If ever an episode in the first season breaks into a 'Buffy' fan’s ‘best of’ list for the series it's normally...
Angel
or Prophecy Girl.
Generally in Buffy, payoff episodes like these change the characters or their lives permanently when it's over.
They are part of what makes the show such a blast.
Huh. Just go and watch this one. I’ll be here.
On the way home from The Bronze Buffy gets jumped by assassins and bailed out by Angel.
They flee to Buffy’s home where Angel...
[sexy montage music]
and shows off a tattoo
...a griffin
You know...a half lion, half bird.
*coughs*
'Scuse me.
Angel and Buffy do some sexy close talking until her Mom shows.
Buffy, fearing for Angel’s safety, hides him in her bedroom for the night.
When she comes home the next day Angel is still undiscovered.
"Your mother moved your diary when she came in to straighten up. I watched her from the closet."
*cough*
Sorry. Something in my throat again.
Buffy and Angel do an adorable little verbal do si do and…
I didn’t watch Buffy until my 30s, at which point I’d already heard through the grapevine about the show and its spinoff...
'Angel'.
I imagine for fans getting to find out Angel’s secret naturally through the progression of the storytelling
was probably a bit like Vader’s confession in Empire.
"No, I am you're..."
---massage therapist.
"NOOOO---"
Anyway, Buffy tells the gang what happened and the consensus seems to be...
she should stake him.
Angel gets a visit from Darla who tries to convince him his attempts to be something other than a practicing vampire are a waste of time.
She can feel the desire within him.
While Buffy is studying, Darla shows up at her house,
tricks Joyce into inviting her in and then attacks her.
When Angel tries to save her Darla throws Joyce into his arms and we can see his hunger.
Buffy comes home at the wrong time.
[awkward moment]
[rejection]
Darla tells Angel he's now in a 'kill or be killed' position.
"I want it finished."
This leads to the showdown in the empty Bronze and Angel finally disclosing the curse.
As a punishment for killing a gypsy his soul was restored.
For a 100 years, he’s been living with the shame and self-hatred of the horrible things he did as a vampire.
But remember, when a person becomes a vampire they get invaded by a demon.
The restoration of Angel’s soul didn’t exorcise the demon in him.
Angel confesses that he wanted to kill Buffy tonight,
but I believe thats the impulse of the demon in him and I think that he does too.
He’s attempting suicide by cop. Look at how poorly he fights and when the moment comes how he freezes.
That's his self hatred for what he is and the things he did, coupled with his fear of what he might still be capable of.
And I think that's why Buffy won’t kill him.
I think she realizes its actually his desire to be good that has brought them to this moment.
It's one of my favorite scenes in the first season.
Her walking towards him and offering him the chance. She can see the good in him and knows he won't be able to see it himself.
So she shows him his own spark of humanity. It's a lovely little emotional crescendo.
And then, like, making love and having a bucket of ice water dumped over your head,
in comes Two Guns Lispy Vampire Darla to remind us we're still watching the first season.
It’s like a scene choreographed by John Wu’s 10 year old grandson on his iPhone.
Darla deserved a better ending than this.
But all’s forgiven in the final scene.
*sniff*
H-He loves her.
If I’m honest,when I first watched this episode I didn’t quite GET why Buffy and Angel were so drawn to each other,
other than raging hormones and the fact that they're both waaaay prettier than I am.
Which to ME is the very definition of trashy romantic schlock.
Romance driven by the superficial rather than character and narrative.
But, in doing these reviews I realized I’m just an idiot.
Their attraction makes perfect sense.
Buffy is the Slayer. The only superpowered human on Earth.
She can never be a completely normal human being, and she can never have a normal life.
Angel, a vampire cursed with his soul, is also isolated.
He isn't a human and due to the curse that restored his soul, his conscience won't allow him to live as a vampire.
It's their mutual isolation that brings them together.
Of course, you could argue that Buffy didn’t know any of this about Angel until this episode but I don’t think that’s entirely true.
Whenever they spoke he was always alone.
"Do you know what it's like to have a friend?"
[broods]
"That wasn't supposed to be a stumper."
The signs were there from the start.
It’s just an all around great episode.
Wonderful dialogue. Great scenes.
And a more interesting world for the characters after it's done.
But drink deep my friends....
[Camp thunder]