Buffyverse Wiki
Don't have an account?
Register
Register
Buffyverse Wiki
Buffyverse Wiki
7,378
pages
in: Citations needed, Angel episodes, Angel Season 5
English

Changes: Soul Purpose

Back to page
Sign in to edit
mNo edit summary
Tag: Visual edit
(53 intermediate revisions by 29 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
  +
{{Episode
−
{{angelepisode
  
−
| season = 5
 +
|season = 5
−
| number = 10
 +
|number = 10
−
| image =
+
|image = Soul Purpose Angel 02.jpg
−
| airdate = January 21, 2004
 +
|airdate = January 21, [[2004]]
−
| writer = [[Brent Fletcher]]<br>[[Elizabeth Craft]]
 +
|writer = [[Brent Fletcher]]<br />[[Elizabeth Craft]]
−
| director = [[David Boreanaz]]
 +
|director = [[David Boreanaz]]
  +
|code = 5ADH10
⚫
| previous = [[Harm's Way]]
  
−
| next = [[Damage]]
 +
|series = ''[[Angel (series)|Angel]]''
  ⚫
|previous = "[[Harm's Way]]"
  +
|next = "[[Damage]]"
  +
|stars = [[David Boreanaz]] — [[Angel]]<br />[[James Marsters]] — [[Spike]]<br />[[J. August Richards]] — [[Charles Gunn|Gunn]]<br />[[Amy Acker]] — [[Winifred Burkle|Fred]]<br />[[Andy Hallett]] — [[Krevlornswath of the Deathwok Clan|Lorne]]<br />[[Alexis Denisof]] — [[Wesley Wyndam-Pryce|Wesley]]
  +
|gueststars = [[Sarah Thompson]] — [[Eve (Wolfram & Hart)|Eve]]<br />[[Mercedes McNab]] — [[Harmony Kendall|Harmony]]
  +
|costars = [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1544283 Ciara Hughes] — [[Blue Fairy]]<br />[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1260534 Rob Evors] — Man<br />[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0364864 Jodi Harris] — Woman<br />[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1159252 Carmen Nicole] — [[Lana]]
  +
|uncredited = [[Christian Kane]] — [[Lindsey McDonald|Lindsey]]<br />[[Sarah Michelle Gellar]] — [[Buffy Summers|Buffy]] (voice)
 
}}
  
}}
−
[[Spike]] is approached by [[Lindsey McDonald]], using the deceased [[Allen Francis Doyle|Doyle]]'s name in an attempt to convince him that ''he'' is the vampire champion mentioned in the [[Shanshu Prophecy]]. Meanwhile, [[Angel]] slips into a feverish hallucinative state in which he dreams that his destiny of redemption is claimed by Spike.
 
   
  +
"'''{{PAGENAME}}'''" is the tenth episode of the [[Angel season 5|fifth season]] of ''[[Angel (series)|Angel]]'' and the ninety-eighth episode overall. Written by [[Brent Fletcher]] and [[Elizabeth Craft]] and directed by [[David Boreanaz]], it originally broadcast on January 21, [[2004]] on [[The WB]] network.
−
==Plot==
  
⚫
In [[Angel|Angel's]] dream, he relives the moment in which [[Spike]] [[Destiny|drinks from the cup]] that signifies he is the champion referred to by the [[Shanshu Prophecy]]. In his dream, the cup isn't a fake, and radiance shines down on Spike, then incinerates Angel in the same way the amulet incinerated Spike when he sacrificed himself in [[Sunnydale]]. Meanwhile, [[Lindsey McDonald|Lindsey]] approaches Spike at a strip club, implying he was responsible for Spike's return from the dead and his subsequent return to corporeality. Introducing himself as [[Allen Francis Doyle|Doyle]], Lindsey claims he has visions of people in trouble and that he had a vision of a girl who's about to get attacked in an alley. Spike tells him to go to Angel instead, but “Doyle” says that Angel is "working the other side of the tracks" now. Spike saves the girl, after which Lindsey suggests that Spike may be the new champion of [[The Powers That Be]]. The next night, Spike saves a couple from [[vampires]], telling them, “I’m the hero.”
 
   
  +
==Synopsis==
⚫
Meanwhile at [[Wolfram & Hart]], [[Wesley Wyndam-Price|Wesley]] and [[Charles Gunn|Gunn]] present Angel with possible solutions to deal with an evil warlock, but Angel - weary of the "gray area" of morality in which he constantly finds himself - announces, “Let’s kill them all.” He then says that he’s just tired and the others tell him to go get some sleep.
 
