"Angel" Long Day's Journey (TV Episode 2003) Poster

(TV Series)

(2003)

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7/10
The Beast's plan is revealed
katierose2955 March 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Okay, right around this point in the season things start getting really confusing for me. Why does the Beast want to blot out the sun? What does that have to do with the whole Jasmine thing? Why involve Angelus? What's the point? Just to distract Angel? I honestly don't know, but I really like the story line that this episode sets up, so I'm willing to cut it some slack. Bringing back Angelus is a really terrible idea for White Hats in town. Anyone whose seen season two of BTVS knows that. But I am so, SO glad that Team Angel does it anyway because it completely makes the season for me. Anyway this episode sets-up the next part of the story arc and you really should see it.

"Long Day's Journey" revolves around the Beast's plan to blot out the sun. It's killing all these mystics who control light, or whatever, called the Ratet. The Little Girl in the White Room was on of them. Gwen, the electrified thief, has a client who is another Ratete member. When her client is killed by the Beast, Gwen goes to the Hyperion for help. Team Angel tries to protect the remaining Ratet member, a guy named Manny. They hide him at Gwen's house, but somehow Manny is killed on Cordy and Angel's watch. Everyone suspects an inside job. Especially after what the Little Girl said last episode about the answer being among them. Conner is the number one suspect.

Meanwhile, the Beast shows up at Conner's place. For some reason it needs to preform the anti-sun ritual there. Team Angel and Gwen try to stop the Beast, but it's too late. The sun is soon blocked by a black swirly cloud thing. Cordy has a vision of the Beast standing on a field of dead bodies and realizes that it's really a memory. She's remembering that Angelus knew the Beast sometime in the past. Angel doesn't remember that happening and Team Angel decides there's only one "person" to ask: Angelus.

There are some good parts to this episode. I like Gunn and Gwen talking at her apartment. The two of them are actually cute together and it's interesting that Gwen saw the longing that Wes has for Fred. Also, the blotting out the sun thing is fun. I'd be interested to now how it works exactly. (What are the exact geographic limitations of the darkness? Is there like a twilight are round the edges of town? Or is there just sharp division between light and dark at the LA city limits?) Anyway, I'm willing to go with it. It sets up some really neat story lines to come. Also, I think Cordy being all b*tchy to Gwen is sort of funny. I especially have to snicker when she calls Gwen "Super Tramp."

On the down side, okay, the sun is out over all of LA. Why don't the folks in Sunnydale ever hear about it? We have a lot of crossovers this season, but no one mentions that LA's shaded in perpetual night over on BTVS. All I ask is one scene with Spike or Buffy saying, "So, did you hear about the sun bein' gone?" and I'd be happy. I know that it's not "Long Day's Journey's" fault. It should have happened on BTVS season seven. But it bugs me that I don't even see a news report about this on Sunnydale TV and I need to vent.

My favorite part of the episode: I kinna like Manny. Too bad he got ripped apart.
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7/10
There's always more down...
Joxerlives18 March 2012
Warning: Spoilers
LONG DAYS JOURNEY

The Good; Gwen, hooray! Also like Lorne mocking Angel's brooding.

The Bad; You can visibly see that CC is preggers. Why not stick Manny on the first plane to Outer Mongolia?

Best line: Gwen; "Where were you when they taught stealth in superpower school?"

Apocalypses: 5

Angel Clichés Inverting the Hollywood cliché; Gwen's attitude of 'get the hell out of dodge' is very atypical but frankly sensible.

In disguise; 8

DB get's his shirt off; 12

Cheap Angel; 6 Angel can't resist telling CC that the item he gave up for her cost $30million.

Fang Gang in bondage: Cordy: 5 Angel: 12 Wes: 6 Gunn; 4 Lorne; 4 Fred; 2

Fang gang knocked out: CC and Angel get slipped a mickey (or does she?) Cordy: 13 Angel: 16 Wes: 5 Doyle; 1 Gunn; 1 Lorne; 4 Groo; 1

Kills: Cordy: 5 vamps, 3 demons Angel; 41 vamps, 57 and 1/2 demons, 5 zombies, 8 humans Doyle; 1 vamp Wes; 12 demons+3 vamps, 5 zombies, 2 humans Kate; 3 vamps Faith; 16 vamps, 6 demons, 3 humans. Gunn; 11 vamps+ 12 demons, 5 zombies, 1 human. Groo; 1 demon Fred; 3 vamp+ 1 demon, 5 zombies Connor; 8 vamps, 5 zombies, 2 demons

Fang Gang go evil: Cordy: 2 Angel: 2 Gunn; 1 Wes; 1

Alternate Fang Gang: Cordy: 4 Angel: 10 Fred; 2 Wes; 1 Gunn; 1

Characters killed: 250

Recurring characters killed; 8;

