B217- Passion

Written by: Ty King
Cast: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon, Alyson Hannigan, Anthony Stewart Head, David Boreanaz, Charisma Carpenter, Kristine Sutherland, Robia LaMorte, James Marsters, Juliet Landau & Danny Strong.

At The Bronze, Buffy and Xander blithely dance to the sultry music while Angelus darkly watches from across the room. As the weight of his predatory gaze makes everyone seem to move in dreamlike slow motion, Angel’s voice narrates a poetic evocation of “passion.” It is Xander who turns his head to look, but Angel is no longer there. When Buffy, Willow, Xander and Cordelia leave The Bronze, they unknowingly pass Angelus miming a passionate embrace in the shadows, his vamp face hidden in the neck of the girl he drains, then drops, before falling in behind them. Back home getting ready for bed, Buffy feels Angel’s presence, but she peers out into the darkness in vain. When she turns out the light and slides under the covers, Angelus is outside, watching her through open blinds. After Buffy drifts off, Angel enters her room and softly strokes a lock of hair back from her face. Sitting on the bed beside her to watch his Slayer sleep, Angel’s face is in shadow, but his voice continues and completes his “passion” prologue.

The next morning Buffy wakes to find a parchment envelope on her pillow, containing a charcoal drawing of herself, eyes closed, asleep. At the library before class, Buffy tells Giles about the drawing and asks if there’s a spell to reverse Angel’s invitation into her house, something along the lines of “No shoes, no pulse, no service.” Xander teases Cordelia when she overreacts because she invited Angel into her car. Leaving the library when Jonathan and another student dare to request books on Stalin, Buffy and the others continue to discuss Angel’s intentions. Because Angel has an “all-access pass” to her house even when she’s not there, Buffy wants to tell her mother the truth so she can protect herself until the reversal spell is in place. Giles vetoes this, urging Buffy not to be goaded by any of Angel’s ploys because, as The Slayer, she doesn’t have “the luxury of being a slave to her passions.” In Ms Calendar’s computer class, Jenny asks Willow to cover for her if she happens to be late the next morning. Willow is delighted to oblige, and immediately begins to worry at the thought of all that could go wrong. Soon, however, she starts to relish the idea of exercising a borrowed power of authority. There’s an awkward moment when Buffy and Giles arrive to fetch Willow, but when the girls leave, Giles and Jenny get a moment alone. Hearing that Angel’s “sense of whimsy” has returned and that Giles seeks a spell to revoke the vampire’s invitations, Jenny gives him a book she knows he doesn’t have. She then takes the opportunity to explain that, as Janna, she was raised by the people Angel hurt most, and lied to Giles and Buffy because she thought it was the right thing to do. She didn’t know she would fall in love with Giles. Seeing his startled face soften, Jenny goes on to say she wants to make everything up to him. His eyes filled with kindness, Giles gently replies that he’s not the one Jenny needs to make it up to. Over supper that evening, Joyce asks Buffy to tell her what’s wrong, and Buffy decides to give her a sanitized version of the Angel saga. Her mom says, “Don’t tell me. He’s changed. He’s not the same guy you fell for,” and Buffy brightly replies, “In a nutshell.” Buffy further explains that she’ll talk to Angel if he shows up, but that Joyce shouldn’t invite him in the house.

Later that night, Willow talks on the phone to Buffy as she gets ready for bed. She putters around the room, sprinkles fish food into the large, lighted tank, then notices a parchment envelope on her bed. Falling silent, she picks it up and opens it. The phone drops from her shoulder with a thump as she pulls out a long string—threaded with all her tropical fish. Angelus has been in Willow’s bedroom, too. Willow spends the remainder of the night clutching a very sharp stake at Buffy’s, with garlic ropes adorning the bedframe. Buffy tells Willow she can’t stop wanting to turn to Angel whenever there’s a crisis and that this Angel is completely different from the one she knew. Not exactly disagreeing, Willow replies, “Well, sort of. Except you’re still the only thing he thinks about.”

