Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Recap/S2/E22 Becoming, Part 2

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Buffy arrives too late to save Kendra from Drusilla's surprise attack, and ends up being arrested for Kendra's murder. Escaping from the police, she goes to the hospital to find that Willow is in a coma, and Giles has been abducted. Now a wanted fugitive, Buffy is almost caught by the police, but is saved by an unexpected ally: Spike. He tells Buffy that he does not want the world to end either (it is far too fun a place) and that he wants to take Dru and leave town, so they declare an uneasy truce.

Buffy decides to convene a meeting with Spike inside her home, but is intercepted in the driveway by her mother. The three are attacked by a vampire sent by Angelus, and Joyce watches in shock as Buffy dusts him. Whoops. Buffy tries to explain her role as the Slayer to her mother, who is resistant to accepting the truth. Following a heated argument, Joyce tells Buffy that if she walks out of the house, she won't be welcome back. Buffy goes.

Spike returns to the mansion, concealing that he has healed from his injuries enough to walk. To keep Angelus from killing Giles, Spike suggests that Drusilla use hypnosis on him. She appears to Giles as Jenny Calender, and he tells her that Angelus is the key. He must use his own blood, not someone else's, to awaken Acathla. In her hospital bed, Willow (despite protest from Xander), decides to try the Restoration Spell again.

Buffy heads to the mansion to confront Angelus, who is surprised to find himself getting attacked on both sides by Spike and the Slayer. After rendering Drusilla unconscious, Spike flees town. Buffy overpowers Angelus in a duel, but not before he has already removed the sword from Acathla. Just as Buffy is about to deliver the killing blow, Willow completes the spell and Angel's soul is restored. Buffy realizes that Angel is back and embraces him. However, by then Acathla is awake and creating an expanding vortex. Buffy kisses Angel, professes her love for him and then drives her sword through him, sending him to Hell and sealing the portal.

Joyce finds a note on Buffy's bed, and clothes have been strewn everywhere and her closed emptied. The Scoobies gather in front of the school, speculating on Buffy's whereabouts. Unbeknownst to them, Buffy boards a bus to leave Sunnydale.

Tropes:

  • Alternate Character Interpretation: Does Xander lie to Buffy out of jealousy, or does he do what he genuinely believes is right to ensure Buffy won't hold back in this crucial battle?
  • Anguished Declaration of Love: Xander, standing alone by Willow's bedside, begging her to wake up. He jokingly asks who else is going to help him "pass Trig". Then (not so jokingly), he becomes choked with emotion and tells her she's his best friend, and desperately adds, "I love you."
  • Barehanded Blade Block: Angelus, noticing Spike's departure, proceeds to toy with his prey. "Now that's everything, huh? No weapons. No friends. No hope." Buffy closes her eyes in anticipation of death. "Take that away, and what's left?" He draws the sword back and thrusts it straight at her face; Buffy grabs the blade between both palms, and replies, "Me." She shoves the sword away, causing the hilt to hit Angelus square in the face. DONK.
  • Blatant Lies: Willow wants to try re-cursing Angelus again. She instructs Xander to tell Buffy her plans, hoping she can stall until the curse is complete. Upon rendezvousing with Buffy outside the mansion, Xander suddenly remembers, "Willow! Uh, she told me to tell you --" (rethinks it): "Kick his ass."
  • Bridal Carry: Spike witnesses Angelus knocking away Buffy's sword, prompting him to resignedly gather up Drusilla, shrug, and head on his way. (Big help there, Blondie.)
  • Call Back: Back at the Summers home, there's an awkward silence between Joyce and Spike. Joyce recognizes him from somewhere and asks if they've met. Spike candidly answers that says she hit him on the head with an axe once, followed by "Get the hell away from my daughter." Both are very happy when Buffy shows up, which spares them further small talk.
  • Car Meets House: In reverse. Spike smashes through the mansion's garage door with his car, not wanting to risk getting dusted opening it during the day. Inside the car, Dru is passed out in the passenger's seat. He lays rubber and takes off.
  • Chainsaw Good: Angelus is jazzed at the prospect of torturing Giles, noting that the last time he got to torture someone, they hadn't even invented the chainsaw.
  • Chalk Outline: An outline of Kendra has been placed in the library before Buffy's visit. As she crosses the room, Buffy pauses and is careful not to disturb it.
  • Choke Holds: An odd example: Spike appears to choke Drusilla out. (Or perhaps uses Pressure Points) -- which is almost fitting for these two.
    • Another theory is that Spike breaks her neck. As long as he doesn't decapitate her, she'll eventually recover. (A choke hold obviously won't work on a vampire because they don't need to breathe.)
    • She was put in a Mata Leon (or rear naked choke) a move used in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and mixed martial-arts. A person is knocked unconscious by this move because of the restriction of blood flow to the brain; loss of air has nothing to do with it.
  • Clothing Reflects Personality: Buffy skips town in the Dungarees of Depression after killing Angel.
  • Cold-Blooded Torture: Angelus on Giles. Giles doesn't break.

