History Recap / AngelS01E01CityOf

Having left Sunnydale and his true love behind, we pick up with our hero where we previously left off: a depressed, lonely Angel [[DrowningMySorrows getting hammered in a bar]]. After saving some pool-playing women from their dates (who turn out to be vampires, natch), a sullen Angel returns to his underground lair beneath an office complex. A man appears behind him, complimenting the "[[{{Batman}} batcave]]" decorum. This fellow is Doyle, a [[MagicalNegro magical Irishman]] sent by the PowersThatBe. Doyle's here to enlist Angel in the good fight. Angel retorts that he's got it covered. Doyle warns that Angel is so cut off from humanity that his demon-slaying will only lead to apathy towards people. Furthermore, unless Angel does something to remedy this, he'll start to prey on humans again. Doyle hands Angel a note regarding his latest vision, that of a waitress in imminent peril. Angel agrees to look into it.

* HardWorkMontage: Angel skimming the internet inside the L.A. Public Library. The library was intended to be a frequent location on ''Angel'' (a possible nod at ''Buffy'', in which the Scoobies convene regularly in the school's library). Tons of stock footage of Angel accessing computers and books was shot, but they were only ever used for this episode.

* NothingUpMySleeve: Angel has a pair of retractable stakes up his sleeves.

** We see Angel pulling a FlashStep in later episodes, so this would appear to be the case.

* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Having apparently grown accustomed to Russell's habits, his lawyer's already on top of Tina's conspicuous death: Lindsey has paid witnesses ready to report that they saw a "[[{{Profiling}} dark-complected man]]" fleeing the scene. No shortage of those!

** Seconded by Cordelia, who turns to Russell and asks, "You don't know who he is, do you? Oh ''boy!'' [[LampshadeHanging You're about to get your ass kicked!]]"

** Daniel Dae Kim (Gavin Park), Sam Anderson (Holland Manners), and Marc Vann (Dr. Sparrow) all appeared on ''Angel'' as employees of Wolfram & Hart later in the series, and also went on to portray characters on ''Lost'' -- Kim and Anderson playing regulars, and Vann playing a recurring character (again a Doctor).

* HypocriticalHumor: As Angel and Doyle leave a liquor store, Doyle continues his Jimminy Cricket act. He tells Angel, "It's about reaching out to people, showing them that there's love and hope still left in this world." In the midst of this, a homeless lady asks Doyle for spare change and without missing a beat he responds, "Get a job, you lazy sow!"

* ChekhovsGunman: Lindsey becomes a major character over the course of the

* FalseReassurance: The scene between Tina and Russell exemplifies his ability to snare and control others. He goes from staring down Tina's revolver (admittedly not a health hazard for vampires, but still) to consoling her, claiming that he bought Denise a ticket home and that he will do the same for her. As Russell works his magic, Tina breaks down and cries.

* FridgeLogic: The incongruity of [[FridgeLogic a vampire surrounding himself with sunny windows]] was addressed much later in S4 ("Home"), in which Lilah Morgan revealed that Wolfram & Hart encased its building in "necro-tempered glass" that filters out the sun's rays.

* GoodIsNotNice: At the same time as he is swilling alcohol, Angel he is watching a group of men playing pool with some women. They leave with the girls, and Angel silently shadows them. Hey, wait a minute! [[CaptainObvious He's not really drunk at all!]] Outside the bar, the trio reveal themselves as vampires, but Angel swoops to the rescue. One of the girls tries to thank him, but Angel glimpses the blood on her forehead and snarls at them, "Get away from me."
* HardWorkMontage: Angel skimming the internet inside the L.A. Public Library.
** The library was intended to be a frequent location on ''Angel'' (a possible nod at ''Buffy'', in which the Scoobies convene regularly in the school's library). Tons of stock footage of Angel accessing computers and books was shot, but they were only ever used for this episode.

* HopeSpot: When Russell bites Tina, the camera immediately switches to Angel in hot pursuit. Given the unspecified time between then and now, the narrative tricks the viewer into expecting Angel to rescue Tina just in time. As it so happens, he barges into her apartment long after Tina is dead, and Russell flown the coop.
* HypocriticalHumor: As Angel and Doyle leave a liquor store, Doyle continues his Jiminy Cricket act. He tells Angel, "It's about reaching out to people, showing them that there's love and hope still left in this world." In the midst of this, a homeless lady asks Doyle for spare change and without missing a beat he responds, "Get a job, you lazy sow!"

