"Why We Fight" | |
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Angel episode | |
Episode no. | Season 5 Episode 13 |
Directed by | Terrence O'Hara |
Written by |
Steven S. DeKnight Drew Goddard |
Production code | 5ADH13 |
Original air date | February 18, 2004 |
Guest appearance(s) | |
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"Why We Fight" is episode 13 of season 5 in the television show Angel. Sam Lawson, a mysterious man from Angel's past, arrives at Wolfram & Hart and takes Wesley, Fred and Gunn hostage. In a flashback to 1943, it is revealed that Angel was forcibly recruited by the Demon Research Initiative to recover a captured German U-boat with American sailors on board. The ship also has a secret cargo of three vampires: Spike, the Prince of Lies, and Nostroyev, who were kidnapped by a Nazi team. The submarine is damaged, and Lawson, the only surviving engineer, is mortally wounded. In order to save the rest of the crew, Angel makes Lawson a vampire (seemingly the only one he sired since 1898) and forces both Lawson and Spike out of the submarine to swim to shore. Sixty years later, Lawson seeks out Angel for revenge.
In 1943, a submarine crosses the Atlantic Ocean as its crew begins to panic. An officer named Lawson issues orders to the crew as an unseen creature kills their captain.
In the present, Angel's team discusses Eve's disappearance. Wesley is concerned about her threats of revenge, but Gunn thinks that the Senior Partners will take care of her for them. Angel wants to make sure that Lindsey is being punished as well, but Gunn notes that the white room is still empty, so they no longer have a link to the Senior Partners. The team is surprised that Angel lets them leave early, but, since they all still have work to do, they agree to meet again in a few hours. They split up as Lawson arrives in the building. Later, Fred encounters him in the science lab and is disturbed that he knows her name. After he dissuades her from fleeing, he claims to be an old friend of Angel's.
Back in 1943, a new agency, the Demon Research Initiative, presses Angel into joining the war effort to recover a German prototype submarine commandeered by the American military. After becoming trapped in enemy territory, the sub requires a vampire's assistance, as no human soldier can reach it. Though initially resistant, Angel realizes he has no choice. Lawson and his surviving men, who have barricaded themselves in a small section, recognize Angel's Morse code and let him in.