SURPRISE & INNOCENCE

Buffy's nightmare about Drusilla killing Angel gives her a major wiggins. She tells Angel about it, afraid that Drusilla might still be alive, but he thinks there's nothing to worry about. They kiss a lot and that's an understatement. That morning at school, Buffy is all swoony about Angel, and Willow encourages her to move their relationship to the next level. Willow works up the nerve to talk to Oz, the guitar-playing cybernerd who's been mooning over her, and he asks her out for the following night -- where he'll be her date for Buffy's surprise 17th birthday bash They are soooo CUTE!. When Buffy tells Giles and Jenny Calendar about her dream, Giles says it's possible that Drusilla is alive, and to be on alert. Sure enough, we see Spike and Dru at the factory. Spike is scarred and in a wheelchair but as evil as ever. Dru is planning a party, too, but it's a safe bet there'll be no chips and dip at this one.

A strange man approaches Jenny in class -- it is her uncle, and we discover she is actually a gypsy whose entire family was killed by Angel when he was the superevil Angelus. The uncle says it's not fair for Angel to have any happiness, so it's Jenny's duty to keep Buffy away from him. Jenny offers to take Buffy to meet Giles off campus, and they discover some vamps making trouble -- one of whom is the transcriber who once worked for Spike. As Buffy and one of the vamps scuffle, they go flying through the window of the Bronze where the surprise party awaits. Newcomer Oz is startled to see Buffy slay one of them, and now he's officially part of the gang YAY!. They open the box the vamps were carrying, and it contains an arm which reaches out and chokes Buffy. Angel explains there was a creature called The Judge who destroyed everyone who was righteous. He was finally dismembered by an army, but his parts still exist, and reassembling him would bring on armaggedon. Angel says he must take that arm to the other side of the world, and must leave by boat immediately. Buffy joins him at the dock to say goodbye, and he gives her a claddagh ring as a token of his love. As they say goodbye, the vamps are back and the arm is stolen.

Dru's party is in full swing, and The Judge is the main attraction. His first conquest is the transcriber, who he ignites with just a touch. When Buffy and Angel go to the factory to see if they can find any more parts, they see it's too late, and The Judge spots them. They escape to Angel's pad, where he finally tells her he loves her. They make love and go to sleep. An undressed Angel awakens with a start and runs outside, suddenly fully dressed in black, and collapses. He calls Buffy's name but she stays asleep.

 

 

INNOCENCE

Buffy awakens to find Angel gone. Angel is in the street, still calling her name. A woman stops to see if he's in trouble, and he slays her. He's Angelus again. Meanwhile, the gang at school, who pulled an all-nighter trying to track down The Judge's parts, are worried about Buffy. She shows up and tells them what they just figured out -- The Judge is already assembled. Angel returns to the factory, and The Judge can't kill him, which confirms that he's pure evil once again.

Xander and Cordelia's secret smooching is witnessed by Willow, who's completely crushed. Buffy finally finds Angel in his apartment, but he's distant, snotty and generally obnoxious. She is devastated. Jenny's uncle says that if Angel experiences one moment of true happiness, his soul will be taken and Angelus will return. This freaks out Jenny, who realizes that many people will die. As Willow and Xander try to make up, Angel appears at school and asks Willow to approach him. Jenny shows up with a cross and Angel grabs Willow, trying to bite her. Buffy enters and he kisses her, then shoves her and leaves. Giles says some event must have triggered this transformation, but Buffy won't say, leaving Willow to figure out that they must have made love. Buffy goes home and sobs. She dreams of her special night with Angel, then of a funeral where Jenny is in black. She busts into Jenny's class, demanding to know what she knows. Jenny admits she's a watcher sent to keep Angel from happiness, so he'd pay for what he did. Buffy tells her to restore his curse to make him human again. Xander decides that even though no forged weapon could kill The Judge, that was way before today's technology, so he sneaks in an army base (using what he learned when he became a soldier on Halloween). Buffy, Giles and Jenny discover her uncle's body-- Angel killed him. The Judge, who was weak from all those years of not killing, is finally ready to take over the world. The gang wonders where he'll find the crowds he wants, since the Bronze is closed, and Oz suggests the movies at the mall. The Judge is there, preparing to vaporize everyone. Wielding the biggest, baddest gun ,Actually I believe is was a bazooka, imaginable, Buffy shoots The Judge. He's toast -- well, at least dismembered again -- and the crowd is saved. But Angel still wants to kill Buffy. She doesn't have the heart to slay him, but gives him a wicked kick in the groin, which knocks him to the floor. Giles warns Buffy that Angel is sure to keep pursuing her in his new evil incarnation, but he doesn't scold her for what happened. She and her mom have a belated birthday celebration, but Buffy doesn't even want to make a wish on her candle, and just forlonly puts her head on her mom's shoulder and watches a romantic old movie.


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