Early that morning at their factory lair, Drusilla brings the still-invalid Spike a puppy to eat. Increasingly cranky with his long recovery, he objects to being treated like a child. Angelus arrives with the dawn and spends a few enjoyable minutes mortifying Spike before Dru has a vision that an old enemy seeks help to destroy their “happy home.”

Before school, Jenny goes to a Gypsy novelty shop where she buys an Orb of Thesulah, a spirit-vault for rituals of the undead, from a well-meaning proprietor who recognizes her as Janna and offers condolences for her Uncle Enyos. He politely tells her that without a translation of the Ritual of Restoration, the Orb is useless for its intended purpose—and that the store has a no-refunds policy. Jenny says she understands, and that she hopes soon to have a computer translation of the ancient Romanian liturgy. The Orb glows when she tells the shopkeeper she plans to give a friend his soul back. At school, Willow and Buffy meet up with Xander, who gets a little excited about their slumber party the night before. Willow leaves to teach class, but is disappointed to catch sight of Ms Calendar arriving on time after all. Taking leave of Xander as well, Buffy hurries to confront Jenny with an agenda of her own. Jenny starts to apologize, but Buffy, not ready for that step yet, abruptly stops her. Stiltedly explaining that she doesn’t want him to be lonely, Buffy tells Jenny that Giles misses her, then rushes inside where she finds Giles himself, passing out flyers in the lounge area. Cordy joins them, and both girls are relieved to hear that Buffy’s Watcher has found a simple spell with common ingredients that will revoke a Vampire’s invitation into any house (or car) where it is performed. After school, Buffy and Cordelia help perform the protection spell in Willow’s room, and not a moment too soon. First asking if Willow knows there are no fish in her aquarium, Cordy next finds another parchment envelope on Willow’s bed. Willow opens it apprehensively, then hands the charcoal drawing of Joyce—eyes closed, asleep—to a suddenly panicking Buffy.

At the Summers residence, Joyce pulls into the driveway to find Angelus waiting for her in the front yard. Impersonating a distinctly deranged Angel, he scares Joyce with his intensity and tells her he can’t forget Buffy, Joyce has to talk to her for him, he can’t live without her. Noting with evil satisfaction that Joyce’s hands shake uncontrollably as she tries to get her key in the front door, Angel oozes sly candor and confesses, “I haven’t been able to sleep since the night we made love.” As Buffy’s mother stares up at him in shock, the door opens and she rushes inside. Smiling in anticipation, Angel starts to follow but pulls up short, unable to cross the threshold. Buffy and Willow have gotten there first and Willow is just chanting the reversal spell’s final words. “Sorry, Angel. Changed the locks,” the Slayer says acidly, then slams the door in his face.

When Giles finds Jenny staying late at the school, she hastily clears her computer screen before he can see that her “special project” is the translation program for the Ritual of Restoration to bring back Angel’s soul. Slightly smug, Jenny tells Giles what Buffy said to her earlier that day. Embarrassed but unable to deny it, Giles, in a tone of flustered, affectionate exasperation, deems Buffy a “meddlesome girl.” When Jenny explains she needs to work a little while longer, but that she may have good news later, Giles warmly invites her over to his place after she’s finished. After sunset, Drusilla (still carrying the puppy, Sunshine) pays a visit to the Gypsy shopkeeper to ask what he and “the mean teacher talked about.” Jenny keeps working to translate the ritual’s text into English. At last she is successful and quickly saves the program to disk, then prints it out. Having ejected and set aside the backup disk, Jenny moves her chair so she can scan the printout. After a moment, her gaze refocuses beyond the scrolling paper and she jumps to see Angelus sitting in the dark at the back of her classroom, as if he’d been silently watching her for a long while. Getting to his feet, Angel approaches her desk with mock cheer. He picks up the Orb of Thesulah, ruminates a bit about its purpose, then pitches it against the chalkboard so hard it smashes to dust. Musing next about the advances in technology over the past two and a half centuries, Angelus pulls her computer crashing to the floor, then rips the printout from the printer, tears the Ritual of Restoration text in two and burns the pieces in the small electrical fire that has sprung up. Finding the door behind her desk inexplicably locked, Jenny tries to dart past Angelus to the room’s other door, but he catches her and throws her through it. When she scrambles up and runs, he mocks, “Oh, good. I need to work up an appetite first.” Searching for a way out, Jenny finds all the doors in this wing locked and is forced to flee down long passages while Angelus lopes after her. Near the end of her strength, she slams a door in his snarling face, then rams him with a cleaning cart and runs frantically up the stairs. On the floor above, Jenny looks so intently for her pursuer to come up behind her that she runs straight into his grasp when he circles around. Chortling, Angelus softly holds her head in his hands and tells her, “Sorry, Jenny. This is where you get off,” then snaps her neck with a flourish.

