Spoiler Slayer

Continuing the summaries of 'Angel', with the fourth episode, 'Hell Bound'.

Hell Bound Summary (Courtesy of Eljay)

The episode opens on closing time at W&H, as we follow Fred to her lab. There Fred feels a presence and scans the lab looking for someone or something, but nothing is there. She turns back to her research and -poof-, Spike is right there. Fred tries to act surprised and scared, but Spike doesn't buy her reaction. She admits that she knew he was following her since the lobby.

Fred has been doing research on Spike the past few weeks, trying to figure out why he's popping in and out of existence. Spike is trying to be nonchalant about the whole business, but he's concerned that he doesn't have much time left. Fred promises that she will do her best, although it won't be like a Shanshu where she can make him human. Spike has no idea what she's talking about, so she explains about the prophecy relating to Angel. Spike continues to banter with Fred while she runs tests on him, until he leans on a lab table and falls right through it -- and the floor. Spike discovers himself in familiar territory, a basement. He hears something in the distance, and finds a man cutting something at a table. Spike moves closer, to discover the man is cutting the fingers off his left hand. Then suddenly, the man is gone and Spike is alone once again.

Fred goes to see Wes in his office, with a list of some books she needs -- some very esoteric books at that. Wes is happy to help, but is also a bit concerned at the effort she is going to. Fred assures him that she's fine as she rushes out of the office and into Eve. Eve asks if she's got a moment. In Angel's office, Angel says he's concerned with Fred's drive to restore Spike. Eve definitely does not appear to like the idea, even hinting that she'd rather be rid of him entirely. Fred understands Eve's reasoning, but she can't understand why Angel doesn't care more. Especially since Spike is just like Angel -- a souled-vampire-champion. Angel does not like the comparison, because he knows Spike better than anyone. He thinks Fred is falling for Spike's charms. She agrees that he may be playing her a bit, but that's not why she wants to help him. She feels it is the right thing to do.

Spike is wandering the halls of W&H, where he hears a woman crying in the distance. He finds a young woman, who asks her to hold him. As he comes closer, he discovers that she has no arms. She lunges at him and then vanishes. Spike heads off to find Angel. Spike pretends to be there because he's bored, but Angel can sense that something isn't right. They get into an argument/discussion about hell dimensions, being a champion, and prophecies. But Angel backs off a bit and tells him that he liked his poetry. Spike makes a crack about how much that means based on Angel's taste in music -- then sees a man swinging from a noose on the other side of the room. But Angel sees nothing.

Angel summons everyone to his office, where Angel and Spike fill them in on the details about the spirits. Nobody else -- even the W&H security team -- can sense or see the spirits. Suddenly, Spike vanishes while talking to them. Problem is, he's still there. The others head off to look for him, leaving Spike alone and perplexed. He figures that he's finally falling into hell, and then an eerie voice speaks -- telling him that his assumption is correct.

Spike challenges the voice, but gets no response. He sees something in the distance and follows it off into the darkness of the building. It leads Spike to the basement. He discovers the table again, but all that remains are the knife and the fingers -- still wriggling. Spike hears something and turns to find a woman standing there -- with a shard of glass in her eye. She tells Spike that the Reaper is going to get him, then pulls out the shard of glass and slashes Spike. She vanishes as Spike discovers that he's actually been cut.

Back in Fred's laboratory, a shaken Spike observes Fred pushing herself to her research limits. He's saying goodbye and thanks for trying to help, even though she can't hear him, since he figures there isn't much time... Suddenly, she has a *Eureka* moment, and Spike, relieved, taunts hell that he's not going there after all. Except, a moment later, Fred realizes that her *Eureka* will destroy half of LA, so not really of the good. Frustrated, she decides her research is going nowhere and that she's going to give up. Spike pleads with her to change her mind (not that she can hear him of course), and in his desperation, he reaches out to touch her on the arm -- and then recoils in shock. He touched her. She felt it too, and guesses it was Spike. Angel shows up, and she tells him that Spike is still around, no matter what the scanners at W&H say, and they've got to find him.

In the conference room, Eve enters with one of the mediums, Claire. Claire is pretty straight-forward, not really relying on the rituals one would expect with a séance. Claire and the others sit around the table and try to contact Spike. Claire seems to at first, sense Spike. But as she gets more uncomfortable, Spike realizes it's not him, but the reaper. It attacks and kills Claire in a fairly messy way. Gunn thinks that Spike did this, but Wes doesn't see why he would have. There must be something worse than Spike roaming the halls of W&H.

