Sanctuary

Season 1, Episode 19
Written by Tim Minear and Joss Whedon
Directed by Michael Lange
Original Airdate: 2 May 2000

“Buffy, this wasn’t about you! This was about saving somebody’s soul. That’s what I do here, and you’re not a part of it. That was your idea, remember? We stay away from each other.”
Angel

REGULAR CAST

David Boreanaz as Angel
Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia Chase
Alexis Denisof as Wesley Wyndam-Pryce

GUEST CAST

Elisabeth Röhm as Kate Lockley
Christian Kane as Lindsey McDonald
Thomas Burr as Lee Mercer
Stephanie Romanov as Lilah Morgan
Alastair Duncan as Collins
Eliza Dushku as Faith Lehane
Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers

CO-STARRING

Jeff Ricketts as Weatherby
Kevin Owers as Smith
Adam Vernier as Detective Kendrick

SYNOPSIS

Angel and Faith go to his apartment and try to recover from the fight. In a brief, but violent vision, Faith charges at Angel with a knife and cuts up his face. Cordelia and Wesley check out each other’s wounds and both share the same negative feelings about Faith. Angel comes up for food to feed Faith and argues with Wesley about giving Faith another chance. Cordelia gets Angel to sign several checks, which will fund her vacation so she can be gone for as long as Faith is around.

The police check over the apartment where Faith was staying and the fight occurred. Another officer accuses Kate of being “Scully” from X-Files, but she says she’s the “Mulder.” Angel tries to talk to Faith but after taking a large knife from her hand. The lawyers at Wolfram and Hart are very upset that Faith is now teaming up with Angel and plan to have her killed. Haunted by visions of her violent past in Sunnydale, Faith tries to leave, but Angel talks her into staying. Wesley plays darts at a bar, and encounters Weatherby, a member of the Watcher’s Council’s Special Operations team on the hunt for Faith.

The council members talk with Wesley and give him an opportunity to come back to the Council if he’s willing to turn in Faith. They give him a syringe that, if injected will sedate Faith and let them take her back to England. Angel talks with Faith and tells her she has to make amends for her crimes, no matter how hard it is. She accidentally lets it slip that she slept with Buffy’s new boyfriend. Faith sees herself on the news and that the police are looking for her. A demon hired by Wolfram and Hart sneaks into Angel’s apartment and attacks. Faith kills it with a knife, and then is frightened by the sight of the demon’s blood on her hands.

Without warning, Buffy arrives at Angel’s place and finds Angel hugging Faith. Buffy is shocked, and is determined to turn Faith into the police. Angel sends Faith upstairs and when Buffy objects, the two come to blows. Upset about their failed attempts to destroy Faith and Angel, Lindsey MacDonald goes to Detective Lockley for her help. Buffy and Angel argue over Faith and then Wesley arrives downstairs with Faith, informing them all about the team hunting for Faith. Wesley trusts Angel and is doing what he can to save Faith from the Council.

The two Slayers escape to the roof and argue about everything that has happened. Buffy is not willing to forgive anymore. While Weatherby keeps Angel and Wesley in the apartment, Collins attacks Buffy and Faith on the roof. Armed, the third member of the team, Smith hovers above the roof in a helicopter. Wesley distracts Weatherby, and later stabs him with the syringe while Angel escapes to the roof. Buffy battles with Collins, and Angel jumps through a roof window and attacks the Smith inside.

Angel orders the helicopter to land and then Kate arrests him when he won’t give up Faith’s location. Wesley and Buffy go to save Angel at the police station and Buffy won’t allow Angel to take the fall for Faith. They are all surprised to see Faith is at the station where she voluntarily confesses to her crimes. Angel and Buffy talk, and Buffy informs Angel about Riley. Angel gets upset and tells her to go home because she can move on and he can’t. After talking to Wesley, Angel plans to go after Buffy. Meanwhile, Faith manages to find some sort of peace in a jail cell.

TRIVIA

Production designer Stuart Blatt says that filming this episode was challenging due to scheduling problems with Sarah Michelle Gellar. Just a few days before shooting, they learned that Gellar would not be available to work outside on the night the scene was supposed to be filmed. “We had to take our rooftop setting and split it into two and shoot everything on the rooftop looking out towards the city in one direction with the real helicopter on the rooftop. Then on the stage, recreate the exact rooftop looking the other direction, shoot everything there, and marry them seamlessly,” he explains. “It was one of the more impressive things we ever pulled off.”

Writer Tim Minear says that the script for this episode was difficult, because “it was Faith as we had never seen her before. It was sort of easy when it was evil Faith, which was a lot of fun. The problem was trying to make her turn realistic.” He admitted to being nervous about writing Buffy’s scenes because of the challenge of writing to her character and tone. He convinced Whedon to come in and write all of Buffy’s scenes.

CONTINUITY

There’s reference to Faith’s story arc in Buffy season three, specifically the murder of Finch in Bad Girls and Angel’s attempts to help Faith in Consequences. He also makes reference to her attempt to seduce him in Enemies.

Faith and Buffy fare better in this episode than they did in Graduation Day (Part 1), which also featured the two of them on a roof-top together.

There’s references to Faith’s murder of demon Skyler in Enemies and Professor Worth, both in Sunnydale.

The only time Angel has hit Buffy was in Amends, when he was attempting suicide.

Wolfram and Hart’s picture of Angel is taken from Sense and Sensitivity.

CROSSOVER

The Watcher’s Council assassination squad arrives in Los Angeles after hunting Faith down in Who Are You.

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

EPISODE
Five by Five / War Zone

STORY ORDER
Five by Five / The Yoko Factor