Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Recap/S2/E07 Lie to Me

"''"Are you probably noticing a theme here?"

"As in 'Vampires, yay'?"''"

- Xander and Willow

Playground -- night. Drusilla slinks up to a child left unattended, but Angel steps between them and sends the boy packing. Recognizing that if Drusilla and Spike remain in Sunnydale, a fight with them is inevitable, Angel tries to persuade her to leave town, to no avail. While Dru and Angel are talking, Buffy sees them from a distance, sparking her curiosity and jealousy.

Buffy tells Willow about the dark-haired girl talking to Angel the other night. Buffy is a little jealous that Angel seemed close to her. Ford, an old friend (and flame) of Buffy's from Hemery High, walks up behind Buffy to surprise her. She invites Ford to come with the gang to the Bronze later.

That night at the Bronze, Ford entertains Willow and Xander with embarrassing stories about Buffy. While getting drinks, Buffy runs into Angel. She asks what he did the previous night, to which he answers that he stayed in and read. She introduces Angel to Ford, whom Angel obviously doesn't take a shine to. As the two walk out, Buffy hears suspicious clattering in an alleyway. She asks Ford to go back and get her purse and then runs around toward the sound. Ford heads toward the Bronze just for a second before turning back and following Buffy, where he watches her stake a vampire. She makes up a lame story about cats, but Ford reveals that he knows that she is the Slayer, having found out shortly before she was expelled from Hemery High. Buffy is relieved that he knows.

Ironic segue time. Ford knocks on the heavy metal door of a nightclub. He's let in, and tells a group of teenager inside that in two days they will be immortal.

Angel pays a call to Willow and asks to do a background check on Ford. Willow does a search and finds no record of him enrolling at Sunnydale High.

Night. Buffy and Ford have just finished a walking tour of Sunnydale (Needless to say, they don't look particularly spent). Seeing a pair of vampires prowling the school, Buffy hands a cross to Ford, who draws a stake of his own. Buffy looks askance at that, but tells Ford to stick close. One of the vamps rushes Buffy, and they both go over a railing. Ford grabs the second vamp -- a female -- and menaces that he'll let her live if she tells him what she wants to know. Buffy stakes her foe, and comes running back to Ford, who's now alone. She asks where the other vamp is, but Ford says he dusted her.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Scooby gang are tracking Ford's whereabouts to a place called the Sunset Club. They notice everyone inside is Pro-Vampire. Something is amiss. Buffy meets with Giles at the library to talk about the vampires on campus. Giles flips through an old book when Buffy spots a picture of Drusilla: Spike's lover who was supposedly killed in Prague. Buffy reports seeing Angel talking to Dru in Sunnydale. At that moment, the blonde vampire that Ford released barges out of his office with one of his volumes and escapes through the stacks. Buffy recognizes the vamp and realizes Ford lied to her.

Ford crashes Spike's lair and geeks out, saying that the place is "so cool," and Spike rhetorically asks if he has anyone on watch. Ford knows who Spike is, and he's offering a token of goodwill. The female vamp appears and hands Spike the book, which he admits will be very useful (as groundwork for a later episode). Ford offers him a deal: "You make me a vampire, and I give you the Slayer."

Angel tells Buffy that Willow ran a background check on Ford. She interrupts with questions about Drusilla, a sore spot for him. He admits that he terrorized Drusilla by killing her family and friends, which drove her to a convent, and on the day she was slated to take her holy orders to become a nun, he intentionally drove her insane and made her a vampire. This naturally creeps her out a bit, even though she admits she needed to hear it.

The next day, Ford catches Buffy and tells her he had fun the previous night. They make plans to meet at this spot at nine. Ford returns to his club to finish the arrangements, but Buffy's already lying in wait. Ford signals his toady, who sidles away. Buffy sunnily says she couldn't wait until evening and throttles Ford, demanding to know what he's up to. Ford hems and hews, then quickly spills his entire scheme. Sensing something's not quite right, she releases him and tries to leave. Ford taunts her that it's "rigged up special," and can now only be opened from the outside. Ford and the other groupies look up at her and proclaim that when the sun sets, the vamps will be coming to "bless" them.

