Another contender for the Best S1 Episode Throne, this episode was one of the most thorough and whole episodes I can remember. From the first scene, it was built up towards the conclusion, where women and half-demons alike proved their true mettle, focusing on what makes a hero.

The dialogue was awesome, always circling around the substance of the story. The different parts of it were connected seamlessly, as if they were the paragraphs of a perfectly written text, the endig of each leading up to the next.

The pathos part of it was also immensely well performed, and I had tears running down my cheeks from Cordelia and Doyle’s conversation about him being a vampire, until well after the Mutant Zombie had uttered its “Grrr. Argh.” The scene where Angel and Cordelia watches Doyle’s take at being an actor, ending with Doyle’s nervous “That’s it? Am I done?” further increased this trickle of salty water on my face. :cry:

When, additionally, there’s a parallel theme where Whedon and the crew kick at Nazis and other racists and bigots… well, suffice to say I was nearly overwhelmed.

Finally, I find it worth mentioning Cordelia’s vision of a commercial in the beginning, where she lists people whom she’d like to do the voice-overs of the Angel Investigation commercial. Included in this list is “one of the cheaper Baldwins” — I immedeately thought “ADAM!” ;)