Beth's Synopsis

8:53. And 48 seconds. Angel's winding his clock. He puts it down and studies it, then goes to the end of his desk and lays a pencil on it, watching it roll down to the other end. Cordelia and Doyle watch through the window from the outer office. Cordelia wants to know when Angel got back from Sunnydale. Doyle said he arrived last night and he seemed fine. She's not buying it. He spent three days following Buffy around and keeping her safe, and he's not scowling or acting gloomy. Obviously this one hurt more than usual. "Batten down the hatches, here comes hurricane Buffy." Doyle suggests maybe Angel's over Buffy. Cordelia tells the "little Irish man" that he has a lot to learn.

Just then they see Angel pull a stake out of his drawer, and they rush into his office, begging him not to do it. Buffy's not worth it. Doyle asks him for the stake. He says he can't--he needs it to level off his desk, he adds, as he wedges the wood underneath one of the desk legs. He seems amused that they thought he was going to off himself, but Cordelia quickly says that was Doyle's idea--he always jumped to conclusions, and Angel just saw Buffy. Angel says Buffy didn't see him, he just went, protected her, and left. She's always going to be a part of him, that's never going to change, but she's also human, and he's not, and that's not going to change either. They said goodbye already, and he doesn't want to stir it up again.

Cordelia says if her ex came to town and stalked her in the shadows and didn't even say hello, she'd be--

--a little upset, Buffy finishes for her. All of them turn to see her standing in the doorway, looking at Angel. "Wouldn't you?" she asks him. Cordelia asks her what she's doing in LA. She came to see her father. Awkward small talk ensues. Cordelia introduces Doyle "This is Doyle, and he gets visions of people in trouble." Before Doyle can get out a 'nice to meet you,' Cordelia drags him toward the door, saying they're leaving the two of them alone.

When they're gone, Angel breaks the awkward silence by asking if he can get her something. She wants an explanation. He came to her town and followed her around, is that some kind of new torment he's cooked up for her? He says he wrestled with the decision, she says he made it without her. He says it's complicated, and it's a long story. "Your new sidekick had a vision, I was in it, you came to Sunnydale?" Not that long after all.

She's upset that he didn't think she was important enough to tell her he was in town. He says he didn't tell her because she was important. She says she's a big girl; she's not in high school, and a lot has happened since he left. She doesn't need him protecting her...unless she's in a big fight to the death, which she was last night--and that was him helping, right? He says he was in the neighborhood.

Doyle's staring through the window. "So that's the Slayer?" he asks Cordelia. She says yes and makes a snide remark as she's gathering her purse and other items from the desk. Doyle says she seemed a little hurt and Cordy says there's a lot of that when they're together, then picks up her stuff and tells him to come on. He asks where they're going, and she says Buffy and Angel will be into it for a while, and she and Doyle have time for a cappuccino, and probably the director's cut of Titanic.

Back to Angel's office, where he's apologizing if he handled it wrong and asking what else was he supposed to do. Buffy says she doesn't know, but when he's around, she feels him inside, even if she can't see him, and it throws her. He says it throws him too. She suggests they keep their distance and given enough time they should be able to--

--Forget? Angel finishes. Yeah, she agrees. She turns toward the door, saying she's on her way to start forgetting, when an ugly green demon with a red thing in the middle of his forehead crashes through the window. Angel starts fighting, Buffy yells his name, then jumps into the fight.

At the sounds of crashing and thuds from the office, Doyle stops as he and Cordy are about to walk out the front door. He's concerned, but Cordy waves it off, calling it the Buffy and Angel show. "First they talk out their differences, and then they punch them out." He wants to check on them, but Cordy says no, and they leave.

Back in the office, the two superheroes fight the demon, but after Angel stabs the demon, causing it to bleed neon green blood, it beats them long enough to escape. "Friend of yours?" Buffy asks. He says he's never seen it before, she says it was rude and they should go kill it. He agrees.

She changes clothes, and they start tracking the demon through the sewers. Angel can smell its blood, and says it's headed to the ocean. Buffy says if his "crack staff" hadn't run off at the first sign of trouble, they could be finding out what this thing is and why it wants them dead. They argue about their weapons, she stops the argument by saying can they just kill this thing, because she'd like to be done with this before dark.

Angel finds some of the demon's blood on the corner to a tunnel. They take that path, then Angel stops and says he feels weird. She goes into how it's awkward, everything that's happened since she came there, and it's really confusing being around him. He says he meant he felt weird from the demon's blood. She feels stupid, he says she's right, it is confusing. She's right there, where he can reach out and...it's more than confusing, it's unbearable. They talk and agree that if they let something happen now, they'd still have to leave each other, or worse. She says she's on the brink of having a decent life in Sunnydale, he says that's why he left, because he wants her to have that. They leave it alone for now.

