"In The Dark" (1x03) quick link here "Rm w/a Vu" (1x05) quick link here
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1) This review will almost definitely contain spoilers for episodes after this one.
1) This review will almost definitely contain spoilers for episodes after this one.
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With that being said, let’s get started, shall we?
The premise of “I Fall To Pieces” is basically supernatural stalking. As I’ve mentioned before, one of my favourite things about the Buffyverse is its ability to take real life issues, add a supernatural spin to them, but keep the bottom line message the same. This episode is no different. Stalking is a very common occurrence in the world and I’m sure that it made a lot of people uncomfortable to watch this. A creepy neurosurgeon called Dr. Ronald Meltzer starts stalking a girl called Melissa that he went on one date with. The only difference between his stalking and stalking in the real world is the fact that he can remove and reattach his limbs at will! I cannot emphasise enough how much 11-year-old Shangel screamed when he first watched this episode. Ugh. If stalking wasn’t horrific enough, this episode had to give us the addition comforts of floating eyes and wandering hands...without arms attached to them! Sweet mama, save me!
After watching this episode, it was apparent that the show was still trying to find its feet. I think they had a general premise laid out and had an idea of where they wanted the show to go, but I don’t think they’d figured out the week-to-week stories completely yet. It reminds me a lot of “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” season one and early season two. The episodes themselves were good, but a lot of them were heavy handed and didn’t interweave as subtly or as convincingly as the episodes that followed. “I Fall To Pieces” isn’t a terrible episode. In fact, I think that it’s underappreciated by the fandom in general. There’s no denying that the episode is below average, but it’s better than it gets credit for. Is it the best episode of the season? Certainly not. It’s not even in the best fifteen episodes of the season. However, it does have more going for it than episodes like “The Bachelor Party”, “Expecting”, and “She”. I think the problem that people find with this episode is that nothing overly significant happens that will affect any of the main characters moving forwards. Angel Investigations start getting paid for their work after this episode, but there is no character development or new information about Angel, Cordelia, Doyle, or even Kate in this episode. With the show being so new, I feel like the writers should be trying to give new viewers a reason to stick around and “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” fans to give it a try beyond the story-of-the-week. Give us a reason to be attached to the characters (for those people that haven’t seen “Buffy The Vampire Slayer”)! Luckily, “Angel” starts to do this very thing from the next episode, “Rm w/a Vu”. There is one thing that really helps this episode though, but sadly it’s something that is lost on new viewers of the show. In order to fully appreciate this episode, you need to have either seen “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” seasons 1-3 or have seen “Angel” season four. Why, you ask? Angelus.
The primary focus of this episode is Dr. Meltzer, Melissa, and stalking, but there is a secondary plot in place as well. Angel and Cordelia are having a moral dilemma: is it fair to charge people for saving their lives? I can see both sides of the argument. Cordelia argues that they need to charge clients in order to keep the business afloat...and, ya know, afford food. They’re providing a service and are entitled to receive a financial reward for providing that service. On the flipside of that, Angel is too proud to ask people for money. He wants to be the hero of the piece. He wants to be able to swoop in, save people, and walk off into the sunset with his black coat billowing behind him. He feels that asking for money will cheapen (no pun intended) the work that he’s doing. He doesn’t want to save someone and then ask for money. I can see it now...
Damsel-In-Distress: “My...you saved my life. How can I ever repay you?”
Angel: “It’s funny you should mention that. Here’s my invoice. I accept credit cards and cash...but not cheques.”
I personally feel it depends on the case itself. If Doyle receives a vision and Angel saves someone, he shouldn’t charge them. They didn’t ask to be saved. In a situation like Melissa’s one where she goes to Angel Investigations and asks for them to help, then they have every right to charge. They’re providing a service that their client wants. The client wanting to be saved is the difference between charging and not charging in my eyes.
