"Angel" Slouching Toward Bethlehem (TV Episode 2002) Poster

(TV Series)

(2002)

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7/10
Cordy's back... Sorta
katierose2953 March 2007
Warning: Spoilers
I hit the spoiler button at the top, but just to let you know, I'm about to blow a major plot point of the season. So if you haven't seen all of season four and you want to be surprised stop reading this. I don't want to ruin anything, okay? Ready? Last chance.

Cool, so is Cordy evil from this episode on ward or what? I kinna think that she's at least a little bit of real Cordeila, what with the looking at Sunnydale High's year book and singing "The Greatest Love of All" to Lorne. (Those are BTVS references from season three's "Graduation Day Part Two" and season one's "The Puppet Show," if anybody out there missed those episodes.) The way I understand it Real Cordy is inside that body someplace, but so is a demon thing. So is real Cordy in charge at this point? Is she really Cordelia fighting the demon for power, trying to see through the amnesia, or is this all an act? They seem to wake something up inside of her in "Spin the Bottle," so did the demon gain total control at that point and do something to Real Cordy? Or did the spell do something to push Real Cordy out? Or am I wrong and was Real Cordy never in the body, at all? Honestly, it all gets kinna confusing. Anyway, this isn't my favorite episode or plot, but it does have a pretty big impact on the rest of the season so you shouldn't skip it.

The episode revolves around Cordelia showing up at the Hyperion. She's back from Floaty, Magic land and Angel is thrilled to see her. Unfortunately, she seems to have amnesia. Worried that telling her about vampires, demons and fighting for the mystical forces of good might scare her, Angel, Gunn, and Fred try to hide the truth. After Cordy's sees Fred & Gunn covered in monster-slime, reads her old Sunnydale year book (Dear Cordy, Thanks for the flaming arrows...) and sees Angel's game face, she quickly learns the truth. She listens to their explanations, but she's not happy. Lorne tries a reading, but something in Cordy's head scares him... A lot. When one of Lorne's clients attacks her, Cordy flees the Hotel with Conner.

Meanwhile Wes and Lilah continue to have a good time being bad together. When Wes hears Lilah talking on her cell-phone, he realizes that Wolfram & Hart is after Cordy and Conner. He goes to warn Team Angel. They arrive just in time to save Cordy from Wolfram & Hart's goons, but it turns out that it was a set-up. Lilah wasn't after Cordy. She was after Lorne. Wolfram & Hart sucked his reading out of his head, so he can't remember what he'd learned about Cordelia. Wes is hurt when he learns that Lilah lied to him, but she points out that he's the one who eavesdropped. Angel wants Cordy to come back to the hotel. But she says that she wants to stay with Conner, the only one she claims never lied to her.

There are some good parts to this episode. Angel trying to hide the mystical happenings at the Hyperion is funny and sweet at the same time. He's so anxious to make Cordy feel comfortable, that it just makes her more nervous. He finally just asks her to trust him and he looks so adorable, that Cordy's temporarily won over. Then comes the whole reading thing. Poor Lorne winces through her song, partly because she's really bad and partly because of the visions he's getting. It's very cool. Also, I just love Wes and Lilah. I think that they're starting to like each other just a little bit more than they'd ever intended. Finally, I just love all the Sunnydale references. It's so great when the show remembers it history.

On the downside, I don't think it's fair to blame Wes for this. He was right about Wolfram & Hart attacking Conner and Cordy. In fact, when Team Angel arrived, Conner had gotten beat down and Cordy was getting kidnapped. And Lilah didn't seriously hurt Lorne because she knew that he was part of Wesley's family. Wes takes some flak for this, but without him, things could've been a lot worse. Also, I just don't like Cordy and Conner together. It's sort of creepy, since she's almost his mother. In fact, one of the reasons that I think the demon is at least partially in control of her at this point is the fact that Cordy left the Hyperion with Conner. Speaking from my personal experience of being a 20-something woman, NO WAY am I ditching Angel for Conner. I don't care if Angel's the undead or not. I don't need any memories to know that just ain't gonna happen. Sorry.

