Angel, "Untouched" Review (2x04)

Brief Synopsis: “Due to a vision from Cordelia, Angel comes across a young telekinetic called Bethany. Bethany’s powers are beyond her control so Angel takes her in and tries to teach her how to use her powers constructively. Little does Angel know, Bethany is being manipulated by Wolfram & Hart’s Lilah, who intends to detonate the ticking time bomb...”

"First Impressions" (2x03) quick link here                                                                                                                    "Dear Boy" (2x05) quick link here

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With that being said, let’s get started, shall we?



The subject of abuse has been tackled to death in the television genre. Every villain in the world seems to have suffered physical or sexual abuse and every television show seems to have an episode or twelve that revolves around abuse. It’s natural for shows to do this as it’s sadly a common occurrence in the real world. The problem is that most shows do it wrong. It comes across as forced or unrealistic. As someone who has suffered abuse myself, I think I have a good gage on what feels realistic and what doesn’t. What “Untouched” offers us is a realistic look at a sexually abusive father-daughter relationship. Of course, this is the Buffyverse, so a supernatural element needs to be thrown in. Enter Bethany’s telekinetic abilities. Due to her former abuse, Bethany’s powers and highly unstable and she has no control over them. If someone upsets her, she usually accidentally ends up killing them. Oops. The decision to tie Bethany’s story into Wolfram & Hart was genius, as it allows Lilah to shine and be one of the focal points of an episode for the first time. Thus far, Lindsey received a central episode in season one’s “Blind Date”, which also allowed Holland Manners to garner a great deal of screen time. Lilah has been a secondary recurring character up until now. She’s been in quite a few episodes, but we know almost nothing about her except the fact that she works at Wolfram & Hart. “Untouched” gives us a glimpse into her life and motivations, while not revealing everything about her. As Lilah goes on to be instrumental in the show, this glimpse is most welcomed. Lindsey is all about power. He remained at Wolfram & Hart at the conclusion of “Blind Date” because it gave him the ability to further his quest for power. Lilah, while also liking power and control, has a different primary motive: self-preservation. If she fails in her duties with Bethany, Holland may kill her. The cool thing about Lilah is that this doesn’t make her character empathetic or likeable. Lilah is evil because she enjoys being evil. No redemption, no atonement, no traumatic past...she just enjoys messing with Angel and having the ability to do what she wants in the world. In addition to this, bringing Wolfram & Hart into the story takes the episode away from being completely standalone and gives it the opportunity to tie into the season arc a little more. As the season arc is particularly strong during season two, “Untouched” adding to it can only be a good thing.

As far as Bethany goes, I’ve mentioned that the portrayal of abuse is realistic. What makes it realistic isn’t just the big moments, such as Bethany’s reactions to seeing her father again. It’s the little moments as well. The subtleties and facial expressions that give away that Bethany was abused long before the episode makes us aware of this fact. The mention of ‘hide and seek’, the look that Bethany gives any adult male in the room, saying people are pathetic, offering herself up sexually to Angel because she feels that’s all that men want from her, calling herself a ‘slut’...it all adds to a very convincing portrayal. Due to her traumatic abuse at the hands of her father, Bethany has grown up feeling worthless, powerless, and disconnected from the world. It’s because of this that her powers are so unstable. Bethany has never been in control of anything in her life. She doesn’t trust anybody, she avoids human contact, she doesn’t want to be touched (hence the title), and she’s drifting through life under the shadow of her father, just trying to survive...does this sound familiar to someone else when they first moved to Los Angeles? I’m looking at you, Angel. He even has the daddy issues! Angel offers Bethany something she’s never had. The ability to control something in her life: her powers. Angel’s a vampire. Unlike everyone else in Bethany’s life, Angel can help her control her powers without worrying about being killed by, let’s say, a rebar through the chest? Mere Smith does a terrific job of making Bethany not only an empathetic and realistic character, but also an unstable and frightening one that could do damage to anybody, including our heroes. Also, kudos in getting Joss Whedon to direct your first episode personally. I think this is the only episode of “Angel” or “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” that Joss directed, but didn’t write. This isn’t the first episode of “Angel” that tackles the subject of abuse. Hell, it isn’t even the first time “Angel” has tackled the subject of abuse within a family (“I’ve Got You Under My Skin”). However, it is the first time sexual abuse has been addressed and out of every episode of “Angel” that looks at abuse, this is the most accurate to real life.

