Angel, "Offspring" Review (3x07)

Brief Synopsis: “As the crew researches a prophecy predicting the imminent arrival of a being that may have a profound impact on the world, Darla arrives at the hotel, pregnant, angry, and looking for daddy Angel. Cordelia, hurt that Angel lied to her about sleeping with Darla, takes Darla’s side in the matter. As vampire births should be impossible, Angel looks to Lorne for answers.”


"Billy" (3x06) quick link here                                                                                                                                 "Quickening" (3x08) quick link here

Two quick notes before we get started...

1) This review will almost definitely contain spoilers for episodes after this one.

2) If you enjoy my reviews, please subscribe to the blog! Over on the right-hand side there's a little box that says "Follow Shangel's Reviews by Email!". If you put your Email address in there and click "Submit", then confirm your subscription, you will get each review sent straight to your inbox! No junk mail, no bullshit, just my reviews.

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



“Offspring”, much like its counterpart, “Once More With Feeling”, ushers in the true start of the season arc. What challenges will our leading character be facing in this season? Who might the villain be? How is the season going to take shape? Most of these questions are answered – at least in part – by the conclusion of this episode. As the first season of the show didn’t have a defined arc, the only episode to compare this one to thus far is last season’s “Dear Boy”, which set up the 2nd season’s arc. Out of those two episodes, “Dear Boy” is certainly the stronger, but “Offspring” isn’t without its own charm and decent moments. Is it a suspenseful, exciting, action-packed episode of television? No, it’s not, but it’s certainly entertaining enough to be deemed an average or slightly above average episode. At multiple points during my life, I’ve tried to rank the “Angel” seasons from favourite to least favourite. For some reason I find it much harder to do this with “Angel” than I do with “Buffy The Vampire Slayer”. After many, many, many attempts, I’m fairly certain that the 3rd season of “Angel” is my least favourite (or possibly 2nd least favourite behind the 4th). I can’t really put my finger on why, either. The character development is there, the shocks are there, the great episodes are there, but something is missing. I don’t know what, but something is missing. Perhaps it’s because the season is coming right off of the vastly superior 2nd season, which I deem to be one of the greatest arcs in the history of television. Perhaps it’s because while most episodes (like this one) are in that average range, very few episodes break the barrier to be great. The only episodes of the season that stand out as great straight away are “Billy”, “Lullaby”, “Waiting In The Wings”, and “Sleep Tight”. Taking this episode as an example, there’s a lot of setup and a lot of explaining to the audience that they should be scared (through the Nyazian Scroll predicting a tro-clan that will arrive and fuck shit up), but little in the way of execution. Setup episodes are needed in a 22-episode season, but there are a few too many in this particular season for my liking.

However, while he’s not the most popular character with the fandom in general, I find Daniel Holtz to be an absolutely captivating villain. A large part of the reason for this is the grey-area role reversals between Angel, Darla, and Holtz. Ordinarily, the villain is the character dressed in all black, with the vampire teeth and the fruit-punch mouth, while the hero is the handsome, caring, swaggering character. Not this time, people! Holtz is a human man that has been brought forward in time by a time-travelling demon called ‘Sahjhan’ (the actor playing Sahjhan also played the werewolf hunter ‘Cain’ in Buffy season two’s “Phases”). Holtz wants vengeance against both Angel(us) and Darla because they murdered his wife and children. On the surface, Holtz is the hero, yes? Holtz is the person that has been destroyed, manipulated, and mocked by the show’s leading character and his blonde playmate. Yet, Angel is the hero of the piece, not Holtz. This is due to Angel’s soul. Angel is not the same evil, vile, sadistic creature he was when he committed these heinous acts against Holtz and his family. In addition to this, we have Darla. Darla arrives back in Los Angeles pregnant, hungry, pissed off...and oddly emotional. The baby growing inside of her has a soul (OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD!). She has also transitioned from villain to victim because of this. Okay, ‘victim’ might be the wrong word, but she certainly has an air of vulnerability about her. So, to sum up, we have a man trying to get revenge for the death of his family, a vampire who’s pregnant and her child’s soul is starting to infect her with a little goodness, and we have a re-ensoulled vampire that has lied to his friends, used Darla to feel something other than the cold, and helped kill the first man’s family. How can Angel (and to a lesser extent, Darla) ever be painted as the hero while Holtz is painted as the villain? The answer is simple: choices.

