Angel I Will Remember You (1999–2004) Online

This is one of the most fascinatingly emotional episodes of any show on television you'll ever watch. And consider the source: I was only a fan of Angel, never having seen Buffy. And if the events which transpire in this episode, aptly entitled "I Will Remember You", hit me that hard without any prior knowledge of Buffy+Angel's relationship, then imagine how good it is once you've experienced "Buffy" through its first few seasons.

What is so amazing is that everything leading up to the last ten minutes isn't all that great. In all actuality, it's very gooey, very melodramatic, very romantic. Which isn't what embodies "Angel" as it progresses through the years. However, the one theme that does tie all the seasons together - atonement - is in full force here. Angel makes countless difficult decisions throughout his arc on "Buffy" and "Angel", but the one he makes at the end of this glorious episode might be the toughest. It will assuredly make you weep like a little school girl, and Joss Whedon, forever the master of creating instantly relatable characters who go through times no mere mortal should endure, wouldn't have it any other way. For sheer emotional torment, this episode is up there with "A Hole in the World", "Shells", "Tomorrow", and "You're Welcome".

If your a Buffy and Angel fan, this is your episode. It's beautiful and emotional and so d*nm wonderfully, tragically, sad that I end up heartbroken every time I see it. Angel and Buffy just tear up the screen in this episode. It's basically the last time they'll be together in a romantic way and they make the most of it. (They do kiss in BTVS season five's "Forever," and season seven's "End of Days," but it's just not the same.) This episode is kind of the pay off and capstone of their relationship. You shouldn't skip it.

"I Will Remember You," corresponds with the BTVS season four episode "Pangs." In that episode, Angel goes to Sunnydale to help Buffy without letting her see him. Once she finds out that he's been in town, Buffy is furious. In "I Will Remember You" she heads to LA to confront him. Angel tries to explain that he only stayed out of sight because he didn't want to complicate things. Buffy is still hurt and angry. The two of them argue for awhile and just as Buffy is about to stomp out, a demon crashes through the window and tries to kill Angel. After a quick fight it gets away and Buffy and Angel chase after it. They go into the sewers, still bickering about their relationship. They still love each other. But they can never be together. They reaffirm the need to stay away from each other. (On a side note, the first "heartbreaking sewer talk" that Buffy refers to in this scene is in BTVS season three's "The Prom." Where Angel decides to leave Sunnydale.) Buffy and Angel split up and keep searching for the demon. Angel finds it first and, as he fights it, some of it's blood mixes with his. Suddenly, Angel is human again.

Angel heads back to his house, trying to figure out what's going on. Cordy and Doyle are stunned when he has a pulse and can walk in the sunlight. It turns out that the demon's blood had mystical healing properties. Doyle takes Angel to see some oracles who tell him that he's now human... Permantly. Angel tells Buffy and after some initial awkwardness, the two of them are sleeping together and planning their future. Angel finds out that the demon has attacked again. He and Doyle go of to fight it alone. Angel is human, though and he is nearly killed. Buffy arrives just in time to save him. Angel begins to reconsider life as a human. He can't fight evil, or help Buffy. What about all the people he could save if he was a vampire? What about that ever-brewing apocalypse? He goes back to the Oracles and asks them to make him a vampire again. They agree to take back the day. To rewind time to when Buffy first came to his office. Angel is the only one who will retain the memory of what happened. He agrees. Buffy is devastated when she learns of his decision. She begs him to take it back, but it's too late. Time resets and she forgets everything. The demon comes crashing through Angel's window for a second time, but Angel's ready for it. He quickly kills that demon and Buffy leaves LA.

There are some really good parts to this episode. I love Angel and Buffy together, so it's nice that they have one perfect day. They're so cute cuddling in bed and eating ice cream. You sort of wish they could just stay like that forever. Their farewell scene, after Angel asks the oracles to turn back time and goes home to tell Buffy, is just heart wrenching. Buffy swears that she'll remember their time together and she hugs him tightly, but when they start the day over, she's forgotten it all. Angel stares after her. He's the only one who can remember their day and my heart just break for him. Also, I get a guilty sort of enjoyment when I think of Buffy's relationship with Riley over on BTVS season four. I really don't like Riley, so it's fun to see how quickly she'd throw him over for Angel if she had the chance.

