War Zone

Season 1, Episode 20
Written by Gary Campbell
Directed by David Straiton
Original Airdate: 9 May 2000

“I don’t need advice from some middle-class white dude that’s dead.”
Charles Gunn

REGULAR CAST

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

GUEST CAST

Michele Kelly as Alonna Gunn
Maurice Compte as Chain
Mick Murray as Knox
Joe Basile as Lenny Edwards
David Herman as David Nabbit
J. August Richards as Charles Gunn

CO-STARRING

Sean Parhm as Bobby
Sven Holmberg as Ty
Rebecca Klingler as Madame Dorion
Kimberly James as Lina
Ricky Luna as James

SYNOPSIS

A girl named Alonna walks down the street, followed by a group of vampires but when the vampires turn around, Alonna’s brother Gunn and many others are there, armed and ready for a fight. Cordelia, Wesley and Angel go to a party where they meet a prospective client and multi-billionaire, David Nabbit. He is being blackmailed for going to a demonic specialty club, Madam Dorion’s. A man named Lenny Edwards is holding pictures of him at the club as blackmail.

The vampire gang fights with the young humans on the street with both medieval and modern weapons. Several are killed on both sides and in the end the vampires run off leaving the humans to deal with the wounded. Angel goes to a Madam Dorion’s and a demon named Lina helps give Angel information about Lenny Edwards. Gunn receives news about the vampire nest, and that a vampire is near by.

Angel talks with Lenny and makes it very clear that he will get what he wants. Gunn witnesses this argument from afar, plotting to do away with Angel. David pays Cordelia and Wesley with a very large check, and promises more is on the way when the job is done. The next night, Angel meets with Lenny, who brought the photos and a demon security guard. Angel kills the demon and gets away with the photos. However, he gets staked in the chest by a couple of the human gang members. He is chased and forced to run through a gauntlet of vampire killing weapons. When confronted by Gunn and the others, Angel tries to explain that he is fighting for good.

Cordelia dresses Angel’s wounds while they look at the graphic pictures that were being held for blackmail. Angel’s still in pain, but goes off to find the nest of vampires before the gang of kids find it. Knox, the leader of the vampire gang talks to his followers, mapping out a plan. Gunn questions Angel and his motivations for supposedly helping them. The vampires throw smoke bombs into the human’s hideaway, forcing them to escape to the surface. Covered in heavy clothes and wearing gas masks, the vampires capture several of the teen gang members, including Alonna.

Cordelia and Wesley go searching for information, and try to find the human gang’s lair. Angel forces his way in and tries to help Gunn and the others. Gunn refuses the help and locks Angel in a meat locker. Searching for the vampire’s lair, Gunn goes first into a building and finds a newly undead Alonna. With her being his sister, Gunn can’t bring himself to kill her. Angel tries to punch his way out of the meat locker he was locked in only to have Cordelia and Wesley open the door for him.

As Alonna is about to make her brother a vampire, he stakes her. Then Angel and the two gangs–vampire and human–come together. Angel kills Knox and arranges a truce with the rest of the group. He lets the vampires live if they leave town and never return. Cordelia and Wesley talk about the gang kids and their rough life. Cordelia considers getting involved with David for his money, but ends up talking herself out of it. Angel talks with Gunn and both plan to keep on fighting evil, and Angel tells Gunn he may need his help in the future.

TRIVIA

Whedon wanted to introduce another character who would be very different from both Wesley and Angel. When writer Garry Campbell pitched the idea of street kids battling vampires, the character of Gunn was conceived.

Producer Tim Minear commented that the episode features the concept of an “entire subculture living under Los Angeles that you don’t really see,” which is a metaphor for the wealth stratification in LA: “You’ll have upper class neighbourhoods and a block away poverty… The upper class people sort of don’t notice the poverty, or choose not to.”

David Nabbit was originally intended to be a recurring character, but only appears in two additional episodes. David Herman had difficulty fitting Angel into his schedule, and so the writers stopped writing scenes for him.

CONTINUITY

In between this episode and the last, Angel has travelled to Sunnydale, as seen in The Yoko Factor.

Cordelia compares Gunn’s neighbourhood slum to her first apartment from City Of.

GOOFS

At the vampire nest, when the lead vampire is talking about Gunn’s team, the vampire wearing the green sweatshirt and leather vest doesn’t have yellow eyes as the others do.

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

EPISODE
Sanctuary / Blind Date

STORY ORDER
The Yoko Factor / Primeval