Meanwhile at the Summers residence, Giles stops by to get the spell book to protect his own apartment and learns from Willow that Buffy is upstairs with her mom, discussing the news (which is news only to Joyce) that Angel and Buffy have slept together. Giles wonders if he should intervene on Buffy’s behalf. Not exactly disagreeing, Willow says, “Sure! Like, what would you say?” As Giles thinks about that for a second, Willow matter-of-factly opens the front door for him and he takes his leave. In Buffy’s room, Joyce is not entirely successful at remaining calm while trying to figure out just what is going on with her daughter and this “too old,” “obviously not very stable” Angel. Buffy reassures her mom that Angel was her first and only, but doesn’t open up as much as her mother would like. Still, at the end of “the talk,” Joyce tells Buffy that she loves her “more than anything in the world,” and they regain a degree of their normal ease with each other.

Giles arrives at his apartment to see one red rose on the front door and to hear strains of opera music drifting from inside. Opening his own door as if he were the visitor, he finds an ice bucket on the desk, complete with chilling champagne and a folded piece of parchment paper bearing one word in flowing script: “Upstairs.” Carrying the champagne, Giles follows a path of votive candles and roses to the top of the stairs while the music swells below. At his first glimpse of Jenny on the bed, the music crescendos and the heavy bottle of champagne smashes unheeded to the floor. Jenny’s staring eyes and lividly striated neck belie the relaxed pose of her limbs. Nearly catatonic with shock and grief, Giles remains silent and motionless until the police officer, following the coroner’s people wheeling a laden stretcher, asks him to come in for questioning. Giles abstractedly complies, but asks to make a phone call first. At Buffy’s house, Angel lurks outside, his voice coming out of the darkness to whisper another verse in his ode to “passion.” As the phone rings, he stops his pacing to peer intently through sheer lace curtains at the lighted scene within. Angelus watches the Slayer answer, watches her face fall, watches her sink to the floor in a grief-stricken crouch. He watches Willow take the phone, listen, and burst into such wild sobs that Joyce rushes into the room to hold her. Smiling with profound pleasure, Angelus turns and slips back into the night. Having missed Giles at the police station, Cordelia and Xander drive to Buffy’s house, where Buffy and Willow wait outside for them. Worried, the four of them drive to Giles’ apartment to try to make contact. Meanwhile, Giles has gone back to his apartment to arm for battle, but before the others can get there, he is out and away, leaving behind Angel’s charcoal sketch of Jenny, eyes open, asleep forever. Piecing together evidence of Angel’s set-up and Giles’ intent, the four friends argue about what to do. Xander strongly endorses Giles’ plan to follow Angel to the factory, but Buffy knows seeking revenge will only get Giles killed.

