Angel 20th anniversary binge guide: 21 essential episodes to watch

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Sink your teeth in

ATS-group_62367327832 — Matthias Clamer for EW

It's been over two decades since Angel, the Los Angeles-set Buffy the Vampire Slayer spin-off, first premiered. That may seem like a long time, but for vampire-with-a-soul Angel (David Boreanaz), it's just a blip in his 200-plus-year life full of bloody violence and brooding redemption. So whether you've never seen Angel before or you're a die-hard fan, let's celebrate the legacy of Joss Whedon's dark, supernatural noir series by watching 21 of the most essential episodes full of impressive action, terrifying twists, and the most delicious heartbreak that a vampire with a human soul can feel — and don't forget to check out our big Angel reunion.

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Season 1, Episode 1: "City of"

ANGEL, (from left): David Boreanaz, Glenn Quinn, 'City of...', (Season 1, aired Oct. 5, 1999), 1999- — Everett Collection

Ah, the episode that started it all. Not only were we reacquainted with Angel as he got to know his new city and all the trouble hiding in the shadows, but we also got to see just how much Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter) has changed (or not) since high school. This is the beginning of a beautiful relationship (Angel with Cordelia, and us with this spin-off).

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Season 1, Episode 8: "I Will Remember You"

This hour is essential viewing for any Buffy/Angel fans, if only because it's full of that sweet, sweet heartbreak we know so well from these star-crossed lovers. There were highs (that love scene!) and, oh, were there lows. As if Angel needed yet another reminder of how his love for Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) would never work out. Prepare for major tears. Even if you never watched the flagship series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the emotion of this episode will definitely move you.

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Season 1, Episode 9: "Hero"

We promise this binge guide isn't going to be all tearjerker episodes, but you simply can't skip Angel's first major death. R.I.P. Doyle (Glenn Quinn) — we hardly knew you, and yet you still proved to be an iconic character in your brief time on the series. And what a way to go out! The title of this hour says it all.

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Season 1, Episode 22: "To Shanshu in L.A."

With Angel's first season finale, we got intense action, an amputation, intriguing mythology, high stakes for Cordelia, and a whopper of a cliffhanger: Darla's (Julie Benz) back. The sight of her was enough to strike fear in the heart of anyone who watched the early days of Buffy.

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Season 2, Episode 5: "Dear Boy"

Finally, after four(!) episodes, there was some momentum with Darla's resurrection. Angel did not handle it well! And it came with flashbacks to Drusilla's (Juliet Landau) origin story, another treat for longtime Buffy fans. Plus Angel sang, which is always a fun bonus — and helped balance out the shock of seeing just how cruel he was as the soulless Angelus.

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Season 2, Episode 7: "Darla"

This plot- and flashback-heavy episode filled in a lot of blanks about Angel's history: what happened after he got his soul back, how he struggled with it, and even how he tried to still be evil with it at first. Angel's never been perfect, but that's what makes him so magnetic. Even when he makes mistakes, he learns from them. The next century of redemption-seeking after his soul-filled evil fling with Darla, Spike (James Marsters), and Drusilla is proof of that.

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Season 2, Episode 10: "Reunion"

They may be evil, but that doesn't make the sight of Darla and Drusilla wreaking havoc on L.A. any less delicious. The take-no-prisoners vampires relished in their power, and even inspired Angel to give in to his darker impulses as well. It was a temporary crisis of conscience for him, but quite understandable in the moment — and totally thrilling to watch.

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Season 2, Episode 16: "Epiphany"

There are so many reasons why this hour is a must-watch, from the consequences of Angel and Darla's night of (non)passion to Angel swallowing his pride to rejoin the group at Angel Investigations as an employee — not the boss — to Kate's (Elisabeth Röhm) surprising revelation that she never invited Angel into her home, yet, he still was able to enter it to save her life. But it's really because of the scene in which Lindsey (Christian Kane) tried to beat up Angel out of revenge for sleeping with Darla and Angel turned the tables right back on Lindsey. Epic, and completely deserved.

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Season 2, Episode 22: "There's No Place Like Plrtz Glrb"

Not only was the end to the Pylea adventure trilogy arc as satisfying (and weirdly hilarious) as we hoped it would be, but it also came with a season finale cliffhanger that topped the last one: Willow (Alyson Hannigan) waiting for Angel at the Hyperion Hotel, bringing news about Buffy's death.

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Season 3, Episode 1: "Heartthrob"

As if a whole episode about Angel mourning Buffy wasn't enough, this season opener also revealed quite the surprise: Darla's pregnant! Did you really think Angel would ever get to have sex without ruining his entire life? That's a nice change from the decades of seeing that trope only apply to female characters (including Buffy herself).

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Season 3, Episode 11: "Birthday"

Cordelia grew so much over the course of the first two seasons of Angel (remember how awful she was during Buffy?!), but this installment cemented her as one of the best characters of the franchise. Her importance was clear through the alternate reality of what would have happened if she never joined up with Angel: She would have been a famous actress, but Angel would have been in a bad place, mentally. That's why her selfless decision at the end of the hour (and her transformation into part-demon) felt so earned. Too bad she couldn't use her visions to see how it would end up changing her life forever...and not in a good way.

