Episode Trivia
Angel drinks with a soul
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There have been a few occasions where Angel has fed from a human while he has had a soul:
- 3.21 Graduation Day (Part One) - Buffy
- 2.08 Shroud Of Rahmon - Kate
- 4.01 Deep Down - Wesley
- 4.15 Orpheus - The cashier of the diner
- 5.13 Why We Fight - He sires Lawson.
- Although Angel bit Rebecca Lowell in 1.17 Eternity, he did not drink from her.
- In 2.07 Darla, we learn that Angel has been selective in his feeding habits:
Angel: “Look I’ve killed men. You’ve seen it!”
Darla: “Rapists and murderers, thieves and scoundrels. Did you think I wouldn’t notice? - Only evildoers, that’s all you hunt now. You swore to me. You said, if I took you back you’d prove yourself.” - As well, he unknowingly drinks Connor’s blood. A sample is stolen from the doctor’s office in 3.15 Loyalty. In 3.16 Sleep Tight, Angel realizes that Wolfram & Hart has spiked his pig’s blood.
In the Buffy episode 1.07 Angel, Angel tells Buffy that he hasn’t fed off a human since he was cursed:
“You have no idea what it’s like to have done the things I’ve done… and to care. I haven’t fed on a living human being since that day.”
Yeah, right.
Ascension
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An Ascension is when a mortal or part-demon becomes pure demon, resulting in massive destruction. In 3.21 Graduation Day (Part One) Anya revealed she was the only living person to witness an Ascension, and it took a volcano to destroy the resulting demon (Lohesh, a four winged soul killer). In 3.22 Graduation Day (Part Two), The Mayor of Sunnydale ascended to become a giant snake-like demon. He was eventually blown up, along with the rest of the school.
Barry White
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Willow plays Barry White’s ‘Can’t Get Enough of Your Love’ (with a chilled bottle of 7-Up) to try and seduce Oz in 3.10 Amends. The two finally sleep together for the first time in 3.21 Graduation Day (Part One).
By the Sun Cinema
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As Buffy and Angel walk through the snowy street in 3.10 Amends, the shot starts with a close up on the inside of the U on the Sun Cinema sign. This is where Faith stands when she shoots Angel in 3.21 Graduation Day (Part One). In 3.17 Enemies, Buffy and Angel stand outside the cinema again, when they’re joined by Faith.
Faith and comas
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Faith has had bad luck with comas - her first being the result of a fight with Buffy at the end of 3.21 Graduation Day (Part One). She is stabbed with her own knife, but jumps off her balcony onto a moving truck before she can kill her. She then shares a dream with the also unconscious Buffy.
In the Angel episode 4.15 Orpheus, she drugs herself, and is bitten by Angelus, leaving her in a second coma, during which she shares a dream (of sorts) with both Angel and his evil alter ego.
Faith is knocked unconscious by an explosion for most of 7.18 Dirty Girls, and at the end of 7.22 Chosen, says, “I just want to sleep, yo, for like a week.” Dangerous request, considering her track record!
Faith’s affection requests
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These are three similarities in dialogue before Faith’s altercations with Buffy, Angel, and Angelus.
In 3.21 Graduation Day (Part One):
Faith: “Ready to cut loose?”
Buffy: “Try me.”
Faith: “Okay then. Give us a kiss.”
Faith: “Hey, baby! Come give us a hug.”
Angel: “I was hoping you’d stop by. Always good to see old friends. What’s this? Wooden bullets?”
In 4.13 Salvage:
Angelus: “Hey, Faith. Nice to see you again. You’re looking choice as ever. Oh, that’s right. We’ve never really met, have we?”
Faith: “So what are you waiting for? Come out and give me a kiss.”
Angelus: “No, no, no. You come to me. That’s it… getting warmer.”
Faith’s bow
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Faith steals a bow and arrow in 3.14 Bad Girls, which she uses to shoot the courier in 3.19 Choices, and Angel in 3.21 Graduation Day (Part One).
Faith’s knife
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The Mayor gave Faith an intricate knife as a present in 3.19 Choices. She used it to kill one of the Gavrok spiders and Buffy then took it away. Buffy stabbed Faith with the knife to try and cure Angel in 3.21 Graduation Day (Part One), then taunted the Mayor-snake with it in 3.22 Graduation Day (Part Two). In 4.15 This Year’s Girl, Faith dreamt that Buffy killed the Mayor with the same knife, and also that she still had the knife in her when talking to Buffy whilst making a bed.