At the factory, Spike—knowing the “incredibly brassed off” Slayer will soon hunt them down—is furious with a strangely subdued Angelus. Reminding Spike that Jenny was trying to restore Angel’s soul, Dru tries to defend Angel’s actions, but Spike claims he actually prefers the old “Buffy-whipped Angelus.” Just as Angelus finishes sneering, “Don’t worry, Roller Boy. I’ve got everything under control,” there’s an explosive crash and the long dining table erupts in flame. The three vamps instantly recoil and move to escape the roaring fire. At the foot of the catwalk stairs, Angelus suddenly jerks in surprise and tears a crossbow bolt from his shoulder. Tossing his now empty crossbow aside, Giles stalks the length of the room, lights a heavy torch as he passes the flaming table and, while Spike and Dru look on, uses it to deliver several stunning blows before the vampire can recover his balance. When Giles raises the torch for a savage overhand chop, however, Angelus grabs him by the throat and lifts him clear of the floor. At that moment, Buffy enters the fray. Her first rush breaks Giles free of Angel’s grasp and sends the vampire crashing backwards. Dru and Spike make a strategic exit. Chasing a battered Angelus up onto the catwalk, the Slayer thrashes him nearly to pieces, until he begins to cackle and asks if she’s just going to let her “old man” burn. Buffy looks down in horror at the unconscious Giles, now completely surrounded by flames. As Angelus boosts her over the rail and makes his own escape, Buffy jumps down, brings her Watcher to, and half-carries him from the building. Together, they stumble into the dark and Giles shouts in grief-stricken fury, “Why did you come here? This wasn’t your fight.” The Slayer hauls back and punches him full in the face, shouting back “Are you trying to get yourself killed?” Then Buffy follows him down to kneel on the ground and hold him in her arms, and Giles sobs as if his heart would break. “You can’t leave me,” she whispers to him. “I can’t do this alone.”

Later that night, as Angel’s hypnotic voice imparts the epilogue of his “passion” drama, Giles comes home to a very normal-seeming, brightly lit apartment building. Reaching his front door, however, instead of a rose he finds yellow crime scene tape. Now silent and dark, his apartment only seems emptier. As the scene changes to a daytime view of grass, shrubs, a small leaf-strewn pond, Angel’s narration comes to an end with Giles and Buffy standing beside a new grave. Its simple headstone reads “Jennifer Calendar” in elegant brass letters. Laying down a sheaf of flowers, Giles murmurs a few simple words and Buffy’s eyes fill with tears. She apologizes aloud for not being able to kill Angelus when she had the chance. A moment later, we hear her quiet voice say, “I wasn’t ready.” The scene changes again, and as Willow comes to stand in front of Jenny’s desk, Buffy’s voice says, “But I think I finally am.” Holding an armload of books and printout, Willow gravely announces that, in Ms Calendar’s absence, she has been temporarily assigned to teach the class. As Willow moves around behind Jenny’s desk, we again hear Buffy’s quiet voice. “I can’t hold onto the past anymore,” she explains. “Angel is gone. Nothing’s ever going to bring him back.” As Willow sets her books on the desk, the backup disk Jenny created slides inconspicuously from a stack of papers and, with a nearly inaudible click, falls into the narrow darkness between desk and filing cabinet.

From: Wikipedia

BUFFY- (+5)

• +1/ Telling Joyce a very edited version of the situation with Angel-
  Buffy: Do you remember that guy Angel?
  Joyce: Angel, the, um… (thinks) the college boy who was tutoring you in history?
  Buffy: Right. Uh, he… I-I… (looks down and whispers) Oh, God. Um… (looks back up) We’re sort of dating, *were* dating, um, going through a serious off-again phase right now.
  Joyce: (smiles) Don’t tell me. He’s changed. He’s not the same guy you fell for?
  Buffy: (smiles nervously) In a nutshell. (loses the smile) A-anyway, um… since he changed, he’s been kinda following me around. He’s having trouble letting go.
  Joyce: (concerned) Buffy, has he done anything…
  Buffy: No! No, it’s not like that. He’s just been hanging around… a lot. Just sending me notes, that kind of thing. (gets a concerned look from Joyce) I just don’t wanna see him right now. I mean, if he shows up, I’ll talk to him. Just… don’t invite him in.
• +1/ Buffy and Willow hiding out in Buffy’s room with stakes and crosses (see Willow point 2)
• +1/ Discussing Giles with Jenny, you can tell she’s still hurt by what Jenny did but is big enough to overlook it for Giles.
• +1/ Her big fire fight with Angelus, she would have had him to if not for some smart thinking by the crafty vampire.
• +1/ Consoling Giles after the battle with Angelus, first by punching him then by hugging him, it’s very touching.

