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Life of the Party Review by Nemo
Episode 5.5
Original Air Date: 10.30.03
Big Summary | Quoteable | 3 W's | Ficcable? | Rating
Big Summary (for anyone who wants to fic, but missed the episode):
Lorne struts down the hall, talking on multiple cell phones about his division. He is abundantly cheery as he walks up and greets Harmony, asking for Angel. She says he’ll be in from a field mission soon, but warns him against any talking with the big guy he might want to do. Angel might be a little grumpy.
And he is, mostly because his outfit is trashed. Wesley hurries up, asking about how their new “Neural Intercept Grenade” worked. Angel caustically relies that it didn’t, and he had to kill the demon by himself. Wesley promises to fix it, and leaves.
Lorne hurries up to Angel, wanting to talk to him about a party, but Angel’s in no mood, what with the Thraksis demon blood on him, which seems to act as a nasty sort of skin irritant, and all the vampire really wants to do is shower. He leaves, and Lorne tells his assistant to scratch the Thraksis off the RSVP list, and then orders his assistant to change the theme of the part and grab a bagel. With that, our demon retreats into his office, where he slumps at his vanity, looking utterly bushed.
It’s about then that his reflection in the mirror next to him turns and comments that he doesn’t look so hot. Lorne doesn’t react. The reflections tells him that he needs to slap on a Band-Aid and a grin, and get back out there. Lorne looks less than pleased, rubbing at his head in pain. The refection begins a countdown to when Lorne has to leave his office, encouraging all the way, and finally, at nine, Lorne, in a surprising display of anger, smashes the mirror.
Seeming shocked at his own actions, Lorne gets up, even as the broken reflection begins to sing “Don’t Leave Me this Way”. An incredulous Lorne stares at the reflection in pain and sorrow.
Then, the next thing we see is Lorne bursting out of his office, beaming and singing at the top of his lungs.
Meanwhile, Angel’s gotten that shower, but he exits it, only to find Eve waiting for him. She let herself in with the key she possesses, but which Angel quickly makes her give up. She hints at the fact that his long shower might be due to some quality time with Mr. Happy, but Angel negates that idea by saying that there was only bathing. It’s what one does after “breaking open a demonic piñata filled with rancid Tabasco.” He wonders what she wants and she tells him that he stood her up. They had a meeting.
Angel gets his pants.
In the elevator, Eve asks how things are going. He admits that he really has no clue, what with the questioning of every move he makes to be sure that it isn’t what the Senior Partners want from him. She accuses him of bottling his emotions. He disagrees, but really has no evidence to the contrary.
Then, he proves her point as the elevator opens and a giant skull is standing in his way. Angel lets fly with a punch that knocks it, and the poor man holding it, to the ground.
It’s just a decoration, as is everything that now fills the lobby. Angel’s shocked and horrified as Lorne fills him in: they are having the annual Wolfram & Hart Halloween party. It was what the meeting was on.
Lorne also tells Angel that their A-list people aren’t coming, and that’s not a good thing. Angel’s happy, and as he goes off about their clients being evil, and not really wanting to socialize with them anyway, Lorne suddenly snaps, telling him to look at the bigger picture. It isn’t about good and evil. It’s about having a party. He suddenly realizes that he’s shouting, and backs off, saying that they’ll talk when Angel’s calm.
They’ll meet in Angel’s office in twenty-five minutes.
Meanwhile, in the lab, Fred and Wesley are arguing about what went wrong with the grenade. Wesley claims that, since the spell is still intact, the fault lies with the trigger mechanism. Fred protests, saying that she designed the trigger, and Knox walks up, agreeing that he engineered it, and it was a beautiful piece of work. The compliment is obviously directed to Fred, who looks flattered.
Wesley is less than thrilled, and says that, while it may have been beautiful, it obviously didn’t work. Knox accuses him of having a faulty spell, and Wesley counters that with the fact that he checked over the work himself, and he knows that the spell is fine.
Enter our party demon, breaking into the heated debate. He wants to talk to party, but everyone is less than thrilled. Everyone, not including Knox, who fondly remembers last year’s party, in which they took a bunch of cows, put them in a giant wicker effigy of Krishna, doused it in Sambuka and . . . it was a hell of a good time.
Fred decides to stay and work on the device. Wes does too, and says that he’s sure they’ll figure it out together.
