Readers, just a little note: This recap might be less snarky than usual because, well, this episode is an extremely good forty-four minutes of television and I'm a big sap who can't think of too many snide things to say while I'm sniffling over teen angst and groping for the Kleenex.
We begin at the warehouse. The Judge is chillin' in the corner. Spike rolls onto the scene and says that he's unhappy that Angel and Buffy are still alive. He thinks they should split, because the other side now knows the location of the Batcave. Dru walks up to him and reassures Spike that Angel won't bother him because he'll be afraid to face the Judge. Spike wants to know, "What's Big Blue up to anyway? He just sits there." The Judge informs Spike that he is "preparing," and Spike retorts that "preparing looks a great bit like sitting in your ass. When do we destroy the world already?" Well, that's a change. I thought Spike liked living in the world because of all the "Happy Meals with legs"? The Judge tells Spike that he needs to kill a whole bunch more people before he's at full strength. Suddenly, their spat is interrupted by Dru moaning. She drops to the floor in one of her patented crazy-person seizures. Spike asks Dru what the matter is, but all she says is, "Angel." Finally an evil smile replaces her cries.
Back at Angel's abode. In bed, Buffy reaches for Angel but awakens when she finds his side of the bed empty. Which is such a TV cliché thing to do. I've never ever woken up like that, and if I did I'd likely be thrilled with the aspect of more covers. The room is lit up in a flash of lightening, and the Foley artist really went overboard with the rain sound effects here. It sounds like Angel lives in some sort of lean-to in Shanty Town with three sides exposed to the elements. Buffy sits up and calls out, "Angel," in a quavering voice.
Outside in the alley, Angel falls on the pavement. He calls for Buffy before collapsing to the ground. A woman standing in a doorway sees him and walks over. Is she a prostitute? Just out for a midnight stroll? Whatever. These questions are not important. All you need to know is that she's smoking and therefore falls into one of two categories: "evil" or "not long for this world." The woman asks Angel if he wants her to call an ambulance, and Angel gets to his feet, saying, "No. The pain is gone." The woman takes a drag off her cig and asks if Angel is "sure." In response, he spins to face her in full game face and grabs her in a feeding frenzy. When he's finished, he drops her and exhales her last smoke-filled breath for her. I remember the first time I saw this I thought it was incredibly cool -- and it still is, as long as you don't spend too much time on the logistics.
Buffy comes in through the kitchen door, her hair perfectly coiffed and makeup artfully applied in an apartment that probably has no mirrors. Say what you will about Buffy, but she has her talents, so I'm sorry I said she didn't in my "Puppet Show" recap. She starts to head upstairs (to change those hideous pants, I hope) but she's stopped by Joyce's voice saying morning from off-camera. Buffy turns and heads back down. Mother and daughter engage in small talk. Buffy is visibly nervous. Joyce uses her Super Mom powers to discern that Buffy is troubled and asks her about it, but Buffy denies that anything is wrong.
Xander enters the library and tells the gang that the "bus depot was a total washout." He picks up on the worried vibe in the room and asks where Buffy is. Willow tells him that "she never checked in." Giles tells Xander that the Judge is probably assembled by now. Xander immediately starts planning to go to Spike's factory. "And do what? Besides be afraid and die?" pipes up Cordelia from her position on the counter. Xander has a snotty response, but Giles tells him that Cordelia has a good point. Xander angrily says, "Yeah? Well, those of us who were born with feelings are going to do something about this." Willow jumps on the bandwagon and says, "My God. You people are all -- well, I'm upset and I can't think of a mean word right now but that's what you are and we're going to the factory!" With that, she and Xander prepare to stomp out, but run right into Buffy. Xander tells her, "We were just going to rescue you." "Well, some of us were," amends Willow, with a pointed look at Giles. Jenny asks after Angel's whereabouts, but Buffy is surprised to learn that he hadn't checked in with the gang. Buffy tells everyone that the Judge is fully operational; Giles chides Buffy for not calling, and she makes up an excuse that she and Angel had to hide in the sewers and got split up. Giles asks Buffy for information about the Judge, and Buffy describes the feeling when she kicked him as a "sudden fever." Giles says that he will "continue researching," and I'm beginning to think that Giles has only three modes: "Research," "Tweedy British Guy," and "Off." He sends everyone off to their classes, even though they can't have more than two classes left because the clock in the library reads 1:00 PM. In the hallway, Willow catches up to Buffy to ask if she thinks that Angel "would have gone after the Judge himself." Buffy says she doesn't think so and says, "I just…I wish he'd contact me. I need to talk to him." The make their way up the stairs, and Jenny skulks around the corner and watches them.
