A New World (Angel)

Infobox Television episode
Title = A New World
Series = Angel


Caption = {Caption|}
Season = 3
Episode = 20
Airdate = May 6, 2002
Production = 3ADH20
Writer = Jeffrey Bell
Director = Tim Minear
Guests = Vincent Kartheiser
(Connor)
Andy Hallett
(Lorne)
Stephanie Romanov
(Lilah)
Mark Lutz
(Groosalugg)
Keith Szarabajka
(Holtz)
Erika Thormahlen
(Sunny)
Anthony Starke
(Tyke)
Deborah Zoe
(Mistress Meerna)
Episode list = List of "Angel" episodes
Prev = The Price
Next = Benediction

"A New World" is episode 20 of season 3 in the television show "Angel". Written by Jeff Bell and directed by Tim Minear, it was originally broadcast on May 6, 2002 on the WB television network. In "A New World", Angel's son Connor returns from the demon dimension Quor'Toth. Raised by Holtz to a feral teenage warrior, Connor seeks to kill Angel for his murderous past. Failing to do so, Connor flees from the hotel with Angel one step behind him. Lorne tracks down a sorceress to try to close the dimensional rift to Quor'Toth before other monsters emerge. Also, Wesley, living as a recluse in his apartment, gets an offer from Lilah for a job at Wolfram & Hart.

Plot

Connor fires stakes at Angel, but Angel dodges them. Everyone takes on a defensive position, and a fight breaks out between Angel, the Groosalugg, Gunn and Connor. Angel tries to reason with his son and end the violence, but Connor simply knocks Gunn and Groo out of the way and continues to fight with Angel. Focused on the fight, Angel gets the upper hand on Connor, but before he can do anything harmful to Connor, Angel stops himself. Connor takes the opportunity to run, and Angel tries to follow, but the daylight and his friends stop him.

Gunn and Groo chase after Connor as he runs across a busy street and eventually escapes on the top of a city bus. The gang gathers again at the hotel and discusses their plans for following Connor. After Fred discovers the bus's route, Angel rushes off for the tunnels and tells the rest of the gang to search on the surface. They notice that the Quor-Toth portal is still open and sparking lighting, and decide it would be a great idea to find a way to close the rift before something new shows up. Fred suggests Wesley, but Gunn firmly knocks that suggestion because he already went to Wesley and they can't go again. Fred eventually realizes that Gunn went to Wesley for information on how to save her from the slugs in "The Price".

Groo and Cordelia stay to watch the hotel, while Gunn and Fred head out to follow the bus Connor left on top of, and Lorne leaves to hunt down a solution to their portal problem. Meanwhile, Lilah shows up at Wesley's place and invites herself in. She gives him a copy of Dante's first book of "The Divine Comedy". Wesley, realizing that Lilah is there to offer him a job, refuses and tells her to get out. She turns and asks about a part of the book where Dante describes the nine circles of hell. Cruelly proving a point, she asks Wesley who is in the ninth circle, to which Wesley whispers "Judas Iscariot". She smiles, stating that the worst place in hell is reserved for those who betray, so Wesley should stop acting as if he is too good for Wolfram and Hart.

Connor watches the city around him as he rides the bus then jumps off to continue on foot. Angel and Gunn communicate by cell phone and talk about the Connor sightings Gunn is hearing about. Connor stumbles upon a woman named Sunny trying to buy drugs from a man. The dealer, Tyke, starts to hurt Sunny, and Connor shows himself, refusing to leave. Tyke calls his men out, and one knocks Connor out with a crowbar. Tyke steals Connor's necklace of trophy teeth from things he has killed and directs his men to kill Connor. Before the men can carry out the order, Connor wakes up and attacks them. A fight ensues and turns ugly when Tyke tries to shoot Connor and fails. Sunny takes Tyke's jacket and the drugs and money within, while Connor gets his necklace back and cuts off Tyke's ear for a memento.

