Angel/Recap/S04 E02 Ground State

Angel seeks a magical artifact that can help him locate Cordelia, but a professional thief with unusual powers is also planning to steal it.

"Look out! (punches guard) Tried to warn ya."
 * Apologetic Attacker: Gunn sneaking up on a guard.

"Lilah: And all this time, you're lying through your teeth. Wes is so apathetic. Wesley doesn't care.
 * Aloof Ally: Lilah calls Wesley on his supposed indifference to Angel's fate.

Wesley: I had to raise him. Angel is...necessary.

Lilah: For what?

Wesley: Fighting people like you. (leans in for a kiss)"

"Angel: It's a double-cross.
 * Bedsheet Ghost: Fred draws an adorable "Boo!" ghost on her flipchart, and is rather put out when Angel produces a detailed sketch of Cordelia.
 * Big Blackout: Gwen just takes over the security cameras -- Angel yanks out the cords from the same junction box, killing the lights.
 * Braids of Action: Gwen has a Lara Croft-style ponytail while carrying out her heist.
 * Bridal Carry: Angel carrying a gassed Gwen from the lift.
 * Celibate Hero: The opportunity for two characters who can't normally have sex to get some much-needed relief is averted because Angel thinks it would mean being unfaithful to Cordelia. Come on Angel, you're supposed to help the hopeless!
 * Captain Obvious: Thick bars trap them in the elevator, and Gwen's client appears on the other side.

Gwen: I'm not slow. I know it's—- Shut up!"

"Lilah: Look, Angel, I know you've been out of loop for a while, but I'm still evil. I don't do errands unless they're... (grins) evil errands."
 * The Caper
 * Card-Carrying Villain

"Fred: I am so sick of holding everything up around here. First Wesley leaves, then Angel, and Cordy. I-I'm sick of taking care of everything and paying bills and making peace and plans and keeping my chin up -— God, I am so sick of my chin being up!"
 * The Chains of Commanding: Angel mentions how Fred seems to have stepped into Cordy's Team Mom role, but Gunn's near-death causes her to start venting.

"Angel: A heist like this, I've done it a million times. (beat) OK, maybe twice, but I'm good at it, I swear.
 * Chekhov's Gunman: Gwen will reappear in "Long Day's Journey" and "Players".
 * Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Averted with Dinza, despite Wesley's warning. Played straight with Gwen's client, though he does have his reasons other than not wanting to pay her.
 * Classy Cat Burglar
 * Completely Missing the Point: Angel assuming Cordy must be happy in her Fluffy Cloud Heaven, when actually she's bored to tears.
 * Continuity Nod:

Gunn: Uh, you're not counting the time we stole the crazy-making death shroud that nearly killed us, right?"

"Gwen: Professionals are discreet, young lady. You, on the other hand, are a freak. A dangerous freak. Which is why I had them remodel the elevator you're standing in. More of a retrofit, really. Low-teched the whole thing with six inches of Plexiglas separating you from any available current. (Gwen goes for the bars, but they don't conduct) Tempered Lucite.
 * Assuming he isn't counting that one, the other two occasions were in "Blind Date" and BTVS "Choices".
 * Death Is a Slap on The Wrist: Averted -- Gunn is playing it lightly, then Fred breaks down in angry tears.
 * Death Trap / Deadly Gas

Angel: He's gonna seal us in and turn on the gas.

Gwen: (to Elliot) What are you, Lex Luthor?

Elliot: What do you think, I'm gonna stand here and duke it out with Electro Girl? No, don't worry. Uh, I'm told that the gas is very fast-acting. You'll be dead within... uh, whoops. Where does the time go?"

"Wes: I don't need to hear your evil plans.
 * Distant Prologue: Gwen as a young girl being dropped off a a private academy in Wisconsin in 1985.
 * The Exit Is That Way: Angel, Gunn, and Fred are breaking into the auction house. Fred has just explained the plan in detail. The men boldly head off, one to the left and one to the right... at which point Fred shouts "Guys!" Embarrassed, they switch directions.
 * Eye Open / Astronomic Zoom: Cordy looking down from Fluffy Cloud Heaven.
 * Foreshadowing: "We could have gone to Vegas." Which they do in the next episode. Dinza says she could keep Angel with her for eternity, "but you have so much more to lose."
 * Flashback Echo: Gwen Raiden electrocutes and kills Charles Gunn. She immediately flashes back to an event in her childhood in which she accidentally kills a boy she was making friends with. Shocked with herself, she revives Gunn within twenty seconds or so.
 * Flash Step: Dinza enjoys playing with Angel.
 * Foe Yay: Lilah and Wes, Angel and Gwen.

Lilah: No, it just turns you on, knowing I have 'em."

"Wesley: So, you finally heard about that?
 * Funny Aneurysm Moment: When Fred goes on an uncharacteristic rant about her increased responsibilities, Gunn jokes he doesn't know what kind of "alien female thing" has replaced her.
 * Immodest Orgasm: Lilah has discovered that Justine was being held prisoner in Wesley's apartment.

