Angel/Recap/S02/E22 There's No Place Like Plrtz Glrb

Wesley and Gunn prepare to assault the castle with the help of the rebels. Meanwhile Cordelia has a vision of Groo being attacked by a demonic Angel.

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Tropes used in Angel/Recap/S02/E22 There's No Place Like Plrtz Glrb include:

• After-Action Patchup: Fred on Angel.
• Anguished Declaration of Love: Subverted; Cordelia rushes to stop the Angel vs. Groo fight, blurting out "I love him!" Angel is, needless-to-say, surprised. An irritated Cordy explains she's actually referring to Groo, whereupon Angel is left muttering to himself about what kind of love she's referring to.
• Anyone Can Die: Averted despite obvious candidates for death like Lorne and Groo, plus the arrival of a new team member in the form of Fred. Subverted however when all our heroes return alive, only to be faced with the news of Buffy's death.
• Badass Princess: Cordy cuts off the head of the villainous Silas. After that, no priest dares ignore the decrees of the axe-wielding Cordy.

Cordy: I have a vision. Actually I have two visions, and in one of them you keep your head.

• Big Damn Kiss: Between Cordelia and Groo.
• Big "Shut Up!"

Silas: "Silence!"

• Bizarre Demon Biology

Captain: "I will personally bury my spear in [Angel's] rump." Silas: "Captain! His heart is where a cow's is (touches his breast) here." Captain: "Disgusting."

• Blatant Lies: Landok casually strolls into the camp dragging two rebels by their necks.

Rebel: "Ah, we captured this warrior of the Deathwok clan."

• Brick Joke: "Numfar, do the Dance of Shame!" (sound of feet hitting the floor boards). Also Lorne bursting into song as he leaves, causing a pair of demons doing road work (now all their slaves have been freed) to clasp their ears in pain.
• But Now I Must Go: Groo wants Cordelia to stay and rule alongside him. Much as being a princess appeals to her, she has to return to Los Angeles and help fight evil there.
• Decapitation Presentation: Used as an excuse by Cordy to hold onto Lorne's head so she can rejoin it with his body.

Markallo: "Kaldar, remove the traitor's filthy head from our lady's august presence." Cordy: "No, no, no, no! I...like the filthy head. That is, ah, I want to defile it more! (Turns and spits on Lorne, who is playing dead) I just keep it...to spit upon, and-and-and when I grow tired of that, I-I-I will make it into ah, a planter. A traitor planter...for all to see. Or maybe a candy dish."

• Covert Pervert: Lorne's head closes his eyes and pretends to be dead. Cordelia orders a pretty female slave to take off her clothes. The eyes quickly open again.
• Cliff Hanger: An add break is preceded by Angel falling down and Groo swinging his axe down on him. Needless to say Angel manages to avoid death after the commercials.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?: Cordelia says that now the slaves have been freed, now comes the hard part — the reconstruction. She leaves it to Gunn to explain to Groo what the word means.
• Downer Ending: Our heroes return in triumph to the Hyperion, only to find Willow waiting there in somber clothing. When she doesn't respond to their surprised greeting, Angel instantly realises what's happened.

"It's Buffy"

• Dressing as the Enemy: Cordelia disguises herself as a servant to go find the Mutilation Room. Strangely averted with the palace goons despite them running around in face-concealing helmets.
• Explosive Leash: The Shock Collar has a second function. Moreover, Silas has a device that can detonate every collar in the kingdom as a last resort.
• Failed Attempt At Drama (possibly Blatant Lies): After being patched up by Fred, Angel has to leave to help his friends. Fred sadly watches him depart, then sits in her Corner of Woe until Angel pops back in.

Angel: "I...don't actually know how to get there." Fred: "Oh. (Gets up eagerly) I can show you."

• Fainting: Cordelia's first reaction on having Lorne's head talk back to her.
• Getting Crap Past the Radar

Groo: "It was worth it for one moment of your intimate touch." Cordy: "That was an accident. I-it was kind of dark and... Oh, you mean the hug."

• Golden Moment: Averted; before leaving Pylea, Angel encourages Lorne to make up with Mom. After all, she didn't leave his body on the maggot heap like Lorne supposed she would. A scratching Lorne thanks Mom for putting him on the lice heap instead, and they both end up retreating in a hail of verbal abuse because Lorne has disgraced his family all over again by helping free the slaves, so there's no-one to do all the dirty work.
• The Glomp: On discovering Groo hid Lorne's body, Cordelia hugs him enthusiastically, causing Lorne's head (carried in a metal bucket) to clank painfully against a post.
• Heroes Prefer Swords: Wesley holds an Excalibur-type sword after taking up The Chains of Commanding.
• I Just Want to Be Special: Cordelia finds out she can get rid of her visions by sleeping with the Groosalug.

Cordy: "Groo, I can't give up my visions. I like them. Okay, I don't like the searing pain and agony that is steadily getting worse." Groo: "You are pure human. You are not meant to carry such a burden." Cordy: "Maybe not. But I'm not ready to give them up either. They're a part of who I am now. They're an honor."

• Improvised Weapon: Wesley and Gunn are being held in stone stocks ready for decapitation when the soldiers attack — they use them to fight, impressing the rebels. Averted when Cordelia is carrying around Lorne's head in a bucket.

Cordy: "Do you mind if I hit him over the head with you?" Lorne: "Yes!"

• It's All My Fault: Cordy re Lorne.

Cordy: "No. Oh, no. God, please forgive me. This is all my fault. Because I pardoned you...and they...they wanted to teach me a lesson. You didn't do anything wrong."