Upstairs, Buffy works out that the rest of the kids aren't going to be changed, that they're just fodder. Ford's content with that, but says that he will. Buffy pleads that the kids don't deserve to die; Ford blurts out that neither does he, but he has terminal cancer in either case. Buffy looks stunned; had no idea. Ford bitterly goes on that he's got at most six months to live. Buffy sincerely apologizes, but refuses to bend to his self-pity. If Spike's gang comes in and starts feeding, she promises she's going to kill Ford before he gets to reap his reward.

At sunset, Spike and his vamps spread out and start chowing down. Buffy spies Dru on the balcony observing the feeding frenzy. Buffy climbs over the rail, grabs Dru and holds a stake to her heart. Spike is alarmed and orders everyone to halt. At Buffy's order, he orders his crew to let the humans go, which they do. Buffy sidles over to the exit, then pushes Dru into Spike's arms and runs out, slamming the door shut again. Spike attempts to pursue her, then examines the door with bemusement. Oops. "Where's the doorknob?"

Outside, the kids limp off as Angel, Willow, and Xander arrive. Buffy observes that the vamps will get out eventually, and that they leave and come back when they're gone. Xander wonders why, and Buffy clarifies, "For the body."

Sure enough, Buffy reenters the club the next day and finds Ford lying dead at her feet.

At the cemetery, Buffy and Giles lay roses on Ford's grave, waiting to she if he'll rise or not. Ford pops out from his grave, now a vampire. Apparently, Spike kept his promise. He makes ready to lunge, but barely gets to blink before Buffy matter-of-factly kills him. As they walk off together, Buffy asks Giles life gets any easier, and Giles endearingly lies his ass off.

But she sounds grateful, anyhow.

Tropes
"Ford: Gotta back her up on this one, D. You look like a big ninny."
 * Seventh Episode Twist: Angel sired Drusilla. And not only he sired her, he also drove her insane.
 * Abandoned Playground: A lonely swing set in the Cold Open.
 * Above Good and Evil: Buffy calls out Ford on his double-crossing lies, but he merely shrugs, "Everybody lies."
 * Arc Words: Giles' denouement is darkly ironic considering the events to come. This episode begins the metamorphosis of Buffy from fairly harmless teenage fun to something far more serious, continuing through "Surprise/Innocence," "Passion," and finally both parts of "Becoming."
 * Arson, Murder and Wearing a Cheap Costume: Buffy lecturing "Diego" and the other cultists. "You're going to die! And the only hope you have of surviving this is to get out of this pit right now and my God could you have a dorkier outfit?"

"Buffy: Nothing's ever simple anymore. I'm constantly trying to work it out. Who to love or hate. Who to trust. It's just, like, the more I know, the more confused I get."
 * Ascended Extra: Julia Lee's character Chantarelle will later appear in episode 3.1 titled Anne, where she will go by the name Lily. Her character, in this episode and in episode 3.1, consistently has identity issues (shown through her third name change when she crosses over onto the Buffy spin-off Angel).
 * Bad Date: Jenny dragging Giles into attending a monster ruck truck rally.
 * Baddie Flattery: As Buffy scurries around the shelter looking for an exit, Ford marvels at her determination. Once she demolishes his deluded rationale for the things he's done, Ford sadly replies that he really did miss her, which is tantamount to admitting that her analysis is spot-on.
 * The Bait: Trapping Buffy is the only way the kids could get any vampires to hang with them.
 * Batman Gambit: Ford knows Buffy will work out he's lying to her, and has prepared his trap accordingly.
 * Black and Gray Morality