Groo stands alert waiting for something to fall from the portal, but Cordy distracts him with talk and kisses. While they kiss, a bolt of electricity hits them from above, sending them flying apart. Gunn gets information from the police about the scene where the drug deal went badly and reports back to Fred and Angel in the shadows. Sunny leads Connor around an old abandoned motel and into a deserted room. Sunny pockets some drugs from Tyke's jacket and gives Connor some more normal clothes to change into. She shows him some of the finer things in life like chocolate and then tries to describe the drugs she takes (probably heroin).

Gunn and Fred return to the hotel and find Cordy and Groo unconscious on the floor. Connor and Sunny talk about their families and future plans, then Sunny starts to kiss him, but she stops and leaves for a moment. At his apartment, Wesley works on his laptop and briefly checks out the book Lilah left for him. Connor awakes to the sound of sirens outside and searches the room for Sunny. He finds her dead in the bathroom after she overdosed on drugs. Connor turns and runs into Angel, who immediately checks Connor for drug use. Angel wants to help him and communicate, but Connor isn't interested and would rather hunt and kill Tyke. The father and son begin to fight with each other, and Angel is forced to continuously stop Connor from trying to escape. Connor tells Angel to stop calling him Connor because his name is Steven. Angel tries to accept that.

Desperate for a solution to the portal problem, the gang try to consider options for information, and the only alternative they can think of is Wesley. Lorne finally shows up with a Mistress Meerna who is expected to help close the portal to Quor-Toth. Angel tries to talk to Connor and apologizes for everything that happened, but Connor really isn't interested in talking. He considers Holtz to be his real father and doesn't consider a vampire or Angel to be good. Tyke and his boys show up at the motel with intentions of killing Connor. Angel tries to talk rationally with Tyke and solve the problem without violence. Angry about his ear, Tyke doesn't want to talk; he just wants to kill.

Mistress Meerna explains that it's not a portal, but a tear in reality, and it concerns her. She repairs it though and leaves quickly to avoid meeting anything else that may have escaped. The police gather around the motel as Angel and Connor take on all of Tyke and his men. Tyke holds Connor as a hostage for a moment, but Angel volunteers to take his son's place, and the police distract Tyke enough for Connor to get free. The police fire numerous shots into the room, and Angel and Connor dodge them on the floor.

An officer enters the room and aims for Connor, but Angel takes the shot in his back. Connor pauses in his escape out of a window as Angel struggles to get up, and finally the two escape together. While hiding from the police on the streets, Angel tells Connor he has somewhere to go if he needs it, and he will always be there whenever Connor needs him. Connor knows he's not alone: he runs off down an alleyway where he greets a much older Holtz - the only father he has ever known.

Acting

Main 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 Burkle

Guest stars

*Vincent Kartheiser as Connor
*Andy Hallett as Lorne
*Stephanie Romanov as Lilah Morgan
*Mark Lutz as The Groosalugg
*Erika Thormahlen as Sunny
*Anthony Starke as Tyke
*Deborah Zoe as Mistress Meerna
*Keith Szarabajka as Daniel Holtz

Production

Series creator Joss Whedon explains his decision to instantly bring Connor to adulthood: "What are you going to do? Have a baby running around? I don't think so...That's the beauty of it being a fantasy show." [Citation |title=Joss Whedon: The Genius Behind Buffy |last=Havens |first=Candace |publisher=BenBella Books |isbn=1-932100-00-8 |year=2003 |pages=114 |accessdate=6/21/2008 ]

The Wilhelm scream can be heard when Connor throws a knife into the arm of one of Tyke's henchmen.

Continuity

Connor uses the name Steven, the given to him by Holtz in "Sleep Tight".

Translations

* German title: "Eine neue Welt" ("A new world")
* Italian title: "Un nuovo mondo" ("A new world")

Timing

Stories that take place around the same time in the Buffyverse:

References

External links

*

ee also