"First Impressions" is the third episode of the second season of Angel and the twenty-fifth episode in the series. Written by Shawn Ryan and directed by James A. Contner, it was originally broadcast on October 10, 2000, on The WB network.
Synopsis[]
VISION GIRL — When Cordelia has a particularly disturbing vision of Gunn in grave danger, she elects herself as his new protector. When she discovers that he may be his own worst enemy, she has to face the fact that she can't save him without the help of Angel and Wesley.[1]
Summary[]
After talking with The Host at the Caritas about his future, Angel walks out and encounters Darla. The two dance and talk before they kiss. Angel then awakens, shaken by the dream. While Angel sleeps late, Cordelia and Wesley clean and organize their new office at the Hyperion Hotel. Gunn arrives at the hotel, expecting Angel to be awake and able to help him. When Angel finally wakes up, David Nabbit is there to offer financial advice in regards to Angel's investment in the hotel.
The Angel Investigations team, with Gunn tagging along, meet up with a man named Jameel to get information about a demon named Deevak. Gunn gets violent when Jameel won't talk, but the interruption of a pack of vampires prevents Gunn from getting answers. After dusting the three vampires, everyone complains about their injuries. Wesley mentions that Angel usually doesn’t take that much effort to kill a vampire.
After dropping Angel off at the hotel and returning home, Cordelia gets visions of Gunn in danger. First she calls Angel but he is in a deep sleep, dreaming of Darla. Wesley also doesn't answer his phone, so she decides to go help Gunn alone. She finds him fighting another man, Joey, whom she attacks with a small axe. It turns out that Gunn is in the midst of a training session, so Cordelia has embarrassed him in front of his subordinates and injured his opponent unnecessarily. Gunn tries to get rid of her but she discovers that Angel's car (which she has borrowed) is gone. Gunn agrees to help her locate the missing car.
Elsewhere, Wesley awakens Angel to alert him of Gunn’s predicament. Since Cordelia took his car, he is forced to ride on Wesley's motorcycle. Angel ridicules the pink helmet Wesley provides due to it being too small and girly, but eventually agrees to wear it.
Gunn and Cordelia track down Desmond, the culprit that has stolen Angel's car. Before he can get information on the car's whereabouts, a pack of vampires attack the party. Gunn fends off most of them, but one of Gunn's close friends, Veronica, is cut badly by a piece of broken glass. Gunn reacts badly to the fact that Veronica nearly died, especially because he can't forget his sister's death.
Angel and Wesley arrive in time to witness the aftermath of the party and find Deevak's location through one of the surviving vampires posing as an injured party guest. After finally finding Angel's car, Gunn also finds Deevak. Holding Gunn by the throat and Cordelia by the arm, Deevak turns into Jameel. Cordelia sprays Jameel with mace, and he lets go of Cordelia and Gunn long enough to revert back to his demonic form. Angel and Wesley arrive to help. Angel attacks Deevak with the pink helmet and finally kills the demon with Cordelia's axe.
Cordelia warns Gunn that he was the danger she saw in her vision because of the unnecessary dangers he places himself in. She intends to help prevent him from destroying himself.
Angel dreams that he returns to the hotel and Darla is there to comfort him. As he sleeps and dreams of his romantic encounters with his sire, Darla is truly present in Angel's room. She climbs over his bed and kisses him.
Continuity[]
- Cordelia sports a similar outfit to the one Buffy Summers wore in "The Gift" and "I Will Remember You."
Appearances[]
Individuals[]
- Angel
- Cordelia Chase
- Darla
- Krevlornswath of the Deathwok Clan (Only in visions)
- Deevak
- Desmond
- Alonna Gunn (Only mentioned)
- Charles Gunn
- Henry
- Joey
- Keenan
- David Nabbit
- Thomas
- Tito (Only mentioned)
- Veronica
- Wesley Wyndam-Pryce
- Unidentified female vampire
Organizations and titles[]
Species[]
Locations[]
- Los Angeles
- Caritas (Only in visions)
- Hyperion Hotel
- Pearson Arms Apartments
Objects[]
Body count[]
- One vampire, staked by Cordelia.
- Two vampires, staked by the Angel Investigations team (only mentioned).
- Deevak, killed by Angel with an axe.
Behind the scenes[]
Production[]
- The title is a reference to the Jane Austen novel Pride and Prejudice, which was originally named First Impressions. Just as in this episode, the novel is about two very different people who come to revise their first impressions of each other after spending some time together. In the previous season, the title "Sense & Sensitivity" was chosen as a reference to Austen's novel Sense and Sensibility.
Broadcast[]
- "First Impressions" had an audience of 3.2 million households upon its original airing.[2]
Pop culture references[]
- The Host mentions the songs "Send in the Clowns" and "Tears of a Clown."
- Gunn compares Wesley to the fictional droid C-3PO.
- Cordelia says Gunn should act less like Michael Madsen in Reservoir Dogs and a bit more like Guy Pearce in L.A. Confidential.
- Gunn says he boycotts movies because Denzel Washington was robbed of the Oscar for Malcolm X.
Goofs[]
- As with previous episodes, there are a number of things visible in the far left and right sides of the widescreen frame — the so-called "safety" buffers for non-widescreen broadcast — which were not intended to be seen. For instance, after Wesley wakes Angel up from his dream, they awkwardly acknowledge Angel's nakedness — but, in a previous shot, he is clearly wearing white boxers.
- At the end of the episode, when Darla is dream-seducing Angel and is supposed to be naked, you get glimpses of her underwear and of the band-aids covering her nipples.
Music[]
- Andy Hallett — "Get Here"
- Kurupt — "Ride With Us"
- Robert J. Kral — "Dreaming of Darla"
- Robert J. Kral — original score
International titles[]
- Czech: "První dojem" (First Impression)
- Finnish: "Ensivaikutelmia" (First Impressions)
- French: "Premières impressions" (First Impressions)
- German: "Die Stunde des Deevak" (The Hour of the Deevak)
- Hungarian: "Az első benyomás" (The First Impression)
- Italian: "Deevak"
- Portuguese (Brazil): "Primeiras Impressões" (First Impressions)
- Russian: "Первые впечатления" (First Impressions)
- Spanish (Latin America): "Primeras impresiones" (First Impressions)
- Spanish (Spain): "Primeras impresiones" (First Impressions)
- Turkish: "İlk İzlenimler" (First Impressions)
Adaptations[]
- This episode is included in The Vampire Anthology: Gunn DVD.
Gallery[]
Promotional stills[]
References[]
- ↑ "Season Two." City of Angel. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011.
- ↑ "Nielsen Ratings for Angel's Second Season." Nielsen Ratings for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, & Firefly. Archived from the original on July 19, 2008.