Angel/Recap/S02 E14 The Thin Dead Line

A group of zombie cops terrorize Anne's neighbourhood. Both Angel and his former friends investigate the events separately.

"Cordelia: The crook at the store said it was one of a kind! Big fibber!""
 * Affably Evil: Jackson, a drug dealer
 * Bald of Evil: Jackson
 * Beard of Evil: Jackson again
 * Blood Magic: Among his many magical items, Captain Atkinson uses entrails.
 * Chekhov's Gunman: The demon which appears as an eye in the back of one's head reappear in "Epiphany". Anne Steele will appear one last time in the Grand Finale "Not Fade Away".
 * Does This Remind You of Anything?: A large force of Caucasian police officers brutalize people of a poor neighbourhood predominantly occupied by Afroamericans and Latins.
 * Dresses the Same: Cordelia complains when she sees a girl at the youth centre wearing her blouse, unaware that Angel gave away her clothes to the shelter in "Blood Money".

"Telephone voice: "All circuits are busy. Please hang up and try your call again."
 * Enemy Mine / An Aesop: Averted; Jackson stops helping the minute the zombie cops are all dead.
 * Everything's Deader with Zombies
 * Eyes Do Not Belong There
 * Foreshadowing: Gunn's old crew resent the fact that he's left them for some demon detective agency. This becomes an issue in "That Old Gang of Mine".
 * For Inconvenience Press One: Cordelia is calling 911 as zombies are breaking down the door.

Cordy: "This is no time for circuits busy! So, don't tell me circuits are busy. If the circuits are busy -- get some new circuits now!""

"Merle: "Jesus, man! I mean, can't you, you know, knock?"
 * Friendship Moment: Between Gunn and Wes; averted with Angel.
 * Immune to Bullets
 * I'm Cold... So Cold...: Wesley after being shot. "Is anyone else cold?"
 * Neck Lift: Angel Perp Sweating Atkinson.
 * No Ontological Inertia: After the spell animating the zombies is broken, they revert into rotten corpses.
 * Night of the Living Mooks: The zombie cops, whose actions are controlled by Captain Atkinson, lay siege to Anne's shelter.
 * Losing Your Head: Angel is startled to have a cop continue to read him his Miranda Rights after he knocked his head off.
 * Punch-Punch-Punch Uh-Oh
 * Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Merle The Informant has gotten tired of everyone beating him for information and decides to leave.
 * Stealth Hi Bye: Played straight with Merle...

Angel: "You don't make that funny expression when I knock, or if you do I don't see it."


 * And subverted when Angel is watching Wesley and Gunn at the hospital, turns to make a discreet exit and finds himself face-to-face with Cordelia.

"Cordy: "Too bad it takes a gunshot wound to make you give a crap. Wesley doesn't need you right now. We don't need you. You walked away. Do us a favor and just stay away.""
 * Tempting Fate: "You can't expect evil to just walk through that door."
 * Undeathly Pallor: Wesley after being shot, and the zombie cops.
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist: Captain Atkinson. The 23rd Precinct had an extremely high crime rate.
 * What the Hell, Hero?: Cordelia to Angel, with her usual Brutal Honesty.