"Buffy: It'd be simpler if I could just hate him. I think he wanted me to. I think it made it easier for him to be the villain of the piece. Really, he was just scared."
 * Blatant Lies: Buffy bumping into Angel and asking what he did the previous night, to which he answers that he stayed in and read.
 * Blondes Are Evil: Julia, who is freed by Ford and steals a book from the library for Spike.
 * Book Ends: Ford arranging a date with Buffy is eerily reminiscent of the scene between Angel and Drusilla at the beginning of the episode, and conveys the same sense of battle lines being drawn.
 * Buffy refuses to be lied to anymore, but Angel tells her that some lies are necessary, which is a nice setup for the end of the episode. (See "Title Drop")
 * Brick Joke: The origin of the name "Chanterelle."
 * Brutal Honesty: Buffy finally prying some hard facts out of Angel about his past. The truth will set you free -- unless it turns out to be Too Much Information.
 * Building Is Welding: The entrance to the Sunset Club.
 * The Cavalry Arrives Late: Angel, Willow, and Xander arriving just as the threat's ended. Buffy remarks they're "just in time." (Though her weary tone suggests she's glad to see them, nonetheless.)
 * Card-Carrying Villain: Buffy lays it all out for Ford, explaining that he's what they in the trade call "the bad guy." Ford giggles and reckons she's 100% correct. Played for Drama, as Buffy later realizes that she was just playing into his B-movie fantasies.

"Cordelia: I just don't see why everyone's always picking on Marie Antoinette. I can so relate to her. She worked really hard to look that good, and people just don't appreciate that kind of effort! And I know the peasants were all depressed...
 * Cargo Cult: Buffy lampshades this by shouting "This is not the mothership" at the club-goers.
 * Chekhov's Gag: Ford saying that he knows all of Buffy's dark secrets, to which Xander smugly adds, "Care to make a small wager on that?" The fact that Ford does in fact know Buffy's darkest secret is a subtle irony.
 * Buffy mocking Ford's total ignorance of vampire, calling him - ironically in light of his imminent revelation -- "brain trust."
 * Chekhov's Gun: On his way into the club, Ford walks by a guy doing some welding.
 * Spike's stolen book.
 * Coincidental Broadcast: Buffy noting a photo of Drusilla among Giles' research materials.
 * Comically Missing the Point: Cordy giving her own spin on the French bread famine.

Xander: I think you mean oppressed."

"Angel: Do you love me?
 * Cordon Bleugh Chef: Oreos in apple juice.
 * Consummate Liar: He's a smooth operator, that Ford. Watch him pretending to cough after supposedly 'dusting' the vamp he was interrogating.
 * Creator Cameo: The fake vampire who greets Willow when she comes in ("Hi" Vampire in the credits) is played by Todd McIntosh, the show's makeup supervisor, in a brief cameo.
 * Cruel to Be Kind: Chantarelle asking Buffy if she can't see that it's a beautiful day for them. Time to duck, because Buffy's not pulling any more punches: "What I see is that, right after the sun goes down, Spike and all of his friends are going to be pigging out at the all-you-can-eat moron bar."
 * Dangerously Genre Savvy: Ford
 * Deal With the Devil: If Spike had really wanted Ford to live forever, he could have taken the body with him.
 * Death Trap: The Sunset Club. The handles have been cut off the metal doors, and the walls are three feet of solid concrete.
 * Do Not Call Me Paul: Ford's flunky, Marvin. ("Diego! C'mon, man, it's Diego now!")
 * Do You Trust Me

Buffy: What?

Angel: Do you?

Buffy: I love you. I don't know if I trust you.

Angel: Maybe you shouldn't do either."

"Buffy: What? Whatting a what?"
 * Dresses the Same: Angel and a vampire groupie, to the former's embarrassment.
 * Driven to Villainy: The injustice of his life ending so early was the impetus to Ford's evil. Contrary to what he says, however, Buffy insists that he does have a choice (albeit not a good one), and that nothing he says will make mass murder okay.
 * Dude, Where's My Reward?: Ford sticks his chin out and declares he fulfilled his end of the bargain, and Spike sneers that that's true. This is one of the series' most ambiguous moments.
 * Emergency Transformation: Ford isn't evil so much as he is misguided, believing that it would be better to live as a vampire than to die riddled with tumors.
 * Even Evil Has Loved Ones: During the vampire feeding Buffy recovers, captures Dru and holds a stake to her heart. She forces Spike to let the humans go; rather than let his lover be staked he does as the Slayer demands.
 * Exact Eavesdropping: Buffy on the rooftop.
 * Marvin overhearing the Scoobies in the club.
 * Exact Words: The lost boy telling Dru that he's not supposed to talk to people. Dru starts to snarl that she's not a person, but Angel spoils her hunt.
 * Face Palm: Xander sitting next to Cordy in class, wearing with an expression that's somewhere between "If I look into your ear real hard, I can see the 'for rent' space in your brain" and "Decapitation would look real good on you right about now."
 * Failed Attempt At Drama: Spike's reaction to Ford knowing his name ("Yeah I know who I am too, so what?") underlines how unimpressed he is with the twerp's opening gambit.
 * Angel's lookalike walking down the stars just as Angel is making a very serious and important point about poseurs.
 * False Reassurance: Chantarelle getting jittery on the eve of the big night. She asks if Ford really thinks the vamps will "bless" them. Ford smiles that he knows they will.
 * Flat What: Buffy trying to sell a story about two cats fighting, and Ford shrugging that he thought she was "just" slaying a vampire.

