NB Don't read this if you haven't watched Angel 3:22 'Tomorrow'. It will spoil it for you. That's why they call them 'spoilers'.
Previously on Angel...
Connor reading the letter, Angel happy he's getting Connor back, Justine killing Holtz, Connor crying, cradling Holtz' body, the funeral pyre, Connor and Justine sealing the coffin.
Someday you'll learn the truth,
and you'll hate yourself.
Cordelia ascending, Connor and Justine pushing the coffin into the sea, the coffin sinking.
You don't get to die.
You get to live for ever.
Angel's face through the glass.
Teaser
EXT. BEAUTIFUL LANDSCAPE - DAY
The sun is shining. BUFFY is walking, turns to the camera as it approaches her, smiling. Her smile turns to a look of absolute terror.
(stricken)
Angel...what happened to you?
ANGEL (OS)
Buffy...
(a beat)
please kill me.
You did it once.
Camera pulls back to show ANGEL, his back to us, facing Buffy. She is shaking her head. Can't speak.
Please do it again.
I can't get out.
I can't die.
Please kill me.
CUT TO:
Buffy in close up, still aghast, still mute, looking up at him.
CUT TO:
Angel in close up. His face like a skull, his skin rotted from malnutrition, putrid. Partly eaten away by sea beasties.
I can't go on like this.
Buffy, you have to.
CUT TO:
Buffy, who suddenly smiles. She reaches up, puts her hands to the sides of Angel's face, draws his head down. They kiss gently (cf the icerink scene in What's My Line 1).
I'm going to take you home.
She pulls away, smiles at him again.
CUT TO:
Angel in the coffin, through the glass, his face destroyed (though obscured by the four months' growth of hair and beard), screaming (but we can't hear him) and throwing his head from side to side.
Act One
EXT. OCEAN - DAY
All we can see is the ocean, the horizon, the sky. Hold this for a beat; then suddenly the camera starts to move backwards, faster and faster as the water rushes by beneath, until the edge of a cliff appears and the camera swings round abruptly and stops on
PSYCHE, in profile, gazing out to sea.
(NB, if you haven't met Psyche before, you might like to know she is a demon of many talents, including shapeshifting.)
The camera pulls back to show she is standing on the edge of a cliff - not the same coast where Angel was captured. As we watch she prepares to dive
and dives off the cliff, the camera following her so we see that at the last moment before entering the water she morphs into a dolphin. Splash. The dolphin disappears. A phone is ringing.
CUT TO:
INT. HYPERION FOYER - DAY
The phone is ringing. GUNN's hand picks it up.
CUT TO:
Gunn's face in close up, as he listens. After a moment, he says
That's OK, bro. Keep lookin', OK?
He puts the phone down.
Nothin', huh?
Gunn walks over to FRED, who is standing in the middle of the lobby, and they embrace. As the camera moves up to show how alone they still are (cf Tomorrow) -
I can't believe they could just vanish,
and no word at all...
CUT TO:
EXT. UNDERWATER - DAY
A series of shots showing the dolphin swimming.
CUT TO:
INT. MOTEL ROOM - DAY
CONNOR framed in the open doorway, looking in at
JUSTINE, slumped on the sofa. Drinking.
CUT TO:
Connor, as before.
Are you gonna do that all day?
JUSTINE
(snarls)
You wanna make something of it?
What a happy couple.
CUT TO:
EXT. UNDERWATER - DAY
Psyche the dolphin meets a group of other dolphins. The sun is shining through the water, dappling their bodies as they do their dolphin dance. They're making that clicking noise, as dolphins do.
CUT TO:
The solo dolphin again, swimming fast, alone.
CUT TO:
The dolphin in the foreground, swimming towards a vague shape which, as the camera follows, we see is the coffin lying on the sea bed. The water's very deep here - too deep for the sun to shine through of course. (Otherwise nobody in the coffin would be living for ever.) The dolphin swims up to the coffin and taps with her nose on the glass.
CUT TO:
Angel, behind the glass, his eyes closed. They open. A shadow passes across his face - which is, as far as we can see, the same as at the end of the teaser. He is scared.
