Teaser

25A) "Take me over, I'm lying down / I'm giving in to you..." MUSICALLY SPEAKING: "Foreshadowing for Angel and Buffy’s sex scene at the end. She allows him to take her over, gives into him and as a result of the passion – Surprise – he becomes the most evil thing imaginable."--Shadowkat, Fri, 03/07/03 at 19:38:32

"Um, maybe it's just my interpretation of that scene, but I didn't see Buffy allowing Angel to ‘take her over’ -- she was the assertive one, pushing for sex when he was trying to get her to rethink it. Of course, he ends up giving in to her and their lusty loins :) but I saw that as a mutual thing."--Scroll, Fri, 03/07/03 at 22:49:48

Maybe we can see the voice of the narrator in the song as Angel's and not Buffy's. ;o)

25B) ...and an organ grinder's monkey. MONKEY IN MAN'S CLOTHING: "The monkey's clothing makes me think of the costume that hides the animal underneath. Yes, it’s a reference to the conversation with Oz [who himself turns out to have an animal within (see 25C)], but it also forshadows the stripping away of this mask that we all as animals wear. In addition, the pants specifically cover the sexuality. Buffy and Angel will both lose their pants by the end of the episode, and in so doing they will expose their sexuality and reveal the animal underneath the costume."--manwitch, Sun, 03/09/03 at 14:34:27

25C) "The hippo stole his pants." CONTINUITY CHECK: "A reference to Oz's first real conversation with Willow about Animal Crackers, which related to the fact that the monkeys are the only ones with clothes and suggested that the hippos are jealous of the French-speaking monkeys (see 22Hx4). Interesting that Buffy wasn't there for that conversation, which does make one wonder if dreams in the Buffyverse do come from some collective unconscious and not the individual (e.g. the debates about whether there was genuine telepathic contact between Buffy and Faith in Graduation Day II or between the Scoobies in Restless.)"--KdS, Sat, 03/08/03 at 04:31:17 See 25Ax4.

25D) "Do you really think you're ready, Buffy?" DOUBLE MEANING: Of course, this line of Joyce's, which later proves to be in response to Buffy wanting to drive, can also be seen as Buffy asking herself whether she is ready yet to lose her virginity to Angel. It also foreshadows Joyce appearing in Buffy's dream in Bring On the Night and asking her if she's ready to fight the great evil coming.

25E) It shatters on the floor. JOYCE CLUMSY: "This is reminiscent of the wineglass that broke in Ted. It could be symbolic of the breaking down of barriers which occurs when a friendly relationship turns into a sexual one, and/or the breaking of an established set of relationship patterns (if Buffy starts sleeping with Angel it will significantly alter her relationship to Xander, Giles, and her calling as a slayer) and/or the breaking of an established self-view (she will cross a very important culturally-defined boundary to become an adult in the sense of 'contains adult material') This metaphorical equating of breaking with the consequences of sexuality is of course typified in Smashed. The fracture could also be seen as prefiguring the fracturing of the relationship (but then since all Buffyverse sexual relationships seem to fracture, maybe that doesn't need saying!)"--MsGiles, Sun, 03/09/03 at 03:37:23

"The broken cup makes me think of predestination and time. Isn't there some Eastern idea of imagining things in their true state? So that when you see a cup, you should already recognize it as broken, because that is its inevitable destiny. That way, when it does break, you won't feel the loss, because it was always broken. So there is a sense that I am not quite able to articulate in which it communicates to me a certain pre-destination and inevitability around what is about to occur. Also, the idea of time moving in only one direction. When the cup breaks, there is no going back. Buffy is about to take a step for which there is no reset button. What's done cannot be undone."--manwitch, Sun, 03/09/03 at 14:34:27

25F) Angel is standing at the pool table. THE POOL TABLE O' LIFE: "The pool table jumped out at me...mainly because of Once More, With Feeling. This was an ep where the symbolism could be much more overt, musicals being symbolic in the manner of fables, and the pool table featured in the key scene where Dawn was captured by the minions and brought to the Bronze. She finds herself on the pooltable. Since the Dawn theme in this ep is to do with her own transition from a child to a sexually aware and available being, I am led to think that maybe the pool table wasn't an accident. Consider other appearances of the table - Willow playing magic pool with Amy, her rebound-from-Tara [in Smashed]. Spike playing pool with Buffy in Fool for Love, where the backstory for their future interaction is established. The pool table is a point where two people interact socially but potentially also quasi-sexually. They wield long pointy things and knock balls into little dark pockets (sorry, getting carried away here). They also compete, score points off each other."--MsGiles, Sun, 03/09/03 at 03:37:23