As the season progresses, Holtz transitions from a noble hero to a twisted villain because of the choices he makes. He chooses to steal Angel’s child (through Wesley), he chooses to allow Connor to think Angel killed him, he chooses not to accept that Angel has a soul now. In comparison, through his soul and his actions, Angel has evolved into a bonafide hero. Into a man that helps the helpless, saves souls, and makes a difference to the world. Is Angel responsible for Angelus’ crimes? Should Holtz hold Angel accountable? I guess that depends on your stance with the whole Angel-Angelus situation. Some people believe that the two characters are entirely separate, while other people believe that Angel and Angelus are more similar than they are different. Where Angel’s nobility and heroism falls apart in this particular episode is that he lied to his friends about sleeping with Darla. When Cordy mentions this exact thing to him in last season’s “Disharmony”, he flat-out denies that he would ‘go nuts’ and sleep with Darla. It was easier to lie to Cordelia than it was to have another uncomfortable conversation after having just reintegrated himself with his old team. Plus, with Darla fleeing Los Angeles, he probably never thought he’d have to worry about his lie. All of this is excellent storytelling! The complicated nature of Angel’s good traits and bad traits, Darla’s complicated nature through pregnancy, and Holtz being able to turn from hero to villain at the flip of a switch all add something unique and interesting to both this episode and the season. All of this becomes more complex when you add in the tro-clan and Shanshu Prophecy aspects of the story.

One thing about this episode that is both good and bad is that you can only fully appreciate the interactions between Angel and Darla, and Angel and Cordy, if you’ve seen “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” and the first two seasons of “Angel”. Seeing the place that Angel and Cordelia are in now and then comparing it to when the two first met in Sunnydale, the evolution of their friendship and relationship is intriguing, wonderful, ridiculous, yet still completely in character and feels natural. Just within this 42-minutes, we see Angel and Cordelia grow closer. Angel is made aware of his romantic feelings for Cordy (with hilarious consequences), it looks as though they might end up dating, and then Darla arrives and ruins everything by exposing Angel’s lie. By the end of the episode their relationship is back to ambiguous and we don’t know what’s going to happen. Throw in the baby having a soul, Fred’s little rant about destiny, Lorne being the sassiest sassmaster who ever sassed, and the reveal at the end of the episode that Holtz is in Los Angeles, and you have a recipe for a decent episode, albeit not a great one. Oh, also, Gunn’s little line about Angel and Darla’s baby being an ‘uber vamp’ is hilariously ironic if you’ve seen Buffy’s final season.

Fred: “Kyerumption. It’s the one nice word I remember from the Pylean Hell dimension.”
Angel: “What’s it mean?”
Fred: “It’s when two great heroes meet on the field of battle and recognise their mutual fate...it’s also a kind of grog made out of the ox dung, but that’s archaic.”
Angel: “Oh, ah, that’s interesting.”
Fred: “When I see you and Cordelia sparring, kyerumption always comes to mind.”
Angel: “Me and Cordelia?”
Fred: “I know. She’s such a hero, with the visions and the courage. It’s only natural that you and she would be drawn to one another....ohh, plastic flowers! My favourite! They never fade, you know.”
Angel: “Ohh, whoa, wait a minute. There’s nothing going on between me and Cordelia.”
Fred: “Nothing but moira.”
Angel: “Who’s moira?”
Fred: “Moira is the gut physical attraction between two larger than life souls.”
Angel: “Ha. No, there’s no attraction. Cordelia is a friend. Someone I work with. That’s all.”
Fred: “See? You’re being chivalrous. Because you’re a hero, just like her. You got kyerumption!”
Angel: “Stop using that word!”

Methinks he doth protest too much. I can’t think of the word ‘doth’ without thinking of Tony Stark’s immortal line from The Avengers (written by Joss Whedon): “Doth mother know you weareth her drapes?”

While I consider myself a ‘Bangel’ (Buffy & Angel) guy in many regards, I can’t help but be impressed and excited with the evolution of Angel and Cordelia’s friendship and relationship. Every step of the way it’s felt natural, realistic, and interesting. One of the more recent aspects to this relationship is Angel teaching Cordelia how to fight and control her emotions during battle. This leads to a highly amusing scene where Cordelia ‘accidentally’ hits Angel hard in the face. Angel brushes it off and says that she can’t hurt him, but he quickly turns away from her and makes an owwey face. He later asks her if he’s swelling. I’m assuming he meant his face from the kick, but with the realisation that he has romantic feelings for her, it could be another area. It’s great to see that Angel and Cordelia’s relationship has not only grown this season, but it’s beyond what it was before Darth Angel emerged during the last season. Cordy feels comfortable enough with Angel now to be intimate with him and let him hold her during their workout routines. This is particularly relevant with Darla returning to Los Angeles and revealing to Cordy that Angel lied to her face. Oops.

