Angel/Recap/S01 E19 Sanctuary

Angel attempts to save Faith's soul, but things are complicated by the unexpected arrival of Buffy. Meanwhile, Wolfram & Hart send another assassin after Faith and Angel, and the Council Special Ops Team arrives in Los Angeles and offer to have Wesley reinstated as a Watcher if he helps them take out Faith.

"Faith: "So, how does this work?"
 * Abuse Is Okay When Its Female On Male: Buffy tries to force her way past Angel to grab Faith, and when he blocks her she punches her ex. After he ignores the first blow Buffy tries to punch him again, but Angel blocks and punches her. Buffy is almost too shocked to speak, but he points out she threw the first punch, and she is stronger than him.
 * Agent Mulder: When Detective Kate Longley turns up at the apartment where Faith fought Angel, the detective in charge of the case realises she's there because everyone knows Kate has gone "Agent Scully" investigating cases involving the supernatural. Kate patiently explains that makes her more like Mulder, which only confuses him. "Scully was the chick, right?"
 * And This Is For: Wesley jabs Weatherby with the tranquilizer syringe, and then walks up to his doped face and punches it. "That's for calling me a ponce."
 * The Atoner: Faith
 * The Bad Guy Wins: After Angel has apparently taken sides with Faith against her Buffy says, "See? Faith wins again."
 * Bait and Switch Comment

Angel: There's no real simple answer to that. I won't lie to you and tell you it'll be easy. Because it won't be. Just because you've decided to change doesn't mean the world's ready for you to. Truth is, no matter how much you suffer, no matter how many good deeds you do to try to make up for the past, you may never balance out the cosmic scale. The only thing I can promise you is that you'll probably be haunted, and maybe for the rest of your life.

Faith: (indicates the microwave) So, how does this work?

Angel: Uh, power level, time, start."

"Faith: "You have no idea what it's like on the other side! Where nothing's in control, nothing makes sense! There is just pain and hate and nothing you do means anything!""
 * Death Glare: Buffy -- it's surprising Angel Investigations didn't burn to the ground.
 * Being Evil Sucks

"FAITH: It'd make things easier for you.
 * Big Damn Heroes: The helicopter gunner has Buffy dead to rights when Angel bursts through a skylight to grab the helicopter skid, throws out the gunner and forces the pilot to land. Watching from below, Buffy can only gape in amazement.
 * Big Damn Villains: The Council assassins try and take out both Buffy and Faith, just when the latter is about to let the former kill her.
 * Blatant Lies: The spec ops team claim they're going to take Faith back to England to be rehabilitated. Anyone seeing "Who Are You?" would know they've already received the Council's approval to kill Faith, as getting her out of the country is too difficult.
 * Book Ends: "Who Are You?" ends with Faith hiding in a boxcar looking lost; "Sanctuary" ends with Faith in prison looking like she's finally at peace.
 * Buffy and Faith face off on a rooftop, as in "Graduation Day", with hints that Faith was planning to take the same way down as last time.

BUFFY: Till you got bored with the whole guilt thing, decided to come back to shake things up?

FAITH: That's not gonna happen."

"Mercer: This is getting ridiculous. The first assassin kills the second assassin, sent to kill the first assassin, who didn't assassinate anyone until we hired the second assassin to assassinate the first assassin!"
 * Does This Remind You of Anything?: Another addiction metaphor.
 * Can't You Read the Sign?: Collins lights up in front of the NO SMOKING sign.
 * Ceiling Cling: The demon contract killer.
 * Chekhov's Skill: Wes throwing darts. Later he throws the Tranquilizer Dart into Weatherby's neck.
 * Continuity Nod: Buffy's anger over Angel helping Faith needs to be understood not only in the context of "Who Are You?", but also the BTVS episode "Enemies" where Faith went to Angel for help (also involving Last Second Chance and These Hands Have Killed) as a ploy to seduce him so he would turn evil. Buffy naturally assumes Faith is playing Angel this time as well.
 * Contract on the Hitman

"Angel: I once told you that you didn't have to go out in that darkness. Remember? That it was your choice. Well, you chose. You thought that you could just touch it. That you'd be okay. 5x5, right, Faith? But it swallowed you whole. So tell me -- how did you like it?""
 * Did They or Didn't They?: It's finally confirmed that Faith didn't have sex with Angel when they were trying to Honey Trap each other in "Enemies".
 * Dramatic Shattering: Faith knocks her glass off the chair when her face comes up on TV as a wanted murderer.
 * Evil Is Not a Toy

"Wesley: "Weatherby, listen to reason."
 * Face Heel Turn: The Council tries to get Wesley to perform one, helping them to kill Faith. He trusts Angel more than he trusts them however, and aids them escaping. Buffy does this for this episode, going to LA for purely selfish reasons and attacking who are the good guys in this show.
 * Fan Service: Another scene of Angel stepping out of the shower dripping wet.
 * Flashback Echo: To Faith killing the Deputy Mayor of Sunnydale, the event that set her on the path to evil.
 * The Fundamentalist: Weatherby

Weatherby: "Reason. A Watcher working for a vampire. It's perversion.""