My favorite part of the episode: Wes giving Lilah that dollar when he loses the bet and uses the word "relationship" first. It's crazy, but they're just so darn CUTE together.
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8/10
The One Where Cordelia Doesn't Remember Who She Is...
taylorkingston27 September 2014
Warning: Spoilers
I really enjoy this episode.

In this episode, Cordelia is mysteriously back from being a Higher Power, which we never really find out how. And all her friends are so happy to see her. Unfortunately, Cordelia has no idea who anybody is, where she is, or even her own name. She can't remember anything. And it's take some time to adjust to the fact that these are her friends. Understandably, she's having a bit of trouble trusting them. And when she finds out that she and her friends are professional monster hunters, and that one of her friends is a vampire, one is a demon and one was trapped in a hell dimension for five years, it took its toll on her. And she freaks out. Who wouldn't?

Overall, I give this episode an 8 out of 10.
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6/10
So... I look Russian to you?
JohnDeLaughs29 January 2019
Warning: Spoilers
And so it begins: the destruction of an iconic character. Cordelia finally comes down to Earth when she intervenes in the human affairs and helps Angel. The gang heads back to the hotel after the incident at the casino and finds Cordelia wandering around with no memory of before she became a higher presence. She has no clue who she is or the people around her are and she is terrified. Angel hesitates to tell her everything about the world she was living in, vampires, demons etc. as she seems like having a hard time to grasp what's going on at all. So he hides the truth to himself and keeps Cordelia in the dark. But of course, it doesn't take long before she finds out that there is more than what Angel let on when she sees Lorne and Angel's vampire face. After some persuasion, she finally believes they are indeed good people and her friends, even though she doesn't completely trust them. Meanwhile, Lorne reads her as she sings a song but he regrets doing so because apparently evil is once again on it's way and this time it means to stay.

Personally, I think this episode triggers the downfall of the fourth season-which isn't that good to begin with anyway as it completely ruins Cordelia by turning her an unlikable character and takes all her charm away before she is disposed of altogether later on the season. As if the fact that she decides to trust and go with Connor, someone who's known her for like 3 days instead of her actual friends isn't bad enough, it also starts a very awkward and painful to watch relationship between the two. Even Wesley and Lilah's "relationship" doesn't bother you that much because you know it fits perfectly on Wesley's darker character after he kidnaps Angel's son. On the other hand, Cordy and Connor becomes this annoying, unnatural couple that you just don't even wanna look at.

It's sad to say goodbye to an amazing character this way but this really is goodbye. The Cordelia we love and know is gone and we won't be seeing her again until next season to finally put her soul to rest for good.
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10/10
Evil's coming Angel, and it's planning on staying
SleepTight6663 February 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Evil's coming Angel, and it's planning on staying - The most unpopular season 4 episode happens to be one of my favorites of the season, if not the entire series. 'Cordelia' is back from her trip to another realm and has lost all of her memory, the first half of this episode is almost comedy, it's funny the way 'Angel' and his crew tried to keep 'Cordy' away from the demons and what they were really doing, which only caused her to think that she was brainwashed by Russian spies. Because of the lies 'Cordy' almost ended up as a demon-burger but got saved by 'Connor' who, unlike the others, told her the truth. I immediately loved the chemistry between Charisma and Vincent, I know that i'm not one of the many but I just do. Meanwhile 'Lilah' and 'Wesley' are having more steamy sex, I think that this episode was the highlight of their 'relationship', as 'Wesley' called the sex they were having a relationship and had to pay 'Lilah' a dollar. She then used him by making him play himself and give the fang gang a wrong lead so that W&H could suck out 'Lorne's brain. At the end of the episode 'Cordy' decides to stay with 'Connor' because she feels like she can trust him. I loved this episode, it had lots of character developing, the main storyline of the fourth season started, lots of great dialog, Charisma looked gorgeous and 'Connor' using one of those ninja lawyers as a piñata is unforgettable. CORDELIA: I have this horrible feeling that something bad is going to happen. Or maybe has happened. And I can't remember it. And I don't know what to do or who to trust except you. I don't know why, but I trust you. Why do I get the feeling that you've lost everything too? CONNOR: I had nothing to lose. (10 out of 10)
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10/10
Fred: I should get Charles and terminate it before the situation multiplies.
bombersflyup15 May 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Slouching Towards Bethlehem is about Cordelia returning, but without any memory of her life.

