EPISODE 2.06

GUISE WILL BE GUISE

Written by: Jane Espenson

Directed by: Krishna Rao

The Struggle Within

The end of "Dear Boy" was dominated by the confrontation between Angel and a now human Darla.  In the course of that conversation the two characters laid bare their very different conceptions of who Angel really is.  For Darla he is an immensely powerful Vampire who, instead of indulging that power, has been neutered by a soul.  For Angel himself, however, the soul is fundamentally who he is.  It doesn’t just stop him from doing evil things.  It makes him a different person.  The question is who is right or are they both in some senses right?

This is the question that “Guise Will be Guise” begins to look at.  In this context the central idea of this episode may be found in the following exchange: 

Angel: "I don't have a reflection so..."

Magev: "Sure you do."

Angel: "I do?"

Magev: "You're reflected in the people around you. The way *they* see you. What do you think they see?"

We then cut to Wesley impersonating Angel.  The important thing about this is the way that the writers use Wesley’s impersonation of Angel to examine not only the way he (and indeed the rest of the world) see Angel but to reveal that there is more to our hero than this image.  Key to this process is the relationship between the A and B stories in this episode.  Most of our time is taken up with Wesley and his attempts to impersonate Angel.  In doing so he attempts to hide his own fears and insecurities under the cover of the persona of the cool, self-controlled, fearless and powerful vampire figure we see each week.  This, I think, has to be the A plot.  But it is the B plot which gives this it’s meaning in terms of the development of the arc.  Here we see that the exterior Angel that Wesley has tried to copy is itself a manufactured image that is used to mask the real Angel.  The parallels between the A and B plots together with the various hints dropped in the confrontations between Angel and the Tish Magev, therefore, are used to suggest very strongly that Angel himself uses his exterior image as a means of concealing his own internal anxieties and uncertainties.

Wesley

In this context it is, I think, convenient to look at Wesley's part in the episode first.  At the beginning of "Guise Will be Guise" we see him at his bumbling idiot worst.  He tries to open the top drawer of the file cabinet and, when it sticks, he pulls it completely out, scattering papers on the floor. And when he crouches down to retrieve the papers a stranger calls out to him and he straightens up and bangs his head on the file drawer.  This is all a very disappointing and somewhat jarring reversion to a previous incarnation of the character that had seemed left behind.  But I think the writers can be allowed a little leeway here because the purpose of this scene is to help counterpoint the change that comes over Wesley when he dons the black coat to impersonate Angel.  When he does so the transformation is remarkable.  As a result of his clumsiness, the slightly sinister stranger will not take him seriously:

Stranger: "Might want to tell the boss, he wants to run a business he shouldn't be foisting clients off on his secretary."

This simply reinforces the low opinion Wesley has of himself.  He describes his own actions to Cordelia in the following terms:

"Ah. Knocking things over, driving away business - you know,   the usual."

Perhaps the most significant words here are - "the usual".  He doesn't put his chapter of accidents down to a bad day or anything like that.  This is the way Wesley sees himself generally.  But once necessity forces him to adopt the guise of Angel all of that starts to change.  At first he is still a little tentative.  When confronted by a hoodlum called Benny pointing a gun at him he stutters:

"That… that… that won't kill me."

But the fact that Benny accepts this at face value seems to settle Wesley a little and he is noticeably more assured. 

Wesley: "You just expect me to follow you. I don't see why I should. Ah, you know the gun won't kill me."

He is only induced to follow Benny because Cordelia is threatened and even then he makes it clear that he is not intimidated:

 "Yes. Alright.  But, ah, I shan't be cooperative."

In Bryce's house there is a good deal of fun to be had at Wesley's expense as he tries to remember a Vampire needs an invitation to enter a home and to cope with drinking blood.  But the interesting part comes when he is brought to Virginia's room and sees himself in a mirror.  To cover himself he gives an order :

Wesley: "Cover that mirror!"

Virginia: "Why? We know you're a vampire."

Wesley: "Do it!"

This is the sort of peremptory command that Angel himself might issue:  "Do it because I say so.".  Indeed he only gives an explanation as to why he wants the mirror covered after it has been done.  And perhaps even more interestingly by now he has quite reconciled himself to the idea of acting as Virginia's bodyguard:

Wesley: "Virginia, we're both stuck here. So it seems to me I might as well do what he wants me to do and do my best to protect you."

