Time Bomb (Angel)

Last updated
"Time Bomb"
Angel episode
Episode no.Season 5
Episode 19
Directed by Vern Gillum
Written by Ben Edlund
Production code5ADH19
Original air dateApril 28, 2004 (2004-04-28)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Origin"		Next →
"The Girl in Question"
Angel season 5
List of episodes

"Time Bomb" is episode 19 of season 5 in the television show Angel . Written by Ben Edlund and directed by Vern Gillum, it was originally broadcast on April 28, 2004 on the WB network.

Contents

In "Time Bomb", Illyria rescues Gunn from the hell dimension he entered in penance for his role in Fred's death. While Angel negotiates a contract between a group of demons and a pregnant woman whose unborn child the demons believe to be their Messiah, Illyria begins uncontrollably looping through time, until Wesley shunts her excess power into another dimension.

This is a crucial episode in the Illyria arc, because Team Angel are able to diminish her powers until she can only help them and can no longer destroy the Earth.

Plot

The episode opens with Gunn still being tortured by a demon in a hell dimension, when he is suddenly rescued by Illyria, who uses her ability to shift between dimensions to return them both to Wolfram & Hart.

Gunn enters Wesley's office, and both have so much emotional baggage, they are uncertain how to behave. Wesley acknowledges that he should apologize for stabbing him earlier but is unsure how as he feels it would just be awkward. Gunn replies he is not looking for an apology and he probably wouldn't accept one anyway, adding that his torture in the hell dimension was much worse.

Meanwhile, Angel grows suspicious of Illyria's continued presence at the Firm, and concludes that she is staying not out of loyalty, but because of an attraction to the Firm's power. He orders Lorne to shadow her, and then turns his attention to a legal case involving a ceremonial demon pact. A pregnant woman named Amanda has agreed to allow a demonic cult called "the Fell Brethren" to adopt her baby, and Angel and Gunn start to advise her until they learn, to their outrage, that their client is not the innocent woman, but rather the seemingly benevolent demons who are secretly taking advantage of her and planning to sacrifice the child on the eve of its 13th birthday.

Meanwhile, Illyria enjoys sparring with Spike in the training room, perhaps because he does not kowtow to her, and is even learning to adapt to her fighting techniques, but she begins to act oddly even by her standards, and Wesley theorizes that she is growing emotionally and molecularly unstable as a result of her interdimensional travels. He realizes that if her energy excess continues to go unchecked, it will result in a catastrophic explosion.

As Angel, Gunn, and Hamilton argue over how to handle the Fell Brethren case, Illyria grows increasingly disoriented and paranoid, culminating in a confrontation in which she effortlessly kills Angel, Lorne, Spike, and Wesley in a matter of seconds. At this point, the narrative switches to her point of view, and it is revealed that Illyria's disorientation has been caused by the fact that her excessive mystical energy has been sending her uncontrollably back and forth in time.

Illyria again goes back in time to a point before she had killed the other characters, and she inadvertently begins taking Angel with her on her trips through time. Angel learns of the deaths of his friends and is horrified. After Illyria gives him advice about power, she explodes and likely decimates the continental shelf, but the explosion is so powerful it blasts Angel back in time to before Illyria killed everyone. This time, thanks to what Illyria told him, Angel is able to disrupt Illyria's attack and avoid the massacre. Illyria accuses Angel and Wesley of plotting to kill her with Wesley's massive ray gun, but Wesley reveals that the gun is not meant to kill her, but rather to disperse her excessive energy and thus prevent the fatal explosion. Spike briefly holds his own fighting Illyria until she uses her time control powers on him, giving Wesley the chance to activate the ray in time. Illyria is left emotionally devastated by the resulting loss of some of her super powers.

Angel returns his attention to the Fell Brethren case, and shocks Gunn by agreeing to represent the demons rather than the blithely naïve pregnant woman, having apparently taken Illyria's advice about power.

Acting

The role of Amanda was played by Jaime Bergman, David Boreanaz's wife. Of the experience, Boreanaz says, "[it was] great to have her come on to the show, and have our son look at that, and see the two of us actually play opposite one another for a brief moment." He adds, "We had fun with it. It was nothing too serious, it was just a small little role, a laugh." [1]

Production details

J. Sherman compares the scene in which Illyria descends into hell to rescue Gunn as a "riff on the Orpheus theme". [2]

Arc significance

Illyria's statement to Angel about how to win a war helps Angel to form his plan against Wolfram & Hart. It begins in the final scene, where he appears to forfeit the unborn child, but is not fully revealed until "Power Play". His plan ends in "Not Fade Away" when Angel and his team go up against the Circle of the Black Thorn.

Critical response

Writing for The A.V. Club , Noel Murray writes that he finds two important issues for this episode: first, "Illyria's worldview sounds so persuasive: Raw self-interest is so much easier than trying to adhere to some kind of impossibly complicated code of behavior," and, second, "its structure":

"which takes its cues from what's happening to Illyria. As her power swells and begins to crack the container that is Fred's body, Illyria keeps slipping back in time, reliving conversations and moments of action, and sometimes taking the people around her along for the ride. For example, we see Illyria kill Wes, Lorne, Spike, and Angel, then slip back to a moment before that all happened, thus giving Angel a chance to prevent it. This is also relevant to what's happening to our heroes, who have been weighing every option and considering the consequences, and to some extent over the past few episodes have been getting chances at a do-over. Stuck in a suburban hell, Gunn doesn't make a deal to get back what he had; while Wes does essentially make the same bad decisions regarding Connor that he did before. Even the character of Illyria is something a repeat, in that she's like a meaner version of Jasmine." [3]

Related Research Articles

<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.