"Faith: "Buffy... (Buffy whips around to face her) I'm sor__"
 * "Get Out of Jail Free" Card: Averted
 * Green-Eyed Monster: As seen in BTVS "Enemies" Buffy worries about Angel's Not So Different attraction to Faith, and she makes a point of mentioning her new boyfriend back in Sunnydale who -- unlike Angel -- she loves and trusts. This seems to tick Angel off and cause him to become a green eyed monster himself, as he tells Buffy she's no longer welcome in LA.
 * Guns Akimbo: Faced by both Wesley and Angel, Weatherby has an Uzi in one hand and a pistol crossbow in the other.
 * Heel Face Turn: Angel gets Faith to perform one, and the assassination bid is enough for Wesley to be fully on board with Angel, putting aside his misgivings about Faith.
 * Hell-Bent for Leather: The spec ops team all wear black leather jackets. Faith still has her Black Leather Pants of Evil, but wears the Brown Leather Jacket of Moral Ambiguity towards the end.
 * Hero Antagonist: Buffy is the villain in this episode, as Angel wants to save Faith and Buffy wants to kill her.
 * Buffy makes it clear that she wants Faith to go to jail, but as Angel notes it's touch and go.
 * I'll Kill You!

Buffy: "Apologize to me and I will beat you to death."

Faith: (quietly) "Go ahead.""

"Kate: "I think you're gonna like the cell we have for you, Angel. It faces east. It'll give you a great view of the sunrise in about four hours.""
 * Indulgent Fantasy Segue: Faith imagines stabbing Angel in the face.
 * In Love with the Mark: Wolfram & Hart assume this has happened when they discover Faith spent the night at Angel's place without killing him, especially given rumors that Angel used to date a vampire slayer.
 * It's All About Me: Buffy doesn't take Angel's wishes, or what Faith did to him into account. Nor is what Faith did to her friends brought up. She wants Faith dead because of the body swap.
 * I Want Them Alive: Averted; when briefing the next assassin Lindsey stresses that they just want Faith dead -- "no slow and painful death". Lee Mercer however mutters that "some pain would be good".
 * Jabba Table Manners: Lilah is preparing a coffee tray for someone she's talking to off-screen, whom we don't see until a four-eyed demon contract killer throws itself on the sugar bowl and messily devours the contents.
 * Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique: When Angel refuses to tell Kate where Faith is.

"Angel: "It's not what you think."
 * Jerkass Has a Point: Look at the things Faith has done. It's a Long List. Buffy and Wesley are pretty justified in wanting Faith dead, but Angel thinks trying to reform her is better.
 * Jumping Off the Slippery Slope: Angel knows the evil things Faith had done, perhaps even more than Buffy as he had witnessed at least Faith's attempted rape and murder of Xander and it's never shown he shares this. Despite this he offers Faith sanctuary when she is so disgusted at how evil she had become she wants Angel to kill her. Buffy on the other hand is more than happy to honor that request, enraged at what Faith had done and enraged that Angel wants to reform her.
 * Mathematician's Answer: After Buffy storms off, Wesley asks Angel if he wants to go after her. Angel replies "Yes", and doesn't move.
 * More Dakka: After the fiasco in Sunnydale the spec ops team have upgraded from pistols to automatic weapons and a helicopter.
 * Not Big Enough for the Two of Us
 * Nothing Is the Same Anymore: Lampshaded by Joss Whedon in writing the Buffy/Angel fight scene -- while not Ship Sinking, it does establish the two Star-Crossed Lovers have moved on with their lives and are two different people, just as Angel has now forged a separate identity from its parent series.
 * Not So Stoic: Angry of how Buffy refuses to understand why he's helping Faith (not to mention talking about her great new boyfriend) Angel blows his stack and tells Buffy that she's not part of his life any more and to get the hell out of his city. Afterwards he punches the wall and mutters, "For a taciturn, shadowy guy - I've got a big mouth."
 * Not What It Looks Like: Buffy arrives just in time to see Angel (with his shirt unbuttoned having just come out of the shower) giving Faith a Cooldown Hug.

Buffy: "You actually think that I can form a thought right now? Giles heard that -- that she tried to kill you."

Angel: "That's true."

Buffy: "So you decided to punish her with a severe cuddling.""