Again, Lorne goes on the warpath, shouting at them both, and definitely startling the two, who are used to a much gentler version of their friend. He orders them to the party, and they really have no choice. They’re told to be at the meeting.
Next visit on Lorne’s operation is Gunn. Lorne tells him that they have to turn Angel around on the party idea. Lorne tells the up-and-coming lawyer to stake his claim and show up at the meeting, too.
In Angel’s office, Spike complains about Halloween as Lorne enters to a waiting crowd. He wants to tell Angel that they have to have this party, and, surprisingly, Gunn backs him up, claiming that they have to show all the big bads that the new regime is here to stay, and they do that by throwing an incredible party. Angel still has problems with the guest list, but Lorne tells him that he has to look past that. All the best parties have psychotics and blood-feuds. Lorne tells him that there’s no problem. It’s his forte.
His employees have also been feeling the strain, Eve tells him. Halloween is like Christmas to the Wolfram & Hart staff, and they could all use a morale boost. Angel denies the low morale, but Harmony, who has just brought him a mug of blood, informs him bluntly that the morale of the company sucks. All the employees are just waiting for the new boss to axe them, literally or figuratively. Angel scoffs, and asks if people think he’s throwing this thing so he can slaughter them all. Uncomfortable looks are exchanged, and Angel realizes the veracity of his statement. Angel agrees to the party, and Lorne tells him that he’ll need Angel’s help.
They go to see Arch Duke Sebassis, the last of a demonic royal bloodline. If they can snag him, the rest of the high-profile guests will fall in line. Angel is not thrilled. Then, suddenly, he gets it. The party really matters to Lorne. It’s his contribution. Their anagogic demon has no superpowers, he can’t fight, he doesn’t have superhuman strength, but there is one thing that he does do better than anyone else. He can throw a party, and he wants to do it to help the team in the only way he knows.
Still and all, things are not comfortable when they get to Sebassis’s home and discover what the demon is like. He’s snobbish, looking down on both of them with unconcealed distain, saying anything insulting he can, and his wine decanter . . . well, let’s just say, it walks, it talks, it pulls the cork out of its wrist and pours its blood into Sebassis’s glass, as well as those of Lorne (who’s trying his damndest to be cordial), and Angel (who is just in shock). They still try to urge Sebassis to come, and stumble over themselves trying to deal with the Arch Duke. At last, the Sebassis agrees to come, mostly because he’s been amused.
As our heroes leave, Sebassis admits that he’s in the mood for intrigue, and they’ll be sure they’re properly dressed. A door opens to a cabinet full of weapons.
Cut to the party. Harmony is alone, grooving on the dance floor as Lorne’s assistant complains to a friend about the lack of ritual sacrifices. Lorne walks up and tells them tightly to mingle. The demon tries to do the same, talking to a disgusting demon who is wearing a real human face as his costume.
Fred and Wes watch on from where they stand uncomfortably by the buffet table, reigning King and Queen of the wallflowers. Lorne walks up to them, encouraging them to help light the spark of the night. Wes tells Lorne that this really isn’t what they do well, and Fred agrees, citing their wallflower-status. Lorne disagrees and tells that that, to start off, they really do need to get drunk.
Angel is hiding in his office, watching hockey. Lorne is not pleased, and shouts at him to get up off his ass and get out there. He can’t do this by himself. Suddenly, Lorne doubles over, clutching at his head and gasping. Angel’s on his feet in an instant, wondering what’s wrong. Suddenly, Lorne straightens with a strange, fake smile and says that they really need to get out there and party.
The party’s definitely heating up as Lorne shows Angel around, and Harmony begs a very pessimistic Spike to dance. Once again, he goes off about the stupidity of Halloween. Lorne walks up, and tells Spike that he might try being positive for a change.
Then, the Arch Duke arrives, and everyone bows. Lorne asks Angel if he could try to be nice, and oddly enough, Angel walks up to the demon, gushing about how glad he is that he came. Sebassis seems almost shocked by level of enthusiasm as Angel dissolves into the long-lost Goober-Angel that we all knew and loved.
Wes and Fred stagger through the crowd, totally sloshed. She’s talking about how she used to go out as Raggedy Ann, and he admits that he’s never celebrated Halloween. With a sincerity that one can only achieve when they are completely smashed, she tells him that she thing’s that’s very sad. Then, of course, she’s distracted by the pot-stickers on the snack bar and drags him along.