CUT TO:
A series of shots of the dolphin swimming, showing distance and time passing. In the background the entrance to a huge underwater cave appears.
CUT TO:
The dolphin stationary in the water. Making the clicking noise.
CUT TO:
From the depths of the cave, a monster is emerging - like the Loch Ness one, dinosaur sort of thing. We can see the dolphin in the foreground but can get no sense of the scale, of how large the monster is. The dolphin turns and streaks away. The monster follows.
CUT TO:
More shots of the two of them swimming. Again, the dolphin is in the foreground, so the monster looks small.
CUT TO:
And now we can tell that the monster is HUGE as we see it picking up the coffin in its mouth.
CUT TO:
EXT. BEACH - NIGHT
And now we're on the same beach where Angel was captured. (We may not know this yet, but we'll see it later.) The coffin is lying on the sand, the water receding. The camera draws back to show Psyche, in human form, looking down on it.
Psyche lifts her hand and the sealing process happens in reverse - the bits that were welded glow red and fade, the bars are withdrawn. Psyche takes a breath, makes a sharp sideways gesture with one hand, and the lid of the coffin flies aside. She bends to look in.
CUT TO:
Angel, lying in the coffin, his eyes wide open, crazy mad. The metal ropes break apart.
CUT TO:
Psyche, in close up, looking down.
Hey, sweetheart
(a beat)
Give me your hands.
But he can't. So we
CUT TO:
Psyche, leaning in to the coffin, reaching for Angel's hands. As she grasps them he is propelled up out of the coffin and into her arms.
CUT TO:
Angel's horrific face, in close up, his mouth pressed to Psyche's neck. He starts to shake his head violently. She holds him.
It's all right.
(a beat)
Drink.
(a beat)
It's what I'm here for.
CUT TO:
Angel's crazy eyes.
This time I asked for the assignment.
Angel's face morphs to vamp and he sinks his teeth into her neck.
Act Two
EXT. BEACH - NIGHT
The same. Camera has pulled back to show Angel and Psyche on their knees as he finishes drinking from her.
CUT TO:
Close up on Angel's cadaverous face as he leans away from Psyche, and hold on it as - slowly - it changes to his normal unscary (and non-vamp) face. Angel feels it. He makes an inarticulate sound - can't speak, yet. He starts to sob.
CUT TO:
Psyche's face. Calm, smiling. Not affected by the blood loss - well, OK, a little spaced maybe.
(soft)
It's all right. It's all right.
She reaches out to place her palms tenderly on his face. Camera moves out.
I'm going to take you home.
And her eyes widen as Angel flinches away, sinks down, buries his face in his hands. Is this just another dream, then? A beat.
Nope.
Psyche stands up, bends down to help him. He stands, unsteady, holding on to her. They turn towards the land, but as they start to move, he stumbles. The beach is stony.
Oh, wait...
She raises the hand not holding Angel, palm down, the fingers spread. A smooth pathway appears leading up the beach to the cliff. (Now we can see it's the same beach.) The pathway shimmers. There's a moon, but it's more than moonlight.
Angel and Psyche, their arms round each other, move slowly along the pathway. Suddenly he stops, turns to her.
CUT TO:
Angel, in closeup. Struggling to speak.
Connor...
PSYCHE (OS)
Don't worry. We'll find him.
ANGEL
Not...not kill...
CUT TO:
Psyche, in closeup, full of concern.
Of course not.
CUT TO:
INT. MOTEL ROOM - LATE AT NIGHT
Justine, standing, unsteady, in tears, drunk, throws a bottle and we hear it crash against the wall.
Don't - please don't...
JUSTINE
(shouting)
You stupid brat - you think
you know everything...
Connor, ducking as she throws a glass, grabs her and holds her tightly against him.
But you don't...I'm the one...
CONNOR
Justine - please stop. He didn't.
Please believe me.
He didn't forget you.
(desperate to make her stop)
He loved you.
JUSTINE
You're just a kid - what do you know?
(sobbing)
Daniel was smart...
