View source for Rm w/a Vu

{{Episode
|season     = 1
|number     = 5
|image      = A1x05 Rm wa Vu.jpg
|airdate    = November 2, [[1999]]
|writer     = [[Jane Espenson]] (teleplay & story)<br>[[David Greenwalt]] (story)
|director   = [[Scott McGinnis]]
|length     = 43
|series     = ''[[Angel (series)|Angel]]''
|previous   = "[[I Fall to Pieces]]"
|next       = "[[Sense & Sensitivity]]"
|series2    = ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]''
|previous2  = "[[Fear, Itself]]"
|next2      = "[[Wild at Heart]]"
|stars      = [[David Boreanaz]] — [[Angel]]<br>[[Charisma Carpenter]] — [[Cordelia Chase|Cordelia]]<br>[[Glenn Quinn]] — [[Allen Francis Doyle|Doyle]]
|gueststars = [[Elisabeth Röhm]] — [[Kate Lockley|Kate]]<br>[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0335275 Beth Grant] — [[Maude Pearson|Mrs. Pearson]]
|costars    = [[Markus Redmond]] — [[Griff]]<br>[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0682334 Denny Pierce] — [[Vic (demon)|Vic]]<br>[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0172333 Greg Collins] — [[Keith]]<br>[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0003595 Corey Klemow] — Young Man<br>[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2189485 Lara McGrath] — Manager<br>[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0692040 B.J. Porter] — [[Dennis Pearson|Dennis]]
|uncredited = [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0437852 Lyle Kanouse] — Disgusting Man
}}

"'''Rm w/a Vu'''" (Room with a View) is the fifth episode of the [[Angel season 1|first season]] of ''[[Angel (series)|Angel]]'' and the fifth episode in the series. Written by [[Jane Espenson]] and directed by [[Scott McGinnis]], it was originally broadcast on November 2, [[1999]], on [[The WB]] network.

==Synopsis==
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION — When [[Cordelia Chase|Cordelia]] flees her roach-infested apartment and lands on [[Angel]]'s doorstep, the close quarters force Angel to make a deal with [[Allen Francis Doyle|Doyle]] neither can refuse. Meanwhile, Cordelia's riches-to-rags life may be taking a turn for the better when Doyle finds her the perfect apartment — until she discovers that the bargain rent comes with a price — the apartment is haunted by a former tenant.<ref>[http://homepage.tinet.ie/~lol/episodesangel.html "Angel- Season 1 Episode Guide."] ''Lol's Site''. Retrieved on February 18, 2023.</ref>

==Summary==
At the [[Angel Investigations offices]], Cordelia reenacts her commercial audition for Doyle, wondering why she didn't get the role. The phone rings, and the answering machine picks up. As Cordelia's friend [[Aura (Sunnydale)|Aura]] leaves a message, Cordelia still doesn't answer the phone, explaining to Doyle that she doesn't want to talk to anybody until after her career takes off and she has a better apartment. Doyle wanders into Angel's office, who reluctantly answers Doyle's questions about Cordelia, reminiscing about her high school reign of terror with the [[Cordettes]].

Meanwhile, Cordelia arrives at [[Apartment 4B|her rundown apartment]], where the key sticks in the front lock, the fluorescent light flickers and buzzes, brown sludge spurts from the kitchen faucet, and roaches scurry across the TV screen and floor. She frantically calls building services, only to be assured that the exterminator sprayed for roaches that day. Upon discovering the multitude of dead roach bodies covering her floor, Cordelia calls Doyle to take him up on his offer of a place to stay. Hearing the phone ring inside, Doyle rushes to let himself into [[Allen Francis Doyle's apartment|his apartment]], but a menacing [[demon]] — [[Griff]], hired to strong-arm Doyle into paying his debt — greets him from the shadows. Doyle eludes the demon and flees his apartment.

Meanwhile, Angel hears a knock on his door whilst he is in the shower. He throws a towel on and opens the door, only to have Cordelia toss her luggage at him. She begs him not to look at her because she looks awful and makes a comment about how she smells. She tells him about her roach-infested apartment and rants about suddenly being a girl from the projects. After a moment, she idly wonders if any of the roaches had stowawayed in her suitcases. She tells Angel she's staying there until she can find a new place and, once she does, he's totally invited in. She reminds Angel her suitcase is still in the hall and says she's going to take a shower, stealing the shower he was in the middle of taking.