At the Factory, Drusilla is lying on the table starting at the ceiling. Spike wheels over and asks if she's feeling better. Drusilla: "I'm naming all the stars." Spike: "You can't see the stars, love. That's the ceiling. Also, it's day." Drusilla: "I can see them. But I've named them all the same name and there's terrible confusion." Usually I think that Dru is a big crazy waste of space, but for some reason I still like that exchange. Spike asks her if she knows what will happen to Angel, and right on cue Angel strolls in, saying, "Well. He moves to New York and tries to fulfill that Broadway dream. It's tough sledding, but one day he's working in the chorus when the big star twists her ankle." So then what? Angel dresses in drag and plays her part? Anyway, more banter. Spike tells Angel to look over his shoulder, and Angel turns to see the Judge. The Judge feels Angel up, and Spike gloatingly says, "Hurts, doesn't it?" Angel calmly tells him that it "kinda itches a little." The Judge says, "This one cannot be burned. He is clean -- there is no humanity in him." Angel turns to Spike and says, "I couldn't have said it better myself." Dru coos, "Angel," and he replies, "Yeah, baby. I'm back," with an evil half-smirk. Dru and Spike are positively gleeful at this turn of events. Angelus (which I'm going to try to remember to call him from here on out, just to indicate his lack of soul (no, not in that way, sillies, although as a dead white guy, I'm sure he does lack soul)) lights a cigarette, thus proving that he is Truly Evil. Spike tells Angelus that "it made [him] sick -- seeing you as the Slayer's lap dog." Angelus growls at this and grabs Spike by his lapels. But then he kisses him on the forehead and everyone bursts into laughter. Dru leans towards Angelus and says, "Psst. We're going to destroy the world. Want to come?" Angelus talks them into waiting a night so he can harass Buffy. Spike: "You've really got a yen to hurt this girl, haven't you?" Angelus: "She made me feel like a human being. That's not the kind of thing you just forgive."
Back at the library, the gang is still researching. Willow is on the phone with Buffy. Still no sign of Angel. Xander slams his book shut and goes into the stacks to get a different one. Inside the stacks, Cordelia is also looking through a book. She shelves it, and Xander approaches her to apologize for snapping at her. Cordelia: "Well, I'm reeling from that new experience." Xander protests that he was "crazed" and he "wasn't thinking." Cordelia: "You were too busy rushing off to die for your beloved Buffy. You'd never die for me." Xander retorts that he "might die from you. Does that get me any points?" When Cordelia is not forthcoming, Xander suggests that they "kiss and make up." Cordelia says, "I don't want to make up. But I'm okay with the other part," she finishes with a wide smile. They kiss. As they pull apart, the camera pans back to show Willow standing there with a shocked and hurt look on her face. She runs off, and Xander goes after her. Outside the library, Willow is still sprinting away. Xander calls after her again and she stops to confront him: "I knew it! I knew it! Well, not 'knew' in the sense of having the slightest idea, but I knew there was something I didn't know." Xander says that he knows "it's weird." Which sets Willow off as she disgustedly says, "It's Cordelia! Remember? The, the 'We Hate Cordelia' club, of which you are the treasurer." I usually love Alyson Hannigan's work, but I think she went a little over the top in the delivery of that line. Xander tells her that she's overreacting and that kissing "doesn't mean that much." Oh, that's nice, Xander. Willow then breaks my heart by saying, "No. It just means that you'd rather be with someone you hate than be with me." Ouch. She runs off to leave Xander to his thoughts.