Buffy says maybe he went up into the daylight, where Angel can't follow. She goes up to the street level, he suggests a place to look, tells her to be careful, and continues searching the sewer. A little later, he's attacked by the demon. The demon manages to slice Angel's hand in a sword fight before Angel stabs him to death. The demon's blood oozes out, some of it ending up on Angel's hand and making its way into the gash there. It heals the cut, then he drops to his knees, appearing to be in some pain as we start to hear something that sounds suspiciously like a heartbeat.

Cordelia and Doyle get back to find Angel's office in a shambles. Cordy looks around then runs to a spot on the ground, saying Buffy actually killed Angel. She runs her hands through some powdery stuff there, then realizes it's just dust that she forgot to sweep under the rug.

Angel walks in from the front door, in the middle of the day. Cordelia asks what happened, did he do it with Buffy? He doesn't answer. Doyle takes a step forward, and Cordy warns him not to get too close. Then she realizes where he entered from. "Hey! You walked in the front door from the street. You've...got an umbrella!"

Doyle knows what happened. "He's alive." Angel tells them what happened with the demon. Doyle feels for a pulse as Angel bemoans the pains in his back. He's mortal now, everything feels more real. He's human, and he is so...hungry. Cordy and Doyle watch in a mixture of horror and amusement as Angel starts eating everything in and near the refrigerator. Cordy suggests cookie dough fudge mint chip, he wants that. Then he starts in on the chocolate. He loves chocolate.

Finally he calms down and sends Cordelia after Buffy, to tell her he killed the demon, but not to tell her about his sudden humanity. He wants to figure out what it means first. He and Doyle do research, find out that the ugly green demon is called a Mohra Demon. Doyle says they're Assassins for Darkness, and they take out warriors for "our side," like Angel and Buffy. Their veins run with the blood of eternity, its blood has regenerative properties.

Angel, who is fascinated by his own reflection in the window, says that explains what happened to him, but not why. Doyle says he doesn't know, that he thought the only way he could be made mortal again was if The Powers That Be stepped in. He says he doesn't think Doyle's telling him everything. Doyle says he isn't--this stuff is on a need to know basis only. Angel says he needs to know, and after a little persuasion, Doyle suggests they try the Oracles. But if they turn Angel into a toad, don't say he didn't warn him.

They go to the Gateway for Lost Souls (amusingly enough, under the post office). Doyle tells him the Oracles are finicky and unpredictable, so he shouldn't mess around. If he gets in, ask his question and get back out. Angel asks if Doyle's coming with him, but Doyle says he's not allowed. He's just a lowly messenger, Angel's a warrior. [And we thought the Mayor was a big conspiracy?] Doyle says if his heart is pure and Doyle does the incantation right, they might survive.

Angel gets in to see the Oracles, who resemble ancient Romans and speak in something similar to riddles, but not quite. They tell him the Ogres (sp??) he is mortal now, and that he no longer serves that which they serve. He is released from his fielty. He gets yanked back out of the Oracles realm as fast as he was yanked in, and tells Doyle he's free. He can do whatever he wants. Doyle says the question is what does he want?
Buffy's walking along the beach when she turns to see Angel coming through a gate and walking to her in the daylight. They kiss.

A bumper with a really painful looking shot we haven't seen yet and several commercials later, we come back focused on the clock on Angel's desk. It's now 5:03. And 40 seconds. Doye's reading the paper, Cordy's mumbling about the plant that she says was thriving that morning and now it's dead. "Where she leads, dark forces follow."

Doyle says Cordy's jealous. Cordy says no way. Doyle says they deserve some happiness after all they've been through, but Cordy says bad things happen when those two are happy. "They get groiny with one another, the world as we know it falls apart. Doyle says she doesn't know they're down there doing it. Cordy gives him a disbelieving look. "Oh please. They've got the forbidden love of all time, they've been apart for months. Now he's suddenly human? I'm sure they're down there just having tea and crackers."

Buffy and Angel are sitting at his kitchen table. Having tea. Angel says they should take this slow. Buffy agrees. Neither of them sounds like they believe it. They continue to talk about how they have to wait and see what happens with his humanity, and Angel points out all the problems they still have. Buffy doesn't like hearing them, but she stays calm. They say they stay in touch, just not literally. "We'll talk soon," Buffy says as she lays her hand on top of his.