A quality episode, just dawdles a bit at times. Has an odd mix of sadness and amusement, Connor's bleak existence and Cordy connecting with him. Wesley's realization that his relationship with Lilah cannot continue as he cannot be a party to the harm of others and that there will never be trust between them. Then you have Angel sneaking around in the night trying to hide that he's a vampire.
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5/10
Beginning of the end of Cordy
btticecold-089567 October 2019
Warning: Spoilers
She was such a good character back in the day with Doyle and Wesley when he was goofy, but no longer.

Conner is the worst character ever I hate him with a passion and these two end up together.

Cordy gets worse and worse so sad such a shame
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5/10
Picking Sides
Samuel-Shovel11 November 2018
Warning: Spoilers
In "Slouching Toward Bethlehem" the sudden reappearance of an amnesic Cordelia turns everybody's lives upside down. The gang attempts to comfort her and get her to remember without disclosing the truth about her life: that it is full of demons and vampires and that she came from a higher being of consciousness. Wolfram & Hart learns that Cordy is back in town and Lilah sets a trap involving Wesley. She distracts everyone by setting up a faux-kidnapping of Cordy while another group tortures Lorne to find out what Cordy's true destiny is. Cordy doesn't trust the gang since they lied to her, choosing instead to align herself with Connor for the time being. Wesley feels played by his romantic partner.

Recently, I've really been playing up the quality of Angel over BtVS but something about how this new story line is developing feels... off? I'm not sure what it is but it just feels a bit messy and confusing. I'm glad she's finally back (those cloud scenes were terrible) but I don't like her character reintroduction. She quickly aligns herself with this strange little kid who can't protect her, despite the fact that she knows that she was friends with Angel and the gang. Hopefully this gets cleaned up because I'm not looking forward to some weird Cordy and Connor versus the gang showdown or whatever this is setting up.

Wes and Lilah's relationship is... intriguing. It's like they know it's dangerous and that's why they enjoy it. Wes continues to feed information to the gang but seems extremely reluctant to ever come back. I'm assuming, as the season goes on, we'll see him slowly rejoin Angel's side but for now, he's off doing his own thing. We'll see what's next.
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2/10
Just poor in all respects
babler-7936918 December 2021
On my last rewatch I was completely shocked at how poor every aspect of this episode. The lighting is hideous, the cinematography is bizarre, the score is just off. In general it looks like something filmed with a cheap camcorder. The amnesia premise is clunky in its execution and the script is just strange. It also has this really disgusting and irrelevant monster of the week rolled into it to stretch out the episode's runtime. It's just incredibly lazy. The only reason I give it a 2/10 is because it does reach the threshold of being so bad that it's hilarious.
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5/10
Slouching towards the mediocre
Joxerlives15 March 2012
Warning: Spoilers
SLOUCHING TOWARDS BETHLEHEM

The Good; Like Connor's vamp hunting and some of the humour with amnesiac CC especially Gunn refusing to be a sidekick (having been the Alpha-dog all summer). For me the Wes/Lilah stuff saves this ep for me.

The Bad; Much I'm afraid, especially the stupid looking client Gunn had in the hotel 5 minutes after he is unexpectedly back from Vegas. Also the vamp Connor sets on fire seems to burn very quickly compared to Dru and Darla who were soaked with a lot more petrol.