  +
DAVID BOREANAZ MAKES HIS DIRECTORIAL DEBUT — A mysterious stranger approaches [[Spike]] claiming responsibility for recorporealizing him in a mission to guide Spike in supplanting [[Angel]] as the new [[vampire]] [[Champion of The Powers That Be|champion]]. Meanwhile, Angel is racked by intense fever dreams and hallucinations of his worst fears intensifying his worries that he will lose authority to Spike.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20041023194150/http://www.thewb.com/Shows/Episode/0,8201,%7C%7C1737,00.html "Episode"]. ''TheWB.com''. Archived from [http://www.thewb.com/Shows/Episode/0,8201,%7C%7C1737,00.html the original] October 23, 2004.</ref>
   
  +
==Summary==
⚫
In Angel's dream, [[Winifred Burkle|Fred]] says, "Let’s take a look under the hood.” She cuts open Angel’s chest and starts pulling out his internal organs, including his “dried-up little walnut” of a heart. Fred also pulls out a strand of beads (which she puts on), some raisins (which she eats), and a license plate. She pulls out a fishbowl, calling the dead goldfish inside Angel’s soul, and says that they’ll have to flush it and hands it to the bear standing next to her. Fred turns back to Angel and tells him that she can’t find anything wrong with him except that he's empty.
  
  +
Angel has lost his fight against Spike, who is to drink from the [[Cup of Perpetual Torment]]. However this time, the cup isn't a fake, and radiance shines down on Spike as he achieves the [[Shanshu Prophecy]] and is restored to life. The same light then incinerates Angel. This is revealed to be Angel's dream, as he wakes up in his office shaken.
   
  ⚫
[[Lindsey McDonald|Lindsey]] approaches Spike at a strip club, implying he was responsible for Spike's return from the dead and his subsequent return to corporeality. Introducing himself as [[Allen Francis Doyle|Doyle]], Lindsey claims he has visions of people in trouble and that he had a vision of a girl who's about to get attacked in an alley. Spike tells him to go to Angel instead, but "Doyle" says that Angel is "working the other side of the tracks" now. Spike saves the girl, after which Lindsey suggests that Spike may be the new champion of [[The Powers That Be]]. The next night, Spike saves a couple from vampires, telling them, "I'm the hero."
⚫
The next morning, [[Eve (Wolfram & Hart)|Eve]] gives Wesley a fragment of a relic, saying the [[Senior Partners]] want to know what it is. Gunn arrives and announces that a vampire matching Spike's description has been out on the streets, saving people.
 
   
  ⚫
Meanwhile at [[Wolfram & Hart]], [[Wesley Wyndam-Pryce|Wesley]] and [[Charles Gunn|Gunn]] present Angel with possible solutions to deal with an evil warlock, but Angel — weary of the "gray area" of morality in which he constantly finds himself — announces: "Let's kill them all." He then says that he's just tired and the others tell him to go get some sleep.
⚫
Meanwhile, Angel is dreaming that Spike and [[Buffy Summers|Buffy]] are having sex in his bed. He wakes up and goes downstairs, where Gunn tells him to hurry or he will “miss it.” Angel joins the group of people in his office, staring out the windows at [[L.A.]] as it burns. Angel realizes what’s going on and heads towards the windows. “You’re blocking the apocalypse,” [[Harmony Kendall|Harmony]] tells him. Wesley assures Angel that Spike will take care of it. [[Lorne]] suggests that Angel change his clothes, since there’s something on his shirt. Angel looks down to see a bloody stake sticking out of his heart. As Angel dreams in his room, a blue creature feeds off of his chest in the same spot as the stake in his dream. Fred holds out a cake with a picture of L.A. burning and the words “Way to go Spike!” written on it. Everyone sings, “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow” and yells for Spike to give a speech. He talks about fulfilling his destiny to turn L.A. into utopia. A blue fairy floats in and sprinkles gold dust on Spike, making his heart beat again. As everyone cheers for Spike, Angel is suddenly [[The Cautionary Tale of Numero Cinco|a man staffing the mail cart]].
 