XANDER- (+1) N

• +1/ Going off at Jonathan and another student for trying to use the library-
  Xander: Excuse me, but have you ever heard of knocking?
  Jonathon: (gestures to the library before him) We’re supposed to get some books. On Stalin. (nods)
  Xander: (points at Jonathon) Does this look like a Barnes & Noble?
  Giles: This is a school library, Xander.
  Xander: Since when?

WILLOW- (+6)

• +3/ Being all excited by being allowed to teach the computer class before realizing all the responsibility and getting very worried, I love nervous Willow-
  Jenny: Um, I might be a little late tomorrow. Do you think you could cover my class till I show?
  Willow: (smiling brightly) Really? Me? Teach the class? Sure!
  Jenny: Cool.
  Willow: (suddenly worried) Oh, wait. W-what if they don’t recognize my authority? What if they try to convince me that you always let them leave class early? What if there’s a fire drill? What if there’s a fire?
  Jenny: (reassuringly) Willow, you’re gonna be fine. And I’ll try not to be too late, okay?
  Willow: (calmer) Okay. Good. Earlier is good. (smiles) Will I have the power to assign detention? Or make ‘em run laps?
• +1/ Hiding at out at Buffy’s house after Angelus got to her pet fish-
  Willow: Thanks for having me over, Buffy. Especially on a school night and all.
  Buffy: No problem. Hey, sorry about your fish.
  Willow: Oh, it’s okay. We hadn’t really had time to bond yet. Although for the first time I’m glad my parents didn’t let me have a puppy.
  Buffy: (stares into space) It’s so weird… Every time something like this happens, my first instinct is still to run to Angel. I can’t believe it’s the same person. He’s completely different from the guy that I knew. (looks at Willow)
  Willow: Well, sort of, except…
  Buffy: Except what?
  Willow: (looks at Buffy) You’re still the only thing he thinks about.
• +1/ Upset that Jenny turned up for class therefore not allowing Willow to teach.
• +1/ Willow being unsure on whether Giles knew about sex-
  Willow: Well, it went fine until Angel showed up and told Buffy’s mom that he and Buffy had… (nervously) Well, you know, that they had… you know. You do know, right?
  Giles: Oh, yes. Yes. Sorry.
  Willow: (relieved) Oh, good, ’cause I just realized that being a librarian and all, you maybe didn’t know.
  Giles: Oh, thank you. I got it.
  Willow: You would have been proud of her, though. She totally kept her cool. (smiles)
  There is an awkward moment of silence.
  Willow: Okay, well, I’ll tell Buffy you stopped by. (smiles)
  Giles: (looks up the stairs) Would you, um… Perhaps I should intervene on, on Buffy’s behalf w-w-with her mother. Um, maybe… say something?
  Willow: Sure! Like, what would you say?
  Giles: (looks up the stairs again) W… Uh…

GILES- (+8)

• +1/ Pointing out that Xander cheapens his complex concepts.
• +1/ “Uh, since Angel lost his soul, he’s regained his sense of whimsy.”- I love that line.
• +1/ Obviously missing Jenny, but preferring her to make up with Buffy before reconciling with her, thats very loyal of him.
• +1/ Jenny: She said you missed me.
  Giles: Well, uh, she’s… a meddlesome girl.
• +1/ Discussing sex with Willow (see Willow point 4)
• +2/ Going all Ripper on Angelus after Jenny’s death. You never see Giles like that again and it’s friggin awesome.
• +1/ Having to bury his one love-
  “In my years as… Watcher… I’ve buried… too many people. But Jenny was the first I’ve loved.”

