Amends

Written and Directed by: Joss Whedon

Cast : Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers, Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris, Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg, Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia Chase, Seth Green as Oz, Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles.

Main guest stars : Kristine Sutherland as Joyce Summers, Eliza Dushku as Faith, Robia La Morte as Jenny Calendar, Saverio Guerra as Willy the Snitch, Shane Barach as Daniel, Cornelia Hayes O¹Herlihy as Margaret.

Original broadcast date : December 15, 1998

In 1843 Dublin, Angelus kills Daniel, a young man who apparently owes him money.

In 1998, Angel wakes up sweating from the memory. Unable to sleep, he wanders out in the streets of Sunnydale, where he encounters Buffy. As he exchanges a few uneasy words with her, he sees Daniel¹s ghost and freaks out.

Buffy, also a bit freaked, tells her friends about her encounter the next day. Which of course leads to Xander, Willow and Buffy discussing their dismal Christmas plans ­ since they are now all single. Only Willow gets a Christmas ­ or Hannukah present: Oz shows up and tells Willow he wants them to get back together.

Buffy and her mom are shopping for a Christmas tree in a lot, when Buffy spots a whole patch of dead trees, which she finds a bit strange. But she doesn¹t get the chance to investigate, since Joyce calls her back to reality by conferring upon her the uneasy task of inviting Faith to Christmas dinner. When Buffy suggests that Giles also join them, Joyce quickly rejects that idea. As quickly, in fact, as Faith rejects Buffy¹s invitation.

Unable to deal with the multiplying nightmares, Angel goes to Giles for help. Giles understandably grabs a crossbow before inviting him in, and listens ­ quite coldly ­ to Angel as the vampire tells him about the nightmares and asks him how to find out why he came back from Hell. Suddenly, Jenny Calendar¹s ghost appears behind Giles ­ who doesn¹t see her ­ and an abjectly terrified Angel runs off.

Back at the mansion, Angel has a dream about Margaret, a servant girl he killed in 1839. But in the dream, as he finishes off his victim, he sees Buffy standing there, stunned. He jerks awake, pantingŠ at the same moment Buffy¹s eyes shoot open, in her bedroom.

Baffled by the fact that her and Angel are sharing dreams, Buffy goes to see Giles, who acknowledges that Angel came to see him the previous night. As they begin planning research, Xander shows up and nobly offers to help.

At the mansion, Angel is tormented by the ghosts of his victims: Jenny, Daniel, Margaret, then Jenny again. She rejects his apologies, telling him that he¹s evil, that evil and cruelty are his destiny. Almost mad with pain, Angel begs for Jenny to stop, and she comforts him, telling him to rest.

Angel falls asleep and starts dreaming againŠ at the same time that Buffy, at the library, also falls asleep. Both of them share a dream where they¹re making love; then Buffy sees behind them a creature with no eyes, just before Angel goes vampire face and bites her.

Angel wakes up, terrified, but Jenny tells him this is what he needs to do to find peace, that he was brought back so he could make love to her, lose his soul and kill her. At the library, Buffy also wakes up and learns from Giles that the force driving Angel insane is the First Evil, a powerful and invincible entity. The only shot Buffy has at making Angel¹s torment stop is to kill the First¹s three priests, the eyeless creatures. Buffy and Xander learn from Willie the Snitch that the First may be underground.

It¹s Christmas Eve and Willow has a big night planned for her and Oz. She has the cute red dress, the Al Greene music, the romantic atmosphereŠ She wants to show Oz that he comes first, in all the meanings of the word. But Oz explains to her that he¹s not ready to go that far yet, and they just kiss.

At home, Buffy and her mom are preparing for a quiet Christmas Eve when Faith shows up, shyly bearing gifts. Buffy goes upstairs to her room to get Faith¹s gift, but finds Angel. Tormented to the edge of insanity, Angel is fighting Jenny¹s spirit, still exhorting him to kill Buffy. Crying for Jenny to leave him alone, he jumps out the window and runs off. Asking Faith to keep her mom company, Buffy goes to see Giles again.

