"Over the Rainbow" is episode 20 of season 2 in the television show ''
Angel
In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God.
Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...
'', originally broadcast on the
WB network
Network, networking and networked may refer to:
Science and technology
* Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects
* Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks
Mathematics
...
. This episode begins immediately where the
previous ends:
Cordelia
Cordelia is a feminine given name. It was borne by the tragic heroine of Shakespeare's ''King Lear'' (1606), a character based on the legendary queen Cordelia. The name is of uncertain origin. It is popularly associated with Latin '' cor'' ( geni ...
has been inadvertently sucked into a dimensional portal. She ends up as a slave in an alternate world called Pylea, until her owners learn of her
precognitive
Precognition (from the Latin 'before', and 'acquiring knowledge') is the purported psychic phenomenon of seeing, or otherwise becoming directly aware of, events in the future.
There is no accepted scientific evidence that precognition is a ...
visions. Back in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
,
Angel
In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God.
Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...
,
Wesley and
the Host attempt to rescue Cordelia, while
Gunn Gunn may refer to:
Places
* Gunn City, Missouri, a village
* Gunn, Northern Territory, outer suburb of Darwin
* Gunn, Alberta, Canada, a hamlet
* Gunn Valley, a mountain valley in British Columbia, Canada
* Gun Lake (British Columbia), a Canadi ...
discovers he has alienated his old street gang.
Plot
The group
The Group may refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Group'' (Australian TV series), 1971 situation comedy produced by Cash Harmon Television for ATN7
* ''The Group'' (Canadian TV series), 1968–70 music variety on CBC Television
* ''The Group ...
realizes Cordelia has been sucked into Lorne's home dimension of Pylea, which Lorne says he was glad to leave. Caritas, the bar he runs, was once the abandoned building where the portal from Pylea opened up. Angel reads from the book to reopen the portal, but it fails to open; Wesley's researching discovers that the portal can only open in hot spots and Caritas is currently cold. Lorne seeks help from a psychic friend in order to find a hot spot, but she won't provide the information until he agrees to go with the others to finish his business in Pylea. Two lawyers from
Wolfram & Hart appear at Angel's hotel, informing Angel that the law firm plans to buy the hotel when the current lease expires. Angel vamps out and lawyers take their leave, but not before threatening to make Angel's life difficult. Angel leaves a message on an answering machine with information about saving the hotel in case they don't make it back from Pylea.
Cordelia finds herself in a new dimension, where she is chased down and captured by a demon who declares her a "cow", or human slave. Her demon owner forces her into a collar that can be used to shock her when she doesn't obey. As she later mucks out the stables, wondering aloud if she can remove the collar, a runaway slave warns her through a hole in a wall that she shouldn't bother fighting. Cordelia is unable to see that the woman is
Fred
Fred may refer to:
People
* Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name
Mononym
* Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French
* Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Frederico Ro ...
from her vision, crazy after all her years in Pylea. Before any more information can be exchanged, Fred is caught and taken away. Later, Cordelia follows her owner, carrying purchases from the market, until a vision causes her to fall and drop everything. She reveals she saw a villager being attacked by a Drokken in her vision, and a crowd draws, declaring her cursed. Cordelia is brought before Constable Narwek and explains she has
precognitive
Precognition (from the Latin 'before', and 'acquiring knowledge') is the purported psychic phenomenon of seeing, or otherwise becoming directly aware of, events in the future.
There is no accepted scientific evidence that precognition is a ...
visions.
Angel pulls his car up to the gate of a movie studio lot, following Lorne's information that it is a psychic hot spot. Although Gunn had earlier stated that George's death made him realize he's needed in this dimension, Angel's depressing phone message persuades him to join the mission. Wesley reads from the book, and with final good-byes to L.A., Angel drives his car through the portal. The book falls onto the sidewalk as the car vanishes. As the car arrives in daytime Pylea, Angel rushes to cover himself before realizing the two suns are not fatal to vampires. Happy and amazed, Angel goes off to gather branches to hide the car while enjoying the rare opportunity to be in sunlight. After covering the car, the guys realize that the book is gone and that they'll have to find another way to get back home. In town, Lorne advises that they stay to the shadows, as humans are treated as slaves. The Host tries to get help from an old friend but is met with bad reception. Chased by villagers, the gang is eventually caught and tied up in the middle of town.