"Buffy: I have a right to vengeance.
 * Oh Crap: Angel and likely the viewer have this reaction, when looking up from comforting Faith to see Buffy, clearly enraged.
 * Buffy tells Faith they should escape an SMG-toting Collins by Roof Hopping to the next building. As they run for the edge, a helicopter lifts up over the roof and starts firing on them.
 * Obstructive Bureaucrat: The spec ops team gripe that they're made to fly coach even though the Council has alchemists on the board of directors (presumably turning lead into gold).
 * Persona Non Grata:

Angel: Not in my city."

"Lilah: That was species-ist of me. I apologize."
 * Political Correctness Gone Mad: When Lilah uses the phrase "handshake deal" when bartering with an insectoid assassin, Lindsey quickly jumps in to emphasize that she meant metaphorical hands.

"Angel: "I understand what you're going through, and I want to help, but there are a few things you have to do. First...I need you to give me that knife."
 * Pragmatic Villainy: Every attempt at killing Angel or Faith having failed, Lindsey decides to turn to the law and gives Faith's whereabouts to Kate.
 * Professional Killers: The Council Operations Team.
 * Redemption Earns Life: What Angel is pushing for.
 * Redemption Equals Death: As Faith couldn't get Angel to kill her she is prepared to let Buffy do it. Angel's having none of it though.
 * Required Spinoff Crossover: Angel returns to Sunnydale to apologize to Buffy in "The Yoko Factor".
 * Reveal Shot: Happens twice with the Wolfram & Hart lawyers talking to someone off-screen -- first Lee Mercer with a neck brace and wired jaw, later the demon assassin.
 * Also this scene:

(Camera pans down to reveal that Faith is holding a large butcher knife)"

""Won't she have trouble enjoying delicious jelly donuts if she is -- one assumes -- Bound and Gagged?""
 * Revenge: Wesley wants revenge for being tortured, Lee Mercer wants revenge for Faith beating him into a neck brace, Kate wants revenge for her father being killed by vampires, Buffy wants revenge for Faith's Grand Theft Me (particularly sleeping with Riley), and the spec ops team want payback for Faith making them look like pillocks -- ironically it's actually Buffy-in-Faith's-body who did that.
 * Sarcasm Mode: Wesley's recent torture brings out the snarker in him.

"Collins: "That was a nasty business back in Sunnydale, but nobody blames you."

Wesley: "Really. Because I rather got the impression they did when they sacked me.""

"Angel: "She's not gonna run, Buffy."
 * Save the Villain: Buffy instinctively pulls Faith to cover when Collins opens fire on them.
 * Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Cordelia sees no point in hanging around just because her boss is stupid enough to keep an unrestrained psychopathic Slayer in the same basement where he keeps "three tons of medieval weaponry".
 * Stockholm Shnozzing: Angel describes Faith's attempt to kill him as "a cry for help". Buffy replies that a cry for help is when you shout "help" in a loud voice.

Buffy: "Well, why would she, when she has her brave knight to protect her? Got you. Does she cry? Pouty lips, heaving bosom?""

"Angel: Not to go all schoolyard on you, but you hit me first. And in case you've forgotten you're a little bit stronger than I am."
 * Suicide By Slayer: After Faith couldn't get Angel to kill her she's fairly happy that Buffy's showed up to do it. Angel's not about to let her.
 * Superman Stays Out of Gotham: At the end of the episode Angel exiles Buffy from Los Angeles, and she doesn't return for the rest of the series.
 * Surprise Vehicle: Though we do hear the helicopter approaching earlier.
 * Tempting Fate: Angel tells Faith she's safe just before a demon hitman drops off the ceiling to attack them.
 * Before departing L.A., Buffy makes a passing laceration at Angel by comparing to her new boyfriend (Riley), whom she "knows" and "trusts". As she discovers in "The Yoko Factor" and "Into the Woods", she doesn't know the real Riley very well at all.
 * There Is Only One Bed: Cordelia notes incredulously that Angel let Faith have his bed.
 * These Hands Have Killed: Faith drops the knife in shock after seeing the demon assassin's blood on her hands.
 * We Need a Distraction: Cordy gets Angel to sign off on a paid vacation for her while he's busy justifying his actions with Faith.
 * What the Hell, Hero?: Wesley, Cordelia and especially Buffy have this reaction when Angel won't kill Faith. The Council have this reaction with Wesley insisting that Angel not be killed, which shuts down a teased Face Heel Turn. Angel has this reaction to Buffy wanting to kill Faith, and Buffy has this reaction for Angel trying to save Faith, defending himself when she attacks him, and when he tells her she's not welcome in LA.
 * Wild Card: Wesley
 * Would Hit a Girl: Angel decks Buffy in the face in an effort to keep her from running upstairs after Faith.


 * You Said You Would Let Them Go: Wesley insists that he'll only go along with the spec ops team if Angel isn't harmed. Collins agrees, but Wesley isn't stupid enough to trust his word and is just playing along until he can warn Angel.