Angel (TV Series) Sanctuary (2000) User Reviews

My favorite Faith episode

[katierose295 · 10/10 · 20 September 2006]

This is the episode that redeems Faith and solidifies her relationship with Angel. After this episode, she'll always be played as a White Hat and her primary loyalty will always rest with Angel. Angel and Faith have one of the most interesting friendships in the Buffyverse. They both see their own darkness and weaknesses reflected in the other. Angel identifies with Faith's self-hatred and desire to be a better person. Faith trusts Angel and sees him as a ally in her battle for redemption. Angel offers her support and safety. And, in return, Faith will eventually offer him another chance at life. "Sanctuary" is an great episode, that wraps up this chapter of Faith's story line, brings Buffy back to LA and sets up parts of season four. You shouldn't miss it.

"Sanctuary" picks up right where "Five By Five" left off. Basically, Faith has had a complete break down. Unable to convince Angel to kill her, she's just given up fighting. Angel takes her back to his house and promises that she'll be safe. He tucks her into his bed and Faith finally falls asleep. Wes and Cordy are pretty mad when they learn that Angel has taken Faith in. They refuse to stay in the office. Lila, Lindsey and Lee are equally annoyed. Faith was suppose to kill Angel, not bond with him. They hire another assassin to go after Faith. The police continue to search for Faith. Kate has gotten involved in the case, adding to her growing "X-Files" reputation within the department.

Meanwhile, the Watcher's Councils goons approach Wes. They promise to get Wesley his job back if he helps them capture Faith. Wes agrees, if they promise not to harm Angel. Back at Angel's house. Faith is opening up to Angel, talking about all the horrible things that she's done and asking for his help. Angel agrees to help her. When Faith accidentally mentions that Buffy has a new boyfriend, Angel is hurt. The second assassin attacks and Faith kills it. But, the sight of blood brings back all the memories of the people she's killed and she starts to panic. Angel pulls her into his arms to comfort her and then Buffy walks in.

Buffy is furious to see Angel with Faith. She feels betrayed. When Angel protects Faith, standing between Faith and Buffy, Buffy looses her temper. Faith goes up stairs while Angel and Buffy argue. Buffy hits him and Angel hits her back. Buffy is shocked that he would punch her. Angel is pretty shocked himself. Then Wes arrives with the news that the Watcher's Council goons are coming. He's double crossed them, because he trusts Angel to know what he's doing with Faith. Meanwhile, Lindsey goes to Kate with the news that Faith is staying with Angel. During the fight with the Watcher's Council goons, Faith runs off. Kate then arrests Angel. She's threatening to put him in a nice sunny cell, unless he tells her where Faith is. Angel refuses. When they get to the police station, though, Faith has already turned herself in. Buffy and Angel get into another argument and she leaves town in furious at him.

There are some really great parts to this episode. I love Wes, angrily telling off Angel and stomping out of the office when he learns that Faith is staying there. (Cordy writes out some "paid vacation" checks for herself and follows him out the door.) Still, when it comes down to the line, Wes won't turn on Angel. Wesley doesn't want to go back to the Council, because he's found a new life for himself in LA and a job perfectly suited to his training and talents. (Notice, he's drinking an American beer while the other men have the darker British kind.) For all intents and purposes, Wes has become Angel's Watcher and he belongs in LA, now. Also, it's really funny watching Lindsey, Lila and Lee plot. They can't believe that Faith is now Angels' house guest. They want to get rid of her once and for all. They hire a demon to kill Faith, but that doesn't work either. "The first assassin killed the second assassin, who was suppose to kill the first assassin, who didn't kill anyone until we hired the second assassin to kill the first assassin." They're so frustrated that I almost feel sorry for them. Also, I think that "Sanctuary" is Faith's most sympathetic episode. She's so lost and broken as she huddles in Angel's bed. When she quietly asks him for help, it just breaks your heart. No wonder Angel protects her from Buffy. I still haven't completely forgiven Faith for hurting Wes, but even I want to Buffy to leave her alone.

On the down side, I do think that Angel could have been a little more considerate of Wes and Cordy's feelings. Of course, they don't want Faith staying there. Also, this is the last time that Buffy will appear on "Angel" (No, I'm not counting season five's, "The Girl in Question") so it's a shame that she and Angel ended the episode on such a bad note. He'll go to Sunnydale to mend fences in BTVS season four's "The Yoko Factor," but it's just not the same.

My favorite part of the episode: Buffy walking down the steps and finding Faith hugging Angel. It's got this great, "Uh-oh" quality that makes me smile every time.

