Guise Will Be Guise

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"Guise Will Be Guise" is the sixth episode of the second season of Angel and the twenty-eighth episode overall. Written by Jane Espenson and directed by Krishna Rao, it was originally broadcast on November 7, 2000 on the WB network.

Following the guidance of the Caritas Host, Angel leaves town to meet with a swami to try to help him deal with some personal problems. Meanwhile, Wesley impersonates Angel when a shrewd and powerful businessman, Bryce, asks him to guard his daughter Virginia from assassins from a rival corporation. The impostor pretending to be the swami has been hired by the rival corporation to keep Angel away from Los Angeles in order for them to kidnap Virginia: it turns out that Bryce actually wants to keep his daughter safe so that he can ritually sacrifice her to a demon to gain great power.

Synopsis

In what begins as a quiet day in the office, Wesley is manning the front desk when a man walks in wanting to enlist Angel's services. With Angel out, Wesley tries to handle things but his clumsiness and pleasant manner leave the potential client extremely unimpressed and he leaves, As Wesley curses himself for costing the company business, Cordelia rushes in to tell him that Angel is trying to break in to Wolfram & Hart.

In the lower levels of the law firm, Angel and Gunn successfully enter the building from the sewers only for Wes and Cordy to meet them there. They remind Angel that Wolfram & Hart have vampire detectors so they'll already know he's there, and Gunn is angry to learn that Angel's so-called "plan" is simply to find where Darla is being hidden before he can be stopped. A guard confronts the group, and Angel responds by sticking a stake in his foot before agreeing to withdraw.

The gang decide to head to Caritas so Angel can get some advice from the Host, with Gunn bewildered that he never noticed such weird things in his own home. Angel explains to the Host that he feels he needs to do something about Darla. Angel is spared from having to sing, however, as the Host refers him to T'ish Magev, a powerful swami who is known for helping with this kind of problem.

While Cordelia and Wesley hold down the office, a thug holds Cordelia at gunpoint, demanding to see Angel. He promises to kill her if she cannot produce Angel immediately. Quickly improvising, Wesley throws on one of Angel's coats and poses as his vampire boss in order to save Cordelia's life. When they get to the house, Wesley slips by entering the house before waiting for an invitation but manages to save the moment by throwing himself back across the threshold. Wesley is then introduced to Magnus Bryce, a shrewd and rich businessman who made his fortune by mass producing spells and enchantments, who requests Angel's services to protect his daughter from assassins from a rival corporation fronted by Paul Lanier. Bryce then offers Wesley a glass of blood, and Wes forces a little of it down his throats before managing to discard the rest unseen.

Meanwhile, Angel arrives at Magev's cabin only to find the swami looks and dresses like a regular guy. Nonetheless, Magev shows some deep insights about Angel's character based on the way he presents himself.

Wesley meets Mr. Bryce's daughter, Virginia, whom he is supposed to protect. Wes again nearly blows his cover by standing in front of a mirror, but no one else sees his reflection before he realizes. He then demands all mirrors in the house be covered, ostensibly for security purposes. It quickly becomes clear to Wesley that Virginia is actually quite lonely, having spent most of her life in her room thanks to numerous threats over the years. Wesley presses on Virginia the need to be careful, and she accepts "Angel" as her bodyguard. She then asks to go shopping; Wesley initially asks if she'd rather wait until morning, only to then realize that shopping in the day isn't a good idea for a vampire.

Back at the hotel, Cordelia has enlisted Gunn's help to rescue Wesley and sends him to collect Angel from the swami. Cordelia, on the other hand, tries to identify the man who held her at gunpoint. In a fancy store that sells wizarding supplies, Wesley escorts Virginia around as she looks for her father a gift for his upcoming fiftieth birthday. She wants something depicting the Goddess Yeska, as her father is a big fan. The two talk of Virginia's relationship with her father, although she notices that Wesley is fiddling with a crucifix absentmindedly. When she mentions it to him, Wesley pretends to be burned and sticks his hand in an ice bucket. Two thugs sent by Paul Lanier then try to abduct Virginia, but when they realize "Angel" is with her, they back off immediately.

