directed by series creator Joss Whedon, it was originally broadcast on November 10, 2002 on the WB television network. In "Spin the Bottle", Lorne performs a magic spell on Cordelia to help her regain her memory, but instead the spell causes all the Angel Investigations members to revert to their teenage personae.

"Apocalypse, Nowish" is seventh episode of fourth season of the television show Angel. Written by Steven S. DeKnight and directed by Vern Gillum, it was originally broadcast on November 17, 2002 on the WB network. The WB referred to this episode as "Rain of Fire" when it was first aired, which DeKnight attributes to "legal issues" over the title's reference to the 1979 film Apocalypse Now.

"Slouching Toward Bethlehem" is episode 4 of season 4 in the television show Angel. Its title derives from a line from the W. B. Yeats poem "The Second Coming".

"Home" is episode 22 of season 4 in the television show Angel. Written and directed by Tim Minear, it was originally broadcast on May 7, 2003 on the WB network. In the Season Four finale, Connor – having defeated Jasmine in the previous episode – plans to blow himself up with a comatose Cordelia and other hostages, while an undead Lilah Morgan offers Angel Investigations control of the Wolfram & Hart L.A. branch.

<i>Angel</i> season 2 Season of television series

The second season of the television series Angel, the spin-off of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, premiered on September 26, 2000, on The WB and concluded its 22-episode season on May 22, 2001. It maintained its previous timeslot, airing Tuesdays at 9:00 pm ET, following Buffy.

References

  1. ↑ Interview with Stuart Blatt: A holiday in Pylea, BBC, retrieved 2007-09-20
  2. ↑ Angel Season Two Episode Guide: Over The Rainbow, BBC, retrieved 2007-09-20
  3. ↑ Tim Minear - "Angel" Tv Series - Stakesandsalvation.com Interview, July 30, 2007, retrieved 2007-09-22
  4. ↑ Goldman, Eric (December 14, 2006), IGN Interview: Dexter's Julie Benz, IGN.com, retrieved 2007-09-22
  5. ↑ Erenberg, Daniel, Best Of The Best, Part Two, Slayage.com, retrieved 2007-09-22
  6. ↑ Season 2 Review, CityOfAngel.com, archived from the original on 2008-01-31, retrieved 2007-09-22
  7. ↑ Sullivan, Michael Patrick, Angel Season Two DVD Review, archived from the original on 2008-03-10

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.