A New World

"A New World" is the twentieth episode of the third season of Angel and the sixty-fourth episode in the series. Written by Jeffrey Bell and directed by Tim Minear, it was originally broadcast on May 6, 2002, on The WB network.

Synopsis[]

Angel's son Connor is brought back from the Hell dimension a feral teenage warrior, and is hellbent on vengeance against his father for his evil past.^[1]

Summary[]

Connor, just returned from Quor'toth, fires wooden stakes at Angel using a multi-barreled gun. Angel dodges the stakes. Gunn and the Groosalugg attack him, but he beats them back. Connor demonstrates that he has super powers comparable to Angel's. Angel wins the fight, however, and pins Connor to the floor with a knife at his throat. He then lowers the knife and offers Connor a hand up. Connor skitters away and runs outside into the daylight, where Angel cannot follow.

Gunn and the Groo pursue, but when, Connor runs out into the street, they are stopped by Los Angeles traffic. Connor jumps on top of a passing bus and escapes. Gunn remembers that the bus Connor hopped was number 17. Fred determines that the 17 bus will go to Union Station. Angel leaves for the sewers, hoping to meet Connor there.

The remaining Angel Investigations team members soon realize that the dimensional rift to Quor'toth is still open. Cordelia and Groo remain to guard the rift, while Gunn and Fred hit the streets to search for Connor. Fred suggests Wesley may know how to close the rift, but Gunn reveals to her that he went to Wesley to learn how to save her from the sluks but Wesley made it clear none of them are to expect his help again. Lorne leaves to find an acquaintance who might be able to help close the rift.

Lilah knocks on Wesley's door and enters uninvited. Wesley knows she plans to offer him a job, and she does. When he refuses, she makes him a gift, a 16th century edition of "The Inferno" by Dante in the original Tuscan. She reminds him, according to Dante, the worst spot in Hell is reserved for the traitor Judas Iscariot. The comparison is not lost on Wesley, as Lilah remarks he is no longer too good to work at Wolfram & Hart.

Connor leaps off the top of the number 17 bus.

In the sewers, Angel calls Fred and Gunn by cellphone. Angel predicts that Connor will not ride the bus to the end but will look for a less populated place. Gunn says Connor's dress is attracting attention, so his movements are easy to trace. Angel reminds them that Connor is his son and must stay alive.

Connor overhears a conversation under a freeway bridge. A girl is trying to trade three music CDs to a young man for heroin. He refuses to take the CDs. She complains and he wrestles her into his car. Connor jumps down from the bridge and approaches the drug dealer, who is bemused by Connor's odd dress. He whistles and three thugs appear from behind the columns of the freeway bridge. One of them knocks Connor down with a crowbar. The drug dealer orders his henchmen to "get rid" of Connor, whom he assumes is dead.

Connor, who has been playing possum, leaps up and attacks the thugs. When they are all unconscious, the girl rifles the drug dealer's pockets and steals his cash and a small amount of heroin. She urges Connor to leave the scene before the police show up. Connor rips the drug dealer's ear off "so he won't forget [Connor]."

At the Hyperion Hotel, Cordelia and Groo are keeping watch over the dimensional rift. Cordelia, aware of the Groo's feeling that he might be inferior to Angel and that Cordelia might prefer Angel to him, gives him reassurance. As they kiss, an electric charge strikes them and they are flung in opposite directions.

Angel, Fred, and Gunn visit the scene of Connor's escapade, where the police are now investigating. Angel instructs Gunn and Fred to return to the hotel while he continues the search for Connor alone.

Connor and Sunny go to an abandoned motel. She finds a man behind the first door she tries, so she goes upstairs, where she soon finds an unoccupied room where she plans for Connor and herself to spend the night. She finds clothing for Connor, then pulls a few snack food items out of her purse. As the two eat, Sunny explains that she takes medicine (heroine) she gets from Tyke, the drug dealer, because it helps her when she is sad.

Gunn and Fred return to the hotel to find Cordelia and Groo unconscious on the floor.

Sunny asks Connor why he is in Los Angeles. Connor says he came there to find his father. She says she came there to escape her father. She kisses Connor, then leaves saying she will be right back.

Wesley is using a laptop computer. He glances at the book Lilah gave him.

Connor, dozing off, is suddenly awakened by a police siren. He looks for Sunny. He finds her in another room in the motel, by a bathtub, dead, with a needle in her arm. He picks up the packet of heroin Sunny used, and understands. As he stands and turns, he sees Angel in the doorway. Connor refuses to talk, but Angel follows him back to the room Sunny and Connor were sharing. He sees Connor sniffing a jacket that Sunny took from Tyke. Angel guesses that he intends to hunt down and kill Tyke. The two come to blows. Connor tells Angel his name is Steven.