Virginia: "You think you're the vampire for the job?"

Wesley: "Well, I wanna try. You gonna fight me?"

The man who not very long previously had been blaming his clumsiness for loosing a client had now enough confidence in himself to willingly accept a major responsibility, that of saving a life.  This is a task he handles with  some aplomb, as demonstrated by the two kidnap attempts.  First in the shop after Virginia has been grabbed:

First Kidnapper: "Virginia, we're gonna go now."

Second Kidnapper: "Say good bye to the pretty guy."

Wesley: "Wait!"

Virginia: "Angel!"

First Kidnapper: "You're Angel? The vampire?"

Wesley: "Yes I am. I'm...Angel the vampire with a soul, fighting for my redemption with...with...with killing evil demons. That's right. Scourge of the demon world.  Don't worry, boys, I don't kill humans - unless I'm angry!"

First Kidnapper: "We're just doing what he told us."

Wesley: "Who, Lanier?  Fine. You're going to leave now. Then you're gonna to tell Lanier - forget about the girl. Now go!"

The mere mention of Angel's name is sufficiently intimidating to give Wesley the upper hand.  We had already seen how the fact that Benny thought he was a vampire was enough to protect him from the threat of a gun.  Now the possession of Angel's name was enough to ward off the kidnap attempt.  But the next challenge Wesley faced wouldn’t be so easy.  Outside Virginia’s bedroom he had to fight two more would be kidnappers, one of whom tried to use magic. His performance here evokes Virginia’s admiration:

Virginia: "You were amazing."

Wesley with a smile: "I was a bit."

Here we see evidence not only that Wesley is a brave and capable fighter.  Much more important we see the self-confidence that he has now achieved.  Even after he has been found out and thrown off Bryce’s estate that self-confidence isn’t dented.  Instead even after Angel returns and they decide to return to the estate to rescue Virginia he almost unconsciously assumes a leadership role:

Wesley: "We have to go. Angel you take Gunn, go to the front of the house. Cordelia, we'll to take the back."

It is only when he is physically reminded of Angel’s presence that he remembers he isn’t in charge and once again defers to his boss.  And that I think is the clue to the nature of Wesley transformation from klutz to hero.  All this time wearing Angel’s coat, feeling the respect paid to Angel, acting as if he were Angel Wesley was getting an unaccustomed feeling of power.  He began to like it.  He began to use it.  He began in short to behave as if it were natural for him to do so. And it was only when he was reminded that he wasn’t Angel after all that he realized that this wasn’t the person he had been all along.

Angel, on the other hand, was used to power and authority.  Now he suddenly found himself playing the unaccustomed role of second fiddle and did not like it.  On his return from the Tish Magev, almost the first thing he does is ask:

"Why is Wesley wearing my coat?"

He mentions the coat twice more, only to be ignored on each occasion.  When Wesley tries to organize the raid on Bryce’s party he has to put out a hand to restrain him but even then his only contribution is to suggest (rather lamely) a reversal of the arrangements Wesley had suggested:

“Uhm, well, Gunn and I could …take the back?"

And when they do burst in Wesley again seems to be in the lead and he is the one who says:

 "Release her or die."

To this a somewhat peeved Angel can only add:

 "Don't I say that?"

The implication here is clear.  Just as we saw how  Wesley found the image of power he inherited from Angel was itself empowering we learn that the image Angel projects is an indication of just how much the realities of power do mean to him. And here we come to the B plot – Angel’s visit to the Tish Magev and what we learn about him there.

Angel

The basic thesis behind the Magev’s analysis of Angel is contained in the following exchange:

Magev: "There are *two* you’s."

Angel: "Two me’s."

Magev: "The image you work so hard to create and the real you."

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? Don't get me wrong - you're out there fighting the ultimate evil  you're gonna want something with hold. But how do you expect to triumph over the soldiers of darkness when you're still fighting yourself?"

Angel: "You think I'm fighting myself?"

The image Angel creates is, of course, a striking one. It’s not only about the hair gel.   There is also the 1960’s black convertible and the dark clothes, especially the duster:

Magev: "That car is your problem, pal. Says everything about you."

Angel: "The car."

Magev: "Yes, the car. You live in L.A. It's all about the car you drive."

Angel: "I really don't think..."

Magev: "Vampire, living in a city known for its sun - driving a convertible. Why do you hate yourself?"