25G) "They reach out for each other. Before she can touch him his hand begins to disintegrate." DADDY COMPLEX: "Foreshadowing again for Becoming II. In both cases it’s not Dru who kills Angel but Buffy who does. The two daughters. This is very important by the way – Angel is representative of Dru’s father by siring, but he also represents a surrogate father for Buffy (see 10MM and 25S). Anyways - Buffy kills Angel by making love to him. It's important to note she's killed the man not the demon in him. The demon is released. The slayer/vampire motif. This theme is echoed in Season 6 where Buffy seems to awaken the man in Spike when he falls for her - sending him out to find a soul. It's the opposite metaphor. In her dream - she sees Dru dusting Angel, but in reality Buffy 'dusts' Angel and Dru gets Angelus. Also both girls seem to share the same Birthday - and get the same present: the Judge and Angel. Angel = takes Buffy's virginity making her a woman, and goes back to Drusilla - whose virginity he took when he killed her making her a vampire. Angel turns Dru evil. Buffy turns Angel evil. The writers excel in flipping metaphors on their head and in the process showing the ironic results of character's actions. It is ironic that it is Buffy who is the enemy in her own dream."--Shadowkat, Fri, 03/07/03 at 19:38:32 See 15U and 34Hx4.

This "dream that so motivates Buffy to try to save Angel is actually prophesizing his 'death' at her hands." Further, arguably, Buffy may not have had sex with Angel had this dream not occurred, so in a very real way, this dream itself sets the stage for the tumultous events of the second half of season two, all the way through the climax of Becoming II.--ponygirl, Fri, 03/07/03 at 23:14:09, with additions by Rob

WHISPER SWEET NOTHINGS: As Angel disintegrates, he whispers (almost inaudibly), "My soul!" foreshadowing the events of the last moments of this episode.

25H) "Happy Birthday, Buffy." BLOW OUT THE CANDLES: "The episode inaugurates the tradition of Buffy's Birthday Torture [which continues in Helpless, A New Man, Blood Ties, and Older and Far Away]."--KdS, Sat, 03/08/03 at 04:31:17

Act One

25I) She comes in... FROM THE ORIGINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT: "[ANGEL] opens the door. Just out of bed. Nicely rumpled...INT. ANGEL'S APARTMENT - DAY The shades are drawn. It's dark as a tomb. Good thing, too."--"Surprise" by Marti Noxon, available through Pocketbooks, Inc. as Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Script Book, Season Two, Volume 3

25J) "The dreams that I had about the Master, they came true." CONTINUITY CHECK: Buffy is, of course, referring to the events of Prophecy Girl (see 12FFF), and her prior dreams about the Master in Nightmares (see 10A). While Buffy is correct and those dreams did come true, she should take comfort in the fact that, regardless, she was able to succeed in the end.

25K) "...what if Drusilla is alive? We never saw her body." BUFFY GOOFS: "Uh, Buffy, would you really expect to find a body? Dru would have disintegrated if she were actually dead."--ponygirl, Fri, 03/07/03 at 23:14:09

25L) He grabs and kisses her, and she responds. DISTRACTING KISSAGE: "Very traditional romance stuff to silence her protests with a kiss. It also speaks to the power dynamics of their relationship at this point – Angel is comforting and very much in charge. It also speaks to another theme of this episode and season 2, Buffy and Angel’s growing passion constantly distracts them from the matters at hand (see 24W)."--ponygirl, Fri, 03/07/03 at 23:14:09

25M) "It's bedtime for me." DAY OWL: Angel's bedtime actually seems to be whenever it's most convenient for the plot of that particular episode. Throughout the course of both series, we will see him awake all night, and at times all day, sometimes going to sleep at night, sometimes in the morning, etc. One can assume, though, that vamps' supernatural bodies require less sleep than humans, so Angel probably could go to sleep whenever he can find a chance.