"Drusilla: Your heart stinks of her. Poor little thing. She has no idea what's in store."
 * Later, this is Giles' reaction upon learning that Ford knows the secret.
 * Also, Spike's reaction to Ford's fanboy behavior. Ford gets this a lot from people.
 * Foreshadowing: Drusilla asking if Angel remembers the song her mother used to sing. He lowers his head in shame, and Dru gloats that he's run out of ways to hurt her.
 * Angel says to Drusilla, "If you don't leave it'll go badly. For all of us." Boy is Angel on the ball here. In fact, his retelling of Drusilla's origin.

"Buffy: Buffy: I love you. I don't know if I trust you.
 * Ford popping "ritalin" in front of his entourage. He later grips his forehead in pain when Diego mentions he saw the Scoobies sniffing around.
 * A truckload of foreshadowing in the kitchen scene between Buffy and Angel.

Angel: Maybe you shouldn't do either."

"Giles: You are not, by any chance, betraying your secret identity just to impress, um, cute boys, are you?"
 * The final exchange in the graveyard sets the tone for the remainder of Season Two. As you grow up things become more complicated; It's not as clear who's your ally and who's your enemy anymore.
 * Forgotten Friend New Foe: Practically spelled out in neon over Ford's head, particularly his knowledge that Buffy is the slayer. It all seems too convenient, so the story is quick to unmask the character's evil intentions.
 * Get Out! / Mercy Lead: Angel offering Drusilla a one-time only opportunity to take Spike and clear out of town.
 * Giggling Villain: Ford, though he ends up hacking and coughing from the illness.
 * Grave Marking Scene: Buffy laying roses on Ford's grave while waitng to see if he rises.
 * Gut Feeling: Angel admitting that he does get jealous sometimes, but that his "gut" tells him Ford is a bad dude.
 * Half Truth: Ford observing that Angel looks older than Buffy, to which Xander answers, "You're not wrong." Buffy introduces them, and Ford exclaims that Angels hand is cold. Xander: "You're not wrong."
 * Buffy apologizing for beeping Giles during his date, and Giles telling her she did the right thing, a little too enthusiastically. Miss Calendar picks up on that, and says she thought monster trucks would be a change of pace, to which Giles mutters, "It was a change."
 * Hey, Wait!: Willow very-obviously acting jumpy around Ford. Buffy tells her to "'fess up", then accuses her of drinking too much caffeine. Willow gives a spastic fake laugh.
 * Hoist By His Own Petard: Spike and his gang get trapped in the bomb shelter, so can't chase after Buffy and the others.
 * Hypocritical Humor: Angel railing on about how these kids don't know anything about vampires. "What they are, how they live, how they dress!" At that moment, a dude dressed in exactly the same outfit as Angel walks by. Angel ahems, and Xander and Willow share a smirk.
 * I Have to Iron My Dog: Buffy covering for a vamp attack by asking Ford to fetch her purse, which she "left back at the Bronze."
 * "I-I-I'm gonna do work in the computer lab on school work that I have, so I cannot hang just now. Hi, Ford."
 * Giles saying he's going out that evening, and giving Buffy Miss Calendar's beeper number, in case she needs "study help." Buffy breaks the news that Ford knows she's the Slayer.