On the down side, over the next four seasons, as Angel fights to regain his humanity with that Shanshu Prophesy, I think back to this episode and wonder if Angel even WANTS to be human. In "I Will Remember You," he had everything he said wanted and he gave it up so he could keep fighting. Why would he keep it the next time? My theory (which is also shaped by season five's "Not Fade Away,") is that Angel can't go back to being a normal person again. Angel's not after humanity... He's after atonement. He doesn't want some outside force to grant him favors, he wants to be able to forgive himself. And the only way he can do that is to keep fighting evil. Angel wants redemption more than anything, even a life with Buffy. I'm not sure that I agree with his choice, but I think he'd make it again and again. Angel wants to be a champion for the White Hats, and helpless, and Buffy, and the world at large. So how can I ever get behind the Shanshu thing? It's clearly not what he's really after.

My favorite part of the episode: Angel eating every kind of food he can get his hands on. He's so happy to be able to taste chocolate and peanut butter that you have to smile. On a side note, over on BTVS Spike eats all the time. Is Spike eating in spite of his diminished ability to taste? Or can Spike simply taste food more fully than Angel? That fits in with the idea that Spike's always been a little bit different than other vampires. But, I honestly don't know. It's just an interesting thought.

I always thought the first season of Angel was its best-and this, with the possible exception of the series premiere, was my favorite episode.

If you've seen it, you know what I mean: The plot may drag a little before getting to the real heart of the matter. But it all comes down to those last few precious seconds when Angel holds Buffy tight. A moment that they both so desperately wish they could make last forever, but know it cannot.

-And then, that moment in time is gone, as if it never happened at all. All that's left is Angel's memory. His cross to bear.

Beautiful, poignant, and heart-breaking. I'll " never forget " it...

M

This is truly one of the greatest works of Angel with David Greenwalt writing. The story is so beautiful, and the whole "buffyverse" is in this one. This one of the episodes you must see. The passion between Angel and Buffy is so intense it's so painful and moving to watch. I love this episode so much as I am sure of you will too! Trust me on this one! As you might already know, one cannot understand and truly enjoy this show and Buffy if you don't have seen the episodes before! So to get the whole experience you must have seen Buffy seasons 1 - 4 and every episode of Angel before this one. The passion between Angel and Buffy makes this episodes, and both the shows truly immortal. This is truly a show of angels, and a show about an angel! Watch it!

I'll never forget - For me, Bangel died the moment 'Angel' left sunnydale. And deep down I wish that 'Buffy' had never gone to L.A. because her character is a curse to everyone's character development. I also think the episode is overrated and over-hyped, but it still doesn't make this episode any less brilliant. The whole thought of 'Angel' turning into a human was fascinating, we saw 'Buffy' helpless a few times on BTVS but we had never really seen 'Angel' that way. The 'Buffy' character did annoy me at times though, i'm glad she was in only two episodes of the show and at least she was bearable in this one, unlike in 'Sanctuary'. I also loved the 'Oracles', they were something completely new and unique, it's a big damn shame they were in only three episodes. The episode ends up one hell of a tear-jerk scene as 'Angel' realizes he can't protect 'Buffy' as a human and asks the 'Oracles' to turn back time leaving 'Angel' as the only one who remembers everything that happened. If the ending didn't get you teared up at least a little bit, means you're inhuman! DOYLE: So that's the Slayer? CORDELIA: That's our Buffy. DOYLE: Well, she seemed a little... CORDELIA: Bulgarian in that outfit? DOYLE: No, I was going to say hurt. CORDELIA: Yeah, there's a lot of that when they're together. Come on. DOYLE: Where are we going? CORDELIA: Oh, they'll be into this for a while. We still have time for a cappuccino and probably the director's cut of 'Titanic'. (9.5 out of 10)