He planned it all.
Planned it all but
(shouting)
he couldn't have done it
without me...
Banging on the wall from the next room.
because...
Connor, frantic, puts his hand over her mouth.
(hissing)
Shut up! Shut up!
CUT TO:
INT. ANGEL'S BATHROOM - MORNING
We can't tell where we are though as we're in extreme closeup on Angel's face, in agony, water streaming down it, him shaking his head from side to side.
Pull back a bit to show he's in the shower, with Psyche standing very close, supporting him. Naked? Well, duh, they're in the shower. She's holding on tight. We can see the bite marks on her neck.
CUT TO:
INT. HYPERION FOYER - DAY
Gunn and Fred enter from the street. They've just come from their usual breakfast at the diner, but you couldn't tell that from their mood - they are depressed, silent. They walk towards the camera.
Hi, Charles.
Off their startled looks, we
CUT TO:
INT. MOTEL ROOM - DAY
The room is in chaos. Justine has not been to bed but is slumped on the sofa again, sobbing. Connor, in bed, wakes and peers over the covers at her.
(monotone)
I loved him, I loved him, I loved him...
Clearly this has been going on for some time. Wearily, Connor rolls out of bed, crouches down by her chair.
Justine...
But she has started to laugh.
(through her laughter)
And you know what the joke is?
CONNOR
Joke?
JUSTINE
(still laughing)
Yeah, kid - you know what the joke is?
She stops laughing abruptly. They stare at each other.
CUT TO:
INT. HYPERION FOYER - DAY
Psyche, Fred and Gunn are sitting round a small table which holds a bottle of Scotch and three glasses. No-one is drinking.
(incredulous)
Here? Since when?
FRED
What about Cordelia? Aren't they -
weren't they together?
PSYCHE
That's a different story.
(a beat)
Where was Angel when you last saw him?
GUNN
Why, he was
(gestures)
right over there...
He took a call from Cordelia
and went off to meet her.
We thought...
FRED
But that was four months ago...
PSYCHE
(re the whisky)
You'd better have some of this...
CUT TO:
INT. MOTEL ROOM - DAY
The cat has left the bag.
You're lying.
JUSTINE
I'm not.
(a beat)
He used us. He used both of us. You
(points)
and me
(points)
to get what he wanted.
CONNOR
Shut up!
JUSTINE
To get his revenge on
Angelus.
A beat, as this sinks in. Then
No!
He grabs her by the throat and shakes her.
CUT TO:
INT. HYPERION FOYER - DAY
No, no, no, no...
Oh no...
She suddenly claps both hands over her mouth and rushes out to be sick. Gunn moves to follow her, then sits back down. A pause, while he and Psyche look at each other.
So - did he plan the whole thing?
Holtz? With the boat and the - the...
PSYCHE
(grim)
I don't know that yet.
I just know he made the woman
kill him, so it would look as if...
As Fred comes back in, Psyche turns towards her and Gunn sees the puncture wounds in her neck.
But you've got...
Psyche turns back, sees where he's looking and puts her hand over the marks.
Oh, I'm sorry...
She takes her hand away and the marks are gone. But Gunn and Fred are backing away, staring at her in horror.
No, no: it's all right...
Fred starts to cry and Gunn takes her in his arms.
He was so happy - Angel - when he
thought Connor was coming back...But
that was all part of Holtz' plan, wasn't it?
For him to be happy, and then...
GUNN
(over Fred's head, to Psyche)
He fed from you, didn't he?
PSYCHE
He was starving.
FRED
Connor won't come back, will he?
GUNN
Do we want him to?
FRED
(to Psyche)
Angel does, doesn't he?
Psyche nods. And off her we
CUT TO:
EXT. CULVERT - DAY (LATER)
A POLICE FORENSICS GUY is in the foreground talking into a dictaphone. Behind him we can see police divers pulling something out of the flooded culvert.
It's a white Caucasian woman,
early 30s, marks on her throat
consistent with vagal inhibition.
Dead maybe two hours...
CUT TO:
The body bag being zipped up over Justine's face.