"Willow: "Oh, no! We come here... often.""
 * I Have You Now, My Pretty: Spike tearing off Chanterelle's choker, presumably for Dru to wear instead.
 * Idiot Ball / Parental Abandonment: Wow, that's some terrible mom to leave her kid alone so late.
 * I'll Kill You!: "Isn't this exactly how you imagined it? You tell me how you've suffered and I feel sorry for you. Well, I do feel sorry for you, and if those vampires come in here and start feeding, I'll kill you myself!"
 * Immortality Immorality: Ford wants to become a vampire so badly that he's willing to face off with the Slayer and Spike's entire gang. Now that's what I call serious dedication to one's career goals.
 * Implausible Deniability: Chanterelle noticing that Willow and her friends are newbies.

""Uh, honestly, I've always been interested in, uh...monster trucks.""
 * Poor Giles. The extremes he'll go to for love.

"Angel: This can't go on, Drusilla. It's gotta end.
 * Impossibly Tacky Clothes: Diego seems to be aiming for "Man of Wealth and Taste", hence the bowtie, frilled shirt, and silk cape which looks like it was stolen from a failed LARPer.
 * In-Series Nickname / Last-Name Basis: Billy "Ford" Fordham.
 * Infant Immortality: Angel stops Drusilla from attacking a boy.
 * It Has Only Just Begun:

Drusilla: Oh, no, my pet. This is just the beginning."

"Jenny: That sounds like fun."
 * Innocent Innuendo: Giles is unsure about Jenny's "surprise" for him, but finally stammers, "Alright, I put myself in your hands."

"Willow: I-it's probably nothing.
 * Buffy moped over Ford for months, and would sit in her room listening to "I Touch Myself" by the Divinyls. She wisely shifts gears by saying she had no idea what the song was about.
 * It Never Gets Any Easier
 * It's Probably Nothing: Willow discovering that Ford isn't actually registered at Sunnydale High.

Angel: That'd be nice."

""Yes, it's terribly simple. The good guys are always stalwart and true, the bad guys are easily distinguished by their pointy horns or black hats, and we always defeat them and save the day! No one ever dies, and everybody lives Happily Ever After."
 * Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique: Ford kneeling over Julia and menacing her with a stake and cross.
 * Joe Sent Me: Angel knocking on the entrance door to the club. The viewport slides open, and Angel gain entry by claiming they're friends of Ford's.
 * Kirk Summation: Buffy trying to convince her friend that vampires are nothing but demons inhabiting corpses, but Ford does not care. When she turns to warn the others, Ford shuts her up by hitting her in the back with a crowbar.
 * Lame Excuse: "Um... uh, there was a, a cat. A cat here, and, um, then there was a-another cat... and they fought. The cats. And... then they left."
 * Late to The Punchline: Willow finally figures out what the song "I Touch Myself" is about.
 * Leave Him to Me: When the vampires burst into the Sunset Club, Spike orders his mooks to kill the others, but to leave the Slayer for him.
 * Lies to Children: Giles on life.

"Ford: I don't think I wanna talk anymore.
 * Linked List Clue Methodology: Willow expositing that all her searches on Ford turned up was an address, the "Sunset Club."
 * Logical Weakness: Ford knew he couldn't defeat a Slayer with strength and so devised a way to lock her in his club. Once the doors are shut, not even someone with supernatural strength can break out.
 * Love Confession: Although it's been apparent for some time, Buffy actually says outright that she loves Angel.
 * May-December Romance: Lampooned by Ford, who half-jokes that he wouldn't compromise his sixth-grade status by dating a fifth-grader.
 * The Movie Buff: Ford mapped out his entire story as if it were a movie, from the cheesy lines he makes Spike recite, or in his expectation that Buffy will completely understand and perhaps even accept his plan once she learns of his condition.
 * My Name Is Not Durwood: Angel pointing out that Ford's lack of records and paper trail is incriminating enough. Xander says he agrees with "Dead Boy", and Angel snits not to call him that.
 * Neck Lift / Perp Sweating: Buffy starts to tell Ford that vamps are kind of picky about who they sire -- then realizes that Ford meant to offer her up in exchange. None to happy with that she hoists him by the throat and shoves him against the wall.

(Buffy grabs him by the throat and shoves him up against a pillar)

Buffy: Yeah, well, I still feel awfully chatty!"