Having watched this episode you are left sobbing and thinking "I would have been better off not knowing what they've been missing" and I really did end up sad, because now we know what these guys could have had! This episode was so beautiful, I can't help but cry. All those tender scenes between Buffy and Angel leave you with a big grin on your face and I was truly, so happy to see them like that, I really wish that they'd stayed that way forever, silly me! It's so easy for Joss to create such a wonderful image and take it back the next minute, he'd done so, frankly too many times... The end for me was devastating, Buffy screaming while crying "I'll never forget, I'll never forget" how romantically tragic it is that Angel gives a lifetime of happiness for her and to quote Rupert, "it's rather poetic"! One of the best and I promise "I'll never forget"... Leaves you down in the dumps and makes you adore Angel all over again... Truly amazing, tragic and romantic 10/10 without a question!

After Angel's secretive visit to Sunnydale, Buffy appears in Los Angeles to find out why he came to protect her. During her visit, she and Angel are both attacked by a strange demon and Angel, after being infected with the demon's blood, becomes human once again. He and Buffy spend a blissful day together, but when the demon becomes more and more persistent in its attacks, Angel comes to realize that he must sacrifice his humanity in order to protect the citizens of Los Angeles. Anybody Says Angel Isn't A Real Hero Or He's A Pansey Should Watch This. It Shows Angel Sacrificing His Humanity & Buffy So She Can Live Through The Apocalypse. There Is Nothing Funny About This Episode(Except When Angel Eats For The First Time In About 200 Years). The Part Where Buffy & Angel Start Crying In Eachothers Arms You Really See Why This Is One Of The Most Famous Episodes Of Angel. Angel Is A TV Show That Will Not Fade Away.

In Memory Of Glenn Quinn 28 May 1970-3 December 2002

I will remember you is a powerful episode dealing with the tragic love story of Buffy and human Angel getting a chance at happiness until dark forces snatch it away. What makes it powerful is their happiness is short lived when its revealed vampire Angel will be needed to stop the apocalypse and Buffy will die trying to save him. He goes to the oracles who tell him they will reset the day with him only carrying the knowledge of what went down. It carries so much wait that neither can ever truly be loved without tragedy not can they find comfort in each other's arms.

When Angel confesses to her about what happened, the music rises, their year stained face was almost to much to bear. Its absolutely beautifully shot, choreographed and leaves a lasting impression as the clock counts down.

I absolutely love this episode. It's such a good idea. The theme is really inventive.

After the last episode of Buffy The Vampire, where Angel visited Buffy in Sunnydale, Buffy returns the favor and visits Angel is Los Angeles. Whilst she's there, they both get attacked by a demon and Angel gets infected with the demon's blood. He then realizes that he has turned back into a human. A breathing, non-exploding-in-sunlight person. And the first thing he does: eats everything in sight. Then he gets to experience sunlight again, which for someone who hasn't been able to be in it in two hundred years, except for that hour or two when Spike came to visit, is really amazing. Is it weird that every time someone comes to visit Angel, he can go in sunlight? Maybe not every time, but at least twice. He and Buffy "hang out" and he realizes that he can finally be with her fully. In every way. But then, some stuff happens, and Angel gets people to turn back time, so he never got infected. He's the only one with the memory of him and Buffy getting back together.

Overall, I give this episode a 9 out of 10.

Judging by the episode's rating and the other reviews, I'm in a very very small minority here, but "I Will Remember You" ranks as the worst episode of Angel so far for me. The whole premise of teasing the tortured Angel/Buffy relationship is beyond redundant at this point, a dead horse that had already been flogged for seasons 1-3 of Buffy. They can't be together and it's sad; I get it. My investment in their romance is beyond spent at this point.

Maybe I would have loved this episode if I had ever been a "Bangel"(?) shipper to begin with, but to me it always felt incredibly hollow. Buffy was young and immature and spent way too much time pining after the dark, handsome, brooding older man she could never be with. (Echoes of a distant, neglectful father?) As far as I could tell, that's all it was. They never seemed to experience those little moments that speak to why couples gel, rebuild and reinforce their relationship. Oz and Willow got a lot of those moments, where you saw them supporting each other, taking care of each other, in small but meaningful ways. Even Cordelia and Xander's relationship had more depth. But with Buffy and Angel, it was always drama and torment; when the storms were past and they were allowed to just be, quietly, all the chemistry was sucked out of their pairing.

