The Shroud of Rahmon

"The Shroud of Rahmon" is episode 8 of season 2 in the television show Angel. Written by Jim Kouf and directed by David Grossman, it was originally broadcast on November 21, 2000 on the WB network. In this episode, Angel and Gunn go undercover to foil the theft of a demonic burial shroud at a museum, unaware that the garment makes people psychotic. Angel attacks Kate, who tries to stop him, and Wesley and Cordelia also go crazy when they enter the museum to look for Angel and Gunn; Wesley ends up getting blamed for the attempted murder of Kate and the killing of a security guard.

Plot

Two detectives interrogate Wesley about an attempted murder. Wesley tells them everything just went very wrong. Without revealing the vampire's name, Wesley explains disjointedly that Angel wasn't supposed to be there, that Wesley would have stopped him if they'd "found out sooner," though what exactly he wishes they'd known is not said.

Earlier, Wesley stops by the hotel and talks with Cordelia. He notices she's changed her hair, and she tells him she did it ten days ago. Cordelia and Wesley go to a movie premiere, while Angel and Gunn meet with Gunn's cousin, Lester, who asked for their help. Lester is supposed to be a driver for a demonic robbery but he wants nothing to do with it. A vampire Angel knows by reputation, Jay-Don, is being brought in to help. Much to Gunn's dismay, Angel takes charge of the case. Angel returns to the hotel and finds Kate in his room. She wants information on Darla and despite the cross she carries, Angel is not threatened and warns her to back off before she is killed. Angel meets Jay-Don at the bus station and kills him, taking his place on the robbery. A demon named Menlow meets with the vampire he thinks is Jay-Don and takes him to the others. Another demon, Vyasa, a human security guard, Bob, are already present - they're just waiting for Lester. When he shows up a few minutes later, it's Gunn instead. Angel is annoyed that Gunn didn't listen to him, but can't do anything about it without blowing their cover.

The robbery team runs over the plan, explaining that they'll be stealing the Shroud of Rahmon. Jay-don - now Angel - is there to get past sensors that detect changes in body heat. Angel, trying to get a chance to talk privately with Gunn, picks a fight with him, but the others stop him before he can get outside. When he asks if they seriously expect him to put up with this guy for the rest of the week, they reply that it will only be the rest of the night - they're doing it that night.

Cordelia researches museums to find which one may be the location of the robbery, learning the Los Angeles natural history temporarily contains the Shroud of Rahmon, intended to prevent the insanity-creating Rahmon from being resurrected. Instead the shroud absorbed the power to make people around it insane. Meanwhile, the thieves break into the museum. Angel tries to keep Gunn outside, but they others insist he come in. On the way in he hits Angel in retaliation for hitting him before. They break into the vault holding the shroud, where the Shroud's presence causes Angel to revert to his vampire visage. Wesley and Cordelia enter the building and are immediately affected as well. The demons, humans and vampires slowly carry the consecrated box with the enclosed shroud on a path out of the building, becoming violent towards each other. Vyasa kills Bob by ripping off his head. Wesley encounters Kate at the building and has trouble keeping focused on his mission to help Angel. Wesley confronts Angel and tries to warn him about the shroud.

Kate finds Angel and the others and pulls a gun on them. Angel confronts her, knocks her gun out of the way and bites her. A police team arrives and finds Wesley leaning over Kate's body. The shroud box is carried to another building and the shroud's effect on the demons, Angel and Gunn leads them all to fight over it, breaking the box open and grabbing the shroud. Gunn and Angel play tug of war with the shroud until Angel convinces Gunn to let go. After taking the shroud outside and dousing it in alcohol, Angel sets it aflame.

In the interrogation room, the detectives are convinced that Wesley is the killer. As they're about to arrest him, Kate shows up and tells them to let him go. She remembers that Angel did bite her briefly, but told her to stay down or be killed. Wesley and Cordelia think about what happened, and Wesley worries that Angel's bloodlust has been reawakened by the taste of human blood. Angel sits in his room, his thoughts focused on biting Kate.

Reception

This episode was nominated for "Best Special Makeup Effects in a Series" at the Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild Awards.^[1]

References

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: The Shroud of Rahmon

• "The Shroud of Rahmon" at the Internet Movie Database
• "The Shroud of Rahmon" at TV.com