Buffy walks up to her house and reaches the door, but before she goes inside she reconsiders and turns around. The shot shows her entering Angel's apartment. She walks to the bedroom to see a freshly made bed. See? Angel can't be all bad -- he still makes his bed. Shirtless Angel Doll walks into the frame behind Buffy and puts on a necklace. But -- he must be evil! Behold the leather pants! Buffy senses his presence and turns to see him. She crosses the room in, like, a single step and hugs him. They kiss. Buffy tells him how worried she was. She's crying tears of relief as she asks him why he disappeared, and Angelus replies, "Yeah. Like I really wanted to stick around after that." "What?" asks an anxious Buffy. "You've got a lot to learn about men, kiddo. Although I guess you proved that last night." Buffy says in a bewildered tone, "I, I don't understand. Was it m-me? Was I not good?" Oh, that hurts. This scene makes me teary. Of course Buffy is silly to think that anything was her fault, but she doesn't know that and her pain is so evident. Angelus sarcastically tells her that he "thought [she was] a real pro." Buffy is crying by this time, and Angel tells her not to make a big deal out of the situation. Buffy says that "it is a big deal." Angel laughs and coldly tells her, "Come on, Buffy. It's not like I've never been there before." He reaches out his hand to stroke her cheek but she pulls back, saying, "Don't touch me." Angel starts to go and says, "I should've known you wouldn't be able to handle it." Buffy yells, "Angel," to his departing back, and once she has his attention, she says softly, "I love you," in a last-ditch effort. Angel quips, "Love you too," in that fake Hollywood way and throws an "I'll call you," over his shoulder. He walks out, leaving a very sad little Buffy. Her confusion as to what has become of her sensitive, moping boyfriend gets me every time. Sniff.
Blah blah blah. Somewhere in Uncle Enyos's quarters, Jenny is trying to reason with him regarding Angel. He's not going for it. We learn that Angel's curse has been lifted because of the "true happiness" clause. Jenny leaves, calling Enyos a fool under her breath. Whatever. I'm so over Enyos, his vest, his shoelace tie, and his crappy accent.
Willow is walking through the school lounge. Xander emerges from a nearby door and tells her that he's "glad [she] came back" because they "can't do this without" her. Willow almost cuts him off, saying, "Let's get this straight. I don't understand it. I don't want to understand it. You have gross emotional problems and things are not okay between us." Beat. "But what's happening right now is more important than that." Xander digests this information, and then Willow asks if they've made any progress. They haven't, and when Willow begins to mock one of the books, saying, "Where's an army when you need one?" Xander gets a thoughtful look on his face. Hmmm. That sentence doesn't look right to me. Xander: "Whoa. Whoa! I think I'm having a thought. Yeah -- that's a thought. Now I'm having a plan." All of a sudden the lights cut out except for the lights in the trophy case, which must be on a backup generator or something, because God forbid that the school should go for even one moment without cheerleading trophies illuminated to the proper ISO 9000 standards. Xander continues, "Now I'm having a wiggins." Angelus appears at the far end of the darkened hallway, and Xander starts to tell him about his plan, but Angelus advises him to put that thought on hold because he has something to show them. He tells Xander to round up the gang and then calls Willow over to him. She starts towards him, walking extra slowly to heighten the suspense. Xander's intuition or something kicks in, because halfway to the library he stops and turns around. Willow is almost to Angel when another figure appears behind her. It's Jenny, brandishing a cross. She tells Willow to stay away from Angel and orders her to walk towards Jenny. Willow is confused and has turned to face Jenny. Angelus, in his game face, grabs her by the throat from behind. Angelus tells the present company that he has a "message for Buffy." "Why don't you give it to me yourself?" asks Buffy from behind Angel. Angel and Willow turn to face Buffy and he answers, "Well, it's not really the kind of message you tell. It sort of involves finding the bodies of all your friends." Angelus violently shakes Willow by the neck, and she yelps some more. While Buffy is trying to appeal to Angelus's human side, Xander liberates the cross from Jenny and sneaks up behind the leather-clad vamp. When he's close enough, he shoves the cross into Angelus's face from behind. Angelus recoils from it and shoves Willow away; she falls into Xander and they collapse together. Angelus then runs to Buffy and, grabbing her by the shoulders, his face inches away from hers, says, "Things are about to get very interesting." He gives her a quick kiss on the mouth and shoves her against the wall before high-tailing it out of there. Good direction here. Having Angelus kiss Buffy was definitely the most disturbing moment of the episode for me.
