Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Recap/S2/E13 Surprise

As Buffy's 17th birthday approaches all hell breaks lose. Spike tries to reassemble a demon known as The Judge, Jenny is revealed to be of the Gypsy clan that cursed Angel, and upon having sex with Buffy, Angel loses his soul.

Tropes:
"Willow: W-What was that? Oz: It looked like an arm."
 * Apocalypse How: The Judge will burn every being that is not evil.
 * Beautiful Dreamer: Giles and Angel share their last ever moment of true bonding when they gaze on a sleeping Buffy.
 * The Caligula: Drusilla's vampire mooks are clearly terrified of her manic moments.
 * Call Back: Buffy's dream has Willow saying about her monkey in French "The hippo stole his pants" referring to the animal crackers conversation she had with Oz in "What's My Line", plus Willow trying to teach Buffy French in "School Hard". The fact that Buffy doesn't know about the Oz/Willow talk is a sign it isn't just an ordinary dream.
 * Catapult Nightmare: Apparently averted, but it turns out to be a Dream Within a Dream and Buffy catapults awake after seeing Drusilla kill Angel.
 * Caught in the Rain: Angel and Buffy's escape through a rainstorm leads to them taking shelter in his apartment, with inevitable consequences.
 * Cliff Hanger: Angel wakes up next to a sleeping Buffy and runs out into the storm, screaming in pain.
 * Double Meaning: "Do you really think you're ready, Buffy?" has both a plot-meaning and a sexual meaning -- is Buffy ready to lose her virginity, and is she ready for the terrible consequences of that act?
 * Dramatic Thunder: Thunder crashes when Angel wakes up in bed in pain as the curse is ripped from him.
 * Establishing Character Moment: The Judge's first act upon being reassembled is to burn all the goodness out of Spike's lackey, Dalton (therefore killing him), simply because he enjoys reading.
 * Evil Cripple: Spike is now confined to a wheelchair.
 * Evil Hand: The Scoobies recover the Judge's hand. It immediately tries to strangle Buffy.

"Willow: Carpe diem! You told me that once.
 * Falling Chandelier of Doom: A modern version of this -- Angel drops the multiscreen TV on the Judge's head.
 * Geographic Flexibility: Sunnydale has a shipyard somewhere nearby.
 * Good Hurts Evil: The Judge is repelled by Drusilla and Spike because they "share affection and jealousy".
 * Horror Doesn't Settle for Simple Tuesday: From now on, Buffy birthday's are going to be eventful.
 * I Kiss Your Hand: When Angel presents Buffy with her claddagh ring, she responds by kissing the identical ring on Angel's hand.
 * Interrupted Declaration of Love: As he's about to depart on a ship, not to see Buffy for months or maybe forever, Angel starts to say he loves her when they're attacked by Dalton and his fellow vampires.
 * Knight Templar: Enyos Kalderash.
 * Leitmotif: The Buffy/Angel love theme "Close Your Eyes" is heard for the first time.
 * Love Confession
 * Lured Into a Trap: Subverted. Miss Calendar is ordered to "take Buffy from Angel" (to ensure Angel continues to suffer), and shortly later lures Buffy away from the school on a flimsy pretense, then leaves her to fight vampires. It turns out she was right outside the building where her surprise birthday party was; the vampires were not part of the plan.
 * Meaningful Echo: Joyce asking Buffy "Do you really think you're ready?" and dropping a plate tells Buffy that she really was Dreaming of Things to Come.
 * Before they make love Angel says to Buffy, "I love you. I try not to, but I can't stop." Years later when another vampire tells her something similar, Buffy responds by punching him in the face.
 * The Mole: Jenny Calender was sent to Sunnydale to watch Angel.
 * Pretentious Latin Motto

Buffy: Fish of the day?

Willow: Not carp -- carpe!"

"Buffy: I'm sorry, were we talking?"
 * Prophecy Twist: Buffy's dream seems to foretell Angel's death, but it actually means the death of his soul, allowing the return of Angelus.
 * Rule of Symbolism: Clear parallels are drawn between Buffy and Drusilla (it's even implied they're having the same prophetic dreams) as both end up releasing an evil force into the world.
 * Scary Surprise Party
 * Screw the Hellmouth, We're Partying: Giles insists on giving Buffy her birthday party despite the impending crisis, showing a change in his attitude from the previous year.
 * Shirtless Scene: Disturbed over her dream, Buffy goes around to check Angel is alright. He opens the door with his shirt off -- not just Fan Service but showing his sexual desirability to Buffy.
 * Shout-Out: Angel losing his soul if he experiences perfect happiness is a reference to Faust.
 * "Shut Up" Kiss: Angel kisses Buffy to silence her anxiety about Drusilla.

"Giles: Round robin? Willow: It's when everybody calls everybody else's mom and tells them they're staying at everyone's house. Buffy: Thus freeing us up for world saveage."
 * Skyward Scream: Angel shouts Buffy's name, but as he's outside in the rain a sleeping Buffy can't hear him. Just as well...
 * Slumber Party Ploy

"Giles: (whispers so as not wake Buffy) Seems Buffy needed some rest. Angel: Yeah. She hasn't been sleeping well. Tossing and turning. (everyone looks at him) She told me! Because of her dreams?"
 * Spider Sense: The Judge senses the presence of Angel and Buffy.
 * Take Me Instead!: Buffy and Angel are caught by Spike and about to be killed by the Judge, Buffy first. Angel offers "Take me instead of her." Spike replies, "You're not clear on the concept, pal. There is no 'instead.' Just 'first' and 'second.'"
 * That Came Out Wrong: Buffy's "I like you at bed time." For once this isn't Played for Laughs; instead Angel takes the Accidental Innuendo and runs with it.
 * It is played for the usual humor though in this scene:

"Xander: Yes, vampires are real, there are a lot of them in Sunnydale. Willow: I know this must come as a shock... Oz: Actually, it explains a lot."
 * This Explains So Much:

"Angel: Leave her [Buffy] alone! Spike: Yeah, that'll work. Now say pretty please."
 * Train Station Goodbye: Actually a tearful goodbye at the docks, but in the same spirit.
 * Two Part Episode
 * Woman in White: Buffy wears white throughout the episode, symbolising her virginal innocence.
 * With This Ring: Angel gives Buffy a claddagh ring for her birthday, explaining the different meanings in how you wear it, with obvious romantic overtones. The scene actually caused a boost in popularity for claddagh rings in real life.
 * You Don't Want to Die a Virgin, Do You?: More along the lines of -- we could die at any time, so let's take our relationship as far as it can go while we're both still alive.
 * You Have Failed Me: Averted; when Dalton looses the Judge's arm Drusilla is going to gouge out his eyes, but Spike convinces her it makes more sense to give him the opportunity to correct his mistake. He succeeds, but Spike and Drusilla give Dalton to the Judge anyway.
 * You Leave Him Alone


 * You Look Familiar: Brian Thompson, who plays the Judge, was Luke in the pilot.