Episode Trivia
Bye, Tim
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The final episode to be written and directed by Tim Minear was 4.22 Home. He left the show to work on Wonderfalls, which was unfortunately cancelled after only four episodes.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
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In 4.22 Home, Lilah says to Angel:
“Come on, Charlie. Let me show you around the Chocolate Factory.”
This is a reference to Roald Dahl’s novel Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, in which a poor boy named Charlie wins a tour through the mysterious Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, which ultimately leads to him inheriting the Factory. The film was made into a musical movie in 1971, and another film starring Johnny Depp was made in 2005.
Cleansing Amulet
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The amulet given to Buffy by Angel in 7.22 Chosen proves very useful to the Slayer but we don’t have much information on it. We know it has ‘cleansing’ power, and eventually cleans out all evil from the Hellmouth, causing Sunnydale to fall in on itself. Angel got the amulet from Lilah in the Angel episode 4.22 Home.
When Spike becomes alive again in the Angel season five episode Conviction, he emerges from the amulet he wore in 7.22 Chosen, which was sent mysteriously back to Angel. When he opens the package the amulet falls out and Spike materializes from it, very painfully, sort of the reverse of how burned.
In 5.02 Just Rewards, we see a flashback to Spike’s death scene from 7.22 Chosen. One of the first things that Spike asks Angel, after coming out from the amulet, is where and how Buffy is.
In the Angel epiode 5.22 Not Fade Away, when Angel is giving everyone their orders about who they are going to kill Spike tells him:
“First off, I’m not wearing any amulets. No bracelets, broaches, beads, pendants, pins, or rings.”
Harsh and cruel theme
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A theme present within season four of Angel is that the world is a harsh and cruel place. It’s first presented to us in 4.01 Deep Down:
Angel: “What you did to me - was unbelievable, Connor. - But then I got stuck in a hell dimension by my girlfriend one time for a hundred years, so three months under the ocean actually gave me perspective. Kind of a M. C. Esher perspective - but I did get time to think. About us, about the world. - Nothing in the world is the way it ought to be. - It’s harsh, and cruel. - But that’s why there’s us. Champions. It doesn’t matter where we come from, what we’ve done or suffered, or even if we make a difference. We live as though the world was what it should be, to show it what it can be. - You’re not a part of that yet. - I hope you will be. I love you, Connor. Now get out of my house.”
Connor turns Angel’s words around on him in 4.10 Awakening:
“Why? Nothing in this world is the way it ought to be. It’s harsh and cruel—Because of you!”
In 4.17 Inside Out, Connor speaks to Cordelia:
Connor: “I wanted to see you again. I had to, to know that you’re still here… with me. I’m sorry I haven’t— It’s started, Cordy. The new beginning. Just wish you’d wake up and see it. Just what you wanted. I mean… it is what you wanted, right? Why you came to me? You know…what this was all about? Protecting our baby—Jasmine—so she can…be, and make this world the… the kind of place you wanted. And it is better. Not harsh and cruel—the way that angel likes it so he has a reason to fight. ‘Cause you know that’s what he’s about, him and the others. Finding reasons to fight. Like that’s what gives their lives any meaning. The only damn thing! I’m not like them. I just… I want to stop. Stop fighting. I just want to rest. God, I want to rest. But I can’t. It’s not working, Cordy. I tried. I tried to believe. I wanted it. Went along with the… the flow. Jasmine, she’s…she’s bringing peace to everyone, purging all of their hate and anger. But not me. Not me! I know she’s a lie. Jasmine. My whole life’s been built on them. I just… I guess I thought this one was better than the others.
And finally, in 4.22 Home:
Lilah: “Again, your choice. Think of what you can do with the resources of Wolfram & Hart at your fingertips, the difference that would make. Nothing in this world is the way it ought to be. It’s harsh, and it’s cruel, but that’s why there’s you, Angel. You live as if the world were as it should be. With all this, you can make it that way. People don’t need an unyielding champion. They need a man who knows the value of compromise and how to beat the system from inside the belly of the beast.”