   
  ⚫
In Angel's dream, [[Winifred Burkle|Fred]] says, "Let's take a look under the hood." She cuts open Angel's chest and starts pulling out his internal organs, including his "dried-up little walnut" of a heart. Fred also pulls out a strand of beads (which she puts on), some raisins (which she eats), and a license plate. She pulls out a fishbowl, calling the dead goldfish inside Angel's soul, and says that they'll have to flush it and hands it to the [[bear]] standing next to her. Fred turns back to Angel and tells him that she can't find anything wrong with him except that he's empty.
⚫
In reality, Spike is at the spartan basement apartment that Lindsey provided for him, when Gunn and Wesley stop by. They tell him that if he wants to rescue people, Wolfram & Hart has resources that can help him. Spike declines the offer, saying Wolfram & Hart is the same evil law firm it’s always been. At Eve's apartment, Lindsey reminds Eve if the [[Senior Partners]] find out what they’re up to, they’ll kill him. Eve assures him that thanks to his tattoos, they won’t find him. Wesley and Gunn head back to Wolfram & Hart and tell Fred that Spike thinks they’ve sold out. Fred starts to go up to check on Angel, until Eve arrives, reminding her she is supposed to be testing the relic.
 
   
  ⚫
The next morning, [[Eve (Wolfram & Hart)|Eve]] gives Wesley a fragment of a relic, saying the [[Senior Partners]] want to know what it is. Gunn arrives and announces that a vampire matching Spike's description has been out on the streets, saving people.
⚫
Angel is dreaming of Lorne dressed Old West-style, playing “My Darling Clementine” on a piano in Angel’s room. As Harmony (dressed like a ''Copacabana'' waitress) serves him a drink, Angel tells Lorne that everything hurts. "That’s life," Lorne says, "everything hurts, and then we die," though in Angel’s case, everything hurts and he lives forever. Lorne tells Angel to sing, but Angel can’t. Nearby, Fred, who’s at a table with Wesley and Gunn, says, “I told you he was empty.” Lorne tells Angel that the crowd is turning on him as Gunn snarls and hisses at Angel. Eve appears, noting that Angel is suffering. Lorne says that Angel still has something on his shirt, and Angel looks down to see the blue creature on his chest. He pulls it off, wakes up, and kills it. Eve tells him that he’s still dreaming but it’s almost over. She pulls a bigger blue creature out of the box she's holding and puts it on him. She watches while he struggles against it, then leaves. At Spike's apartment, Lindsey pretends to have a vision and tells Spike that he should take care of it.
 
   
  ⚫
Meanwhile, Angel is dreaming that Spike and [[Buffy Summers|Buffy]] are having sex on his bed. He wakes up and goes downstairs, where Gunn tells him to hurry or he will "miss it." Angel joins the group of people in his office, staring out the windows at Los Angeles as it burns. Angel realizes what's going on and heads towards the windows. "You're blocking the apocalypse," [[Harmony Kendall|Harmony]] tells him. Wesley assures Angel that Spike will take care of it. [[Krevlornswath of the Deathwok Clan|Lorne]] suggests that Angel change his clothes, since there's something on his shirt. Angel looks down to see a bloody stake sticking out of his heart. As Angel dreams in his room, a blue creature feeds off of his chest in the same spot as the stake in his dream. Fred holds out a cake with a picture of Los Angeles burning and the words "Way to go Spike!" written on it. Everyone sings, "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" and yells for Spike to give a speech. He talks about fulfilling his destiny to turn Los Angeles into utopia. A blue fairy floats in and sprinkles gold dust on Spike, making his heart beat again. As everyone cheers for Spike, Angel is suddenly a man staffing the mail cart.
⚫
Angel sits in a chair in the middle of a sunny field as the gang approach him. “You can stay as long as you like,” Wesley says. “Stay forever.” Angel says he’s not done with his job, but Wesley says that he can be if he wants to. Fred says that he’ll be fine - he just has to stop caring. Suddenly, the four of them throw their heads back and scream. In Angel’s room, Spike grabs the blue creature and kills it. “No need to thank me,” he tells Angel. “Just helping the helpless.”
 
