First Impression

Plot

Angel is in the karaoke bar talking to The Host. The Host is impressed with Angel’s performance and tells Angel that he really put his in heart into his singing. But he warns him that while his heart may not be beating but it can still break. He’s come to a bend in his “personal uphill road,” and it’s up to Angel whether or not it slows him down.

The Host begins to sing a song and Angel wanders out to the bar area where Darla waits for him. They move out onto the dance floor. Darla wants to know if Angel has told anyone else about their “dates.” He responds that he hasn’t. He wanted to keep her all to himself. They begin to kiss...and Angel wakes up alone in his bed.

It was just a dream.

Gunn arrives at the offices to meet Angel and discovers that Angel is still asleep. Gunn is tightly wound. A demon named Deevak has put several of his men in the hospital. Cordelia offers Gunn her and Wesley’s help, at which he scoffs. Their conversation is interrupted by David Nabbit’s arrival. He’s just returned from a hostile takeover in Kuala Lumpur and is responding to Angel’s page. Angel comes down the stairs and asks David for advice on how to purchase the hotel without a down payment. David offers to have his money people work up some numbers for Angel.

After David leaves, Angel and the others prepare to leave. Gunn is unhappy with the idea of taking Cordy and Wes along but Angel is insistent that they need the entire team working on this. When they arrive to meet the snitch, Jameel, that has the information on Deevak, Jameel is not cooperating. He’s afraid he’s been followed. He’s right.

A group of vampires storm into the garage. The others fight him but they seem to have trouble with the vamps. They finally manage to dust the bad guys, but not without getting pretty banged up in the process. Wesley remarks that Angel seems off his game. They agree to go back and regroup. Gunn is furious that they’re not ready to go up against Deevak and leaves. Cordy drops Angel off at the hotel and mentions how he seems to be sleeping a lot. He just glares at her and she takes his car home with her.

When she gets home, she sits down to read a book and is hit with a powerful vision involving Gunn. She tries to call Angel but he isn’t answering his phone. He’s in the midst of another dream about Darla. Cordelia, unable to reach anyone, leaves a message for Wesley and heads out to save Gunn herself. She arrives at his building and hits one of his men over the head, mistaking him for a demon. Cordy tries to tell Gunn that he’s in terrible danger but he won’t listen to her. He escorts her back to Angel’s car, which is now missing.

Angel is still dreaming. Darla tells him that the others will try to separate the two of them. Angel hears a pounding and turns to find Wesley nailing a coffin shut. He attacks Wesley and wakes up to find himself attacking Wesley. Once he’s no longer in danger of being choked to death, Wesley explains the situation. Angel gets dressed and the two of them hop on Wesley’s motorcycle to go find the others.

Cordelia and Gunn are driving around searching for Angel’s car. They visit one of the local chop shops and the person there points them to Desmond. He probably has Angel’s car and they can find Desmond at a local party. When Cordy and Gunn arrive at the party, they find Desmond, who does indeed have Angel’s car. Just as they’re discussing it, a group of Deevak’s men arrive. The man at the chop shop was working for Deevak and sent them to the party as a trap.

In the melee, one of Gunn’s friends, Veronica, is injured. Cordelia springs into action trying to stop the blood flow and they rush her to the hospital. One of the hospital personnel informs Gunn that Cordy probably saved Veronica’s life. Gunn is furious with himself for getting his friend injured. He calls Veronica by his sister’s name by mistake. Cordelia reassures him that it wasn’t his fault.

Wesley and Angel find their way to the crime scene that was the party. They grab a young woman, who turns out to be a vampire, and demand to know where they can find Cordelia and Gunn.

The other two have now found Desmond and gotten the location of Angel’s car. When they arrive at the garage, Deevak is there. He grabs Gunn by the throat. Cordy tries to help but is easily overpowered. Deevak morphs into his human form...Jameel, the snitch. Cordy pulls some mace from her purse and squirts some in his eyes. Deevak releases Gunn and switches back to demon form just as Angel and Wes enter the garage. They battle with Deevak’s men, and Angel is finally able to embed an axe into Deevak’s skull to kill him.

Afterwards, Cordelia tells Gunn that the danger in her vision wasn’t from Deevak. It was from Gunn himself. He’s on a self-destruct mission and Cordy warns him that she’s going to hang around until he can find some peace. She reminds him that he never thanked her. They just exchange a smile and Gunn leaves.

Angel returns home to the hotel...and Darla. She comforts him and tells him how wonderful she is. As she begins to seduce him, we see a smiling Angel lying in bed. It’s just another dream.

Or is it? We see a hand and then we realize that Darla is in bed with Angel while he lies in unconscious bliss.