Deep Down

"Deep Down" is the season premiere of the fourth season of Angel and the sixty-seventh episode overall. Written by Steven S. DeKnight and directed by Terrence O'Hara, it was originally broadcast on October 6, 2002 on the WB network.

Angel, Cordelia, Connor, and the gang are enjoying dinner in what seems like true happiness, even Wesley was included. However, it is soon revealed to be a hallucination of Angel's as he remains trapped underneath the ocean. In the three months since Angel and Cordelia's disappearance, Gunn and Fred are frustrated by the lack of clues regarding their whereabouts while they deal with Connor who pretends not to know anything. Connor even resorts to killing the only witness to Angel's plight, a vampire named Marissa, to protect himself. Meanwhile, Wesley has Justine held as a prisoner and forces her to take him to where Angel's sealed coffin is located, 100 feet on the ocean floor. Also, the evil Lilah is continuing to court and seduce Wesley to pump him for information about Angel, while she eventually stages a one-woman coup against Linwood to take over the Special Projects division at Wolfram &amp; Hart to stay ahead of the ever ambitious Gavin.

Synopsis
The AI team appears to be sharing a sumptuous meal in the lobby of the Hyperion Hotel, complete with wine glasses and candlesticks. Angel, Cordelia, Lorne, Connor, Fred, Gunn, and even Wesley are all present. Angel wants to "freeze this moment" when they are all safe, happy and together. Wesley proposes a toast "To family."

The team members pass dishes around more and more rapidly, which seems to make Angel nervous. He drops and breaks a wine glass, then notices water collecting around his feet as the room turns dark. All the team members, except Angel and Connor, seem to have vanished. Connor tells Angel to "Freeze the moment, it will last forever." Angel is really still in his underwater coffin, unable to move. The previous scene was a dream or hallucination.

Fred and Gunn are in Gunn's truck, fleeing from a gang of vampires. Trapped in a dead end, they leave the truck and parley with the gang leader. They are looking for a girl named Marissa. They offer to leave if the vampires tell them where she is. The gang leader says Marissa can be found on the top floor of a condemned building off Figueroa, but as he turns, seemingly about to leave, he changes his mind and orders his gang members to attack. Fred and Gunn kill three vampires, but one of them throws an axe at Fred. Connor appears out of nowhere, catches the axe in midair, and throws it back at the vampire, decapitating him.

The three return to the Hyperion Hotel. Connor is proud of himself for catching the axe, but Fred upbraids him for leaving her and Gunn on their own. Connor cleans the axe they took from the vampire while Fred goes to work on her computer, trying to track down Angel and Corcelia. Gunn is worried about finances. Lorne is in Las Vegas and can't be reached. Fred promises they will look for paying clients as soon as she finds Marissa. Marissa turns out to be a vampire whose feeding ground, at one time, was near the Point Dume bluff where Angel's car was found.

Angel and Cordelia meet at the bluffs at Point Dume. We hear a loud noise, and Angel says "this isn't how it happened." This seems to be another dream or hallucination. Cordelia says, "I like this version better." Cordelia confesses her love for Angel. As the two kiss, Angel bites her neck. The real Angel wakes up in the underwater coffin.

Connor overhears Gunn and Fred talking about Marissa. He wants to go with them to find her. Gunn objects, but Fred is willing to bring him along. She also wants to ask Wesley for help, but Gunn refuses to consider it.

Wesley and Lilah are in bed together. As Lilah is leaving, the subject of Angel comes up. Wesley says "that part of my life is dead" and he doesn't care where Angel is. As soon as Lilah leaves, Wesley opens a closet. Inside, Justine is bound, gagged and in a cage. Wesley tells her they are going for a boat ride.

Wesley and Justine, on a boat, trade barbs while Wesley looks for Angel underwater.

Fred, Gunn and Connor find Marissa's lair. Connor kicks the door down. She is hiding among the beams near the ceiling. Connor captures her and holds a knife to her throat. He lets his guard down a moment. She jumps through the window with Connor after her. Connor catches up with her on a rooftop. She tells him, "It'll be our little secret," implying that she saw Connor put Angel in the coffin. Connor dusts her, then wounds himself on his left arm to make it appear there was a fight.

Fred and Gunn appear on the rooftop. Gunn once again upbraids Connor for dusting their only lead. Connor jumps off the building. Gunn, remembering that Connor was called "The Destroyer" in Quor-toth, is concerned about him as a possible threat.