CUT TO:
INT. LILAH'S OFFICE - DAY
We see LILAH talking to someone across her desk.
It's interesting - we've heard a police
report about a body. I thought,
for your first assignment with us,
you might like to investigate.
CUT TO:
WESLEY. Shaved, besuited, looking very sharp.
And our interest is?
LILAH
Angel Investigations is implicated.
The - son of the house.
She smiles.
CUT TO:
EXT. BEACH - DAY (ESTABLISHING)
It's that same beach again.
CUT TO:
A shot looking up into Connor's face; he is looking down at something, horrorstruck.
CUT TO:
Connor's POV: the empty coffin lying on the beach.
CUT TO:
Connor, looking up now at the sun, screwing up his eyes in the light.
Whiteout.
Act Three
INT. ANGEL'S BEDROOM - DAY
Angel and Psyche, their faces very close together.
So what do you want to do now?
ANGEL
(hoarse, uncertain)
Not...really an issue until I can actually move...
Camera moves back to show that Angel is in bed, Psyche kneeling on the floor beside the bed so their faces are on a level.
And...this is embarrassing, but I'm afraid...
CUT TO
Psyche in closeup, looking anxious...
I don't actually remember you.
Psyche smiles, looks relieved.
Oh, that's OK...
It's all these different realities -
I never remember which one I'm
in at any given time.
(a beat)
Psyche.
ANGEL
Thanks for saving me.
PSYCHE
You're welcome.
A pause, as we remember the equivalent moment in L.A. Existential - or not, if it hasn't happened yet in our reality.
How did you do it?
PSYCHE
Oh, I called in a couple of favours.
CUT TO:
EXT. L.A. STREETS - DAY
We need to find Connor...
Montage of shots of Connor as he walks the streets - tense, nervous, jumping at every sound. Police sirens, a blast of hip-hop from a car stereo, the honking of horns...Connor sweating, wanting to hide, not knowing where to go. Intercut with flashbacks to the sealing and sinking of the coffin.
You don't get to die.
You get to live for ever.
Connor, in the present, trembles.
CUT TO:
INT. ANGEL'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
Psyche is now on the bed, lying beside Angel but on top of the covers, propped up on the headboard. They're at ease with each other now - but not in a sexual way. Psyche speaks quietly, contemplatively - Angel in a ragged whisper.
So really, since you were cursed
with a soul you've been having a
pretty dreadful time, haven't you?
ANGEL
That was the point of cursing me.
PSYCHE
There again, if you hadn't been
made a vampire you'd have been
dead since, what, 1800?
ANGEL
I am dead.
He smiles up at her.
You know what I mean.
ANGEL
Actually, the way I was going,
I probably wouldn't have made
30, let alone 1800.
Pause
(going back to her earlier point)
So was this the worst?
Off Angel, wondering, we
CUT TO:
Connor, still montage-y in the city. Night has fallen and the lights of LA have come on all around him.
Hey, man, we got your wheels!
CUT TO:
INT. HYPERION FOYER - NIGHT
Angel is at the counter, leaning. Still a bit pale and hollow. Gunn and Fred approaching, Gunn holding up the car keys in triumph.
(still speaking with difficulty)
You found my car?
FRED
It was at the pound!
GUNN
See what we pay our taxes for?
(to Fred)
Do we pay 'em?
(She nods emphatically.)
Angel turns and we see Psyche is also there, behind the counter.
I need to see if I can find him.
Will you stay?
PSYCHE
Yes, for a little while.
CUT TO:
A 'power shot' as the determined detectives leave the hotel - only, Gunn and Fred are supporting Angel, one on each side.
CUT TO:
Back at the counter Psyche, in a pool of light, is watching them go.
FADE TO:
INT. THE SAME, BUT LATER
Psyche is now sitting on the sofa, reading a book.
Who are you?
Psyche looks up.
I'm Psyche.
(a beat)
Who are you?
CUT TO:
Connor, just inside the doors. Shaken. Desperate. Doesn't know what else to do, or where else to go.
Connor.
(a beat)
My name is Connor.
