It's been a while since I've watched the second
season, and while I have a fairly good recall for what
happened, I didn't remember this episode at all. OK,
that's not strictly true; I remember the Darla scenes
very, very well! But this is one of those classic
early-season Mutant Enemy episodes: relatively simple
transitional work, meant to put basic character
relationships in the spotlight. Sometimes that can
lead to brilliant material, but sometimes, it's a
fairly forgettable fare.

Here's my review for Angel 2.3: "First Impressions":

http://www.entil2001.com/series/angel/season2/ang2-3.html

Overall, this episode is an important step in the
process of ramping up the season arc, but the central
plot thread for Gunn and Cordy is not quite as
substantial as it might have been. It’s never a bad
thing to have a lot of scantily-clad Julie Benz, of
course, and this does set the stage for exploration of
Angel’s dark side. It’s not a horrible episode, but
it’s fairly average for the second season.

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