After some research, they discover that wherever the priest hide, nothing can grow above or below. Buffy remembers the patch of dead trees, goes back to the lot, digs a hole and jumps into the ground. She butchers the priests, then encounters the First, still in Jenny¹s likeness. The First tells Buffy that it is invincible and omnipresent; then it reveals that Angel, unable to kill her, has decided to commit suicide instead.

Buffy finds him atop of a hill, awaiting the sunrise that will burn him to death. She tries to get him to go back inside, but he believes that he¹s evil and has to die. They yell at each other, fight, then have a tearful scene where they tell each other how much they love one another. As Buffy, growing desperate, tries a last-ditch speech to get him inside, snowflakes begin to fallŠ The two fall silent.

At Willow¹s house, her and Oz and marvel at the snow falling; so do Faith and Joyce, on the front porch on the Summers home; Giles watches the snowfall from his apartment window, and Xander, sleeping outside in his backyard, wakes up to see the snow falling on his faceŠ

Downtown, in the early hours, Angel and Buffy walk silently in the snow, hand in hand, as a TV weatherman announces Sunnydale residents shouldn¹t expect to see the sun at all on this Christmas dayŠ

Summary by OttsFiveByFive.

Episode Ratings

Mac -

“Angel-centric. Beautiful ending to an ok episode.”

DJ Angelus -

“What happens when your past comes back to haunt you?”

Quotes

Key: B=Buffy, G=Giles, X=Xander, W=Willow, C=Cordelia, O=Oz, A=Angel, J=Joyce, PS=Principal Snyder, T=Mr. Trick, As=Angelus, JC=Jenny Calendar, D=Daniel, M=Margaret

D: You… you’re not human. As: Not of late, no.

As: A man playing at cards should have a natural intelligence or a great deal of money, and you’re sadly lacking in both.

As: Daniel, be of good cheer. It’s Christmas.

B: So, are you shopping? You’re probably not shopping.

B: Vampires probably not that big on Christmas, now that I think about it. A: Not as a rule.

B: It was so weird. X: Angel? Weird? What are the odds?

B: I don’t wanna bug Giles. He’s still kind of twitchy when it comes to the subject of Angel. X: Well, it must be that whole “Angel killed his girlfriend and tortured him” thing. Giles is pretty petty when it comes to stuff like that.

X: So, you doing anything special? B: Tree. Nog. Roast beast. Just me and Mom and hopefully an excess of gifts. What are you doing for Christmas? W: Being Jewish, remember, people? Not everybody worships Santa.

X: Well, I’ll be enjoying my annual Christmas-eve camp-out. See, I take my sleeping-bag outside and I go to sleep on the grass. B: Sounds fun. X: Yeah, I like to look at the stars. You know, feel the whole nature vibe. C: I thought you slept outside to avoid your family’s drunken Christmas fights. X: Yes, and that was a confidence I was hoping you would share with everyone.

C: I’ll be in Aspen skiing. With actual snow. B: I hear that helps. C: It must be a drag to be stuck here in Sweatydale, but I’m thinking of you. Okay, I’m not.

X: That’s the Christmas spirit. W: Hello, still Jewish. Chanukah spirit, I believe that was?

O: Seeing you with Xander, it was… Well, I never felt that way before. When it wasn’t a full moon. But I know you guys have a history. W: But it’s a history that’s in the past. Well, I guess most history is in the past.

O: This is what I do know. I miss you. Like, every second. It’s like I lost an arm, or worse, a torso.

W: Do you want us to hug now? O: Yeah, I’m good for that.

J: Do you really want to let her spend Christmas Eve all by herself in that dingy little motel room? B: You’re still number one with a guilt trip, Mom. J: I try.

B: What about Giles? I mean, he doesn’t have any fam- J: No, I’m sure he’s fine.

A: I’m sorry to bother you. G: < chuckles painfully > Sorry, coming from you, that phrase strikes me as rather funny. Sorry to bother me. A: I need your help. G: And the funny keeps on coming.

A: I should be in a demon dimension, suffering an eternity of torture. G: I don’t feel particularly inclined to argue with that.