The episode opens with Darla having a polite chat with Lilah about dreams. Through Angel’s dreams, Darla is able to successfully manipulate Angel on a subconscious level. She’s reawakening his need for her, she’s pulling him away from helping the helpless, and she has him lying to his friends and isolating himself because of the drugs that she’s feeding him. She has a great deal of control over Angel’s life just because she’s manipulating his dreams. She’s making herself the centre of his world once again and Angel is so distracted by it that she’s able to sneak around the Hyperion Hotel without being noticed. Like Bethany’s father with her, Darla has complete control over Angel. I feel that this is why Bethany’s abuse flashbacks (damn, Bethany’s abuse flashbacks are brutal to watch) often coincide with Darla and Angelus flashbacks where they’re having sex or being animalistic towards one another. Both Angel and Bethany are being controlled through sexual contact. In Bethany’s case, she’s trying to escape it, but can’t. In Angel’s case, he’s being forced to remember the exciting times he had with Darla. Also, on behalf of the entire fandom, I’ve got to thank Mere Smith and the wardrobe department for putting Darla in that corset during the flashbacks. We appreciate it.

After Cordy and Gunn’s newfound friendship in the last episode (“First Impressions”) and Cordelia now working as Gunn’s protector of sorts, Cordy is trying to get Gunn on the Angel Investigations payroll. I’m all for it. Gunn is an official member of the team after this episode, which is awesome. Plus, the man has paid his dues! He’s helped Angel on their last 5 on-screen cases. The only downside to him joining the team is that he’s walking away from his crew. The crew he’s been the leader of and looking out for since he was a kid. The crew that made him a hubcap axe. The crew that looks up to him and respects him. Since Alonna’s death, Gunn wants a different life for himself and that is what Angel is offering him. He doesn’t leave his crew instantly, but he barely sees them by the end of this season.

Cordelia receives a vision (that conveniently waits until Angel has woken up before appearing) of a young woman in trouble. This is where Bethany is introduced to us. Bethany is cornered down an alley, where two men are trying to rape her at knife-point. It’s a disturbing scene to watch, but it needs to be in order to show the audience what type of life Bethany is leading...then a dumpster flies across the alley and smushes the would be rapists against a wall. WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?! Why would the Powers That Be give Cordelia a vision of a woman in danger if Angel doesn’t have enough time to get there? Because the vision isn’t about the attempted rape or even the smushed thugs, it’s about saving Bethany’s soul. As I’ve mentioned before, “Angel” is a show about saving souls, not just lives. Angel finds Bethany, tries to help Bethany, takes a rebar through the chest, gives her a business card, and Bethany runs away into the arms of her friend...LILAH?! OH EM GEE!

One of the interesting things about “Angel” as a show is that the villains always seem to be three-dimensional, grey-area villains. We get to see their motivations, see that they’re doing what they’re doing for a reason. We get to see them struggle between choosing the right or wrong path. Let’s have a quick look at the major villains of the show thus far...Faith, Darla, Lindsey, Lilah, and Holland. Four of these characters are extremely well fleshed-out and you can see that there is good and bad within them (the exception being Holland). Holtz and Jasmine later continue this trend. I adore grey-area villains. They’re so much more interesting than a villain set on destruction for the sake of destruction. Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to see that every once in a while, but I love villains that are oddly relatable and when you can somewhat see their point of view. In the case of Lilah, she’s using Bethany to further her own needs, but there are moments when she genuinely seems to care about Bethany and you can’t tell if she means what she’s saying or not. Those tiny seeds of doubt make all the difference in the world.

Oh my God, Wolfram & Hart perform talks in schools to scout for potential talent. Holland found Lindsey this way, Lilah found Bethany this way...what a weird recruitment program. Effective, but hilarious when you consider the fact that they’re a multi-dimensional, eternal law firm dedicated to controlling the universe and ruining Angel’s life...and they’re handing out pamphlets at colleges.

Cordelia: “Stop moving.”
Angel: “I’m not.”
Cordelia: “Well then stop breathing.”
Angel: “I don’t breathe.”
Cordelia: “Then stop flexing your manly boob muscles or whatever.”

One of Angel’s biggest strengths, more so than any other character in the Buffyverse (in my opinion), is that he can relate to pretty much everyone. Demons, vampires, humans, werewolves, aliens...he can empathise with them, see himself in them, and has the ability to help them and get them to accomplish things that they never could of before meeting him. Faith is one example of this, as I feel that nobody but Angel could have saved her from herself. Bethany is another example. Angel seems to be the first person that has ever been able to get through to Bethany and help her try to control her telekinetic abilities and use them in a positive, constructive way.

Wesley: “I didn’t notice a vibe.”
Cordelia: “Well, all evidence to the contrary, Wes, but you’re not a woman.”

