Skip

Skip
Name	Skip
Status	Deceased
Classif.	Demon
Affiliation	The Powers That Be (apparently), Jasmine
Appearances
Debut	That Vision Thing
Last seen	Inside Out
Portrayed by	David Denman

“I'm just a merc. I go where the deal is.”

―Skip

Skip was a demon of an unidentified species supposedly at the service of the The Powers That Be. He was played by David Denman.

Biography

Skip is first seen in the season three episode "That Vision Thing". Angel is forced to rescue an evil boy named Billy Blim from torment in a demon dimension in order to save Cordelia's life. Skip guards Billy's prison of fire. When Angel first enters this dimension, he and Skip have a very pleasant conversation where Skip claims that he works for The Powers That Be. Skip's pleasant demeanor (juxtaposed with his intimidating appearance) is a surprise for Angel, who has to fight him anyway. Angel wins, and is able to trade Billy for Cordelia's life. Later, Skip claims he threw this fight.

Skip's second appearance is in the episode "Birthday" where he informs Cordelia that she will die if she continues receiving visions from the Powers. He serves as Cordelia's guide through a "what-if" scenario where she had never inherited her visions and had become a celebrity. After realizing that fighting evil is her true calling, Cordelia asks to keep her visions. Skip offers to make her part-demon so that she can continue to bear the visions and Cordelia agrees.

In "Tomorrow", Skip once again returns to Cordelia, this time to inform her that she has been chosen to ascend to a higher realm and become a higher being. Cordelia agrees and ascends to become all seeing but is unable to act and becomes very bored.

After Cordelia returns and appears to have become evil, Angel and the remainder of the group realize that something bad had happened to Cordelia on the higher realm. Angel seeks out Skip for an explanation. In the episode "Inside Out", Angel once again enters Skip's dimension and questions him about Cordelia's changes. Skip feigns ignorance, but Angel realizes that Skip is hiding something, and a fight ensues. During the fight, Angel is able to defeat Skip by using a length of heavy chain, shearing off a small projection of his armor near his ear in the process. Angel then brings Skip back to Los Angeles where he is bound to this dimension and questioned. Skip reveals that he is part of a conspiracy to bring Jasmine into the world. He also claims that most of the important plot points of the entire series were directed by Jasmine (though he does not mention her by name), including tricking Cordelia into becoming part-demon and her ascension. How much of Skip's story is true is unknown as much of it contradicts previous and later events. Skip also reveals that killing Cordelia is the only way to stop Jasmine's birth. Able to escape thanks to an earthquake that breaks the containment spell, he engages the members of Angel's team, but is killed when Wesley shoots a bullet in the exact place where Angel earlier broke his armor. His last words were an amazed, "Well, that ain't right." Later on, Gunn and Wesley dismember his corpse with a buzz saw in the basement of the Hyperion Hotel.

Personality

Skip demonstrated a confident, charismatic personality and frequently made humorous references to human popular culture and turns-of-phrase. However, this good-natured demeanor was part of his cover. After his cover was broken and his true allegiance exposed, Skip revealed himself to be a rather cynical and vindictive individual.

Powers and abilities

“You really think a guy built like this would be so easy to drop?”

―Skip to Angel

Skip possessed superhuman strength and a nearly impenetrable chitinous exoskeleton that made him largely impervious to most forms of physical harm, including gunfire and bladed weapons.

Behind the scenes

Skip is one of Joss Whedon's favorite demons. While developing Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Whedon assured that the demons in the comic would look cooler, "but not as cool as Skip."

Appearances

• That Vision Thing
• Birthday
• Tomorrow
• Inside Out