25N) "Yeah. It is." ON THE LIGHTER SIDE...: "Forgive me, but I have to wonder how Angelus would have delivered this line!"--ponygirl, Fri, 03/07/03 at 23:14:09

25O) "Right. H-he's not the type." ANGEL/ANGELUS: "A notable line showing just how little Buffy and Willow know or want to know about Angelus, for whom literal and metaphorical rape was not so much a hobby, more an eternal mission."--KdS, Sat, 03/08/03 at 04:31:17

25P) "...'want' isn't always the right thing *to* do. To act on want can be wrong." BUFFY'S PHILOSOPHY: Buffy's attitude here will be directly challenged by Faith in the third season's Bad Girls. Faith's response to Buffy here would be: "Want. Take. Have."

25Q) "Carpe diem. You told me that once." CONTINUITY CHECK: "Buffy told Willow this in the first episode of the series Welcome to The Hellmouth (see 1NN) and it had disastrous results...[W]hen Willow seized the day – she almost became a vampire – the boy who liked her turned evil and tried to eat her. Buffy realizes her calling and goes to save her. Here same thing happens. Willow tells Buffy to seize the day and Angel loses his soul as a result."--Shadowkat, Fri, 03/07/03 at 19:38:32

25R) "'Fish of the day'?" GOOD CATCH: Thus it's pretty much proven that Buffy was absolutely clueless as to what Willow said in her dream at the start of the episode (see 25C). Here, she can't even figure out this simple Latin phrase!

25S) "My boyfriend had a bicentennial." DADDY COMPLEX: "Refers back to the father taboo. Repeated by Willow mentioning how much older Oz is then she. And Buffy says her boyfriend just celebrated a bicentennial. They keep emphasizing how much older Angel is. (Interesting - this isn't done with Spike as much in later seasons.) The reason is that Angel very much has taken over Hank's role in Buffy's life - the role of confident, teacher and protector while Giles has the role of task-master and disciplinarian and protector. Giles and Angel share the father role (see 10MM and 25G). And by sleeping Angel - Buffy breaks the taboo - does the Electra thing and sleeps with Daddy (see 23Y)."--Shadowkat, Fri, 03/07/03 at 19:38:32

25T) "You can't spend the rest of your life waiting for Xander to wake up and smell the hottie." IDIOM TIME: "A pun on the metaphor 'Wake up and smell the coffee,' [meaning, 'Look up already, and notice what's staring you right in the face!']"--KdS, Sat, 03/08/03 at 04:31:17

25U)"Well, what if the talking thing becomes the awkward-silence thing?" CONTINUITY CHECK: In Welcome to the Hellmouth, Willow said, "Well, when I'm with a boy I like, it's hard for me to say anything cool, or, or witty, or at all. I-I can usually make a few vowel sounds, and then I have to go away."

25V) "Well, you won't know until you try." FROM THE ORIGINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT: In the original script, Buffy follows this line by saying, "Come on, Will...Seize the fish!" Also, she passes Uncle Enyos as she walks by, a detail left out of the final product.--"Surprise" by Marti Noxon, available through Pocketbooks, Inc. as Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Script Book, Season Two, Volume 3

25W) "Hey." OOPS!: "When Willow is talking to Buffy about going over to talk to Oz, her hair under her hat is pulled back behind her ears and her earrings are showing. Although she doesn't take off her hat, when she walks over to Oz her hair completely covers her ears."--Cactus Watcher, Fri, 03/07/03 at 21:26:41

25X) "You have nothing to be ashamed of. I, on the other hand, have *everything* to be ashamed of." BALANCE OF POWER: This scene where Cordy and Xander discuss telling other people about them foreshadows Willow's discovery in Innocence, and further underlines the fact that, socially speaking, Cordy is the one with more to lose should the secret come out.