Cordelia and Groo have recovered consciousness. Fred finds a book with a picture of the beast Connor killed. The book says the creature usually has a mate. Since Lorne has not returned, Fred suggests Wesley might help, but Cordelia demurs. Fred says she intends to call Wesley anyway, but Gunn orders her not to do so. Lorne enters with Mistress Myrna, who is a specialist in dimensional magic.

Angel cautiously talks to Connor, trying to start a conversation. Angel says he couldn't find a way into Quor'Toth. Connor replies that he found a way out. When Angel says Connor must have many questions, Connor says that his father, by which he means Holtz, told him everything. He challenges Angel to show him the demon face. Angel does so, saying he hopes Connor will be able to accept that part of him someday.

Tyke, carrying a handgun, enters with several henchmen. He asks about Sunny. Angel wants to talk, saying there is no need for violence, but Tyke strikes him, saying he doesn't hear very well anymore. One of Tyke's henchmen finds Sunny and reports that she is dead. Tyke demands his property back. Another of his henchmen reports that the police are at the motel.

Mistress Myrna closes the opening to Quor'Toth, which she calls "a tear in reality, a big cosmic no-no," then immediately leaves.

Angel and Connor get the jump on Tyke and his men. The police hear the disturbance and move toward the room with weapons raised. Tyke seizes Connor, intending to use him as a human shield. Angel volunteers to take Connor's place. The police break in with axes. Tyke shoots at them and in the process releases Connor.

During the ensuing gun battle, Angel tells Connor to flee out the window. A policeman enters. As Angel tries to escape, the policeman shoots him in the back. The policeman is distracted by Tyke. Angel gets up and escapes together with Connor. On the street below, Angel suggests that Connor come back to the hotel with him. Connor is impressed with Angel's heroics, but declines the offer.

In an alleyway, Connor finds Holtz, much older now.

Continuity[]

• Lilah says that "Wolfram & Hart has the finest library of mystical, occult, and supernatural reference material in the world". This is seen in "Home."
• Connor uses the name Steven, the name Holtz gave him in "Sleep Tight."
• Holtz says that he and Connor were brought back by "forces beyond [their] control." This implies that the Powers That Be may have had a hand in bringing Connor back as a part of the chain of events that lead to Jasmine's birth, as explained in "Shiny Happy People."

Appearances[]

Individuals[]

• Angel
• Winifred Burkle
• Cordelia Chase
• Connor
• Krevlornswath of the Deathwok Clan
• Groosalugg
• Charles Gunn
• Caroline Holtz (Only mentioned)
• Daniel Holtz
• Daniel Holtz Jr. (Only mentioned)
• Sarah Holtz (Only mentioned)
• Lilah Morgan
• Myrna
• Sunny
• Tyke
• Wesley Wyndam-Pryce
• Unidentified demon (The Price) (Only mentioned)

Organizations and titles[]

• Angel Investigations
• Los Angeles Police Department
• Seer
• Witch

Species[]

• Demon
  • Bur beast (Only mentioned)
  • Deathwok Clan
  • Sluk (Only mentioned)
• Half-demon
• Human
• Vampire

Locations[]

• Earth
  • Los Angeles
    • Hyperion Hotel
    • Sunny's apartment
    • Wesley Wyndam-Pryce's apartment
• Quor'toth (Only mentioned)

Objects[]

• 926MEA
• Stake
• Stake gun

Death count[]

• Sunny, died by drug overdose.
• Tyke's minions, shot by the police.

Behind the scenes[]

Production[]

• The character Sunny may be a reference to a character by the same name in The Catcher in the Rye. Both girls are poor teenagers who are encountered by adolescent men in times of need dealing with existential crises (Connor and Holden Caulfield). While Sunny from the novel is a prostitute, Sunny from the episode is a drug addict.
• The name of guest star Keith Szarabajka is reserved to appear only in the end credits, making sure the audience is surprised when Holtz shows up at the end of the episode.

Broadcast[]

• "A New World" had an audience of 3.1 million households upon its original airing.^[2]

Pop culture references[]

• Lilah gifts Wesley with the Inferno volume of Dante Alighieri's poem Divine Comedy. They discuss Judas Iscariot, a disciple who betrayed Jesus, being in the worst spot of hell according to the book.
• Fred identifies two reports on "Robin Hood," a comparison to Connor's way of dressing with the outlaw character.

Music[]

• Robert J. Kral — original score

International titles[]

• Czech: "Nový svět" (New World)
• Finnish: "Uusi maailma" (New World)
• French: "Un nouveau monde" (A New World)
• German: "Eine neue Welt" (A New World)
• Hungarian: "Az új világ" (The New World)
• Italian: "Un nuovo mondo" (A New World)
• Portuguese (Brazil): "Um Mundo Novo" (A New World)
• Russian: "Новый мир" (New World)
• Spanish (Latin America): "Un nuevo mundo" (A New World)
• Spanish (Spain): "Un nuevo mundo" (A New World)
• Turkish: "Yeni Bir Dünya" (A New World)

Gallery[]

Promotional stills[]

References[]