Episode 13, Season 2 Title: "Happy Anniversary" Teleplay by: David Greenwalt Story by: Joss Whedon & David Greenwalt Directed by: Bill Norton Original Air Date: February 6, 2001 Teaser "You gotta be all the time singing in here, am I right?" Angel is admiring the lights and life of the Los Angeles night from one of his rooms high above the city of his empty hotel. Cordelia and Wesley are cleaning up their new office. Wes wonders, "Angel Investigations without the Angel. Can we do it?" Cordy is enthusiastic and hopeful as Gunn walks in with flyers in his hand, minus a hundred that he left behind on windshields within a block. The phone still doesn't work and Wes's attempt to help manages to cut out the lights and the three are in darkness. e alome to the new Angel Investigations without the Angel. The sun rises and Angel heads to bed, but in the next second he wakes to the sound of the Star Spangled Banner??? The Host is downstairs singing his heart out loving the acoustics provided by the tall ceilings of the Hyperion Hotel. Angel is upset, but before he can pull out his fangs The Host interrupts without missing a beat: "Tomorrow night, the world is going to end-thought you might wanna know." Angel isn't amused one bit. Act I "All by myself..." In the empty lobby of the Hyperion, Angel shows no concern for The Host shattering statement. The Host knows better than to chastise and he begins to recall the night's events: "The world ending? It's kinda of a funny story. I'm at the club last night fairly typical Wednesday night. . . ." A demon was singing and Elian ruined The Host Seabreeze again. He's still suffering over the loss of Ramon. The next singer steps up on stage. Nothing ordinary about him and begins to sing "All By Myself." The Host hears him sing and it knocks him out – literally, on the floor. When The Host came to again, the guy was gone, but The Host explains to Angel the crux of his point for coming: "He has no future after ten o'clock tomorrow night and neither does anybody else." Angel isn't enthused about any of this, not a single iota. The Host came to him because Angel is supposed to be a champion for good, but frankly Angel only looks bored with the story. Angel is still a bit upset, ever since the trials, and The Host has fallen into his bad graces. The Host wants Angel to join the investigative band wagon and he jumps on reluctantly. They both deduce that the poor chap may not have visited Caritas Karaoke bar to get a reading, only to sing his lonely heart out, which would explain why he left without talking to The Host. They decide to check out other Karaoke bars to get a lead. The Host sarcastically adds, "That's if you're not too busy getting lawyers killed and setting girls on fire." Angel is not enjoying The Host's sense of humor. In the University Physics Lab, the man in question is standing before a white board staring at a formula way too complicated to explain. Two research assistants, Val and Michael, are in the lab behind a glass watching their colleague, Gene, who is obviously the brains behind the research, tackle the formula that deals with a Time Paradox. He's interrupted by Val and explains his progress on the theory of freezing time. He's realized that he can't stop time for everyone but that it may be possible to stop a single moment in time, separating it from the rest of the world. "He's a demon. You better do what he says, or he might talk your ears off." He only needs to the find the correct formula. Gene walks to the lasers and shows Val that if he can create a focal point with the lasers, meaning a space that he can separate, and then use some drops of mercury to pass through that area; if the mercury freezes within that focal point then the experiment would prove that it is possible to freeze a moment in time from the rest of us. Denise, his girlfriend, a theatre major, interrupts their mind boggling conversation. We find that the following night is their one-year anniversary. Gene kisses Denise good-bye as she leaves with Val. Across town Angel and The Host walk into their seventeenth karaoke bar. The bartender is familiar with demons, so he's cool and fills them in on the regulars, mostly graduate students, especially one that fits the description for their guy. The bartender knows what he looks like, but he can't exactly draw them a picture, but he can think of one and The Host can read it from him, but he has to sing first. The bartender sings a few bars of "For He's A Jolly Good-fellow." The rotund barkeep gives him a puzzled look. With a sigh Angel informs the bartender turned key witness, "He's a demon. You better do what he says, or he might talk your ears off." He concedes and a few lyrics into the tune, The Host knows its their man. "... into nothingness it goes!" It's evening and the university campus is quiet, while at the lab the lights are on and Gene is hard at work. He makes a few changes to his whiteboard and then punches in the formula into the computer. He runs his experiment with the new calculations but the mercury falls through the laser, it failed. He steps out of the lab in frustration. Unbeknownst to him, behind some hydrogen tanks two Lubber demons walk out. One holds a staff with a red crystal on top. In a strange language he