In the library, Giles is not taking the news of Angelus's return well. In fact, he is "leaning towards blind panic." Willow, sitting across the table from Buffy, notices her distress and gets up to comfort her. Buffy says she "should've known. When [she] saw him at the house he was different. The things he said." House? Angel lives in house? Methinks this line didn't get properly fixed, since the original draft of this episode called for Buffy and Angel to have their confrontation in her front yard. Giles wants to know what Angel said, but Buffy tells him it's personal. Willow turns to Jenny and asks how she knew that Angel had turned evil. She gives Willow a "ruh roh" look but quickly recovers, saying that she saw Angel's game face. Giles moans, "If only we knew how it happened." Now it's Buffy's turn to look like the jig is up as she asks Giles to clarify. Giles explains that "some event must have triggered his transformation." Watching the realization of what happened dawning over Buffy's face is downright painful to watch. Buffy denies knowledge of anything that could have caused it. Giles presses her saying, "Well did anything happen last night that, that might --" but Buffy jumps up and starts fleeing from the library, saying, "Giles, please. I can't," in a choked voice. Giles calls after her, but Willow, having figured out the situation, says, "Giles, shut up," never taking her eyes off of Buffy's retreating figure. Buffy pulls open the library door and runs off down the hallway.
Back in the library, Cordelia shows her usual insensitivity, calling Buffy a "basket case" and declaring they've hit bottom. Xander says he has a plan, and Cordy twerps, "Oh no, here's a lower place," which is just one of the many reasons Cordelia is so not my favorite character. That kind of nastiness to someone you're dating is inexcusable. Anyway, Xander has a plan to take care of the Judge and tells a curious Willow that he'll "need Cordelia for this one." Willow looks glum. Xander also wants a large vehicle, and Willow perks up a little because she can ask Oz to bring his van. Xander and Cordy bicker a little about the plan, and he tells her to meet him at Willow's house and to "wear something trashy...er." Heh. Maybe she can borrow something from Buffy's closet. Xander and Cordy leave. Jenny and Willow tell a concerned Giles to leave Buffy alone for tonight.
At the Factory, Angel brags to Spike and the dolly-clutching Drusilla about his adventures at the school. Spike isn't impressed because Angel didn't kill the Slayer, killing being the vampire "raison d'etre," but Dru, poking her doll in the eyes (a frequent Dru motif), lisps that Angel wants to hurt Buffy before he kills her. Spike and Angel bicker and Angel gets temperamental, taunting Spike that Buffy is "stronger than any Slayer you've ever faced." The big clunk (tm Sep's mom) then concludes, "To kill this girl, you have to love her."
The much-loved girl mopes into her bedroom, sniffling. She spots the crucifix Angel gave her and pulls his claddagh ring from her finger. Sobbing, she falls on the bed, cradling the ring. Aw man, I know I give Buffy a hard time and all, but this scene gets me teary. Anyone who's ever been cruelly rejected has got to feel something watching Buffy here.