Angelus: I can stop the pain. You've been very brave... but it's over. You've given enough. Now let me make it stop.
Giles: Please!
Angelus: Just tell me what I need to know.
Giles: In order... to be worthy...
Angelus: Yeah?
Giles: You must perform the ritual... in a tutu. Pillock!

  • Comically Missing the Point: Spike says he'll help kill Angelus in exchange for getting to flee town with Dru. Buffy says Drusilla doesn't get to live because she killed Kendra, to which Spike exclaims, "Dru bagged a Slayer?" Elated, he turns to Joyce. "She didn't tell me! Hey, good for her!" Glare from Buffy. "..Though not from your perspective, I suppose."
  • Complaining About Rescues They Don't Like: Xander pushes aside a curtain leading to Angelus' torture room and finds a bruised Giles tied to his chair. Giles woozily lifts his head slowly as Xander busies himself with the ropes. Giles protests that Xander isn't real.

Giles: It's a trick. They get inside my head, make me see things I want.
Xander: Then why would they make you see me?
Giles: [considers] You're right. Let's go.

  • Convenient Coma: Getting conked by a falling bookcase as put Willow into a coma. Xander explains that she has head trauma and could wake up at any time, but it's touch-and-go.
  • Couch Gag: The "Grr Arg" at the end of the credits was altered for this episode. Instead of the trademark grunt the monster says "Oooh, I need a hug".
  • Cryptic Conversation: Lampshaded by Buffy, who guesses that Whistler doesn't have anything useful to impart. He tacitly says with Great Significance that the quicker she ends Angel, the "easier" it will be.
  • Deadly Hug / Empty Promise: "Close your eyes."
  • Deadly Lunge: Spike unleashes a half season's worth of pent-up rage on Angelus' skull, horrifying Drusilla. While he's so preoccupied, Dru rushes at Spike with a girlish whimper and tackles him to the ground.
  • Defiant to the End: Torture chamber at the mansion. Giles is barely concious, still bound to his chair, as Angelus circles him like a buzzard. He tells Giles he can make the pain stop. Giles pants a little and begs, "Please." Angelus sits beside him, triumphant. Giles speaks in a hoarse whisper so Angelus has to put his face very near Giles's and listen very carefully:

Giles: In order...to be worthy... you must perform the ritual... in a tutu!

  • Did We Just Have Tea with Cthulhu?: A hilarious shot of Joyce and Spike sitting in her living room.
    • The awkward silence is briefly interrupted when Joyce asks him where she's seen him before, and Spike explains she was hitting him with an axe screaming "get the hell away from my daughter". Fond memories.
  • Does This Remind You of Anything?: Buffy revealing she's as a slayer to her mother = coming out of the closet. As Buffy and Spike lay their cards on the table, Joyce keeps interrupting with "Honey, are you sure you're a vampire slayer?," and "have you tried not being a Slayer?" Spike ignores her. Finally, Joyce drops that old chestnut about Buffy lacking "a strong father figure." Buffy snaps that being the Slayer is just fate and her mother should accept it.
  • Dramatic Irony: The Scoobies reconvene at the school. Xander and Giles, who is walking rather unsteadily, approach Oz, who is pushing a wheelchair-bound Willow. Everyone exchanges updates and they realize they haven't heard from Buffy. Willow is of the opinion that the spell was a success, and Xander postulates that it wasn't in time, since Buffy had already killed Angelus. Willow hopelessly romanticizes that perhaps Angel was cured and he and Buffy went off to be alone together.