Angel: "I don't. I mean, I got a deal."

Magev: "You got a deal. - Why not a personalized license plate that says 'irony'?"

Angel: "Top goes up."

Magev: "Appearances. Very important to you."

Angel: "That's not true."

Magev: "Sure it is. So important that you're willing to put your eternal life at risk every time you hop into that thing. Top up or not."

Angel: "It's just a car."

Magev: "Oh. So why all the layers, all the black? You know it's been about 80 degrees in the shade lately."

Angel: "No reason. I…I don't have a body temperature so..."

Magev: "So it's for the look."

As we have already seen, Angel’s image projects power.  In this episode Wesley is in fact the living reflection of that power.   But all the accoutrements – the car, the clothes, even the hair gel – they also create an image for the way that power is used.  They say: here is a cool, relaxed, self confident guy who is always in control of himself and the situation.  This is not the self-indulgent, joyful almost flamboyant exercise of power for the sake of power that was typical of Angelus.  In Wesley’s own words it is an image of power to fit:

“the vampire with a soul; fighting for my redemption with… with…with killing evil demons. That's right. Scourge of the demon world.

This is, without doubt, the concept of himself that Angel wants to identify with and that is why he reinforces it with the carefully constructed image he projects to the world, almost in an effort to convince himself that this is who he really is.  But, as we have also seen, the power and authority inherent in that image is something he not only uses for good.  It is something that is actually very important to him for its own sake.  Dare we say that it is something he actually enjoys.  And this, I think, is the important territory that “Guise Will be Guise” gets into.  When Angel and Magev are staff fighting on a covered bridge their discussion turns around this very question of Angel’s attitude to his own power:

Magev: "You're holding back. What are you afraid off?"

Angel: "Nothing."

Magev: "You're wimping. This isn't Riverdance. Fight!"

Angel: "I am fighting!"

Magev: "Yourself. You're fighting yourself. Fight me! Why are you holding back? Why can't you let go?"

Angel: "Because."

Magev: "Why?"

Angel: "If I let it, it'll kill you."

Magev: "It?"

Angel: "The demon."

Magev: "Ha! But the demon is you!"

Angel: "No."

Magev: "Yes! That's the thing you spend so much energy trying to conceal!"

Angel shakes his head: "No, I just - I can't let it control me."

Magev nods: "Ah. I see. You *don't* think it controls you?"

I do not think that the Magev’s statement that the demon is Angel is intended to suggest that Angel and Angelus are one in the same.  Rather the implication of this whole scene is much more interesting than that.  In the staff fight Angel is exercising precisely the same sort of discipline on his power that his image would suggest.  What the Magev is saying is that no matter how much the image Angel projects or his own self-discipline might deny the fact, an attraction to power (and because of the physical nature of that power he really means violence) is part of the inescapable inheritance from the demon within.  He cannot avoid that fact no matter how hard he tries.  That is what he means when he continually refers to Angel fighting himself.  Angel’s image is part of his struggle to convince himself that he is using his power for the right reasons and not because he likes it.

All of which brings us back to Darla.  At the beginning of this episode we do not see an Angel who is romantically interested in Darla.  Still less do we see someone who wants to help her come to terms with the burden of a soul.  Rather we see someone who is himself almost out of control when against all reason he launches a suicide assault on the Wolfram and Hart building:

Angel: "No, no. I need to do this. I have to find her... where they have her..."

Cordelia pushes open: "Still with the Darla of it?"

Wesley to Gunn: "Did you encourage this?"

Gunn: "I'm just going along for the ride."

Cordelia: "Gonna be a pretty short ride. They have vampire detectors!"

Gunn: "We know. It's cool. He's got a plan."

Wesley: "A plan?"

Angel: "Yeah. I get to the offices before they stop me."

Gunn: "See?  What? *That's* the plan? Walking real quick was the "plan"?"

Cordelia: "Angel, this is crazy. Listen to yourself. You're all insane and angry and insane! You need help!"

Angel: "I'm not insane and I'm not angry"

At this point they are interrupted by a security guard with the stake concealed in his nightstick. Angel grabs a hold of it and stabs him through the foot with it.

Wesley: "Euugh!"

Gunn: "Man, that's nasty."

Angel: "Maybe I'm a little angry."

And later he describes his state of mind to the Caritas MC:

Angel: "I guess I'm a little, ah, uhm  rocky."

