Birthday

Birthday is episode 11 of season 3 of the television show Angel, and is the 55th episode overall. Written by Mere Smith and directed by Michael Grossman, it was originally broadcast on January 14, 2002 on the WB network.

During a private celebration at the hotel for Cordelia's 21st birthday, she has a vision of a girl being attacked by a demon. The vision is so intense it throws her against the weapon cabinet and she ends up in a coma. She can see Angel and Wesley and company but no one seems to see or hear her. She's confused and scared.

After a while, a friendly demon called Skip (the one that used to guard Billy) comes to her and tells her that the power to get visions which Doyle gave her was not intended for a human and that it will end up killing her. She has two options: go back in time and have a normal life as a successful actress, or return to the hotel and never wake up again. She accepts the best fate and becomes an actress, but some of her old personality remains because she is able to remember some things. One of them is the girl who was about to die in her previous vision.

Cordy goes to the girl's place and discovers she was trying to perform a retrieval spell. The spell goes bad and a demon appears trying to kill them both. They defend themselves as best they can until Gunn and Wesley enter and kill the demon. Cordelia notices that Wesley has lost an arm and Gunn does not remember her. In that alternate reality Angel is the one with the visions and they're driving him crazy. Cordelia feels guilty about this state of affairs and what her friends have become.

To make amends, she kisses Angel and recovers the essence that gives the visions. Skip appears and argues with Cordelia that it's the fate she chose and that "it ain't so easy to shake it off." Cordelia disagrees, and they come to an agreement. Since the visions are going to kill her sooner or later as a human, Skip turns her into a half-demon. This will allow her to keep the visions and not die.

After that, Cordy wakes up at the hotel and everything's fine, only no one remembers what has happened but her. She has a vision there and then and to everyone's astonishment she doesn't faint or collapse or get a migraine. Angel points out to her that she's, in fact, levitating.

Continuity
Wesley says he lost the arm in an encounter with a Kungai demon, which refers to the first Angel episode he appeared in, "Parting Gifts". The uprising of a demon in Reseda was actually predicted by Wesley in the finale of the first season.

Arc significance
Cordelia becomes part-demon. Her transformation, and the motivations behind it, play an important part in the events of season four.

Synopsis
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Main cast

 * David Boreanaz as Angel
 * Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia Chase
 * Alexis Denisof as Wesley Wyndam-Pryce
 * J. August Richards as Charles Gunn
 * Amy Acker as Winifred Burkle

Guest stars

 * David Denman as Skip

Co-stars
==Quotes == . ==Notes ==
 * This episode marks the halfway point of the series.