25Y) "Now remember: discretion is the better part of valor." ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE: "'Discretion is the better part of valor' is an allusion to [Shakespeare's] Henry IV part 1, Act 5 scene 4 ('The better part of valor is discretion' says Sir John Falstaff). Xander responds by saying, 'Are all you Brits such drama queens?'...which I think is meant to emphasize the connection of the line to the dramatic work from which it has been taken. Xander, and it appears even Giles, interpret the line to mean something along the lines of 'shhh.' For which the phrase does seem a little like overkill, again emphasizing its reference. The general consensus on usage of the phrase 'Discretion is the better part of valor,' seems to be that it means 'be cautious/prudent.' In the play, the line has a different meaning. It is comical and evokes laughter and mockery, because Falstaff has just feigned death rather than battle Hotspur on the field, and after Hal has killed Hotspur and departed (sorry for spoiling the ending), Falstaff stabs the dead Hotspur's body and drags the body off to attempt to get credit for the victory. Falstaff is ignoble, because there is nothing one can do that is less noble than to attempt to save yourself at the expense of your duty to your station. That ultimately has much resonance with the theme of Season Two of Buffy, who like Hal, must place the duty to her station higher than her own needs and wants."--manwitch, Sun, 03/09/03 at 14:34:27

25Z) "...but...it's Angel, which automatically equals maxi-wig." THAT'S PUNNY!: "Maxi" refers to the largest size of pads in which tampons are sold. Here, Buffy is saying that her "wigging-out" is going to be quite extreme! In The Prom, Willow will refer to Angel as a "super-maxi jerk" for dumping Buffy right before the prom.

25AA) He gives her a smile as she goes. FROM THE ORIGINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT: Following Buffy's departure, Giles and Jenny, in the original script, have a very interesting conversation, that touches on such thing as the Slayer metaphor=the maturation of a young woman and the short lifespan of most Slayers, a bit of subtle foreshadowing regarding Jenny's secret, and Giles' discomfort with being considered a father figure (see 9C):

JENNY: I guess it makes sense. I mean, all of Buffy's senses are heightened. Why should her intuition be different?

GILES: Precisely. It's not unheard of for the Slayer to start having prophetic dreams and visions as she approaches adulthood-

JENNY: Adulthood? Buffy's seventeen tomorrow, Giles. Don't rush her.

GILES: I'm not the one rushing her. While I'm loathe to say it, the fact is - the Slayer rarely lives into her mid-twenties. It follows that she'd exhibit signs of maturity early on. Her whole life-cycle is accelerated.

JENNY: Still, you should be careful about treating her like a grown-up. Like - this thing with Angel. Have you even talked to her about it?

GILES: I - I suppose I try not to pry.

JENNY: Maybe you should, a little. The way she talks - it's clear she has intense feelings for him.

GILES: Well, yes. They're friends-

JENNY: They're more than friends and you know it.

A beat as this sinks in.

GILES: I'm not her father, Jenny.

JENNY: She looks up to you. She'll never actually say that, but she does. And I just think, at her age, it's
easy to get in over your head. She could make some bad choices here. Trust me on this one.

GILES: I'll keep an eye to it. Right now I'm worried enough trying to think of the right birthday present.--"Surprise" by Marti Noxon, available through Pocketbooks, Inc. as Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Script Book, Season Two, Volume 3

25BB) "Just put it on the table...near the other gifts." BIRTHDAY TWINS?: "The suggestion, though never confirmed, is that Buffy and Drusilla share a birthday. The connections between these two through the dreams emphasizes the rivalry for Angel which began in Lie To Me (see 19H)."--ponygirl, Fri, 03/07/03 at 23:14:09

25CC) ...as Spike rolls into view in a wheelchair. CONTINUITY CHECK: This is the first time we've seen Spike since his injury in What's My Line II (see 22Lx4). It is also interesting proof that, although vamps can heal from just about anything, some more serious physical injuries such as broken bones do take a substantial amount of time, unlike bruises and cuts which can disappear in minutes.

25DD) "But the invitations are sent." FROM THE ORIGINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT: "Spike knows this is true - although he doesn't like it."--"Surprise" by Marti Noxon, available through Pocketbooks, Inc. as Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Script Book, Season Two, Volume 3

This is an interesting stage direction to note, especially since many have said that there is a continuity error in Spike not wanting to destroy the world in Becoming II, but the fact is that everything he does, he does for Dru. And here, one can see that Spike is not himself keen on destroying the world. He does it to oblige Dru. In Becoming II, although Dru wants it, Angelus is calling the shots, and so Spike sabotages the plan.

