Angel/Slouching Toward Bethlehem

Slouching Toward Bethlehem
Season 4, Episode 4
Airdate	October 27, 2002
Production Number	4ADH04
Written by	Jeffrey Bell
Directed by	Skip Schoolnik
← 4x03 The House Always Wins	4x05 → Supersymmetry
Angel — Season Four

Slouching Toward Bethlehem is the fourth episode of the fourth season of Angel, and the seventieth episode overall. Cordelia is back in the normal plane of reality, but her return isn't all joyous. Lorne reads her future and finds something terrifying in the coming days.

David Boreanaz (Angel), Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia Chase), J. August Richards (Charles Gunn), Amy Acker (Winifred "Fred" Burkle), Vincent Kartheiser (Connor)

and Alexis Denisof (Wesley Wyndam-Pryce)

Special Guest Star: Andy Hallett (Lorne)

Guest Starring: Stephanie Romanov (Lilah Morgan)

Co-Starring: David Grant Wright (Minivan Dad), Carol Avery (Minivan Mom), Steven Mayhew (Minivan Teen), Nynno Ahli (Carlo), Thomas Crawford (Eater Demon)

Plot Overview

Cordelia is back, but the reason for her return is unknown as she is unable to remember anything. Angel tries to shield her from the demonic side of the world, but Lorne soon discovers that the arrival of an impending evil is locked away in Cordelia’s amnesiac mind.

Notes

Monster of the Week

• There is no monster of the week in this episode.

Body Count

#	Whom	By Whom	How	Where
1	Vampire	Connor	Staked	Street
2	Vampire	Connor	Set on Fire	Street
3	Demon	Connor	Stabbed	Hyperion

Music

Music is listed in order of appearance in the episode:

• Whitney Houston - "The Greatest Love of All"

Arc Advancement

Happenings

• Big Bad: Lorne read Cordelia and discovered that something on a borderline apocalyptic scale is going to happen in the very near future.

• Wolfram & Hart: Lilah set up a diversion to send the Angel Investigations crew to protect Cordelia while Lorne was left alone. They went in and took everything he knew about Cordelia out of his brain.

Characters

• Wesley: Despite his attitude towards Angel and his relationship with Lilah, Wesley seems to be showing signs or returning to Angel's side.

Referbacks

• Waiting in the Wings: The Angel crew went to the ballet to see Giselle performed by a ballet company Angel once saw in the 1800s. When they realized something was amiss, Angel and Cordelia were possessed by the spirits of two lovers and were nearly carried away in the moment of their passion.

Angel: You remember that? You wore it when we went to the ballet.

• BtVS - 3x22 - Graduation Day (2): Sunnydale High was destroyed when the Mayor of the town transformed himself into a demon and was killed by the student population and a very big fireball.

Cordelia: "Cordelia, homeroom was fun. Too bad it burnt to the ground." What?

• BtVS - 1x09 - The Puppet Show: Cordelia sings "The Greatest Love of All" for her reading in this episode. She sang the song once before in the first season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer for a talent show at Sunnydale High.

Trivia

Behind the Scenes

• Ratings: On its first airing, this episode scored a 3.3/4 in the overnight Nielsen ratings.

Allusions and References

• Slouching Toward Bethlehem: The title of the episode refers to a poem by William Butler Yeats called "The Second Coming." The poem is about the biblical second coming of Christ, in which humanity will be judged and either damned or allowed to ascend to heaven.

Lorne: Do the words "slouching towards Bethlehem" ring a bell?

• Black Russian: A Black Russian is a cocktail made with one shot of vodka and two shots of Kahlúa. The mixture is poured over ice in an old fashioned glass and served. It is the opposite of a White Russian, which combines vodka, Kahlúa and milk.

Cordelia: Black Russian.
Angel: That's a drink.

• Clobberin' Time: Gunn uses one of the Thing's catchphrases once in the episode. The Thing is a member of the Marvel superhero group, The Fantastic Four. He was transformed by cosmic rays into a large creature covered in rocks. Among the Thing's catchphrases are "What a Revoltin' Development" and "It's Clobbering Time."

Gunn: If Team Angel hadn't shown up with a little clobbering time, Wolfram and Hart would've nabbed her

Goofs

• When Lorne stands up and tries to get Cordelia to stop singing, the glass he's hold changes hands between shots.

Quotes

• Angel: That could have been a disaster. "Oh, hi. Welcome back, you're safe. By the way, there's a green demon right behind you."

Fred: Don't you think we should tell her? I mean, we do live in a world of demons and icky things. She's bound to find out.

Angel: Well yeah, sure, but, I mean, let's be smart. I want her to remember who I am before I freak her out with the whole undead, drinks blood part of my resume.

• Cordelia: I get it now. You're all spies. Probably Russian. And you brainwashed me and want me to believe we're friends so I'll spill the beans about some nano-techno-thingy that you want.

Gunn: So... I look Russian to you?

Cordelia: Black Russian.

Angel: That's a drink.

Cordelia: Says the head spy.

• Cordelia: Your friends here were just talking about murdering children. And, there's - there's - there's singing and blood and pointy things, and did I mention the singing? I mean, what the hell is going on here, Angie?

Angel: Angel.

Cordelia: Whatever.

• Lorne: Hey, if this was about that missing lingerie, that was for a friend.

• Angel: Maybe we haven't been 100% honest because... well... we were afraid the truth would scare you

Cordelia: Yeah, and the lying and deceit have been so comforting.

• Cordelia: That's everything? It all makes perfect sense now. I was a cheerleader, a princess, and a warrior. And I have have visions and super powers and I'm the target of an evil law firm because I've spent the last three months living on a higher plane, fighting for the forces of good, who wage a battle against demons and evilies and squishy bug babies, 'cause all that stuff's real and that's the world I live in. And I think I know why I don't remember any of this 'cause, hey, who'd want to!

• Angel: I know it's a lot to take in.

Cordelia: Says a vampire with a soul and his wacky gang of sidekicks.

Gunn: Um, not a sidekick.

• Fred: (to Angel) Have you been caffeinating your blood again, or is there something you're not telling us?

• Fred: Is that why you ran out while Cordelia was singing?

Lorne: Well, A) I wasn't running, I was fleeing and B) Yes.

• Gunn: Well, how horrible is this thing?

Lorne: Well, I haven't read the Book of Revelations lately, but if I was searching for adjectives, I'd probably start there.

• Cordelia: (seeing a stuffed polar bear) How cool is that?

Connor: I love that one. I wish I'd killed it.

Cordelia: Kind of a funny way to express your affection. "I love you, bang, you're dead."

• Connor: You like shoes... and donuts... and you're very brave.

Cordelia: Really? Donuts?

• Gunn: That's right, monkey boys, don't mess with the big dog! (off Fred's look) It's better than "sidekick".