Angel/Recap/S02/E06 Guise Will Be Guise

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"I'm... Angel. The vampire with a soul. Fighting for my redemption with — with — with killing evil demons. That's right."

Angel and Gunn prepare to storm Wolfram & Hart's fortress, where Angel is convinced Darla is hiding. He is intercepted by Cordelia and Wesley, who refuse to let him go through with his suicidal plan. At a loose end, everyone winds up at Caritas to consult with The Host, who refers Angel to a swami who lives in Ojai.

A shifty person arrives at the office looking for Angel. He pulls a gun on Cordelia and threatens to kill her if she doesn't produce Angel. Wesley hears this from the next room; In the spur of the moment, he throws on Angel's coat and strides inside, introducing himself as Angel. The goon takes Wesley to meet his boss, Magnus Bryce. Somebody, probably a business rival, has been threatening his daughter, and he needs "Angel" to act as her bodyguard. Meanwhile, Angel (the real one) makes his sojourn to see the swami. The door is answered by a not-at-all swami-like, paunchy middle-aged man.

"Angel" is introduced to his employer's daughter, Virginia, who drags Wesley along on shopping trip. As predicted, two men accost Virgina in the store. When she drops Angel's name, the men recoil with intimidation. Seems Angel's reputation precedes him. Wes discovers these men work for Paul Lanier, one of Bryce's competitors. Back at the cabin, Magev gets on the dog and bone to speak with someone: it's Lanier. The "Swami" isn't sure how much longer he can keep up this Yoda act. It seems this is an imposter hired by Lanier to keep Angel busy. Lanier is puzzled, having just seen Angel at Bryce's house. Ruh-roh. Meanwhile, Virginia is beginning to find Wesley attractive. Things get hot and heavy; Wesley tries to tell her the truth about who he really is, but ends up going to bed with her.

The next morning, Gunn pulls up to the cabin, having been sent by Cordelia and sent to fetch Angel. The Swami greets him warmly and then knocks Gunn out. Angel witnesses the act from the porch and works out that the real Magev is probably fish food. This imposter taunts Angel, thinking he is safe in the sun, but Angel is quite the fly fisherman and with one cast snags him in the mouth with a hook, then reels him onto the relaxing shade of the porch. Ouch. At Case de Bryce, Bryce storms upstairs and declares Wesley to be a fraud. Seems Lanier made an anonymous call to Bryce, and the jig is up. Virginia is crushed. We later see that Magnus has a sacrificial alter with chains waiting for the guest of honor - Virginia.

Everyone rendezvous back at the hotel, where they begin to piece together what Bryce is up to. Angel says the "Goddess" Yeska isn't really a goddess. She's a demon who grants enormous power in exchange for a tribute - in this case, a female virgin. Lanier was trying to intervene to prevent his rival from achieving his goal. At the Bryce Estate, the party is in full swing. A pair of henchmen grab Virginia and shackling her on an altar, while Magus begins the incantation for Yeska. The Bat Pack storms in as Bryce completes the incantation. Yeska is brought forth, but as she reaches for the sacrifice she senses Virginia is "impure" and...vanishes. Well, that was anticlimatic. Bryce is livid. He accuses Wesley of defiling his daughter. Virginia smugly reveals that she hasn't been a virgin for quite a while, having slept with chauffeur when she was sixteen, and several other men since then. She decks her father and leaves with Wesley and the others.

Days later at the Hyperion, Angel is sitting at his desk when Cordy bursts in with an tabloid magazine. It seems Virginia has a new "bodyguard to the stars" and Wesley is getting some quality press time, something Cordy hungers for. Angel tries to play it down, but is clearly jealous when the article calls the company the Wyndham-Pryce Agency.