SECOND best ep of Angel

[Joxerlives · 10/10 · 16 January 2012]

Sancutary

The Good; Just when you think it can't get any better, Buffy arrives and all is good with the world.

The Bad; All still fantastic

Best line: NEARLY-Detective (to Kate) "Everyone knows you've gone all Scully" Kate; "Mulder's the believer, Scully's the skeptic" Detective; "Scully's the chick, right?" but the winner, one of my favourites which I use all the time is; Buffy; "A cry for help is when you shout 'Help, help!' in a loud voice"

Jeez, how did they get away with that? For all those afraid of needles avoid the syringe scene. Faith's daydream about killing Angel

Apocalypses: 4

Angel Clichés Damsel in distress; 15,

Inverting the Hollywood cliché; the popcorn scene. Plus Wes calling Angel on his decision to protect Faith.

In disguise; 3

DB get's his shirt off; yep, in the shower again 6

Cordy's tattoo;3

Cheap Angel; 3

Fang Gang in bondage: Angel in cuffs and possibly Faith too Cordy: 5 Angel: 8 Wes: 2

Fang gang knocked out: Cordy: 9 Angel: 10 Wes: 4 Doyle; 1

Kills: Cordy: 3 vamps, 1½ demons Angel: 3 demons so 11 vamps, 9 and 1/2 demons, 2 humans. Doyle; 1 vamp Wes; 1/2 a demon Kate; 3 vamps According to Boo's stats Faith has killed 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans. Add another demon to the list here.

Fang Gang go evil: Cordy: 2 Angel: 2

Alternate Fang Gang: Cordy: 2 Angel: 6

Characters killed: 25

Recurring characters killed; 2;

Total number of Angel Investigations: 3, Angel and Cordy and Wes

Angel Investigations shot: Angel: 8,

Packing heat; Wes; 2 Doyle; 1 Angel; 1

Notches on Fang Gang bedpost: Cordy: 2 ?+Wilson/Hacksaw Beast Angel: 1;Buffy

Kinky dinky: Faith let's slip that she's bedded Buffy's new beau, Riley Finn. Which is news to Angel! Does Cordy not keep touch with things in Sunnydale or did she just not want to tell him?

Captain Subtext; Buffy refers to Faith's 'pouty lips and heaving bosom', interesting she thinks of her in that way? The rooftop scene feels riven with hidden passions. Buffy refers to Riley saying she trusts him. Heading for a fall again. The Watcher's Council refer to the insult 'ponce' again.

Know the face, different character; 2

Parking garages; 4,

Guantanamo Bay; Kate plans to throw Angel into a cell exposed to the rising sun.

Buffy characters on Angel; 11 Wetherby, Collins and Smith. Angel, Cordy, Oz, Spike, Buffy, Wes, Faith, Darla

Questions and observations; What exactly does Angel do with the Watcher's team? Surely Kate must lock them up for turning the streets of LA into a bulletfest? Nice to see that Wes and Buffy are now on good terms, unfortunately this probably marks the nadir of the Buffy/Angel romance and the Kate/Angel relationship. Jelly doughnut's again, someone in the writing staff must have a thing for them. Buffy has the worst timing ever when walking in on Faith and Angel. How does Giles find out about Faith? Sources in the Watcher's council or do Wes or Cordy phone Sunnydale. Good acting by Wes, you really think he might have sided with the Watchers for a moment. How can Wes and Buffy just walk into the police station?

Marks out of 10; 10/10 just great, stunning

Perhaps the only truly great episode of season one

[nightwishouge · 10/10 · 23 January 2021]

I have to say, I completely forgot about Sanctuary as I entered into the four-part Faith arc that crosses from season 4 of Buffy to season 1 of Angel. Perhaps it's easy to forget, in the midst of all the action and darkness and visceral imagery of torture and violence that have consumed the previous installments of that arc. But it's the most mature, thematically, of any episode up to this point that has dealt with the dilemma of Faith.

Back in BtVS season 3, at one point Wesley attempts to bring Faith back to the Watcher Council for their equivalent of justice. Buffy, believing Faith can still be brought back from the edge, is against this, but Willow voices the opinion that maybe it's what the girl deserves, after having assaulted Xander. It's a small moment in terms of screen times, but a significant one. Willow and Buffy have not really had many philosophical differences up to then; Willow tends to stand by Buffy when Xander, or even Giles, push back at her. It illustrates the division that Faith sows in the group, even unintentionally.

