Are You Now or Have You Ever Been

"Are You Now or Have You Ever Been"
Angel episode
Episode no.	Season 2 Episode 2
Directed by	David Semel
Written by	Tim Minear
Production code	2ADH02
Original air date	October 3, 2000
Guest appearance(s)
Melissa Marsala as Judy Kovacs John Kapelos as Ronald Meeks Tommy Hinkley as The Private Investigator Brett Rickaby as Bookstore Owner Scott Thompson Baker as Actor J. P. Manoux as Frank Gilnitz David Kagen as Salesman Terrence Beasor as Older Man Julie Araskog as Over the Hill Whore Tom Beyer as Blacklisted Writer Eve Sigall as Old Judy
Episode chronology
← Previous "Judgment" Next → "First Impressions"
List of Angel episodes

"Are You Now or Have You Ever Been" is episode 2 of season 2 in the television show Angel. Written by Tim Minear and directed by David Semel, it was originally broadcast on October 3, 2000 on the WB network. In the episode, Angel (David Boreanaz) recalls a traumatic experience during the 1950s at the Hyperion Hotel.

The episode is a fan favorite and was also a personal favorite of actor David Boreanz. Writer Tim Minear said it was personally enjoyable for him to write the episode, even though he normally preferred writing longer story arcs that gradually unfolded over the course of an entire season. The episode received a favorable review from The A.V. Club.

Angel asks Wesley and Cordelia to look into the mysterious history of the abandoned Hyperion Hotel. A photograph of the hotel blends into an action shot of the hotel exterior during the 1950s, as the manager sends the bellhop upstairs to give the guest in 217 his weekly bill. The bellhop nervously makes his delivery, then runs downstairs, as Angel—the feared occupant of 217—opens the door. As the House Un-American Activities Committee hearings blare on a TV, Angel strolls through the lobby and the manager turns away an African-American family, telling them that—despite what their sign says—the hotel has no vacancies. On the second floor, heading towards his room, he observes a man banging on a door. In the background, two men share a furtive romantic moment outside a room door. Back in his room, he finds a woman pretending to be a maid. When Angel calls her bluff, she tells him that she's hiding from her boyfriend, the man earlier seen banging on a door. Angel helps her hide from him, smashing the door in his face when the man pulls a gun.

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