Shiny Happy People

Plot

Eventually, the demon born of Cordelia takes the name Jasmine, so I'm going to call her that from the beginning just to keep things simple. We're at the point the last episode let off, with the naked Jasmine wrapping herself in a blanket as Connor and Angel look on. Cordelia is unconscious. Jasmine seems really nice. Angel says he should be punished for trying to kill her. He hands her his sword. She holds it as if she's going to cut off his head, then as if she's going to knight him. She says she feels his suffering and it will end. His head is bowed, when he looks up she's gone.

Fred is reorganizing the books. She's making Lorne edgy. There is a buzzing sound and Lorne says it is Gunn and Wesley in the basement dismembering Skip. Lorne finds it a little hard to follow Fred's stream of consciousness verbalising. She is upset the beast master chose Cordelia as its vessel. She wonders why Angel has been gone so long. She wonders whether he found Cordelia and Connor. She can't seem to decide which is worse. Angel not getting there in time and the demon being born or him getting there in time and killing Cordelia. Fred spots Connor in the other room and rushes out to confront him, but he's just cleaning up. She's confused. Angel talks and they see he is back and Cordelia is asleep on the sofa. Gunn and Wesley run up. They realize Cordelia is not pregnant and the demon was born. Angel says he tried to kill her. He's upset and Connor tells him to stop beating himself up. Angel says she's disappeared. They all agree they have to find her, but the others want to kill her and Angel and Connor say no. Angel says they want to worship her. Wesley says Angel and Connor are under a spell. Wesley reminds them of all the evil the beast master committed. Jasmine enters and says that has to be rectified. They all fall to their knees. She says she wants to help. Wesley asks her what they should do.

The gang are all enchanted. Fred says Cordelia must be happy. Jasmine says she was one of the original inhabitants of Earth. She says the evil demons drove her and the other good ones away. She says then man emerged and it seemed a balance might be restored. Fred says they failed, but Jasmine says no. She says the powers failed them by doing nothing but observe. But she couldn't stand this and so found a way back. She created a miracle in Connor's birth. She explains that when Angel fought to restore life to Darla in The Trial, he won a life which was Connor's. This allowed her to reenter the physical plane. She says they will destroy the evils in the world and this will allow Cordelia to reawake. She says they will change the world and Angel is eager for it.

We see vampires in a bowling alley having taken over the place. They are fighting amongst themselves, some angry at having been brought to LA only to have the sun reappear. The gang arrive and attack. Jasmine sits and watches with Fred. Jasmine asks Fred what they should call her. One of the vampires injures Jasmine who bleeds a little. Fred is overwhelmed at what she sees as her failure to protect Jasmine. Angel pursues that vampire out of the bowling alley into a patio where people are sitting. The vampire collides into a man and Angel stakes him. Jasmine comes out and everyone falls to their knees. Jasmine reveals she knows their names. The man the vampire collided with grabs a knife off a table, calls her a monster, says she has to die, and attacks her. Angel stops him and beats him senseless. Jasmine stops him. The man cries and Jasmine goes to him. She touches him over his objections. She sends Wesley for an ambulance. She tells the crowd that he's full of fear and anger and will always be alone but they have found each other.

At the hotel, Gunn suggests Helen as a name for Jasmine. Wesley suggest Dianthia or Iphigenia or Aristophila (which means supreme lover of mankind). Fred is obsessed with getting the blood stain out of Jasmine's shirt. Fred runs off to try club soda. Gunn and Wesley say that she's really single minded when focussed on a problem. Jasmine says they love her very much. She says this love should bring them closer together, not drive them apart. Connor comes over and says he's sorry she was hurt. Jasmine reveals she's healed. Connor asks why the man tried to hurt her. She doesn't know. She says some people are afraid of change. She goes outside to see Angel. She remarks on the wonderful smell of the jasmine. He's remorseful over beating the man. She says he was only trying to protect her and he shouldn't be ashamed of that. He's worried he will fail her. He is afraid he is so happy at being with her that Angelus will return. She says soon they will banish all evil and that won't be a problem any more. That nothing will be left but beauty. She says he is her general. She says she has faith in them all to do the task.

We see the gang fighting and destroying demons with a voice over from Jasmine saying she will be with them everywhere they go. Intercut with this are scenes of Fred desperately trying to get the blood out of the shirt. Cut to a news broadcast about the falling crime rate in the city - the result of the gang destroying demons. The gang watch this and believe soon LA will be demon free. Lorne arrives with a surprise for Jasmine and they walk off together. Fred enters with a shirt asking what they think. They say it looks like new and she says it is new, she bought a new one because she couldn't clean the other. Fred cries. She says when Jasmine's not around she hurts.

Jasmine and Lorne are upstairs in a room he has decorated for her; it has a bouquet of jasmine in it which she loves. Lorne leaves and Connor enters. He says he knows why he was created, to bring her here. He says he doesn't deserve to be so happy. He talks about the evil he has done. She says he deserves all the happiness she can bring him. He asks why him and she says she needed a unique soul to bring her into the world. She says together they will transfer the Earth. He says Angel is the champion and she says everything has its season. She says it is his time. Fred enters with the shirt, but when she looks at Jasmine she sees a horrible monster of decay and death. Fred starts crying. The others enter and she says she's crying because she was thinking what it would be like if Jasmine left. Jasmine says she's not going anywhere. Fred leaves saying she needs time alone to count her blessings.

Fred is in Cordelia's room talking to the comatose woman. She says the evil is there and they don't even know to fight back. Angel enters and says he knows what she's thinking. He says when you look in Jasmine's eyes the lies and deceit melt away and nothing is left but the beauty. Fred says everything is different from what they expected. Angel says it's nice to be wrong. She says now everything seems so easy. She says they just do what she says and never asks questions. He says it's a relief not to have the constant questioning.

Fred goes to the hospital to see the man. We learn his name is John Stoler. He's been put in the psych ward. She sneaks in. She asks if he has a history of mental problems and he says no. She tells him what she saw and he says that's what he saw. He tells her not to let it touch her. He turns toward her and we see his face is horribly disfigured where she touched him. He wants her to untie him. He says they have to kill it. He says she has been called to the mission. She says she's never called. Her phone rings. She says it's Angel and they are probably wondering where she is. She leaves and he yells at her not to trust anyone.

At the hotel, a crowd of worshippers has gathered to adore Jasmine. Fred confides in Wesley. He says he'll help. But she sees he talks to the others who look at her strangely and then to Jasmine. She grabs some weapons from the cabinet including a crossbow which she fires at Jasmine. Angel leaps and takes the bolt. Lorne goes to Fred and she grabs him and holds a knife to his throat. Jasmine says there is nowhere she can go. She hurls Lorne at them and runs out. Jasmine says to let her go, now is not the time.

We see Fred driving that night. She stops the car and cries. Cut to Wesley saying he can't believe Fred is evil. Angel says they have to kill her and the others agree. Jasmine says it may come to that but first they have to try to help her. She says they'll look for Fred tomorrow because it will be easier then, they will have eyes everywhere. Fred is in a diner. There is a tv. The morning show introduces Jasmine, she's taken the name now. She starts telling the story about good and evil forces. Everyone in the diner kneels. Fred walks out.