"Buffy The more people you tell, the more people I have to kill."
 * Nerves of Steel: Ford doesn't seem so tough until he finds himself trapped in the club and facing some steep odds.
 * No One Could Have Survived That: Giles identifying Drusilla as a "sometime paramour of Spike's" who was killed by an angry mob in Prague. Buffy notes that they don't make angry mobs like they used to.
 * Noodle Incident: The Oreos. Also, Willow slyly saying that Ford was telling them about the "ninth-grade swimsuit competition."

"Xander: Oh! We usually call them the 'nasty pointy bitey-ones'."
 * Not Evil, Just Misunderstood: Chantarelle welcoming the Scoobies to her posse, saying it's cool they're interested in "the Lonely Ones." Willow isn't familiar with the term, but a bored Angel reappears and says that she's referring to vampires.

Chantarelle: So many people have that misconception. But They Who Walk With the Night are not interested in harming anyone!"

"Ford: Too many people, they just lay back and take it. But us...
 * Not So Different:

Buffy: Us? We have something in common now?

Ford: More than you think."

"Giles: (suspiciously) What kind of a secret?
 * Not What It Looks Like: Buffy spying on Angel and Drusilla, whom she assumes are sharing some sort of tryst.
 * Oh Crap: Buffy roughs Ford up, saying he must have known she would figure it all out. He brings everyone onto the same page by laughing that he was "counting on it."
 * "Where's the doorknob?"
 * Of Corsets Sexy: Chanterelle.
 * Orbital Shot
 * Passing Notes in Class: Buffy and Willow are amusingly passing notes in class discussing what Buffy saw on the roof.
 * Political Correctness Gone Mad: Angel flatly calling Chantarelle stupid. Hurt, she chides him for being "confrontational" and says that "other viewpoints than yours may be valid, you know."
 * Pre-Mortem One-Liner: Dru reciting her "Run and Catch" nursery rhyme for the first time. "What will your mummy sing when they find your body?"
 * Pretender Diss: After Angel insults one of the vampire worshipers he complains that they know nothing about what vampires are; how they act, how they dress...cue a vampire fanboy walking past dressed exactly like Angel.
 * Promise Me You Won't X: Willow's happy to invite Angel in, but only if he promises not to bite her.
 * Put Down Your Fangs and Step Away: "Now you let everybody out, or your girlfriend fits in an ashtray."
 * The Reveal: "Couple more days, and we'll get to do the two things every American teen should have the chance to do: die young, and stay pretty."
 * Rule of Symbolism: As Buffy talks with Angel over coffee, the camera switches to a view from outside the open window, with both characters separated by a table. We're to understand here that when Angel warns that Buffy shouldn't trust Ford, he's also referring to himself.
 * Saw Star Wars 27 Times: Ford lip-syncing along with Jack Palance.
 * Secretly Dying: Ford's been in constant agony from "nest of tumors" in his brain the whole time.
 * Shaped Like Itself: Jenny keeping the details of her date with Giles a "secret."

Jenny: The kind that's secret. You know, where I don't actually tell you what it is."

"Willow: Do they stick out? I mean, have you ever seen a thumb and gone, 'Wow! That baby is sore!'
 * Shout Out: Ford's line "die young and stay pretty" is a reference to the line "live fast, die young and leave a beautiful corpse" from Humphrey Bogart's 1949 film Knock on Any Door. James Dean also quoted the line in an interview shortly before his death.
 * Xander calls Angel "Bossy the Cow", one of the characters featured in a Sesame Street sketch.
 * The movie playing at the Sunset Club was Dan Curtis' 1973 television adaption of Bram Stoker's Dracula, starring Jack Palance.
 * Sidetracked By the Analogy: Xander and Willow contrasting their own colorful dubs with the gloomy club atmosphere, and determining that they stick out like sore thumbs.

Xander: You have too many thoughts."

"Xander: (as Buffy) This is Ford, my bestest friend of all my friends! (as himself) Geez, doesn't she know any fat guys?"
 * Sixth Ranger Traitor: Ford being thrown into the group dynamic does make for some interesting tension.