Angel and Magev fight with staffs while discussing Angel and his inner demon. However, back in the cabin, Magev phones Paul Lanier and reveals he is an imposter who killed the real Magev and has been hired to keep Angel busy, tipped off by one of the waiters at Caritas. "Magev" tells Lanier he doesn't know how long he can keep up the act, and is worried that Angel might smell the blood coming from the actual Magev's body. Lanier is confused, since he thought Angel was protecting Virginia, and begins to wonder who the hell "the English guy" is. In the hotel, Cordelia is looking through mugshots in the police database and lets her eyes wander to a gossip magazine only to identify the gunman who is in a photo with Bryce and Virginia.

Wesley escorts Virginia to her room as she talks about how angry she's feeling, not just at the kidnap attempts but at her whole life; she thinks being treated as a prisoner is no way to spend a life. As they return to her bedroom. they find two mystical-looking guards standing outside it, only to find they're not guards: one grabs Virginia as the other tries to stun Angel/Wesley with a firework. However, Wesley, in a quick and uncharacteristic show of skill and strength, manages to fight off the two and send them running. Virginia is grateful once again, but is surprised "Angel" didn't put on his vampire face. Wesley truthfully claims he isn't like most vampires.

As they fish in the lake by the cabin, Angel and the Magev imposter discuss Wolfram and Hart's resurrection of Darla and Angel's desire to get to her. Angel admits that part of him hates her for what she did to him, and "Magev" suggests that he'll feel better by finding another small blonde, having sex with her, and breaking her heart. Angel, obviously, doesn't consider that the best plan.

Virginia and Wesley make it back to the room as Virginia reaffirms her wish to move out and live her own life, even if it would be a life less glamorous than the one she has now. Wesley supports her in her desires, and the two's developing closeness leads to a kiss; however, Virginia backs off telling him she knows about his curse (ironically, just as Angel is describing it to "Magev"). Wesley tries to excuse the curse as nothing more than a simple "hex", but Virginia starts to suspect that he's lying to her. He decides to tell her the entire truth about his identity, but Virginia cuts him off, and the two soon submit to their passions.

The next morning, Gunn arrives at the cabin to collect Angel, but the Magev imposter knocks him out before he can go inside. Angel then appears on the porch, realizing the real swami is dead, although "Magev" isn't worried, as he is standing in the direct sunlight, seemingly well out of reach. Angel then shows his fishing prowess, using the nearby line to hook the imposter's lip and literally reels him in, threatening to demonstrate his inner demon.

Wesley wakes up next to Virginia, more than content with how the previous evening went. He gets dressed and leaves the room only to encounter Cordelia, who has arrived to rescue him. Wesley tells her he can't leave as he has a job to do, much to Cordy's disbelief, as she reminds Wesley that he's not Angel. At this point, Bryce and his guards arrive, now knowing that Angel isn't actually protecting Virginia. Although Wesley attempts to keep up the charade, he is dragged into direct sunlight and the game is up. Wesley is forced to reveal his true identity to Virginia, who is furious; her life was in danger, given that she had no supernatural protection. She is also upset as she had finally made a friend, who had lied to her from the start of their relationship. Bryce has Wesley and Cordelia thrown out, and berates his goon for bringing him the wrong guy. The man's mistake put Bryce's upcoming "sacrifice", which will occur at his 50th birthday party, at risk. He orders security be stepped up, determined to make it the party of his life, as well as Virginia's.

Wesley and Cordelia arrive back at the hotel the same time as Angel and Gunn, and they bring each other up to speed on what happened. Realizing that Lanier set up the fake Magev and then told Bryce the truth about Angel, he suspects that Lanier is going to make his move at the 50th birthday party being held that night. Upon bringing up the party will include tributes to the Goddess Yeska, Angel tells everyone Yeska isn't a goddess, but a Davric Demon. Wesley knows of them, but is confused; they don't serve humans unless they make a sacrifice on their 50th birthday. At this point, all the pieces come together and Wesley realizes Bryce is going to sacrifice Virginia that night. Lanier was trying to abduct her to prevent the sacrifice, as Bryce stands to gain a lot of power if he's successful. Wesley immediately sets out to rescue Virginia and lays out a plan of action, only to be reminded that Angel is supposed to be in charge and defers to him. Angel decides to let Wesley take the lead anyway.

