Angel (TV Series) Sleep Tight (2002) User Reviews

Poor Wes

[katierose295 · 8/10 · 27 February 2007]

This really is this the story line that changes Wesley forever. The crew at Angel Inc. is his family and he loves Angel so much, but after this things will never be the same. Wes acts out of loyalty and his own sense of right, but it all goes wrong. I feel so bad for the guy. Anyway, if you're planning to watch the rest of the series than you really can't miss "Sleep Tight."

This episode revolves around Wes and the prophesy. Wes is growing more convinced that the only way to protect Conner and Angel is to take the baby out of LA. If Conner is away from Angel, than the "Father will kill the son" thing can't come true. Angel's behavior is getting more and more erratic and everyone's noticing. When he rips apart two demons on a case, then comes home and yells at Conner, Fred, Gunn & Lorne are all worried. Angel is getting concerned himself. He realizes that someone has spiked his blood supply with human blood... And it's Conner's. The baby smells like food to him now and he goes looking for the source of his troubles... Lilah. While he's arguing with her, Shajahn shows up and inadvertently lets Angel know that he's the one who brought Holtz back. Angel has no idea who he is or why he's vowing vengeance. After threatening Lilah, Angel goes back to the hotel.

In the meantime, Wes goes to see Holtz again. He tries to buy some time, but Holtz has a plan of his own. He and Justine are planning to steal Conner and raise him as their own. At the Hyperion, Wes prepares to take Conner. As he humms to the baby, Lorne reads him, though. Wesley has to knock Lorne out and hide him. Angel comes back and says that Wes should take the baby to his apartment for the night. Wes agrees, but Justine attacks him on his front lawn. She slits his throat, leaves him for dead and steals the baby. Holtz and his men attack the hotel, ensuring that the baby really is gone, then he slips away.

It doesn't take long for Lorne to wake up and tell Angel that Wes is up to something. Angel goes looking for Conner, while Fred and Gunn search for Wes. Angel catches up to Holtz and Justine. Unfortunately, so do Lilah and some Wolfram and Hart goons. They all want the baby. Then, Shajahn appears and rips a tear in the fabric of reality. He says that if they don't kill Conner, he'll suck them in to a hell dimension. Holtz, holding Conner, jumps through the portal. Angel can't follow him and falls to the ground in horror as his son disappears.

There are some great parts to this episode. It's incredibly dramatic, as everyone tries to find out what happening around them. The end stand-off scene has four separate sides: Holtz, Angel, Shajahn and Wolfram & Hart. Fred and Gunn are trying to track down Wes, unable to believe that he would turn on him. Wes is bleeding to death. This episode really packs a lot in. And the look on Angel's face when Conner disappears into that portal thing, my heart just breaks. I also like how awkward Wes is with Conner. Of everyone, he's the least comfortable with the baby, but he's prepared to walk away from his whole life to keep the kid safe. Wes is a complicated guy. Sometimes I wonder where Wesley was planning to take Conner. If I'd have to guess, I'd say Sunnydale. It's the only other American town he seems to be familiar with and it's got people he knows. More importantly, the Scoobies might help him protect Conner, for Angel's sake. Just a thought. Also, Angel having no idea who Shajahn, his "sworn enemy" is, just makes me laugh every time.

On the down side, I love Angel. But, I can't believe how ineffectual he is in this episode. He should have just killed Holtz and Lilah. Period. And why would he want Holtz to take the baby instead of Wolfram & Hart? Angel usually holds his own against Wolfram & Hart, but he's about 0-4 against Holtz lately. Also, I always get the feeling that Wes is getting blamed for what he PLANNED to do rather than what he actually DID. Angel gave Wesley permission to take Conner to his apartment. Sure, Wes was going to take Conner out of town, but Justine slit his throat on his front lawn. He hadn't left, yet. Wes just as easily could've been attacked as he innocently walked up his steps. He never planned to hand Conner over to Holtz. He never planned to do anything but protect Angel and Conner. He takes a lot of flak for this, but the only things Wes is actually guilty of is hitting Lorne. And Lorne forgives him pretty quickly, so even that's not that big a deal. I think Wes is a handy scape goat for Team Angel's anger, but it's not really fair to blame everything on him.