CORDELIA- (+3)

• +1/ Worried that Angelus might invade her car-
  Cordelia: (realizes) Oh, God! (looks at Xander) I invited him in my car once. (looks at Giles) That means he can come into my car whenever he wants.
  Xander: Yep, you’re doomed to havin’ (Cordelia looks at him) to give him and his vamp pals a lift whenever they feel like it. And those guys never chip in for gas.
• +1/ Trying to help with Buffy’s Angelus problem, in her own way-
  Giles: So Angel has decided to step up his harassment of you?
  Cordelia: By sneaking in her room and leaving stuff at night? Why doesn’t he just slit her throat or strangle her while she’s sleeping or cut her heart out? (gets looks from everyone) What? I’m trying to help.
• +1/ Offering to ride Buffy around in her car to avoid Angel, that’s pretty nice, isn’t it?

ANGELUS- (+8)

• +2/ His opening Passion narration overlaid by his unseen torture of Buffy, it’s incredibly creepy to see him lay a finger on her cheek as she sleeps.
• +1/ Showing his artistic skills.
• +1/ Tormenting Joyce outside the Summers house-
  Angelus: You don’t understand, Joyce. I’ll die without Buffy. She’ll die without me.
  Joyce: Are you threatening her?
  Angelus: Please… Why is she doing this to me?
  Joyce: I’m calling the police now.
  Angelus: I haven’t been able to sleep since the night we made love.
• +1/ His computer room scene with Jenny before he kills her-
  Angelus: I never cease to be amazed how much the world has changed in just two and a half centuries. It’s a miracle to me. You, you put the secrets to restoring my soul in here…
  He shoves the computer off her of desk and onto the floor. It breaks, and the monitor shatters and sparks and starts to burn. Angelus tears the printout from the printer.
  Angelus: It comes out here. (looks at the paper) ‘The Ritual of Restoration.’ Wow. This, this brings back memories.
  He starts to tear the printout in half.
  Jenny: Wait. That’s your…
  Angelus: Oh, my cure? (finishes tearing) No, thanks. Been there, done that, and deja vu just isn’t what it used to be. (sees the fire) My… Isn’t this my lucky day. The computer… (holds the paper over the flames) and the pages. (warms his hands) Looks like I get to kill two birds with one stone.
  He crouches over the fire to warm himself more. Jenny starts toward the back door. Angelus looks back up at her sporting his vamp face.
  Angelus: And teacher makes three.
• +3/ Making up Giles’ apartment for the maximum effect after Jenny’s death. One of my favourite scenes in the Buffyverse, it’s so utterly creepy.

SPIKE- (+3)

• +1/ Spike not wanting to be fed like a child (see Drusilla point 1)
• +1/ Yelling at Angelus for killing Jenny-
  Spike: Are you insane?! We’re supposed to kill the bitch, not leave gag gifts in the friends’ beds.
  Drusilla: But, Spike, the bad teacher was going to restore Angel’s soul.
  Spike: What if she did? If you ask me, I find myself preferring the old Buffy-whipped Angelus. This new, improved one is not playing with a full sack. (gets a look from Angelus) I love a good slaughter as much as the next bloke, but his little pranks will only leave us with one incredibly brassed-off Slayer!
• +1/ Preventing Dru from getting into the big Angelus-Giles fight-
  “Uh-uh. No fair going into the ring unless he tags you first.”

DRUSILLA- (+5)

• +3/ Trying to feed a puppy to Spike-
  “I brought something for you. (brings out the whining puppy) Poor thing. She’s an orphan. Her owner died… (smiles at him) without a fight. Do you like her? (he looks at her) Hmm? (reaches her hand into his jacket and rubs his chest) I brought her especially for you… (pulls at his jacket) to cheer you up. (raises the puppy) And I’ve named her… (sweetly) Sunshine! (offers the puppy to Spike) Open wide. (he looks away) Come on, love. You need to eat something to keep your strength up. Now, (waves the puppy around) rrrrr, open up for mummy.“
• +1/ I like it when Dru gets a vision.
• +1/ Intimidating the magic shop owner, she even brings Sunshine the puppy-
  “Miss Sunshine here tells me you had a visit today. (stares up) But she worries. (looks at the shopkeeper) She wants to know what you and the mean teacher talked about.”

