Review of Episode 3, Season 5 "Unleashed" The women step up on deck with this week’s episode, “Unleashed.” Behind the scenes, we get a script by writing team Sarah Fain and Elizabeth Craft with direction by Marita Grabiak. While onscreen, a newly changed female werewolf named Nina (Jenny Mollen) captures Angel’s interest and Fred gets to use that smart noodle of hers and knock a bad guy upside the head with an office lamp. Sweet! Girl power aside, “Unleashed” has a distinctly Angel Season One feel to it. It’s almost odd seeing Angel getting back to the business of saving a single person from their demons – both literally and figuratively. And in keeping with the back to basics approach, this episode makes a clear point that despite the new W&H chaos, the team will only survive if they get back to being the family they have evolved into over the years. As Angel sagely offers, “Separate from the ones you love, the monster wins.” While the Joss-verse has certainly “been there, done that” with werewolves (speaking of which, at least one Oz mention would have been nice!), “Unleashed” provides a darker, sensory dependent, horror-story approach to the oft-told tale. As directed by Grabiak, Act I provides some genuine, chilling creeps as Nina gets in touch with her new “cravings.” Be it the cooking meat, the wince inducing slash of Nina’s nieces neck, or the act of Nina turning all fangy (and props to Almost Human for a sleeker, scarier wolf), there were some cool twists to the story. Jenny Mollen helps sell it all by giving a strong performance as the sweet faced woman whose world is suddenly turned upside down. Props to Barbara Stordahl and Angela Terry in Angel casting for an, as always, outstanding job. Elsewhere this week, Spike gets relegated to petulant, bystander status after such a busy introduction and it’s a bit of a waste of good momentum. Wesley, Lorne and Gunn are left to the less than exciting exposition front again this week, playing detectives and back up for the length of the episode. Aside from Angel, Fred is the other hero of the piece as she helps crack the main mystery so big kudos to Craft & Fain, who have a terrific track record in giving Fred a strong voice. “Unleashed” is a solid if less than groundbreaking effort overall. And even though the story made an abrupt left turn during the home stretch, feeling more like a Twilight Zone episode, it was an effective way to bring the team as a unit back into focus. As for the chemistry between Angel and Nina, which is obviously being floated as a potential pairing, there could be something there worth exploring. I’ll go with it, as long as the producers promise to never, ever end another episode with sappy music and hugging a la Dawson’s Creek or Party of Five again. I was praying for the werewolf to eat the singer. I give it... Review by Staff Writer, Phoenix

CoA Stakes Rating Guide   = Disappointing, stake it, bury it!     = Not too bad, Lacking a few graves.       = Typical Dark Avenger saves the day Saga.         = Better still, Quality Headstones.           = Outstanding! Reward it with mortality!

Spike: (re: Wesley) We got a history, him and me. Fred: What? Spike: It was a long time ago. He was a young Watcher, fresh out of the academy, when we crossed paths. It was a, what-you-call, battle of wills...and blood was spilled. Vendettas were sworn. It was a whole-- Fred: My God...you're so full of crap. Spike: Yeah. OK. Spike: I had a wee spat with a werewolf myself once. Fought for over an hour. Brutal, vicious. Almost lost my-- Fred: Angel killed him with a pen. Gunn: (re: finding Nina) Traffic cameras. We networked? Wesley: Yep. Gunn: I'm looking at the cameras. You get set to run with it if I find a match. (sarcastically) 'Course I might leak the info to the Senior Partners, 'cause we're tight. Wesley: Just do it. Spike: Lot of fuss over one girl. Other things to do around here--important things. Angel: You know that whoosh thing that you do when you're suddenly not there anymore? I love that. Nina: Don't tell me what you know. You didn't wake up and find out you're a...monster. You don't know anything. Angel: (awkwardly) I'm not a werewolf like you, but I--I know what it's like. I'm a monster, too. Nina: So...what? You're like a Frankenstein? Angel: (defensively) What? No! I'm--I'm a vampire. Nina: How would you--you're not a monster, too, are you? Fred: Nope. Standard-issue science nerd. I did spend 5 years in a demon dimension...till Angel saved me. Nina: Guess he saves a lot of girls, huh? Fred: Girls, guys...puppies. He's pretty much an equal-opportunity saver. Fred: (re: Nina's abduction) The scariest thing was how organized they were. Almost military. Wesley: An underground monster-hunting military organization. It's happened before. Crane: (to his dinner guests) When I dined on Werewolf in Seville, the Cocinera used an understated Mole sauce to bring out the meat's tanginess. I've never forgotten that exquisite burst of taste. But Chef Renaud swears serving it en neige with a light drizzle of white truffle oil will be quietly surprising. Gunn: (punches Crane's man then fixes his tie) I'm all up in the law now, but damn it feels good to get my violence on. Gunn: So...werewolf girl. Think you got a shot? Angel: She gave me a look. Wesley: Really? A look? Quotes by Staff Writer, BCangel