Sanctuary explores this question with much greater depth and significance. There is very little action in a conventional sense, apart from a helicopter shootout in the climax; it's not about that. It's about the battle to save a person's soul. This is where Angel as a series finally sets out its mission statement and distinguishes itself from being just a monster-of-the-week watered-down version of Buffy.

Joss Whedon co-write the teleplay for Sanctuary and it shows. Much of season 4 of Buffy and season 1 of Angel have relied too heavily on banter, exhausting the jokes and over-explaining the conflicts. Outside of some of his shakier episodes (looking at you, The Freshman) Whedon understands not only when to inject the perfect quip, but when not to. There's a crispness to Sanctuary, a minimalism where information is conveyed far more powerfully and efficiently than the typical ten pages of dialogue a given scene normally rates. At one point Angel comes downstairs to find Faith holding a knife. That's all that happens. She doesn't attack Angel or cut herself or engage in some other false histrionic display of melodrama. She's just holding a knife. But Whedon trusts us to understand the meaning, the tension of that moment. Faith has a history with knives, with violence directed at others and at herself. Figuratively, she's standing on a precipice; her grasp on reality, on redemption, is tenuous. She needs Angel to talk her down. The suspense is that simple, and subtle, and effective: will he be able to do that? It means a lot. It means more than we're explicitly being shown. It's nice, as a viewer, to be given that kind of credit.

The episode is about redemption. That's what the series is about, too. It's about redemption, and all of the messiness and gray areas and hard work that come with it. It's not the kind of sappy Hallmark feel-good redemption, where a character who was never really that bad to begin with has a change of heart and everybody celebrates. It is, to quote Buffy in Amends, hard and painful and every day. Faith has done some truly reprehensible things, and the question is, when do you give up on someone? The stance Angel takes in this episode is that you never give up on someone, no matter what they've done or who they've hurt. This puts him at odds with Wesley, with Cordelia, even with Buffy, who has come up from Sunnydale seeking resolution on the matter of Faith.

The thing that makes this episode so great, for me, is that it never chickens out or backs down from its subject matter or goes for the easy answer or deus ex machina. I abhor it when fiction feints at engaging with tough issues and then cops out with cheats and cheap plotting, like when a protagonist decides NOT to kill the antagonist because justice over vengeance, but then a piano falls on the bad guy's head anyway. That's cowardly writing--the writer reasons that the audience wants to see the villain get killed but they can't tarnish the virtue of the hero so they intervene and the universe exacts its own comeuppance or whatever. That's compromise. There's no compromise in Sanctuary. Angel makes his decision, even though nobody else will back him on it, and he sticks with it because he believes it's the right thing to do.

On the other hand, you can absolutely understand everybody else's perspective and why they can't support him in his choice. Cordy and (especially) Wesley feel hurt that Angel would prioritize Faith over them. Buffy, at one time convinced she herself could save Faith if she simply didn't give up on her, has crossed her own threshold for compassion long ago. When she shouts at Faith, "I gave you EVERY chance!" you can really feel her anger and betrayal, and she's not wrong. (I wish Xander had a similar moment somewhere along the line, after Faith sexually assaulted him and then was invited right back into the group.)

This is where Angel has to come to terms with what it means to fight for redemption. It means, sometimes, turning your back on the people who feel they've loved and supported you. It means making decisions no one else can understand. It means giving up everything in pursuit of what you think is right, even if no one else will stand by you. He learns here that this is his purpose, his path. Because it's not just Faith's redemption he's fighting for, but his own.

Everybody Wants Some Faith

[erickd201 · 10/10 · 28 December 2015]

The second half of what is essentially a two parter. Faith is taken in by Angel and no one is happy about it. Not Cordelia who preemptively takes a paid vacation or Wesley who doesn't trust Faith not that anyone could blame him after being nearly killed by her. Faith wants to change and Angel is the only one who's willing to help her. Though none of this was going to be easy what with the police after her for a string of assaults, the Watcher's Council for crimes in Sunnydale, Buffy for that horrific body swap situation and Wolfram & Hart for not making good on their agreement to kill Angel. Nothing but chaos ensues when they all zero in on her. Great drama. Great action. Awesome episode.

Pros: Faith wanting to get better

Buffy/Angel scenes

Great action scenes and stuntwork

Wesley siding with Angel over the Watcher's Council

Cons: Didn't effect the story much but would've liked more Cordelia in the episode

Overall Score: 9.5/10

Very good crossover episode.