Firecracker
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In 3.21 Graduation Day (Part One) Faith mentions her childhood in Boston, where she describes herself as, unsurprisingly, a tough kid. The Mayor calls her a “firecracker” and she reveals that her mother used to call her that when she was younger. In 7.20 Touched, the First Evil appears to Faith in the form of the Mayor, and calls her a firecracker again.
Foreshadowing the Dawn arc
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There are two significant references to the character of Dawn before she first appeared in 5.01 Buffy Vs Dracula.
In 4.15 This Year’s Girl, Buffy and Faith are making a bed in Faith’s dream. They have the following conversation:
Buffy: “I wish I could stay, but…”
Faith: “Oh, you have to go.”
Buffy: “That’s just what…”
Faith: “Little sis coming. I know.”
Buffy: “So much to do before she gets here.”
As well as referencing Dawn verbally, the two Slayers are making the bed in Dawn’s future room.
The second reference occurs in the episode 4.22 Restless. Tara says to Buffy:
“Be back before Dawn”.
There is also a couple more, slightly cryptic, references. In 3.21 Graduation Day (Part One), Buffy walks into Faith’s apartment and Faith says:
“Look at you, all dressed up in big sister’s clothes.”
In 4.22 Restless. In Giles’ dream, Olivia is pregnant, which may signify the coming of Dawn as Giles became a father figure to her after Joyce died.
In 3.22 Graduation Day (Part Two), Buffy dreams that she and Faith are making a bed together (again!). Faith says:
“Miles to go. Little Miss Muffet counting down from 7-3-0″.
Faith’s riddle is explained later in the series. “730″ is a forshadowing of Buffy’s own death (Buffy dies to save Dawn). It means 365 multiplied by 2, meaning in two year’s time. This date coincides with the episode 5.22 The Gift where Buffy dies. The number crops up again in season four’s finale 4.22 Restless, where Buffy sees a clock saying 7:30 and Tara tells her the clock is wrong. It is: there are no longer 730 days before Buffy’s death, there are 365.
Gavrok
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In order to proceed with his Ascension, the Mayor of Sunnydale had the Box of Gavrok flown from Central America in 3.19 Choices. Buffy and Angel stole the box but Faith kidnapped Willow and they were forced to return it. The box contained 50 billion Gavrok spiders, which were large, black and powerful.
The Mayor ate the spiders in 3.21 Graduation Day (Part One) as an essential part of his ascension:
“My god, what a feeling! The power of these creatures… it suffuses my being. I can feel the changes begin. My organs are shifting, merging, making ready for the Ascension. Plus these babies are high in fiber. And what’s the fun in becoming an immortal demon if you’re not regular, am I right?”
Habitrail
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In 3.21 Graduation Day (Part One), Willow worried that she couldn’t turn Amy the rat back into a human. Oz assured her that:
“you got the swinging Habitrail going. I think Amy is in a good place emotionally”.
Habitrail is a company who specialise in different designs of rodent cages, including the Habitrail Home (”A comfortable Home Sweet Home offering spacious living quarters and play activities for your hamster”), Habitrail Park, Habitrail Safari (”The new Safari range features a radically new design and colour-scheme, bring a fully themed adventure to your hamster’s life”) and for the more refined hamster - the Habitrail Villa.
In 4.06 Wild At Heart, Veruca calls Oz’s wolf-cage a “Habitrail”.
Harry Groener
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Harry Groener played the Mayor of Sunnydale - Richard Wilkins III. He was born in Germany in 1951. Harry has three Tony nominations for his stage work in Oklahoma, Cats and Crazy for You. He has also been in Dear John, The West Wing, Roswell, Malcolm in the Middle, The Drew Carey Show, Boston Public, Judging Amy, Charmed, Family Law, Just Shoot Me, Mad About You, Home Improvement, Star Trek: Voyager, Law & Order, Quantum Leap, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Enterprise and Remington Steele. His final Buffy episode was 7.20 Touched.