Fred is correct. Angel is so obviously attracted to Cordelia and has been since around the time he rejoined the group in the last season. The only question mark thus far is whether or not Cordy reciprocates his feelings. While Angel has been dropping hints left, right, and centre (such as his reaction to Cordelia’s “I love him!” comment in “There’s No Place Like Plrtz Glrb” or his overreaction to the director in “Belonging”), Cordelia hasn’t been dropping any hints...which is unusual for a character that is usually so open-mouthed and tactless. At this particular juncture, I don’t think Cordy has romantic feelings for Angel. They come soon, very soon, but not yet. By “Birthday” (four episodes after this one) they’re definitely there. At the moment I think she merely views him as her closest friend and greatest companion...until Darla shows up at the Hyperion Hotel. Understandably so, Cordelia is enraged and hurt that Angel lied to her about something that was so important at the time he lied to her about it. Darla’s return not only brings with it the revelation of the lie, but it also reminds Cordelia of everything she went through during the last season. Darla being brought back from the dead by Wolfram & Hart was the catalyst for Angel to turn dark. It was the catalyst for Angel to fire her and discard her from his life like she was trash. These feelings of neglect, betrayal, and sadness slap Cordy in the face as soon as Darla arrives at the hotel and they only get worse when Cordy discovers that Angel is the father of Darla’s unborn bump. Angel’s lack of taking charge of the situation and owning up to what he did drives Cordy further away from him and further into the pregnant arms of Darla. I don’t think Cordy empathises with Darla so much as she’s annoyed with Angel. Would Cordy have been that empathetic to Darla if Angel wasn’t the father? Certainly not. She’d have thrown Darla out of the Hyperion. Confused, directionless, and seeking guidance, Angel and the team turn to the demon that specialises in putting people on their paths...Lorne. The three Furies from “That Old Gang Of Mine” are at Caritas re-casting the spell that disallows violence in Caritas...

Three Furies: “Mmm, Angel.”
Cordelia: “And here we have three more of Angel’s chippies. You girls are on the pill I hope.”

I’m not sure what makes me laugh more, the above remark from Cordy or Lorne’s reaction to the news that Darla is pregnant because Angel ‘boned her’. Speaking of Angel boning Darla...

Cordy: “You used her to make you feel better during your dark time. Well, that makes it all heroic.”

Does this remind anyone else of Buffy and Spike’s relationship while this episode is taking place? This episode parallels “Once More With Feeling”, where Buffy kisses Spike at the end because she wants to feel something other than the cold. THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED WITH ANGEL DURING THE LAST SEASON, WHICH LED TO ANGEL BONING DARLA AND IMPREGNATING HER! Cordy’s line above could just as easily be applied to Buffy as it is to Angel here. Buffy spends most of season six using Spike because she’s depressed and turning to him to try to feel something human. I also appreciate Wesley’s line to Angel about how Fred has been through enough recently without people shouting at her too. Wes is clearly still feeling guilty about his actions while possessed by Billy Blim in the last episode. Even though it wasn’t technically his fault, the revelation that all Billy does is bring something primal in men to the forefront makes Wesley think that the evil was within him all along, buried deep down.

Shifting the focus back to Darla, the episode does a great job of making her sympathetic and making Angel seem like the bad guy in the predicament. Sure, she’s a soulless psychopath, but she’s pregnant, so we have to feel a little sympathetic towards her even before we discover that the little baby Connor has a soul. Most of this sympathy stems from Julie Benz and her indescribable presence and acting ability. Darla is a vampire that has been alive for over 400 years. She’s used to people fearing her, she’s used to power, and the last thing she ever expected inside a dead human body was to be carrying a child. Frankly, she’s terrified...which should have been our first clue that the child had a soul. Darla is hungry. She’s craving answers, food, and an escape from the reality of her situation. Another interesting thing to note is how each character reacts to the return of Darla. Angel has an “oh shit!” look on his face because he knows A) he’s about to be caught in his lie, and B) Darla is pregnant and looks to be about the size she would be if the child was conceived around the time they had sex. Cordy, as I mentioned, starts off despising Darla as she represents everything that Angel subjected her to in the last season, but she soon turns to helping Darla because the mean Angel boned her and kicked her out his bedroom. Wesley and Gunn act with extreme caution and care, while Fred knows nothing of Darla and casually stands near here and offers her refreshments (while Wesley is trying to pull her backwards). Gotta love Fred’s cheeriness and naivety.

