Untouched (Angel episode)
Encyclopedia
"Untouched" is episode 4 of season 2 in the television show Angel
, originally broadcast on the WB network
. In this episode, a vision from Cordelia
leads Angel to Bethany, a runaway teen who possesses barely controlled telekinetic powers. Angel discovers Bethany was sexually abused by her father when Lilah
– hoping to groom Bethany as an assassin for Wolfram & Hart
– attempts to use Bethany's father as a "trigger" to drive Bethany to unleash her burgeoning power. Meanwhile, Darla continues to plague Angel's dreams.
office to rifle through his papers, but Darla is there. Darla reveals she has been using a drug called Calynthia powder to keep Angel asleep while she manipulates his dreams. Angel wakes to find Cordelia and Wesley
bickering about whether they should offer to pay Gunn. Angel and Wesley begin to discuss Angel's sleeping habits, but Cordelia suddenly gets a vision that sends Angel out to save a young girl from two potential rapists. As two men are about to attack the girl, she telekinetically slides a dumpster across the alleyway and smashes the men against a wall.
At the crime scene, Angel pretends to be a detective in order to get information about the crime from an officer. He wanders inside an old building and finds the young girl from the alley. Scared, she sends a rebar through Angel's chest, although upon realizing that she didn't kill him, she seems a little less afraid. The girl returns to the apartment she's staying at, revealing her roommate to be Lilah. Gunn
arrives to offer his help and Angel sends him out to find information on the men Bethany hurt.
As Bethany drifts to sleep, she dreams of her abusive childhood and unintentionally sends a bedside lamp flying into Lilah, who was watching her fitful sleep. Terrified, Bethany flees from the apartment, throwing on a jacket. Bethany seeks Angel's help and they discuss her lack of control over her telekinetic powers. Holland stresses that if Lilah's work with Bethany is unsuccessful it could damage their other projects. Wesley deduces that Bethany has been sexually abused; when he pointedly mentions her father she loses control, sending both him and Angel flying through the air.
That night, Bethany finds Angel in his bed and she offers herself to him, as the abuse she has suffered has led her to believe that she is just an object for use. He declines, and after they talk, he sends her back to her own bed. After Angel helps Bethany work to control her power, he meets Gunn at one of the potential rapists' apartment. He brings up the payment idea and Gunn agrees, meaning that Gunn is now officially part of Angel Investigations
. They find evidence that someone paid for the attack on Bethany.
Cordelia talks to Bethany over lattes until she is kidnapped by Wolfram & Hart's men. Angel and Gunn go after the men and Angel is able to get Bethany back from them. At the hotel, Bethany's father is used as a weapon to set her off and, as her control breaks, she causes serious structural damage to the building and lifting her father off his feet as she begins to telekinetically damage his body. Angel is able to break through to her, however and Bethany reveals that she has gained control over her powers by telling her father "Goodbye" before hurling him out of the window and allowing him to fall until she stops his descent five feet from the ground, letting him land unharmed.
Her independence regained and her self-confidence increasing, Bethany calmly confronts Lilah and packs up her things, striking out on her own. Lilah and Angel speak on the doorstep as Lilah reminds him that he is not invited in. In a last-ditch effort to stop Bethany from trusting Angel, Lilah reveals that Angel is a vampire -- to which Bethany merely replies, unfazed by the news, "weird". As Bethany walks away, Angel says to Lilah, "It looks like you're going to have to find someone else's brain to play with," to which Lilah replies, "Yeah, we have someone in mind." Angel tells Lilah "Goodnight," and, while he's walking away, Lilah snidely mutters "Sweet dreams."
Angel (TV series)
Angel is an American television series, a spin-off of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The series was created by Buffys creator, Joss Whedon, in collaboration with David Greenwalt, and first aired on October 5, 1999...
, originally broadcast on the WB network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
. In this episode, a vision from Cordelia
Cordelia Chase
Cordelia Chase is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer; she also appeared on Buffy's spin-off series Angel...
leads Angel to Bethany, a runaway teen who possesses barely controlled telekinetic powers. Angel discovers Bethany was sexually abused by her father when Lilah
Lilah Morgan
Lilah Morgan is a fictional character from the television series Angel, played by Stephanie Romanov. She is first introduced in the episode "The Ring," and appears in the show's first and second seasons. After Lindsey McDonald leaves Los Angeles, Lilah becomes the primary face of Wolfram & Hart,...
– hoping to groom Bethany as an assassin for Wolfram & Hart
Wolfram & Hart
Wolfram & Hart − Attorneys at Law is a fictional international, and interdimensional law firm featured in the television series Angel, as well as other extended materials in Joss Whedon's Buffyverse.-Fictional history:...