Wham! Kissing, more kissing, slamming against the refrigerator door, throwing things off the kitchen table and then throwing themselves on it, still kissing. Time passes, and Angel's at the refrigerator, naked, with Buffy yelling for peanut butter as he gathers a bunch of food and heads back to the other room (behind a conveniently placed strip of something hiding an area from his hips to about the tops of his thighs) and just joins her back in the bed. Buffy says this must be a dream--he's been human for a day and he already has cookie dough fudge mint chip ice cream in his fridge.

Buffy's over the whole mature plan. The time he just spent in the kitchen was enough time apart. Angel agrees. He spills his spoon full of ice cream on his chest, muttering about human coordination, but Buffy says it's fine, and proceeds to lick the ice cream off him. The rest of the ice cream gets set aside in favor of some under cover work.

Cordelia and Doyle are at a bar. Cordy's complaining that she's out of a job. Doyle says it's not just her. He's glad for Angel, but if that means he's off the hook with TPTB as well, then that's even better. He's finally free to go make his own mark on the world. "We had a cat that used to do that," Cordy grumbles.

While Cordy's still moaning about her lack of skills beyond international superstar and helping a vampire rid the world of evil, Doyle says he's happy to rid himself of those "bone-crunching, head-wrenching, mind-numbing visions," right before his head slams into the bar as he has another vision. "We've got trouble."
Buffy's lying with her head on Angel's chest, talking about how good his heartbeat sounds. She says she's tired, but she wants to stay awake so this day can keep happening. He tells her to sleep. They'll make another day like it tomorrow. She says it's the first time she's felt like a normal girl falling asleep in the arms of her normal boyfriend. "It's perfect," she adds as she falls asleep.

Later, he's lying there watching her sleep when Doyle shows up. The Mohra demon has regenerated itself in the tunnel where Angel killed it. Angel says he'll have to kill it again. Doyle reminds him he's human, but he says he doesn't want that thing running around. Doyle saw the place in a factory where there was salt, there's a saline plant in Redondo, so Doyle can read up on the demon while Angel drives. Doyle suggests waking Buffy, since she's stronger, but Angel says no, he doesn't want to wake her, not for the world.

They go to the factory. Doyle's still reading. The Mohra demon regenerates stronger every time it's killed. In order to kill it permanently, one must "bring darkness to a thousand eyes." They come across some guys this demon has killed, the blood and gore almost brings Angel to his knees. Doyle tells him it's part of being human. Angel says he's going to kill this thing, and Doyle looks straight up, saying the demon is there. The demon jumps on them from above. They both fight it. It knocks Doyle out first. Angel's trying to fight, but he's only human, and eventually he starts retreating, only he can't get away from it.

Buffy wakes up and goes upstairs looking for Angel, but only finds Cordy. After hedging Buffy's questions about Angel's whereabouts for a minute, Cordy finally has to tell her Angel said not to tell where he'd gone. Buffy says tell her anyway. Cordy rails into her about how she can't have everything, and besides, it's Buffy's fault that Angel went to fight that thing all by himself anyway.

Back to the fight. They fall into in some kind of pit and the demon starts kicking his mortal butt all over the place. "The end of days has begun and cannot be stopped. For any one of us that falls, ten shall rise." Just then Buffy arrives and starts fighting the demon herself. "Together you were powerful, alone you are dead," the demon says. Angel throws salt at him, which distracts him for a few seconds. Angel suddenly realizes the 'thousand eyes' is the jewel in the demon's forehead. He tells Buffy to smash the jewel. She does, and the demon goes poof in a flash of light. She runs over to a very beaten-up Angel and pulls him onto her lap (the painful looking scene from the bumper earlier). She's okay, he's okay, and they're together. That's all that matters to her.

Early the next morning, Angel goes to see the Oracles again. He says the Mohra demon said the end of days are coming, and asks if he was telling the truth. He asks what will happen to Buffy. They confirm she will die. He asks them to take his life back. At first they say it's not their business, but he says it is. The Mohra demon came to take a warrior from their cause. By giving him back his humanity, they accomplished that. The male oracle says "What is done cannot be undone," but the female counters with what is not yet done can be avoided." He says temporal folds are not meant to indulge the whims of lower beings, but she says if he's willing to give up his humanity for another, he is not a lower being.

They tell him they can swallow the day, as if it never happened. Twenty-four hours from the moment the demon first attacked him they take it back. He asks what will stop them from making the same mistakes over again. They tell him he alone will remember the day they've taken, and ask if he can carry the burden.