Cordelia: Well, she's gotta show up sooner or later. We still have school.
Willow: Yeah, she'll be here in a while.

  • Dull Surprise: As his henchvamp's head rolls past him, Angelus affects boredom with Buffy crashing his party.

Angelus: [eyeroll] I don't have time for you.
Buffy: You don't have a lot of time left.

  • Dying as Yourself: At the climatic moment, Buffy readies her sword to decapitate Angelus, but stops when Angelus' eyes glow for a second. Angel's back. And just a minute too late.
  • Dynamic Entry: Shortly after parting with Whistler, a cop car pulls up next to our heroine. A Sunnydale cop, so nonexistent in previous weeks and so very prevalent in this one, jumps out and tells Buffy to hold it right there. Suddenly, the gun gets kicked out his hands. Spike pops out of nowhere, slaps around the cop and kicks him into the hood of his car, knocking him out.

"Hello, cutie."

    • At the mansion, Angelus cuts himself in preparation for freeing Acathla. Buffy enters quietly behind one of the henchvamps and cleanly decapitates him. O hai!
  • Even Evil Has Standards: Spike explains that while vampires may love to talk about destroying the world amongst themselves ("tough-guy talk"), he prefers the world as it is. Moreover, he can't stand the way Drusilla fawns over Angelus.

Spike: The truth is I like this world. You've got... dog racing, Manchester United. And you've got people. Billions of people walking around like Happy Meals with legs. It's all right here. But then someone comes along with a vision. With a real passion for destruction. Angel could pull it off. Goodbye, Piccadilly. Farewell, Leicester Bloody Square, y'know what I'm saying?

  • Exact Words: Spike and Dru stare each other as Spike says, "I don't wanna hurt you, baby." Dru's answer is to grab him by the throat and shove him against the wall. He immediately clocks her with a haymaker punch, then shrugs, "Doesn't mean I won't.
  • Fake-Out Make-Out: The G-rated version. Buffy sneaks into the hospital, wearing an oversized coat and black watch cap. She finds Xander just as some cops round a corner in the hall, so Xander pulls her in for a tight hug until the coast is clear.
    • Subverted in that it lacks the usual UST; when Buffy jokes that Xander had ulterior motives for doing that, his lack of reaction makes her realise something bad has happened (to Willow).
  • Fate Worse Than Death: Angel getting a taste of his own portal.
  • Fingore: Giles is shown at the end of the episode with splints on several of his fingers, giving us a good idea of how Angelus was torturing him.
  • Five-Finger Discount: After clocking out the cop who was arresting Buffy, Spike explains his change of heart while searching through his pockets for a smoke. Finding nothing, he then fishes through the KO'd cop's pockets and swipes some cigs, still yapping the entire time.
  • Foreshadowing: Principal Snyder is seen asking to speak with the mayor Richard Wilkins, who becomes the Big Bad in the next season.
  • Glamour: Spike uses reason to persuade Angelus not to kill Giles, instead suggesting that Dru "play a game"; she reads Giles' mind to discover his weakness, her visage changing to that of Jenny Calendar. Giles desperately tells Jenny that they have to get Angel away from Acathla, because his own blood is the key.
  • Grief Song: "Full of Grace" by Sarah McLachlan.
  • The Gods Must Be Lazy: Buffy figures Whistler doesn't have anything useful to tell her. "What are you," she snaps, "just some immortal demon sent down to even the score between good and evil?" Whistler looks both surprised and deflated by her spot-on evaluation: "Good guess." Buffy suggests that the Powers That Be get off their "immortal ass" to help, to which Whistler responds with the stock speech about the cost of free will and how you can only count on yourself. Boy, subtract Acathla and you have the pilot for Angel, right here.
  • Heroic BSOD: Buffy in the episode's ending.
  • Hoist by His Own Petard: In every sense of the word. Buffy, recalling Whistler's words that only Angel's blood can re-seal Acathla, runs Angel through with her sword. The bloodied tip of the blade penetrates the vortex behind him, sucking Angel into Hell and sealing it shut.
  • Hollywood Law: The officer shot at Buffy when Buffy ran away. A police officer would not have legally been able to use lethal force in this instance because no one's life was in immediate danger.
  • I Have No Daughter: Joyce refuses to accept that her daughter is a vampire Slayer, and the battle lines are drawn. It's Ultimatum Time. Joyce says she won't let Buffy leave the house. They get into a shoving match, and Buffy opens the door to leave. "You walk out of this house, don't even THINK about coming back!" barks Joyce. Buffy just looks at her sadly and then walks out. Joyce slumps over the counter, her head in her hands. That could have gone better.
  • Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Angel, to his shock and confusion.
  • Improvised Weapon: On the way to Angelus's mansion, Buffy is greeted by Xander, who pops up out of the bushes. "Cavalry's here," he announces. "Cavalry's a frightened guy with a rock, but it's here."
    • Spike whips out either a fireplace poker or a long andiron to cave Angelus' head in.
  • I Need a Freaking Drink: Joyce sipping from an unmentioned beverage. For her sake, it'd better be a good stiff one.
  • In the End You Are on Your Own
  • Ironic Echo: "Hello, lover."
  • It Got Even Worse
  • It's All My Fault: Buffy, overlooking her best friend's unconscious face, expresses regret for letting Willow attempt the curse. She doesn't realize yet that Drusilla came to snatch Giles, not interrupt Willow.
  • Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique: Whistler identifies himself to Buffy, and when she asks what he wants, he jokes that he needs a date to the prom. Buffy has had just about enough (long day) and slams Whistler, his baggy vintage suit, and his porkpie hat up against the wall, threatening to pull out his rib cage and wear it as a hat.