My favorite part of the episode: Angel "high" on human blood. From reminiscing about how much he liked nuns, to ripping the arm off that demon... He's just really cute. In an evil sort of way.

Strong story arc

[nightwishouge · 8/10 · 8 October 2015]

I've been watching Buffy and Angel simultaneously since Buffy season 4. This is my first watch for both of them. So far, Buffy season 6 has been marked by an inconsistency brought about, I think, by a lack of a strong story arc to really unite the episodes. The vague and oft-mentioned theme of "life as the Big Bad" is interesting, and in general I'm really enjoying the season, but it does tend to feel unfocused. Then again, Buffy has consistently dropped the ball on season-long story arcs since season 3.

The third season of Angel has no such problems. While I generally hate pregnancy/baby story lines, Angel isn't using Connor as an exploitative ratings boost. The writers aren't asking us to invest in the baby simply because he's a baby, all cute and innocent and helpless. His presence in the world has set off a chain reaction of events with incredibly dramatic results.

General sentiments about this episode:

-I like Cordelia as a character, but to be honest I think these last two episodes have benefited from her absence. The vision thing always felt pretty contrived to me, and while Cordelia exhibited a tremendous amount of personal growth in the first two seasons, she's been little more than Angel's love interest so far this season. I have to say, I'm over the "ooh I like him/her, ooh I should say something but I'm so bashful" teenage soap opera story lines on Buffy and Angel. It was understandable when the characters were in high school, but now that they are all adults it just feels like a cheap, cynical, pandering ploy to keep female viewers engaged. The Wes/Gunn/Fred love triangle was more than adequate to fulfill the obligatory romance for the season, did we really need to start shipping Cordy and Angel as well?

-Wesley is possibly my favorite character on the series. He's very warm-hearted, occasionally buffoonish (but they've been toning that down lately), and generally quite lovable, but he's also willing to make the tough calls that others will avoid because their judgment is clouded by emotion. The Connor story line is really putting him in the thick of things in that regard.

-Lilah is a great villain, but Angel really should have killed her this episode. You get the feeling that Angel wouldn't hesitate to hurt or even kill his friends if one of them hurt Connor, but Lilah--a constant thorn in his side for years now--is actively trying to get him to kill his own son by tricking Angel into devouring Connor's blood, and he just shares a drink with her at the bar. Sometimes his compassion is invested in the wrong places. She does give him a sob story about her mom, though, so maybe it's just reflective of Angel's generally poor judgment with regard to damsels in distress.

-I can't help but think it would be interesting to have had Holtz realize the error of his ways and forgive Angel, maybe even join forces with him. Joss Whedon teaches us to expect the unexpected, and it definitely would have been a neat twist on the "villain obsessed with revenge" shtick to set someone up with a single-minded purpose--to kill the man who wronged him (who also happens to be the hero of the show)--only to have said villain reform and give up his quest. Holtz does seem to have genuine concern for Connor's well-being, however, and even reassures Angel he will raise him as his (Holtz's) own.

You look like hell. Not the fun one, where they burn you with hot pokers for all eternity, but the hardcore one, you know, Nixon and Brittany Spears

[SleepTight666 · 10/10 · 12 May 2007]