• Kneel Before Zod: Cordy is bothered by her servants kneeling for her. As she's making her grand exit though...

Wesley: "Should people be bowing in a free society?" Cordy: [smiling] "These things take time."

• Losing Your Head: Members of the Deathwok clan can survive decapitation as long as their body isn't mutilated.
• Macho Masochism: Groo takes off his glove and holds his hand in the Challenge Torch. Cue Oh Crap look from Angel.

Angel: "This guy...he doesn't feel pain?" Fred: "Oh, he-he feels it, but...he's the Groosalug. He overcomes all things. Good luck."

• Magic From Technology

Angel: [Studying Fred's Cave Full of Crazy) "Krv... drplgr.. I know these words. These are the words we used to open up the portals." Fred: "They're not words. They're consonant representations of a mathematical transfiguration formula." Angel: (Beat) "Well, obviously." Fred: "I used to think that if you said them out loud and in the right order the quaking and quivering would..." Angel: "Oh, you mean open a portal. Well, that's how we got here and that's how we'll get back."

• The Needs of the Many

Gunn: Those men you sent to create a diversion are going to get killed. Wesley: Yes, they are. (Beat) You try not to get anybody killed, you wind up getting everybody killed.

• Neutral Female: Averted when Fred clonks the soldier spearing Angel with a big rock.
• Nightmare Fetishist: Cordelia's grovelling slave offers to cut out her tongue for offending the great princess. When Cordelia wants to know "What is it with you people and mutilation?" the slave admits quietly that they don't have much entertainment here.
• No Kill Like Overkill: The captain of the guard is sent to kill Angel.

Priest: "He is a Van-tal, a drinker of blood. He can only be killed by fire, decapitation or a wooden spear through the heart." Silas: "Perhaps all three, just to be thorough."

• Not Helping Your Case: Angel tells his friends that Fred can get them all home. Fred breaks out in Gibbering Genius mode. Wesley and Gunn don't look very convinced.
• Post Mortem One Liner

Cordy: "Your cow-princess is tired of hearing you yak, padre."

• Professional Butt-Kisser: Cordelia's servants, which she's not entirely bothered by.
• Put Their Heads Together: Angel does this to a couple of helmeted soldiers in Fred's cave, making a nice clonking sound.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: Averted; Angel's eyes go red while fighting in Fred's cave, but nothing else happens because he's too afraid of harming Fred while in Game Face.
• Reports of My Death Were Greatly Exaggerated: On being told the Host has been executed, the gang look sadly into the bucket containing his head.

Angel: "He was..." Gunn: "Yeah." Wesley: "Hmm." Lorne: (opening eyes) "That's it?" (Angel, Gunn and Wes all recoil with a scream, leaving Fred the only one still framed by the rim of the basket, peering down completely unmoved.) Lorne: "Where is the praising and extolling of my virtues? Where's the love?"

• Rousing Speech: Cordelia gives one to Groo.
• See You in Hell: Inverted; Gunn and Wesley are about to have their heads cut off, thanks to Wesley's big mouth in the previous episode.

Gunn: "I've got a plan." Wesley: "Oh thank God! What is it?" Gunn: "We die horribly and painfully, you go to Hell and I spend eternity in the arms of baby Jesus."

• Screaming Woman: Cordelia gives out a long, continuous scream when she realises Lorne's decapitated head is talking to her. Lorne patiently tells Cordy to get it out of her system, but when the scream goes on and on without stopping tells her to shut up because he no longer has the hands to cover his ears.
• Spiteful Spit / No Sympathy

Cordy: "I'm sorry about the spittle. I just had to think fast... This is just pretty unsettling for me." Lorne: "Oh, I'm sure it must be. And after all, I only lost my head!"

• Storming the Castle: Literally.
• Sublime Rhyme: "Groo, it's you!"
• Throwing Down the Gauntlet: Unaware of how Cordy and Groo have been bonding, Angel is sent to challenge Groo in a fight to the death, both to provide a distraction and draw him away from Cordelia so she can be rescued. Angel isn't happy about this because the only way he'll be strong enough to defeat this undefeated champion is to revert to his demon side.
• Trash the Set: The team drive Angel's convertible through the portal and right into the middle of Caritas, crashing through tables and ramming the bar.

Lorne: "You know I've been thinking about remodeling the bar."

• Unspoken Plan Guarantee: Averted; Wesley explains the plan beforehand, but everything goes according to plan.
• Villainous Rescue: Wes and Gunn are about to be executed by the rebels when an arrow appears in the axeman's chest and soldiers shouting "Kill the Outworlders!" attack. This both saves their lives and reassures the rebels which side they're on.
• Walk in Chime In

Sasha: "The castle is well guarded." Angel: "Unlike this place." Wesley: (as rebels draw swords) "It's alright. It's alright. He's a friend." Sasha: "Glad we were keeping watch." Gunn: "He's Angel. He does that."

• We Need a Distraction: Brutally subverted.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: A rather dark version comes from Wesley when he assures Angel that he's a man with a demon inside him, not the other way around, and can come back from the transformation he'll need to make to win the fight Wesley is sending him into. Once Angel is gone Gunn asks him if he's really sure about that, and Wesley replies that he "needs him to think it." It turns out to be true though.
• You Are in Command Now: After their leader gets killed, the rebels declare Wesley their new leader as he has a plan and knows fancy terms like "guerrilla warfare". Subverted when Wesley rises above his previous uncertainty and becomes brutally pragmatic about sacrificing both anonymous rebels and his friend Angel.

Wesley: "Why do people keep putting me in charge of things?" Gunn: "I have no idea."

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