Unleashed

Plot

The gang are having a picnic. At least they talk as if at a picnic, but actually this is just a cover as Fred scans to make sure they aren't being monitored. They discuss the problem of coping with the evil of Wolfram & Hart and its employees. Wesley raises the issue of Knox and this flusters Fred. They all are concerned about Gunn and what might have been done to him when he got his knowledge. Gunn says they all made a deal and they all got something. Wesley admits he got a silver pen with his name on it. Angel asks to borrow the pen. Cut to a girl being attacked by a werewolf. Angel arrives, fights the werewolf and kills it with the pen. It changes into a man. The girl drives off, but she's been bitten.

Angel is getting the gang working on tracking down the girl. Gunn has a history on the werewolf, McManus, who originally seems to have tried to fight off the curse but in recent times has just gotten worse and left a trail of death. Spike appears in Fred's office and tries to get her to focus on him, but she's working on the werewolf girl. He tells her his trips to the netherworld are getting longer, that something there is trying to hold on to him, that he fears one time he won't be able to come back. She wants him to talk to Wesley, but he refuses, making up a story about a history between him and Wesley. Fred sees through that. Cut to the gang working on the problem fruitlessly. Spike appears, mocking Angel. Dr. Royce, the staff cryptozoologist, tells them this is a different type of werewolf. One which walks upright. Spike notes the girl will be vicious and dangerous when she turns. He says he fought a werewolf once and the battle took an hour with him almost losing a finger. Fred points out Angel killed the werewolf with a pen.

Werewolf girl, we learn her name is Nina, wakes up. It looks as if she has had nightmares. She's bruised and her hearing is sensitive and her sight seems different. She goes into the kitchen where we see what I assume are her sister and her niece. They notice the bruising and her sister gives her some ice for it. Nina says she must have fallen. They're making dinner and Nina tells them not to over cook the meat. She suddenly has a vision of ripping out her niece's, Amanda, throat.

Fred gets a lead on the car. Lorne points out the girl likely would be speeding. Gunn checks the police cameras for people running red lights at that time. Wesley puts the license into the DMV database. Spike continues to complain about all the fuss over one girl and Angel basically tells him to vanish. At her home, Nina is babysitting Amanda. She poses for the girl who is sketching her. But she feels ill and goes to lie down. She falls in her room. Amanda hears this and goes upstairs. Nina begins changing into a werewolf. Angel appears at her window. The wolf leaps out at him, they tranquilise her and take her off in a van. Nina wakes in a cell, naked. There are clothes on the floor and she dresses. Angel comes in and unlocks the cell door. She thinks he's a psycho rapist. He shows her a video of her transforming back into a human. She begins to remember the wolf attack and the fact Angel saved her. We learn her sister's name is Jill. She tells Angel about wanting to rip Amanda's throat out. Angel tells her there is a difference between the evil inside her and her. He reveals he's a vampire and tells her it is possible to be a demon and be good. That you can fight the evil within. He admits he can't cure her, but he can keep her safe.

Angel tells the others Nina has agreed to stay in the cell for the next full moon night. Spike is back mocking. Royce says the first few transformations are the worst. Royce suggests taking her home to get some personal possessions. He says familiar scents and images can have a calming influence. Spike says Nina will inevitably get out and kill. And then feel guilty when she's human since she has a soul. Angel says it doesn't seem to have bothered him. Spike starts denying this, but vanishes midsentence. Angel is glad he's gone. Fred says she'll take Nina to the house, since it's daytime. She agrees to take security with her. In the van, Fred tries to reassure Nina telling her it's just three nights a month, not even days. Nina asks if Fred and Angel are a couple and she says no, explaining Angel doesn't date much because of his circumstances. Nina says it must be lonely and Fred says they are like a family, there for one another.

Angel is signing off on the paperwork to release the McManus body. But he's not paying attention, still concerned about Nina and what she'll be going through. Gunn tries to cheer him up, but Angel rudely shuts him down. Gunn leaves. Lorne comes in and tells Angel he has to pay more attention to his friends who are trying to help. That he's lashing out blindly and hurting them as much as his enemies. Fred and Nina arrive at Nina's home. Her sister is really upset at her disappearance and Nina can't really explain. Fred makes up a story about having called Nina because she was frantic over being dumped by a guy and getting her car towed. Jill isn't interested. She was so scared she called the police. Nina says Jill can't rely on her all the time. She takes some things and walks out. Outside, Fred notices something strange. She opens the van door to discover the guards have been taken out. They flee, but masked men appear from a car and grab them. Fred has a tranq gun and fights back, pretty effectively. But eventually they take her out and grab Nina. One of the men calls somebody saying they have the package. The man called tells him to bring it round back.

Nina is hung in chains. She's hosed down, then a woman cuts off her clothes and starts cleaning her. At the firm, Royce is singing for Lorne who clears him. Lorne has checked security and staff who might have tipped someone off about Nina. Fred says the kidnappers were almost military. Wesley clearly thinks of the Initiative. Fred realizes Spike has been missing for a long time. Royce comes in with a list of potential werewolf nabbing suspects. Fred sees Spike, even more immaterial than usual, and chases after him. He doesn't seem to hear her. She follows him into Royce's office where he walks through the wall. She accidently knocks over the waste basket and sees something. Royce comes in and she distracts him and then knocks him out. Fred spotted a vial of calendula in Royce's garbage - this allowed him to block Lorne's reading. Gunn finds a secret panel in Royce's desk. Meanwhile, Angel is roughing up Royce. Angel finds out where Nina is. The others hand him a paper they found in Royce's desk. It's a menu. Cut to Nina being wheeled on a serving cart into a dining room. A crowd applauds. The host says moonrise is in 15 minutes and shortly after, gesturing to Nina, dinner will be served.

The host is talking about how they'll serve the werewolf. There is a knock at the door, it's Royce. They let him in and Gunn, Wesley, and Angel come with him knocking out the doorman. Wesley tells Gunn Nina has to be alive because the dead werewolf turns human. So to eat werewolf you have to eat it live. We learn the host is Crane. Angel frees Nina who says he should leave her, that she's better off dead. He disagrees. Crane's men appear with guns. One shoots Angel, Nina changes, in the ensuing confusion the gang get the upper hand and Wesley tranquilises Nina. Crane says his guests paid a lot for the meal and he has to give them something. Nina comes to and bites Royce. Wesley tranquilises her again. Angel says in a month Crane will have a werewolf. Crane has his men take the protesting Royce away.

At the firm, Fred finds the still quasi immaterial Spike in her office. He says he wasn't sure he'd come back this time. She realizes he didn't lead her to Royce on purpose. She wants to tell Angel, he refuses. She says she will help him. She promises she will bring him back. The next morning, Angel drives Nina home. He tells her one day it'll just be part of who she is. She asks if he ever considers disappearing. He says if you separate yourself from those you love the monster wins. She says she'll see him next month. She goes to Jill and Amanda who are happy to see her. They hug. Angel drives off.

Angel has the gang over to his place. Lorne makes cosmos. Gunn says Crane's restaurant is permanently out of business. Fred says she's hungry and orders Chinese. Angel says he'll pay. Gunn asks Angel if he thinks he has a shot with Nina. Angel says she gave him a look. Fred is on the phone to the restaurant explaining they've moved. She orders 1 mu shu chicken, 2 beef and broccoli, 1 cashew shrimp, and lettuce wrap.