15 Best Angel Episodes

"Let's go to work."

Bringing a show to a satisfying end is always hard, but for Angel it seemed doubly difficult because it was bringing a close to the whole Buffy franchise (on screen, at least). There was a lot riding on the finale's shoulders, but what an episode it was. Not Fade Away is Angel at its most action-packed, fan-pleasing, epic and emotionally daring.

The plot of the episode is breakneck, but knows how and when to slow down. Thinking their latest mission will be their last, the gang spend a day doing all the things they want to. Angel reconnects with his son. Spike gets props for his age-old poetry. Wesley spends his time with Illyria. Gunn helps out at a local shelter.

In the end, the final act is nothing short of action-packed perfection, as Angel battles Wolfram and Hart, Spike saves a baby from being ritually sacrificed and Lorne kills Lindsey and disappears into the night. Most tragically, Wesley dies by Illyria's side. It's harsh, emotional, cruel and epic, and the final shot - of the group squaring off against a vast supernatural army - perfectly sums up the nature of the show.

For Angel, Spike and the gang, the fight will never be over, and the finale's ambiguous last shot captures that idea beautifully.