MC: “You're Rocky and Rocky II and half of the one with Mister T. Tell me about it."

Angel: "I just... I…I feel this... like …I have to do something …and if I don't let it out I'll explode, and then …when I do something…it feels, ah…I…I think, maybe … this…this is it. I... I'll sing if I have to."

When Wolfram and Hart brought Darla back, she challenged his own conception of himself and his role in the world.  As she revealed in “Dear Boy” deep down she believes he is the same Angelus that she knew and loved (at least loved insofar as a vampire is capable of love):

"This is no life Angel.  Before you got neutered you weren't just any vampire.  You were a legend.  Nobody could keep up with you, not    even me.  You don't learn that kind of darkness.  It's innate.  It was in you before we ever met.  You said you can smell me.  Well I can smell you too.  And my boy is still in there and he wants out."

For her Liam and Angel and Angelus were all fundamentally the same person.  The viciousness and cruelty that were the hallmarks of the demon were always there.  The only difference between them was that the human soul "neutered" them by preventing them from fulfilling their dark potential.  For Angel on the other hand the possession of a soul did make him a fundamentally different person. “Guise Will be Guise” certainly doesn’t support the proposition that Darla advanced in the last quote.  What it does, however, is begin to establish that there were aspects of the vampire lifestyle that Angel was attracted to but which he did not want to acknowledge, in particular the strength and power of the vampire.  Also while we are at it we should also mention the eternal life part.  In particularly clever touches in both AYNOHYEB and in “Dear Boy”, Angel proved himself very sensitive indeed about his age.  This is another indicator perhaps of a degree of vanity.

So, just when things had been going so well for him, when he was comfortable in his new found sense of purpose and when he had in his own mind settled who he was and what he wanted, she now opened up all the old issues.  Because Wolfram and Hart brought her back things were no longer as clear as he had thought.

Magev: "This Darla girl; why'd they do that?"

Angel: "I don't know. But seeing her again... it's just..."

Magev: "It started the inner struggle."

Angel: "Yeah."

Magev: "She's not even the one that did this to you."

Angel: "No. It…it's still her, it's still Darla. It's - kinda hard to explain."

Magev: "What hard? You're obsessed."

Angel: "I guess I am, a little, yeah."

Magev: "You blame her."

Angel: "I suppose I do."

Magev: "You want to punish her."

Angel: "A bit..."

Magev: "At the same time you want to thank her."

Angel: "Thank her?"

Magev: "For the gift she's given you."

Angel: "Gift?"

Magev: "You're deeply ambivalent."

Angel: "Yeah, well, I am and I'm not."

In effect, therefore, it was Darla who re-ignited the struggle within Angel that is the subject of this episode; that was why he was so rocky at the beginning of it and that was why he needed help in addressing his problem.

Thus “Guise Will be Guise” establishes quite clearly and convincingly that here is a character that is conflicted, moreover it also enables us to see what the nature of the conflict is – the fact that he is not quite as able as we had previously assumed to come to terms with his vampire past and that certainly his feelings about that past were not confined to guilt.  This was the ambiguity he hid under his carefully constructed image with its emphasis on his struggle for redemption., as witnessed by Cordelia's take on her boss:

"Oh, no. I can't do anything fun tonight. I have to count my past sins, then alphabetize them.

Moreover the fact that this struggle was brought on by Darla’s return gives us the most powerful indication yet that the coming struggle will not be about reawakening the demon within Angel but rather about how robust the will of the human soul is to continue on its chosen path of redemption or whether that soul can be detoured.  In this sense “Guise Will be Guise” makes a major contribution to the development of the arc rather than being a disposable stand alone episode. And it is all the better for that. 

Indeed there is only one major problem with the whole concept.  We have to believe that the insights the Tish Magev had into Angel were valid.  They are certainly treated by the writers as if they were.  But, as the person that Angel had his heart to heart with wasn’t the Tish Magev but someone who had been sent to kill him, that does take a little swallowing.  On what basis are we supposed to believe that someone who had never seen Angel before and obviously didn’t have a lot of detailed knowledge about him (he didn’t know about the curse) gained the sort of intuitive understanding that even the Caritas MC couldn’t claim.