8:56. And 10 seconds. According to the clock on the wall in Angel's apartment, anyway. Buffy's pacing when Angel comes down the stairs. She asks what happened, and he said nothing. He tells her of his visit to the Oracles, and that he asked them to turn him back because one of them, possibly both of them, will die if he stays human. He won't let her fight and die alone. They argue about it, but she can't convince him that it was wrong. Eventually she stops arguing and just starts crying. But she understands why he didn't tell her before he left, and asks what's going to happen. He says they're taking back the whole day, back to the moment the demon came into his office. She wants to know when, he looks at the clock and says they have one minute.

She says it's not enough time. How is she supposed to go on with her life knowing what they could have had? He tells her she won't remember. He's the only one who will know what happened. She says she'll never forget. She can't. She felt his heartbeat. They kiss, she looks at the clock. Five seconds left. It's not enough time. She hugs him, promising, "I'll never forget. I'll never forget. I'll never forget."

A flash, and she's standing in front of him in his office, looking exactly like she did 24 hours earlier, saying the same words. He looks disoriented for a moment, but manages to say exactly what he said then. The demon crashes through the window, Angel smashes the jewel in his forehead. Buffy asks how he knew how to kill it. He says he's had some time to catch up on his reading.

She says it seems they've covered everything. That's all there really is to say. Angel looks at the broken clock on the floor. 9:02. And 7 seconds. When he looks up again, she's walking out. "That's it," he whispers as he stares after her.

Beth's Review

Ow. Owowowow. I feel sorry for the people who live in areas that only get Buffy, and not Angel, because the loose ends left behind when Buffy finds out Angel was in Sunnydale were so beautifully tied, unraveled, shredded and then tied up again in Angel. Even as my heart was being stomped on in that final scene before time went backwards, I was already wanting to see it again. It was so amazingly well-written, well-acted, and well...beautiful, in that angsty, rip your heart out and tear it to a thousand pieces way. I've learned to sort of go with the flow when it comes to Buffy and Angel, trusting Joss and company to give me exactly what I want, take it away and deny my ability to ever have it again, and make me like it. Sadistic geniuses, all of 'em. But even with my acceptance of that ability, this one nearly killed me.

I thought the use of the clocks during the episode was interesting. Especially the last scene, when he's looking down at the clock. It's as if for him, time has stopped, the memory of what he gave up has chained him to that moment in time. But she's out the door, moving on, with very little to hold her back.

Did I mention

OW

Characters:

Angel went through more angst in this episode than anyone should ever have to deal with. To become human, to have something he'd never even let himself want because he didn't think it was possible...for a vampire with a soul that's got to be like getting every single Christmas he's missed over the past 220 or so years all at once, and then some. How do you deal with so many changes physically, not to mention the mental changes, such as his sick reaction to blood and death.

The rest of the characters don't remember the day, so they're pretty much where they started off. But in the day that didn't happen they showed us a few things about themselves. Cordelia cares more than she likes to let on about what she does working for Angel. Doyle knows more about the grand scheme behind the fight between good and evil than he's telling. And Buffy, for all her moving on, would go back in a heartbeat if she had a real chance with Angel.

Relationships:

Buffy and Angel. Tortured, "forbidden love of all time," and totally not meant to ever be together, no matter how much they wish they could be.

Continuity:

Buffy still loves Angel. Angel still loves Buffy. They still can't be together.

Angel, can, however, become human. Of course, it could cost one or both of them their lives, which pretty much makes it a moot point. For now. What if they beat back this "end of days"? If he could get his hands on a Mohra demon and the "end of days" is thwarted, things could be different. Of course there'd still be evil, vampires, criminals, and every other thing they fight, but maybe this time it would be different. Yeah. Sure.

We learned more about the 'conspiracy' (for lack of a better word) going on in the background. It reminds me of the days on Buffy when we were getting hints about the Mayor, only we're talking about the whole world now, not just one little town on a Hellmouth.

Best Moments:

Angel rediscovering food. He can eat cookie dough fudge mint chip ice cream in my bed any day.

Angel, walking through the gate in the trees to join Buffy in the sun.

When Buffy puts her hand on Angel's in his kitchen, and things just explode between them.

The last minute before time gets swallowed.

Rating:

It was excellent. Almost perfect. But because I know that just as soon as I say they created the best, most perfect episode ever, they'd have to outdo themselves, and a better ep just might kill me...