Lilah: I heard. (whispers in his ear, then nibbles it) I'm betting she heard a few things, too.

Wesley: The walls are soundproofed. Though she did call you "impossibly loud.""

"Gwen: I don't usually enjoy the hand-to-hand this much."
 * Interplay of Sex and Violence: The Gwen/Angel fight leads to them snogging when Gwen restarts Angel's heart while trying to zap him.

"Angel: What should I do, then? Send [Dinza] a gift? Sacrifice? (beat) Unholy fruit basket?"
 * Laser Hallway: Angel uses his aerosol spray to reveal the beams, only for Gwen to enter via the roof and bend the beams using her power.
 * The Last of These Is Not Like the Others

"Gunn: Hey baby, I liked your...ghost guy.
 * At the end of Gwen's Lock and Load Montage, her maid brings her a metal tube on a silver tray -- which contains her lipstick.
 * Lecture as Exposition: Fred keeps getting upstaged by Angel's intricate sketches.

Fred: I haven't slept, Charles."

"Cordelia: What are you? Deficient? Get me out of here!"
 * Lock and Load Montage: Gunn asks what type of equipment they'd need for the heist. Angel suggests repelling hooks, flashlights, aerosol spray -- all during a montage of these items being prepared. "What else?" Lockpicking tools, rope, a knife and...lipstick? Turns out it's Gwen gearing up for action.
 * MacGuffin: The Axis of Pythia, which Angel can use to find what dimension Cordelia is hiding.
 * Mandatory Line: Averted with Lorne, who doesn't appear.

"Gunn: Angel would've picked me up and Flash Gordon'ed me to the ER."
 * Magical Defibrillator
 * Mind Over Matter: Unhappy that the gang are packing up Cordelia's stuff as they can no longer afford the rent on her apartment, Phantom Dennis teleports her books back onto the shelf, causing Fred to lose her temper and shout at him that Cordy's not coming back.
 * N-Word Privileges / Berserk Button: Gwen says she's the only person who can call herself a freak.
 * The Nose Knows: Angel tries to pick up Cordelia's scent in her apartment, but mainly smells lemons from Fred's vigorous scrubbing. Later he smells Wesley's scent on Lilah.
 * Opera Gloves: Worn so Gwen can't touch anyone.
 * Perp Sweating: Angel says he beat the building plans out of a snitch who thought he was no longer around to do so.
 * Person as Verb

"Fred: We're still working on a plan, but so far, it involves being sent to prison and becoming somebody's bitch."
 * Power Glows: Angel using the Axis is shown via a golden glow under the door.
 * Prison Rape

"Fred: Please, let my cellmate be gentle."
 * Later during the break-in...

"Angel: So you're a freak. Boo-hoo. So what?
 * Put on a Bus: Phantom Dennis.
 * Quit Your Whining / Bait and Switch Comment

Gwen: Excuse me?

Angel: I think you've already figured out I'm not the poster-boy for normal. Sometimes, you gotta let go. [Punches Elliot]"

"Angel: Who are you?
 * Repeat After Me

Gwen: Who are you?

Angel: I asked you first.

Gwen: What are you, seven?

Angel: Tell me you're not here for the Axis.

Gwen: I'm not here for the Axis.

Angel: You're lying.

Gwen: I'm fibbing. It's lying, only classier."

"Gunn: I think my lungs (cough) have coffee."
 * Shadow Archetype: Anti-Hero Wesley now has his own demon-fighting team; it's not clear if they're ex-followers of Holtz.
 * Shock and Awe
 * So Much for Stealth: Adult!Gwen is first seen entering the restaurant to meet Elliot in a red leather Bare Your Midriff outfit with a Sexy Walk that makes every man in the room gape at her. Elliot is not impressed as he wanted a covert meeting. The chaos caused by Angel's clumsy attempt to steal the artifact only convinces him that Gwen isn't a professional, so he decides to have her killed instead of paying her.
 * Spy Catsuit / Cleavage Window: Gwen's stealing outfit.
 * Spit Take: When told the Axis of Pythia is being kept in an auction house, Gunn suggests just buying it, only to choke on his cup when told it's worth 33 million.

"Gwen: I'm exciting the subatomic particles with electrical energy and then bouncing 'em off each other before they hit ground state."
 * Stealth Hi Bye: Angel's still got it.
 * Star-Crossed Lovers: Angel and Cordy
 * Stripperiffic: Justified for a woman who Can't Have Sex Ever, so Male Gaze is the only sexual attention she can receive.
 * Title Drop: Though you could be excused for missing it.

"Angel: What are you?
 * Touch of Death
 * We Used to Be Friends: Angel tries making up with Wesley, but realising his true agenda Wes just hands over his file on Cordelia's disappearance and walks off.
 * Who Are You?

Gwen: I'm a freak."