Fred: “Who’s Darla?”
Gunn: “Angel’s old flame from way back.”
Fred: “Not the one that died?”
Gunn: “Yeah. No, not that one. The other one that died and came back to life. She’s a vampire.”
Fred: “Do y’all have a chart or something?”
Gunn: “In the files. I’ll get it for you later.”

Gunn and Wesley keep files on Angel’s love life. That’s beyond hilarious. I bet the ‘Buffy’ file is filled with comments on post-it notes from Wesley, noting the melodrama. I like the fact that the show is confident enough in itself to make jokes at how complicated it can be. Two tiny blonde ex’s of Angel both came back from the dead. Fred represents the new audience members that perhaps haven’t seen the first couple of seasons of the show. This is a smart way of filling them in on some of the details that they may have missed or that long-time fans may have forgotten. It’s very funny and very convenient for storytelling purposes to have a character on the show that has no knowledge of people’s backstories.

There is one other aspect to the newfound Cordy-Darla bonding that we haven’t considered...they’ve both experienced demon pregnancies. How many times has Cordelia been impregnated with demon spawn now? Twice? Three time? Plus, don’t forget about the prophecy that stated she would ‘comshuk’ with the Groosalugg. Lots of com’ing and shuk’ing! Cordy, who has quickly become the most empathetic character on the show (who would have ever seen that coming when Cordy was living in Sunnydale?!) can identify with Darla and relate to her. She wants to help! This help is appreciated by Darla and she shows Cordy her gratitude by biting her neck. Aww! Can you say ‘new besties’?

Fred: “Can I say something about destiny? Screw destiny! If this evil thing comes, we’ll fight it and we’ll keep fighting it until we whoop  it. ‘Cause destiny is just another word for inevitable and nothing’s inevitable as long as you can stand up, look it in the eye, and say “you’re evitable!”...Well, you catch my drift.”
Lorne: “Wow. I like her so much!”

*My mind instantly flashes to a depressed Lorne after Fred’s death in “A Hole In The World” and my heart breaks*. Fred’s speech about destiny is fantastic. Not just for the show, but for the real world as a whole. If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change the way you think about it. We control our lives and our choices. This message is also really fitting for a show that is all about redemption and never giving up fighting to make amends. Even if Angel and the rest of the team are being controlled by the P.T.B., they still have their own choices to make. Gunn says as much to Fred in the next season! It’s also pretty badass that Fred is making this statement, as she’s been something of a scared, isolated character on the show until the last episode or two.

Darla is acting erratic, biting Cordelia, and craving younger, fresher, purer blood for a reason...the child she is carrying has a soul. This revelation is game-changing for the show! Not only is Angel going to be a father, the one thing in his eternal afterlife that he should never be able to be, he’s going to be a father to something with a soul! We’re still not aware that it’s going to be human or male yet, but the thing inside of Darla simply having a soul should be a positive thing for Angel and should help to reassure him that his offspring won’t be the tro-clan referenced in the Nyazian Scroll. I remember being so excited by this revelation when the episode first aired! Angel was going to be a DADDY! Ignoring such fundamental issues as how Darla’s dead body can produce a child or how Angel’s soul can somehow be passed on genetically to his offspring, this is a very exciting moment for the show and the possibilities are endless as to where they can go with this. The scene in the arcade where Darla and Angel discover this news is easily the greatest acting of the episode. When Angel was about to stake Darla...again...he heard his child’s heartbeat. He knew in that moment that his offspring had a soul. Erm, how does his offspring having a heartbeat naturally mean that it has a soul? If a couple of undead vampires can have souls, why can’t a few living people not have souls? Perhaps it’s because Darla has been craving purer blood, as well as the heartbeat? I digress...

*Angel hears his child’s heartbeat and lowers the stake he was pointing at Darla*
Darla: “Do it! Do it! Make it stop!”
Angel: “No, I won’t. Darla, Darla, listen to me.”
Darla: “Make it stop! Make it stop!”
Angel: “The child. The child has a heartbeat. It has a soul.”
Darla: “No! Not my child! No!”
Angel: “Our child. Our child. Our child. That’s why you’ve been craving purer and purer blood. That’s why it’s been driving you out of your mind. It has a soul.”