But if we can overlook this then the scene between the swami and Angel really do work beautifully, especially the way the former’s insights into Angel’s inner character are revealed – by exposing the funny side of his situation.  We have often seen how humor at Angel’s expense has been used to good effect.  So we had the batman jokes, the gay jokes, the references to his social ineptitude etc.  All of these were very important in that they helped to humanize an otherwise dark and distant figure.  But here the humor is used to even better effect to make significant points about Angel and what he wants.  Because of this the revelations have a sharpness and an edge that an attempt to make the same points straight would have lacked.  We see the absurdity of the human condition – the futile attempt to hide the truth or change reality that is doomed to fail.  And of course there is the simple fact that all of the jokes actually worked.  They were funny.  And not the least clever part here was the  subject matter of the jokes were issues that had been old chestnuts around discussion groups for ages.  One common theme here was how could the writers be so stupid as to bring a Vampire to LA or give him a convertible.  Another was – doesn’t Angel look gorgeous in black and what about the hair?  By picking up these old issues and giving them a twist the writers were, at the same time as making some very serious points, also gently sending up the character and his premise (and perhaps even the fans).  It’s a great trick if you can pull it off.  And I think they did.  And in this they were superbly assisted by a terrific performance from DB who has now a very wide range of beautifully judged facial expression and vocal tones to convey irritation, exasperation, injured dignity and a multitude of other feelings.  I loved in particular the different ways he reacted to being called a Eunuch – surprise, annoyance, petulance and finally (after Virginia hits her father) with just a hint of triumph.

Plot

It is something of an exaggeration to say that there was a B plot as such in “Guise Will be Guise”.  Rather there were a series of scenes between Angel and the Tish Magev that systematically explored some character related themes and which were loosely related to the main plot.  So here I will simply concentrate on the way in which Wesley was press ganged into protecting Virginia.  Of  course, a plot like this should depend on the threat to Virginia and the level of tension that such a scenario can generate.  Normally we would judge it effectiveness by how involved we became with the fate of the character and how much doubt we were in as to whether or not Wesley would be successful.  And by those standards “Guise Will be Guise” would be pretty much of a failure.  I thought the characterization of Virginia was a case in point.  The writers seemed to be inviting our sympathy for her because of the “bird in a gilded cage” life she led.  She describes her own life in the following terms:

Virginia: "It's a bad situation?  It's a waste of a life!  I keep waiting for my life to start and it never does.  There is just  more locks, and surveillance cameras and guards?!  Okay, what is this now - bedroom guards?

And yet Virginia herself never seemed the sort of person who would meekly put up with this sort of treatment, especially judged by her reaction to the faux Angel:

Bryce:  "Honey, we have a guest."

Virginia:  "Oh, look.  The vampire's here."

Wesley:  "Uh, yes.  Hello."

Virginia sits up:  "Well, daddy knows how to send out for just about anything."

Bryce:  "Virginia, play nice.  Angel's gone out of his way to help us."

Virginia:  "No he hasn't.  You probably brought him here at gun point."

Not to mention the fact that she seemed to be very good at getting what she wanted.  Vulnerability wasn’t exactly the first thing that came into your mind when you saw her in action.  Then there were the threats themselves.  Without wanting to detract from Wesley’s performance as bodyguard the attempts to kidnap Virginia were not that menacing and they certainly were not pressed home with any degree of determination.  As a piece of dramatic writing this whole aspect of the episode would be accounted a failure.  But “Guise Will be Guise” wasn’t a dramatic episode.  Its real merits lay elsewhere.

First of all the plotting was full of delightful little touches.  For example, in an episode  whose main theme was the difference between image a person projects and the reality behind that image, Magnus Bryce’s calling was highly appropriate:

Bryce: "You've heard about the software, the cable network: that's all a front.  The money comes from wizardry.  My great-grandfather created our first spell in his garage a simple - tallness illusion.  Now it's all custom designed work for people with the right money."

Wesley:  "Really?"

 Bryce: "You see someone in this town with looks and talent chances are we provided one of them.” 

And I love the idea of cut-throat competition between magic conglomerates who promise illusions, wishes and curses.

