Waiting in the Wings

Season 3, Episode 13
Written by Joss Whedon
Directed by Joss Whedon
Original Airdate: 4 February 2002

“Back in the day, I’d always get box seats. Or, you know, eat the people who had them.”
Angel

REGULAR CAST

David Boreanaz as Angel
Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia Chase
Alexis Denisof as Wesley Wyndam-Pryce
J. August Richards as Charles Gunn
Amy Acker as Winifred ‘Fred’ Burkle

GUEST CAST

Andy Hallett as Lorne
Nick McCallum as Count Kurskov
Mark Lutz as The Groosalugg

CO-STARRING

Summer Glau as Prima Ballerina
Thomas Crawford as Manager
Don Tiffany as Security Guard

SYNOPSIS

Wesley researches a demon from one of Cordelia’s visions while Cordelia questions Wesley about his romantic feelings towards Fred. Angel brightens the mood by announcing that they are all going out for some fun, but he got tickets to a ballet production of “Giselle.” Gunn and Fred return from breakfast and Gunn compliments Fred’s appearance, making her smile. Gunn is disappointed when he hears of the ballet because he expected tickets to a different show. Angel’s simply excited that he’ll be able to see the show by the same company that he witnessed in 1890.

At the theatre, the company’s owner, a Count Kurskov, promises the theatre manager an unforgettable show while a shadowed figure watches from above the stage and laughs. In preparation for their glamorous night at the ballet, Fred and Cordelia shop for new dresses despite the fact that they’ll probably return the dresses after wearing them for the night. Subtly, Cordelia breaches the subject of Fred’s romantic interests, but Cordelia thinks Fred’s mind is on Wesley, when it’s really on Gunn. Lorne informs Angel that he knows about the vampire’s feelings for Cordelia and offers his encouragement while he helps remove baby spit from Angel’s tuxedo.

Compliments are directed to everyone as their ballet appropriate attire is revealed at the hotel and they depart together. At the theatre, Cordelia is literally bored to sleep while the others enjoy the show and Angel finds the dancers a little familiar since he saw the same people perform the first time he saw the show. Intermission wakes Cordelia and after Angel tells his friends about his revelation and sneaks backstage with Cordelia to investigate. The two bypass a security guard and backstage, Angel and Cordelia discover that they’re trapped and unable to get out of the backstage area.

Looking through the prima ballerina’s dressing room, Angel observes that the dressing room hasn’t changed in two hundred years as Cordelia examines a cross necklace from a table. Both feel the room warm and Cordelia suddenly asks Angel to undress her. Both are slightly confused by that request but soon they find themselves equally possessed by spirits in love and are unable to keep their hands off each other. Cordelia accidentally burns Angel and both come to their senses and leave the dressing room before things go too far.

Lorne sings Connor to sleep; Lorne’s a bit annoyed that he wasn’t invited to the ballet. A sound is heard out in the hall and Lorne goes to check it out. When Angel’s bedroom door is opened, Lorne is shocked to see who’s standing on the other side. While trying to escape the backstage halls, Cordelia recalls elements of fear that she felt while possessed. She convinces Angel to re-enter the dressing room so that they can break the spell holding them and be freed from backstage area.

Worried about Angel and Cordelia, Fred encourages the guys to help her look for their missing friends. The Count directs his demon minions to deal with those sneaking around backstage. It takes a few moments, but soon Angel and Cordelia are possessed by the sprits and acting out of wild passion for each other. Possessed Cordelia calls Angel “Stefan” and confesses her fears of another man who is controlling her life. They kiss and “Stefan” offers to take her away, but she wants him to help her deal with the problem not run away from it. The two continue to kiss passionately as Fred, Wesley, and Gunn hear noises from outside the room.

Demons start to appear, forcing Angel and Cordelia to fight them off. The rest of the gang arrive and the demons are finished off. Angel and Cordelia rush off while Fred tends to a cut Gunn received in the battle. Gunn jokes about his injury and Fred gets really emotional because she thought he was seriously hurt. The two kiss as Wesley quietly discovers them and walks away sadly.