The next morning, Doyle stops by Angel's apartment, upset to see Cordelia spent the night. Cordelia, unpacking her cheerleading trophies and scorched high school diploma, informs Doyle that she gave his address to somebody from his "part of England." The information worries him, and, when Angel calls down that Doyle has company, he bolts out the back. When he reaches the building's foyer, however, Angel is silently waiting there, having tricked Doyle into confessing his secret. He proposes a deal: if Doyle will help Cordelia find a new apartment, Angel will deal with Doyle's demon debt collector.

Doyle and Cordelia go apartment hunting. After many failed attempts, Cordelia is ecstatic to be shown into an airy, beautiful, rent-controlled [[Pearson Arms apartment 212|apartment]]. Telling Doyle that the unsightly wall that needs removing adds to its perfection, Cordelia immediately closes the deal.

In the meantime, Angel waits at Doyle's apartment until Griff shows up. The demon explains that his boss no longer cares about the money, but needs to make an example of Doyle by ordering him killed. Angel informs Griff that he'll be the next victim unless he convinces his boss to accept Angel's guarantee of payment and to let Doyle live. Later that night, Doyle is unhappy that he has to pay, but concedes that it is better than the alternative. Angel probes for some hint of Doyle's backstory, but retreats when his friend grows uncomfortable.

Meanwhile, Cordelia is already asleep at her new apartment, oblivious to the radio turning itself on and bureau drawers opening by themselves. She suddenly wakes when a drawer bangs shut and soon discovers why this apartment was such a good deal — it's haunted. She spends the rest of the night huddled in her bed, which floats four feet in the air.

The next morning, after Cordelia's bed thumps to the floor, she attempts to go about her normal routine, until the ghostly activity starts up again in the living room. Desperate to keep her beautiful apartment, Cordelia pretends to be unaffected by the flying objects and cold wind that the ghost conjures, and even manages a few snarky [[exorcism]] quips. Angel and Doyle stop by with a housewarming gift. Cordelia is shocked when Angel is able to walk right in, but Angel reminds her that she told him when she got a new place he was invited. Angel and Doyle quickly realize the apartment is haunted when the word "die" starts dripping from the wall in blood. Cordelia, insistent on making the apartment work, refuses to leave. Doyle and Angel carry her out, promising to help her perform an exorcism. 

At the office, the team researches the building's history for a clue to the ghost's identity, which might give clues on how to get rid of it. The evidence points to Maude Pearson, builder, owner, and first resident of the [[Pearson Arms Apartments]] building. Angel pulls Cordelia aside and tells her it really is just a place and she can find another. She says that it's perfect and makes her feel like she's not being punished anymore. When Angel asks why she thinks she was being punished she tells him that it was for her attitude in high school. She says Angel has to understand. When he says he doesn't think that it has anything to do with it and she points out that, no, it's because he used to own a mansion. 

While Doyle goes to pick up the arcane supplies for the exorcism, Angel finds out from Detective [[Kate Lockley]] that [[Maude Pearson]]'s sudden fatal heart attack appears in the police archives, due to the suspicious disappearance of her son [[Dennis Pearson|Dennis]] the same day. Learning that there was friction between Maude and her son's fiancée, Angel agrees with the prevailing theory that Dennis murdered Maude, made it look like natural causes, then skipped town with his girl. At the office, Cordelia gets a call from Angel and goes to meet him at her apartment, but it turns out that Maude's ghostly spirit is imitated his voice, mistaking Cordelia for Dennis' fiancé. Puzzled by the absence of murders in the building, Angel asks Kate to check for reports of suicides in that apartment — there were several — and calls the office to warn Cordelia. Doyle answers and reports that she isn't there. He plays back the answering machine, which recorded the call Cordelia took from Angel. Clutching the payphone receiver, Angel says, "That's not me."

