"The Trial" is episode 9 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 ...

''. The episode was written by

Doug Petrie Douglas Petrie is an American screenwriter, director, and producer. Best known as a writer, director, and co-executive producer on ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. He co-wrote the screenplays for the ''Fantastic Four'' film and ''Harriet the Spy'' ...

and Tim Minear with a story from

David Greenwalt David Greenwalt (born October 16, 1949) is an American screenwriter, director, and producer. He was the co-executive producer of the TV series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and co-creator of its spinoff, ''Angel''. He is also co-creator of the sh ...

and directed by

Bruce Seth Green Bruce Seth Green is an American television director. Green's credits include ''Knight Rider'', ''Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'', ''Babylon 5'', ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', ''Angel'', ''Dawson’s Creek'', ''Gilmore Girls'', ''Law & Orde ...

, this episode was originally broadcast on November 28, 2000 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 ...

. In "The Trial", Darla discovers that she is again terminally ill with syphilis, which was killing her before she was made a vampire in 1609. She begs

to turn her back into a vampire to halt the disease's progress, but instead he engages in a series of mysterious trials to attempt to win Darla a second chance at life.

Plot

Gunn has located Darla at the Royal Viking Motel, but Lindsey has gotten to her first. Lindsey and Holland confront Darla with information about her health. Darla reveals to Angel that she is terminally ill and only has a few months left to live. Angel visits Lindsey, who reveals that Darla is dying from

syphilis Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms of syphilis vary depending in which of the four stages it presents (primary, secondary, latent, an ...

. The Host, Lorne tells Angel that the only way to save Darla is for Angel to survive three trials to save Darla's life. Angel is advised by a valet, Jeeves, before being left in a room to fight unarmed against a large demon that has weapons. Angel slices the demon in two and chains the pieces to opposite sides of the room. For the second trial, Angel must cross through a room with crosses covering the walls and floors and fish a key out of a bowl filled with holy water. Finally, Angel is chained spread-eagle before a wall of wooden stakes and told that the third trial requires him to die in order for Darla to live. Angel is willing to give his life, and that is enough to pass the test. Jeeves discovers that he is unable to cure Darla's syphilis as she had already been given her second chance at life through supernatural means. Furious, Angel attacks the room that surrounds them. Upon returning to the surface, Darla accepts her fate and Angel is there to support her. Lindsey and several large men break into the room and restrain Angel and Darla. Drusilla returns and while Angel watches, she makes Darla a vampire, again.

Production details

Production designer Stuart Blatt says, "The long hallway we built with the crosses emblazoned on the floor and embedded on the walls was one of my favorite sets we'd ever done."

Acting

Actress Julie Benz says she suffers "horrible stage fright" when trying to sing. Executive Producer

convinced her she could do it; she claims it "took a lot of courage for me to go in and do it, 'cause I am not a singer."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Trial, The Angel (season 2) episodes 2000 American television episodes Television episodes written by David Greenwalt Television episodes written by Tim Minear Television episodes set in France