A flash and a crash and we're in a dream sequence. Dark sheets, heavy breathing, Angel's bare back, Buffy's serenely ecstatic face, moaning, fuzzy blankets writhing, water dripping -- well, I'm sure you get the picture. Angel whispers, "I love you," and to a crashing noise he suddenly turns and vamps out. Then Buffy stands graveside in the sunlight. Angel approaches her and whispers (it's a whispery-type dream, I guess), "You have to know what to see." She looks at him, and then turns to see Jenny Calendar lifting a black veil off her face.
Buffy wakes the morning and makes a determined face. She stomps into school, clad in an ass-kicking and name-taking black outfit. Her boobs really jounce as she marches with great determination, and I must say it doesn't look at all comfortable. That's the price of spaghetti-strap tanks, I suppose. I wouldn't know. Buffy enters Jenny's classroom, spots Jenny and Giles chatting at the front of the room, and assaults Jenny, shoving her down on the desk. A stuttering Giles quickly dismisses the class, and Buffy lets Jenny stand, demanding, "Did you do it? Did you change him?" Nice job on Buffy's makeup here; she looks drawn and every inch the crazed, jilted lover. Buffy accuses and Giles tries to interfere until Jenny admits her involvement. She has a hard time revealing the truth, but admits she was sent to watch Buffy, to keep her and Angel apart. When Jenny explains that Angel was paying for his transgression against her people, Buffy rasps, "And me? What was I supposed to be paying for?" Jenny claims she didn't know what would happen and would have told Buffy if she did. "So it was me? I did it?" demands Buffy, her worst fears realized. Giles wants clarification, and Jenny explains that if Angel "achieved one moment of true happiness," he would lose his soul. Giles doesn't understand how Buffy was involved, but she just gives him a look until he stutters, "Oh," and removes his glasses. Buffy demands that Jenny re-curse Angel, but Jenny claims "those magicks are lost." For plot-device purposes, Buffy then demands that Jenny take her to someone who can re-curse Angel.
Uncle Enyos smokes his pipe and the door creaks behind him. "I knew she would bring you. I suppose you want answers," he says, because he thinks it's Buffy at the door. But we see that it's actually Angelus entering. And that's the end of Uncle Enyos, who wasn't much of a Gypsy anyway, if he didn't even hang a little garlic around the door. Oh, how the old ways are lost in the new world.
Some military base in or around Sunnydale. Soldiers do maneuvers in the drizzling rain. The camera pans back outside the fence and along a shed wall and we see Oz's van pull up. Xander tells Willow and Oz (Oz! I love Oz. Sorry, but I don't think it can be said enough) to wait until they see a window open, at which point they will be passed "a package." Cordy and Xander exit the van and slip in through the chain-link fence. Cordy, looking like the contents of my recycling bin in a bright silver jacket and headband, asks, "Who am I supposed to be again?" and Xander tells her, "You're supposed to be a girl. Think you can handle it?" Okay, he's not so nice to her either. Eh. Their relationship gives me acid reflux. They creep along the side of a building, and as Xander approaches a door marked "Secured Area," a guard appears, cocks his gun, and demands that they identify themselves. Xander persuades the guard that he's a private on leave from the 33rd, and Cordy plays her part well, if unknowingly, by ditzing, "Hi! I'm not a soldier. Right?" Xander tells the guard that he wants to show the lady the "big guns" in the armory in order to get her "hot and bothered," but the guard isn't convinced he should turn a blind eye. Xander blackmails him by barking out, "Well, if you do, I won't tell Colonel Newsome that your boots ain't regulation, your post wasn't covered, and you hold your gun like a sissy girl," and the guard grudgingly tells him he has twenty minutes. Xander and Cordy enter the armory and the guard looks around, perhaps considering his not-regulation boots.