M: Sir! My son… As: He’ll make a fine dessert.

A: What do you want? JC: I want to die in bed surrounded by fat grandchildren, but I guess that’s off the menu. A: I’m sorry. JC: You’re sorry? For me? Don’t bother. I’m dead. I’m over it. If you want to feel sorry for someone, you should feel sorry for yourself. Oh, but I guess you’ve already got that covered.

X: Look, I’m aware that I haven’t been the mostest best friend to you when it comes to the whole Angel thing, and, I don’t know, maybe I finally got the Chanukah spirit.

G: And Buffy, the diary of Lucius Temple. An acolyte of Acathla, expert on demons. You can skip the passages on his garden, unless you’re keen on growing heartier beets. B: Are you sure this is how you want to spend your Christmas vacation? X: Yeah, this is actually the most exciting thing I’ve got planned. Who else can claim that pathetic a social life? W: Hey, guys. What are we doing?

A: I was young. I never had a chance to… M: To die of syphilis?

Willy: So, what can I do for you? Couple of drinks? X: Yeah, let me get a double shot of, um, of information, pal. B: Three priests, they call themselves the– X: The bringers. B: Bringers, harbingers. They have a “no eyes” kind of look. Willy: Doesn’t ring a bell. X: How about I ring that bell for you? Does the threatening come now? B: Maybe you shouldn’t help.

Willy: Well, I heard a few things, you know, from the underground. X: The underground? Willy: Yeah, you know, from things that live under the ground.

Willy: Something’s scaring them off. And these are things that aren’t easily scared.

Willy: Hey, you did great, by the way. I was very intimidated by you. X: Really? Thanks.

X: We know underground. That’s a start. B: Sure, in a town with 14 million square miles of sewer. X: Plus a lot of natural cave formations, and a gateway to Hell. Yeah, this does resemble square one.

O: You ever have that dream, where you’re in a play, and it’s the middle of the play and you really don’t know your lines, and you kind of don’t know the plot? W: Well, we’re alone, and we’re together. I just wanted it to be special. O: How special are we talking? W: Well, you know, we’re alone, and we’re both mature younger people, and–and so we could… I’m ready to… with you. < whispers > We could do that thing.

W: Where are you going? O: No, I’m not going. Just a dramatic gesture.

W: Oz, I wanna be with you… first. O: I think we should sit down again.

B: Nothing like a roaring fire to keep away the blistering heat. J: Oh, come on, it’s lovely. Maybe I should turn the air-conditioning on.

J: So, angel’s on top again? B: What? J: Angel or star?

B: Why don’t you come in from the entire lack of cold?

B: Find me these priest guys. Find me something I can pummel.

JC: Sooner or later you will drink her. A: I’ll never hurt her. JC: You were born to hurt her. Have you learned nothing? As long as you are alive- A: Then I’ll die. JC: You don’t have the strength to kill yourself. A: I don’t need strength. I just need the sun to rise.

B: “A child shall be born of man and goat, and have two heads, and the first shall speak only in riddles…” No wonder you like this stuff. It’s like reading _The Sun_.

G: More posturing, I’m afraid. “For they are the harbingers of death, nothing shall grow above or below them. No seed shall flower, neither in man nor…” They’re rebels and they’ll never ever be any good.

B: All right, ten more minutes of chanting, and then you guys have to go to bed.

First Evil: I am the thing the darkness fears. You’ll never see me, but I am everywhere. Every being, every thought, every drop of hate. B: All right, I get it. You’re evil. Do we have to chat about it all day?

First Evil: You have no idea what you’re dealing with. B: Let me guess. Is it… evil?

A: I want to take comfort in you and I know it’ll cost me my soul and a part of me doesn’t care. I’m weak. I’ve never been anything else. It’s not the demon in me that needs killing, Buffy. It’s the man.

B: Strong is fighting. It’s hard and it’s painful and it’s every day. It’s what we have to do and we can do it together, but if you’re too much of a coward for that, then burn.

Credit: The Sunnydale Slayers