speaks, "He is the one. He does not know it, but he is the one." He continues as they walk to the whiteboard to admire Gene's handy work, "From nothingness the human pestilence came," and holds the staff in front of it. He waves his hand over it as he completes his words, "into nothingness it goes." A red glow surrounds the formula, changing it to the correct one. Act II "I got distracted by your waves of desperation." At the new office of Angel Investigations, Cordy is trying to make the best of things, even without electricity or phone or computer, but she has candles! She's not willing to give up just yet, unlike Wes and Gunn who have and are simply seated staring into nothingness. But she knows the situation is hopeless and Wes offers, "Sometimes you need to wallow. Just let the depression settle in silently." She takes a seat next to the other glum faces as Virginia Bryce walks in with champagne for the celebration. She also brings a possible case opportunity. Virginia has a friend, Patty, whose family is having problems with a Wainakay demon. Basically, the case is to get rid of the demon, who has already taken the life one of the family members. The good news is that Patty's family is just as loaded as Virginia and they would be very grateful if someone could solve their problem. "We'll do it! We'll do anything!" Cordy yells out, much too enthusiastically, but the crew has their first case, so who cares? Thursday morning brings a new formula to Gene's whiteboard. He's stunned with the change and immediately tries the formula. The drops of mercury become suspended in the isolated area created by the laser beams. He jumps for joy and runs out of the lab to tell the girl he loves of the great news. Across the University, The Host and Angel arrive at the Reynolds Library. The Host stays behind hiding between bookshelves-his shade of green wouldn't be appreciated among the coed population. Angel goes to the reference desk and asks for all the yearbooks for the past five years. As they find a quiet spot to thumb through the yearbooks a Lubber demon's face pops through the shelves. Gene runs across campus and comes up behind Denise and Val chatting on some benches and he over hears her confession about their relationship to Val: "I just don't think it's going to work out with me and Gene." Val chastises Denise for waiting so long, especially with their one year anniversary that evening! Denise knows he has a special night planned. Denise plans to spend one last night with him and then break up. Gene walks away hearing her final words, "It's just not the kind of love that lasts." In a corner of the library, Angel and The Host are thumbing through the pics and find him. Gene Rainy is a graduate student in Physics, quite the Stephen Hawking actually. Angel returns to the reference desk to find the location of the lab, but the reference guy is a little wary and Angel quickly slaps on a smile and pretends to be Leonard Taubman of the Taubman Foundation looking to donate Grant money for Gene's research. The bad news is that it's a mile away from the library. The guy freaks out all of a sudden and Angel casually adds without peering behind him, "Don't worry he's the new school mascot!" But the 'school mascot' responds with a blow to the head – Angel's head. Angel goes down, and the Lubber demon continues to attack. Moments later a sad Gene returns to his lab. The mercury is still suspended as he gazes at a picture of Denise and him in one of their happy moments of their relationship. He turns to the mercury, frozen in time, and remarks, "So, I'll give her the kind of love that lasts." Act III "Are you listening?" "Do I have a choice?" In the middle of the library, the fight continues. The demon speaks to Angel in their language and The Host responds in their tongue. The demon does a simple attack and run, leaving quickly and The Host explains what the Lubber demon said: "You shall not stop the golden child. The one for whom we have waited." The Host is familiar with these demons and he explains that they are a fanatical sect that believe in a Messiah that will signfy the end of all human life. Their beliefs are part of a demon theology. The stakes are rising and both rush to the lab in the hopes of stopping Gene. At the same time, Gene is preparing setting up his equipment in the basement of his building for time stoppage as he softly sings, "All By Myself." Angel and The Host rush into the lab to find it empty of the equipment. Only Michael is there and Angel inquires about the experiment that Gene was working on. The assistant is stunned by The Host's appearance and Angel claims him as the school mascot for another university. Satisfied, Michael continues, "Time paradox. Accelerating specific particles out of our own signify and excised universe." Huh? Simply put, stopping time. As Michael continues to explain, we see Gene in his bedroom setting up mirrors that will reflect the beam to triangulate around the bed and would make that event disappear from normal reality. They would freeze while the rest of the world goes on or at least that's what Gene thinks because Michael also reveals that if the power is accelerated it can overflow and take over the whole world, freezing everyone else with them. Angel and