Harmony warns them not to go near it, though. Someone’s peed all over it. They both think that’s rather wrong.
Gunn is doing wonderfully discussing business and pleasure with clients. He greets Lorne and wonders how he does it all. Lorne admits that he’s had his sleep removed. He hasn’t slept in a month, he’s just worked. Gunn seems aghast, then delighted, and wonders if he could do the same.
Sebassis talks with his members about how well their anti-detection spell worked, and his second in command excuses himself.
Eve and Angel managed to find one another, and begin a new round of ripping into one another verbally (though they don’t really achieve nearly the snarky glory of their predecessors, Wes and Lilah). Still, there seems to be some correlation, because a passing Lorne tells them that their sexual tension is choking the room, so they should really find one of their own.
Angel and Eve bust into his office, stripping and kissing, and Angel is rather surprised by the suddenness, asking her if she even has a last name. They get caught up in their smoochie fest, though, and just continue.
The Arch Duke’s second in command sits on the toilet, when the door is suddenly ripped open. He’s shocked, and then, of course, he’s dead.
Everyone at the party, meanwhile, is in the full boogie swing, and Lorne’s right in the middle of it all, dancing with Harmony and looking like he’s having a wonderful time. Fred and Wes are also dancing (and Wes proves that he’s improved his dance skills very little, with an only slightly less spastic version of his first-season Geek Dance). They make their way through the crowd, and Fred runs into one of the Arch Duke’s entourage, who’s been sent to find the missing second-in-command. She tries to pick a fight, but Wesley quickly pulls her away. They both admit that they’re drunk off their asses, but, since she’s had nothing to drink, and he’s had about a third of a beer, they have no idea how.
They decide to ask Gunn if that’s weird, but when they approach him, they discover him peeing on the decorations. He turns in surprise and manages to pee all over Wesley’s shoes, as well. Both of them are more than a little bewildered by that. Bewildered, however, doesn’t even begin to cover what they feel as Spike walks up to them, cheerfully bubbling that the party is incredible, and the song plying is possibly the best song in the world. He proceeds to demonstrate this by doing what can only be described as a dance of joy. The humans decide something is very wrong, and when Spike lets slip that he’s been acting this way since Lorne told him to think positively, they think they might know what it is.
Enter Lorne, who freezes as they all glare at him.
They all hurry into Angel’s office, where they seek help.
Unfortunately, Angel is in no . . . ahem . . . position to help them. He is, however, in the position to do Eve doggy style. They both pop up from behind the couch, looking surprised as everyone else stares at them in dawning horror.
Or, in Spike’s case, joy, as the vampire ghost enthuses on Angel’s new sexual activity.
Wes realizes that they’re all doing exactly what Lorne’s told them to do: Spike’s thinking positively, Gunn is peeing all over everything, and he and Fred are a little bit drunk. Angel asks if it will wear off, to which Gunn replies that he sincerely hopes so. Lorne denies his involvement, but Gunn contradicts that, remembering what Lorne told him about staking out his territory. Wesley agrees that it has to be what’s happening, though it’s being taken a little too literally, he adds, glancing forlornly at his shoes.
Fred shouts at Angel and Eve to keep it in their pants, as the two of them begin to go at it again. Suddenly, Gunn remembers that Lorne has his sleep removed. Wes thinks that it may have something to do with that, contradicting something in his empathic abilities that’s causing all of these things to happen. Angel is surprised to hear this, and demands to know why Lorne had his sleep removed. Lorne snaps that no one has any clue what he’s been dealing with. He’s controlling the city that never sleeps, and so he can’t either (at this point, Wes breaks away from the conversation to save a statue from Gunn’s anointing.) Angel decides to help, and orders our two merry dunks to go figure out the Lorne situation, and Lorne says that someone’s got to monitor the floor. Spike eagerly volunteers, but Angel reluctantly decides to let Lorne do it, instead. Spike droops, and Angel decides that the best course of action for Even to take is to have more sex with him. They disappear behind the couch again.
Meanwhile, Sebassis discovers the blood-stained cubicle.
Fred and Wes begin to go through a storage room, and Fred comments cheerily that she thinks they have pretty interesting lives. Wesley agrees, and Fred admits that she’s having a great time. In fact, she thinks that they should do things like this more often. She clings to him briefly. Wes’ eyes go wide and he agrees quickly. He admits that he always thought that they would be better friends. She thinks that’s a wonderful idea, and claps him in a tight hug, causing his eyes go round as saucers and a lovesick look to flash across his face. She snuggles back up to him, saying that they should be confidantes. He whispers that he’s been wanting to do that for some time. She gets a little closer and asks what he thinks about Knox.