"I think Dru was the impetus behind the Judge business- it was her party, her present, Angel said she was crazy enough to do it. A 'whatever Princess wants, Princess gets' deal. I also think that the Judge himself, with his disdain for vampires and their lingering humanity, might have had Spike reconsidering the value of an apocalypse (Pathetique, Jun 3 07:47 1998)."--posted in Masquerade's "Surprise/Innocence" Analysis, from http://www.atpobtvs.com

"Also, there's a difference in the Apocalypses between this ep and Becoming II. The Acathla Apocalypse would have been a single cataclysmic event which would have been irreversible once initiated. Setting the Judge on humanity would have been more like a last battle between humanity and demonity, with plenty of the hairsbreadth risks and all-out combat that Spike loves to lose himself in."--KdS, Sat, 03/08/03 at 04:31:17 See 34V.

CLOTHES MAKE THE VAMP: "Drusilla’s clothing in this episode is a dramatic switch from her previous white, child-like dresses. She is dressed in red and black, symbolizing her power and sexuality."--ponygirl, Fri, 03/07/03 at 23:14:09

25EE) She walks over to the table and inspects the roses and other red flowers that have been woven into the high backs of the chairs. ROSE IS ROSE: "The flowers and plants in the factory seem to suggest a dark Garden of Eden. The emphasis on the colour red speaks to passion, the setting and association with Dru suggest a dark version of sexuality. In many ways Surprise and Innocence are bookends to the themes introduced in Lie To Me. There Drusilla was seen as more of a fallen innocent, trapped forever in a childlike state, here she is clearly an adult woman. Her transformation foreshadows Buffy’s own supposed loss of innocence, and both occur at the hands of Angel."--ponygirl, Fri, 03/07/03 at 23:14:09 See 25Cx4.

Act Two

25FF) "Mall trip for your birthday on Saturday." FORESHADOWY GOODNESS: Buffy will definitely make it to the mall, but the visit will be very different than she was expecting.

25GG) "I now possess the qualities one looks for in a... licensed driver." CONTINUITY CHECK: It's not clear whether Buffy ever did end up taking formal driving lessons. From her nightmarish attempts to drive in the third season's Band Candy, we can either conclude that Joyce was right not to let Buffy get her license now, or that she should have made her take lessons pronto!

25HH) Buffy watches it fall and shatter to the floor. FROM THE ORIGINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT: "Buffy just stands there, power-freaked by the dream deja-vu."--"Surprise" by Marti Noxon, available through Pocketbooks, Inc. as Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Script Book, Season Two, Volume 3

25II) "Jenny Calendar." LINKAGE: "Jenny's uncle surprises her in her classroom much as Angel will do in Passions."--Cactus Watcher, Fri, 03/07/03 at 21:26:41

25JJ) "Angel still suffers. And he makes amends for his evil. He even saved my life." CONFLICTING PHILOSOPHIES: "Enyos, a representative of the Gypsy's point of view, is a good example of the philosophy of Retributivism (the biblical 'an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth' philosophy). Unlike Jenny's Utilitarian stance, Enyos is not interested in Angel's redemption, or any other consequences of his Retributivist principle, even the destruction of the human race at the hands of the Judge. Nor is his principle a simple 'tit-for-tat' vengeance--'like commerce'--which assumes that revenge is the tool of those who apply it. For him, the reverse is true: he sees himself as the tool of vengeance, the subject of a principle much larger than himself or his tribe. Vengeance demands the indefinite torturing of the vampire who killed the gypsy girl and her loved ones back in 1898: 'It commands', he says, and 'we merely play a part.'