SunSpeak

"I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. And if I didn't love him so damn much, I'd hate him more." --MB

"I hate him for a different reason. Been there, done that. Hope they never do that again. Never." --Karen

"Joss sucked me in tonight, kinda made me hope for them again (although not a lot, I mean, I knew they weren't getting back together, but still....), by giving me something we hadn't seen 5,000 times before. Good and bad issues were discussed; they got to eat peanut butter and chocolate together; they actually *attempted* to wait... even though their hormones took over five seconds later.
And then Angel had to be a *guy*. < razzemfrazzemidiotjerkboytwitwho'snottheSlayer! >
What was up with that? Is it just me, or was that not *phenomenally* stupid!? 'I'm now mortal and perishable, without the strength of the demon inside me, and I'm going to go after a demon-assasin by _myself_, instead of waking up my girlfriend who's the Slayer. Something which I would mock Xander Harris for, were he here, but he's not, so, gee, I guess it's my turn to behave like a moron.' Nnnngghhhh!!"
"....because he's also 'Guy in a brand new body who's been doing the Vampire Thing for more than 2 centuries' and old habits die hard. And because he LOVES her.... more than anything. And also, because he's a Stupid Freakin' Guy!"
"Not to mention 'Guy who probably never knew what it *really* felt like to get pummeled even by other mortals because you have to be *sober* for that'..." -- KiKi , Mary Beth, & Val

"Maybe this all had a bigger point than sacrificing yourself for the chance to maybe, but not definitely, protect your True Love. Who might be able to take care of herself just fine, thanks. Which brings me back to Riley. And being annoyed.
So after Angel makes this *huge* sacrifice, throws away mortal happiness so he can protect Buffy, we're supposed to go back to rooting for Riley and Buffy to be together, because he's normal and she wants that. Even though the *exact same issues* may come up, or at least _should_ come up, if Angel made such a big deal out of them. The protecting-the-boyfriend issue, and the trying-to-protect-Buffy issue, and the losing-people-we-love-and-not-being-able-to-stop-it issue. We should tolerate this? Or not-tolerate this, or, I don't know what....
Because, basically, I think Angel made the wrong choice. But I'm so *tired* of them together--- even though they were really cute and sweet tonight --- that I just want a change. And not for just a while. Or, well, maybe that's the point, that Joss wants to jerk us around again so we can be happy when they avert the Apocalypse and get together at the end of fifth season BtVS, and Angel becomes a real boy again. Or dies. And they go off to live on a fluffy cloud in Heaven... Annoyed, annoyed, annoyed." -- Kiki, on a roll

"Yup. Gotta agree with you there. Not much chance I'm ever going to see anyone but Angel as her ultimate love. But as long as she doesn't remember..... it's not going to affect her and what she thinks. Just *us* and Angel. Dammit."
"And this *still* annoys me. Even saying that Riley *can* take care of himself, and is not in as much danger as StupidMortalAngel, I don't *like* being asked to conditionally care about Buffy and Riley being together, with a $5 saver bet on Angel. I'm an all-or-nothing kind of chick. I got sick of my romances being manipulated after 8 years of soap addiction, I don't need it here...." --MB & Kiki

"It's going to feel like a *cheat* if Buffy and Riley get together, because Angel's by himself. And frankly, I don't want to feel like that. *pout* It's going to feel like a cheat because of what Angel gave up, and why he did it, and the fact that those reasons apply to mortal-Riley in some ways as well as mortal-Angel. And yes, the world is sometimes unfair, but this is ridiculous, because he did it to himself, and it may not have been necessary or smart.
If he'd done it because he believed in the fight against Evil... or if he'd done it because he felt he had more to atone for, and wasn't ready to be mortal yet.... of if he'd even done it in the sure and certain belief that doing this would save Buffy's life, and not just maybe.... I could live with it. But that wasn't the impression I got." -- KiKi, still annoyed

"It's not only about Saving Buffy. It's also about... saving himself. He may be human, but he's still got the memories of what he's done for 2 centuries. Somehow he's 'cured' but he most certainly doesn't feel like he's atoned for his sins yet. There are still people he needs to help and battles he needs to fight. He is a warrior for 'The Cause' (whatever that is) and he is a Higher Being and no matter what gift has been given to him, he no longer has it within himself to be that selfish. And it was damned nice to see Buffy -- albeit a tad reluctantly at first and who the heck can blame her in the face of all she's been through -- wake up and not be that selfish either.
There's also the demon's comment during the fight -- they're stronger *together* than they are apart. As a pair of "superheros" the forces of darkness are in trouble. As a slayer and her boyfriend, they're weak."
"But what about Captain Farmboy??? (No, never mind. Hashed this out with Dee & Lizbet: Riley is a 20th Century guy, with 20th Century toys. Angel isn't. And, well, given the same sitch, Riley would have let Buffy sleep... but he would have taken a freakin' battalion along with him, not having a death-and-redemption-wish that he needs to work out with the Powers That Be. So, well, never mind. It may not be an issue. I hope.)" -- Mary Beth and Chris