   
  ⚫
In reality, Spike is at the spartan basement apartment that Lindsey provided for him, when Gunn and Wesley stop by. They tell him that if he wants to rescue people, Wolfram & Hart has resources that can help him. Spike declines the offer, saying Wolfram & Hart is the same evil law firm it has always been. At Eve's apartment, Lindsey reminds Eve if the [[Senior Partners]] find out what they're up to, they'll kill him. Eve assures him that thanks to his tattoos, they won't find him. Wesley and Gunn head back to Wolfram & Hart and tell Fred that Spike thinks they have sold out. Fred starts to go up to check on Angel, until Eve arrives, reminding her she is supposed to be testing the relic.
⚫
Later, the gang and Eve gather in Angel’s room and Wesley explains that the creature was a parasite which makes the host oblivious to its presence and causes hallucinations. If Spike hadn’t killed it, Angel might have been trapped in a vegetative state. Angel says Eve put the parasite on him - after Eve put the second parasite on him, she changed her clothes so that Angel wouldn’t remember her being there for real, but she didn’t change her earrings. He notes that Eve is playing her own game and wonders what the Senior Partners would say if they knew. Eve says that they’re all just blaming her for their problems when they should really be looking within the group. The group glares at her until she leaves.
  
   
  ⚫
Angel is dreaming of Lorne dressed Old West-style, playing "My Darling Clementine" on a piano in Angel's room. As Harmony (dressed like a ''Copacabana'' waitress) serves him a drink, Angel tells Lorne that everything hurts. "That's life," Lorne says, "everything hurts, and then we die," though in Angel's case, everything hurts and he lives forever. Lorne tells Angel to sing, but Angel could not. Nearby, Fred, who was at a table with Wesley and Gunn, says, "I told you he was empty." Lorne tells Angel that the crowd is turning on him as Gunn snarls and hisses at Angel. Eve appears, noting that Angel is suffering. Lorne says that Angel still has something on his shirt, and Angel looks down to see the blue creature on his chest. He pulls it off, wakes up, and kills it. Eve tells him that he's still dreaming but it's almost over. She pulls a bigger blue creature out of the box she's holding and puts it on him. She watches while he struggles against it, then leaves. At Spike's apartment, Lindsey pretends to have a vision and tells Spike that he should take care of it.
⚫
==Production details==
  
−
This episode was directed by actor [[David Boreanaz]].
  
   
  ⚫
Angel sits in a chair in the middle of a sunny field as the gang approach him. "You can stay as long as you like," Wesley says. "Stay forever." Angel says he's not done with his job, but Wesley says that he can be if he wants to. Fred says that he'll be fine — he just has to stop caring. Suddenly, the four of them throw their heads back and scream. In Angel's room, Spike grabs the blue creature and kills it. "No need to thank me," he tells Angel. "Just helping the helpless."
⚫
The dream scenes in this episode were filmed at high speed and then slowed down in [[post-production]]. Boreanaz says, "It's pretty introspective of what's going on in Angel's mind...It's more of his perspective of what's going on, we don't know what's real and what's not real." The scene in which Fred performs surgery on Angel is done with a prosthetic torso;<ref name="DVDReview">[http://www.cityofangel.com/behindTheScenes/bts5/S5dvdReview.html ANGEL Season 5 DVD Collection REVIEW]</ref> [[Amy Acker]] says that scene was her personal "highlight of the season."
  
   
  ⚫
Later, the gang and Eve gather in Angel's room and Wesley explains that the creature was a parasite which makes the host oblivious to its presence and causes hallucinations. If Spike had not killed it, Angel might have been trapped in a vegetative state. Angel says Eve put the parasite on him — after Eve put the second parasite on him, she changed her clothes so that Angel wouldn't remember her being there for real, but she didn't change her earrings. He notes that Eve is playing her own game and wonders what the Senior Partners would say if they knew. Eve says that they're all just blaming her for their problems when they should really be looking within the group. The group glares at her until she leaves.
⚫
Boreanaz had just had reconstructive surgery on his left knee, which is why he spends most of this episode immobilized in bed.<ref name="DVDReview" />
  
   
−
===Acting===
 +
==Continuity==
  +
*Spike's storyline deliberately parallels Angel's storyline in the season 1 premiere "[[City Of]]".
⚫
Although Angel dreams about Buffy, the actress who portrays her is not [[Sarah Michelle Gellar]]. The dialogue is snippets taken from the ''Buffy'' episode "[[The Prom]]".
 
