Angel: Rm w/a Vu (1.5)

This isn't an episode about a ghost haunting an apartment. This is an episode about Cordelia Chase, and how she fits into the Angel universe. She brought the funny in the past four episodes, the required compliment to Angel's broodiness. But, up to this point, there was little to her character beyond her dialogue and her shabby L.A. apartment. Here, Cordelia is revealed to be on a similar journey of redemption to Angel, becoming as aware of her past mistakes as her boss is, and sharing the belief that somehow she doesn't deserve anything positive due to how she treated people in the past.

The ghost of Maude Pearson is able to prey on Cordelia's newfound insecurities, and it's only after Maude calls her a 'bitch' that Cordelia realizes that she is a huge bitch; and with that bitch-dom has the strength to be a kick-ass female on the road to redemption. This is a tour de force episode for Charisma Carpenter, who is given some of her best material in the history of the Buffyverse. She also has insane levels of chemistry with David Boreanaz, especially in the scenes where they take on a sibling rivalry-type relationship after Cordy moves in with him.

Jane Espenson's script opens like a sitcom episode, with arguments about peanut butter on the bed sheets and Cordelia casually hacking up Angel's floor. It then obviously turns into a ghost story, but Espenson never loses sight of the true purpose of the episode, which is to explore Cordelia's character arc for this show. Rm w/a Vu has some stunningly funny dialogue, while balancing it all with that horrible scene where Maude bricks up her son. The Doyle subplot is expendable, but in general Rm w/a Vu is Angel's first real classic. A

Credits
Guest stars Elisabeth Rohm (Kate Lockley); Beth Grant (Maude Pearson)
Teleplay Jane Espenson Story David Greenwalt, Jane Espenson Director Scott McGinnis