You look like hell. Not the fun one, where they burn you with hot pokers for all eternity, but the hardcore one, you know, Nixon and Brittany Spears - My favorite season 3 episode, well, this one or 'A New World'. The episode is tensed, shocking, sometimes witty and depressing. 'Wesley' continues to amaze me, his scene with 'Holtz' and 'Justine' was brilliant - Angel and the people I work with are my family and when I say I don't want to see anyone to get hurt I mostly mean them. The most tensed scene was when he was trying to take 'Connor' and was read by 'Lorne' and had to knock him out. Then of course when he got his throat slit by 'Justine', I remember crying a little bit when I saw the episode for the first time, I thought our dear-old friend was going to die. The other powerful storyline was 'Angel' being fed 'Connor's blood and acting like a blood-oholic, and his scene with 'Lilah' and his sworn enemy 'Sahjhan', well, not that he remembered the swearing. My favorite scene of the episode, and probably of the entire series, is when 'Holtz' takes the baby to a hell dimension 'Sahjhan' opened, 'Angel' was completely devastated - Let him suffer'. SAHJHAN: I have a lot of work to do. I can't be in every time/space at once, and here I find you drinking with my sworn enemy. ANGEL: Sworn enemy? Really? Have we met? Because I don't remember swearing. LILAH: Sahjhan, he found me. ANGEL: So, you all are in cahoots. Ethereal time-traveling demon, you're the screwball that brought Holtz back. How's that working out? He's not very fond of demons, is he? SAHJHAN: You will learn nothing from me. LILAH: Other than that you're his sworn enemy, who brought Holtz back, and when that didn't work out, you came to me. Idiot. SAHJHAN: Hey! You think my life is easy? I'm jumping from one dimension to another. I don't always have sound. Sometimes it's just a visual. Saw you two sitting here all chummy. ANGEL: So, why do you wanna kill me? LILAH: He wouldn't tell me either. Not that I need a reason. I was just curious. Did he boink your demon bride? Eat your mother? (10 out of 10)

A Whole New Rock Bottom for Angel

[Samuel-Shovel · 9/10 · 20 July 2018]

In "Sleep Tight", feeling more and more like the prophecy is imminent, Wesley decides that he needs to kidnap Connor and take him away from Angel for a while. The gang learns that Wolfram & Hart have been secretly spiking Angel's blood supply with Connor's blood, causing him to be irritable and constantly hungry. Angel confronts Lilah and meets the time-traveling demon that claims to be his sworn enemy.

Wes knocks out Lorne to steal Connor but, during his escape, Justine shows up feigning injuies. She slits Wes's throat and steals the baby. Holtz shows up at the hotel with some goons to distract Angel and the gang while Lilah nabs Connor. The two plan on hitting the road with the prophesied child. Both Angel and WR&H are in hot pursuit.

A standoff occurs between everyone. That is until Sahjhan shows up and orders the baby's death. As a threat, he opens up a hell dimension and threatens to suck everyone into it. Holtz runs through the portal with Connor in tow. Everyone else heads their separate ways and Angel lays there a broken man without his child.

Oh, poor Angel. Everything he's done is all for not. He's worked so hard to plan and provide for Connor and, just like that, Wesley comes through and mucks it all up. I see a lot of sympathy for Wes in other reviews and I sort of get that, but at the same time I don't.

He had an entire crew around him that trusted him. Sure, he felt slighted by Gunn and Fred's relationship. Okay, Cordy wasn't there anymore to bounce ideas off of. And yeah, Angel would have never went for a plan separating himself from Connor but hey, he could have talked to Lorne about it! Instead he trusts Angel's biggest enemy whose one plan in live is to exact revenge on the vampire that slaughtered his family. He should have known that things wouldn't go according to plan.

But here we are, Angel is at an all-time low (just when you thought he might not be able to go down any further than he's done in the past.) Whether he can pick himself back up will only be revealed in time.

I'm currently watching Angel/BtVS concurrently based upon a list I found online. The difference between the two is night and day. Angel's throughlines and story arcs are just so much better at this point than BtVS. I currently force myself to get through the Buffy episodes just so I can get back to this engaging season of Angel. I'm starting to think that overall it maybe the superior series.

The one where wesley ..

