Salvage

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"Salvage" is the thirteenth episode of the fourth season of Angel and the seventy-ninth episode overall. Written by David Fury and directed by Jefferson Kibbee it was originally broadcast on March 5, 2003 on the WB network.

Synopsis

After discovering Lilah's dead body, a grieving Wesley decides they must have help in tracking down Angelus who has escaped and made some allied vampire connections. Wesley goes to the state prison and pays a visit to the Slayer Faith. As soon as Wesley advises Faith of the return of Angelus, Faith escapes and Wesley updates her on everything during their getaway. She, in turn, updates him on several attempts made on her life in prison (by the Bringers). Faith goes to confront Angelus with Wesley, Charles and Connor and when she runs ahead encounters Angelus and a slightly bemused Beast. After trading blows with the powerful demon for a while Faith is knocked down, and as The Beast gloats, Angelus stabs The Beast in the back with the blade it made from it's own bones as a tribute to it's master, thus bringing an end to one of Angel Investigations most powerful foes. Angelus tries to go after Faith, but The Beast's death restores the sun and she is able to hide in the sunlight, forcing Angelus to leave. Meanwhile, Lorne does a sanctuary spell to keep Angelus out of the hotel while Cordelia is secretly revealed to be the big evil controlling The Beast. Cordy then confides in Connor that she's pregnant.Template:Clear

Continuity

• Faith broke out of jail, but did not return to finish her sentence.

• In this episode, Faith meet Fred, Gunn, Connor and Lorne for the first time.

• When Faith was hunting Angelus and he spoke to her from an unknown location was similar to when Buffy confronted the Master in his lair.
• The Beast was killed by Angelus.

• Faith experiences several attempts on her life by minions of The First Evil. However, this contradicts speculation by Buffy and Giles that the First's plan in Sunnydale is to kill all of the potentials so that when it kills Faith and Buffy a new slayer wouldn't be activated (since Buffy's second death didn't activate a new slayer, the slayer line likely runs through Faith, so killing her would activate a new slayer). Or, the First knows Faith wouldn't die yet, so it's just trying to send her a message so that if she eventually encounters Buffy again she won't be happy about not being warned. Another explanation is that this was an attempt by the First to get both active slayers in one place by killing Faith and activating one of the Potential Slayers that is staying with Buffy. This would also have served to remove Faith, the only member of the Slayer line other than Buffy with any formal training or experience, from Buffy's list of potential allies against the First.

• Connor asks Faith why Slayers are always girls, to which she answers that she just guesses girls are better at it. In the Buffy episode "Potential", Andrew asks the same question, and Dawn gives the same answer. We discover the real reason in the Buffy episode "Get It Done".

• Faith is attacked by an agent of The First Evil, marking the only time The First's presence was shown on the spin-off series. This is strange since the coming of The First is depicted as a global crisis in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Buffy would later ask Angel to set up a second front against The First. Still, The First has no other influence on the events of this series, although it could be seen as a rival for power with the Senior Partners of Wolfram & Hart, plus Jasmine's influence in Los Angeles could have negated the First influence. Slayers are seen in LA after the defeat of the first in "Damage" and in After the Fall, Volume Four. However, it is debatable as to whether the vision of Lilah that Wesley encounters in this episode was his imagination, or a visit from The First.

• Angelus puts in a call to Dawn to see if Buffy has come to Los Angeles. This is the only time (shown on-screen) that Angel has ever interacted with Dawn in either series, although he does so in the form of Angelus and Dawn does not actually appear on screen.

• Faith's ease in escaping (with Wesley as extra baggage, no less) proved that she was serving her sentence because she wanted to, showing that she really had reformed.

• The notoriety of the Slayer within the demon world is further established.
  • When the vampires learned that the Slayer was in Los Angeles, they spread the alarm throughout the city within hours.
  • The Beast was outraged when Angelus brought Faith to his lair, indicating he was well aware of a Slayer's potential for meddling. The fact that their fight disappointed him also proved that he hadn't dared to underestimate her, either.
  • Jasmine also recognized the threat a Slayer posed. Faith's arrival was the first time she showed fear and doubt in her ability to control the situation. Connor's incidental infatuation with the Slayer also put her on edge, as his blind love and devotion were crucial to her own plans.
  • Connor tells Faith he was told about Slayers, indicating that Holtz had educated him on their existence while living in Quor'Toth.

• It seems the Scoobies' belief that Faith was safe from The First in prison was partially true. Although Caleb/the Bringers did make an attempt on her life, they had to do so by bribing her fellow inmates—people who stood little to no chance in killing a Slayer.

• Wesley's displeasure in losing the element of surprise was ironic considering the reason they lost it was because he allowed the vampire who spread the word to escape previously.

• Faith remarked on the bizarre and equally soap-opera-like elements of recent events.

• Jasmine framing Angelus for Lilah's murder was reminiscent of Justine framing Angel for Holtz's.
• In this episode we finally have Faith and Wesley working together as Slayer and Watcher just as the Council always intended.

Body Count

• a girl in bar, drained by a vampire
• Rosaria, dusted by Angelus
• two vampires, dusted by Faith
• a vampire, beheaded by Connor
• The Beast, killed by Angelus with a piece of his body
• Paco, burned by the sun
• Karl, burned by the sun

Appearences

Locations

• Los Angeles, CA
• Stockton, CA

Behind the Scenes

Goofs, Bloopers & Continuity Errors

• Angelus was able to detect the scent of Lilah's blood from outside, but could not smell "Cordelia" in the immediate vicinity.
• Angelus was safe from the reality rewrite that removed the Beast from history, still remembering the Beast, but was affected by the reality rewrite that created Dawn Summers.
• When Faith is attacked by Debbie, they are outside and the sun is shining. (Stockton is about 300 miles from Los Angeles.)

Pop Culture References

• The Birth of a Nation: Lorne says, "The birth of a notion, kids!"
• The Wizard of Oz: Lorne says "Ding dong the beast is dead."
• Rocky: Angelus: "Come on, Rocky. If that's all you got you better throw in the towel and call it a night."
• The Beastmaster: Angel says to the Beast, "When the Beastmaster's ready to peek out from behind your skirt, have him give me a call."
• Speed: Referenced in Angelus' line "The question is, what do you do hotshot? What do you do?"

Music

• Robert J. Kral - original score

Quotes

Angelus: "Aw, crap! You mean killing the Beast really does bring back the sun? I thought that was just Angel's retarded fantasy!"