JOYCE- (+2)

• +2/ Giving Buffy the big talk-
  Joyce: Was he the first? (opens her eyes) No, wait. I don’t wanna know. I don’t think I want to.
  Buffy: Yeah. He was the first. I mean, the only.
  Joyce: He’s older than you.
  Buffy: I know.
  Joyce: Too old, Buffy. And he’s obviously not very stable. I really wish… I just thought you would show more judgment.
  Buffy: (looks at her mother) He wasn’t like this before.
  Joyce: Are you in love with him?
  Buffy: I was.
  Joyce: Were you careful?
  Buffy: (looks away) Mom, this is no time…
  Joyce: Don’t ‘Mom’ me, Buffy. You don’t get to get out of this. You had sex with a boy you *didn’t* even see fit to tell me you were dating.
  Buffy: (nods) I made a mistake.
  Joyce: Yeah, well, don’t just say that to shut me up, because I think you really did.
  Buffy: I know that! (looks up at her) I-I can’t tell you everything.
  Joyce: How about anything? Buffy, you can shut me out of your life, I am pretty much used to that. But don’t expect me to ever stop caring about you, because it’s never gonna happen. I love you more than anything in the world. (sits next to Buffy on the bed) That would be your cue to, uh, roll your eyes and tell me I’m grossing you out.
  Buffy: You’re not.
  Joyce: (inhales) Oh, well… (exhales) I guess that was the talk.
  Buffy: So how’d it go?
  They look at each other.
  Joyce: I don’t know. It was my first.

MS. CALENDAR- (+2)

• +1/ Actually figuring out how to restore Angel’s soul again, good work.
• +1/ Discussing Giles with Buffy, their first civil conversation since Angel’s transformation.

SEASON COUNT-

WILLOW- +72
XANDER- +70
BUFFY- +56
GILES- +48
CORDELIA- +37
OZ- +30
DRUSILLA- +28
ANGEL- +27
SPIKE- +23
ANGELUS- +15
JOYCE- +12
MS.CALENDAR- +6
JONATHAN- +1
AMY- +1
LARRY- 0
KENDRA- 0
WILLY- 0
ETHAN RAYNE- -1
ANNE- -1
HARMONY- -2
PRINCIPAL SNYDER- -9

OVERALL COUNT-

BUFFY- +136
XANDER- +114
WILLOW- +114
GILES- +84
CORDELIA- +56
ANGEL- +46
OZ- +30
DRUSILLA- +28
SPIKE- +23
ANGELUS- +15
JOYCE- +15
MS. CALENDAR- +13
AMY- +3
JONATHAN- +1
LARRY- 0
KENDRA- 0
WILLY- 0
ETHAN RAYNE- -1
HARMONY- -1
ANNE- -1
PRINCIPAL SNYDER- -5

EPISODE THOUGHTS-
My favourite episode of all Buffyverse episodes. I knew I was a huge Buffy fan after watching this show.  This is the first of very few episodes that I would consider perfect or nearas you can be to perfect. The episode is full of memorable scenes and moments for each character. Giles and Angelus are the standouts. Angelus is the most pivotal because this is the first time we actually see how dangerous he is. His ability to destroy you physically is only outdone by his ability to defeat you mentally, it’s a very powerful thing to place on a major villain which is why he is the best villain in the Buffyverse. David Boreanaz’s acting is brilliant throughout the episode, not to mention everyother cast member who do a brilliant job also. Giles is given a huge plot point throughout the episode as he has to deal with the death of his one love. It’s an incredibly potent moment when he comes home expecting a night of romance with Jenny only to find her dead body on his bed. The rest of the cast are all very solid. Buffy has to deal with the torment of Angelus as well as the outing of her sexual experience with Angel to Joyce. Willow, Drusilla & Cordelia provide some light-hearted comedy for such a tragic episode which allows for some balance. Overall, this episode is, for me, near on perfect and I could watch it constantly for ages.

100/100