0:34 : Sunnydale student Sheila, who’s giving the surname ‘Martini’ in the Sunnydale High Yearbook, is played by Alexandra Johnes. She’s apparently on par with Buffy for the school’s most disruptive student; however, Sheila has previously attacked a teacher with pruning shears…

0:50 : …compared to Buffy’s burning of Hemery High’s gymnasium. However, it seems Snyder’s actually referring to the science building burnt to the ground at the end of Some Assembly Required.

1:41 : Despite his repulsive attitude and general bad-moodiness, Snyder does seemingly have family. We don’t know if the photos on his desk are his wife and children, or family members, but the name Snyder is seen on a gravestone in First Date, implying other residents with the name.

3:05 : The sign says that the population of Sunnydale is 38,500. This must be an estimation: 1) it never changes and 2) we cannot imagine someone updating it regularly. It also says the town of Sunnydale was founded in 1909. This fits with season three being the 100th anniversary of the town’s creation. Spike destroys the sign again in Lover’s Walk and a different one in Chosen.

3:05 : And here he is: Spike arrives with an intense air of menace and danger. He’ll repeat this entrance in Lover’s Walk with a new slant. We must assume Dru is laying down, as you can’t see anyone other than Spike in the car. His introduction makes this the most important episode so far, other than Welcome to the Hellmouth, Angel and Prophecy Girl. After Buffy, he’s perhaps the most important character, not just in the series but the franchise as a whole, maybe more so than Angel himself. That debate continues amongst fandom to this day…

4:54 : The vampire who claims he was at the Crucifixion is played by Gregory Scott Cummins and is named Big Ugly. His fellow vampire, Lean Boy, is played by Andrew Palmer.

5:13 : American James Marsters had a remarkable stage career and was initially reluctant to audition for the show after the failure of the movie, which he was familiar with. Upon watching the very different first season, Marsters wanted the role more than any other. He signed on for three episodes, but the producers realised that the character was popular with viewers. When the time came to kill the character off, a change was made and he ended up recurring through to season four when Sarah Michelle Gellar told Joss Whedon that if they didn’t want to lose Marsters to Hollywood, they should snap him up as a series regular.
    Transferring to Angel after Buffy ended, James has reprised the role on audio, written comics featuring the character and had a successful run on many a television show, playing often villainous characters in shows like Caprica, Smallville (as Brainiac) and Torchwood as Captain John Hart. He’s also appeared alongside Charisma Carpenter (as his onscreen wife) in an episode of Supernatural.

5:46 : The Anointed One, keeper of the secrets of the Order of Aurelius and pupil of his teachings, meets Spike… and has no idea who he is? Isn’t Spike part of the Master’s vampire line? How is he not mentioned in the lore?

6:10 : Spike says he’s fought a couple of Slayers or two in his day. We’ll find out more in Season Five’s Fool for Love.

6:20 : He says he killed a Slayer, during the Boxer Rebellion. This occurred in 1900, which, again, we see in Fool for Love.

6:30 : The paramour enters: Drusilla glides into the room and everyone turns. Daughter of Hollywood actors Martin Landau and Barbara Bain, Juliet Landau had appeared in a few small roles, but Buffy was her notable break. Since Buffy, she has reprised the role, both on Angel and the audio series Slayers. Remarkably, she has never aged and still looks as striking now as she did then. And that’s not an exaggeration…

7:28 : The chemistry between James Marsters and Juliet Landau in this moment was accidentally stumbled upon during the actor’s audition. They both instinctively followed the other and rest against each other, which they recreated here. It’s the first time we see affection from a vampire other than Angel.

8:00 : Drusilla has visions that seem to be signs from the future. She’s the only vampire we ever see with this power and, what’s more, it’s established in Becoming that Dru received these visions before she became a vampire. Could Drusilla have been a Potential, or even a Seer for the Powers?

10:43 : Buffy is worried about her French teacher’s assessment of her. Last season it was history, this season it’s French. Willow will still tutor her in the language in the season finale.

14:31 : Spike watches Buffy in the crowd, observing her move, like a predator. This is all James Marsters, who upon reading the script decided that Spike would be obsessed with the Slayer and stalk her as such, both in a violent and a sexual way. Worried the director wouldn’t like his take, James didn’t tell the producers he was doing it, but this decision led to so much more.