When Buffy was in high school I was able to accept the dynamic on its own terms. Who loves anybody for the "right" (non-hormonal) reasons in adolescence? Once you graduate and look back at those turbulent affairs with that special person without whom you never thought you could even breathe, it all seems pretty silly and melodramatic. But in the moment you're living it, it's the most important thing in the world, and the show did a good job previously of capturing that subjective reality.

Yet college-age Buffy sees Angel once and immediately melts back into that helpless puddle who can neither control herself nor resist the temptation of his dangerous allure. I think the writers did a real disservice to the character by having her regress so easily to a state of utter emotional helplessness. Now that she's an adult it just makes her look pathetic. And that's not counting all the whining she does in this episode every time Angel points out (rightfully) that they don't work together, they never will work together, and heading down that road is just going to end in heartache. Again. It's the first time I ever wanted to shout at the screen, "For God's sake, Buffy, grow up!" Hell, even vamp-Harmony had the willpower and self-respect to turn Spike away on "Pangs", the prior Buffy episode that leads into this storyline.

On a more positive note, Sarah Michelle Gellar's performance is spot-on, particularly at the climactic moment when she's despairing of their last minute together before everything is wiped away. Her sorrow and desperation is so believable it almost made me care in spite of myself.

I wouldn't be surprised if "I Will Remember You" was the result of a note from the network telling Whedon to tie the shows together for a ratings boost. David Greenwalt's heart just didn't seem in it, teleplay-wise; it felt very rushed and obligatory. Even the interactions between the Angel regulars was uninspired. I am glad, given the hints of the other reviews, that the Buffy/Angel relationship will apparently no longer be seriously revisited in the future. It brings out the worst in Buffy.

I will remember you

The Good; Love the Oracles to bits, they're just wonderful. Some great fight scenes and pretty much a Bangler's dream come true.

The Bad; If the demon can regenerate and make itself stronger through salt why doesn't it just do that all the time?

Best line: Female Oracle; "I love time, there's so much of it, yet so little"

Apocalypses: 4

Angel Clichés Damsel in distress; nope, 2.

In disguise; 2.

DB get's his shirt off; 3 not only that but SMG licks ice-cream from his chest. Really is a Banglers' dream.

Cordy's tatto;2

Cheap Angel; According to CC he's too tight to hire a cleaning lady

Fang Gang in bondage: Cordy: 5 Angel: 4 Wes: 1

Fang gang knocked out: Cordy: 8 Angel: 7 Wes: 1 Doyle; 1

Kills: Cordy: none this ep. 3 vamps, ½ a demon from her time in Sunnydale Angel: 1 demon for Angel. So that gives Angel 8 vamps, 4 demons, 2 humans.

Fang Gang go evil: Cordy: 1 Angel: 1

Alternate Fang Gang: human Angel Cordy: 2 Angel: 5

Characters killed: two plant workers but then the day resets so no one 14

Total number of Angel Investigations: 3, Angel, Doyle and Cordy

Angel Investigations shot: Angel: 5, Packing heat; Doyle; 1

Notches on Fang Gang bedpost: Buffy and Angel for the second time and it goes a whole lot better than the first. Trouble is she'll never remember any of it. Cordy: 1? Angel: 1;Buffy

Kinky dinky: Loads of Buffy/Angel action. Cordy comments that when they get 'all groiny' the world falls apart.

Know the face, different character; 2

Parking garages; 2

Buffy characters appearing in Angel; (unless someone can correct me no original Angel character ever appears on Buffy?) 5; Angel, Cordy, Oz, Spike, Buffy

Questions and observations; Cordy's family used to have a cat as well as her pony. Buffy refers to her (and presumably Dawn?) visiting their dad in LA, the last positive reference to Hank Summers we'll ever have. The only time Doyle and Buffy meet. This eps gives us a useful way in which to make vamps human, much used in fanfic as is the reset day. Question is if a non-souled vamp was hit with Mohra demon blood would it be resouled?

Marks out of 10; 6/10, literally an ep that never happened?