At the party, Virginia notices a giant stone sculpture in the center of the room, but doesn't get the time to question it -- she is soon chained to it while Bryce begins to summon Yeska. Virginia begs to be let out, and Bryce tells her what he's doing is very difficult for him before continuing. Suddenly, Wesley and the rest of Angel Investigations bursts in and start fighting the guards. Wesley runs to Virginia, trying to release her, and reminding her of his promise to protect her. However, it seems to be too late as Yeska appears and approaches Virginia, only to reject her as she is "impure". Bryce can't believe Virginia isn't a virgin and realizes Wesley slept with her, much to everyone's shock. Bryce is furious, as the reason he wanted Angel to protect her was because he couldn't have sex. He refers to Angel as a "eunuch", a term at which Angel takes offense. As Cordelia voices her disbelief that Wesley was getting action after pretending to be Angel for one day, while Angel tries to stress the fact the gypsy curse isn't actually that clear regarding sex, Virginia tells her dad that she hasn't been a virgin for a long time. While Wesley is relieved that he wasn't responsible for deflowering a virgin, Virginia begins listing off names of the family's staff that she's had relationships with. She then denounces her as his father and punches him in the face. The gang leaves, satisfied, but not before Angel tries to make clear he isn't a eunuch.

A few days later, Cordelia is indignant to find that since he's started dating Virginia, Wesley is now appearing in the gossip pages as a private detective and bodyguard. As she complains that reflected glory is her "thing", Angel tells her not to be jealous that he's getting some attention only to be put out himself to find the article mentions Wesley's job as a "bodyguard to the stars".

Photos

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Continuity

• In "Heartthrob," Angel again tries to seek out spiritual guidance after Buffy's death at the end of Season 5. This time, he visits a group of Sri Lankan monks, who turn out to be Shur-hod demons.

• The newspaper calls Wesley "bodyguard to the stars", which is what Cordelia called Angel after he saved Rebecca Lowell in "Eternity".
• Angel is able to enter Bryce's house without being invited in. In "Rm w/a Vu" he is able to enter Cordelia's house before she invites him in, explaining that she had told him he was always welcome once she found a place -- the invitation had taken effect once she signed the lease. This suggests that when Wesley had been invited in, the fact that the invitation had been intended for Angel was sufficient enough to allow him to enter the house.
• Wesley becomes the third member of Angel Investigations to drink blood, as Cordelia was the second in 'Expecting'.

Body Count

• T'ish Magev, killed by an impostor

Appearances

Locations

• Los Angeles, CA
• Ojai, CA

Behind the Scenes

Production

• Guest star Brigid Brannagh was a main cast member of the short-run vampire drama "Kindred: The Embraced", playing the role of Sasha.

Goofs, Bloopers & Continuity Errors

• Wesley tells Gunn that The Host reads the souls of demons, although it's generally accepted demons don't have "souls" in the human sense. Wesley is more likely referring to a general aura associated with a creature's life force.

Pop Culture References

• Lorne is referring to the 3 Rocky movies: "You're Rocky. And Rocky II. And half of the one with Mr. T."

International titles

• German: Angel für einen Tag (Angel for a day)
• French: L'usurpateur (The usurper)

Music

• Eiji Inoue and Michael Yama - "I Got You Babe"
• Robert J. Kral- original score

Other

• This episode is included in The Vampire Anthology: Wesley DVD.
• When Wesley drank the cup of blood that Bryce gave him, he was extremely lucky not to get poisoned or even killed, given that drinking blood is extremely dangerous, especially if the blood is not the same type as the drinker.

Quotes

Angel: "There's no Wyndam-Pryce Agency."

The Host: "You're Rocky, and Rocky II, and half of the one with Mr. T."

Wesley: "Did you encourage this?"

Gunn: "I'm just going along for the ride."

Cordelia: "Gonna be a pretty short ride. They have vampire detectors!"

Gunn: "We know. It's cool, he's got a plan."

Wesley: "A plan?"

Angel: "Yeah, I get to the offices before they stop me."

Gunn: "See? What?! That's the plan? Walking real quick was the plan?"

T'ish Magev: "You need to get over her. Okay, what does she look like?"

Angel: "She's beautiful. Small, blonde."

T'ish Magev: "Right. So here's what you do. You go out and you find yourself some small blonde thing. You bed her, you love her, you treat her like crap, you break her heart. You and your inner demon will thank me, I promise."

Angel: "Um..."