Immortal Sins I

Episode 2.17

Teaser

Deep in the cavernous depths beneath their Granada Hills mansion, members of the Gathering begin a ritual to open a "gate" that will tear down the walls between the Earth and the demon dimensions. They also prepare a spell to prevent the slayers from stopping them--and a key ingredient in that spell is the kidnapped Buffy.

Act One

Faith confronts Connor about why he missed his shift at the convent, allowing Tammy Pitts to leave so that Faith was forced to kill her to prevent her capture by Wolfram and Hart. Connor's defense of himself is very blasé, but one point is clear: he is finished with the champion business. Although Faith is worried about him, she must devote her time to finding a way to keep the Gathering's gate closed.Aiden tells her her best bet is the Dagger of Nyazians, which will permanently seal the the walls between Earth and the demon dimensions. Unfortunately, only Connor can wield the Dagger, and he isn't interested. Moreover, the Dagger has been missing since it was stolen from Angel's storage garage.

Gunn returns to L.A. from England via San Antonio, Texas, where he tells Fred's parents about her death. On the way to his car, Gunn is attacked by Black Ops soldiers from Wolfram and Hart.

Professor Roth has been attempting to study the Nyazian Scroll since the "signs" predicted by the Scroll appeared. She realizes her copy of the Syndicate notes were stolen by Willis. Luckily, she has a copy ofGiles' new translation notes on the Scroll that were sent to Aiden. In a flashback, we discover that long ago, Melanie Roth used the powers granted to her by the Anunnaki to find a cure for her father's cancer.

K'shan informs Illyria that Connor is now under the influence of the Anunnaki, who have driven Connor so far into despair over his fate and his life that he has become vulnerable to the temptations of an ordinary existence. Illyria heads out to purge herself of all lingering "humanity" prior to transforming physically back into the original demon form of Illyria. 

Act Two

Aiden tells Faith that Illyria plans to perform the Ritual of Gavrok. Faith decides she must steal the Box of Gavrok before Illyria can complete the ritual. Illyria checks into the room Fred once lived in at the Hyperion Hotel and begins a ritual where she vividly confronts what is left of "Fred" inside her. Faith sends Rona and a team of slayers to the Gathering mansion to investigate how far the demons have progressed in their ritual to open the gate.

Angel returns from his convalenscence. He and Spike are concerned that Buffy, who was scheduled to arrive that day, has not been heard from. After Faith gives Angel her impressions of Connor, though, Angel decides to look in on his son. Spike heads out to track down Buffy. Faith goes to the airport to pick up Gunn.

The cross-reference of the Prophecies of Aberjian and the Nyazian scroll which Wolfram and Hart pulled out of Gunn's head reveals Giles' theory that Connor is Angel's Shanshu, meaning their interpretation of the Prophecies of Aberjian predicting Angel would aid the Senior Partners are most likely not true. The bigger threat is Connor, who is prophecied to wield the Dagger of the Nyazians, which, among other things, will effectively cut off the Partners from Earth. Lilah sends assassins to kill Connor.

Act Three

Angel finds Connor at his girlfriend Tracy's apartment. Connor is unconcerned about the demons that only days ago were attempting to ruin his life and kill him. Angel suspects that Connor is under the influence of a spell, a fact Professor Roth confirms with Willis when he visits her at her home. Willis has no reason to doubt it--the corruption of Connor Reilly has given the Anunnaki enough power to crack the walls of their prison dimension. It is only a matter of time before they escape to enslave humankind.

In a flashback, we discover that Melanie Roth's attempts to use her powers come with a price--her father survived his cancer only to spread misery upon everyone around him. Melanie poisons her father to stop him, and discovers that correcting her mistakes is as bad as making them in the first place.

Angel realizes he must to something to help Connor, and retrieves the Amulet of Bel'iqi from the Slayer Council suite. Faith informs Angel that Buffy has been found at the Gathering mansion and that Spike has gone to rescue her. Angel decides to join him, and asks Faith for the assistance of one of slayers in helping Connor. Angel takes the Amulet of Bel'Iqi to Caritas. The slayer sent by Faith does not appear, so Angel gives it to Alix instead. It is Angel's hope that the Amulet will break Connor out of his spell, and that the Luna Coven will locate the Dagger of the Nyazians, allowing Connor to stop the Gathering at the mansion.

Act Four

Faith drives herself and Gunn to the Hyperion. There, the vestiges of Fred inside Illyria put up a brave fight against Illyria's attempts to destroy her. The hotel staff get into the room, but aren't sure how to stop the mayhem Illyria's ritual is causing. Gunn insists to Faith that he must confront Illyria on his own. Faith heads out to the mansion.

Aiden discovers a way to keep the Gathering's gate closed that does not rely on the Dagger of the Nyazians. Unbeknownst to him, the information has been fed to him by Wolfram and Hart to prevent Connor from using the Dagger. Before Aiden can call Faith about his discovery, he seizes up and passes out from his abuse of the potion he took to increase his knowledge.

Alix arrives at Tracy's and puts the Amulet of Bel'Iqi on Connor, then ties him up in her car. She is attacked by an Anunnaki minion guarding Connor from Gathering assassins, but Mary the slayer appears and kills the minion so Alix can be on her way.

Episode 2.18 summary