"Ford: Oh, c'mon! Say it! It's no fun if you don't say it.
 * Slasher Smile
 * Smash Cut: Buffy sadly making plans to retrieve Ford's body. We cut back to the club interior, where Ford lies dead and the vamps have flown the coop.
 * The Social Darwinist: Ford, gesturing below the catwalk, says that the "others" are just sheep, and want to be vampires because they're lonely and bored. He, on the other hand, is on the precipace of becoming immortal.
 * Stop Helping Me: Giles picking up on Buffy's somber mood and offering her the night off, which causes her face to brighten. He immediately undoes his good work, however, by suggesting that she spend some time with Angel.
 * Stealth Insult: Ford asking if he'd be imposing on the gang at the Bronze. Xander, mock-sweetly: "Oh, only in the literal sense."
 * Swiss Cheese Security: Spike bemoans his poor security when he discovers Ford gawking at his "cool" lair.
 * When Buffy crashes his party, Ford mutters to Diego that it's "drafty". Subverted, as this is code for "seal the doors."
 * Sympathy for The Devil: Subverted with Ford. To his surprise, Buffy astutely grits out that his confession is just another phase to his "fantasy drama", and refuses to play along.
 * Tap On the Head: Buffy grabbing Ford's crowbar arm in mid-swing, sending him into a wall.
 * Tempting Fate: Willow thinks it's "neat" that Ford kept her secret, and Buffy agrees, because now she can relax around him. In a lovely ironic transition, we fade to Ford knocking on the door of the Sunset Club.
 * Ford searches for a word to describe the town, and Buffy suggests "dull." He agrees, but upon seeing two vampires hurrying near the school, he changes his mind.
 * This Means War: The way the Cold Open is framed gives a sense of two emissaries having just discussed terms for war.
 * There Are No Coincidences: It is a pretty big coincidence, Ford knowing that Buffy's the Slayer and then "moving" to Sunnydale.
 * This Is the Part Where: Ford blathering about some action-movie convention where Spike is supposed to "take out a watch" and give Ford got thirty seconds to convince you not to kill him.

Spike: What...? (exasperated sigh) You've got thirty seconds to convince me not to kill you.

Ford: Yes! See, this is the best."

"Giles: What do you want me to say?
 * "It's already happening."
 * Title Drop: Giles and Buffy in the epilogue.

Buffy: Lie to me."

"Ford: (dazed) What happened?
 * The Triple: Xander saying Buffy needs cheering up, and suggests a "crazed dance party at the Bronze." Buffy doesn't reply, and he downgrades that to "very calm dance party at the Bronze," finishing with "moping at the Bronze."
 * Trouble Entendre: Ford inviting Buffy into his trap. He says he has a surprise for her, and she neutrally says she likes surprises. They agree to meet at the school at nine. He leans in and tells her it will be fun, and walks away. After a beat, she does the same. (We later discover that Ford already knows she's onto him.)
 * Unwanted Rescue: Buffy starts to say what will happen to the kids, but they pipe up that they'll be changed, and it's what they want.
 * Vampires Own Nightclubs
 * Vampire Vannabe: Ford, Diego, Chantarelle and the rest of the "true believers", though only Ford knows what vamps are all about.
 * Verb This: Spike says he's known Ford two minutes and he already can't stand him, and that he doesn't "feature" Ford living forever. Ford shoots back, "Feature this," and offers Spike a trade.
 * Wakeup Makeup: When Angel comes over to Willow's, she's wearing freshly-applied lipstick, even though she was just about to go to bed.
 * Walk in Chime In: Ford is reassuring his followers that the vampires will turn up as planned. "It's gonna be fine." Buffy suddenly appears at the top of the stairs. "No. It's really not."
 * Would Hit a Girl: Ford swinging a crowbar at Buffy, knocking her down the stairs. He advances on her and hits her again, but is interrupted by Spike at the door.
 * You Have Failed Me: Simultaneously subverting this and an "I Lied" moment:Spike detested Fordham, had no reason to honor his agreement and very good reasons not to.

Spike: We're stuck in a basement.

Ford: Buffy?

Spike: She's not stuck in the basement."


 * That he did so is only revealed at the very end when Fordham rises and is immediately staked.
 * Your Vampires Suck: Ford's been memorizing lines from vampire movies, and seems convinced that using that angle is the best way to win Spike over.