Enyos and Jenny understand the ethics of how to deal with Angel very differently. Jenny is interested in the consequences of their actions. Seeing Angel suffer is all well and good until the cost of his suffering is too high. Jenny would rather see Angel make amends by doing good deeds, such as saving Jenny from Eyghon and the world from the Judge (a more Utilitarian view)."--Masquerade, "Surprise/Innocence" Analysis from http://www.atpobtvs.com

25KK) "That he *killed* every man, woman and child that touched her life?!" CLOUDY MEMORY: "On Angel, it is shown in the flashbacks in [the episode,] Darla that Darla, Spike and Drusilla actually killed the Gypsies in retaliation for the curse." The explanation for this discrepancy could be that the gypsies, to exaggerate Angel's evil deeds, passed on the story in this manner. Either that or it is reasonable also to believe that since that entire gypsy camp was slaughtered, that others (a) may have believed it to have been Angel, or at the least, classify Angel and his "gang" as one and the same, and (b) may not have known that the killings occurred after the soul-retrieval.--ponygirl, Fri, 03/07/03 at 23:14:09, with additions by Rob

25LL) "Vengeance demands that his pain be eternal as ours is!" VENGEANCE IS MINE: "This is the first time the show makes a clear moralistic comment on vengeance. Note that the seekers of vengeance in this season Enyos, Jenny and the Eyghon creature in The Dark Age - all die horribly. Enyos is killed in Innocence by the victim he visits the vengeance upon, as is Jenny [in Passion]. Their vengeance only results in more pain - and most of it inflicted on innocent parties. Vengeance as Enyos states must be eternal - metaphorically meaning what Giles later states in Pangs - never sated.

This is also the first time we get an idea of who Angelus truly is and why he was cursed. Up until now we've seen the idealized romantic version of Angel through Buffy's eyes. She has overlooked what he's done in the past and the monster he is. In her eyes, he's the romantic hero, the dark avenger. This also explains the curse caveat about perfect happiness. If you pay close attention - you'll see Jenny states that his pain is lessening, hence the reason she showed up to watch him and Uncle Enyos is in town. So clearly, it’s not just sleeping with Buffy that did it – it is the whole save the world with Buffy, being accepted as part of the Scooby Gang, and how Buffy lessens his pain, by making him feel like a man, a hero and part of a group. He's involved in the plans for her party. And Angel even metaphorically marries her, his surrogate daughter - making peace in a way with both Darla and Dru in the process. He forgets who he is while he’s in her arms. It's not making love with Buffy that necessarily turned him evil - but getting everything he wanted. (compare to the later Angel episode, Awakening where we see the release of the soul through Angel's eyes not Buffy's. Surprise is entirely in Buffy's POV.)"--Shadowkat, Fri, 03/07/03 at 19:38:32

"Totally agree with you that Angel partly represents a father figure to Buffy (but I don't think that's all he is to her). But I'm not so sure that Angel ever saw Buffy as a 'daughter' to him. Rather, if we see Buffy as a substitute Darla, then Buffy's really more a mother figure. (Though again, I don't think that's all Buffy is to Angel.) Buffy was the instructor in many ways, in their relationship, though it's more implied than textual. (I know most people see Angel as the one holding the power in their relationship; I think both had power, but only in some areas.) I see Buffy as giving Angel the framework of how a human and a hero is supposed to live. Buffy is/was for Angel what Tara is for the Scooby Gang in Season 6..."--Scroll, Fri, 03/07/03 at 22:49:48

"Oh I was expecting quibbles when I wrote it -- because truth is it can be interpreted in many ways. First time I saw the episode I interpreted it the way you did. Now? I keep seeing all this father/Daddy issues imagery that season - to the extent that I began to wonder, whoa...where are the writers going with this. Imagery that is continued through Season 3. Think about it - what was the episode before Surprise? That's right, Bad Eggs and Ted. And both deal with Daddy and Mommy issues. Spike/Dru are big time Daddy/Mommy issues couple. And in Surprise, Spike acts like a sick father - also up until Surprise, Spike is portrayed as Daddy to Dru, taking care of her, and he even calls himself Daddy at times. (It's not until Innocence - in which Dru becomes Mommy to Spike, and Angelus takes over the Daddy role.) In Surprise - Angel acts as Buffy's - saving her from the hand, saving her from Spike and Dru - she burns her feet fighting the Judge and he gets her out of there, choosing to be the one to go off - which scares her, b/c this is yet another man leaving her, notice Hank hasn't been seen or heard from since When She Was Bad (see 13N) - in fact that's the last we see of Buff's real father. (when they make love - he's clearly in control - on top not on the bottom - contrast with the Spike/Buffy sex in Season 6 where Buffy is in control. In fact in the glimpses we get [in Innocence], Angel's body literally overwhelms and blankets Buffy's, but ironically Buffy is the one taking over Angel - causing that blissful moment - he feels no pain, because he falls into her completely - similar to the drug he takes in Eternity and Angelus appears from Bliss. No romantic ideal there - just the release of bliss.) And we keep getting the age issue repeated. Angel is two centuries old, Buffy is 17 and they remind us of it in this episode, why? (see 25S)...