Whistler: Hello to the imagery, very nice!

  • Kiss of Death: Angel, still weakened, senses the evil whirlwind behind him, but Buffy reassures him that everything is fine. She tells Angel that she loves him, then she touches his lips with her fingers and instructs him to close his eyes. He does, and she kisses him again tenderly (though her face is winced in pain) before stepping back and ramming her sword through his chest.
  • Lost in Character: Drusilla delving a bit too far into her role as "Jenny", is still snogging with Giles as Spike and Angelus clear their throats impatiently. They have to try a couple of times to get her attention until Dru turns around and sheepishly responds, "Sorry. I was in the moment."
  • Meaningful Echo: Both times Angel dies, the words he hears are: "close your eyes". It's the last thing Darla said to him before she made him a vampire, And it`s also the last thing Buffy says to Angel before she runs him through with her sword.
    • Angel really should be more careful when beautiful blondes tell him to do things.
  • Eucatastrophe
  • Noodle Implements: With the "noodle" in question being Angelus' magic fingers. We don't see where he's placing his hands, but from reading Giles' face it can't be pleasant.
    • Played straight after Giles proves surprisingly resilient. All right, bust out the chainsaw![1]
  • No Time to Explain: Averted; Buffy's attempts to brush off Joyce only lead to her mother losing her temper and giving the Ultimatum.
  • Not Himself: Angelus, losing patience with his guest, is on the verge of killing Giles when Spike rolls in. He points out that emancipating Giles from his limbs won't get Angelus the information he needs. (He omits the part about Buffy's promise to kill Drusilla if anything happens to her Watcher.) Angelus eyes Spike suspiciously. Something about this scenario is off.

Angelus: Since when did you become so level-headed?
Spike: Right about the time you became so pig-headed.

  • Nothing Is the Same Anymore: Outside the house, Joyce starts asking a few too many questions, and Buffy is anxious to move the conversations inside. As they approach the door, a vampire pounces at them. Buffy and Spike make short work of the vamp, who ends up getting dusted right in front of the astonished Joyce. The vamp is identified as "one of Angelus' boys"; Joyce demands to know what is going on. Oh....right. You're still here?

Buffy: Mom, I'm a vampire slayer.