Jonathan M. Woodward
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Jonathan M. Woodward played Holden Webster in 7.07 Conversations With Dead People, Knox in Angel and Tracey in Joss Whedon’s space Western Firefly, in the episode ‘The Message’. Jonathan made his movie debut playing a doctor in the TV movie Wit. Whilst filming, Emma Thompson (who played a cancer patient in the movie) apparently bared her backside on the opening day of filming to help Jonathan, her co-star, relax. He’s also been in Diagnosis Murder and Pipe Dream.
Killing the son
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Angel seemingly ‘kills’ Connor with a knife in 4.22 Home, fulfilling the fake prophecy from season two in which it was said that “The father will kill the son”. He doesn’t really kill him though - Connor’s memories are erased and he’s sent to live with a new family.
Knox
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Knox worked in the Wolfram & Hart science lab under Fred’s management. A geeky but seemingly non-evil type, he had a crush on Fred, who (eventually) made it clear that she has no romantic intentions towards him. He was a devoted follower of Illyria, one of the old ones, and was her self-appointed Qwa’ha Xahn. Knox’s feelings for Fred lead him to choose her as the worthy recipient of Illyria’s essence, though the process killed her. Knox revealed that he had been part of a million year old plan for Illyria’s return preparing in the ancient ways by keeping ancient sacraments under his skin close to his heart. Knox was shot dead by Wesley, who was still grieving for his lost love, Fred.
Signed dollar
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Lilah and Wesley made a bet on who would call their situation a relationship first. A bet in which Wesley loses in 4.04 Slouching Toward Bethlehem:
Wesley: “That was different. So Angel knows about our relationship. Big deal.”
Lilah: “A dollar. You owe me a dollar.”
Wesley: “Oh, damn!”
Lilah: “You called this a relationship. You lost the bet. You said it first. Sign it first, as proof.”
Wesley: “Proof of what?”
Lilah: “Of now. Of this.”
Before Wesley decapitates Lilah in 4.13 Salvage, he imagines a conversation with her. In his fantasy, Lilah mentions the signed dollar:
Lilah: “So ease up on that furrowed brow. You’re free now. No longer encumbered with the secret shame of our relationship.”
Wesley: “It wasn’t a relationship.”
Lilah: “There’s a signed dollar bill in your wallet I think proves different. You knew how I felt.”
In 4.22 Home, Lilah’s return startles Wesley. She uses their bet to confirm to him that it’s her:
Angel: “What are you doing here, Lilah?”
Wesley: “She’s not here. It’s not her. It can’t be.”
Lilah: “There’s a signed dollar in your wallet that says different.”
The White Room
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In 3.17 Forgiving, Angel tortures Linwood Murrow, who agrees to give him access to the White Room, an inter-dimensional space used by Wolfram & Hart to house an entity that serves as the Conduit to the Senior Partners. The White Room is a guarded secret and few know how to access it.
To reach the White Room in 3.17 Forgiving, Angel enters an elevator and presses the following buttons: 18, 23, 20, 28, 27, emergency button, and a button which appears after this sequence.
The White Room is also seen in the following episodes:
- 4.08 Habeas Corpses: the Beast kills the conduit in the form of a little girl.
- 4.22 Home: Gunn accesses the White Room and meets a black panther.
- 5.04 Hell Bound: Gunn takes Angel to the White Room and makes a deal with the panther conduit to save Spike.
- 5.15 A Hole In The World: Gunn goes to the White Room to try and save Fred but has a fight with the conduit in the form of himself.
Tim Minear
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Tim Minear was born in New York, grew up in Whittier, California, and studied film at California State University, Long Beach. He was a production assistant in the 1980s on films such as Re-Animator, Dudes and Platoon. His first television spec (an episode of The X-Files) landed him his first prime time television job on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. He was then hired on The X-Files writing staff in the show’s fifth season. Tim then wrote for the ABC series Strange World.
The following year, Tim became a producer then executive producer on Angel, and wrote and directed several episodes. When Whedon launched his new TV series Firefly, he asked Tim to share executive producing duties while still working on Angel. After Firefly was cancelled Tim returned full time to Angel. He has since worked on Wonderfalls and The Inside.
Toasting family
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The scene of Connor’s happy new life in 4.22 Home, in which he toasts his new family, is similar to the dream Angel had when he was underwater in 4.01 Deep Down. The life Connor has now is the life Angel wanted for himself, his son and his colleagues.