A demon attacks a train full of commuters, but it is normally a peaceful creature. Angel investigates what has made it change nature, and the trail leads to Lockley's father.
Three efforts and three hits for Tim Minear as he scores once again for this gradually building but extremely effective story that leaves both Kate and Angel in a similar position: their fathers have both been killed by vampires. Although there's no real link between the flashbacks to Angel's early vampiric life and the main story (in fact the flashbacks seem to mainly be present to bolster a thin plot), it's good to see events that have been referenced previously in Buffy, not to mention how good it is to have Darla back, albeit temporarily.
Minear really seems to be giving the Lockley/Angel relationship a good working over, though. As the detective starts to allow herself some closeness to Angel, events send her the opposite way once more. Although she fights on the vampire's side in the end, things still aren't over between them. It's much more interesting to see this than just having them get romantically involved, and Elisabeth Rohm puts in some good acting work as she tries to sort out her feelings.
The demon drug lord plotline never quite takes off, exisiting more as a catalyst for the relationship shake-up and an excuse for a great fight sequence at the end when Angel really shows what he's got and Kate gets to do some dusting and confront the killers of her father. It's all over a little too easily, but it doesn't marr a story that's got a lot going on in it. Although Wesley and Cordelia are a little sidelined, they still have their moments, and a closer focus on Angel is doing wonders for building him as a strong lead character. Let's hope this keeps up, although as the next episode seems to be the Angel WWF Smackdown, I'm a little dubious...
****
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