More importantly, however, is the highly amusing spin the writers manage to put on a rather tired premise.  At the beginning this appears to be a standard kidnapping scenario complete with conventional suspects lacking a strong motive.  This might have persuaded us to look elsewhere for possible culprits but for the fact that Lanier’s involvement is quickly and fairly conclusively demonstrated by the confessions of his own men and by the fact that he had plotted to keep Angel out of the way.  This seemed to leave the plot fairly threadbare.  Fortunately, however, up to this point  the main interest in “Guise Will be Guise”  lay in Wesley’s attempts to avoid discovery.  Despite the forcible way his help was commandeered there was never a feeling of physical danger attendant ion his discovery.  Rather we were only too well aware  of the awful embarrassment that would have attended such an eventuality.  So we were willing him not to be discovered and that it what created the sense of tension as he just managed to avid successive pitfalls over

·        Entering the house without an invitation;

·        Being given blood to drink and trying to hide it in a glass vase;

·        Seeing his reflection in a mirror;

·        Offering to accompany Virginia to the shops during the day;

·        Putting his hand on a cross.

Some of these were slightly overdone.  How Virginia’s suspicions were not aroused when she saw a vampire hold a cross without seeming to be aware of it I do not know.  But for the most part the writers did not overplay the attempts to be funny and the best thing was that the audience became aware of the danger a split second after Wesley so it was only when he took corrective action that we realized the trap he had nearly fallen into.  This heightened the surprise and the relief.  And AD plays all of these moment quite beautifully with just the right combination of “aren’t I cool” and “OMG what have I done now” moments in both facial expression and body language.

Of course after his deception is discovered there are more than enough  twists and turns to keep our attention.  In rapid succession we discover the fact that the Tish Magev isn’t real but a Lanier plant,  the real reason why Lanier wanted to kidnap Virginia, why Bryce wanted to hire Angel, the fact that the real danger to Virginia came not from him but from her father and the fact that she was never in any danger at all.  Things just keep moving along at a furious pace and no scene is wasted.  This is good, tight plotting.  Importantly each successive twist  leads quite naturally and believably on to the revelation of the next and each is also entirely consistent with the story as it had developed to that stage.  In this context for example the fact that Lanier had been trying to kidnap Virginia actually made more sense after the revelation of Bryce’s intentions for her than it made beforehand. Equally important was the way that the denouement was so carefully written.  A plot centering around a father sacrificing his daughter is a fairly grim theme.  And certainly, as with “Rm w/a Vu”, the option was there to make “Guise Will be Guise” suddenly take a very dark turn.  Personally speaking I think that would have given it more of an edge and frankly made it a better episode for that.  But for whatever reason the writers opted to keep the fairly light tone throughout, perhaps in an effort to keep some sort of balance with the very dark tone of the rest of the series.  But once that decision was made the introduction of Virginia’s sexual history (nice choice of name in the context) and the irony of Bryce trying to hire Angel and getting Wesley instead worked wonderfully well to give us a surprising and satisfying ending without very much in the way of drama.  Not least of the merits of the writing here is that the feisty way the character was written (and not least the way she took the initiative with Wesley) gave a great deal of credibility to the revelation about her sexual past and fitted the ending we got perfectly.

On a personal note though I have to say though that I think it would have worked much better if Virginia had lost her virginity to Wesley.  He had tried so hard to be like Angel throughout this episode and yet if he had really been Angel Virginia might not have been saved from the sacrifice.  That would have been a nice touch. 

 Overview

B (8.5/10)  This is a fine episode.  It benefits first of all from the lightness of tone which is in marked contrast to so much else of the season.  In a sentence it is simply fun.  The jokes are well written and the comic performances excellent.  This adds up to an episode which is funny.  But it is more than that.  The humor is character based.  It actually tells us things, especially about Angel but also about Wesley too.  They are important things.  We learn more about the conflict going on inside Angel and how that conflict has been brought to the surface by Darla.  The significance of this internal struggle has not yet been revealed but already it seems certain that it will be of some significance in the developing arc.  And in Wesley’s case we see yet a further stage in his struggle to overcome a legacy of self-doubt and insecurity.  Equally importantly, while the humor is used to explore their various insecurities and conceits it is never bought at anyone’s expense.  After an hour of sitting through various trials and tribulations both Angel and Wesley remain true to the characters we have already come to know.  Indeed if anything are more sympathetic, perhaps even more likeable characters than before.  Anyone can make a fool of a character.  This takes skill.  Nor should we forget a pleasant if undemanding story full of unexpected twists and turns and compromised by really only one major plot hole (admittedly a serious one).  If I were to make any criticism it would be that the plot was perhaps too light weight.  I still believe that ANGEL at its best needs an edge, it needs threat and it needs darkness, things that were substantially missing from “Guise Will be Guise”.