"To Shanshu in L.A." is episode 22 of season 1 of the television show Angel. See also List of Angel (series) episodes.
| "To Shanshu in L.A." |
|---|
Plot synopsis
Summary
Wesley tries to decipher the mystical Scroll of Aberjian that Angel stole from the vault of Wolfram & Hart. The crooked lawyers need the scroll for the rites of "Raising," which purportedly brings forth a great evil into the world from the vortex of hell. A demon named Vocah arrives to preside over the Raising. Vocah begins by stealing the scroll back, cursing Cordelia with relentless visions of pain and death, killing the Oracles of the Powers That Be, and fire-bombing Angel’s apartment and office, nearly killing Wesley. Angel finds the rites in progress, kills Vocah, and reclaims the Scroll of Aberjian, severing Lindsey's right hand with it. But in the end, the evil lawyers get away before Angel has a chance to identify what they raised.
Expanded overview
Wesley continues to try to decipher the text of The Prophecies of Aberjian (part of which is the Shanshu Prophecy). He is unable to understand one word, "shanshu," that is crucial to the translation. Looking to hang out, David Nabbit shows up at the office. The lawyers at Wolfram and Hart call forth a warrior of the underworld named Vocah, to perform a Raising. Wesley discovers that the word means 'death' and that means Angel will die. Cordelia has a vision that sends Angel on his way to help a homeless woman fighting a slime demon. Kate arrives on the scene after Angel has defeated it, and she is determined to rid the city of vampires.
Wesley talks with Cordelia about Angel and how he's cut off from life. Despite being evil and unwanted on the side of good, Vocah goes to the Oracles and kills them. Cordelia tries to find a hobby for Angel to keep busy with. Vocah follows her and after touching her hand, she gets a vision. Cordelia is then inundated with hundreds upon hundreds of visions and collapses to the ground in agony. Angel reads up on the scrolls while the cloaked figure makes his way into the apartment.
Angel locks the scroll away, and then leaves after getting a call about Cordelia. At the hospital, Cordelia is suffering endlessly, and there is nothing that the doctors can do to save her. Wesley returns to the apartment just in time to see what was left in place of the scroll. Angel approaches the office building just as it explodes into a fiery blaze. Angel searches through the wreckage and finds that Wesley is still alive but badly hurt. Kate confronts Angel, but with his friends in serious conditions, he's not in the mood to take any of her hostile attitude toward him and he follows Wesley to the hospital.
Angel finds a symbol on Cordelia's hand, and goes to the Oracles for help. He finds them dead, but the spirit of the female Oracle gives him instruction. He needs the scrolls, specifically the words of Anatole that will save Cordelia. Angel asks Gunn to protect his friends in the hospital while he goes to hunt down Vocah. Vocah reads from the scrolls while sacrificing five vampires that are chained to a large cage. Angel watches as the Wolfram and Hart lawyers leave to attend the Raising ritual.
Angel crashes the party and goes into a battle with Vocah. Lindsey picks up where Vocah left off and continues the ritual. His chanting kills the five vampires chained to the cage and then Holland orders the cage removed. In the end, Angel kills Vocah, and then faces Lindsey for the scroll. As Lindsey tries to burn the scroll, Angel cuts off Lindsey's right hand and takes the scroll.
Wesley reads the word of Anatole and Cordelia is unbound from Vocah's evil doings. After seeing so many visions, Cordelia realizes how many people out there need their help. At her apartment, Cordelia feeds Wesley and Angel, showing them her new, kinder side. Wesley discovers that the prophecies actually read that Angel will become human once he has fulfilled his duties. The lawyers go check on the cage, and Lilah looks inside, revealing a very frightened young woman that we recognize as Darla.
Acting
Main cast
Special guest star
Guest stars
Also starring
Writing
Arc significance
- This episode sets the stage for the Shanshu plotline that will follow the show until the final episode. Angel learns of the Shanshu Prophecy, detailing the foretelling of a vampire with a soul playing a pivotal role in the Apocalypse, and in doing so, earning the right to live as human again.
- Lindsey loses his hand, which only serves to fuel his antipathy and vitriol towards Angel. This will come into play in Season 2.
- Darla is resurrected by Wolfram and Hart, which will also play heavily into the entirety of the series.
Continuity
Quotes
Cultural references
- To Live and Die in L.A.: The title of this episode refers to the 1985 William Friedkin movie starring William Petersen. Wesley has translated the ancient term "shanshu" as meaning "to live and to die."
Production details
Music
- Grant Langston - "Time Of Day"
Quotes and trivia
- This is the 100th episode of Buffy/Angel to be aired.
Translations
- French title: "Le manuscrit" ("The manuscript", this title for the last episode of Angel season 1 echoes the last episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer season 1, called exactly the same)
- German title: "Duell mit dem Bösen" ("Duel with the evil")
- Italian title: "Shanshu a L.A." ("To shanshu in L.A.")
- Spanish title: "Shanshu en Los Angeles" ("Shanshu in L.A.")
Technical goofs
Timing
- Stories that take place around the same time in the Buffyverse: