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Disharmony

"Disharmony" is the seventeenth episode of the second season of Angel television show and the thirty-ninth episode in the series. Written by David Fury and directed by Fred Keller, it was originally broadcast on April 17, 2001, on The WB network.

Synopsis

Angel and his reunited crew try to foil the plans of a vampire cult leader, but Cordelia becomes distracted when her old high school friend-turned-vampire Harmony comes to town after her break-up with Spike and wants to help in the fight.[1]

Summary

Angel has a difficult time adjusting to the new situation at Angel Investigations where he is bossed around by Wesley, Cordelia, and Gunn. He is having trouble earning back his friends' trust and atoning for his earlier behavior. Cordelia makes it clear that she is still very angry and they are no longer friends. She gets a vision that sends the men out to help some people being attacked, while Cordelia follows Angel's advice to take the rest of the night off. As she's leaving, an old friend from Sunnydale, Harmony, shows up at Angel Investigations.

The girls talk about their lives and how they've both changed, Harmony failing to mention that she's now a vampire. Harmony tells of her recent breakup, and Cordelia invites her to stay at her place while she's in town. Angel, Wesley, and Gunn find the car from Cordelia's vision, and they go to the rescue of a woman they hear screaming. The woman is saved and the three fight a vampire attacking her. Wesley notices that the green robe the vampire had been wearing has a strange symbol on it and resolves to research it further. Angel brings up Cordelia with Wesley, upset that Cordy no longer sees them as friends. He wants to buy her a gift, but Wesley says Angel cannot buy forgiveness or friendship.

Cordelia and Harmony have a great time chatting over glasses of wine. Harmony is hungry and tempted by her friend's neck. Later that night, Harmony goes to Cordelia's room while she's sleeping with the aim of feeding off her. But Cordelia is awakened by Dennis, her resident ghost. An embarrassed Harmony apologizes in such a way that Cordelia interprets Harmony's desires as sexual lust, not blood lust. Cordelia calls Willow to discuss Harmony's midnight bedroom intrusion. Willow, knowing Harmony is a vampire, understands it to be predatory, while Cordelia believes it to be amorous. The two have a confused conversation until Willow sets things straight: Harmony is not a lesbian but a vampire, and cannot be trusted. Cordelia embarrasses herself further by voicing a mild slur before she learns that Willow is now a lesbian. Harmony appears out of nowhere, just as Willow is telling Cordelia to get to safety.

Willow calls the hotel and informs Angel about Harmony. He and Wesley rush to Cordelia's rescue, bursting into her apartment with stake and crossbow ready, only to find that the ladies are gossiping together and painting each other's toenails. The men still want to stake Harmony, but Cordelia is offended by the idea. She explains that she is there to help her undead friend. Cordelia brings Harmony to the Hyperion, where she researches the symbol found on the robe. Angel, still attempting to get on Cordelia's good side, agrees that Cordy should be allowed to spend time with her friend. Harmony greatly annoys the others; breaking the computer, defacing one of Wesley's ancient books, and chewing gum loudly. She even inspires thirst for human blood in Angel, while ridiculing the pig's blood he drinks. Meanwhile, Wesley and Angel try to find other clues from Cordelia's vision, including a large bird figure.

Gunn returns, having found that a large number of humans have recently vanished off the streets. The group concludes the humans are not being taken for food, but rather to build an army of vampires, as there are no bodies.

Inside a large theater, a vampire speaks to a crowd of robed vampires about his plan — a self-actualizing pyramid system in which each vampire turns two humans into vampires and adds one human to the "blood bank," a big cage on stage that is filled with people. He has published a book that tells of his plan, called Selective Slaughter: Turning a Blood Bath into a Blood Bank.

Back at the Hyperion, Cordelia notes the symbol on the robe is similar to that of a pyramid scheme started by a (human) motivational speaker named Doug Sanders. It is assumed he has become a vampire and is continuing the scheme. Harmony accidentally spills her cup of blood onto the keyboard, prompting Wesley to demand that she leave immediately. Cordelia takes her confused friend to Caritas for advice on what path the vampire should take. After Harmony performs an off-key rendition of "The Way We Were" on stage, the Host remarks Harmony is struggling to find herself and that Cordelia will guide her to her destiny.

The guys find Cordelia at the bar and request her help in locating the building where the vampire group is meeting. Harmony tags along, convinced that her mission is the same as Cordelia's — to be good and help people. When they arrive at the theater from Cordelia's visions, Angel stops her before she can enter. So far, he's been agreeing with Cordelia on everything, determined to win back her friendship. However he decides that enough is enough and finally tells her that Harmony is evil and will turn against her. Cordelia is skeptical, saying that Harmony is her friend, and she reminds Angel that he betrayed her as well even with a soul. Angel tries to explain the difference, but Cordelia points out that in addition to the betrayal and abandonment, he gave away her clothes, which has made her very upset.