Connor is brooding on a rooftop. Angel appears and asks for a hug. A gang of vampires attacks. Father and son fight back together. When the gang is defeated, Angel breaks Connor's neck. This is another hallucination of Angel, who is still in his coffin.

At the Hyperion Hotel, Fred manages to reach Lorne in Las Vegas, but he is busy with show business and can't help. He tells her to "Take care of yourself and ah, and make sure fluffy is getting enough love." She does not understand what he means.

At Wolfram & Hart, Lilah learns from Linwood and Gavin that the firm's psychics have information on Angel. They do not know where he is exactly, but they know he is safe and immobilized. Linwood knows about Lilah's relationship with Wesley. He suggests she try to get information from Wesley. Lilah says Wesley knows nothing of interest.

At sea, Wesley locates Angel's coffin and raises it onto his boat. As soon as Wesley and Justine have opened the casket and removed Angel's bonds, he grabs Wesley by the throat. In a moment, Angel lets go. Wesley takes Angel to the bridge and feeds him blood. Justine predicts the AI team will never take Wesley back.

At the Hyperion Hotel, Connor has a spat with Gunn and runs upstairs. The telephone rings.

On the boat, Angel has another hallucination where he sees Lorne and Connor. Wesley cuts himself and feeds Angel some of his own blood.

At Wolfram & Hart, Linwood opens a staff meeting. He upbraids Lilah for her failures, and suggests she might be reassigned to a "less central office." Lilah retorts that Linwood is a coward, and says Mr. Suvarta, a senior partner, agrees with her. She punches a button on her cell phone. A mechanical knife in Linwood's chair decapitates him. She now has Linwood's job.

Upstairs at the Hyperion Hotel, Fred brings Connor a snack. She tazers him, taking him by surprise. Downstairs, Connor tied to a chair while Fred and Gunn scold him.

At the dock, Wesley loads Angel into his car. Justine is handcuffed to a post. He tosses her the key to her handcuffs and drives off.

Wesley delivers Angel to the hotel, then leaves, saying, "I'm done here." Hearing a commotion upstairs, Gunn and Fred run upstairs to find Connor is free of his bonds. He knocks out Gunn and tazers Fred.

Angel appears in the doorway and tells him to sit down. He tells Connor the true story of how Justine killed Holtz. He then asks Connor if he did anything to Cordelia. Connor says no, and Angel believes him. Angel tells Connor he loves him, then orders him out of the house. As Connor leaves, Angel collapses. As Fred tries to comfort him, he says he needs Cordelia and intends to find her.

Cordelia, now a higher being, says she is bored.

Continuity

 * Angel says, "I got stuck in a hell dimension by my girlfriend one time for a hundred years" referring to when Buffy sent him to hell in "Becoming, Part Two."


 * Fred uses Angel's wrist stakes, first seen in City of.


 * This episode is set three months after the season three finale "Tomorrow"


 * When Fred calls Lorne in Las Vegas, Lorne says, "Take care of yourself and ah, and make sure fluffy is getting enough love." Fluffy refers to a dog that Fred does not have. Lorne's meaning, which Fred does not understand, is that he is in distress and needs to be rescued. This is explained in "The House Always Wins" two episodes later.


 * This episode marks the final appearance of Justine Cooper.


 * Fred's violent and emotional reactions to Connor's betrayal are due to her (possibly over-)identifying with Angel. Both were torn from their lives, subjected to a terrible fate, and without anyone knowing where they were, had no choice but to endure a miserable life completely alone.

Production

 * This is the first episode which shows Vincent Kartheiser in the series opening credits.


 * Andy Hallett is now credited as a "Special Guest Star", a credit he will retain until he is promoted to regular status.


 * This is the only season opener of Angel not written by either Joss Whedon or David Greenwalt.

Goofs, Bloopers & Continuity Errors

 * Early in the episode, Fred suggests asking Wesley for help, and when Gunn shoots that down, saying Wesley doesn't care about them anymore, Fred asks if they'd given him any reason to. Later, when Wesley explains the reason he didn't tell them about Connor was that they didn't need to know, Fred seems genuinely surprised and bothered that he doesn't care about them anymore.


 * After Wesley returns Angel to the hotel, Fred notes that "he's freezing", and Gunn says he'll get some blankets. Angel is a vampire: thermoregulation has no correlation with his health.