After the Constable arrives, Lorne is taken away for questioning while the rest are chained in a dungeon until they are sentenced. In the dungeon, the guys brainstorm for escape plans and then with his vampire hearing, Angel overhears a conversation about Cordelia and her "sight." Guards bring Angel, Gunn, and Wesley to the Constable, who announces they will all be killed. For their death sentence, they are brought before the Princess of Pylea... Cordelia.
Production details
Production designer Stuart Blatt says the ''Angel'' location department had found a movie ranch with a standing set for a "
Tijuana
Tijuana ( ,["Tijuana"](_blank)
(US) and [< ...]
town," which they dressed for the Boxer Rebellion scenes of "
Darla" and used again for the village of Pylea. He says, "it just so happens that the Chinese province town which looked a lot like Mexico also happens to look a lot like England, or Pylea or any other medieval pseudo Euro-space, alternative dimension with two suns kind of world". The set designers added timbers to the existing clay buildings, put thatching on the roofs, and created stalls for merchants and vendors. Blatt says their animal wranglers brought in "medieval chickens and goats and pigs and yaks" and old chariots were reconstructed to create the vehicles.
The scene in which Angel opens the portal to Pylea was shot outside
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
, where the series is filmed.
Alternate version
The opening scene for this episode is missing on the Region 1 DVD release: The "Previously On Angel" segment led directly into the teaser for this episode, and featured Angel, Wesley and The Host surprised to find Cordelia has vanished into the portal with Landok. They immediately begin searching for her, and the scene cuts to Cordelia's current location on Pylea. This scene is missing because the Region 1 DVD release of season 2 does not feature any of the "Previously On Angel" segments, but the scene and segments are intact on the Region 2 and Region 4 DVD releases.
Writing
Despite fan speculation that the Pylea episodes were due to
Julie Benz
Julie Benz (born May 1, 1972) l is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Darla on ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and ''Angel'' (1997–2004), and as Rita Bennett on '' Dexter'' (2006–2010), for which she won the 2006 Satellite Awar ...
being unavailable for the conclusion of the Darla storyline, writer
Tim Minear says the writers decided they were "weary of the Darla drama" and wanted the finale to be something "totally unexpected" instead. Julie Benz confirmed that she left because the writers had "played out the storyline as much as possible."
Acting
This episode is the first appearance of eventual ''
Lost
Lost may refer to getting lost, or to:
Geography
*Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland
* Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US
History
*Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...
'' actor
Daniel Dae Kim
Daniel Dae Kim (born Kim Dae-hyun ( ko, 김대현); August 4, 1968) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Jin-Soo Kwon in ''Lost'', Chin Ho Kelly in ''Hawaii Five-0'', Gavin Park in ''Angel'', and Johnny Gat in the ''Saints Row'' ...
as Gavin Park, who became a recurring character in the third and fourth seasons.
Cultural references
*
Over the Rainbow: The episode's title is a reference to the famous song written for ''
The Wizard of Oz''.
* After arriving in Pylea, Cordelia taps the heels of her shoes together three times, which is what Dorothy did when she was sent home, in the movie, ''
The Wizard of Oz''
*Among the things he lists as things he'd rather have to do instead of return to his home dimension, Lorne says "I'd rather sit through a junior high school production of ''
Cats
The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of t ...
''." Lorne's dislike for the works of
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, ...
was made known in ''
Reprise
In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any repea ...
''.
Reception and reviews
The "Pylea" arc, which begins with this episode and concludes with the season finale, "
There's No Place Like Plrtz Glrb
The second season of the television series ''Angel'', the spin-off of ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', premiered on September 26, 2000 on The WB and concluded its 22-episode season on May 22, 2001. It maintained its previous timeslot, airing Tuesdays ...
", appears ninth on Slayage.com's list of the top 10 episodes of Angel. Charisma Carpenter was praised for demonstrating "true strength as a comedic actress." However,
UGO Networks
UGO Entertainment, Inc. was a website that provided coverage of online media in entertainment, targeting males aged 18–34. The company was based in New York, New York, United States.
History
The company started in 1997 as Unified Gamers Online ...
felt that the episodes were "something of a disappointment" because the "
Dungeons & Dragons
''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical Studies Rules ...
style world" of Pylea broke the dark tone that had been established.
References
External links
*
{{Angel episodes
Angel (season 2) episodes
2001 American television episodes
Television episodes about slavery