Episode Trivia
Anne Rice
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Anne Rice was the author of a popular best-selling series of vampire novels, including Interview with the Vampire, The Vampire Lestat and Queen of the Damned. In 2.03 School Hard, Spike says to Angel:
“People still fall for that old Anne Rice routine?”
In 5.01 Buffy Vs Dracula, Buffy tells Dracula:
“I’ve fought more than a couple pimply, overweight vamps that called themselves Lestat.”
She’s referring to the main charismatic vampire character of Anne Rice’s The Vampire Chronicles.
The story in 7.17 Lies My Parents Told Me of Spike siring his mother as a vampire may come from Anne Rice’s The Vampire Chronicles. In the book, the character Lestat sired his mother Gabrielle, because she was ill and to prevent her from dying.
When Darla tries to get a vampire to sire her in 2.09 The Trial, they have the following conversation:
Darla: “Weird?! It’s mythic!”
Shempire: “No, you been reading too much Anne Rice, lady. You got no idea how this thing works.”
In 5.18 Origin, Connor asks Angel:
“Do you spend all your time making out with other vampires, like in Anne Rice novels?”
Doug Petrie
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Doug Petrie was a co-executive producer, writer and director on Buffy. He also wrote the Angel episodes 2.09 The Trial and 1.03 In The Dark. Doug is a huge fan of comics. He’s written several Buffy comics and worked on the screenplay for the upcoming Fantastic Four feature film. There are loads of comic book references in Doug’s episodes. He has also worked on Tru Calling, Harriet the Spy (which starred Michelle Trachtenberg) and Clarissa Explains it All.
Foreshadow to Drusilla siring Darla
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In a flashback to London (1880) in 2.07 Darla, we hear the following exchange:
Drusilla: “No. His head’s too full of you, grandmother.”
Darla: “Stop calling me that.”
Drusilla: “Don’t be cross. I could be your mummy.”
Dru’s statement could be a foreshadow to upcoming events. At the end of 2.09 The Trial, we see Drusilla sire Darla. In 2.10 Reunion, she prepares the ritual for Darla’s rebirth:
Drusilla to Lindsey: “Oh, yeah. Grandmother is very pleased with it - I can tell. - Aren’t you, Grandmother? My daughter.”
And later…
Holland: “Drusilla, you are positively glowing.”
Drusilla: “I’m going to be a mummy.”
Hey, it’s like a metaphor
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The flower jasmine has been compared to vampires twice in the Buffyverse. In 2.19 I Only Have Eyes For You:
Drusilla: “Wow! Look. Jasmine.”
Angelus: “Night blooming.”
Drusilla: “Like us.”
And then in Angel’s 2.09 The Trial, Darla says of the jasmine in the courtyard at the Hyperion Hotel:
“Hmm, jasmine. It blooms at night. I remember what that was like.”
Season four’s entity Jasmine was named after the same plant looked at by Darla.
Just a man
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Daniel Holtz, who becomes integral to the Angel/Darla storyline, is first mentioned in the season two episode 2.09 The Trial. Angel and Darla have the following conversation:
Angelus: “This man, Holtz, how does he keep finding us?”
Darla: “Well, we stay in the best hotels, order room service, eat the waiters - people talk.”
Angelus: “Holtz is no mere mortal, I tell you that.”
Darla: “Of course he is. He’s just a man, a vampire hunter.”
Holtz doesn’t appear in person until the first episode of season three.
Sea-breeze
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Lorne’s favourite drink is a sea-breeze (Vodka, cranberry and grapefruit), especially if it’s made by his bartender, Ramone (who later left).
In 2.05 Dear Boy:
Host: “Hey, Rico! Top off my sea-breeze, earn my everlasting devotion, huh?”
Lorne: “Thank you, Ramone. I was just thinking I’d rather be drinking. (to Angel) He’s a treasure.”
In 2.09 The Trial:
Host: “People try to kill you everyday. I’m talking about Ramone. Over heard us, betrayed me. The man was a world-class bartender. He made a sea-breeze that took you to Tahiti. Mmm. He’s off the menu now.”
In 2.13 Happy Anniversary he says:
Lorne: “Fairly typical Wednesday crowd. A Torto demon and his parasite were murdering the Everly Brothers, which is nothing compared to what Elian had done to my sea-breeze!”
(Flashback to Lorne and the bartender)
Lorne: “Is this a difficult concept? Were we absent the day they taught sea-breeze in bartender school? Vodka, cranberry, fresh grapefruit juice. Which requires a real live grapefruit. One
you must cut and squeeze, not pour from a can.”
Host: “…Oh. The man is such a moron. You have no idea how I’m suffering since Ramone left.”
In 3.11 Birthday:
Lorne: “Oh, for the love of god, somebody get me a sea-breeze.”
Lorne: “I got a sea breeze that’s gonna up and leave with someone else if I don’t get to her soon.”
Lorne: “Well, ever tried a Sea Breeze?”
We also see him drinking this drink in 4.04 Slouching Toward Bethlehem, 5.05 Life Of The Party and 5.16 Shells.