  +
*Spike met the real Doyle when he visited Los Angeles to retrieve the [[Gem of Amara]], but never actually learned his name, allowing Lindsey's ruse to work ("[[In the Dark]]").
  +
*Lindsey dresses in clothes resembling Doyle's when posing as him.
  +
*Angel dreams about becoming the new Wolfram & Hart mailman, much like when [[Número Cinco]] stopped being a hero ("[[The Cautionary Tale of Numero Cinco]]").
   
−
====Main cast====
 +
==Appearances==
  +
===Individuals===
−
*[[David Boreanaz]] as [[Angel]]
  
  +
*[[Angel]]
−
*[[James Marsters]] as [[Spike]]
  
  +
*[[Bear]] {{OV}}
−
*[[J. August Richards]] as [[Charles Gunn]]
  
  +
*[[Blue Fairy]] {{OV}}
−
*[[Amy Acker]] as [[Winifred Burkle]]
 +
*[[Winifred Burkle]]
−
*[[Andy Hallett]] as [[Lorne]]
  
  +
*[[Krevlornswath of the Deathwok Clan]]
⚫
*[[Alexis Denisof]] as [[Wesley Wyndam-Pryce]]
  
  +
*[[Lucien Drake]] {{Om}}
  +
*[[Allen Francis Doyle]] {{Om}}
  ⚫
*[[Eve (Wolfram & Hart)|Eve]]
  +
*[[Charles Gunn]]
  ⚫
*[[Harmony Kendall]]
  +
*[[Lindsey McDonald]]
  +
*[[Lana]]
  +
*[[Spike]]
  +
*[[Buffy Summers]] {{OV}}
  +
*[[Sunshine]]
  ⚫
*[[Wesley Wyndam-Pryce]]
  +
===Organizations and titles===
  +
*[[Child of the Senior Partners]]
  +
*[[Senior Partners]]
  +
*[[Warlock]] {{Om}}
  +
*[[Wolfram & Hart]]
  +
===Species===
  +
*[[Fairy]] {{OV}}
  +
*[[Human]]
  +
*[[Selminth parasite]]
  +
*[[Unicorn]] <small>(Only as figurine)</small>
  +
*[[Vampire]]
  +
===Events===
  +
*[[Apocalypse]] {{OV}}
  +
===Locations===
  +
*Los Angeles
  +
**[[Lindsey McDonald's third apartment]]
  +
**[[Peppermint Stick]]
  +
**[[Spike's apartment]]
  +
**[[Wolfram & Hart Los Angeles branch]]
  +
===Weapons and objects===
  +
*[[The Amulet]] {{Om}}
  +
*[[Cup of Perpetual Torment]] {{OV}}
  +
*[[Stake]]
  +
**[[Stake bracers]]
  +
===Rituals and spells===
  +
*[[Enochian protection runes]]
  +
*[[Shanshu Prophecy]] {{OV}}
   
−
====Guest stars====
 +
==Death count==
  +
*Angel, burned (in his dream).
⚫
*[[Sarah Thompson]] as [[Eve (Wolfram & Hart)|Eve]]
  
  +
*Three vampires, staked by Spike.
⚫
*[[Mercedes McNab]] as [[Harmony Kendall]]
  
  +
*Angel, dusted by Wesley (in his dream).
−
*[[Christian Kane]] as [[Lindsey McDonald]] (uncredited)
  
  +
*A Selminth parasite, killed by Angel.
  +
*A Selminth parasite, killed by Spike.
   
  +
==Behind the scenes==
−
====Co-stars====
  
  +
[[File:510a - Soul Purpose|thumb|Soul Purpose - TV Promo]]
−
*[[Ciara Hughes]] as Blue Fairy
  
  +
−
*[[Rob Evors]] as Man
  
  ⚫
===Production===
−
*[[Jodi Harris]] as Woman
  
  ⚫
*The dream scenes in this episode were filmed at high speed and then slowed down in post-production. Boreanaz said, "It's pretty introspective of what's going on in Angel's mind... It's more of his perspective of what's going on, we don't know what's real and what's not real." The scene in which Fred, with the help of a bear, performs surgery on Angel is done with a prosthetic torso;<ref name="DVDReview">[http://www.cityofangel.com/behindTheScenes/bts5/S5dvdReview.html ANGEL Season 5 DVD Collection REVIEW]</ref>
−
*[[Carmen Nicole]] as Lana
  
