Season 4

Two words: character assassination. Need I say more?

Incredibly dark and provocative, Season 4 of Angel is one of the most divisive seasons of the series. After being rescued from his watery prison Angel works with his team to find Cordelia, who returns from the ethereal plain with amnesia, and then partners up with Wesley when a demon called the Beast wipes out Wolfram & Hart and blocks out the sun. While the Beast makes for an interesting villain, the real life pregnancy of Charisma Carpenter ends up taking the season in a bizarre direction and undermines (if not ruins) the Cordelia character. However, Eliza Dushku returns to the series and has a very good arc with Angelus, and the final arc with Gina Torres is also pretty strong. Additionally, the writers do an impressive job at tying a lot of loose ends, as well as stories from the previous seasons, into this season’s overall arc. But the Cordelia story is handled so poorly that it taints what is otherwise an incredible season. Yet despite some rather big, glaring problems, somehow Season 4 of Angel still manages to deliver an exciting and compelling (near epic) adventure.

Another good season of Angel!