At the apartment, Cordelia folds under Maude's spate of abuse. When Doyle and Angel burst in, they find Cordelia hanged with an electrical cable. Frantically, Doyle unwraps the cord while Angel lifts her down, and Cordelia coughs back to consciousness. They begin the exorcism without Cordelia, who is an incoherent sobbing wreck from Maude's emotional and physical attacks. A cyclone of flying debris prevents them from completing the ritual. Angel shouts to Doyle that they need to leave, and they carry the distressed Cordelia to the door. Before they can exit, however, it suddenly slams open to reveal the barrels of three enormous guns belonging to Griff and two of his cronies. Angel reminds Griff that he agreed to let Doyle pay, but the demon replies, "I lied." 

Doyle and Angel brawl with the goons, while Maude pulls Cordelia back into the bedroom to continue tormenting her. However, Maude makes a tactical error by calling Cordelia a "bitch." The remark snaps Cordelia back to reality, and she begins to fight back, finding her inner strength. As Angel snaps Griff's neck, Cordelia exits the bedroom, using a cast iron lamp to knock down the partition, revealing a skeleton disintegrating inside the wall. Maude screams in shock and then, in a mystical flashback, the team learns that Maude Pearson prevented Dennis from leaving with his fiancée by bricking him alive into the wall. Upon completion, Maude suffered a heart attack and died. Now Maude's spirit stands telling her son that that girl would have ruined his life, however the angry ghost of her son Dennis roars to the attack, dispersing and banishing his mother's ghost forever.

As Angel watches Doyle install a new deadbolt on his apartment door, he quietly reminds Doyle that he'll need to reveal his background at some point. Meanwhile, Cordelia is raving about her new apartment to Aura on the phone. She admits she has a roommate, but claims she "never sees him." Hearing himself mentioned, the ghost, whom Cordelia affectionately calls Phantom Dennis, gently makes his presence known. She tells him that she's on the phone and that means it's quiet time.

==Continuity==
*Cordelia's apartment is pressed into service as [[Angel Investigations]]'s HQ at the beginning of season two ("[[Judgment]]") and remains part of the show until Cordelia's disappearance ("[[Ground State]]").
*This episode introduces phantom Dennis, who will be Cordelia's roommate for the next three years. Friendly with Cordelia's friends ("[[She]]") and exhibiting caring feelings for Cordelia herself ("[[Expecting]]"), Dennis warns his roomie repeatedly about dangerous intruders ("[[Five by Five]]").
*Cordelia's friend Aura is first seen in the ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' series premiere, "[[Welcome to the Hellmouth]]," in which a dead body falls out of her gym locker. She was also mentioned in "[[Prophecy Girl]]."
*Doyle mentions that Cordelia's diploma is burnt, to which Cordy replies, "It was a rough ceremony," referring to the battle against the Mayor in "[[Graduation Day, Part Two]]" and how the diplomas were toasted when [[Sunnydale High School]] was destroyed. A closer examination of the diploma shows [[Snyder]] signed under "principal," and there is a blank spot for the signature of the Mayor of Sunnydale, who, rather than sign the diplomas, ascended into a demon and tried to eat the students.
*Kate teases Angel for having — like "Popes and rock stars" — only one name; Angel replies, "You got me, I'm a Pope." In "[[Somnambulist]]," the serial killer whom Angel suspects may be himself is dubbed "The Pope" by the tabloids.

==Appearances==
===Individuals===
*[[Angel]]
*[[Aura (Sunnydale)|Aura]] <small>(Only voice)</small>
*[[Mr. Chase]] {{Om}}
*[[Mrs. Chase]] {{Om}}
*[[Cordelia Chase]]
*[[Tom D.]] {{Om}}
*[[Danielle]] {{Om}}
*[[David (Rm w/a Vu)|David]] {{Om}}
*[[Davis (officer)|Davis]]
*[[Natalie Davis]] {{Om}}
*[[Allen Francis Doyle]]
*[[Margo Dressner]] {{Om}}
*[[Roberto Flores]] {{Om}}
*[[Joseph Green]] {{Om}}
*[[Griff]]
*[[Keith]]
*[[Jenny Kim]] {{Om}}
*[[Kate Lockley]]
*[[Dennis Pearson]]
*[[Maude Pearson]]
*[[William Pearson]] {{Om}}
*[[Randall (detective)|Randall]] {{Om}}
*[[Snyder]] {{Om}}
*[[Buffy Summers]] {{Om}}
*[[Vic (demon)|Vic]]
*[[Richard Wagner]] {{Om}}
*[[Unidentified loan shark]] {{Om}}
===Organizations and titles===
*[[Angel Investigations]]
*[[Cordettes]] {{om}}
*[[Los Angeles Police Department]]
*[[Slayer]] {{Om}}
===Species===
*[[Demon]]
**[[Kailiff demon]]
*[[Half-demon]]
*[[Ghost]]
*[[Human]]
*[[Vampire]]
===Events===
*[[Graduation Day battle]] {{Om}}
===Locations===
*[[Los Angeles]]
**[[Allen Francis Doyle's apartment]]
**[[Angel Investigations offices]]
**[[Apartment 4B]]
**[[Metro Precinct]]
**[[Pearson Arms Apartments]]
***[[Pearson Arms apartment 212]]
*[[Sunnydale]] {{Om}}
**[[Chase residence]] {{Om}}
**[[Sunnydale High School]] {{Om}}
===Objects===
*''[[Los Angeles Globe]]''
===Rituals and spells===
*[[Exorcism]]