Wesley’s happy look shatters.
Meanwhile, Sebassis and his men break into Angel’s office, greeted by an impressed Spike, who comments on their fantastic entrance. Angel and Eve pop up from their place behind the couch, thoroughly confused and pulling their clothes back on as Sebassis accuses Angel of killing his lackey. He then proceeds to tell him that he will be attending an execution.
Just them, they hear a scream from the other room, and they hurry to the scene of the crime, only to find the human face-wearing demon dead. As Sebassis accuses Angel again, Lorne tries again to calm things down.
Fred finds Lorne’s sleep as Wesley discovers that the affects of prolonged sleep deprivation on an empath can prove catastrophic. Lorne can usually only sense destinies, but now he’s creating them. Also, his subconscious, if severed from him for too long, will manifest . . .
Lorne admits that all of this is his fault, when a giant Sumo-Lorne jumps down from the balcony, roaring. Lorne tries to stop it, but it knocks him flat, and he caustically comments that he really must hate himself.
Fred and Wes wait for the elevator, prepared to save the day. Wesley is impatient, until Fred reminds him that he should push the button. He is amazed by this revelation, and does as instructed, almost immediately reverting to his impatient state again.
Sumo-Lorne starts attacking everyone, and Angel and Gunn try to protect Sebassis from the worst of it. Then, Fred and Wes arrive. Wes realizes that it’s manifested, and they stagger to the rescue. Fred points a *huge* injector gun at Sumo-Lorne, and Gunn urges her to shoot it. At the last minute, she turns and, at point-blank range, shoots Lorne in the head. He collapses, and at Harmony’s shock accusation that they’ve killed him, he tells her that he’s not dead, he’s just going to rest his eyes.
Sumo-Lorne explodes in a smattering of confetti, and everyone regains their senses. Fred and Wes both shoot each other worries, anticipating glances.
So, the party’s over, and everyone thinks it was a great party. Fred’s cleaning up, and Knox comes in, telling her that they have janitors. He’s not quite sure why he did it that night, and Fred admits that she sort of wished he was there. He asks her for coffee, but she would rather have a drink.
In Angel’s office, Wes tells Angel that he thinks that Sumo-Lorne was a manifestation of Lorne’s self-conscious. Angel’s surprised that Lorne actually wanted to kill them, but Wes disagrees, saying simply that it was dealing with its surroundings in the only way it knew, and it was venting all that frustration and anger that Lorne bottled up.
Angel cautiously approaches a departing Eve, and asks if they should talk about what happened. She, however, is unfazed, stating that it wasn’t the first time she’d had sex under a mystical influence. She did go to U. C. Santa Cruz.
As she leaves, Angel stands, stunned, and Wesley comes up, asking how he is. However, at that moment, he sees Knox and Fred, having a drink and flirting shamelessly, and he stops dead, his heart breaking again. Slowly, he walks past them and leaves, slumped slightly in defeat.
Angel walks back into the office and Gunn comes in. He’s talked to Sebassis’s people, and it turns out that the Arch Duke likes a little blood play at his social events, so things are good between them. He also advises Angel not to sit in his chair. He’s called janitorial. Spike is exuberant as he realizes that Gunn has peed in Angel’s chair. Gunn tells him to drop the positive attitude, and Spike admits that it’s gone. He just thinks that this situation is great.
Gunn leaves, and Angel orders Spike out. Spike, realizing Angel’s trying to give Lorne some peace, obeys for once.
Angel walks over to the still-sleeping demon, who mutters that he’s so sorry. He says that it’s hard, being the host of the party. Angel pulls up a blanket around him, and tells Lorne gently to stop trying to be.
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Quotable Wes: (and a few others):
Konx:: How do you know that your spellcasters didn’t screw up the payload?
Wes:: Because I went over the work, and I got that knowing feeling you get when you *know* *something*.
(Re: the demon she’s just bumped into)
Fred:: Hey, buddy, you want a piece of me? (He turns and leaves without a second glance at her) That’s right, walk away! You walk aloooone! You walk alone!
Wes:: (pulling her away) That thing’s loaded.