Then we get to the meat of the episode itself: Dr. Ronald Meltzer. Played by the incredibly talented Andy Umberger, who also plays D’Hoffryn in “Buffy The Vampire Slayer”, as well as having a role in “Firefly” as a Dortmunder Captain. We first discover Melissa trying to withdraw money from an ATM machine. Ronald has changed her pin number to the day that they met...So. Damn. Creepy. It’s so creepy because it’s such a passive aggressive thing to do. It’s so intrusive! Ronald is displaying to Melissa that he has total control over her, even in her every day mundane actions. He’s a constant presence in her life. For that reason, she can never get him out of her mind, which is what he wants. He wants her to be thinking about him constantly (in a more romantic way than she is, granted). He wants to be the sole focus of her life. That is what stalking is all about: control. He has it, she doesn’t. He’s holding all the cards. What can she possibly do to combat this? She hires Angel Investigations.
Ronald’s ability to detach his limbs at will is genuinely one of the creepiest things that I’ve ever seen on television. Is it scary? Not at all. I think it’s one of those situations where the viewer’s mind can do as much damage as the villain himself. The episode makes you think about what he’s done before and what he’s doing now when the camera isn’t there. He’s watched her shower, watched her undress, watched her at work, and watched her during her most private moments. It isn’t a case of him being outside with a pair of binoculars either, his eyes are in the room. Melissa is aware that he’s constantly watching her somehow, but she’s powerless to do anything about it. The police can’t stop him. The special effects are spectacular for 1999 too. Granted, “The Matrix” came out that year, which set a new standard for C.G.I., but this is television. Television on a very strict first season budget at that. Ronald’s detached parts look convincing, which greatly adds to the presentation of the episode. The Buffyverse has certainly come a long way since the penis-looking demon from Buffy season two’s “Reptile Boy”, Machida, or Lurconis from Buffy season three’s “Band Candy”.
The creepiest scene of the episode without a doubt is the scene where Ronald is standing outside of Melissa’s house and his hands are inside the house, slowly going down Melissa’s bed sheets. So fucking creepy. This episode goes from supernatural stalking to supernatural stalking and supernatural sexual assault. It’s yet another example of a story that “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” simply wouldn’t be able to tell during its fourth season. Not only does “Angel” have an older target audience than “Buffy The Vampire Slayer”, but this story just seems to fit better in the Los Angeles environment.
I mentioned before that you need to have seen Angelus in action to truly appreciate this episode. This is because the similarities between Dr. Ronald Meltzer and Angelus are apparent. Going back to “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” season two (and other bits and pieces that we’ve learned about Angelus’ past thus far), Angelus had a habit of stalking his victims – especially ones that he had a romantic connection with. He would sneak into Buffy’s house and draw pictures of her. He would follow her when she was patrolling, he would stalk her family and friends, and he would leave messages for her to find. Dr. Meltzer has these same tendencies that Angelus possesses. It’s because of this that Angel creates the fake wife story. He knows that Dr. Meltzer will help him because Dr. Meltzer is obsessed with Melissa. Let’s not gloss over the fact that Dr. Meltzer is obsessed with Melissa. It’s not love, it’s not infatuation, it’s obsession. Selfish obsession. Dr. Meltzer represents a large section of what Angel hates about himself. Dr. Meltzer is committing a lot of the crimes that Angelus himself committed. Similarly to this, Melissa is a lot like Buffy was when Angelus was stalking her. Melissa has lost her power. She’s terrified. She has no idea how to fight back and even if she did, she doesn’t have the strength inside herself anymore to fight back. Eventually, Buffy found that strength and sent Angel to Hell with Acathla. Melissa needs to find that same strength here to ever be free of Ronald. Kate reiterates this exact point to Angel...
Kate: “This guy could go to jail tomorrow, Angel, and still kill her in her dreams every night. I’ve put a few of these creeps away and the hardest thing is knowing that he’s still winning. She’s still afraid. He took this girl’s power away and nobody can get it back for her but her.”
Firstly, it’s so nice to see Kate back. There was no indication at the conclusion of “Lonely Hearts” that she would be appearing again, so I was pleasantly surprised to find her pop up in this episode. Kate’s speech here is extremely powerful because it’s entirely true. It holds true for any kind of abuse. Whether it’s physical abuse, emotional, mental, or verbal. I agree with Kate entirely. The only way to truly be free from the chains that hold you down inside of your own head is to save yourself. You need to regain your power. While I’ve never been stalked myself (I have been cyber stalked), I have been subjected to years of physical and emotional abuse. Even years after it had all stopped, I never felt free until I finally confronted all of those issues head on and regained my power. This is one of those times where Angel can’t really ‘save’ his client. He can save her from physically being killed or stalked by Dr. Meltzer, but Melissa must save herself from Ronald’s psychological grasp on her in the long run.