They ask Harmony to do some spying for them, since they are all too noticeable. While she goes inside, everyone else waits at the back of the building for her to let them in. Harmony sits and listens to Doug's pitch and surveys the area. She meets the group outside and tells them the situation and that there is a cage filled with people. After hearing this, they all rush in to rescue them. As soon as they enter, Harmony becomes boisterous and announces their arrival. The room appears to be empty, until a gang of vampires encircles and attacks them; Harmony has betrayed them. She thanks Cordelia for guiding her to her destiny, and conveys her happiness at finally belonging, as Doug approaches and offers to promote Harmony to a blue robe.

A fight ensues. Cordelia fights Harmony while Angel, Wesley, and Gunn take on the members of the vampire cult (most of whom have fled). Doug gets his head chopped off by Angel. Gunn and Wesley rescue the prisoners. Cordelia pulls two crossbows on Harmony but instead of killing her, she lets her leave, telling her to get out of town. Harmony immediately departs, and when Angel approaches, Cordelia, expecting an "I told you so" routine, warns him to keep quiet.

Back at the hotel, Wesley talks to Angel about his difficulties with Cordelia. Things take a sudden turn for the better as Cordelia finds a complete new wardrobe on her desk, courtesy of Angel. She hugs him and praises his taste in clothes. Though Angel is happy, Wesley is clearly disappointed.

Continuity

  • Cordelia does not forgive Angel for giving away her clothes, which he did to East Hills Teen Center in "Blood Money."
  • The bookcase in Willow's dorm room is located on the wall it was originally on. Starting from "Forever," the bookcase is on a different wall in Buffy.
  • Cordelia becomes aware of Willow's lesbianism for the first time, first revealed in the episode "New Moon Rising."
  • Cordelia's warning to Harmony to leave Los Angeles is a paraphrase of what Angel says to the vamps in "War Zone."
  • Cordelia's immediate reconciliation with Angel after he buys her new clothes is reminiscent of how she made peace with Xander when he paid for her prom dress in "The Prom."
  • While he no longer uses the wheelchair or the cane after getting shot in "The Thin Dead Line," Wesley still walks with a noticeable limp.
  • Wesley states that some vampires can sense Angel's soul, as Darla did in the episode "Darla."

Appearances

Individuals

Organizations and titles

Species

Locations

Objects

Death count

  • Two vampires, staked by Angel.
  • Two vampires, staked by Gunn.
  • Doug Sanders, beheaded by Angel.

Behind the scenes

Production

Broadcast

  • "Disharmony" had an audience of 2.5 million households upon its original airing.[2]

Pop culture references

Goofs

  • When the group finds the red bird from Cordelia's vision, the shots alternate between showing and not showing rain falling in the background.
  • In the scene with Harmony and Cordelia, when Angel and Wes bust in, Harmony's hands change positions from holding her hands up with the nail polish and down on Cordelia's leg and back several times.
  • The book that Harmony damages is supposedly "twelve centuries old." However, a close-up seems to show an antique printed book, which must be less than six centuries old.
  • When Harmony first comes in and talks to Cordelia, she has her hair in front of her shoulders, but suddenly she has it behind them. It switches back and forth several times without her touching it.
  • While the Angel team are outside the theater, in some shots it's raining, while in others it is not. The car is also getting wet in certain shots. And none of the actors are getting wet.
  • When Harmony goes in her vampire face before she says "here comes Harmony," her hair noticeably changes as well.

Music

International titles

  • Czech: "Pyramida mrtvých" (Pyramid of the Dead)
  • Finnish: "Vampyyrit Oy" (Vampires Ltd.)
  • French: "Amie ou ennemie" (Friend or Foe)
  • German: "Disharmonie" (Disharmony)
  • Hungarian: "Vezeklés" (Atonement)
  • Italian: "Vecchie amiche" (Old Friends)
  • Portuguese (Brazil): "Desarmonia" (Disharmony)
  • Russian: "Дисгармония" (Disharmony)
  • Spanish (Latin America): "Sin Armonía" (Without Harmony)
  • Spanish (Spain): "Discordia" (Discord)

Adaptations

Gallery

Quotes

Cordelia: "How come you didn't tell me about Harmony? Sunnydale's that far away you couldn't afford a little phone call?"
Willow: "Harmony? What about Harmony?"
Cordelia: "She's here, in L.A."
Willow: "Yikes. Big yikes. What happened? Did she come after you?"
Cordelia: "Yeah, she practically attacked me in my bedroom last night."
Willow: "Your bedroom, how did she..."
Cordelia: "Came in while I was sleeping. Good thing I woke up too. She was ready to jump me right there. But I think she got the message that I don't go for that sort of stuff when I shot her down."
Willow: "You wounded her?"
Cordelia: "She'll get over it. I never should have invited her to stay with me."
Willow: "Say what?"
Cordelia: "Yeah, I know. Awkward much?"
Willow: "Cordelia! Okay, we're all clear on the fact that Harmony's a vampire, right."
Cordelia: "Oh, Harmony's a vampire. That's why she... Oh, my God, I'm so embarrassed. All this time I thought she was a great big lesbo." (listens) "Oh, yeah? Really? Well, that's great. Good for you."
Willow: "Thanks for the affirmation."

References

  1. ↑ "Episode Guide." Loony Archivist. Retrieved on August 31, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Nielsen Ratings for Angel's Second Season." Nielsen Ratings for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, & Firefly. Archived from the original on July 19, 2008.