CUT TO:
Psyche, closing her book, rising.
Can I help you?
CONNOR
Yes, I -
(a beat)
I'm looking for my father.
A perfectly normal request to a detective agency. We get it all the time. Psyche behaves like an efficient agency employee.
I'll need to take some details.
Please
(she gestures to the sofa)
sit down.
She goes to the counter, picks up a case card and pen, goes back to Connor and sits down opposite him.
Now, tell me, Mr - Connor:
is your father missing, or is it more
that you've lost touch with him?
She regards him with a sympathetic smile, pen poised for his reply. Connor is bewildered.
Pause.
(gentle concern)
When did you see him last?
Connor gets to his feet, looks wildly round the room.
I - I can't...
You...
He bolts for the door. But as he gets to it
CUT TO:
Psyche, standing between him and the door in that magical way they have.
(still gentle, smiling)
Don't rush off.
We're not finished.
Desperate, he raises his fist to her but before it can land a skein of mystical golden threads entangles him and pulls him backwards and up, leaving him suspended in the air in the centre of the lobby.
(harder now)
I'm just messin' with ya.
I know who you are.
(a beat)
And I know what you've done.
CUT TO:
Connor, struggling in the air.
CUT TO:
Psyche, as the doors behind her are swung open and Angel comes in, flanked but no longer supported by Gunn and Fred, to stand at Psyche's side. Angel doesn't speak, but looks up at where Connor is.
CUT TO:
Connor's face. Shock, horror. Oh yes: and fear.
Act Four
EXT. HYPERION HOTEL - NIGHT
To establish: but as well as that, some wisps of supernatural light are playing round the building
and as the camera pulls back we see we're in the POV of someone sitting in a parked car across the street
whose glasses catch the light and we see it is Wesley. Sitting. Watching.
INT. HYPERION FOYER - NIGHT
As before, with Connor suspended in mid-air. Angel turns to Psyche and makes a 'put him down' gesture with his hand. Connor lands on the floor with a bit of a thump.
Guys - can we have some space here?
Gunn and Fred nod, are moving off towards the office.
(putting a hand on Angel's arm)
I really need to be going...
Angel looks uncomfortable - not able to say goodbye - but doesn't want to take his eyes off Connor. Psyche smiles, understanding.
Hiyo, Silver...
She leaves. The doors swing to behind her.
CUT TO:
EXT. HYPERION HOTEL - NIGHT
Psyche walks away. Wesley still watching.
CUT TO:
INT. HYPERION HOTEL OFFICE - NIGHT
Gunn and Fred. Gunn just closing the door.
(puzzled)
Charles...
GUNN
What?
FRED
Did you know Psyche from before?
GUNN
Never saw her.
FRED
Well, but - how come she knew your name?
Gunn has no answer to that. Fortunately, a piece of equipment on the desk gives a chirrup. It's the police radio: Fred sits down, puts the headphones on. A beat. She looks back at Gunn, who's peering through the window back into the lobby. Opens her mouth to comment, when her eyes suddenly widen and she turns back to the radio.
Charles!
GUNN
What?
FRED
It's Justine!
GUNN
What?
Fred puts a finger to her lips (shhh). Gunn comes over, leans down next to her, trying to hear. After a beat, Fred takes the headphones off and puts them down.
She's dead.
(a beat)
And the police are looking for Connor.
GUNN
They have his name?
FRED
No - but a pretty good description.
They look at each other, then turn towards the door.
We better tell Angel.
CUT TO:
INT. HYPERION HOTEL FOYER - NIGHT
Fred and Gunn emerge cautiously into the lobby, which is empty.
They musta gone upstairs...
FRED
Maybe we better not disturb 'em.
They turn to each other. They kiss.
Maybe tomorrow will do.
(a beat)
Charles, it's horrible, isn't it?
Do you think it was Connor's idea to - to...
GUNN
I don't know.
(a beat)
Will you be OK? I should get going.
FRED
Sure I will.
They kiss again, a longer one this time. They break apart and Gunn heads for the door, leaving Fred standing alone in the pool of light. Not really very OK at all.