Eventually, Dr. Meltzer attacks Melissa and Angel Investigations in Angel’s apartment. One of his hands starts crawling across the floor! Stab it! Stab it! For the love of God, someone stab it!
Angel takes Kate’s advice and explains to Melissa that she must be the one to stop Ronald.
Angel: “You survived a living Hell these last few months and you’re still standing while he’s coming unhinged not being able to control you. He’s the weak one, you’re the strong one.”
It’s moments like these that make me love Angel as a character. He said more inspiring and interesting dialogue to Melissa in 20 seconds than he did in three years in Sunnydale (excluding Angelus). He helps build Melissa back up and gives her the strength to stand up for herself again Ronald. Without his pep talk, I don’t think Melissa could have found the strength to yell at Ronald. Melissa calls Ronald weak and tells him that she’d rather die than be with him. As soon as she says this and realises herself that it’s true, his power over her is lost forever. At this moment, Melissa would genuinely rather be dead than be with Ronald or live in fear of him any longer. After four episodes of trying, Angel finally gets to save the damsel in distress. I guess you could count Kate in “Lonely Hearts”, but as Kate saved Angel and Kate was secretly undercover as a police officer, this is the first episode where it feels like Angel has really made a difference in someone’s life since moving to Los Angeles.
In addition to all of this joy, Angel Investigations finally get paid for the first time. The look of sheer exuberant joy on Cordelia’s face as she sees this is beyond hilarious. Cordelia may be growing as a person, but she still loves money and the finer things in life.
Some other thoughts on “I Fall To Pieces”...
• Angel is drinking coffee. I thought it made him jittery, why would he drink it? He doesn’t really experience the full taste of it (as he states in “I Will Remember You”) and it gives him no nutritional value. At least Spike has the “texture” excuse for his Weetabix.
• I knew Doyle was a little attracted to Angel! I wonder how many fan fictions this statement has spawned over the years...
• Angel is wearing a non-black sweater! What kind of alternate dimension have I walked into? Seriously, it’s like seeing a dog walk on its hind legs or something. Are we in the Wishverse right now?
Quote Of The Episode
Cordelia: “You’re a lot smarter than you look. ‘Course, you look like a retard...”
Charming girl is our Cordelia.
FINAL SCORE: 4/10
With that being said, let’s get started, shall we?
The premise of “I Fall To Pieces” is basically supernatural stalking. As I’ve mentioned before, one of my favourite things about the Buffyverse is its ability to take real life issues, add a supernatural spin to them, but keep the bottom line message the same. This episode is no different. Stalking is a very common occurrence in the world and I’m sure that it made a lot of people uncomfortable to watch this. A creepy neurosurgeon called Dr. Ronald Meltzer starts stalking a girl called Melissa that he went on one date with. The only difference between his stalking and stalking in the real world is the fact that he can remove and reattach his limbs at will! I cannot emphasise enough how much 11-year-old Shangel screamed when he first watched this episode. Ugh. If stalking wasn’t horrific enough, this episode had to give us the addition comforts of floating eyes and wandering hands...without arms attached to them! Sweet mama, save me!
After watching this episode, it was apparent that the show was still trying to find its feet. I think they had a general premise laid out and had an idea of where they wanted the show to go, but I don’t think they’d figured out the week-to-week stories completely yet. It reminds me a lot of “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” season one and early season two. The episodes themselves were good, but a lot of them were heavy handed and didn’t interweave as subtly or as convincingly as the episodes that followed. “I Fall To Pieces” isn’t a terrible episode. In fact, I think that it’s underappreciated by the fandom in general. There’s no denying that the episode is below average, but it’s better than it gets credit for. Is it the best episode of the season? Certainly not. It’s not even in the best fifteen episodes of the season. However, it does have more going for it than episodes like “The Bachelor Party”, “Expecting”, and “She”. I think the problem that people find with this episode is that nothing overly significant happens that will affect any of the main characters moving forwards. Angel Investigations start getting paid for their work after this episode, but there is no character development or new information about Angel, Cordelia, Doyle, or even Kate in this episode. With the show being so new, I feel like the writers should be trying to give new viewers a reason to stick around and “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” fans to give it a try beyond the story-of-the-week. Give us a reason to be attached to the characters (for those people that haven’t seen “Buffy The Vampire Slayer”)! Luckily, “Angel” starts to do this very thing from the next episode, “Rm w/a Vu”. There is one thing that really helps this episode though, but sadly it’s something that is lost on new viewers of the show. In order to fully appreciate this episode, you need to have either seen “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” seasons 1-3 or have seen “Angel” season four. Why, you ask? Angelus.