The Host know where the equipment went and what Gene is planning to do. The Host and Angel drive across town to Gene's apartment. He uses this moment to talk to Angel about his current state of affairs and tries to find out what's going on with his dark moods. Like Angel's ex-employees, The Host doesn't condone what happened with the Wolfram & Hart lawyers. He points out, "Blood vengeance is a luxury of the lesser being." It's clear The Host wants to help Angel get back on his path of champion. Angel is listening but he's quiet and growing frustrated by the minute. Time is ticking away as Gene looks down at his watch after bringing the salad out and placing it on the table. He has it all planned, only Denise is missing. "I'm screwed. That's my problem. I can't win." Angel's frustration breaks through and he finally reveals what has been making him so "cranky." He finds it daunting that no one understands that "It's too much!" He wants a shot at redemption but he's come to the conclusion that nothing he does, no matter how many lives he saves, it is never going to be enough. Second, Wolfram & Hart are only making things harder for him. The odds are stacked up against him and he knows it and he hates it, but he is doing something about it. Angel is determined to find Darla, kill her and then continue with the firm. He feels he has no choice if he is to have a chance at redemption. The Host takes it all in and understands, except for the part of firing his staff. Angel realized that his crew, "couldn't do that. That's good, it means they're still human. It means they're better off being fired." The host tries to console him, but with his sense of humor it's not really working. Distracted by the conversation, Angel runs over a Lubber demon standing in the middle of the street. He jerks his 1968 Plymouth Belvedere GTX convertible into a screeching halt. It's an ambush as several Lubber demons step out ready to do anything to stop Angel from saving the world from time. In Gene's apartment there's a knock on the door. Denise is beautiful as Gene says, "Happy Anniversary," and she tentatively returns his smile. Act IV In the rich part of town, Gunn is taking out his axe from the Wainakay demon lying dead on the floor; however, the case isn't over yet as Wes proves. Our Brit detective is in Sherlock mode as he explains to Patty's family that the killer is not the true murderer responsible for Derek Bointon death. Apparently, inheritance is at stake, and while it's not the heir, Kevin, that is responsible, it is Aunt Helen. Kevin is impotent so there is no chance of having any future heirs, but most importantly only his Aunt Helen knew of Kevin's secret to keep him blackmailed and under her thumb. Before the aunty can haul outta there, Cordy stops her before everyone's stunned faces. Case is solved! While the crew is triumphant, Angel fights of the Lubber demons. The Host hits a really high note, delaying two oncoming Lubber demons long enough to kick one and punch the other. Angel and the Host manage to finish fast and rush off to Gene's apartment. Gene and Denise are having dinner. It is obvious that Denise is uncomfortable and is probably trying to find the right moment to break it off. Conversation is stale, and Denise decides to move things to the bedroom. Angel and The Host arrive quickly at Gene's apartment complex and the heavy presence of the Lubber demon's tips them off to the location of the equipment. Upstairs unknown to Denise, Gene has turned on the lasers in their most intimate moment of passion to create a focal point around the bed, successfully freezing time. Downstairs, a Lubber demon quickly punches in the necessary formula to make the experiment overtake the whole world. Angel breaks through a small window with a demon in tow. Angel rushes to disconnect the laser and succeeds from freezing the world in time. Unfortunately for Gene, time goes on and Denise finally gets to it, "Gene we have to talk." "Well, you know. Love, it's a fire." Moments later, Angel and The Host are speaking with Gene at his table. He now knows that demons exist and that he almost destroyed the world. Gene confesses, "I just didn't want her to leave." Angel can relate and understands, but his attempt at consoling Gene isn't working and The Host interrupts, "I can hold a note forever, but eventually that's just noise. It's the change we're listening for. . .that's what makes it music." It makes sense to Gene and to Angel. Gene goes to the kitchen for some beer. Angel finally realizes he was too tough on Wes, Cordy and Gunn. Back at the brand spanking new offices of Angel Investigations a big celebration is roaring amid candle lights and music courtesy of the grateful and deep pockets of the Bointon clan. Cordy is boogying away, even Wes' dancing has improved. She stops dancing as a potential customer walks into their soiree looking for Angel Investigations. Wes and Cordy quickly break away to welcome the man in obvious need of help. Gunn quickly joins them and the man asks which one of them is Angel. Wes breaks the awkward silence as he responds, "It's just a name." Angel Investigations without the 'Angel'--a new beginning indeed. Summary by Council member Raciella.

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