Inside the armory, Cordy wants to know how Xander pulled off his little scam, and Xander explains that he retained soldierly knowledge from the incident at Halloween when he was turned into a military man. Cordy is actually impressed, but is curious as to whether "looking at guns really make[s] girls wanna have sex? " Then she asks Xander if looking at guns makes him want to have sex, and gets the immortal reply, "I'm seventeen. Looking at linoleum makes me wanna have sex."
Outside in the van, Willow frets. In a just-making-conversation tone, Oz asks, "So, do you guys steal weapons from the Army a lot?" and Willow replies, "Well, we don't have cable, so we have to make our own fun." A moment of rain-drizzled silence, and then Willow frantically asks, "Do you want to make out with me?" Oz is rather incredulous at this outburst, but when Willow asks again, he tells her, "Sometimes, when I'm sitting in class -- you know, I'm not thinking about class, 'cause that would never happen. I think about kissing you. And it's like everything stops. It's like, it's like freeze frame. Willow kissage." Willow looks excited, but Oz then tells her he's not actually going to kiss her now. She's confused, but he gently explains that he gets the feeling she wants to kiss him to get back at Xander in some way, and he feels that's "on the empty side." He tells her that in his fantasy, when he's kissing her, she's kissing him, and that swooning sound you hear is Sep, Sars, and me sliding off our sofas in a mushy mess. Oz says he'll wait; then he hears the heads-up from Xander and gets out of the van, but Willow just stares after him, smiling slightly, deeply impressed.
Jenny, Buffy, and Giles enter Uncle Enyos's hotel room and find his dead body. I'm distracted from all the pathos by my sudden realization the timeline of this episode is seriously screwed up. Damn, I never noticed stuff like this before I was a recapper. Curse my critical eye! Smeared in Enyos's blood above the bed are the words "Was it good for you too?" Giles states that Angel is deliberately taunting Buffy, and thank you for that, Captain Obvious (tm Sep), because I'm sure Little Miss It's-All-About-Me thought it was just all some sort of strange coincidence. Buffy says Angel is only making it easier, and she knows she has to kill him.
At the Factory, the Judge wanders about wrapped in an old blanket and declares that he's ready. Angelus and Dru escort the Judge off to some location of evil-doing, leaving a very resentful Spike behind in his wheelchair.
In Giles's office, Xander and Oz place a heavy wooden box on Giles's desk. As Giles pries open the box with a crowbar, Buffy tells him she plans to check out the Factory first. They eye the contents of the box; Buffy seems to approve. Behind them, Jenny stands in the doorway and offers her help, but both Buffy and Giles tell her to get out and then turn their backs on her. Ouch! Xander offers to show Buffy how to use whatever is in the box.
Buffy, Giles, Xander, and the rest of the gang find the Factory deserted, although Spike is actually there, lurking in the shadows. Buffy muses that the Judge will need to go "somewhere crowded" to start his killing, and Willow suggests the Bronze. But the Bronze is closed, so the gang is stumped until Oz suggests the mall.
Crowd shots of people in line at a movie theater concession stand, then more shots of shoppers going about their mall-y business. The camera pans up a flight of stairs to a set of really fake-looking swinging doors that look unlike any mall entrance I've ever seen. Well, possibly they could be the doors to a parking garage. I guess Angelus brought his evil minions by car in that case, since he, Dru, the Judge, and their cohorts come striding through the doors into the mall. The Judge zaps a random passerby who looks a little like Ben Stein, and Angelus sends his henchvamps to "lock the exits." "It's all yours," Angelus tells the Judge.
An elevator dings open and we see that great shot from the series credits: Buffy marches in front, Giles and Xander follow with the large box on their shoulders, and Willow, Cordy, and Oz trail behind. Buffy instructs the gang to keep out of harm's way and that she plans to "handle the Smurf."