  ⚫
*Boreanaz had just had reconstructive surgery on his left knee, which is why Angel spent most of this episode immobilized in bed.<ref name="DVDReview" />
  ⚫
*Although Angel dreamed about Buffy, the actress who portrayed her is not [[Sarah Michelle Gellar]]. The dialogue was taken from the ''Buffy'' episode "[[The Prom]]".
  +
*It was rumoured that one of the strippers who was entertaining Spike was intended to be [[Kate Lockley]] but Elisabeth Rohm was too busy appearing in ''Law & Order'' to make a cameo.{{cite}}
  +
  +
===Pop culture references===
  +
*In Angel's dream, Fred pulls a license plate out of Angel's stomach, a direct reference to the movie ''[[Wikipedia:Jaws (film)|Jaws]]''.
  +
*In the dream, Spike is made human by a blue fairy, a reference to ''[[Wikipedia:Pinocchio (1940 film)|Pinocchio]]'' and the puppet being turned into a real boy.
  +
*When Wesley and Gunn try to recruit Spike to work for Wolfram & Hart to use their resources to fight for good, Spike calls Wesley "Mr. Vader," a reference to ''[[Wikipedia:Star Wars|Star Wars]]'' villain [[Wikipedia:Darth Vader|Darth Vader]], who made a similar pitch in ''[[Wikipedia:Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back|The Empire Strikes Back]]'' (1980).
  +
*When Wesley and Gunn visit Spike, he refers to them as Crocket and Tubbs, a reference to ''Miami Vice''.
  +
*"He hasn't sewn a big red 's' on his chest yet." Lindsey discusses Spike's vigilante crusade by equating him to [[Wikipedia:Superman|Superman]].
  +
  +
===Music===
  +
*[[Robert J. Kral]] — original score
  +
  +
===International titles===
  +
*'''Czech:''' "Význam duše" (Soul Purpose)
  +
*'''Finnish:''' "Angelin päiväunet" (Angel's Day Sleep)
  +
*'''French:''' "Cauchemars" (Nightmares)
  +
*'''German:''' "Der Parasit" (The Parasite)
  +
*'''Hungarian:''' "Hallucinációk" (Hallucinations)
  +
*'''Italian:''' "Lo Scopo di un'Anima" (The Purpose of a Soul)
  +
*'''Portuguese (Brazil):''' "Objetivo Interior" (Interior Objective)
  +
*'''Russian:''' "Предназначение души" (Soul Purpose)
  +
*'''Spanish (Latin America):''' "El Propósito del Alma" (The Purpose of the Soul)
  +
*'''Spanish (Spain):''' "Propósito de Enmienda" (Amendment Purpose)
  +
  +
==Gallery==
  +
===Promotional stills===
  +
<gallery widths="100" spacing="small" orientation="portrait">
  +
Soul Purpose Angel 01.jpg
  +
Soul Purpose Angel 02.jpg
  +
Soul Purpose Lorne Gunn Wesley Fred Angel 01.jpg
  +
Soul Purpose Fred 02.jpg
  +
Soul Purpose Fred 01.jpg
  +
Soul Purpose Wesley.jpg
  +
Soul Purpose Lorne.jpg
  +
Soul Purpose Angel Fred.jpg
  +
Soul Purpose Lorne Gunn Wesley Fred Angel.jpg
  +
Soul Purpose Lorne Gunn Wesley Fred Angel 02.jpg
  +
</gallery>
  +
  +
==References==
  +
{{References}}
  +
  +
[[de:Der Parasit]]
  +
[[nl:Soul Purpose]]
   
 
[[Category:Angel episodes]]
  
[[Category:Angel episodes]]
  +
[[Category:Angel Season 5]]

Revision as of 02:44, 21 October 2019

"Soul Purpose" is the tenth episode of the fifth season of Angel and the ninety-eighth episode overall. Written by Brent Fletcher and Elizabeth Craft and directed by David Boreanaz, it originally broadcast on January 21, 2004 on The WB network.

Synopsis

DAVID BOREANAZ MAKES HIS DIRECTORIAL DEBUT — A mysterious stranger approaches Spike claiming responsibility for recorporealizing him in a mission to guide Spike in supplanting Angel as the new vampire champion. Meanwhile, Angel is racked by intense fever dreams and hallucinations of his worst fears intensifying his worries that he will lose authority to Spike.[1]

Summary

Angel has lost his fight against Spike, who is to drink from the Cup of Perpetual Torment. However this time, the cup isn't a fake, and radiance shines down on Spike as he achieves the Shanshu Prophecy and is restored to life. The same light then incinerates Angel. This is revealed to be Angel's dream, as he wakes up in his office shaken.