[CastleofGlass1987 · 9/10 · 2 November 2018]

This episode is one of those episodes that gives you the feels and its all for wesley ,wesley has been grapling with the father will kill the son prophecy and at the last scene of the previous episode Wesley realises that the prophecy is coming true. He now has to decide what to do and as Angels behaviour becomes more all over , Wesley decides the best thing is to take connor away with the help of Holtz but we all know he cant be trusted and wesley gets betrayed as holtz takes connor away himself ,The final scene shook me and left me on edge for the next episode . This is one of the most pivotal episodes of the series so must not be missed. 9/10

Betrayal

[erickd201 · 9/10 · 10 January 2016]

Did it really need to go this way? No. Am I glad that it did. Hell yeah! Sleep Tight is one of those episodes that there's a lot of manufactured drama and conflict but its well manufactured. I mean Wesley could've sat down and told Angel what the prophecy said and maybe they could've stopped it from happening. My guess is he probably figured that the prophecy would come to pass anyway since the Loa told him it can't be stopped so he decided to take Connor as far away as possible for as long as possible. He was maybe going to pin Connor's disappearance on Holtz too unfortunately he gets caught by Lorne (in the dumbest way possible I might add) and from then on chaos ensues. We also learn that Angel's growing blood lust is the result of Wolfram & Hart tampering with his blood supply in order for him to fulfill the prophecy and kill his son. Meanwhile Holtz and Justine are using Wesley's misguided attempt to rescue Connor for their own ends. And Sahjahn is growing more impatient. It all comes to a head in a heartbreaking final scene.

Pros: Wolfram & Hart behind Angel's blood lust

Wesley's plan backfires

Heartbreaking ending for Angel

Cons: Conflict was a little forced

Overall Score: 9.0/10

Sahjhan: Hey! You think my life is easy? I'm jumping from one dimension to another. I don't always have sound.

[bombersflyup · 10/10 · 10 January 2018]

Sleep Tight is about Wesley taking away Angel's son to keep him safe, only to lose him to Holtz and a hell dimension.

This episode has its highs and lows. Though the epicness of the highs and the significance of the events in regards to the series, definitely outweigh the lows. I don't care for first portion of the episode with erratic Angel and the demon band, or the scene of Justine staggering towards Wesley's house and yeah put away your gun while in a vulnerable position, because she's certainly trustworthy. Everything else though excellent. Wesley really takes a big step in character presence here and so forth. The scene when he's taking Connor and then Lorne reading him, then Angel appearing, then Fred and Gunn coming in, is just so good. I also love the scene at the bar, Sahjhan an awesome villain. Sahjhan: I can't be in every time/space at once, and here I find you drinking with my sworn enemy. Angel: Sworn enemy? Really? Have we met? Because I don't remember swearing. With an amazing final scene, Angel's left rather decimated after Holtz goes through the portal with Connor. He should have killed Lilah for this, because it's warranted and long past due.

Wesley: You're a soldier, fight-to-the-death kind. I respect that. You work for a man who you think is noble and good. I respect that. Trouble is, he's not. Justine Cooper: You work with a *vampire*. Wesley: Who, in fact, is noble and good. Quirky, but there it is. Holtz talks about justice, and it's stirring, but what he wants is revenge. He's driven by it, blinded by it, and if you, me, or anyone else gets in his way, he'll kill for it. Justine: You're wrong. You don't know him. Everything that he's done for me, for all of us. Wesley: It sounds like a nice cult.

Wes in the wringer

[Joxerlives · 7/10 · 4 March 2012]

SLEEP TIGHT

The Good; The tragedy of Wesley Wyndham Price, it's a powerful 40 minutes, the rug well and truly pulled out from under the viewers feet.

The Bad; Kim's demon transformation and the Rathers generally look stupid but it is effective. Exactly how much of Connor's blood does Lilah have to lace Angel's with? Surely Holtz and Justine should go a little farther than Utah to avoid Angel? (it's a cliché of American fiction that people who go on the run for some reason seldom go outside the US?)