The Judge, who appears to have not raised an eyebrow amongst the blasé Californian shoppers, spreads his arms and send out bolts of yellow soul-sucking energy. The bolts jump from person to person, and soon everyone in the vicinity is trapped in a web of lightning. The Judge curls his lip in a satisfied way, Angelus grins, and Dru jiggles with excitement. Suddenly a crossbow bolt hits the Judge in his chest and causes him to lose his concentration, freeing the bystanders from his evil energy. "Who dares?" shouts the Judge, and the camera pans (lots of panning in this episode) across the mall, up the concession counter, and over the popcorn machine to show Buffy, striking a pose with her crossbow. "No weapon forged can stop me," reiterates the Judge, but Buffy blandly replies, "That was then." She shoulders a rocket launcher and finishes, "This is now." Buffy powers up the weapon, the Scoobies hide behind the snack bar, Angelus and Dru hit the deck, and the Judge just stares at Buffy curiously. "What's that do?" inquires the Judge, but his question is quickly answered when Buffy fires a rocket straight into him. The Judge bursts into tiny pieces, which shower Angelus and Dru where they lie on the floor. Dru whimpers and totters off in her red satin high heels, and it's really very hard to be at all scared of such a squeamish and barely ambulatory vampire. So no part of a explosive rocket or rocket launcher is formed by "heating and hammering"? Well, I'll take the writers' word for it. Buffy instructs the gang to "pick up the pieces and keep them separate" and Cordy grouses, "Pieces? We get the pieces. Our job sucks!" Buffy spots Angelus running for an exit and jumps down to follow him.
The flaming Judge-e-que sets off the sprinklers, and Buffy gets doused as she follows after Angelus. He's nowhere to be found, but suddenly hops out and punches Buffy in the face, knocking her down. Looking very silly with his spiky do all plastered around his ears, Angelus taunts Buffy, telling her, "If I'd known how easily you'd give it up, I wouldn't have even bothered." Buffy stands and puts on a brave face, saying he isn't Angel, but he retorts, "The important thing is you made me the man I am today!" They fight viciously.
The soaked Scooby gang is busy collecting Judge-bits, and Oz unhelpfully stands and calls out, "Uh, arm!" while pointing at one of the Judge's arms. Yeah, I don't know why they put that scene in either.
Buffy and Angelus fight, with lots of slipping around on the wet floor and dramatic water spraying off their hair. Angelus gets the best of Buffy but then taunts her one too many times, and she proceeds to pretty much beat the crap out of him. She pulls a stake from wherever in her tight-fitting clothing she keeps such things, but then her lip quivers and she lowers the weapon. "You can't do it. You can't kill me," notes Angelus for the radio audience, so Buffy settles for dealing him an extremely powerful kick to the goolies. Angelus collapses in pain and Buffy leaves, breathing, "Give me time."
Giles and Buffy pull up to her house in Giles's battered little car. He informs her that "it's not over." Buffy, lips quivering, knows that. Giles tells her that Angel's profile indicates he'll "strike out at the things that made him most human." Buffy replies by saying that Giles must be disappointed in her. Giles is rather shocked and assures her that he isn't disappointed, and that the appearance of Angelus is not her fault. He tells her she perhaps acted rashly, but he knows that she loved soully Angel and that soully Angel loved her. He assures Buffy that he won't feed her guilt and instead will just give her support and respect. Buffy weeps quietly.
On TV, a couple dancing in a black-and-white movie. The woman in the movie sings, "Goodnight, my love. My moment with you now is ending." Joyce comes out of the kitchen with two cupcakes and joins Buffy on the couch. She apologizes for not making Buffy a "real cake," but reminds Buffy of their planned shopping trip. Joyce asks Buffy what she did for her birthday and when Buffy glumly replies, "I got older," Joyce sweetly assures her, "You look the same to me." She lights a candle on one of the cupcakes and tells Buffy to make a wish. Buffy decides to let the candle burn and nestles her head on her mother's shoulder. Joyce strokes her hair.