==Death count==
*Vic, killed by Maud Pearson's ghost.
*Griff, killed by Angel.
*Dennis Pearson, suffocated entombed by Maud Pearson (in flashbacks).
*Maude Pearson, heart attack (in flashbacks).
*Maude Pearson's ghost, destroyed by Dennis' ghost.

==Behind the scenes==
===Production===
*Writer Jane Espenson intended the episode's title to match the format of a classified ad. She also considered "Re: Lease" as a possible title.<ref name="DVD">[[Jane Espenson]]. ''[[Angel Season One on DVD]]''; [[audio commentaries]] for the episode "Rm w/a Vu." [DVD]. [[20th Century Studios]], June 10, 2003.</ref>
*On Hulu and Disney+, the episode appears as "Room with a Vu."<ref>https://www.disneyplus.com/en-gb/video/6c657b13-d699-4713-88b1-693ae44e3430</ref>
*The episode is "really all about Cordelia regaining her inner bitch," says supervising producer [[Tim Minear]].
*Regarding Angel's shower scene, Jane Espenson said: "I put that scene in there because, frankly, I knew there wouldn't be a woman on the planet who wouldn't enjoy seeing [[David Boreanaz|David [Boreanaz]]] shirtless and dripping wet."<ref name="DVD"/>
*[[Markus Redmond]], who plays the bounty hunter demon Griff in this episode, appears again as the gladiator demon [[Tom Cribb]] in "[[The Ring]]."
*Minear noted a connection in Angel joking to be a pope in this episode and the serial killer whom Angel suspects may be himself in "[[Somnambulist]]" being dubbed "The Pope": "That was completely unintentional. I remember running into Jane and saying, 'I've been working on the cut of 'Somnambulist,' and do you realize that there was something in your episode that completely resonates in this episode?' It was just a happy coincidence that worked out wonderfully for the show."<ref>Edward Gross, [https://web.archive.org/web/20160816103808/http://www.timminear.net/archives/angel/000039.html "ANGEL: Season One, Episode By Episode with Tim Minear."] ''TimMinear.net 5.0'', August 14, 2000. Archived from the original on August 16, 2016.</ref>

===Broadcast===
*"{{PAGENAME}}" had an audience of 3.2 million households upon its original airing.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080718233053/http://home.insightbb.com/~wahoskem/angel1.html "Nielsen Ratings for Angel's First Season."] ''Nielsen Ratings for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, & Firefly''. Archived from [http://home.insightbb.com/~wahoskem/angel1.html the original] on July 18, 2008.</ref>