Tropes:

• Any Torment You Can Walk Away From: Despite Wesley lying his way into the sack with her, Virginia is touched that he returned to rescue her. They formally become a couple in this episode. (It doesn't last.)
• Armchair Psychology: Inside the cabin, Angel and the T'ish Magev sit at the fireplace as the Swami ties fishing flies. As they're shooting the breeze about Angel's automobile, his clothes, the hair product he uses, the Swami makes Angel aware of obvious contradictions in his nature, leading Angel to analyze their inner meanings. His car: a vampire living in a city known for it's sun drives a convertible. His clothes: all dark in appearance; obviously image is important to him even though he has no reflection. Angel has a snappy retort to each of the Swami's claims (The roof is retractable / I don't have a body temperature / If all I wear is black, I doesn't have to coordinate my outfits). The swami tells Angel that he's too concerned with the mask he presents to the world.
• Badass Longcoat: Which Angel would really like back, if Wesley would be so kind.
• Becoming the Badass Longcoat: Wesley's confidence increases as he takes on the Angel role; eventually he's giving orders to everyone while Angel just gripes about wanting his coat back.
• Big Fancy House
• Bland-Name Product: Wesley gets his photo taken for Bio, a gossip magazine in the vein of InStyle.
• Bodyguard Crush
• Bound and Gagged: Virginia is treated to iron shackles.
• Buffy-Speak: Angel leads a still-dazed Gunn into the lobby, and Cordy asks what happened. Angel says he got hit. "By who? The swami? Swamis don't hit! Swamis swam."
• Celibate Hero: Virginia apologizes for kissing Wesley, explaining she says that she knows about "his" curse. Flustered, Wes insists that the whole curse thing "has been wildly misinterpreted." It's "less of a curse, and more of a hex, actually. Barely that — a recommendation."
• Chekhov's Gun / Improvised Weapon: "Magev's" fishing flies.
• Chekhov's Gunman: The gold trinkets depicting Yeska, Bryce's "favorite creepy deity."
  • An offscreen bartender named Ramon strolls by with a drink for The Host, who is exceedingly fond of him: "I was just thinking, I'd rather be drinking!" He's referred to by name, so you know he's trouble.
• Cleavage Window: Virginia in her first scene.
• Clark Kenting: Cordelia infiltrates Wolfram & Hart by wearing glasses. "Hello, lawyer!"
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: Magnus Bryce.
• Dead Person Impersonation: The bubba redneck swami.
• Department of Redundancy Department: Cordelia attempting to reason with Angel. "You're all insane, and angry, and...insane! You need help!"
• Description Cut: "I'd hate to think what he'd be up to about now". Cut to Wesley out shopping with Virginia.
• Discreet Drink Disposal: Wesley tips the rest of the blood into a flower vase; unfortunately it's transparent and the water turns bright red, forcing Wes to quickly move to block it.
• Dressing as the Enemy: Cordelia and Wesley take a page from Angel's playbook, donning business suits to sneak into Wolfram & Hart.
• Duck Season! Rabbit Season!: Angel and Cordelia dueling over the elevator buttons.
• Eat That: Upon their introduction, Bryce offers "Angel" a tall glass of fresh blood. Wesley turns it down, claiming he doesn't like to drink "in front of humans." Bryce, unimpressed, warns that he would consider it an insult if Wes doesn't drink it. Wesley, not wanting to blow the charade, quaffs it down. Eww.

"Dear GOD! ...That's...nummy."