Fred:: So am I! Wes . . . Wesley . . . (pulls him into an awkward embrace) I am totally drunk-faced!
Wes:: That’s because you can’t hold your . . . your . . . what are you drinking?
Fred:: Nothing.
Wes:: You can’t hold that.
Fred:: Oh, yeah? How much have you had?
Wes:: (holding up his beer) Including this? About a third of a half of this beer.
Fred:: That’s weird, right?
Wes:: Yes, I think so. I think that’s weird.
Fred:: There’s Gunn. Let’s go ask him if that’s weird.
(They stagger over to Gunn, who has his back to them)
Wes:: Hey, Gunn, is something weird going on?
(Gunn: turns and we hear something trickle. Wes looks down in surprise, then back up at his friend)
Wes:: Charles . . . you just peed on my shoes.
Gunn:: I’ll be damned. That’s weird.
(Enter Spike)
Spike: Hey, is this a great party, or what?
Fred:: Okay, something is *definitely* wrong with this picture.
Gunn:: Oh, and your chair . . .
Angel:: What?
Gunn:: Don’t sit in it. I already called janitorial.
Angel:: Why can’t I . . .
Spike: (realizing) You pissed in the big man’s chair? That’s fantastic!
Gunn:: Spike, can you please turn off that warm-fuzzy?
Spike: What? Lorne thing? Wore off. I just think that’s bloody fabulous!
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The 3 W’s:
Weapons:
Fred wielded one *big* injector gun, and with a lot of gusto. It’s mean to deliver a psychic payload directly into someone’s cranium (so you have to shoot them in the head) and it seems to take effect almost immediately after unloading.
The Arch Duke’s entourage also carried some very fine weapons, especially their swanky little dart shooters, like tiny, metal crossbows.
Wear:
I may not like Eve, but *damn!* that woman can dress to kill. That slinky gold number of hers? Can we say gold saran wrap?! She had to be poured into that number (not that I’m complaining, mind you. She may be obnoxious, but she’s not hard on the eyes, either). At any rate, kudos to whoever decided on that little number.
As for Wes, well, it seems that his leather jacket is becoming like Angel’s duster: a permanent fixture to that boy’s shoulders. It’s nice enough, but could we try for a non-earth tone at some point? Just my preference for variation.
Gunn’s suit in this episode was particularly swanky. Have I mentioned that I love what they’re doing with his wardrobe? Well, let me repeat myself: I *love* what they’re doing with Gunn’s wardrobe. Seriously, who’d have thought that, under all those boring civvies, we had a man in Armani waiting to get out? Rock on.
Wesley:
Wes, dear, I find myself having to quote Willow: “Well, I have a choice. Either I can spend my life waiting for Xander to date every other girl in the world until he notices me, or I can get on with my life.” This pretty much sums up our boy’s predicament. The girl he’s had a crush on for going on three seasons seems determined to spite, slight, and, yes, date every male on the planet *except* Wesley. I willingly admit that I’m not a Wes/Fred shipper, but I wailed in remorse at the end of this episode. I mean seriously, did you see the look on his face when Fred hugged him in the lab? I thought he was about to pass out! And that heart-broken look he gave Knox and her (who didn’t even acknowledge his presence, I may add) . . . wah. Much wah, with an added whimper. Fred, I don’t know if you’re deliberately cruel, or simply unobservant, but I really don’t like you much right now.
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So, is the episode ficcable?:
Buckle up and boogie, Wesley angst writers! Fred was just the bitch-queen of hell to our boy, and it’s our job to write about it! What does he do when he realizes that he’s lost his chance *again*? What was he thinking when she asked him what he thought about Knox? What (or who) will he do now? Your mission is clear! Now get to your keyboards!
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Episode rating:
(“That’s an Angel? It looks like a lobster with some sort of . . . growth.)
4.5 lobsters out of 5
Nicely done, everyone, and props for finally giving our underused characters something more to do. Denisof finally got to turn in one of his beautiful, multi-faceted performances, with a great comedic presence and just enough true pain to really steal any scene he was in. Ms. Acker, not usually one of my favorites, really did a very nice job, as well this time around, and as for Mr. Hallett, well, it’s about time they showed that there’s more to Lorne than the smile and the confidence. There’s stress and worry, and the desperate need to show that he *can* do something. So, a great job by all, and a funny, surprisingly moving episode. Really great work, all!
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