===Pop culture references===
*Cordelia frets about losing a part to a woman who "looked like [[Wikipedia:Catwoman|Catwoman]] taking out the cat-trash."
*Angel compares the Cordettes to the [[Wikipedia:Chronology of Soviet secret police agencies|Soviet secret police]], "if they cared a lot about shoes."
*Doyle questions Griff about "friendship and family all those things that are priceless, like they say in those credit card commercial," referring to the [[Wikipedia:Priceless (advertising campaign)|1997 MasterCard advertising campaign]].
*Cordelia calls the ghost in her apartment "[[Wikipedia:Casper the Friendly Ghost|Casper]]," the friendly ghost character.
*Cordelia describes her apartment's smell of violets and [[Wikipedia:Trolamine salicylate|Aspercreme]], the brand of pain relief creams.
*Cordelia mentions needing a dead [[Wikipedia:Patrick Swayze|Patrick Swayze]], a reference to the actor's title role in the 1990 film ''[[Wikipedia:Ghost (1990 film)|Ghost]]''.
*Cordelia calls Maude "Poligrip," a brand of denture adhesives.
*Cordelia talks about knowing celebrities such as the actor Steve Paymer, brother of the also actor [[Wikipedia:David Paymer|David Paymer]].

===Music===
*[[Wikipedia:Ludwig van Beethoven|Ludwig van Beethoven]] — "[[Wikipedia:Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven)|Symphony No. 9: Ode to Joy]]"
*[[Wikipedia:The Mills Brothers|The Mills Brothers]] — "[[Wikipedia:You Always Hurt the One You Love|You Always Hurt the One You Love]]"
*[[Wikipedia:Tommy Henriksen|Tommy Henriksen]] — "Every Day"
*[[Christophe Beck]] and [[Robert J. Kral]] — original score

===International titles===
*'''Czech:''' "Pokoj s výhledem" (Room with a View)
*'''Finnish:''' "Muutto" (Migration)
*'''French:''' "L'appartement de Cordélia" (Cordelia's Apartment)
*'''German:''' "Zimmer mit Aussicht" (Room with a View)
*'''Hungarian:''' "Kísértethistória" (Ghost Story)
*'''Italian:''' "Il fantasma di Maude" (The Ghost of Maude)
*'''Portuguese (Brazil):''' "Um Apartamento com uma Bela Vista" (An Apartment with a Beautiful View)
*'''Russian:''' "Комната с видом" (Room with a View)
*'''Spanish (Latin America):''' Un apartamento con vista (An Apartment with a View)
*'''Spanish (Spain):''' Habitación con vistas (Room with a View)
*'''Turkish:''' "Manzaralı Oda" (Room with View)

===Adaptations===
*Jane Espenson provided the [[audio commentaries]] for the episode.

==Gallery==
===Advertisement===
<gallery captionalign="center">
Rm with a Vu promo
</gallery>

==Quotes==
{{QuoteBlock
|Doyle|"Hey Cordy, you're looking great, by the way."
|Cordelia|"I wouldn't know, the man doesn't have a mirror! Like it'd kill him to not see himself?"
}}
{{QuoteBlock
|Doyle|"Come on, you know I was crazy about her, and I was wearin' her down, too. But no, handsome, brooding, vampire guy has to swoop in, all sensitive mouth and overhangin' forehead. How 'bout leaving some scraps for the homely-looking fellas who don't turn evil when they get some?"
|Angel|"Cordelia stayed over because something's wrong with her place. I was on the sofa."
|Doyle|"Oh. That's okay, I suppose."
}}
{{QuoteBlock
|Griff|"I saw what I saw, right? You're a vampire. How come you're helping some lil' demon half-breed?"
|Angel|"It's a good offer. You should take it. On the other hand, you're making me want to fight some more. You get lucky, you might last ten minutes. Really lucky, and you're unconscious for the last five."
|Griff|"You get Doyle to pay and he's safe."
|Angel|"Thanks. Good meeting."
}}
{{QuoteBlock
|Doyle|"Cordy, it says 'die'!"
|Cordelia|"Hey, maybe it's not done. Maybe it's 'diet.' That's friendly. A little judgmental, sure."
}}
{{QuoteBlock
|Kate|"I wish I could be more help."
|Angel|"It's okay. Just knowing things that didn't happen is a help. You know, eliminating the possibilities."
|Kate|"Now you're talking like a detective."
|Angel|"I am a detective."
|Kate|"Well, see, the thing about detectives is they have résumés and business licenses, and last names. Pop stars and popes, those are the one-name guys."
|Angel|"You got me. I'm a pope."
}}

==References==
{{References}}

[[Category:Angel Season 1]]
[[Category:Angel episodes]]

[[de:Zimmer mit Aussicht]]
[[es:Habitación con vistas]]
[[nl:Rm w/a Vu]]