Heh that was Loyalty from season 3. There were definitely some really strong episodes that year, Lullaby is another that could have arguably been included in the top ten, but it also always seemed like a very uneven season to me. It was great when it was hitting the high points of the arc, but then you'd get weird filler like Dad, Provider, Couplet, Double Or Nothing etc etc in between those episodes

And hmm maybe. I mean I'm speculating about if BTS drama had that much of an effect on some of the choices made in season 3, just because the way they pushed her as a Saint that had hit the end of the road was awfully rushed towards the end of the season (lol remember when she ~purged~ Conner of the hate in his heart), but there was also the fact that shoehorning her in as Angel's love interest seemed to cause quite a drastic change to her character even before that? She was always the blunt and tactless friend who wasn't afraid to stand up to Angel and tell him what she thought of him, but once the romance was introduced it started taking a weird turn with Cordelia suddenly being ALL about Angel, none of her other relationships (like Wesley) seemed to matter to to her any more. "Angel is the only person I care about". That said some pretty weird stuff about the writers views, but then I was never a fan of the writing of the relationships on Ats