The primary focus of this episode is Dr. Meltzer, Melissa, and stalking, but there is a secondary plot in place as well. Angel and Cordelia are having a moral dilemma: is it fair to charge people for saving their lives? I can see both sides of the argument. Cordelia argues that they need to charge clients in order to keep the business afloat...and, ya know, afford food. They’re providing a service and are entitled to receive a financial reward for providing that service. On the flipside of that, Angel is too proud to ask people for money. He wants to be the hero of the piece. He wants to be able to swoop in, save people, and walk off into the sunset with his black coat billowing behind him. He feels that asking for money will cheapen (no pun intended) the work that he’s doing. He doesn’t want to save someone and then ask for money. I can see it now...
Damsel-In-Distress: “My...you saved my life. How can I ever repay you?”
Angel: “It’s funny you should mention that. Here’s my invoice. I accept credit cards and cash...but not cheques.”
I personally feel it depends on the case itself. If Doyle receives a vision and Angel saves someone, he shouldn’t charge them. They didn’t ask to be saved. In a situation like Melissa’s one where she goes to Angel Investigations and asks for them to help, then they have every right to charge. They’re providing a service that their client wants. The client wanting to be saved is the difference between charging and not charging in my eyes.
Then we get to the meat of the episode itself: Dr. Ronald Meltzer. Played by the incredibly talented Andy Umberger, who also plays D’Hoffryn in “Buffy The Vampire Slayer”, as well as having a role in “Firefly” as a Dortmunder Captain. We first discover Melissa trying to withdraw money from an ATM machine. Ronald has changed her pin number to the day that they met...So. Damn. Creepy. It’s so creepy because it’s such a passive aggressive thing to do. It’s so intrusive! Ronald is displaying to Melissa that he has total control over her, even in her every day mundane actions. He’s a constant presence in her life. For that reason, she can never get him out of her mind, which is what he wants. He wants her to be thinking about him constantly (in a more romantic way than she is, granted). He wants to be the sole focus of her life. That is what stalking is all about: control. He has it, she doesn’t. He’s holding all the cards. What can she possibly do to combat this? She hires Angel Investigations.
Ronald’s ability to detach his limbs at will is genuinely one of the creepiest things that I’ve ever seen on television. Is it scary? Not at all. I think it’s one of those situations where the viewer’s mind can do as much damage as the villain himself. The episode makes you think about what he’s done before and what he’s doing now when the camera isn’t there. He’s watched her shower, watched her undress, watched her at work, and watched her during her most private moments. It isn’t a case of him being outside with a pair of binoculars either, his eyes are in the room. Melissa is aware that he’s constantly watching her somehow, but she’s powerless to do anything about it. The police can’t stop him. The special effects are spectacular for 1999 too. Granted, “The Matrix” came out that year, which set a new standard for C.G.I., but this is television. Television on a very strict first season budget at that. Ronald’s detached parts look convincing, which greatly adds to the presentation of the episode. The Buffyverse has certainly come a long way since the penis-looking demon from Buffy season two’s “Reptile Boy”, Machida, or Lurconis from Buffy season three’s “Band Candy”.
The creepiest scene of the episode without a doubt is the scene where Ronald is standing outside of Melissa’s house and his hands are inside the house, slowly going down Melissa’s bed sheets. So fucking creepy. This episode goes from supernatural stalking to supernatural stalking and supernatural sexual assault. It’s yet another example of a story that “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” simply wouldn’t be able to tell during its fourth season. Not only does “Angel” have an older target audience than “Buffy The Vampire Slayer”, but this story just seems to fit better in the Los Angeles environment.