Best line: Amnesiac Cordy; "I was popular. Well no surprise there"

Apocalypses: 5

Angel Clichés In disguise; 8

DB get's his shirt off; 12

Cordy's tatt; twice, once when Angel pulls her off Lorne and once during the fight with WR&H's goons. 12

Fang Gang in bondage: Lorne seems to spend most of this season knocked out and tied up to something Cordy: 5 Angel: 12 Wes: 6 Gunn; 4 Lorne; 4 Fred; 2

Fang gang knocked out: poor old Lorne really seems to be getting it lately Cordy: 12 Angel: 15 Wes: 5 Doyle; 1 Gunn; 1 Lorne; 4 Groo; 1

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

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

Alternate Fang Gang: amnesiac CC Cordy: 3 Angel: 9 Fred; 1

Characters killed: 46

Recurring characters killed; 8;

Total number of Angel Investigations: not going to count Cordy just yet so 4 Angel, Gunn, Fred, Lorne

Angel Investigations shot: Angel: 11 Wes; 1

Packing heat; Wes; 6 Doyle; 1 Angel; 3 Gunn; 1

Notches on Fang Gang bedpost: Cordy: 4 ?+Wilson/Hacksaw Beast+Phantom Dennis+Groo 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: Wes and Lilah at it again (doesn't she think to shower after sex?). I actually think the whole dollar thing is utterly charming. And of course Lilah's right, she played Wes but he betrayed her. Also in a sign of things to come Connor grabs one of CC's breasts in bed.

Captain Subtext; Lorne has been borrowing CC's lingerie for a 'friend'?

Know the face, different character; 4

Parking garages; 5,

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; CC appears to think that she is actually a character in Alias which was Buffy's great rival at the time (but never came close despite Jennifer Garner's obvious loveliness and Amy Acker/Roger Moore guest starring). Gunn's fear of rats occurs again, Wes once again starts to take steps back into AI, it's actually Gunn who's more hostile to him than Angel (Wes can't help needling them about getting CC back only to immediately lose her again). Connor seems to be living quite well on the street but I guess if he survived Kortath (or however you spell it?) he can survive LA. And probably steals the vamp's stuff after killing them. He is lonely however and misses being part of AI. CC sings The Greatest Love of All which she also sang in Buffy's The Puppet Show. I freeze framed my DVD but unfortunately there's no one I recognise from SDH in CC's yearbook.

Marks out of 10; 5/10 very static, stupid demon, Lilah and Wes and CC's performance largely saves this one for me.
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5/10
First impressions of s4e4
antonemilamundsen2 January 2024
Warning: Spoilers
Cordelia is back. Yaaaaay............ Well she's sort of back, and the A plot of this episode is just following a Cordy with no memories, and it's really stale, predictable and boring. The only interesting thing from that part of the episode is the setup of an impending doom from Lorne, who continues to be one of the characters pulling the most weight on this show, especially compared to his screen time.

And that's where we arrive at Gunn. Yes, Charles, you *are* a sidekick. And not even a good one. Charles Gunn has been really hotheaded this season, and if I were Angel, I would not see the use of him. They keep saying he is crucial for his muscle, but I do not see any situation where he would be needed when Angel, supposedly, is superhuman. In fact, it would only serve to make Angel even cooler, if they allowed him to tackle larger groups of enemies, and not constantly needing the assistance of his non-vampire friends. Keep in mind, Buffy is superhuman, and that's how she's so good at tackling demons and vamps. She's on an even playing field with them, strength wise, and superior to them strategically. Gunn should have his ass handed to him in most episodes, if he weren't written as unrealistically.

Anyways. Wesley is awesome, as ever. He remains the most interesting pawn in the game that is Angel season 4, and I can't wait to see how far they take him down this dark road.
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