I had a post about whether or not Angel should have staked Lawson.
Thank you for the link. I skimmed it quickly, and yes I see where you're coming from. But - and this is the point that the episode turns on - Angel didn't have a mission to give to Lawson (Harmony is content fetching blood, I couldn't see Lawson in a role like that). He says as much to Spike. ("Then what was he looking for?"/"A reason.") Angel is himself struggling with finding a reason. I love that you brought in Faith, because it shows how far he's fallen from who he used to be. He doesn't feel he has anything to offer 'the hopeless' anymore - as we see in 'Conviction' when he kills Hauser. I think that maybe Connor broke something in him - if he couldn't even help his own son, the person he loved above anything else ever, then what has he got to offer others? There's a lot of S6 Buffy in Angel - the inability to see beyond the mess he's in for starters. But where Buffy's problems were caused by others, Angel is responsible for the place he's ended up.

Oh what a lot of thoughts! Thank you! :)