Angel (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
Angel's first appearance is in "Welcome to the Hellmouth", the first episode of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" in 1997. In it, he meets the protagonist Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar), a young girl destined to fight evil in the small town of Sunnydale, California. For the first half of the season, Angel is an enigmatic love interest for Buffy, showing up only to offer her cryptic messages about upcoming threats. It isn't until the episode "Angel" that the character is revealed to be a benevolent vampire from Galway, Ireland, who immigrated to the United States to escape his past as the sadistic Angelus after his soul was restored by a vengeful gypsy clan. Although uneasy about trusting a vampire, Buffy and the Scooby Gang eventually come to view Angel as an ally. In the second season (1997–1998), Buffy and Angel's romantic relationship develops and the pair make love in the episode "Surprise". For experiencing a moment of pure happiness, however, the gypsy curse on Angel is revoked, unleashing his soulless alter-ego, who reunites with his old friends, vampires Spike (James Marsters) and Drusilla (Juliet Landau), and begins terrorizing Buffy and her friends. Upon discovering gypsy descendent Jenny Calendar (Robia LaMorte), who is working to translate the text of a spell to restore Angel's soul, Angelus murders her by breaking her neck, and places her body in the bed of her boyfriend, Giles (Anthony Head), for him to discover. Angelus then attempts to destroy the world by awakening the demon Acathla. In the season finale, neophyte witch Willow (Alyson Hannigan) manages to restore Angel's soul at the last moment, but Buffy is forced to kill him to save the world from Acathla, and Angel is sent to hell. In season three (1998–1999), episode three, "Faith, Hope & Trick", Angel is inexplicably returned from hell by an unknown party and is soon found by Buffy. The Scooby Gang are outraged when they discover that Buffy has been secretly caring for him since his resurrection, but grudgingly accept him after he saves Willow's life in episode seven, "Revelations". In the episode "Amends", the primordial First Evil attempts to manipulate Angel to murder Buffy, but Angel chooses suicide instead by waiting for the sun to rise on Christmas morning. California's heatwave is suddenly interrupted by a freak snowstorm hiding the sun, sparing Angel's life, which he takes as a sign from above that he was brought back for a reason. Buffy and Angel initially attempt to be friends but eventually resume their romance. However, Angel becomes more and more aware of their limitations as a couple and breaks up with her in the hopes that she will be happier without him, leaving Sunnydale altogether after attending Buffy's prom and helping her in the battle against Mayor Wilkins (Harry Groener).
Surprise (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
Buffy has a vivid dream (a very undead Drusilla dusts Angel) which she fears is prophetic and realises that Spike and Dru may still be alive. Oz finally asks Willow out on a date. She accepts, but remembers the Scoobies are planning a surprise party for Buffy's 17th birthday and instead invites him to the party. Elsewhere, Dru, strong as Buffy dreamed, arranges her own gala event, while Spike, using a wheelchair but quite undead as well, directs his gang to collect scattered pieces of the demon Judge to reassemble for her present. Jenny Calendar gets a visit from a mysterious man who reveals Miss Calendar's Gypsy past, and they discuss her responsibilities in ensuring Angel's continued suffering. The man orders Jenny to separate Angel from the Slayer, Jenny agrees and she reveals that the man is her uncle. On their way to Buffy's surprise party, she and Miss Calendar intercept a piece of the Judge and bring it to the party, deducing Dru's plot. Following her Gypsy orders, Jenny encourages Angel on his mission to prevent the dire consequences of reassembly—he must take the Judge's arm by cargo ship to "the remotest region possible." While Angel gives Buffy a Claddagh ring for her birthday during their tearful parting at the dock, Spike's vamps manage to steal the arm back, scrubbing the mission. Later at the library, Buffy has another informative dream, and takes Angel to investigate the factory where Spike and Dru have their lair. They discover the Judge is fully assembled and activated, and Spike and Drusilla capture and taunt the two, debating who will die first. They narrowly escape into the sewer system, then return to Angel's apartment exhausted and drenched from the rain. Still suffering from successive threats of losing one another, Angel and Buffy confess feelings each has been trying to suppress. They make love for the first time and fall asleep in each other's arms. Suddenly, in a flash of lightning and a crash of thunder, Angel bolts awake and runs out into the storm, calling Buffy's name in anguish.