* BattleDiscretionShot: As Angel and Tina step out of a hotel elevator, two men grab Angel and pull him back into the elevator just as the doors close, while Stacy and his associate drag Tina away. When the elevator doors re-open, Angel is standing over the unconscious bodies of his assailants

* CallBack: Doyle says Angel needs to stop being a recluse. He also says that because Angel drank Buffy's blood back in the ''Buffy'' Season Three finale ("Graduation Day, Pt. 2") Angel has a renewed craving for human blood, and eventually he will feed off the people he's trying to rescue.
** Cordelia greets Angel at Margo's party by asking if he's still "Grrr," then asks to verify that Angel is not there "to bite anybody." Cordelia became aware that Angel is vampire in ''Buffy'' S2 ("[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS2E6Halloween Halloween]]"), and has tangled with his alter-ego Angelus (who was very "Grrr", indeed) on more than one occasion.
** Cordy also provides her backstory for those coming in late. In summary: Her parents were rich, they didn't pay taxes, the IRS got miffed, now she's broke. (''Buffy'', "The Prom")

* ChekhovsGunman

* PreviouslyOn: For the uninitiated viewers out there, Doyle offers to tell Angel a "bedtime story" and recaps Angel's entire past. We see a montage of short clips of Angel's life from Europe to Sunnydale.
** ToMakeALongStoryShort

* ThereAreNoGoodExecutives / VampiresAreRich: Russell is vaguely referred to as "that investment guy", but he evidentially has fingers in alot of pies. Tina says he's a depraved killer, and that he picks people with no family and no one to care.
** The latter trope is subverted with Angel, presumably because while VampiresAreRich, private eyes are expected to be poor.
-->'''Cordelia:''' You're not exactly rolling in it Mr. I-was-alive-for-200-years-and-never-developed-an-investment-portfolio.

* OnceUponATime: Doyle bringing the non-''{{Buffy}}''-watching audience up to speed.

->''{{Los Angeles}}. You see it at night, and it shines. It's a beacon. People are drawn to it. --People, and'' other things. ''They come for all sorts of reasons.'' My ''reason? No surprise there: it started with [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer a girl]]...''

Things go awry when Tina sees the slip of paper on which Doyle wrote her name. She flees upstairs, and when Angel tries to intervene, his hand bursts into flame from a ray of sunlight and he vamps out. Tina wails and runs outside, while Angel can only watch. Tina races to her apartment and starts packing, but Russell is lying in wait. He's interested to know who was with her last night. When Tina describes what happened to Angel's face, Russel vamps out (aha.) and drains her. Angel arrives too late and discovers Tina's body.

At [[EvilInc Russell Winters Enterprises™]], Angel barges through the doors, only to be intercepted by the lawyer, Lindsey [=MacDonald=]. Lindsey is well aware that Angel's a vampire, and warns him not to meddle with his client. Russell offers to make peace with Angel, but Angel kicks his swivel chair out a window. Russell bursts into flame and combusts before he hits the pavement.

* AlwaysCamp: Oliver Simon, agent to the stars.

* BigFancyHouse: Casa de Vampire.

** Cordelia greets Angel at Margo's party by asking if he's still "Grrr," then asks to verify that Angel is not there "to bite anybody." Cordelia became aware that Angel is vampire in ''Buffy'' S2 ("[[{{Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS2E6Halloween}} Halloween]]"), and has tangled with his alter-ego Angelus (who was very "Grrr", indeed) on more than one occasion.

* CarFu: After (finally) locating his vehicle, Angel races to intercept Tina's kidnapper before he can leave the parking garage. Angel and the henchman play chicken in their car, and the henchman loses, crashing into a parked car.

* CementShoes: Angel fixes some tea for Tina, and the pair discuss their unseen foe. One of Tina's friends, Denise, disappeared after getting involved with Russell. Angel goes off to research her friend's disappearance; he finds information leading him to believe Denise was killed and her body dumped.

* DestinationDefenestration: Angel heaves Stacy through the window of his own gym. Later, Russell takes the quick route to the ground floor of his own high-rise.

* DrowningMySorrows: The episode with Angel in a bar, [[ExploitedTrope pretending to be drunk]], and babbling on about Buffy to a bald guy who is not amused.

* EekAMouse: Doyle wanders in and asks why Angel isn't more pleased that he took care of Russell. Angel says he didn't help anyone, but Doyle points out that there's a girl upstairs who'd disagree. Cue Cordy's scream. The duo run upstairs and find Cordelia pointing her feather duster and pointing at the floor, where she thinks saw a cockroach. "I think it's a bantamweight!"

** EstablishingSeriesMoment: [[{{Showrunner}} Jeff Greenwalt]] was particularly delighted with Angel [[WrongGenreSavvy jumping into the wrong car]]. Joss, on the other hand, was over the moon with regard to Angel failing to save the girl.

* FalseReassurance: The scene between Tina and Russell exemplifies his ability to snare and control others. He goes from staring down Tina's revolver (admittedly not a health hazard for vampires, but still) to consoling her, claiming that he bought Denise a ticket home and that he will do the same for her. As Russell works his magic, Tina breaks down and cries.