I mentioned before that you need to have seen Angelus in action to truly appreciate this episode. This is because the similarities between Dr. Ronald Meltzer and Angelus are apparent. Going back to “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” season two (and other bits and pieces that we’ve learned about Angelus’ past thus far), Angelus had a habit of stalking his victims – especially ones that he had a romantic connection with. He would sneak into Buffy’s house and draw pictures of her. He would follow her when she was patrolling, he would stalk her family and friends, and he would leave messages for her to find. Dr. Meltzer has these same tendencies that Angelus possesses. It’s because of this that Angel creates the fake wife story. He knows that Dr. Meltzer will help him because Dr. Meltzer is obsessed with Melissa. Let’s not gloss over the fact that Dr. Meltzer is obsessed with Melissa. It’s not love, it’s not infatuation, it’s obsession. Selfish obsession. Dr. Meltzer represents a large section of what Angel hates about himself. Dr. Meltzer is committing a lot of the crimes that Angelus himself committed. Similarly to this, Melissa is a lot like Buffy was when Angelus was stalking her. Melissa has lost her power. She’s terrified. She has no idea how to fight back and even if she did, she doesn’t have the strength inside herself anymore to fight back. Eventually, Buffy found that strength and sent Angel to Hell with Acathla. Melissa needs to find that same strength here to ever be free of Ronald. Kate reiterates this exact point to Angel...
Kate: “This guy could go to jail tomorrow, Angel, and still kill her in her dreams every night. I’ve put a few of these creeps away and the hardest thing is knowing that he’s still winning. She’s still afraid. He took this girl’s power away and nobody can get it back for her but her.”
Firstly, it’s so nice to see Kate back. There was no indication at the conclusion of “Lonely Hearts” that she would be appearing again, so I was pleasantly surprised to find her pop up in this episode. Kate’s speech here is extremely powerful because it’s entirely true. It holds true for any kind of abuse. Whether it’s physical abuse, emotional, mental, or verbal. I agree with Kate entirely. The only way to truly be free from the chains that hold you down inside of your own head is to save yourself. You need to regain your power. While I’ve never been stalked myself (I have been cyber stalked), I have been subjected to years of physical and emotional abuse. Even years after it had all stopped, I never felt free until I finally confronted all of those issues head on and regained my power. This is one of those times where Angel can’t really ‘save’ his client. He can save her from physically being killed or stalked by Dr. Meltzer, but Melissa must save herself from Ronald’s psychological grasp on her in the long run.
Eventually, Dr. Meltzer attacks Melissa and Angel Investigations in Angel’s apartment. One of his hands starts crawling across the floor! Stab it! Stab it! For the love of God, someone stab it!
Angel takes Kate’s advice and explains to Melissa that she must be the one to stop Ronald.
Angel: “You survived a living Hell these last few months and you’re still standing while he’s coming unhinged not being able to control you. He’s the weak one, you’re the strong one.”
It’s moments like these that make me love Angel as a character. He said more inspiring and interesting dialogue to Melissa in 20 seconds than he did in three years in Sunnydale (excluding Angelus). He helps build Melissa back up and gives her the strength to stand up for herself again Ronald. Without his pep talk, I don’t think Melissa could have found the strength to yell at Ronald. Melissa calls Ronald weak and tells him that she’d rather die than be with him. As soon as she says this and realises herself that it’s true, his power over her is lost forever. At this moment, Melissa would genuinely rather be dead than be with Ronald or live in fear of him any longer. After four episodes of trying, Angel finally gets to save the damsel in distress. I guess you could count Kate in “Lonely Hearts”, but as Kate saved Angel and Kate was secretly undercover as a police officer, this is the first episode where it feels like Angel has really made a difference in someone’s life since moving to Los Angeles.
In addition to all of this joy, Angel Investigations finally get paid for the first time. The look of sheer exuberant joy on Cordelia’s face as she sees this is beyond hilarious. Cordelia may be growing as a person, but she still loves money and the finer things in life.
Some other thoughts on “I Fall To Pieces”...
• Angel is drinking coffee. I thought it made him jittery, why would he drink it? He doesn’t really experience the full taste of it (as he states in “I Will Remember You”) and it gives him no nutritional value. At least Spike has the “texture” excuse for his Weetabix.