That was revenge for the advanced bosoms comment earlier. Wesley may not have noticed a vibe, but he did notice that Bethany has been abused by one of her parents, due to her ‘family business’ remark and her general attitude. Statistically speaking, it’s the father, so Wesley forced Bethany into revealing that her father is the trigger of her controllable power by getting her all riled up and agitated. It was a very risky move and highly dangerous, but it needed to be done. After this, Angel tells Wesley that he has to leave the hotel for a while so that Bethany can heal.

From a realism standpoint, my favourite scene of the episode is the one where Bethany goes to visit Angel in his bedroom to offer him a sexual reward for helping her. Of course, she interrupts him having a sexy dream about Darla, so he wakes...up. Bethany’s self-esteem and sense of self-worth is so low that she offers herself to Angel because she thinks that’s all that Angel is after from her. She can’t fathom that Angel doesn’t want anything for helping her. She’s been brainwashed into thinking that she’s good for nothing except to be used and abused by men, which is how someone who has been sexually abused usually ends up feeling. Angel tells Bethany that all she’s going to get from him is his support and my feels just break. Darla eavesdropping on the conversation is uber creepy. It’s such a raw, emotional conversation for someone to listen in to!

Slowly, Bethany learns to control her powers. I get a great deal of satisfaction in watching Bethany wrap Cordelia’s scarf around Angel’s neck using her telekinesis. Under Angel’s guidance, she’s finally gaining control over one aspect of her life.

My other favourite scene of the episode is Cordelia telling Bethany off for trying to sleep with Angel. Not only would this have cataclysmic results in the form of Angel potentially losing his soul as his little soldiers storm the gates, but Cordy is also fearful for other reasons. The difference between the bitchy Cordelia of Sunnydale and the Cordelia of “Angel” season two is the way in which she conveys her opinions. She’s still honest (sometimes to the point of brutally honest), but she says it in a more caring, empathetic tone now. After Vocah opened her mind up to the problems of the world in “To Shanshu In L.A.”, Cordy can understand other people more and she has another reason to help them. I really appreciate Cordelia’s protectiveness of Angel. Angel and Cordy are the only two original members of Angel Investigations left alive and it’s a testament to how close they’ve grown that Cordelia would reprimand Bethany in this way. She tells Bethany that Bethany already had some control over her powers before Angel started helping her. She could have floated the attempted rapists away, but instead she squished them under a dumpster. She’s telling Bethany that it’s time she started taking responsibility for her life and her actions. No matter how bad your life has been, no matter how much abuse you’ve suffered, you’re still in control of your own actions and you’re capable of choosing to change. This pep-talk will play a vital role in Bethany’s decision at the end of the episode regarding her father.

Lilah arranges for some thugs to kidnap Bethany, but the plan is foiled by super-Angel saving her. We also learn that the attempted rape in the alley was orchestrated by Lilah. To counteract Angel saving Bethany, Lilah decides to ‘pull the trigger’ on Bethany. Little did we know, this is an actual emotional trigger that will make Bethany catatonic. What’s the trigger? Having her father show up at the Hyperion Hotel...I dread to think of the cost to replace all those windows. I guess Angel won’t be able to afford to pay Gunn for a while after all. Bethany uses her telekinesis to fling her father out of a window. She would have been entirely justified to let his abusive carcass splat on the pavement. Instead, due to her work with Angel and her conversation with Cordy, Bethany allows her father to live. For the first time in her entire life, she was in control of him and not the other way around. Bethany gets her power back and her father’s hold over her is broken once and for all. I prefer this ending to Bethany killing her father because it means she’s starting to deal with her childhood for the first time. If she killed him, she’d never be out from under his shadow. Instead, she was the bigger person and can move on with her life. My only regret is that they never brought her back for another episode down the line.

In closing, I just want to take a moment to tell you all that you’re not alone. If you’ve suffered abuse yourself, if you’re currently suffering abuse, whether it’s physical, mental, sexual, or psychological, get help. Talk to someone. Don’t stay and suffer in silence. The world can be a cruel place to be sometimes. Stay safe.


Quote Of The Episode

Wesley: “I am not a sheep.”

Cordelia: “You are such a sheep! You’ve never had a single opinion you didn’t read in a book.”

Wesley: “At least I’ve opened a book!”

Cordelia: “Oh, don’t even try with the snooty, woolly-boy. I was the top 10% of my class.”

Wesley: “What class? Advanced bosoms?”


Burn. Such burn. I love the “you’re a sheep” call-back to “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” season two’s “Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered”, where Cordelia gives this big speech to Harmony about being a sheep. Also, any time Cordy and Wesley argue, it’s gold. 



FINAL SCORE: 7/10

What are your thoughts on "Untouched"? Did you enjoy this episode? Dislike it? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments section below!

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