15:49 : As Xander rushes through Buffy’s bag for a stake, he first pulls out the yo-yo she was playing with in the previous episode.

18:06 : Giles hasn’t a clue who Spike is. In fact, he’s found no reference to him at all until now. Which means, like the Anointed One’s book, his Diaries are lacking a few key players from vampire lore. What’s weird is the Watcher’s Council are shown to know of Spike later, so the info was there!

19:06 : For those interested, it’s called a mace, from the old French word for ‘club’. In Ancient Latin it means ‘mallet’. Which doesn’t seem to describe the actual weapon, to be fair, so we can see why Willow is asking.

19:57 : Spike tells Drusilla that she nearly died in Prague, which we saw in the Tales of the Vampires series.

20:14 : Drusilla mentions that the stars will align in a few weeks. It’s established in What’s My Line? that the ritual to restore Drusilla to health can only be performed within a certain time, so that’s why Spike has brought his lover to Sunnydale.

21:32 : We really hope that Buffy has cleaned the machete to chop the salad, since she last used it in Teacher’s Pet.

25:22 : Giles says that his books claim that Spike is ‘barely 200,’ which is clearly wrong. Spike was sired in 1880, so it’s more like 118 years. He says he’s 126 by season four. Maybe Spike just doesn’t know?

25:44 : Giles’ books at least tell him that Spike has fought two Slayers in the last century and he killed them both.

27:06 : When a vampire attacks Cordelia, Willow grabs a bust of the dearly-departed Principal Flutie to rescue her. Flutie was killed in The Pack.

27:39 : Giles, Xander and Jenny barricade the library again, as they did in Prophecy Girl.

28:22 : Giles sends Xander to find Angel, which he did in the season one finale. Jenny is watching all of this as if she knows nothing – even though Spike was one of the vampires who massacred her entire clan in 1898. So she’s omitting a lot here when Giles is researching.

29:16 : Buffy is back up in the ceiling tiles, which she also did in Out of Mind, Out of Sight.

31:55 : A great character moment: Spike tells the vamp to ‘use his head’ – and promptly shoves it into safety glass to retrieve an axe.

34:25 : Spike refers to Angel as Angelus, which we first learned in Angel. He clearly was unaware that Angel was even in America, let alone in Sunnydale.

35:54 : Sheila, sired and turned by Drusilla, escapes the building without being slain, although she never appears again. Buffy clearly spooked her out of town.

36:09 : Spike and Angel haven’t seen each other since 1943, as seen in Why We Fight. Before that, it was the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, which is also the last place Angel saw Drusilla as well.

36:11 : ‘Angelus’ says he’s not much for company, which we’ve seen is blatantly untrue…

36:48 : …which is presumably what gives him away to Spike, who used to be in his company…

36:55 : Spike refers to Angel as his sire. He’s more specifically his grand-sire, but the term is applicable to anyone in a vampire’s line.

37:52 : Spike tells Buffy that the last Slayer he killed ‘begged for her life,’ He’s being hyperbolic, as we see in Fool for Love that Nikki Wood did nothing of the sort.

39:53 : Bob, the Chief of Police. He doesn’t get a surname. Played by Brian Reddy, it becomes instantly obvious that he reports to Snyder. He reappears in I Only Have Eyes for You.

40:37 : Xander doesn’t know what a ‘sire’ is, which means Spike and Angel’s connection remains unrevealed.

40:50 : Snyder knows the truth about what’s happening in Sunnydale, enough to keep it quiet. His hatred and determination to rid Buffy of schooling seems to be because he knows she’s the Slayer.

42:22 : Spike is unaware of any Slayer with family and friends. Kendra was also separated from her parents at a young age. He seems surprised that Buffy even has relatives.

43:43 : Spike grabs the ‘Annoying One’ and throws him into a cage. He raises it into the sun and we hear the Anointed dust. This was due to the actor aging quicker than expected and the producers having no choice but to pivot in a different direction.

43:46 : Spike says there’s going to be a little less ritual around the factory. Spike is, as we’ll see in many a scenario, not a fan of tradition.

44:02 : And there’s nothing left of the Anointed but smoke… The reign of Spike and Drusilla can begin…