The Girl in Question

The Girl in Question is episode 20 of season 5 of the television show Angel, and is the 108th episode overall. Written by Steven S. DeKnight and Drew Goddard and directed by David Greenwalt, it was originally broadcast on May 5, 2004 on the WB network.

When Angel and Spike go to Italy after hearing that Buffy is in trouble, they discover she is dating their long-time nemesis The Immortal. While searching for Buffy - and the head of a demon which must be brought back to L.A. to prevent a demon war - they reminisce about their history with The Immortal and finally accept that they can't control who Buffy dates.

Synopsis
Gunn discovers a demon gang war is imminent, unless the head of the leaders is recaptured from Rome. So, Angel and Spike travel to Rome to retrieve the head. They find out that Buffy is dating their arch-nemesis The Immortal. Flashbacks are shown that explain why Angel and Spike hate The Immortal: he slept with Darla and Drusilla simultaneously while his minions held Angel and Spike in chains. They discuss the matter and conclude that Buffy must be under some sort of love spell - why else would she be dating a dark, centuries-old supernatural creature who may or may not be evil? Spike declares that it must be a spell, and Angel agrees.

They are able to locate the head. They visit Buffy's apartment and find Andrew Wells there. He said that he lives with Buffy and Dawn, and Buffy went to a club with The Immortal. They go to the club and see Buffy from a distance. They get distracted and leave the demon head in a bag on a table, which is snatched by The Immortal's demon butler. Angel and Spike fight the minions and "accidentally" hit each other a few times, too. The demon butler gets away with the head and mocks the heroes as he leaves. Angel and Spike argue over how "if they had their resources", that they would be able to find the head. Spike points out that there is a Wolfram & Hart office in Rome.

Meanwhile, at Wolfram & Hart in L.A., Fred's parents show up and Wesley ushers them into his office to tell them she has been consumed. He is about to tell them when Illyria walks in the door looking and acting exactly like Fred. Later, while her parents are being shown Fred's office, Wesley confronts Illyria. She explains because of Fred's past memories she cannot bear to witness their grief in addition to Wesley's, which she experiences as a physical pain. She explains that she can appear in the form that she wishes. After Fred's parents leave, Wesley asks her if she got what she wanted from that experience. Illyria answers "Yes", and Wesley orders her never to do it again.

Angel and Spike go the Rome Wolfram & Hart offices, where they are greeted by the CEO, an ebullient Italian woman. She says the head is being held in a standard ransom situation. Angel and Spike are given money for the drop, which they exchange with the butler for the bag. They open it and in it there is a bomb counting down to 3,2,1... It explodes. The camera shows everything blown to bits. Spike complains about his ruined jacket that he ripped off a dead slayer. They go back to the Rome Wolfram & Hart - the CEO laughs, saying they always do that to first-timers. She replaces their damaged clothing. Spike and Angel declare their intentions to go home, but return to Buffy's apartment and Andrew tells them to let her move on, while he leaves the apartment with two sexy women. Frustrated by their inability to contact Buffy and by the demon butler's chicanery on The Immortal's behalf, they decide to go home.

Illyria follows Wesley into his office, still appearing and speaking as Fred. She states that she wishes to explore the relationship further and does not understand why Wesley is angry when he obviously loved Fred. He replies that she is not Fred and that he is sickened by the sight of her. He tells her to be anything as long as it's not Fred. She appears somewhat confused and when he leaves the room changes back into her usual form. "As you wish" she says.

When Angel and Spike return home, they find the head on Angel's desk with a note signed by The Immortal. They are outraged; this is the second time he "distracted" them while he put the moves on "their" girl. They declare their intentions to get over Buffy and move on with their lives.

Main cast

 * David Boreanaz as Angel/Angelus
 * James Marsters as Spike
 * J. August Richards as Charles Gunn
 * Amy Acker as Illyria/Winifred Burkle
 * Andy Hallett as Lorne
 * Mercedes McNab as Harmony Kendall
 * Alexis Denisof as Wesley Wyndam-Pryce

Special guest stars

 * Julie Benz as Darla
 * Tom Lenk as Andrew Wells

Guest stars

 * David Lee as Alfonso
 * Gary Grubbs as Roger Burkle
 * Jennifer Griffin as Trish Burkle
 * Carole Raphaelle Davis as Ilona Costa Bianchi
 * Juliet Landau as Drusilla

Co-stars

 * Vikki Gurdas as Bartendress
 * Rob Steiner as Pietro
 * Andrew Ableson as Italian Man
 * Dominic Pace as Bouncer
 * Irina Maleeva as Old Demon Lady

Behind the scenes

 * In the original script Dawn was supposed to open the door of Buffy's look-a-like Roman apartment and welcome Angel and Spike. (This would have marked the first appearance of Dawn on Angel.) But due to other projects, Michelle Trachtenberg wasn't available to appear. It was then decided to give Andrew the scenes which were originally planned for Dawn.


 * The Immortal's girlfriend was retconned into a decoy of the real Buffy.

Factual Errors

 * When Angel was asking the lady in the bar if she had seen Buffy, he describes her as having blue eyes, but she actually has green eyes