diff --git a/src/jqLite.js b/src/jqLite.js
index ef5082ed2233..0548806c7248 100644
--- a/src/jqLite.js
+++ b/src/jqLite.js
@@ -409,25 +409,22 @@ function jqLiteController(element, name) {
 }
 
 function jqLiteInheritedData(element, name, value) {
-  element = jqLite(element);
-
   // if element is the document object work with the html element instead
   // this makes $(document).scope() possible
-  if(element[0].nodeType == 9) {
-    element = element.find('html');
+  if(element.nodeType == 9) {
+    element = element.documentElement;
   }
   var names = isArray(name) ? name : [name];
 
-  while (element.length) {
-    var node = element[0];
+  while (element) {
     for (var i = 0, ii = names.length; i < ii; i++) {
-      if ((value = element.data(names[i])) !== undefined) return value;
+      if ((value = jqLite.data(element, names[i])) !== undefined) return value;
     }
 
     // If dealing with a document fragment node with a host element, and no parent, use the host
     // element as the parent. This enables directives within a Shadow DOM or polyfilled Shadow DOM
     // to lookup parent controllers.
-    element = jqLite(node.parentNode || (node.nodeType === 11 && node.host));
+    element = element.parentNode || (element.nodeType === 11 && element.host);
   }
 }
 
@@ -512,18 +509,25 @@ function getAliasedAttrName(element, name) {
   return (nodeName === 'INPUT' || nodeName === 'TEXTAREA') && ALIASED_ATTR[name];
 }
 
+forEach({
+  data: jqLiteData,
+  removeData: jqLiteRemoveData
+}, function(fn, name) {
+  JQLite[name] = fn;
+});
+
 forEach({
   data: jqLiteData,
   inheritedData: jqLiteInheritedData,
 
   scope: function(element) {
     // Can't use jqLiteData here directly so we stay compatible with jQuery!
-    return jqLite(element).data('$scope') || jqLiteInheritedData(element.parentNode || element, ['$isolateScope', '$scope']);
+    return jqLite.data(element, '$scope') || jqLiteInheritedData(element.parentNode || element, ['$isolateScope', '$scope']);
   },
 
   isolateScope: function(element) {
     // Can't use jqLiteData here directly so we stay compatible with jQuery!
-    return jqLite(element).data('$isolateScope') || jqLite(element).data('$isolateScopeNoTemplate');
+    return jqLite.data(element, '$isolateScope') || jqLite.data(element, '$isolateScopeNoTemplate');
   },
 
   controller: jqLiteController,
diff --git a/src/ng/compile.js b/src/ng/compile.js
index 5d3cfed694a6..8c9a26094b37 100644
--- a/src/ng/compile.js
+++ b/src/ng/compile.js
@@ -922,7 +922,7 @@ function $CompileProvider($provide, $$sanitizeUriProvider) {
             : null;
 
         if (nodeLinkFn && nodeLinkFn.scope) {
-          safeAddClass(jqLite(nodeList[i]), 'ng-scope');
+          safeAddClass(attrs.$$element, 'ng-scope');
         }
 
         childLinkFn = (nodeLinkFn && nodeLinkFn.terminal ||
@@ -944,7 +944,7 @@ function $CompileProvider($provide, $$sanitizeUriProvider) {
       return linkFnFound ? compositeLinkFn : null;
 
       function compositeLinkFn(scope, nodeList, $rootElement, parentBoundTranscludeFn) {
-        var nodeLinkFn, childLinkFn, node, $node, childScope, i, ii, n, childBoundTranscludeFn;
+        var nodeLinkFn, childLinkFn, node, childScope, i, ii, n, childBoundTranscludeFn;
 
         // copy nodeList so that linking doesn't break due to live list updates.
         var nodeListLength = nodeList.length,
@@ -957,12 +957,11 @@ function $CompileProvider($provide, $$sanitizeUriProvider) {
           node = stableNodeList[n];
           nodeLinkFn = linkFns[i++];
           childLinkFn = linkFns[i++];
-          $node = jqLite(node);
 
           if (nodeLinkFn) {
             if (nodeLinkFn.scope) {
               childScope = scope.$new();
-              $node.data('$scope', childScope);
+              jqLite.data(node, '$scope', childScope);
             } else {
               childScope = scope;
             }
@@ -1262,12 +1261,12 @@ function $CompileProvider($provide, $$sanitizeUriProvider) {
           if (directiveValue == 'element') {
             hasElementTranscludeDirective = true;
             terminalPriority = directive.priority;
-            $template = groupScan(compileNode, attrStart, attrEnd);
+            $template = $compileNode;
             $compileNode = templateAttrs.$$element =
                 jqLite(document.createComment(' ' + directiveName + ': ' +
                                               templateAttrs[directiveName] + ' '));
             compileNode = $compileNode[0];
-            replaceWith(jqCollection, jqLite(sliceArgs($template)), compileNode);
+            replaceWith(jqCollection, sliceArgs($template), compileNode);
 
             childTranscludeFn = compile($template, transcludeFn, terminalPriority,
                                         replaceDirective && replaceDirective.name, {
@@ -1453,20 +1452,19 @@ function $CompileProvider($provide, $$sanitizeUriProvider) {
 
         if (newIsolateScopeDirective) {
           var LOCAL_REGEXP = /^\s*([@=&])(\??)\s*(\w*)\s*$/;
-          var $linkNode = jqLite(linkNode);
 
           isolateScope = scope.$new(true);
 
           if (templateDirective && (templateDirective === newIsolateScopeDirective ||
               templateDirective === newIsolateScopeDirective.$$originalDirective)) {
-            $linkNode.data('$isolateScope', isolateScope) ;
+            $element.data('$isolateScope', isolateScope) ;
           } else {
-            $linkNode.data('$isolateScopeNoTemplate', isolateScope);
+            $element.data('$isolateScopeNoTemplate', isolateScope);
           }
 
 
 
-          safeAddClass($linkNode, 'ng-isolate-scope');
+          safeAddClass($element, 'ng-isolate-scope');
 
           forEach(newIsolateScopeDirective.scope, function(definition, scopeName) {
             var match = definition.match(LOCAL_REGEXP) || [],
diff --git a/test/jqLiteSpec.js b/test/jqLiteSpec.js
index cf880aef0382..b6d20a932a48 100644
--- a/test/jqLiteSpec.js
+++ b/test/jqLiteSpec.js
@@ -386,6 +386,26 @@ describe('jqLite', function() {
       selected.removeData('prop2');
     });
 
+    it('should provide the non-wrapped data calls', function() {
+      var node = document.createElement('div');
+
+      expect(jqLite.data(node, "foo")).toBeUndefined();
+
+      jqLite.data(node, "foo", "bar");
+
+      expect(jqLite.data(node, "foo")).toBe("bar");
+      expect(jqLite(node).data("foo")).toBe("bar");
+
+      expect(jqLite.data(node)).toBe(jqLite(node).data());
+
+      jqLite.removeData(node, "foo");
+      expect(jqLite.data(node, "foo")).toBeUndefined();
+
+      jqLite.data(node, "bar", "baz");
+      jqLite.removeData(node);
+      jqLite.removeData(node);
+      expect(jqLite.data(node, "bar")).toBeUndefined();
+    });
 
     it('should not add to the cache if the node is a comment or text node', function() {
       var calcCacheSize = function() {