Heathers
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In 3.21 Graduation Day (Part One), Buffy says to Wesley, “Get a job!” This might be a reference to the film Heathers in which Veronica Sawyer (played by Winona Ryder) says the same thing to her guidance counselor. Sarah Michelle Gellar has said this is one of her favourite movies.
James Lurie
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James Lurie played the teacher Mr. Miller at Sunnydale High in the episodes 2.19 I Only Have Eyes For You, 3.01 Anne and 3.21 Graduation Day (Part One). You might remember him as the teacher who plays hangman with his class in Graduation Day (”They always go for the ‘E’”). James has also been in Picket Fences, Law & Order and Cowboy Up.
Jaws
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Steven Spielberg’s 1975 shark movie Jaws is alluded to a few times in Buffy.
In 2.20 Go Fish, Xander says, “This was no boating accident” - which is a line from the first Jaws movie.
In 3.21 Graduation Day (Part One), Xander and Giles open a page of a book to see a giant monster they may have to face. Xander says:
“We’re going to need a bigger boat.”
This was the phrase used by Brody (Roy Scheider) in the movie when he first sees the size of the great white shark he’s hunting.
In the episode 3.01 Anne, Oz suggests that Willow uses the phrase “This time it’s personal” as it’s a “classic”. He’s quoting from the fourth Jaws movie.
Anya makes an explicit reference to the movie in 7.21 End Of Days when she suggests killing demons with gas cylinders:
“They’d only be useful if something big was attacking, and then we could shove one down their throat and blow ‘em up like Roy Scheider did with that shark in Jaws.”
In 7.19 Empty Places, Xander mentions the abysmal third movie in the Jaws series, made in 1983. After he loses his eye, Xander says:
“Oh, you know what the best part is? No one will ever make me watch Jaws 3-D again.”
In 5.10 Soul Purpose, whilst dissecting Angel in his dream, Fred holds up a Mexican license plate saying:
“Hmm. Came up the gulf stream, huh?”
This is a reference to the first Jaws movie, in which Hooper opens the dead shark and says, “Ah. Just like I thought. He came up with the Gulf Stream - from southern waters” before holding up a licence plate from Louisiana.
Killer of the Dead
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Killer of the Dead is a poison used to kill vampires. It causes extreme pain, and a long death. Faith shot Angel with an arrow dipped into the poison in 3.21 Graduation Day (Part One). The only cure is for a vampire to drink the blood of a vampire Slayer. After unsuccessfully trying to get Faith’s blood, Buffy allowed Angel to drink from her.
Lo-Hash
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Lo-Hash was described in 3.21 Graduation Day (Part One) by Wesley as a “four winged soul killer” and not particularly fierce. Anya (the only person to ever survive an Ascension) told him that Lo-Hash was a pure demon when it destroyed a village during an Ascension, and so was, amongst other things, bigger. She says of the event:
“About eight hundred years ago in the Kastka Valley above the Urals, there was a sorcerer there who achieved Ascension. He became the embodiment of the demon Lo-Hash.”
Lose you
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In 3.21 Graduation Day (Part One) when Buffy wants to kill Faith, Xander says to her:
“I just don’t want to lose you.”
This is echoed later by Gunn when Fred wants to kill Professor Seidel in 4.05 Supersymmetry. Gunn says:
“If you kill him, I’m gonna lose you.”
Mayor’s tape
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The Mayor made a tape sometime between Faith’s stabbing in 3.21 Graduation Day (Part One) and his Ascension in 3.22 Graduation Day (Part Two). She saw the tape, and received his body-switching contraption in season four’s 4.15 This Year’s Girl.
Mr. Miller
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Mr. Miller was a teacher at Sunnydale High. He appeared in the episodes 2.19 I Only Have Eyes For You, 3.01 Anne (”Slow down, people. Summer is over. Be somber.”) and 3.21 Graduation Day (Part One) (Playing hangman: “They always go for the ‘E’”).
Office romance
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In 3.21 Graduation Day (Part One), Buffy says that her relationship with Angel will be her “last office romance”. She contradicts this in later seasons with her relationships with Riley and Spike.
Rat love
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Amy the rat makes another appearance in 3.21 Graduation Day (Part One). She witnesses Willow and Oz making love.
Robes change
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In 3.21 Graduation Day (Part One), Cordelia complains that she wanted the graduation robes to be teal and not maroon in colour. In the original script, she wanted the red but the school went with the blue.
