Redefinition

Template:Angelepisode

"Redefinition" is the eleventh episode of the second season of Angel and the thirty-third episode overall. Written by Mere Smith and directed by Michael Grossman, it was originally broadcast on January 16, 2001 on the WB network.

As Wesley, Cordelia, and Gunn reel from the shock of Angel firing them, they end up at the Caritas demon karaoke bar. They talk to the host about their uncertainty until a vision of Cordelia's leads them to a woman who has been abducted by a demon. Meanwhile, the deadly serious Angel reinvents himself as a cold-hearted, one-man weapon of mass destruction to find and take out Darla and Drusilla, who are recruiting demons for a rampage through the city. Meanwhile, Lindsey and Lilah, the only survivors of the Darla and Drusilla office-party massacre, fear for their lives and jockey for position against one another when the unseen Senior Partners of Wolfram & Hart request a meeting with them.

Synopsis

Still reeling from being fired, Cordelia, Wesley and Gunn walk down the street clutches boxes of their possessions, questioning their future and the reasons for Angel's actions. They agree to leave Angel alone for now, and all head to their respective homes. At the hotel, Angel burns his many drawings of Darla in the furnace. Intent on building himself into a one-man killing machine, Angel works on his strength and fighting skills. In Holland's cellar, dead bodies litter the floor, and from beneath them all, Lindsey wakes up, a survivor of the mess. As the paramedics check him and the bodies out, Lindsey is displeased to find out that Lilah also survived.

Virginia can't understand why Angel fired Wesley and the others. Wesley tries to explain, and then the two discuss Wesley's possible future. Lindsey and Lilah worry about their jobs at Wolfram & Hart and whether they will be blamed for the massacre that killed many of their co-workers. Darla and Drusilla are waiting for Lindsey and Lilah in Lindsey's office. Darla explains that they lived so that they could be connections on the inside of Wolfram & Hart for the vampires.

At the karaoke bar, Wesley, Cordelia and Gunn all independently find themselves in search of the truth of their futures—and are so desperate to learn that they are willing to sing. Angel holds Merl by his ankles over water in the sewers and repetitively dunks the demon until he gets answers about Darla and Dru's whereabouts. Darla and Drusilla arrive at a demon fight club intending to recruit demons and vampires for their new gang. Angel is hidden in the crowd, and after hearing the plans, he leaves, but Drusilla senses his presence there, which causes Darla to become agitated. Outside the building, Angel concludes that he's still too attached to Darla to defeat her.

Lilah talks to Lindsey about possibly leaving the firm, but Lindsey figures out her secret plans and pulls her hidden microphone from her blouse. Wesley, Cordelia and Gunn all get very drunk and yell at each other before ending up on stage singing "We Are the Champions." The Host lets The Powers That Be do the guiding, but offers protection for Cordelia's head as she gets a vision about a very dangerous demon and a young woman in trouble. The three head to the location the vision sent them, but without weapons or Angel, they have to make do with what little they have.

Darla is frustrated with all the focus others are putting on Angel and is eager to get to the factory and select members of her new army. Drusilla rants about fire and pain, but Darla brushes it off as they head for their factory. Armed with a bag full of weapons, Angel enters the factory where a large group of demons have gathered. Wesley and Gunn fight the kidnapping demon while Cordelia rescues the girl. Darla and Drusilla find all of their prospective minions dead and Angel at the back of the building smoking a cigarette. He drops the cigarette into gasoline that ignites both Darla and Drusilla, but Darla breaks open a fire hydrant and puts out the flames before it destroys them.

Lilah and Lindsey find themselves sharing the job of Executive Vice-President of Special Projects until one of them can prove they were the most qualified. Wesley informs Angel that he and the others will continue to fight the good fight, even if Angel would not. Slightly fazed by the news, Angel reasons to himself, "Let them 'fight the good fight.' Someone has to fight the war."Template:Clear

Continuity

• This marks the beginning of Cordelia, Wesley and Gunn forming an agency separate from Angel. This split will be reconciled in Epiphany.

• Lindsey and Lilah are appointed the joint co-Vice Presidents of the Special Projects Division at Wolfram & Hart.

• Wesley tells Angel that "someone has to fight the good fight," ironically echoing a sentiment that Angel himself taught Doyle.

• When Drusilla senses Angel's presence at the demon fight club, she says "Eyes like needles". This echoes what human Drusilla said about Angelus in "Dear Boy" shortly before she was turned.

Body Count

• four vampires, dusted by Angel
• unidentified fight club demon, killed by Drusilla
• Unidentified demon, stabbed in the head by Gunn
• Fight Club demons, killed by Angel

Trivia

• Angel does not speak aloud during this episode, only in voiceover.
• This is the first episode in the Buffyverse where we hear Drusilla call Darla by name.

Behind the Scenes

Goofs, Bloopers & Continuity Errors

• As Angel was interrogating Merl by hanging him upside down and dunking him in sewer water, at one point when Angel pulls him up, and the camera zooms in on Merl's face, one of Merl's red contact lenses on his left eye is missing. In the next shot, Merl has both his eyes with red contact lenses.

Pop Culture References

• Merl is referring to Godzilla when he mentions Drusilla and Darla as "Godzilla, Darsilla".

International titles

• German: Neuanfänge (Recommencement)
• French: Déclaration de guerre (Declaration of war)

Music

• Andy Hallett- "Lady Marmalade"
• Charisma Carpenter, Alexis Denisof and J. August Richards - "We Are the Champions"
• Robert J. Kral- original score

Quotes

Cordelia: "One thing you can say about Angel, at least he's consistent. It's always some little blonde driving him over the edge."

Lilah: "Responsibility has nothing to do with it. They're looking for a scapegoat, we might as well grow horns and start eating garbage."

Darla: "Me and my girl, we're not just the new thing in town; we're the only thing in town. And we're in the market for some ... one doesn't really want to use the term 'muscular slaves.' Actually, one does."

Lilah: "I'm sitting in my office, and every time there's a noise, or the phone rings ... one of us is gonna die, Lindsey."

Lindsey: "Everybody dies, Lilah."

Lilah: "But not everybody ends up in a dog food processing plant in San Pedro."

Drusilla: "My little bird is anxious."

Darla: "Yeah, well, recruiting a legion of demons is stressful."

Drusilla: "He won't leave, you know."

Darla: "I don't want to hear this."

Drusilla: "We could have a thousand soldiers and still he'll come. Galloping, galloping, still he'll come."

Darla: "Why is everybody trying to make this about Angel? For god's sake, can't a woman wreak a little havoc without a man being involved?"

Gunn: "I don't know, if I had to listen to you two day in, day out, snipe, snipe, snipe, bitch, bitch, bitch...I figure y'all got off easy 'cause I would have killed you."

Cordelia: "That's rich coming from Mr. I-Don't-Take-Orders-Now-Where-Do-I-Stick-My-Axe!"

Gunn: "What is that supposed to mean?"

Wesley: "Well, Gunn, you've never been very supportive of Angel's leadership role. I remember a certain Shroud."

Gunn: "Hold up, hold up. Are you trying to tell me this is my fault?"

Wesley: "Well how is he supposed to run a business if his employees won't follow directives?"

Gunn: "Was one of his directives 'hire pansy-ass British guy?'"

Wesley: "My ass is not pansy!"