Shempire
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The original script for 2.09 The Trial describes the ’shempire’ that Darla tried to get to sire her:
Darla is seated in a booth at the back of this seedy bar. Across for her is a total SHEMP VAMPIRE (or “shempire”), he sports an eighties mullet hairdo. He bares his fangs and tries to talk all evil-sexy.
Survivor
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In the Angel season two episode 2.09 The Trial, Cordy references the TV show Survivor, when she comments Darla should be voted “off the island” because of her past actions.
The Valet
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The Valet was the assistant for the trial Angel undertook in attempt to save Darla from dying in 2.09 The Trial. An impartial and formal English man, he cryptically led Angel through the three levels of 2.09 The Trial. When he realised that he was unable to save Darla, he apologised, saying she was already on her second chance.
Vampire invitation rule
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In vampire mythology (and the Whedonverse), a vampire cannot enter a person’s home unless it has been invited. This is first seen in the Buffy episode 1.07 Angel:
Angel: “It’s all right. A vampire can’t come in unless it’s invited.”
There has been some debate as to whether Buffy actually invited Angel into her home in that episode, but she does quickly say to him, “Get in! C’mon!” as they’re being chased by vampires. When Angel first became a vampire he returned home to kill his family. From 1.15 The Prodigal:
Father: “Be gone, unclean thing! A demon can not enter a home where it’s not welcome. He must be invited!”
Angel: “That’s true. - But I was invited.”
Angel looks to the doorway. His father turns and sees Angel’s sister slumped against the wall.
Dad: “Och!”
Angel: “She thought I returned to her – an angel.”
A vampire can enter a public place such as a school or hospital (this is seen in 2.17 Passion and 2.18 Killed By Death). In 2.17 Passion Angel says the sign outside the school says ‘Romatia transicara edicatorum’ which translates to ‘Enter all ye who seek knowledge’. Vampires can also enter hotel rooms, which are considered public. In 2.09 The Trial, Angel says to Gunn after he has entered a motel room:
Angel: “Oh, Motel, public accommodation. She didn’t live here.”
Another vampire invitation rule is clarified in 5.02 Real Me: only someone who lives in a residence can invite a vampire in:
Xander: “Yeah, actually, she– Harmony– kind of happened to sort of get an invite.”
Buffy: “You guys can’t invite her in. I mean, only someone who lives here can…
If the owner of a house is dead, a vampire can enter. This is seen in 3.21 Graduation Day (Part One) when Angel enters the home of the dead Professor. It is also seen explicitly in 1.15 The Prodigal (Angel can only enter the home of Kate’s father after he has been killed) and in 2.04 Untouched (Angel enters when a victim on life support dies). In the latter example we see a visible barrier ripple when Angel tries to enter.
When a vampire is invited into a home once, it can enter again at any point, unless a reversal spell is done. The spell was first seen in 2.17 Passion, after Angel lost his soul and started stalking Buffy. The last words of the incantation (read by Willow at Buffy’s house) are “Hicce verbis consensus rescissus est,” which translates into English roughly as “By these words permission is rescinded.” Buffy uninvited Spike from her home in 5.14 Crush, Harmony was uninvited in 5.02 Real Me, and Dracula was uninvited in 5.01 Buffy Vs Dracula.
There have been several goofs/continuity errors concerning vampires and invitations in the Whedonverse:
- When Angel and Buffy are running from the Three in 1.07 Angel, they take refuge in Buffy’s house. As they close the door, one of the Three gets his arm through the door before Buffy forces him back out. But he was a vampire and also uninvited, so how did he get his arm in?
- A similar event occurs in 2.16 Bewitched, Bothered And Bewildered - when Drusilla pushes Buffy’s door down, her hands go into the house - but Drusilla was never invited in.
- Angel says that he needs an invitation to enter Buffy’s dorm room in 4.20 The Yoko Factor, but Sunday and her gang didn’t need one in 4.01 The Freshman. This doesn’t count only for Buffy - the vamps are able to access Eddie’s room as well, and presumably they can get into the rooms of the other students they killed. How do they do that?
- In 1.17 Eternity, how can Angel jump through the window into Rebecca’s apartment to save her from the intruder? He was never invited in, and Rebecca only said to him to “Stop by”. Is this enough of an invitation?
- In 1.18 Five By Five, Faith is torturing Wesley in the apartment of the man she injured previously in the episode. When Angel finds them, he walks straight into the apartment… no invite needed. If Faith had killed the man, Angel would not have required an invitation. However, in 1.19 Sanctuary, the following dialogue is heard between Kate and a fellow officer:
Kate: “So do we think she is the one who threw the party here?”
Kendrick: “The guy who lives here identifies her as the woman who mugged him. Put him in the hospital, stole his keys, his wallet. We’re lifting prints now. My bet is - we get a match.”It’s apparent he is alive, therefore Angel should not have been able to enter his apartment. (It’s possible that Angel called the victim to ask permission to enter but this would be a very strange conversation indeed!)
- There is some confusion over who invited Spike back into the home he shared with his mother in 7.17 Lies My Parents Told Me, but this could have been a servant who lived there.
- In 5.15 A Hole In The World, Angel and Spike enter Lindsey and Eve’s residence without an invitation.