CUT TO:
CONNOR'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
Connor is lying face down on the bed. Angel is sitting in a chair, leaning forward. Clearly not much progress has been made.
(trying to keep calm)
Look, Connor, we need to talk about this.
Nothing from Connor.
What I told you before - it's still true.
I don't blame you.
(a beat)
I know that Holtz...
(clears his throat)
But there are still things I need to know.
Connor sobs. Stifles it.
And we need to talk about
how we're gonna work this.
Connor is silent. Angel looks around the room, as if searching for inspiration (or, preferably, Cordelia). Neither is forthcoming.
He sighs, leans back in the chair and closes his eyes. A beat. Then he gets up - still having some difficulty moving.
Well, I'll see you in the morning.
Or - later on today, anyway.
And we'll see how we feel then, OK?
Still nothing from Connor. Angel leaves. As the door closes behind him we
CUT TO:
INT. FRED'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
Fred is closing her door too. She turns into the room, is brought up short with a gasp.
Wesley!
CUT TO:
INT. ANGEL'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
Angel turns on his lamp, stands looking down at the bed.
CUT TO:
EXT. STREET OUTSIDE THE HYPERION - NIGHT
Gunn climbs into his truck. He starts the motor and pulls away.
CUT TO:
INT. FRED'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
Wesley and Fred.
I can't talk to him. How can I?
He hates me.
FRED
He doesn't hate you. And anyway,
I'm sure he'll come round. Now that
Connor's...
(a beat)
come back.
WESLEY
Yes, how did that happen?
(Afraid he's sounding too eager)
Er - could we sit down?
FRED
Sure...
They sit: Fred on the bed, Wesley on a high-backed chair. A beat. It's awkward.
So...how've you been?/So...about Connor?
They stop, embarrassed. A pause.
Connor - he - well, he found a way back.
(a beat)
and - and so did Holtz...
WESLEY
They did? A way back from Quor'Toth?
I didn't think that could be done...
FRED
Well, it appears that Connor's a,
quite a talented young man...
WESLEY
Young man?
Fred gasps, covers her mouth.
Wesley, I'm not sure I should be
telling you this...
WESLEY
Don't worry. I knew. I've seen Connor.
FRED
You have? Where?
WESLEY
Well, he was with...
(a beat)
And what about...Justine?
Fred gasps again.
Oh no - I'd forgotten.
We were going to tell Angel,
but we didn't want to disturb
him at such a sensitive moment...
(She frowns, shakes her head)
We heard on the police radio
Justine's dead. And the police
are looking for Connor.
Wesley has gone very still. A pause.
(to himself)
So it is true.
(to Fred)
And why - why was it such
a sensitive moment?
FRED
Well, because Angel wanted some
time with Connor to tell him,
to tell him he wasn't angry at him...
WESLEY
But why should he be angry?
FRED
Well, with the being sealed in a
metal coffin at the bottom of
the sea for four months is all.
They are quiet, Wesley absorbing the knowledge, Fred the thought that she really shouldn't have told him this.
CUT TO:
INT. CONNOR'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
Connor, sitting on the edge of his bed, is reading Holtz' letter and crying. He starts to tear the letter up, tearing it into smaller and smaller pieces, becoming frantic as the pieces get too small to tear.
He gets up, goes to the window, opens it and throws the pieces out.
CUT TO;
EXT. STREET OUTSIDE THE HOTEL - NIGHT
A furtive figure comes out of the hotel and starts moving down the street. It comes abreast of a parked car. The car door opens. Wesley is inside.
Want a lift, kid?
The figure hesitates, looking into the car. Looks behind him at the hotel. Then, making up his mind, gets into the car and slams the door.
CUT TO:
INSIDE THE CAR - NIGHT
Wesley turns his head to look at his passenger
CUT TO:
Connor, who looks back at him, then straight ahead.
CUT TO:
EXT. STREET - NIGHT
Wesley's car starts up and they drive off into the night.
Copyright Jocelyn Rose 2002
posted by treefrogdemon at
6:12 AM