• I knew Doyle was a little attracted to Angel! I wonder how many fan fictions this statement has spawned over the years...
• Angel is wearing a non-black sweater! What kind of alternate dimension have I walked into? Seriously, it’s like seeing a dog walk on its hind legs or something. Are we in the Wishverse right now?
Quote Of The Episode
Cordelia: “You’re a lot smarter than you look. ‘Course, you look like a retard...”
Charming girl is our Cordelia.
FINAL SCORE: 4/10
What are your thoughts on "I Fall To Pieces"? Did you enjoy this episode? Dislike it? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments section below!
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"Pen, Paper...Single Malt Scotch" Gotta love Doyle <3
ReplyDeleteI don't understand why Angel drinks coffee...I know he can drink and eat the same as humans, but he doesn't feel the taste and it doesn't have any effect on him...so basically he doesn't feel the taste of coffee and it doesn't help him stay awake or whatever. So then how in this episode is he able to feel the coffee's old? Boo contradictions.
"Maybe I am a little attracted" Of course you are Doyle, who wouldn't be! :D
This is definitely one of the weakest season 1 episodes. I agree with you that it has more going for it than Expecting and She, but I gotta admit I love Bachelor Party :P
Love what you say about the parallel between Dr Meltzer and Angelus. Very insightful, it had never occured to me before.
"As vampires go, you're pretty cuddly" awwwww :D
Kate's speech was my favorite part of the episode. This was one of the things that made me really really like her. It's powerful indeed. She has good insight into the situation because of everything I'm sure she's seen as an officer.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, Shane, when you say it's true for every form of abuse. The effects of the abuse never truly leave you, but will control you as long as you let it. It's an important part of recovering from such trauma to understand this.
I think that this episode, as many AtS episode and arcs, is good in theory but terrible and heavy handed in execution. I don't know I found this episode creepy and gross just the bit when Doyle tells Cordy he felt sort of attracted to Angel xDDDD makes me smile, their friendship is what I like the most in this part of the season until....well, you know :(
ReplyDeleteI actually liked this episode despite the creepiness. I can relate a little to what Melissa went through. I was stalked a couple months ago by some guy at my work (I was 17 then & he was 26) and I've been cyber stalked by complete strangers before too. I had only spoken to the guy twice before he started stalking me but fortunately he doesn't work there anymore. I had actually seen this episode a month before the stalking started and I stood up to him before it got really bad and he stopped.
ReplyDeleteI love the ending where Melissa finally stands up to Dr. Meltzer and he falls to pieces at the end of her speech. I think it was a good message that you should never be afraid to stand up for yourself, no matter what. I loved that Kate was brought back in the episode too and her speech. I always think of that quote whenever I'm scared to stand up to someone who's harassing me and to not back down.
"I have been subjected to years of physical and emotional abuse. Even years after it had all stopped, I never felt free until I finally confronted all of those issues head on and regained my power."
Same here & very true! I used to suffer from depression from being bullied in the past and I used relieve the things they said and did to me everyday in my mind for years. I was able to move on once I finally confronted my problems as well and let everything go. My life completely turned around once I made that realization and I'm much better now.
This episode isn't really doing anything for me, except making me laugh at the idea of a detachable penis.
ReplyDeleteI love Angel on this show even more than on BtVS - even his brooding is adorable!
ReplyDeleteIn Buffy's absence and with all the damsel in distress storylines the creators obviously felt they had to shoehorn in another hot blonde kickass character, but I do like Kate.
Also OMG creepy murderous stalking boyfriends are EVERYWHERE, y'all!!
This is one of my favorite season 1 episodes, even though it offends my I-passed-intro-biology sensibilities for the following reasons:
ReplyDelete1.) The 10% brainpower myth. Eye-roll.
2.) The fact that vampires can be affected by drugs when they have no circulation, in this and other episodes. The only vampire-biology thing that's more annoying for me in the Whedonverse is the idea that they have "no breath," when clearly they can smoke and blow out candles.
Oh, well. It just wouldn't be as fun if it made sense. :)
I love Angel's fretting over scaring the woman in the parking garage, then later him deliberately changing out of his black shirt. As previously established, he really is just a "big, fluffy puppy."