This episode contains a couple of key flashbacks in regards to Holtz. Not only does it help in putting a face to the name, but it also establishes what his character was like before he became vengeful. Holtz was a righteous man. He was a family man. Yet, he was an obsessive man. Even before Angel and Darla killed his family, he was Hell-bent on trying to murder them. One speech from this episode in particular defines Holtz’s motivations for the rest of the season and the rest of his life...

Holtz: “I don’t want anything. My family is gone. I don’t trust you to give me Darla, although I will find her, you know that. My only desire here is to discover if a thing such as yourself can be made to pay for its sins. You’re a demon. It’s in your nature to maim and kill. But you were once a man. If we beat and burn the demon out of your living flesh, will there be anything left? Anything at all? I doubt it. But I’m willing to spend the next fortnight of my life finding out. In either event, you have no soul, you cannot be saved.”

Very interesting speech when you consider the rest of the season. What Holtz says above is no longer entirely relevant because Angel does have a soul now. This changes Holtz’s focus slightly. He still doesn’t want anything, his family is still gone, he still doesn’t trust Angel, and his desire is still to discover if Angel can be made to pay for his sin’s, but he’s no longer trying to burn the demon out of Angel. Now that Angel has a soul and can feel powerful emotions such as grief and the desire to make amends, Holtz is going to experiment with burning the humanity out of Angel instead. Now that Angel can feel remorse, guilt, and misery, Holtz is going to subject Angel to the same heartache that Angel and Darla subjected him to. Once Angel and Darla’s child is born, Holtz’s goal becomes stealing it. Holtz’s vengeance and villainry only seems to extend as far as Angel, Darla, and the people that support Angel. He’s too noble to kill an innocent child, even one that is offspring of the vampires that murdered his family. Instead, he will snatch the child away from Angel and raise it as his own, as a surrogate for the he lost to Angel. It’s oddly poetic ...in a sociopathic type of way. Holtz has been built up in a very interesting way. He’s been mentioned in flashbacks for a season now. I merely thought that this was just a fun way to tie together some of Angel and Darla’s backstory. I never expected Holtz to become an important part of the present day show. Holtz being mentioned for a while and being somewhat established as a threat means that when it’s revealed that Holtz is back, it means something. Not a great deal, but it means something. Based on the way the episode was built up, I was expecting someone familiar or something particularly powerful to emerge from the stone tomb that Sahjhan was chanting towards. I never expected it to be Holtz.

Sahjhan: “Welcome to the twenty-first century. Angelus is here. You’ll see him soon. You haven’t used your muscles in a very long time. It will be a while before you’re strong enough to...”
*The figure on the floor suddenly straightens up to reveal Holtz, looking pissed off and strong*
Holtz: “Just tell me where he is.”

OH. EM. GEE. The righteous man trying to get revenge on the vampires that murdered his family is the tro-clan that will bring about evil and darkness? Colour me confused. This is a great ending to the episode because it leaves so many possibilities and questions open. How is Holtz in Los Angeles? How is Holtz the tro-clan? Or is Holtz a red herring and the offspring will be the tro-clan (with Fred’s calculations being slightly off)? What’s going to happen next? And, most importantly, WHY DO I HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL NEXT WEEK TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?! Buckle up, gentle readers, it looks like another great evil is about to hit Los Angeles...what a shock.


Quote Of The Episode

Isn’t it nice to see some love in the Buffyverse? I’m particularly surprised at Gunn’s declaration of love towards Angel after the events of “That Old Gang Of Mine”...


Angel: “I was just thinking about things. People, you know. How they relate. Take you and me for instance, we’re very different. Very different. Obviously...human, vampire. Woman, man...pire.”

Cordy: “Has someone been putting vodka in your blood?”

Angel: “See? You’re funny! And I, well, I get a good one every once in a while, but you...”

Cordy: “Angel, are you trying to say you love me?”

Angel: “What?”

Cordy: “I love you too.”

Angel: “You do? When did this...”

Cordy (yelling to Wesley, Fred, and Gunn): “Angel loves me, I love him.”

Angel: “Oh, my God!”

Cordy: “You guys love us and we love you.”

Wesley, Fred, and Gunn together: “We love you, Angel!”


FINAL SCORE: 7/10

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

If you've enjoyed this review, please use the conveniently placed buttons just below to share it on Blogger, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, or email it to a friend! It is greatly appreciated!