I'm not saying that he only sees her that way, but short of taking a hammer and hitting us over the head - the writers push the fact that she sees him partly that way. He may actually see her as Darla, who was mother, and as Dru, daughter. But in this episode - Darla doesn't come up - the parallel is with Drusilla both in Buffy's dream where both girl's are celebrating a party - Birthday. And in reality. I think that you need to forget the ship for a minute (get past the whole Buffy/Angel ship stuff) and look at the imagery which is in every single episode.

I Only Have Eyes for You - older teacher/younger student; Becoming - the kid with the pigtails and lollipop which is a scene taken from Kubrick's Lolita (See 7Q, 18SS, and 33Px5.), the What's My Line scene about Angel taking Buffy ice skating which Daddy used to do (see 21WWW). And later, we have Forever - where Angel appears to her not Hank. Even in his own show - Angel takes on a father role. The writers have stated in commentary that B/A was the idealized high school relationship of the young girl and much older man. Angel/Cordelia was their attempt at an adult relationship...Buffy doesn't switch to the more mother role with Angel until later - and even then it has Electra connotations (see 23Y) - hence the reason that Angel is so adult in their relationship. Think about it - she never knows what he's thinking, he refers to things that are in the past, she's never known (poetry) - the claddagh rings (see 25HHH), he really is portrayed strongly as the older man. I'd say you were right and their romance wasn't so heavily influenced by father issues - if it weren't for the fact that we keep getting the dang Daddy metaphor every episode and the way it is shown with Spike and Dru. In commentary, James Marsters has even stated that the writers used the vampire relationships in S2 to subtly talk about incest and get it past the censors."--shadowkat, Sat, 03/08/03 at 07:55:13

25MM) "You are still Janna, of the Kalderash people!" WHAT'S IN A NAME?: "To an English speaker, 'Janna' would be a form of 'Jane,' and would mean, 'God is gracious.' In Arabic, however, 'al'Janna' means 'the Garden, Heaven, Paradise.' Ironically, Jenny--whose true name is so tied to mercy, grace, God and Paradise--is here in Sunnydale to ensure that Angel's suffering never ends, that his entire existence remain a living hell.

Kalderash is indeed a Romany or gypsy name. According to http://meltingpot.fortunecity.com/nevada/639/ordlista.htm, Kalderash (or Kalderasha, Calderari ) traditionally means 'makers of copper vessels' or 'coppersmiths.' 'Kalderashes are scattered all over the world. They are metal workers, blacksmiths etc. The word kalderash is misspelt from "kaltarash" which is made of two words--"kal" meaning "a machine, its parts, or articles made of metal" plus "tarash," "to carve, to cut, or to mould".'" http://www.romani.org/rishi/rnames.html

Much has been made of Jenny's concealing her identity beneath that of a false name. However, Jenny may not be concealing anything at all. Many gypsy tribes hold that each person has three names: a secret name, whispered to the child by the mother as soon as the child is born; a ‘wagon’ name, by which the gypsy is known to his/her people (such as Janna of the Kalderash); and an ‘outside’ name, by which the gypsy is known to the outside world. By this tradition, it would be entirely reasonable for Jenny/Janna to employ an ‘outside’ name while working in the giorgio (non-gypsy) world. Using her ‘wagon’ name or her secret name would be considered extremely unlucky…Enyos's anger toward Jenny/Janna stems from his fear that she has ceased to be a gypsy in attitude and belief--that she has stopped focusing on what is important, the clan and the tribe. Gypsies traditionally have a rather low regard for giorgios."--Rhys, Sat, 03/08/03 at 09:51:07