  • The Last of These Is Not Like the Others: Buffy yelling at her mom that she never chose to be this way; she would rather be upstairs watching TV or gossiping about boys, "or god, even studying!"
  • OOC Is Serious Business: Fed up with trying to explains things to her mother, Buffy turns on her heels, "Just have another drink." Joyce reacts by smashing her glass on the floor and snaps, "Don't you talk to me that way," causing Buffy to freeze in her tracks. Yow.
  • Oh Crap: Giles' pitiful expression once he realizes he's been duped by Drusilla. Principal Snyder when he tells Buffy she's been expelled...and then Buffy pulls out a sword.
  • Ominous Latin Chanting: Angelus slitting his hand and reciting an incantation -- basically the same spiel he made to Acathla in the last episode, except in Latin.
  • Police Are Useless: Buffy returning to the library, which is cordoned off with crime scene tape, to retrieve some of her gear hidden under the table. Snyder catches her in the act and proceeds to smug some more, while Buffy protests her innocence and has faith that the police will figure that out. Snyder retorts that the "police of Sunnydale are deeply stupid." No kidding. They missed a duffel bag full of weapons at a crime scene which they left unguarded!
    • Joyce can't accept the whole new unexplained world that has opened before her and tries to pick up the phone to call the cops. Joyce, don't you know 911 is a joke? Buffy slams the phone down, insisting the cops will just get killed.

Joyce: Well, you're not gonna hurt them, are you?
Buffy: I'm a Slayer, not a postal worker.

  • Our Wormholes Are Different
  • Prophecy Twist: Whistler claiming that this was supposed to be Angel's "big day". He recruited Angel because he believed he was destined to stop Acaltha, but things didn't go as planned -- rather, the reverse. Buffy's love for Angel was an X factor nobody saw coming.
  • Put on a Bus: Buffy herself. The last shot of the episode is of a sign on the outskirts of town. It reads: "Now leaving Sunnydale -- Come back soon!"
  • Pyrrhic Victory: A Most Triumphant Example.
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning: As Acathla begins to stir, his maw opens wide and his eyes glow orange.
  • Season Finale
  • See You in Hell: Buffy dusts her last henchvamp just in time to witness Angleus pulling the sword from his oversized garden gnome. Victorious, Angelus indulges in a sword flourish and turns to gloat.

Angelus: My boy Acathla here is about to wake up. You're goin' to Hell.
Buffy: Save me a seat.

  • Shut UP, Hannibal: Buffy pulls a short one on Angelus after she stops his sword.
  • Smash Cut: Cordelia arrives at Willow's bedside, explaining that she ran away and "made it through three counties" before she noticed no one was in pursuit. Now everyone's accounted for. ...Hold on. Xander asks if Giles made it out with Cordy, and she says she hasn't seen him. Cut to the mansion, where Giles is starting to come to. Angelus is crouched on the floor next to him, looking like that cat that ate the canary.
    • The newly-revived Willow tells Oz her head feels big, but he reassures her that it's "head size" and gives her a kiss. "Is everybody else okay?" wonders Willow. Cut back to our profoundly-unlucky friend Giles, bound and bloodied, while Angelus sits nearby, cheerfully polishing Giles' glasses. Ick.
  • Staking the Loved One
  • Stereo Fibbing: Buffy and Spike head back to her house to talk, but are waylaid by Joyce pulling up in the driveway. Buffy gives Spike an expressive "don't say anything in front of my mother" eye roll. "What, your mom doesn't know?" Spike asides. Know what?

Buffy: That I'm, uh... [stammering] in a band. A rock band. With Spike here.
Spike: Right. She plays the, the triangle--
Buffy: Drums.
Spike: --Drums, yeah, she's, uh, hell on the old skins, y'know.

Joyce: [unconvinced] Hmm. And, uh, what do you do?

Spike: [beat] well, I sing.

  • Stop or I Will Shoot: We pick up with Buffy in the Sunnydale High library, kneeling over Kendra's body, when two police officers burst in with their guns drawn. The female officer checks for Kendra's pulse, while Snyder arrives to pin the whole thing on Buffy. Buffy says, F#@% the police, and elbows the male cop into the lockers before sprinting away. His partner yells freeze and takes aim at Buffy, and her bullet narrowly misses.
  • Sword Fight
  • Take My Hand: Buffy violently stabbing Angel and drawing him into the vortex. A shocked Angel calls out, "Buffy?" and extends his arm, but no help is coming.
  • Talking in Your Sleep: In the hospital, Xander tells a comatose Willow that he loves her. At this, her face twitches and her hand gives his a squeeze. Xander's eyes widen in hope, but his face falls as Willow whispers, "Oz?" On cue, Oz is in the doorway, and a crestfallen Xander sidles out of the room to let him sit next to Willow. Oh, this'll end well.
  • Talking Is a Free Action
  • Tap on the Head: Spike delivering a kick to a cop's face. The groaning officer quickly comes to, however.