Spike returns to Fred's lab, where she is in the shower washing off Claire's blood. Fred realizes that the other spirit killed Claire, because it's hiding something. Spike discovers that with considerable effort, he can write 'Reaper' in the steam on the mirror. Fred discovers this, just as a spirit attacks Spike and pushes him through the wall. Spike is surrounded by all the spirits he saw previously, and he begins to experience -- in his mind -- what hell will be like. The torture of Spike reaches its peak as his tormenter reveals himself. The spirit explains that Spike is going to hell -- but first he gets to play.

The others are trying to discover what spirit killed Claire. The only thing they have to go on is the reference Claire made to 'The Dark Soul'. Unfortunately, there are too many entries in the books. Fred walks in and tells them to add the word 'Reaper' to the search, which comes up with a single hit -- Pavayne. Pavayne was a doctor in the 1700's, who was called 'The Reaper' by some of his more unfortunate patients. Hunted by the authorities, Pavayne fled to California, where he continued his misdeeds until W&H arrived on the scene. In order to open their new branch, they needed a sacrifice of evil blood to prepare the way, and Pavayne was the best candidate for the job. The others figure out why W&H isn't filled with spirits as it should be -- given the precarious nature of employment at the firm.. Pavayne is getting rid of them.

Meanwhile, a bloody Spike is being tormented by Pavayne in Fred's lab. Spike tries to fight back, but it's Pavayne that controls reality. The scene shifts again to the basement and Spike realizes that he's not really gone, Pavayne has shifted him out of the other's reality. Everything that Spike has seen or felt, is all an illusion created by Pavayne. Pavayne tells Spike that he only thinks he's better than the other spirits, because he fell in love and got a soul. In the end, he's still going to hell, and Pavayne's going to help him get there, just as he helped the others.

Fred continues to research frantically in her lab, assuring the others that she hasn't gone Pylea-mad again. She has figured out a way to make Spike flesh again, but there's just one minor problem. They need a huge source of dark energy to make it work. Gunn comes up with a solution and he heads off with Angel head to the White Room. Angel is skeptical about the plan, even more so when he sees what form the new conduit has taken -- he's not a cat-person. Nor is he pleased with the connection that Gunn and the Conduit have.

In the basement, Pavayne reveals hell to Spike and is about to push him in. Spike agrees that he's going to hell, just not today, as he hits Pavayne and sends him across the room. He's figured out Pavayne's secret -- spirits can affect reality if they want it badly enough. As Spike and Pavayne start to battle through the W&H offices, Fred is putting the finishing touches on her machine. But they only have one shot, as the Conduit will not give them any more energy. As the battle between Spike and Pavayne reaches a head in the lobby, Fred activates the device. Pavayne feels it and heads off to the lab, with Spike in hot pursuit. Fred detects a presence and tells Spike to step into the rune-covered circle that is part of the machine. Fred suddenly clutches at her throat, just as Claire did -- the spirit in the room is not Spike.

They try to intervene, but are knocked aside by an invisible force, and can only look on in horror as Fred is being killed. Spike arrives in the lab and Pavayne taunts him with the decision he has to make. He can become flesh or save Fred. For Spike, the decision is an easy one. He knocks Pavayne back into the circle -- and into reality. The others rush Pavayne. Angel's about to kill Pavayne, but Spike warns Angel to keep him alive. Otherwise, he'll just become a spirit again. Angel settles for beating the crap out of him. In the short term.

Later, Wes and Gunn help clean up Fred's lab as she heads back to her office and relaxes for the first time in days. Spike appears, saying he doesn't suppose she can build another machine. Unfortunately, not only were most of the parts irreplaceable, but she has no idea how they could ever obtain another power source. Spike tells her it's okay; he's happy with the choice he made. She offers to try something else, but Spike tells her no. He doesn't want to end up like Pavayne, he doesn't want to risk anyone else just to make him real. Fred tells him that it just shows that she was right and the others were wrong -- Spike is worth saving.

We end in the basement of W&H, in a secret storage area. We discover Pavayne enclosed in a metal coffin, with just his face exposed. Angel looks on, as Eve explains that W&H will have no problem keeping him alive and immobile forever. Angel says at least he provided him with a window. Angel closes the coffin and welcomes Pavayne to hell. Then we hear a door shut leaving Pavayne to nothing but...

Darkness