25NN) "I know...Uncle. I know." GYPSIES, TRAMPS, AND THIEVES: "Despite the phraseology, it's entirely possible that Enyos is NOT Jenny's biological uncle. Among the Romany, 'kak' and 'kako,' both of which literally mean 'uncle,' are respectful forms of address for an older male person, usually the chief of a gypsy tribe."--Rhys, Sat, 03/08/03 at 09:51:07

25OO) "I will see to it." FROM THE ORIGINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT: In the original script, this is followed by a lengthy and very interesting scene where Xander and Cordy each test the waters, to see whether their friends would ever accept them dating each other. Cordy asks Harmony whether Xander might be perceived as vaguely cute. When Harmony scoffs, "Oh, yeah, Cordy, I'm hot for spaz boy," Cordy laughs it off and says she was just joking. Over at the couch, Xander remarks that Cordy may be "not as horrible a person as we once thought" for agreeing to bring snacks for Buffy's birthday party. "True," Willow replies, "maybe..." When Xander asks whether she'd want to be friends with her, Willow unequivocally answers, "They're not bad people, Xander. It's just--we are of two worlds. And theirs is bad." A few moments later, Xander displays some jealousy regarding Will's new relationship with Oz (see 27R). He acts very defensive after Willow gives Oz her address so that he can pick her up, grilling her on whether it's a date and if he really should be giving strangers her number. When she responds that he isn't a stranger, "he took a bullet for me (see 22SS)," Xander says he would've taken a bullet for her. See 16Lx4.

25PP) "Dreams aren't prophecies, Buffy." A DREAM IS A WISH: Which can be just as unreliable! See 12EEE.

25QQ) "You ground his bones to make your bread." CONTINUITY CHECK: This refers to the ending of When She Was Bad (see 13AAA), when Buffy smashed the Master's skeleton into pieces. The phrase itself is a reference to the classic English fairy tale, Jack and the Beanstalk, in which a young boy, Jack, is stalked by a giant who recites the poem, "Fee-fi-fo-fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman/Be he alive or be he dead, I'll grind his bones to make my bread." Interestingly, in Buffy's case, she turns the tables by grinding the bones of the "giant," so to speak, instead of the other way around.

25RR) "Right. Be *that* Buffy." CONTINUITY CHECK: In other words, the school-responsible Buffy she tried to be in School Hard.

25SS) "And Buffy's turning 17 just this once, and she deserves a party." THROW-CAUTION-TO-THE-WIND-Y GILES: "A definite breakthrough moment for Giles. After the events of Never Kill a Boy on the First Date (see 5CC), School Hard (see 15CCC) and Reptile Boy (see 17M), and his accidental driving of her to near despair in What's My Line (see 21Dx4), he's internalised the knowledge that Buffy's human life and contacts give her strength."--KdS, Sat, 03/08/03 at 04:31:17

25TT) "So she'll be able to protect him *and* have cake." THE GIRL WHO HAS EVERYTHING: This is a neat riff on the phrase, "You can have your cake and eat it too," meaning that someone can have all her or his desires fulfilled with one action. A more sinister phrase with a similar meaning is, "Kill two birds with one stone."

25UU) "Why don't I drive you?" RED HERRING: This line is a brillaint misdirect. From the earlier scene with Enyos, we might assume that here Jenny has sinister intentions, and yet, no, she was taking Buffy exactly where Giles had wanted her to.

25VV) "Sacred duty, yada yada yada." SHOW ABOUT NOTHING: "A phrase used to cover anything one doesn’t want to go into detail about, yada yada was also the basis for a Seinfeld episode."--ponygirl, Fri, 03/07/03 at 23:14:09

25WW) "Every time I see you, you're stealing something." CONTINUITY CHECK: Buffy is referring to the fact that the first time she met Dalton, it was in What's My Line (see 21JJJ), when he was stealing the Cross of Du Lac.

25XX) "Actually, it explains a *lot*." THE WONDER OF OZ: See 8JJ.

25YY) "Hey, can somebody give me a hand here?" LINKAGE: This is a great line, since it subtly foreshadowes a few moments later, when it is revealed that if Jenny really did want a hand, all she would have to have done is open the box she is carrying!

Part Two