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Season 3, Episode 20: "A New World"

Ugh, Connor (Vincent Kartheiser). The newly adult son of Angel returned after living in a dark dimension with his kidnapper, Holtz (Keith Szarabajka), and clearly, Holtz was not the best father figure, because look at how Connor turned out. That didn't stop Angel from trying to bond with his son after losing him so suddenly. But Connor only had eyes for Holtz. Again, ugh.

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Season 3, Episode 22: "Tomorrow"

It's well known by now that Angel never played around when it came to season finales, but man does this one take the cake. Cordelia became a "higher being," which is just as wild as it sounds. Wesley (Alexis Denisof) slept with Lilah (Stephanie Romanov). Connor/Steven finally got his revenge on Angel, having been manipulated into believing Angel killed Holtz (when Holtz actually killed himself and framed Angel). It all ended with Angel literally sleeping with the fishes, having been sealed into a metal coffin and dropped into the ocean by his own son — the ultimate betrayal.

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Season 4, Episode 6: "Spin the Bottle"

Spin The BottleDavid Boreanaz and Amy Acker — Twentieth Century Fox

Games of spin the bottle are usually pretty awkward, but Angel truly outdid it with this hour that reverted Angel, Cordelia, Wesley, Gunn (J. August Richards), and Fred (Amy Acker) to their 17-year-old selves with no memory of their adult lives. Chaos and hilarity ensued. But fair warning: The end of the episode hits like a true gut punch. Classic Angel — giving us top-notch comedy, only to turn around and destroy our emotions in the next moment, right when we least expect it.

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Season 4, Episode 10: "Awakening"

The first present-day appearance of Angelus since the early seasons of Buffy did not disappoint, especially because the way Angel's evil side returned was so shocking. It turns out Angel's moment of true happiness hadn't happened in real life but rather via a forced hallucination, and that just felt like a dirty trick for the cursed hero. And the promise of what Angelus could do in the present was absolutely terrifying.

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Season 4, Episode 15: "Orpheus"

Any Buffy or Angel episode featuring Faith (Eliza Dushku) is a can't-miss, especially after she started working toward her own redemption. Staying in prison when she could have easily broken out this whole time? Incredible. But it's this hour, in which she poisoned both herself and Angelus — putting them into a coma to force the ultimate showdown between the evil Angelus and the soul-having Angel — that was her best trick yet. And that's not even mentioning Willow! This episode really is an embarrassment of riches.

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Season 5, Episode 1: "Conviction"

The gang goes evil. Well, kind of. As first introduced in the season 4 finale, the final season's brilliant twist was that Angel, Wesley, Fred, and Gunn now owned and ran the evil corporation Wolfram & Hart, which they'd been fighting to destroy for the entire series. In their minds, they hoped that they can get rid of all the evil aspects (and employees) of the company and turn things around to do some good in the world. But the real kicker came in the very last moment, and it's one that no one — especially fans of the Buffy series finale that aired only a couple months earlier — could have predicted: Spike survived his big heroic death, and he just materialized in Angel's office. This is going to be good.

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Season 5, Episode 14: "Smile Time"

Angel gets turned into a puppet. 'Nuff said.

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Season 5, Episode 15: "A Hole in the World"

The final season was just full of game-changing twists, as Fred got infected by a demon named Illyria who took over her body. What seemed like only a one-episode procedural arc took everyone by surprise as it soon became clear that Fred really was gone and Illyria was here to stay (just when things were finally getting good between Fred and Wesley!), allowing Amy Acker to give a tour de force performance as a completely new — and extremely chilling — character.

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Season 5, Episode 20: "The Girl in Question"

People change. They really do. But can someone really change as drastically as Buffy dating Angel and Spike's shared nemesis, the Immortal? Buffy fan-favorite Andrew (Tom Lenk) certainly believed so, as he acted as a sort of narrator/spirit guide for Angel and Spike in Rome as they orbited around their shared ex, never actually making contact. All the near-misses may have been torture for fans of both Buffy/Angel and Buffy/Spike, but what's truly genius is how this episode gave each relationship equal weight while never actually giving any payoff. It's not what we want...but it's what we deserve. Because, in the end, it turns out it wasn't even Buffy — it was just a decoy slayer helping to keep Buffy safe. Hilarious.

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Season 5, Episode 22: "Not Fade Away"

Whether you love or hate how Angel ended on the biggest cliffhanger of them all, you can't deny that the series finale was one of the best episodes, hands down. Pulse-racing action, heartbreaking deaths, and the highest stakes yet, Angel went out with more than just a bang — it was all-out war. We may never know whether good or evil won, but the real winner was all of us for getting five full seasons of Angel.

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More where that came from

EW-1568_87278238932923 — Matthias Clamer for EW

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