"Angel"
The Ring (2000)

Director:

Nick Marck

Writers:

Joss Whedon (creator) &
David Greenwalt (creator) ...

TV Series:

"Angel" (1999)

Original Air Date:

29 February 2000 (Season 1, Episode 16)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy

Plot:

When an investigation goes wrong, Angel finds himself kidnapped by a demon fight club. He's trapped there...

Plot Keywords:

Cult Hero | Redemption | Vampire Detective | Physical Abuse | Neo Noir

Cast

David Boreanaz	...	Angel
Charisma Carpenter	...	Cordelia Chase
Alexis Denisof	...	Wesley Wyndam-Pryce
Markus Redmond	...	Tom Cribb
Douglas Roberts	...	Darin McNamara
Scott William Winters	...	Jack McNamara
Stephanie Romanov	...	Lilah Morgan
Anthony Guidera	...	Ernie Nellims
Chris Flanders	...	Matthew Winslow
Marc Rose	...	Mellish
David Kallaway	...	Doorman
Juan A. Riojas	...	Val Trepkos
Michael Philip	...	Announcer
Mark Ginther	...	Lasovic

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Goofs:

Continuity: In the final scene where Trepkos and Angel are fighting, the blood stain on Angel's shirt is on the left side. Later in the same scene the stain is on the right side.

Quotes:

Cordelia Chase: We weren't gonna let anything happen to you.
Wesley Wyndam-Pryce: No.
Cordelia Chase: Well, I mean, beyond the slavery and the severe beatings and stuff!

Movie Connections:

References Beetle Juice (1988)

Lila's first episode

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I actually really like this episode. It's fun and it once again establishes the recurring "Angel" theme that humans can be as bad a demons. The fight club owners are as evil as any of the demons they've captured. Plus, "The Ring" introduces another Wolfram and Hart lawyer, Lila Morgan. Lila is one of my favorite characters on the show and she'll be around for the next several seasons, so it's cool to see her here. "The Ring" also shows Wes's harder side for the first time. It's kind of shocking to see him shooting some guy with a cross bow and then twisting the arrow to get the information he wanted. Wes rocks. Anyway, "The Ring" is worth a look is you're watching the season on DVD.

"The Ring" revolves around Angel being kidnapped by an underground demon fight club. Thinking that he's looking for a missing man, Angel starts an investigation that quickly goes wrong. Angel has walked into a trap. Tricked by one of the fight club's owners, Angel is soon locked in a cage and forced to battle other demons. Little bracelets keep them from escaping. The bracelets will disintegrate anyone who leaves. Angel is not happy to stuck in the fight club. He begins trying to inspire his fellow fighters to stage an escape. But the other demons are too scared and resigned to listen to him. Angel is approached by Lila Morgan, a lawyer at Wolfram and Hart. She wants Angel to join their side. He refuses.

Meanwhile, Cordy and Wes are looking for Angel. Wes is following Angel's trail. After holding some guys at gun point and doing some light torture, Wes finds the fight club. He and Cordy discover that Angel is trapped there and start planning a way to free him. At the fight club, Angel has killed a demon in one of his matches. He's more determined than ever to shut the fight club down. Wes and Cordy come up with a tool to disarm the bracelets and rescue Angel. The demons finally start listening to Angel and, together, they all escape.

There are some really great parts to this episode. I like that Angel was the one in trouble for once. It's cool that Cordy and Wes were the ones who had to rescue him. The two of them pretend to be police officers to get into the fight club. You just have to laugh when Cordy introduces Wes as "Detective Yelsew." ("Wesley" backwards.) She couldn't just use his last name? Also, the fighting between some of the demons is pretty funny. When the big guy just casually lifts the little demon up and kills him, it's hard not to wince and snicker at the same time. And I just love the end of the episode. Wes, Cordy and Angel are feeling very good about themselves because they rescued all the fighters. Suddenly, Cordy frowns, "Wait, did we just set a bunch of demons free?" Wes and Angel stop smiling and right then you realize, Oops...They did, didn't they? It's really funny.

On the down side, does the IRS really take people's pets for back taxes? Cordy says they took her horse, which seems sort of extreme. It's one thing to repossess a car or freeze a bank account, but taking a teenager's palomino is just going too far.

My favorite part of the episode: Ogling Angel. He never looks better in any episode than he does in "The Ring." The sleeveless t-shirt, the great lighting, the hair... Maybe, I'm just a really shallow person, but --d*nm!-- is he gorgeous.