Lindsey approaches Spike at a strip club, implying he was responsible for Spike's return from the dead and his subsequent return to corporeality. Introducing himself as Doyle, Lindsey claims he has visions of people in trouble and that he had a vision of a girl who's about to get attacked in an alley. Spike tells him to go to Angel instead, but "Doyle" says that Angel is "working the other side of the tracks" now. Spike saves the girl, after which Lindsey suggests that Spike may be the new champion of The Powers That Be. The next night, Spike saves a couple from vampires, telling them, "I'm the hero."

Meanwhile at Wolfram & Hart, Wesley and Gunn present Angel with possible solutions to deal with an evil warlock, but Angel — weary of the "gray area" of morality in which he constantly finds himself — announces: "Let's kill them all." He then says that he's just tired and the others tell him to go get some sleep.

In Angel's dream, Fred says, "Let's take a look under the hood." She cuts open Angel's chest and starts pulling out his internal organs, including his "dried-up little walnut" of a heart. Fred also pulls out a strand of beads (which she puts on), some raisins (which she eats), and a license plate. She pulls out a fishbowl, calling the dead goldfish inside Angel's soul, and says that they'll have to flush it and hands it to the bear standing next to her. Fred turns back to Angel and tells him that she can't find anything wrong with him except that he's empty.

The next morning, Eve gives Wesley a fragment of a relic, saying the Senior Partners want to know what it is. Gunn arrives and announces that a vampire matching Spike's description has been out on the streets, saving people.

Meanwhile, Angel is dreaming that Spike and Buffy are having sex on his bed. He wakes up and goes downstairs, where Gunn tells him to hurry or he will "miss it." Angel joins the group of people in his office, staring out the windows at Los Angeles as it burns. Angel realizes what's going on and heads towards the windows. "You're blocking the apocalypse," Harmony tells him. Wesley assures Angel that Spike will take care of it. Lorne suggests that Angel change his clothes, since there's something on his shirt. Angel looks down to see a bloody stake sticking out of his heart. As Angel dreams in his room, a blue creature feeds off of his chest in the same spot as the stake in his dream. Fred holds out a cake with a picture of Los Angeles burning and the words "Way to go Spike!" written on it. Everyone sings, "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" and yells for Spike to give a speech. He talks about fulfilling his destiny to turn Los Angeles into utopia. A blue fairy floats in and sprinkles gold dust on Spike, making his heart beat again. As everyone cheers for Spike, Angel is suddenly a man staffing the mail cart.

In reality, Spike is at the spartan basement apartment that Lindsey provided for him, when Gunn and Wesley stop by. They tell him that if he wants to rescue people, Wolfram & Hart has resources that can help him. Spike declines the offer, saying Wolfram & Hart is the same evil law firm it has always been. At Eve's apartment, Lindsey reminds Eve if the Senior Partners find out what they're up to, they'll kill him. Eve assures him that thanks to his tattoos, they won't find him. Wesley and Gunn head back to Wolfram & Hart and tell Fred that Spike thinks they have sold out. Fred starts to go up to check on Angel, until Eve arrives, reminding her she is supposed to be testing the relic.

Angel is dreaming of Lorne dressed Old West-style, playing "My Darling Clementine" on a piano in Angel's room. As Harmony (dressed like a Copacabana waitress) serves him a drink, Angel tells Lorne that everything hurts. "That's life," Lorne says, "everything hurts, and then we die," though in Angel's case, everything hurts and he lives forever. Lorne tells Angel to sing, but Angel could not. Nearby, Fred, who was at a table with Wesley and Gunn, says, "I told you he was empty." Lorne tells Angel that the crowd is turning on him as Gunn snarls and hisses at Angel. Eve appears, noting that Angel is suffering. Lorne says that Angel still has something on his shirt, and Angel looks down to see the blue creature on his chest. He pulls it off, wakes up, and kills it. Eve tells him that he's still dreaming but it's almost over. She pulls a bigger blue creature out of the box she's holding and puts it on him. She watches while he struggles against it, then leaves. At Spike's apartment, Lindsey pretends to have a vision and tells Spike that he should take care of it.