• Emergency Impersonation: The former Trope Namer for Guise Will Be Guise.
• Everything Is Online: Subverted. Cordy gets bored looking at mug shots online, and starts flipping through a glossy magazine. By sheer chance, she lands on a photo depicting Bryce and his daughter standing alongside their bodyguard - the same goon who grabbed Wesley at gunpoint.
• Fat Bitch: Yeska.
• Fiery Redhead / Heroes Want Redheads: Wesley and Virginia.
• Feet First Introduction: Wesley as himself, scratching the back of his leg with his heel, and Wesley in a Badass Longcoat as 'Angel'.
• Foreshadowing: Virgina mentions her father's 50th birthday is coming up and he's having a big bash for his "favorite creepy deity," the Goddess Yeska.
  • Angel rejects the idea that image is important to him as he can't look into a mirror. The swami says that his mirror is how his friends and other see him. When he starts becoming Darker and Edgier, the first thing Angel does is fire his friends so they can't see what he's turning into.
• Getting Crap Past the Radar: Angel is a bit slow on the uptake as Wesley quickly recaps his adventures with Virginia. "What's going on?," Angel wonders. "Were you in Virginia?", Angel wonders. Wesley hesitates and mutters, "...That's besides the point."
• The Glasses Come Off: Wesley menacing the would-be kidnappers. Astonishingly, it works.
• Hey, That's My Line!: Wes leads the charge into Bryce's gala, declaring, "Release her, or die."

Angel: [offscreen] Don't I say that?

• Hidden Purpose Test: On a boat dock outside the cabin, Angel and the Swami are fighting with staves. Magev accuses Angel of holding back, and Angel confesses that if he lets "it" loose, he will kill Magev. The Swami responds by knocking Angel flat with his stick, thus illustrating the point. Angel can't win the fight against evil while he's fighting himself.
• Hollywood Tone Deaf: Cordelia's response to hearing Angel doesn't have to sing is an overly loud, "Oh Thank God! ...for your sake, because you don't like to do that."
• Hypocritical Humor: Upon being labeled "angry" and "insane" by Cordy, Angel states that he is neither insane nor angry. A surprised security guard appears outside the elevator and goes for his stake-baton. Angel swipes the baton and jams it down into the guard's shoe. Crunch.

Angel: Maybe I am a little angry.

• I Have No Father: Virginia renounces her father after socking him in the face.
• I Just Want to Be Normal
• I'm a Humanitarian: Yeska has an appetite for virgins.
• In the Hood: A pair of mooks loitering around Virginia's bedroom.
  • Later at the party, Bryce's various guests are hidden beneath cloaks. When Virginia gloats, "I even dated Rick.", one of the hoods ahems and quietly shuffles out of the room.
• I Resemble That Remark: Magev advises Angel on how to get over his Darla issues.

Magev: "Right. So here's what you do. You go out and find yourself some small, blonde thing. You bed her, you love her, you treat her like crap, you break her heart. You and your inner demon will thank me, I promise." Angel: "Uhm..."

• Ironic Echo: Not-Magev manages to mumble, "What're you doing?!" after getting skewered with his fishing hook. Angel, his game face on, parrots, "Getting in touch with my inner demon." Well, that sounds therapeutic.
• It's All About Me: As Virginia pleads with her father to spare her, Bryce complains, "Be a good girl. This is hard enough already." His henchman, Benny, asides, "He's really torn about it."
• Legitimate Businessmen's Social Club: Wesley recognizes Magus Bryce's name from the business page, but Bryce explains that his cable network and software are a front. His money really comes from Wizardry — custom design work for people with money. "You see someone in this town with looks and talent, chances are we provided one of them."
• Leitmotif: Angel's leitmotif from Season One is briefly re-used here, as Wesley strides into Angel's office while wearing his coat.
• Meaningful Name: Virginia.
• The Mirror Shows Your True Self: Wes screams and jumps aside when he realises he can be seen in Virginia's mirror. He insists that it be covered, much to the bemusement of everyone as they already know he's a vampire.

Wesley: "I'm terribly sorry. It's just strategy. If the attack - were to happen here... If I were to fight here I - wouldn't want my opponents to know too soon - what I really am."

