15 Best Angel Episodes
The best of the best from Buffy's moody and masterful spin-off.
Angel is one of the best TV spin-offs ever made, an equally daring and extra dark tie-in to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It aired for five years, as many seasons and over 100 episodes, expanding the world and mythology so aptly crafted in its sister show.
The characters of Angel, Spike, Fred, Wesley, Gunn, Lorne and the like are all iconic as the most recognisable of TV characters; the show's balance of horror, drama and mystery was close to unrivalled.
With 110 episodes to its name, Angel hit fans with many great hours of television. A show not afraid to take risks and hurt its characters with mean twists and compelling storylines, the horror-drama features some of the best episodes in the entire Buffyverse. Sure, there were some blips - season four is far from great by most fans' admissions - but all told Angel knew exactly how to craft a great story with remarkable results.
With that in mind, from the classic monster-of-the-week entries, the genre-twisting horror-comedies and the thrilling action spectacles, here are the 15 best episodes from Angel's five-season run. Major spoilers throughout.
15. Home (Season 4, Episode 22)
"You wanna give us your evil law firm?"
Season four was a shambolic mess. Too dark and inconsistent, it was a never-ending series of character assassinations and shoddy storytelling. But the finale, for all the season's faults, was great TV. Not only was it well-made, moving, surprising and clever, but it was also a game changer like no other.
With big bad Jasmine finally out of the picture, the finale went ahead and threw a curveball into the mix, with series-long antagonist Wolfram and Hart (a supernatural law firm) being offered to Angel and his team. Meanwhile, Angel confronts the idea of losing his son and taking over control of the law firm that has plagued his life for the last few years.
It's a smart and clever tie-in of all the subplots running through the season, setting up what promised to be an epic fifth season. The emotion is high, the visuals a treat, and although it doesn't undo all the bad stuff that came with the rest of the season, it remains a show highpoint all the same.