The ballet continues on stage as the fang gang gathers back stage. Claiming to have stepped into a hot spot, Wesley figures out the back-story. He explains that the Count was a wizard who reacted badly when he found that the prima ballerina whom he adored had a lover. To repay her for her supposedly betrayal, the count forced her into a temporal shift where she would dance for only him, forever. The minion demons return to life and multiply as the illusion of the ballet begins to fade. The gang kills as many demons as possible to drain some of the Count’s power.

Meanwhile, Angel searches for the Count’s power centre and finds her waiting in the wings, resigned to a life of dancing the same exact dance in the same exact show for the rest of eternity. She wants it to stop and Angel tells her that she has to change the dance in order to break the magic holding her prisoner. She dances on to the stage and changes an element, which the Count reacts badly to. Angel attacks the Count and guesses that the power centre is in a medallion the count wears. The jewel in the centre of the medallion is destroyed with a powerful punch and finally, the ballet dancers are released from the repeating show. Wesley dresses Gunn’s injury and watches on in emotional agony as Fred and Gunn exchange loving looks.

Angel and Cordelia agree to forget whatever happened between them while they were possessed. Angel starts to admit his true feelings for Cordelia but the Groosalugg from Pylea appears on the stars, drawing Cordelia’s attention away from Angel. Groo and Cordelia hug and kiss as Lorne comes downstairs to inform Angel that Pylea has formed a republic and with no need for a leader, Groo returned for his true love: Cordelia. Dejected, Angel goes upstairs to check on Connor, despite the fact that his son is sleeping. Fred and Wesley watch on, both realizing the path of love is not something that can be forecasted.

TRIVIA

According to Joss Whedon, the main impetus for this episode was learning that Amy Acker danced ballet for fifteen years, although he was also excited to see the group dressed up.

This episode was shot on location at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Los Angeles.

Whedon explains that, while he was filming the dressing room scene with Cordelia and Angel, he wanted to shoot it in one continuous camera shot to “get the space, to keep the camera moving, to get the magical feel for the whole thing.” However, in rehearsal at the moment that Cordelia stands in front of the mirror, David Boreanaz was standing behind her, reflected. Whedon remembers: “I said, ‘That’s great, and then we’ll go to David’s reflections and then we’ll go to her here,’ and then everybody got very quiet and I believe it was Ross Berryman the director of photography who said, ‘You do remember that he’s a vampire, yes?’”

Wesley fantasy scene was filmed in which Fred dances the role of Giselle while Wesley clumsily tries to dance around her. The scene had to be cut due to time considerations, but it is featured as an extra on the Angel Season Three on DVD set.

CONTINUITY

Cordelia comments that there was a time Wesley thought she was “the loveliest thing in the world,” in reference to their flirting when they first met in Bad Girls.

When Lorne is speaking with Angel about his feelings for Cordelia, Lorne remarks that Angel has a thing for “ex-cheerleaders,” referencing his past relationship with Buffy and her being a past cheerleader (Witch).

Angel references the events of I Only Have Eyes for You, remembering: “I’ve been possessed by the spirits of dead lovers before and it never ends well.”

Lorne uses the Pylean word “Kyrumption” to describe Angel and Cordelia, meaning “when two great heroes meet on the field of battle and recognize their mutual fate.” Fred previously used this word to describe them in Offspring.

Cordelia remarks that the only “action” she is getting is a ghost who is “good with a loofah.” Phantom Dennis scrubbed her back in the bathtub in the episode Heartthrob.

Wesley mocking Cordelia’s “rhythmic snoring” echoes Giles chastising Anya’s “Wagnerian snoring” in Goodbye Iowa.

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

EPISODE
Provider / Couplet

STORY ORDER
Older and Far Away / Couplet