Run away gal
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In 3.21 Graduation Day (Part One), Joyce sees Buffy packing and asks if she is running away again (”…and you’re taking my clothes”). Buffy ran away after the events of 2.22 Becoming (Part Two), and stayed away for the whole summer.
Shrimp
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Shrimp have been a referenced many times in Buffy and Angel: In 5.20 Spiral, Anya says that Xander doesn’t travel well, like fine shrimp; in 3.21 Graduation Day (Part One), Willow finds a spell to “communicate with shrimp”; in 4.17 Superstar, Anya compares a parallel universe with shrimp; and in 5.11 Triangle, Anya mentions a ‘world without shrimp’, to which Tara replies that she’s allergic to them. In the Angel episode 5.17 Underneath, Illyria says she once visited a world populated with nothing but shrimp.
Siegfried and Roy
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In 3.21 Graduation Day (Part One), Willow hopes that Siegfried and Roy might be the speakers at the graduation ceremony. This is a reference to the pair of flamboyant magicians who used to perform with big cats and bad mullets in a spectacular Las Vegas show. They are referenced again in 6.19 Seeing Red by Andrew:
“You can’t Siegfried-and-Roy the barrier”.
Spectator Pump
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Spectator Pump’s ‘Priced 2 Move’ plays in the Bronze in 3.16 Doppelgangland. When Buffy goes to Faith’s apartment in 3.21 Graduation Day (Part One), Faith is listening to Spectator Pump’s ‘Sunday Mail’.
Stealthy Angel
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Angel’s “stealthy” behaviour has been noted on the following occasions…
2.09 What’s My Line? (Part One):
Angel: “Buffy! You scared me.”
Buffy: “Now you know what it feels like, Stealth Guy.”
3.21 Graduation Day (Part One):
Angel (slips as he enters room): “Ow.”
Buffy: “Stealthy.”
Angel: “Not my best entrance. I think they were mopping in the halls.”
Giles: “Willow, I– I have reason to believe Buffy herself may be in particular danger from this menace. ”
Willow: “You mean… Angel? I saw him, too.
Giles: That’s not terribly stealthy of him.”
Willow: “I think he’s lost his edge.”
Gwen to Angel: “Jeez! Where were you when they taught stealth in superpower school?”
Sunnydale Press
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Sunnydale’s local newspaper was called the Sunnydale Press. It can be seen in the episodes 1.05 Never Kill A Boy On The First Date, 2.05 Reptile Boy, 2.21 Becoming (Part One), 3.14 Bad Girls, 3.15 Consequences, 3.21 Graduation Day (Part One), 4.10 Hush and 6.07 Once More, With Feeling.
Thanks, Willow
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In 3.21 Graduation Day (Part One), Percy thanks Willow for not kicking his ass in 3.16 Doppelgangland, when her vampire doppelganger hit him.
The glass trick
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Faith and Buffy fight and crash through a sheet of glass in 3.07 Revelations. They do this two more times whilst fighting: in 3.21 Graduation Day (Part One) and 4.15 This Year’s Girl.
Trailer
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The first trailer for the spin-off show Angel aired during 3.21 Graduation Day (Part One). It showed Angel against a red background with the words: “Angel: This Fall”.
Vampire invitation rule
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In vampire mythology (and the Whedonverse), a vampire cannot enter a person’s home unless it has been invited. This is first seen in the Buffy episode 1.07 Angel:
Angel: “It’s all right. A vampire can’t come in unless it’s invited.”
There has been some debate as to whether Buffy actually invited Angel into her home in that episode, but she does quickly say to him, “Get in! C’mon!” as they’re being chased by vampires. When Angel first became a vampire he returned home to kill his family. From 1.15 The Prodigal:
Father: “Be gone, unclean thing! A demon can not enter a home where it’s not welcome. He must be invited!”
Angel: “That’s true. - But I was invited.”
Angel looks to the doorway. His father turns and sees Angel’s sister slumped against the wall.
Dad: “Och!”
Angel: “She thought I returned to her – an angel.”
A vampire can enter a public place such as a school or hospital (this is seen in 2.17 Passion and 2.18 Killed By Death). In 2.17 Passion Angel says the sign outside the school says ‘Romatia transicara edicatorum’ which translates to ‘Enter all ye who seek knowledge’. Vampires can also enter hotel rooms, which are considered public. In 2.09 The Trial, Angel says to Gunn after he has entered a motel room:
Angel: “Oh, Motel, public accommodation. She didn’t live here.”