Angel sits in a chair in the middle of a sunny field as the gang approach him. "You can stay as long as you like," Wesley says. "Stay forever." Angel says he's not done with his job, but Wesley says that he can be if he wants to. Fred says that he'll be fine — he just has to stop caring. Suddenly, the four of them throw their heads back and scream. In Angel's room, Spike grabs the blue creature and kills it. "No need to thank me," he tells Angel. "Just helping the helpless."

Later, the gang and Eve gather in Angel's room and Wesley explains that the creature was a parasite which makes the host oblivious to its presence and causes hallucinations. If Spike had not killed it, Angel might have been trapped in a vegetative state. Angel says Eve put the parasite on him — after Eve put the second parasite on him, she changed her clothes so that Angel wouldn't remember her being there for real, but she didn't change her earrings. He notes that Eve is playing her own game and wonders what the Senior Partners would say if they knew. Eve says that they're all just blaming her for their problems when they should really be looking within the group. The group glares at her until she leaves.

Continuity

  • Spike's storyline deliberately parallels Angel's storyline in the season 1 premiere "City Of".
  • Spike met the real Doyle when he visited Los Angeles to retrieve the Gem of Amara, but never actually learned his name, allowing Lindsey's ruse to work ("In the Dark").
  • Lindsey dresses in clothes resembling Doyle's when posing as him.
  • Angel dreams about becoming the new Wolfram & Hart mailman, much like when Número Cinco stopped being a hero ("The Cautionary Tale of Numero Cinco").

Appearances

Individuals

Organizations and titles

Species

Events

Locations

Weapons and objects

Rituals and spells

Death count

  • Angel, burned (in his dream).
  • Three vampires, staked by Spike.
  • Angel, dusted by Wesley (in his dream).
  • A Selminth parasite, killed by Angel.
  • A Selminth parasite, killed by Spike.

Behind the scenes

510a_-_Soul_Purpose

510a - Soul Purpose

Soul Purpose - TV Promo

Production

  • The dream scenes in this episode were filmed at high speed and then slowed down in post-production. Boreanaz said, "It's pretty introspective of what's going on in Angel's mind... It's more of his perspective of what's going on, we don't know what's real and what's not real." The scene in which Fred, with the help of a bear, performs surgery on Angel is done with a prosthetic torso;[2]
  • Boreanaz had just had reconstructive surgery on his left knee, which is why Angel spent most of this episode immobilized in bed.[2]
  • Although Angel dreamed about Buffy, the actress who portrayed her is not Sarah Michelle Gellar. The dialogue was taken from the Buffy episode "The Prom".
  • It was rumoured that one of the strippers who was entertaining Spike was intended to be Kate Lockley but Elisabeth Rohm was too busy appearing in Law & Order to make a cameo.[citation needed]

Pop culture references

  • In Angel's dream, Fred pulls a license plate out of Angel's stomach, a direct reference to the movie Jaws.
  • In the dream, Spike is made human by a blue fairy, a reference to Pinocchio and the puppet being turned into a real boy.
  • When Wesley and Gunn try to recruit Spike to work for Wolfram & Hart to use their resources to fight for good, Spike calls Wesley "Mr. Vader," a reference to Star Wars villain Darth Vader, who made a similar pitch in The Empire Strikes Back (1980).
  • When Wesley and Gunn visit Spike, he refers to them as Crocket and Tubbs, a reference to Miami Vice.
  • "He hasn't sewn a big red 's' on his chest yet." Lindsey discusses Spike's vigilante crusade by equating him to Superman.

Music

International titles

  • Czech: "Význam duše" (Soul Purpose)
  • Finnish: "Angelin päiväunet" (Angel's Day Sleep)
  • French: "Cauchemars" (Nightmares)
  • German: "Der Parasit" (The Parasite)
  • Hungarian: "Hallucinációk" (Hallucinations)
  • Italian: "Lo Scopo di un'Anima" (The Purpose of a Soul)
  • Portuguese (Brazil): "Objetivo Interior" (Interior Objective)
  • Russian: "Предназначение души" (Soul Purpose)
  • Spanish (Latin America): "El Propósito del Alma" (The Purpose of the Soul)
  • Spanish (Spain): "Propósito de Enmienda" (Amendment Purpose)

Gallery

Promotional stills

References

  1. ↑ "Episode". TheWB.com. Archived from the original October 23, 2004.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 ANGEL Season 5 DVD Collection REVIEW
Deutsch Nederlands
Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.
More Fandoms