• Mistaken For Eunuch
• Most Definitely A Vampire
• Names to Run Away From Really Fast: Magnus Bryce. Well, he seems trustworthy.
• No Except Yes: Magev observes that Angel is very ambivalent. Angel protests, "Well, I am and I'm not."
• Overshadowed by Awesome
• Parental Abandonment: Virginia explains to Wesley that when she was little, her father used to tell her all about rituals, magic and incantations. But once she reached a certain age, he shut down all emotion toward her.
  • Parental Betrayal: Because when you're planning to feed your daughter to a demon succubus at age 50, you don't want to get too attached.
• Punctuation Shaker: T'ish Magev.
• Rescue Romance: Wesley saves Virginia from two kidnappers who are lurking right outside her bedroom. Sex naturally ensues.

Wesley: "Things happen. Two young people, danger..."

• Scare Chord: As the elevator closes on Angel and Gunn, a briefcase suddenly swings between the doors. It's Wesley.
• Self-Deprecation
• Sensei for Scoundrels: Angel starts to suspect this swami is less than legitimate when he suggests finding a woman with a passing resemblance to Darla, having sex with her, then dumping her. How cathartic. "You and your inner demon will thank me."
• Slippery Skid: At the episode's start, Wesley tugs on a drawer. It won't open. He tugs harder, and it flies out, spilling its contents all over the floor and causing Wes to repeatedly pratfall. Somehow, the customer at the front desk is unimpressed by the crack staff at Angel Investigations.
  • Later, when Wesley makes his badass entrance as Angel, he trips over the coat.
• Snowball Lie
• Soft Glass: Averted; Cordelia knocks down a mook by hitting the back of his legs with a champagne bottle, like you would with a baton.
• So Was X: When Wesley insists Virginia's father loves her, given the trouble and expense he's gone to in protecting her, Virginia snits, "He has his car insured, too."
• Spiky Hair: Another hairgel joke; plus Wes trying to spike up his hair during his You Won't Like Me When I'm Angry speech.

Angel: "Well, maybe my persona is a little - affected." Magev: "A little affected? Come on. How many warriors slated for the coming apocalypse do you think are gonna be using that hair gel?"

• Suicide Mission: Gunn protests Cordelia's implication that he's being led around by a madman. He calmly assures her that Angel has a plan. Angel outlines his plan thusly: "I get to the offices before they stop me."

Gunn: See? [[[Double Take]]] — what?? That's the plan? Walkin' real quick was the plan?!"

• Targeted Human Sacrifice: Yeshka has the pretty exacting sacrifice requirements that people have to sacrifice their daughter, she has to be a virgin, and it has to be done on the father's fiftieth birthday.
• Tap on the Head: Gunn getting clunked on the head by Not-Magev.

Angel: Which lesson was that, exactly?

• Tempting Fate: When outed on impersonating Magev, the fake swami grins and admits to everything. "But you know what? Somehow, I'm not worried about you right now, seeing as how you can't get any closer." He laughs again and savors the warm rays of sunlight. "Wish you were here!" ..Oops.
• Unwanted Rescue: Cordelia, having traced Wesley to the Byrce home, barges her way inside to take Wesley away. To her astonishment, Wesley begs off — he's quite happy here and doesn't want to leave Virginia unprotected.
• Vampire Invitation: As Wes strolls into Byrce's home, Benny gives him permission to enter — fortunately Benny is walking in front of him so he doesn't see Wes quickly jumping back through the threshold to make a more delayed entrance.
• Villainous Demotivator: Benny wonders aloud why they're letting Cordy and Wes go, suggesting that he should just kill them. Bryce grabs Benny and throws him up against the wall, saying he's lucky he doesn't kill him for hiring a Shemp instead of Angel.
• Virgin Sacrifice: Hilariously averted.
• You Won't Like Me When I'm Angry: Wes as Angel tells the kidnappers that he doesn't kill humans (Death Glare) except when I'm angry.
  • Subverted after Virginia finds out her father's intentions.

Bryce: "Don't make me angry." Virginia: "No, because then you might do something bad."

• You Remind Me of X: Wesley impresses his new ward with his knowledge of talismans ("Attractive, but it isn't real gold - one good spell would melt it"), causing her to remark, "You sound like my dad."