Another vampire invitation rule is clarified in 5.02 Real Me: only someone who lives in a residence can invite a vampire in:
Xander: “Yeah, actually, she– Harmony– kind of happened to sort of get an invite.”
Buffy: “You guys can’t invite her in. I mean, only someone who lives here can…
If the owner of a house is dead, a vampire can enter. This is seen in 3.21 Graduation Day (Part One) when Angel enters the home of the dead Professor. It is also seen explicitly in 1.15 The Prodigal (Angel can only enter the home of Kate’s father after he has been killed) and in 2.04 Untouched (Angel enters when a victim on life support dies). In the latter example we see a visible barrier ripple when Angel tries to enter.
When a vampire is invited into a home once, it can enter again at any point, unless a reversal spell is done. The spell was first seen in 2.17 Passion, after Angel lost his soul and started stalking Buffy. The last words of the incantation (read by Willow at Buffy’s house) are “Hicce verbis consensus rescissus est,” which translates into English roughly as “By these words permission is rescinded.” Buffy uninvited Spike from her home in 5.14 Crush, Harmony was uninvited in 5.02 Real Me, and Dracula was uninvited in 5.01 Buffy Vs Dracula.
There have been several goofs/continuity errors concerning vampires and invitations in the Whedonverse:
- When Angel and Buffy are running from the Three in 1.07 Angel, they take refuge in Buffy’s house. As they close the door, one of the Three gets his arm through the door before Buffy forces him back out. But he was a vampire and also uninvited, so how did he get his arm in?
- A similar event occurs in 2.16 Bewitched, Bothered And Bewildered - when Drusilla pushes Buffy’s door down, her hands go into the house - but Drusilla was never invited in.
- Angel says that he needs an invitation to enter Buffy’s dorm room in 4.20 The Yoko Factor, but Sunday and her gang didn’t need one in 4.01 The Freshman. This doesn’t count only for Buffy - the vamps are able to access Eddie’s room as well, and presumably they can get into the rooms of the other students they killed. How do they do that?
- In 1.17 Eternity, how can Angel jump through the window into Rebecca’s apartment to save her from the intruder? He was never invited in, and Rebecca only said to him to “Stop by”. Is this enough of an invitation?
- In 1.18 Five By Five, Faith is torturing Wesley in the apartment of the man she injured previously in the episode. When Angel finds them, he walks straight into the apartment… no invite needed. If Faith had killed the man, Angel would not have required an invitation. However, in 1.19 Sanctuary, the following dialogue is heard between Kate and a fellow officer:
Kate: “So do we think she is the one who threw the party here?”
Kendrick: “The guy who lives here identifies her as the woman who mugged him. Put him in the hospital, stole his keys, his wallet. We’re lifting prints now. My bet is - we get a match.”It’s apparent he is alive, therefore Angel should not have been able to enter his apartment. (It’s possible that Angel called the victim to ask permission to enter but this would be a very strange conversation indeed!)
- There is some confusion over who invited Spike back into the home he shared with his mother in 7.17 Lies My Parents Told Me, but this could have been a servant who lived there.
- In 5.15 A Hole In The World, Angel and Spike enter Lindsey and Eve’s residence without an invitation.
[Goof] Angel’s box
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When Angel is talking to Buffy in 3.21 Graduation Day (Part One), he holds a box in two hands which changes to one hand in the next shot.
[Goof] Angel’s face
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When Angel is in the library in 3.21 Graduation Day (Part One), we see his face is sweaty, but from the side it looks dry.
[Goof] Angel’s reflection
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Angel’s reflection can be seen in the picture frame when he leaves the Professor’s apartment in 3.21 Graduation Day (Part One).
[Goof] Dusty Faith
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When Faith and Buffy are fighting on the balcony in 3.21 Graduation Day (Part One), Faith falls on some cement and gets quite a bit of white dust on her bottom but it’s gone when she breaks out of her handcuffs.
[Goof] Stunt doubles
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Buffy and Faith’s stunt doubles can be seen in their big fight at Faith’s apartment in 3.21 Graduation Day (Part One).