Spike: [absently] I'm just gonna kill this guy.
Buffy: [clears her throat loudly]
Spike: Oh, right.

  • Tempting Fate: Buffy assures Whistler that if spilling Angel's blood will seal the portal, then she's more than up to the task: "I've got nothing left to lose." To her retreating figure, Whistler says under his breath, "Wrong, kid. You got one more thing."
    • Angelus reminding Buffy that the deck is stacked against her odds-wise, gesturing to his lackeys. That's Spike's cue to rise up out of his wheelchair and clobber Angelus' across the head with an andiron.

Spike: Hurts, doesn't it?

  • Torture First, Ask Questions Later: At Angelus' place, a captive Giles asks what he wants. Angelus hops to his feet and says matter-of-factly, "I wanna torture you." He explains that he's tried to wake Acathla, with no results, and was hoping Giles could give him some pointers. "But honestly," he confides, "I sorta hope you don't. 'Cause I really wanna torture you."
  • Trailers Always Spoil: There was never a big question as to whether Angel would return, since the announcement of Angel was made right after this episode aired.
  • Two Part Episode
  • Waxing Lyrical: Spike's description of the end of days "goodbye Picadilly, farewell Leicester bloody Square" is a quote from the song "It's a Long Way to Tipperary".
  • Weirdness Censor: Lampshaded by Buffy

Open your eyes, Mom! What do you think has been going on for the past two years? The fights, the weird occurrences. How many times have you washed blood out of my clothing, and you still haven't figured it out?

  • What Happened to the Mouse?: Whistler is nowhere to be seen after sharing some tips with Buffy. He eventually did reappear in Buffy Season 8, this time as a potential Big Bad.
    • Whistler was slated to appear in the never-made Ripper, a spin-off detailing the adventures of Giles in England.
    • He was also meant to be in Angel, but the actor's drug problems interfered. His intended role was taken by the new character Doyle...who was then quickly killed off because his actor also had drug problems that would kill him a couple years later.
  • ...Who Needs Enemies? / Enemy Mine: Spike offers to strike a deal with Buffy; he will help her stop Angelus if she lets him and Drusilla skip town. Later he's carrying out Drusilla and notices a sword-wielding Angelus advancing on a disarmed Buffy.

Spike: He's going to kill her! (shrugs and walks off)

  • You Can't Go Home Again: Joyce finding a note on Buffy's bed the next morning. We don't hear its contents, but clothes have been strewn everywhere and her closed emptied. As she's reading, Joyce starts to cry.
    • By episode's end, Buffy is still under suspicion for murder, and can't to either her home or school. Next stop: L.A.
  • You Need to Get Laid: Buffy implies this is the reason Snyder is a student-hating Nazi now.

Buffy: You never got a single date in high school, did you?
Snyder: Your point being?

  • You Will Know What to Do: Back at Casa del Giles, Whistler is heroically guarding the fridge. (Sigh) Buffy enters and demands to know what he meant before when he said "the sword isn't enough." Whistler, in his habit of not answering until somebody threatens to beat the crap out of them, explains that once Acathla opens a vortex to hell, only Angel's blood can close it. Blood in, blood out.
  • You Wouldn't Believe Me If I Told You: Invoked during Buffy's phone call to the hospital. She tells Willow that she caught a "lucky break" in their search for Giles. When Willow asks for specifics, Buffy shoots a glance at her living room, where Joyce and Spike are awkwardly twiddling their thumbs.
  • Your Door Was Open: Buffy burst into Giles' apartment looking for him, but Whistler's waiting for her instead.
    • Chalk up one more quirk he has in common with Doyle.
  1. ↑ He was serious about that?
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