This isn't my favorite episode. I love the beginning, with Wesley being interviewed by the police about some tragedy that's occurred. It's really cool and gears you up for something scary to happen as the story unfolds in flashback. Unfortunately, "The Shroud of Rohman" never really lives up to it's early promise. It has some fun parts, and it'll be referenced again in season four. But really, if you're in a hurry to get through the season, you could probably skip this episode and not miss much story wise.
"The Shroud of Rohman" revolves around a museum heist. Gunn's cousin has gotten involved in a scheme to steal a valuable artifact. A gang on demons is behind the plan and Gunn's cousin is the driver. He's scared, though, and he calls Gunn for help getting out of the robbery. One of the gang is a Vegas vampire named Jay-Don. Angel kills him and takes his place, going undercover as the other vamp. Gunn, much to Angels' annoyance, insists on joining the team, too. He pretends to be his cousin and walks into the demon meeting. Soon their in over their heads, though, as the gang decided to rob the museum immediately.
Meanwhile, Wes and Cordy discover that the gang is actually trying to steal the Shroud of Rohman. It's valuable, alright. But it's also cursed. It turns anyone near it into violent, loopy nuts. They head to the museum to warn Angel. Kate is acting on a tip that Angel is involved in something shady and ends up at the museum, too. By that time the gang is falling apart under the influence of the shroud. Angel bites Kate, pretending to kill her so the rest of the gang won't hurt her. The demons fight amongst themselves and they all want the shroud. (It's got a whole "Treasure of Sierra Madre" feel to it in the end.) Finally, Angel manages to destroy the shroud. But tasting human blood has made him even darker and moodier than he was before.
There are some good parts to this episode. I love Angel's Rat Pack disguise. Jay-Don was an talkative, flashy guy... And Angel's not. He has to try and impersonate Jay-Don and it's hilarious. Cordy and Wes look at each other skeptically as Angel assures them he can be an extrovert. He's actually really funny wearing Jay-Don's sunglasses and constantly talking in this loud voice. And his horrible suit actually matches the "vampire green" color of his eyes as he begins to loose control, which is a nice touch. Plus, a few times, I think he's channeling a combination of Angelus and Spike when he deals with the others. There's this insulting, sarcastic edge to his voice that's just fun. And like I said, I love the beginning of the episode, with Wes in the police station. "The Shroud of Rahmon" is one of the only episodes in the Buffyverse told in this kind of present day, "internal" flashback. (In fact, the only other one I can think of at all if season four's "Spin the Bottle" and I'm not sure it counts, since we don't know when Lorne is telling the story. It could be years in the future. It doesn't really have the flashbacks meeting up with the "present" like "The Shroud of Rohman" does.) Anyway, the beginning of the episode had a cool, creepy vibe to it as Wes tries to explain what happened. You see a quick shot of Angel biting someone, hear that there's a headless body, Wes asks what happened to Cordy and insists that Angel never should have been there... Wesley's really upset. Then, he looks at the officers and says in this scared sort of voice, "Wait, you didn't bring it here did you?" It's great. The end of the episode is also neat. As Cordy and Wes realize that, in trying to help Angel, they've just made things worse. I feel bad for them. They can see disaster looming, but they can't save Angel from himself.
On the down side, I'm not real clear on what Angel's plan was in this episode. Why was he actually helping those guys steal the shroud? Why didn't he just stop them from taking it in the first place? Also, if he was under the shroud's magical spell, how did he have the presence of mind to tell Kate to play dead so the others wouldn't hurt her? And if the shroud effected everyone so much, shouldn't the museum have noticed? Finally, Cordy's hair is a nightmare in this episode.
My favorite part of the episode: Cordy, under the spell of the shroud, stealing that necklace from the museum... And then deciding to keep it.
"The Shroud of Rohman" revolves around a museum heist. Gunn's cousin has gotten involved in a scheme to steal a valuable artifact. A gang on demons is behind the plan and Gunn's cousin is the driver. He's scared, though, and he calls Gunn for help getting out of the robbery. One of the gang is a Vegas vampire named Jay-Don. Angel kills him and takes his place, going undercover as the other vamp. Gunn, much to Angels' annoyance, insists on joining the team, too. He pretends to be his cousin and walks into the demon meeting. Soon their in over their heads, though, as the gang decided to rob the museum immediately.
Meanwhile, Wes and Cordy discover that the gang is actually trying to steal the Shroud of Rohman. It's valuable, alright. But it's also cursed. It turns anyone near it into violent, loopy nuts. They head to the museum to warn Angel. Kate is acting on a tip that Angel is involved in something shady and ends up at the museum, too. By that time the gang is falling apart under the influence of the shroud. Angel bites Kate, pretending to kill her so the rest of the gang won't hurt her. The demons fight amongst themselves and they all want the shroud. (It's got a whole "Treasure of Sierra Madre" feel to it in the end.) Finally, Angel manages to destroy the shroud. But tasting human blood has made him even darker and moodier than he was before.
There are some good parts to this episode. I love Angel's Rat Pack disguise. Jay-Don was an talkative, flashy guy... And Angel's not. He has to try and impersonate Jay-Don and it's hilarious. Cordy and Wes look at each other skeptically as Angel assures them he can be an extrovert. He's actually really funny wearing Jay-Don's sunglasses and constantly talking in this loud voice. And his horrible suit actually matches the "vampire green" color of his eyes as he begins to loose control, which is a nice touch. Plus, a few times, I think he's channeling a combination of Angelus and Spike when he deals with the others. There's this insulting, sarcastic edge to his voice that's just fun. And like I said, I love the beginning of the episode, with Wes in the police station. "The Shroud of Rahmon" is one of the only episodes in the Buffyverse told in this kind of present day, "internal" flashback. (In fact, the only other one I can think of at all if season four's "Spin the Bottle" and I'm not sure it counts, since we don't know when Lorne is telling the story. It could be years in the future. It doesn't really have the flashbacks meeting up with the "present" like "The Shroud of Rohman" does.) Anyway, the beginning of the episode had a cool, creepy vibe to it as Wes tries to explain what happened. You see a quick shot of Angel biting someone, hear that there's a headless body, Wes asks what happened to Cordy and insists that Angel never should have been there... Wesley's really upset. Then, he looks at the officers and says in this scared sort of voice, "Wait, you didn't bring it here did you?" It's great. The end of the episode is also neat. As Cordy and Wes realize that, in trying to help Angel, they've just made things worse. I feel bad for them. They can see disaster looming, but they can't save Angel from himself.
On the down side, I'm not real clear on what Angel's plan was in this episode. Why was he actually helping those guys steal the shroud? Why didn't he just stop them from taking it in the first place? Also, if he was under the shroud's magical spell, how did he have the presence of mind to tell Kate to play dead so the others wouldn't hurt her? And if the shroud effected everyone so much, shouldn't the museum have noticed? Finally, Cordy's hair is a nightmare in this episode.
My favorite part of the episode: Cordy, under the spell of the shroud, stealing that necklace from the museum... And then deciding to keep it.