– attempts to use Bethany's father as a "trigger" to drive Bethany to unleash her burgeoning power. Meanwhile, Darla continues to plague Angel's dreams.
Plot
Lilah sneaks into Lindsey'sLindsey McDonald
Lindsey McDonald is a fictional character from the television series Angel. He first appeared in the series' first episode, "City of," and featured prominently in the story arcs of seasons one, two, and five. Lindsey is the only character besides Angel himself to appear in both the first and last...
office to rifle through his papers, but Darla is there. Darla reveals she has been using a drug called Calynthia powder to keep Angel asleep while she manipulates his dreams. Angel wakes to find Cordelia and Wesley
Wesley Wyndam-Pryce
Wesley Wyndam-Pryce is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel...
bickering about whether they should offer to pay Gunn. Angel and Wesley begin to discuss Angel's sleeping habits, but Cordelia suddenly gets a vision that sends Angel out to save a young girl from two potential rapists. As two men are about to attack the girl, she telekinetically slides a dumpster across the alleyway and smashes the men against a wall.
At the crime scene, Angel pretends to be a detective in order to get information about the crime from an officer. He wanders inside an old building and finds the young girl from the alley. Scared, she sends a rebar through Angel's chest, although upon realizing that she didn't kill him, she seems a little less afraid. The girl returns to the apartment she's staying at, revealing her roommate to be Lilah. Gunn
Charles Gunn
Charles Gunn is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series, Angel. The character is portrayed by J. August Richards, and was named by Whedon after filmmaker James Gunn and actor Sean Gunn, both of whom had worked with Whedon...
arrives to offer his help and Angel sends him out to find information on the men Bethany hurt.
As Bethany drifts to sleep, she dreams of her abusive childhood and unintentionally sends a bedside lamp flying into Lilah, who was watching her fitful sleep. Terrified, Bethany flees from the apartment, throwing on a jacket. Bethany seeks Angel's help and they discuss her lack of control over her telekinetic powers. Holland stresses that if Lilah's work with Bethany is unsuccessful it could damage their other projects. Wesley deduces that Bethany has been sexually abused; when he pointedly mentions her father she loses control, sending both him and Angel flying through the air.
That night, Bethany finds Angel in his bed and she offers herself to him, as the abuse she has suffered has led her to believe that she is just an object for use. He declines, and after they talk, he sends her back to her own bed. After Angel helps Bethany work to control her power, he meets Gunn at one of the potential rapists' apartment. He brings up the payment idea and Gunn agrees, meaning that Gunn is now officially part of Angel Investigations
Angel Investigations
Angel Investigations is a fictional detective agency run by the title character Angel previously on the WB television series Angel . It is sometimes abbreviated as AI...
. They find evidence that someone paid for the attack on Bethany.
Cordelia talks to Bethany over lattes until she is kidnapped by Wolfram & Hart's men. Angel and Gunn go after the men and Angel is able to get Bethany back from them. At the hotel, Bethany's father is used as a weapon to set her off and, as her control breaks, she causes serious structural damage to the building and lifting her father off his feet as she begins to telekinetically damage his body. Angel is able to break through to her, however and Bethany reveals that she has gained control over her powers by telling her father "Goodbye" before hurling him out of the window and allowing him to fall until she stops his descent five feet from the ground, letting him land unharmed.
Her independence regained and her self-confidence increasing, Bethany calmly confronts Lilah and packs up her things, striking out on her own. Lilah and Angel speak on the doorstep as Lilah reminds him that he is not invited in. In a last-ditch effort to stop Bethany from trusting Angel, Lilah reveals that Angel is a vampire -- to which Bethany merely replies, unfazed by the news, "weird". As Bethany walks away, Angel says to Lilah, "It looks like you're going to have to find someone else's brain to play with," to which Lilah replies, "Yeah, we have someone in mind." Angel tells Lilah "Goodnight," and, while he's walking away, Lilah snidely mutters "Sweet dreams."
Production details
The shot in which Bethany telekinetically explodes every window in the hotel was done using special effects, says production designer Stuart Blatt. The Angel production department built a set matching the superficial layout of the outside of the hotel, and filmed a window of the set exploding. The visual effects designer took that image and tiled it over the intact windows: "Through the magic of digital medium." Blatt says, "[we] created a whole wall of the hotel exploding."Continuity
- Cordelia refers to the Buffy episode "Lovers WalkLovers Walk"Lovers Walk" is episode 8 of season 3 of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Sound Editing in a Series.- Plot synopsis :...
" when she was impaled by a piece of steel rebar. - This episode marks Gunn's official, paid association with Angel Investigations, and introduces his signature weapon — a large axe fashioned for him by some of his street crew from a hub cap and an axle — which would remain with him until it is destroyed in season four.