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

Wesley Wyndam-Pryce is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Played by Alexis Denisof, Wesley first appeared in the fourteenth episode of Buffy's third season in 1999, appearing in nine episodes before moving over to spin-off series Angel where he became a main character for all five seasons. Following Angel's final season, the character's story is continued in the 2007 canonical comic book series Angel: After the Fall.

Charles Gunn (<i>Angel</i>) Fictional character

Charles Gunn is a character in the television series Angel, created by Joss Whedon and first introduced by writer Gary Campbell in the episode "War Zone". The character is portrayed by J. August Richards and named by Whedon after filmmaker James Gunn and actor Sean Gunn, both of whom had worked with Whedon. Gunn is initially presented as the leader of a street gang that defends its neighborhood from vampires.

Illyria (<i>Angel</i>) Fictional character from the television series Angel

Illyria is a fictional recurring character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Angel, portrayed by Amy Acker. She is credited as a main character in the last third of season five.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winifred Burkle</span> Fictional character

Winifred "Fred" Burkle is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon and introduced by Shawn Ryan and Mere Smith on the television series Angel. The character is portrayed by Amy Acker.

Angel (<i>Buffy the Vampire Slayer</i>) Character in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel

Angel is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt for the American television programs Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off series Angel. The character is portrayed by actor David Boreanaz. As introduced in Buffy in 1997, Angel is a love interest for heroine Buffy Summers, a young woman whose destiny as "the Slayer" is to fight the forces of evil, such as vampires and demons. However, their relationship is complicated by the fact that Angel is himself a vampire cursed with remorse and a human soul, which motivates him to assist Buffy in her duties as Slayer. The character's popularity led to the production of the spin-off Angel, which follows the character's struggle towards redemption after moving to Los Angeles. In addition to the two television series, the character appears in the comic book continuations of both series, as well as much other expanded universe literature.

"Power Play" is episode 21 of season 5 in the television show Angel. The gang starts to have doubts about Angel's loyalties when he appears to have become very close with the Circle of the Black Thorn, an evil secret demon society. When Drogyn, the guardian of the Deeper Well, arrives from England claiming that Angel has sent assassins after him, the gang's fears that Angel has become corrupted by wealth and power seem to be validated, especially when the imprisoned Lindsey confirms his theory about the Circle of the Black Thorn wanting to have Angel join their evil group.

"Not Fade Away" is the 22nd and final episode of season 5, and the series finale of the television show Angel. Written by series creator Joss Whedon and directed and co-written by Jeffrey Bell, it was originally broadcast on May 19, 2004 on the WB network. In "Not Fade Away", Angel convinces his team that they must take out every member of the Circle of the Black Thorn in a defiant and probably futile stand against the Senior Partners of Wolfram & Hart. He tells his team to make the most of what may be their last day on Earth: Gunn visits his old neighborhood; Wesley tends to the wounded Illyria; Lorne spends some time onstage; Spike performs poetry at an open mic, and Angel visits his son. When night falls, the team divides and sets out to eliminate the members of the Black Thorn, incurring the wrath of the armies of hell.

"Soul Purpose" is episode 10 of season 5 in the television show Angel. Written by Brent Fletcher and it was the directorial debut of David Boreanaz, who plays Angel, and was originally broadcast on January 21, 2004, on the WB network. In "Soul Purpose", guest star Christian Kane returns as Lindsey McDonald, taking on the deceased Doyle's name in an attempt to convince Spike that he is the vampire champion mentioned in the Shanshu Prophecy. Meanwhile, Angel slips into a feverish hallucinative state in which he dreams that his destiny of redemption is claimed by Spike.

"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.

"Sleep Tight" is episode 16 of season 3 in the television show Angel.

"The Price" is episode 19 of season 3 in the television show Angel, originally broadcast on the WB network. In this episode, the Hyperion Hotel is infested with silicone slug-like parasites that dry up their human hosts. When Fred becomes infected, Gunn turns to the angry and reclusive Wesley for help. Angel is stunned when his lost infant son reappears, now an adolescent boy calling himself the Destroyer.

"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.

"Sacrifice" is episode 20 of season 4 in the television show Angel.

"Lineage" is episode 7 of season 5 in the television show Angel.

"A Hole in the World" is episode 15 of season 5 in the television show Angel. Written and directed by series creator Joss Whedon, it was originally broadcast on February 25, 2004 on the WB television network. In this episode, Fred is infected by the spirit of Illyria, an ancient demon who existed before recorded time. The entire crew searches for a cure, but give up hope when Spike and Angel discover that the only way to save Fred's life would kill thousands of people. Wesley comforts Fred as she dies and witnesses the emergence of Illyria.

"Underneath" is episode 17 of season 5 in the television show Angel. Written by Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain and directed by Skip Schoolnik, it was originally broadcast on April 14, 2004 on the WB television network.

References

  1. ↑ "Interview with David Boreanaz", BBC, 2 June 2004, retrieved September 10, 2007
  2. ↑ Sherman, Joshua (2004), "Angel or Devil", in Glenn Yeffeth (ed.), Five Seasons of Angel, BenBella, p. 171, ISBN   1-932100-33-4
  3. ↑ Murray, Noel (May 18, 2012). "Time Bomb / The Girl In Question". A.V. Club. Retrieved August 16, 2012.

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.