Total number of Angel Investigations: 5 Angel, Gunn, Fred, Lorne, Wes

Angel Investigations shot: Angel: 11 Wes; 1

Packing heat; Wes; 7 Doyle; 1 Angel; 3 Gunn; 1

Notches on Fang Gang bedpost: Cordy: 5 ?+Wilson/Hacksaw Beast+Phantom Dennis+Groo+Connor Angel: 5; Buffy, Darla and The Transcending Furies Wes; 3; Virginia, the bleached blonde and Lilah Gunn; 1 Fred Fred; 1 Gunn Groo; 1Cordy

Kinky dinky: Manny intends to spend his final hours in a strip club called the Pink Pony. Gwen is still the queen of PVC (Spandexia)and it has the desired effect of making CC jealous when Angel takes her on their road trip. CC refers to Gwen as 'Supertramp', maybe she should have 'Breakfast in America'?

Captain Subtext; Gwen calls Fred 'cherry'. Lorne says evil demon's can't pull off wearing lam'e like his as it just looks 'camp'. Manny asks Gwen if she'd like him to buy her a lapdance and she doesn't seem too offended. Gwen and Gunn start bonding on sentry duty and she refers to him as Denzel again which is quite a compliment.

Know the face, different character; 4

Parking garages; 6,

Buffy characters on Angel; 16 Wetherby, Collins and Smith. Angel, Cordy, Oz, Spike, Buffy, Wes, Faith, Darla, Dru, The Master, Anne, Willow and Harmony

Questions and observations; Unless Fred and Gunn filled them in Wes and Lorne have never met Gwen but they seem unphased by her arrival. Connor get the living daylights beaten out of him by the Beast. Love the fact that the Beast knocks politely before smashing it's way and trashing the place AND Connor. The manner in which it's suggested Angel/Connor is being controlled by the Beast is similar to The First and Spike on Buffy. This ep sadly dedicated to Glenn Quinn.

Marks out of 10; 7/10
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9/10
Where were you when they taught stealth in superpower school?
SleepTight66610 March 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Where were you when they taught stealth in superpower school? - And the awesomeness of season 4 keeps on coming. In this very special episode 'The Beastie's plan is to blot out the sun, and to do that he has to kill the members of the Ra-Tet, he already killed the little girl in the previous episode and an important lady off-screen, then he kills the third one at the beginning of the episode by putting his fist through the guy's chest who happens to be 'Gwen's client. So, 'Gwen' is back, which is a hoot, especially as she gets a lot of nick names, Super Tramp and Spandexia being the most memorable. Meanwhile 'Cordy' keeps getting weirder by episode, but I love it, you have to be deaf and blind if you can't see that there is something going on with her, she's obviously evil. I dig the whole 'The answer is among you' issue, and how easy it is for 'Cordy' to get away with her evil plans by shopping little 'Manny' into pieces. I also loved the scene where 'Cordy' tells 'Angel' to get over her sleeping with his son, and when she tries to touch his face but he blocks her hand, there's a lot of tension in that little scene and nobody loves a good tensed scene like I do. The ending was also very nifty, I so love 'The Beastie', he looked so cool throwing 'Connor' out of the window. And 'Connor' looked very hot all bruised and bleeding. The episode ends with the sun getting blotted and 'Wesley' saying that they need 'Angelus'...ohh goodie! can't wait to rewatch the upcoming episodes. Also gotta love the "In memory of..." end title, a final ode to 'Glenn Quinn' who had passed away one month and nineteen days before this episode aired. GWEN: I'm just saying, it never would've happened on my watch. CORDELIA: Gosh, no. 'Cause you're Super Tramp. (9.5 out of 10)
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6/10
The Return of Gwen
Samuel-Shovel8 January 2019
Warning: Spoilers
In "Long Day's Journey", the Beast is out killing totems in a scheme to blot out the sun. Why? I'm not entirely sure. Gwen shows up and agrees to help Angel stop this demon, despite the fact that she's been nothing but selfish the entire time we've known her. Why does she help? Nobody knows. At the end it's revealed that Angel might now the Beast when he was Angelus. He doesn't remember though and he maybe a sleeper agent with a trigger. The gang may need to draw Angelus out to learn the truth of all this.

What is this Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde stuff? They're the same person! He remembers all the stuff he did as a bad guy, he just regained his soul. So this weird new wrinkle of him not remembering when he's in bad boy mode is kind of BS if you ask me.

I also don't understand Gwen's involvement. She's a hired gun who just slips into the gang seamlessly I guess? It's just odd.

The fight scene doesn't amount to much as the Beast is so powerful that they can't even keep him in the other portal. I don't know where we go from here but I'm feeling a bit apathetic.
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