"I think I need to watch those Oracle scenes again. I liked those guys. They amuse me." -- Kiki

"I also liked finding out that Doyle's visions and talents extend to contacting higher powers, and not classifying himself as a "warrior". I'd like to know more about how he got into this, after he and Harriet split up. Interesting story there, I'll bet." --Kiki

"I liked Cordelia's take on things most of the way through--- and yeah, I'll bet she was jealous. I think I need to rewatch that part too, to make sure, but... Sorry, Cordy. Yup, you're out of a job, but try to see the upside... well, no, I'm just annoyed too. So you can be irritated and snarky if you want to be." --Kiki

"Not to mention, 'Hey, my girlfriend's the Slayer, doomed to someday die because she's the Chosen One. If I risk my immortal soul and become a vampire again, I can *maybe* protect her, and avert her eventual death, even though that's not really in the cards, 'cause, well, she's the Slayer, and 'one dies and the next one is Chosen' is one of a Slayer's defining qualities. So I think I'll do that, instead of dealing with normal mortal pain and suffering, and the possibility of losing her, and of course, there's no way I'm asking her first.'"
"This is a vague inkling I have so work with me: What if Buffy's not really destined to die anymore? I mean..... she has died. Another was called. Buffy's been living an 'extra' life, as it were, for a couple years now. It's quite possible that's something that will factor into her future. This *is* Joss we're talking about. And *if* Faith does come back.... or dies so another is called..... there'll always be a Slayer who's not Buffy." -- Kiki & MB

"By making this sacrifice, TPTB have truly taken notice. He is a 'higher being' now. He'll fight their battles and do whatever they need him to do. And some day.... at the End of Days, when they're done fighting Arnold Schwarzenegger and Gabriel Byrne, maybe, just maybe, TPTB will remember his sacrifice and give him his due.... And that due is Buffy. Dammit." -- MB, rationalizing again.

"It's going to feel like a *cheat* if Buffy and Riley get together, because Angel's by himself. "
"This is what truly truly truly upset me. It's just so CRUEL. Torture the guy with a soul. Give him a stupid clause. Send him away from the one he loves. Give him friends. Give him a magical cure. Give him the girl. Take it away -- but have him remember. Then do the thing with the person. Does he really deserve this???" --KiKi & MB

"Unfortunately, a bit like the Gem of Amarra thing (and perhaps partially because it's only been a few weeks since he faced that similar choice), it didn't come off quite right to me, maybe simply because it was too much of a twist to the left in style to feel natural. The whole thing just felt to me like it was shoehorned in as an excuse to get them together for sweeps, which is something I almost *never* feel about anything these folks make. Mind you, on other occasions that I've felt that way (last Christmas comes to mind), what they set up *did* pay off interestingly. (Well, I'm still waiting for the full payoff on Christmas, actually, but you get the idea). So if this wasn't more sound and angsting signifying nothing, I'm on board. I'll still not be fond of the ep itself, but I'll acknowledge the necessity of the setup. The jury remains out." -- Val

"I was *so* happy with Doyle when he pointed that out, two seconds after I had been saying, ''Scuze me, don't you want to take the SLAYER along to kill a demon?' And loved how unhappy Doyle looked about Angel overriding said protest. And annoyed that he didn't press the issue while he had the chance...too accustomed to Angel being stronger than he is, I guess."--Val

"I'm also troubled by the playing fast and loose with Grand Cosmic Power that was necessary to make this plot happen. There's a certain irony in the two examples of deus ex machina cancelling each other out, and the oh-so-dignified sibling rivalry between the Oracles was mildly entertaining. In fact, the Oracles themselves were kinda cool in that eccentric-minor-deity kinda way...but it just didn't fit well in this universe. Way jarring." -- Val

"I'm the Angst Princess. I love pain and torment. I'm just wacky that way. So act 4 and the tag worked for me on that level. No, Buffy and Angel can't be together unless one or the other (or, in reality, *BOTH*) of their situations changes dramatically. . . . It makes sense that, however much we hate them, we hit the Universal Reset Button on this one. I'm even happy that Buffy doesn't remember but Angel does. If Buffy *did* remember, no way in HELL she'd be able to pick up her life again and move on. We'd have Eternal Mopey Buffy. And Mopey Buffy is a Cranky Slayer, and, well, we know that's bad. Mopey Angel, on the other hand, is cute and, well, I'm used to that. So, no (well, not *many*) issues with act 4 and tag.
But I desperately want to drop-kick whatever practical joker threw an early draft of act 3 into the shooting script (and thwips for everyone who didn't realize that the script they were shooting had no relation to the rest of the episode). That was loathesome, horrible, nasty, bad, STUPID. *Why* would Angel, Mortal Angel, go off without his Slayer Girlfriend? How *DUMB* can we make this boy look? DUH! Here's how I think the final rewrite (which was tragically lost) went:

Doyle goes down to Angel's apartment to wake him and warn him about his vision. Angel doesn't want to wake Buffy and starts heading out without her. Doyle follows up the stairs, and accidentally tips something heavy over so it crashes and wakes Buffy. Buffy (happy because she has not woken up alone) dope-slaps her loving boyfriend and tries to convince him to stay behind. He refuses, the three of them go out, Doyle is put out of the fight early, and Angel's not-yet-used-to-mortal-level coordination puts him in danger, and distracts Buffy. Angel is injured, Buffy slays the Mora demon, and without changing a single word, you can go forward with the story.

My version means that Angel only has to be a *little* dumb, and makes Angel's later decision to abandon mortality *much* more pointy, since he *has* put Buffy in danger by being weak, not just worried that he *might*. Grrrr. Snarl. Grrrr." --Lizbet

"It's a *chance* to save Buffy's life.... over a *definite* death. That's enough for him."
"It's all vague and nebulous, and it makes me pout. I like my Evil clear-cut too, darnit."
"Yeah. But Angel has always been about giving Buffy the chance. Any chance. He can't stand the thought of her being exposed to death without at least being able to do something to save her -- either by being there or, frankly, by not being there.... as a distraction."-- MB & Kiki & MB

"Sidenote: As a Merc, I think this is *really* cruel. He gets to enjoy PB& chockie, and kissing and wild-thing with his sweetie, and then they take it away forever and ever. Mean, mean, mean." -- Kiki

"I've managed to watch 3 times now. He's stupid. Lizbet's right, they should have written it so Buffy tagged along. But it's not out of character for Angel to be a Stupid Guy. He's been being a Stupid Guy with the whole 'leaving Buffy' thing. So she can have a normal life. Cuz she's a Slayer, dammit, and she's NOT normal. And yes, I'm still bitter. But it's also incredibly sweet and a TRUE sign of love that he's willing to give her up. But he's Stupid. " --MB

"What gets me even more than the whole Buffy/Angel dynamic is just Angel himself. As I said before, he doesn't deserve *this* much pain. And... I get more verklempt when I think about how much he's shouldering all in the name of loving Buffy. And she really has no clue (or maybe she does, actually, but doesn't dwell on it out of self-preservation-- and that would also be why she gets mopey easily.... ) Anyway... I hurt for the guy. " --MB

"People who don't like B/A are insisting that this is the end of them. But I don't see how it is. Honestly. If they really want to end it, they're going to have to do something that ends with them hating each other with such a passion that they can't stand to be near each other again. Something that would in effect ruin what has come before. And if the S/I through B1/2 arc didn't do it.... I was all set for them to do that. Having not read any spoilers, I was convinced it was going to be a bitter ending. And yes, there's some bitterness on Buffy's part -- but with her and Angel it's never been about what they say as much as what they dont'. If Joss really wants us to move on, he can't be giving fuel to the fire of B/A. And this just gave me, not hope so much as... well... strengthen faith in their love anyway. And more than that, how am I, a die-hard B/A fan, supposed to even .... < MB stops to sob as Sarah M.'s "I Will Remember You" comes on the radio, which she doesn't have access to turn off.... > Um, how'm I supposed to even think that anyone else can live up to the love that Angel has for her? No matter how well Riley can handle himself, no matter how kind and considerate he is.... would he sacrifice humanity for her? Maybe. I guess I'm supposed to wait and see. But I'm not going to be happy about it now. And I was at least willing to try and deal with it before. I don't understand putting a B/A story like *this* in the middle of a 'Getting to know Riley' arc. Riley is going to have to be one Perfect Guy to top Angel. And the thing is, I tend to root for the guys who are less than perfect. Like Angel. Who's not perfect cuz he's STUPID!" -- MB, really ranting now.... "I hate that he remembers. That he's alone. It's so sad. I want to comfort him. Preferrably with cookie dough mint chocolate chip ice cream." --MB

"Um... actually -- I left halfway through the show, got a cup of tea and didn't bother to rewind later and catch what I was missing (the Buffy/Angel angst scene). Yeah. I was disappointed for all the reasons people are already mentioning. It just felt... he reminded me so much of Nick Knight in this ep by going ahead and deciding things w/o anyone else's input. Gut reaction 'Been there, done that, ate the cookies and already had the tummyache'. -- Dawn