[m-47826 · 8/10 · 9 June 2021]

Five by Five was ok, with the character being her sad and angry at the world, self. But Sanctuary is the real deal. I never hated Faith, to me she was just lost. But paying for her crimes, was the only way for me to make her redeemable. Characters way of reacting to that, was very interesting. And the guys clearly have the most enviable roles in this situation. While the girls are either petty, depressed, self absorbed or vindictive. As far as the Buffy character goes, it's a disenchanted I will remember you for her, and her exit, is the best part of the episode. Because she finally leaves. I wasn't a big fan of Wolfram & Hart either, it was like they were added to buy the episode time. And it wasn't interesting.

Not as good as the previous episode

[nicofreezer · 8/10 · 17 June 2022]

Buffy and Angel episodes have Never been the best in Buffy first 3 seasons and its not changing here.

This episode was nowhere near as good as the previous one, still it will go down as a very solid 8/10 But when i see some rewiew caling it the best ep from season 1, it must be a joke, the first two episode are way better and some others too.

Good watch , always nice to see buffy , kate, the Watchers and the avocate compagny. But for god sake let us alone with Faith, hope she doesn't come back.

She is quite an annoying character to be honest.

I once told you that you didn't have to go out in that darkness. Remember? That it was your choice. Well, you chose

[SleepTight666 · 7/10 · 13 June 2007]

I once told you that you didn't have to go out in that darkness. Remember? That it was your choice. Well, you chose - An excellent episode quality-wise, but of course it has it's down-sides. For starters, I really hate those three-council guys that also appeared on the BTVS episode 'Who Are You?', could they have been more flat and annoying? Another character that I couldn't stand was miss 'Buffy Summers', although she can be pretty annoying, this was by far her most unbearable episode... but at least 'Angel' punches her in the face. Now on to the good stuff, 'Faith's scenes are obviously the best as she tries to redeem herself and eventually goes to the police and confesses everything that she's done. I also loved the triple LM's (Lindsey, Lee and Lilah) working together, they made a great team of villains. 'Kate' was also great, I loved the scene where she discusses The X-files with another agent and her scene with 'Lindsey', both actors are extremely hot and had a great chemistry, too bad they never shared a scene again. Excellent episode and great ending, although I think they should have made the 'Faith'-arc longer. KENDRICK: Come on, Kate. Everybody knows you've gone all Scully. Anytime one of these weird cases crosses anyone's desk you're always there. What's going on with you? KATE: Scully is the skeptic. KENDRICK: Huh? KATE: Mulder is the believer. Scully is the skeptic. KENDRICK: Scully is the chick, right? KATE: Yes. But she's not the one that wants to believe. KENDRICK: And you wanna believe. KATE: Oh, I already believe. That's the problem. (9.5 out of 10)

A little subdued

[Jakemcclake · 7/10 · 27 May 2009]

This was meant to be the second of a two part episode, and it was coupled with the "Five by Five" story. After seeing the prior Angel episode "Five By Five", this was by comparison subdued, especially because Eliza Dushku was not called upon to deliver the same powerful performance that she delivered in the prior episode. The character Faith who was a catalyst in Five by Five, seemed to go through this episode in shock or perhaps deep in thought.

On the positive side, this story shows Angel's philosophy of helping to save souls and that helping save souls is more important than anything else to Angel, including friendships, co-workers and former lovers. This episode also delivers tremendous suspense in that numerous people are out to ruin the work that Angel's efforts to help Faith Lehane, including Buffy, The Watcher Council and the Police, not to mention there is a possibility that Faith herself will ruin it.

I have watched this one about 4 or 5 times and still like the ending, despite knowing it so well.

Kendrick: Come on, Kate. Everybody knows you've gone all Scully. Any time one of these weird cases crosses anyone's desk, you're always there. Kate: Scully is the skeptic.

[bombersflyup · 7/10 · 16 February 2020]

Sanctuary is about Angel attempting to reform Faith, as Kate, the Watchers Council and Buffy are in pursuit.

The weaker of the two episodes, with some unneeded girly drama and weak character involvement. The Watchers Council henchman and the assassin hired to eliminate Faith, quite poor. Highlights include Cordy getting Angel to sign her paid vacation and Angel telling Buffy to go home, after she rubs his nose in it. The characterization of Kate just shouldn't lead here and is disappointing. It's merely a way to resolve Wolfram and Hart's plot and have them all meet at this setting, she's better than this and so is Buffy for that matter. Love the Scully conversation though, hah.