Credits. I begin to worry that nothing could possibly live up to my expectations at this point. Then I remember that I don't really care if there's a plot or anything, so really, as long as there are plenty of puppet scenes, I'm fine. Then I worry that Angel won't be transformed until near the end of the episode. I tell Johanna, "If he turns into a puppet before the end of the first act, and stays that way for most of the show, I'm giving this an 'A' no matter what else happens."

Knox enters the lab and hands Fred a bunch of papers delivered by a courier. Fred expositions that eleven children have fallen into mysterious comas in the past three weeks. She assumes it's something "mystical," and when Knox asks why, she shows him a photo of a wide-eyed, grinning child in a hospital bed. Knox guesses the Joker might be on the loose. Fred is unamused. Shut up, Fred. While sorting through the papers, Fred finds a Valentine's Day card and opens it. Knox apologetically says that he knows Valentine's Day was last week, but that he didn't take the discount on the card. So I guess he's not as cheap as Angel is, but that's not saying much. Where was he last week, anyway? Where's he been for the past few months, for that matter? Fred looks uncomfortable and says that they've talked about this. Knox wants to talk about it again. Fred firmly hands back the papers and the card, and tells Knox to get to work. Exit Knox. See, it's a thing, because Knox is ignoring the signals Fred's giving him. Except there're not so much "signals" as "explicit statements."

A blonde steps off the elevator in the lobby, and even though I knew spoilers for this episode, it still took me a while to say, "Oh, that's Nina." Okay, maybe the "previously"s did serve a purpose, at least when it came to helping me recognize characters we haven't seen in four months. Nina greets Angel, who is coming down the stairs, and he almost trips on the last step as a result. Nina and Angel trade some exposition about how she's a werewolf who stays at Wolfram & Hart during the full moon, and her sister doesn't know, and blah blah howlcakes. Harmony greets Nina, and Angel puts an arm around Nina's shoulder and offers to escort her downstairs. As Nina and Angel leave, Gunn approaches Harmony and asks if she got a receipt for a case filing. Harmony says that the clerk's office called, and that Gunn filed the wrong papers: "You filed for a change of venue instead of a motion to dismiss." Harmony throws Gunn a life preserver by guessing that it was part of some "tricky lawyer maneuvering," and Gunn nervously agrees before wandering off.