"...and Pam Ewing wakes up in the shower."
"I too felt Angel was a bit of a cheesy cop out, just like the scene above (luckily I stopped watching Dallas LONG before that). Their being together as two mortals was really sweet, but would've gotten old fast." --Jennie & Judy

"I was expecting a much higher thudding ratio seeing as Angel was basically nude for one scene. Only a well placed beam kept the scene acceptable ratings wise. It was a cute scene as was the bed one." --Judy

"Why did I think TPTB was aimed at tv execs, writers.... everyone that is responsible for the Buffy/Angelverse? There were some lines that were a bit scary in that nature, about how the characters don't control things, TPTB do." --Judy

"I also have a longstanding prejudice against the whole "time resets, it never really happened" device. "The Wish" was bloody f***ing brilliant enough to overcome that. This, while I mostly enjoyed watching it, was *not*."
"Not real thrilled, either, but I think they also realized we couldn't take another bout of mopey Slayer and backtracing so heavily with Riley. It would have been too close to last season with the Buffy/Angel/Scott Hope triangle thingy and happily, they decided not to repeat themselves in this instance."
"It is stupid. But The Wish was to frightening for words and it showed the *viewers* a "what if." It was for us more than anything. And with IWRY, Angel *does* remember. It'll be interesting to see if it has any consequences on him (besides increased brow-furrowing). I mean, he still has the knowledge that a Mora demon can cure his vampirism.... That's not to say it was still a good idea. It was still a harsh cruel thing to do... to Angel and the viewers. I don't like it. I think it was a trick just to give B/A fans something they wanted and then slap them on the hands for wanting it. But.... at least *some* of it remains remembered. Don't know if it's good or not. " -- Val, Julie & MB

"I think we've gotten a lot more emotional development for the characters on BtVS than on *most* US series. We've had very few instances of the 'magic re-set button', which I think has actually spoiled us - when we get an episode that involves the 'and then he woke up in the shower and it was all a dream' ending, we're more upset than we would be with another series that uses that device more often. Not that we *shouldn't* feel cheated - after all, it's a cheap-ass stupid device! But it's all a matter of expectations, really.
The one exception I can think of is "The Wish" --- where everyone died and was evil. That made it fun. And it's not like I'd trade some of the great stuff in 'I Will Remember' for, well... not having had it. But it leaves a bad-wine taste in your mouth, of having taken for a ride, if you can't see some of it coming. I don't know. I'm torn between the having-faith in where they take us, and Trusting No One. I like to be surprised, and not predict things; but I don't like it when they make it a stupid surprise. *sigh* Just hand me the 'Wants Cake to Eat and Have' sign over here, okay?" --Mo & Kiki "There are aspects of this "what if?" that certainly apply to IWRY:
-it's a "what if?" in that it asks what would happen if Angel became human
-we know it won't last as it would radically change, now, *both* shows.
However, in this situation, I object because:
-they *pretend* to be fooling us into thinking they might let this "take"...and we know very well it won't because of the premise of each show being violated by the story, so, as viewers, we are left to say, "Gee...just *tell* us it won't last already; we know, and you must think we're really idiots to not be able to see that." I consider this bad storytelling in the same way that I considered the "red herring" of "Is Willow really a Bad Witch" in "Gingerbread" to be bad storytelling. They're convincing no one--why try to fool us if we are far less intelligent than the profess to believe their viewers are?
-this was not an Alternate Universe that was *explored*. They had sex. They ate ice cream. There was almost *zero* exploration of the way their worlds would be changed by him being human. Verbal exploration, yes. The one fight that went badly, yes. Any real *glimpse* where they show us this world? No. " --Amy

"I've always been a B/A fan. But I realized tonight that.... I'm becoming of fan of them like I've always been for Mulder and Scully. My wish for M&S has always been 'a few sweet moments, reminders of the friendship they have, of the bond they share, and a few vague promises of a future together' .... this is what I want for B/A at this point. I want them together in the end. They deserve it. I deserve it. And I want reminders now and again of what they had and have and will have. But that makes living with the now harder. I *want* to follow Joss where he takes me.... but it's so hard."
"I could deal with this. But. It would mean that Buffy wouldn't be with Riley. Or at least not all the way. And I don't *like* the idea that they'll get them together just to break them up, and make me angst. Hate that."
"Me too. I don't like be in a quandry. I prefer a quandry-free existance. Dammit. I told you I hate Joss." --MB & Kiki & MB