Best line: Wes; "You work for a man who you think is noble and good. I respect that but he's not. I work for a vampire who in fact is noble and good. Quirky but there it is"

Jeez, how did they get away with that? Justine all busted up then SLITTING WES' THROAT!

Apocalypses: 5

Angel Clichés In disguise; 8

DB get's his shirt off; 12

Cordy's tatt; 10

Cheap Angel; 9

Fang Gang in bondage: Cordy: 5 Angel: 11 Wes: 6 Gunn; 4 Lorne; 3 Fred; 2

Fang gang knocked out: Lorne by Wes Cordy: 11 Angel: 14 Wes: 5 Doyle; 1 Gunn; 1 Lorne; 4

Kills: 1 demon for Gunn and 2 for Angel Cordy: 5 vamps, 3 demons Angel; 39 vamps, 57 and 1/2 demons, 7 humans Doyle; 1 vamp Wes; 12 demons+3 vamps, 2 humans Kate; 3 vamps Faith; 16 vamps, 6 demons, 3 humans. Gunn; 10 vamps+ 10 demons. Groo; 1 demon Fred; 1 vamp

Fang Gang go evil: no but Angel comes damn close when he tears up the Rathers Cordy: 2 Angel: 2 Gunn; 1 Wes; 1

Alternate Fang Gang: Cordy: 2 Angel: 8

Characters killed: 46

Recurring characters killed; 8;

Total number of Angel Investigations: 7, Angel, Cordy, Wes, Gunn, Fred, Lorne and Groo

Angel Investigations shot: Angel: 11 Wes; 1

Packing heat; Wes has a pistol, possibly the same one he took from the collector in 'Offspring'. Angel takes a sub-machine gun from Lilah's men and threatens them with it Wes; 6 Doyle; 1 Angel; 2 Gunn; 1

Notches on Fang Gang bedpost: Cordy: 4 ?+Wilson/Hacksaw Beast+Phantom Dennis+Groo Angel: 5; Buffy, Darla and The Transcending Furies Wes; 2; Virginia and the bleached blonde Gunn; 1 Fred Fred; 1 Gunn Groo; 1Cordy

Kinky dinky: Gorgeous but skanky (is there any other kind?) groupies gyrating to the bands appalling music. Looks like Angel was right, musicians get the chicks. The bandleader describes Fred as a hottie and bags 'first ride'. Love Lilah's cat's miaow. Justine and Holtz extremely abusive and twisted relationship. Lilah asks Sahjhan did Angel 'boink his demon bride' and describes him as impotent?

Know the face, different character; 4

Parking garages; no, Angel stalks Lilah in her bar nowadays 5,

Guantanamo Bay; Angel breaks the arms of Lilah's assistant. Angel tortures' Holtz's people to find Connor.

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; Lorne tells Connor the story about The Rat Pack, wonder if Angel ever told him he knew them? Angel talks about hell with Nixon and Britney Spears. Bit unkind to both of them. Angel is a fan of The Flying Nun presumably during the Manilow years, he must have watched a lot of daytime TV in his time (although maybe that goes without saying?). Note Angel would rather Connor would be with Holtz whom he knows would care for him than Lilah who would dissect him. Also Holtz pushes Justine aside to stop her following him into hell. What happened to Linwood's policy of leaving Connor alone?

Marks out of 10; 7/10 humdrum ep until the devastating ending

Unnecessary messy

[ipoweri · 5/10 · 29 May 2015]

This episode stands out from the rest of the episodes as being unnecessarily complex and far-fetched. I don't think plots like that suits a show like an Angel.

It was too much of "he knows that X wants to Y, while Y thinks Z need T because X can't protect Y, yet Z has no idea that T while S never intended to harm Y bla bla bla". Plots like that just doesn't suit Angel I think.

Maybe I was just not alert when watching it, but this was the first Angel episode I had to make multiple rewinds to understand what was going on. That is usually never necessary in Joss Whedon's series, as he tends to be really good at presenting the reasons for character's action in a nice way so you never go "Why is he doing this??? Huh? What's going on"...