-->'''Russell:''' [half-heartedly] [[BadLiar What? No I'm not]].
-->'''Cordelia:''' Are too!
-->'''Russell:''' I don't know what you're talking about.

* HardWorkMontage: Angel skimming the internet inside the L.A. Public Library.

-->'''Angel:''' I wanna find the guy that killed Tina, and I want to look him in the eye.

-->'''Angel:''' ''Then'' I'm gonna [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge share my feelings]].

-->'''Tina:''' You’ve been watching me?"

-->'''Tina:''' You don't hit on girls very often, do you?"

* PreviouslyOn: For the uninitiated viewers out there, Doyle offers to tell Angel a "bedtime story" and recaps Angel's entire past. We see a montage of short clips of Angel's life from Europe to Sunnydale.

* RedSkiesCrossover: A despondent Angel calls someone (she doesn't identify herself, but it's Sarah Michelle Gellar on the other end), but hangs up as soon as she answers. Buffy's side of the call is shown in "[[{{Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS4E1TheFreshman}} The Freshman]]".
* RescueSex: Back at Angel's place, Tina assumes that {{this is the part where}} Angel "comforts" her. Angel, noting that Tina is accustomed to being used, tells her that he has [[SubvertedTrope no intention of taking advantage]], causing her to break down crying.
* RetroactiveRecognition: Josh Holloway (the vampire who tells Angel to "piss off") and Tracy Middendorf both went on to appear on ''{{Lost}}''. Holloway plays series regular Sawyer, while Middendorf played Bonnie in Season Three.

* ThereAreNoGoodExecutives / VampiresAreRich: Russell is vaguely referred to as "that investment guy", but he evidentially has fingers in alot of pies. Tina says he's a depraved killer, and that he picks people with no family and no one to care.

* WaitingForABreak: Tina.
-->"I came here to be a famous movie star. But, they weren't hiring."

* YouRemindMeOfX: Angel is sitting at a bar, very drunk, and relating the story of why he came to Los Angeles. This version of the story seems to center mostly on the fact that the large, bald black man sitting nearby "reminds" him of Buffy.
-->[slurring] "Because, because-- y'know... the hair."

* RedSkiesCrossover: David Boreanaz and Sarah Michelle Gellar had cameo parts in each others’ season premiere episodes. A despondent Angel calls Buffy, but hangs up as soon as she answers. Buffy's side of the call is shown in "[[{{Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS4E1TheFreshman}} The Freshman]]".

* CrossOver: David Boreanaz and Sarah Michelle Gellar had cameo parts in each others’ season premiere episodes. A despondent Angel calls Buffy, but hangs up as soon as she answers. Buffy's side of the call is shown in "[[{{Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS4E1TheFreshman}} The Freshman]]".

** DeletedScene: In the original script, the scene in which Angel finds Tina's dead body ends with him cradling her, then licking her blood from his fingers. Although creator Joss Whedon claims that moment was his favorite moment in the script, it was removed at the risk of [[DarknessInducedAudienceApathy DIAA]]. You can see Boreanaz about to taste the blood, but it fades out just in time.

* CrossOver: This episode aired the same night as the ''Buffy'' S4 premiere. The two episodes share a very brief crossover moment: A despondent Angel calls Buffy, but hangs up as soon as she answers. Buffy's side of the call is shown in "[[{{Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS4E1TheFreshman}} The Freshman]]".

-->'''Russell:''' [absently] Oh, [[VampireInvitation I own the building. Most of the block]].

-->'''Russell:''' [absently] Oh, [[ScrewTheRulesIhaveMoney I own the building. Most of the block]].

** Lindsey sweats over the "Senior Partners" learning of this incident over his phone. .

[[caption-width-right:315:[-[[DrowningMySorrows Our hero]], ladies and gentlemen-].]]

->''{{Los Angeles}}. You see it at night, and it shines. It's a beacon. People are drawn to it. --People, and'' other things. ''They come for all sorts of reasons.'' My ''reason? No surprise there: it started with [[{{Buffy}} a girl]]...''

-->''[[{{Buffy}} High school's]] over, bud. You gotta make with the grown-up talk, now.''

* DialogueReversal: As Angel prepares his assault on Winters Manor, Doyle wishes him luck and says he'll be cheering on Angel from the safety of his own apartment. Angel informs Doyle he's driving.
-->'''Doyle:''' N-now wait a minute! I'm not combat ready, man! I'm just the messenger.
-->'''Angel:''' [shoves weapons at Doyle] And I'm the message.

[[caption-width-right:315:[-[[DrowningMoSorrows Our hero]], ladies and gentlemen-].]]