Angel (season 1)
At the end of the third season of "Buffy", the 242-year-old, re-ensouled vampire Angel left Sunnydale to give teenage Slayer Buffy Summers the chance to live a normal life. Angel is now living in the big city of Los Angeles. With Buffy gone Angel is now completely cut off from society, every day getting closer and closer to giving in to his vampiric hunger. It's not until he befriends the half demon and fellow Irishman Doyle, who is sent visions of people in trouble by The Powers That Be, and fellow Sunnydale resident Cordelia Chase, who grounds Angel's life in the humanity around him, that he truly begins to take charge of his life and seek atonement for his past sins. He sets up his own detective agency, Angel Investigations and begins to "help the helpless".
Carpe Noctem (Angel)
Back at the Hyperion, Angel finally sits down with Fred for the long-overdue talk however she stops him, as Cordelia has already explained to her about Angel's curse as well as his having no romantic feelings for her. As Fred notes that Angel will probably be better off without love in his life, Willow calls the hotel to tell the group that Buffy has been revived, five months after her death.
Noel Murray of "The A.V. Club" wrote his opinion that it "was entertaining in spots but largely struck me as a missed opportunity — one that was over before it really began. The main purpose of the episode seemed to be to defuse any growing romantic feelings Fred might have for Angel, by letting her see why Angel's not the relationship type." Ryan Bovay of "Critically Touched" likewise gave it a lukewarm review: an episode with "some fun qualities but not a great deal to talk about," succeeding "where it does because of the considerable talents of the main cast, who really know how to live their characters in each of their own subtle, loving ways" though with "sub-par writing" to make "the episode watch-able and even enjoyable."