Angel: Why We Fight

"Why We Fight" is the thirteenth episode of season five of the vampire television series Angel and the 101st episode of the series overall. It was directed by Terrence O'Hara with a script written by Drew Goddard and Steven S. DeKnight. It first aired on the WB Network on Wednesday, February 11th, 2004.

Notes & Trivia

 * Angel was created by Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt. It is a spin-off of the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which in turn, is a soft remake of the 1992 feature film of the same name.


 * This episode is rated TV-14.


 * This episode is production code number 5ADH13.


 * This episode is included in the Angel: The Complete Series DVD collection as well as disc six of the Angel: Season Five DVD collection.


 * This is the fifth episode of Angel directed by Terrence O'Hara. He directs six episodes of the series overall. He previously directed "Orpheus". His next episode is "Origin".


 * This is the third episode of Angel written or co-written by Drew Goddard. He writes five episodes of the series in total. He previously wrote "Damage". His next episode is "Origin". Drew Goddard is also known for writing five episodes of the show's companion series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.


 * This is the tenth episode of Angel written or co-written by Steven S. DeKnight. He writes twelve episodes of the series in total. He previously wrote "Damage". His next episode is "Shells".

Allusions

 * The title of this episode is taken from a series of seven propaganda films commissioned by the United States government during World War II to justify to American soldiers their involvement in the war. Later on, they were also shown to the U.S. public to persuade them to support American involvement in the war.


 * The Demon Research Initiative is the 1940s predecessor to The Initiative, which caused no small measure of trouble for Buffy Summers and her pals in season four of her own series.


 * The Prince of Lies is deliberately intended to evoke the look of Max Schreck's infamous take on the Dracula character from the 1922 silent film classic Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens.

Quotes

 * Angel: You're a Nazi?!
 * Spike: What? Oh! No, I just ate one.

....
 * Angel: We need them. I'm not getting trapped at the bottom of the sea!
 * Spike: And I'm not getting experimented on by his government!

....
 * Angel: Spike.
 * Spike: Captain.
 * Angel: What?
 * Spike: I wanna be called Captain. I mean hell, I did eat him.
 * Angel: Check the torpedoes before I stuff you in a tube and send you for a swim, "Captain."

....
 * Spike: Really ought to do something about security. They'll let anybody in here, won't they? Fred gave me the Cliff Notes. So sailor boy finally came back for a yo-ho-ho, did he?
 * Angel: Finally came back...
 * Spike: Took him long enough... I know revenge is a dish best served cold but his must've been frozen solid.
 * Angel: I don't think that's what he was after.
 * Spike: No? Then what was he looking for?
 * Angel: A reason.

Crew

 * Skip Schoolnik - Co-producer
 * David Greenwalt - Consulting producer
 * Steven S. DeKnight - Supervising producer
 * Ben Edlund - Supervising producer
 * David Fury - Co-executive producer
 * Jeffrey Bell - Executive producer


 * Sandy Gallin - Executive producer
 * Gail Berman - Executive producer
 * Fran Rubel Kuzui - Executive producer
 * Kaz Kuzui - Executive producer
 * Kelly A. Manners - Producer
 * Joss Whedon - Executive producer