0:50 : In the first moments of the episode we can clearly see that Buffy isn’t quite right: the first thing she does is fail to land steadily on her feet from a leap over a wall.

1:38 : Cordelia does care about Buffy’s welfare, even if she shows it in classic Cordy style with, “We’re all concerned about how gross you look.” Points for effort though.

2:05 : Despite what she says in Angel season four, this brief scene is the only time Cordelia actually encounters Angelus. Everything else she knows is word of mouth.

3:01 : We’re reminded in this moment just how unique Buffy is to have a family and friendship circle among Slayers, who normally work alone. Spike expressed surprise at this in School Hard, and Buffy would have perished here if not for her friends.

4:56 : Juanita Jennings plays Doctor Wilkinson. It’s just a coincidence, but season five hospital worker Ben shares her surname. Jennings is a veteran of American television, appearing in everything from The Division through to Star. She was also in Basic Instinct.

6:47 : Giles attempts to placate a rambling Buffy talking about vampires and gets a look from everyone non‑Scooby. This is another one of those “wouldn’t Joyce say something about that time Buffy was in a mental institution for talking about vampires?” moments that is best ignored. Joyce is very slow on the uptake.

8:00 : Joyce offers her personal condolences to Giles about Jenny, a lovely sentimental gesture for him as a character and for us as an audience still grieving.

8:12 : Joyce mentions that Buffy never gets sick, suggesting that Slayers may have a strengthened immune system, but also hinting that recent events — especially Jenny’s death — have knocked Buffy for six, possibly more than her friends know.

9:00 : Cordelia insists that while Buffy is in hospital, she should deal with that thing on her face. To answer Cordelia’s question: yes, whatever it is, she’s the only one who has noticed it.

9:03 : The clock turns 2:27 a.m. as Buffy awakens from her sleep.

9:34 : Andrew Ducote plays young Ryan. Outside of Buffy, he is perhaps best known for his role as Willie Barry in over 70 episodes of Dave’s World.

9:44 : Christophe Beck’s masterful scoring helps set the creepy tone of this episode, and it’s most effective during this scene when Buffy is delirious.

9:44 : Joss Whedon intentionally designed the Der Kindestod to resemble a mix of A Nightmare on Elm Street’s Freddy Krueger and the Bogeyman.

10:26 : James Jude Courtney is under all that make‑up as the Der Kindestod, and he is a horrifying creation. He would later go on to play The Shape — Michael Myers — in the 2018–2022 Halloween trilogy.

10:26 : We get a rare flashback to Buffy’s past here, where she doesn’t have blonde hair and is played by Mimi Paley. The flashback is set in 1989, making Buffy eight.

11:06 : The clock ticks 2:27 a.m. again, alerting the audience that the last few moments have been one of Buffy’s prophetic dreams.

12:13 : The security guard, whose name tag reads “Hauk,” is played by Willie Garson, who would go on to play Stanford in Sex and the City and is known to genre fans as television producer and fan Martin Lloyd in three brilliant episodes of Stargate SG‑1.

12:41 : Doctor Stanley Backer is played by Richard Herd, known to Star Trek fans as Admiral Paris in Star Trek: Voyager. He passed away in 2020.

13:11 : The little girl accompanying Ryan doesn’t speak, has no lines, and is uncredited. Other sources list her as being played by Heather Sossaman.

13:30 : Xander shows remarkable bravery in this scene, proving he’s not scared of Angelus — at least not to his face.

14:00 : Angelus, trying to tease Xander about his feelings for Buffy, mentions that he’s still in love with the Slayer, a fact last mentioned between them in Prophecy Girl. He also refers to him as “Buffy’s White Knight,” and, as Cordelia notices elsewhere in the episode, this is something Xander doesn’t seem aware of. Note that Xander doesn’t deny Angelus’ accusation here.

14:42 : Buffy, as a child, favoured heroic role models: in the flashback she’s playing at being DC Comics character Power Girl, an alternate version of Supergirl.

14:51 : Cousin Celia, who may share Buffy’s surname, is played by Denise Johnson.

16:54 : The exterior shots of Sunnydale General Hospital, used again in other episodes in season five, are the former Linda Vista Community Hospital at 610–30 South St. Louis Street in Los Angeles.

18:02 : One of the best moments of the episode — and a defining one for Cordelia — is how Charisma Carpenter shines in every single scene, stealing each moment effortlessly through her lines, delivery, and timing. This Cordelia is stronger and more well‑defined than in any previous episode, and she resembles the character she will later become on Angel. Her line, “Tact is just not saying true stuff. I’ll pass,” is one of Carpenter’s favourites and sums Cordelia up perfectly. From this point on, she begins to outgrow the series.

25:22 : Cordelia bringing Krispy Kreme donuts and coffee is hilarious when you consider how far she would have had to drive in California to get them.

26:21 : Doctor Backer, for one brief moment, hears the Kindestod but still can’t see it, implying the creature can control who sees what and when.

28:01 : Hilariously, Giles asks if Ryan’s crude drawing of the demon is her work!

30:23 : More proof that Giles is not quite himself after Jenny’s death appears when Xander tells Cordelia to accompany him and Giles begins to complain, “Why do I have to take—” before being cut off by Cordelia’s look. Her response seconds later — “Let’s go, tact guy” — is perfect.

31:20 : Buffy again displays her worst personality trait: blaming herself for not being able to prevent Backer’s death, just as she couldn’t kill Angelus to save Jenny in the previous episode. This is a character trait that never goes away, such is the responsibility of the Slayer.

32:27 : Giles’ annoyance with Cordelia is classic: “It asks endless questions of those with whom it’s supposed to be working so that nothing is getting done.” Her equally excellent response — “Boy, there’s a demon for everything.” — is brilliant.

33:01 : Buffy seems surprised that Cordelia is doing research, the same reaction she had in The Dark Age.

33:04 : Buffy breaks the TV convention that no one answers the phone properly by asking Cordelia the simplest of questions: “Who’s this?”

33:54 : Cordelia’s final line of the episode — “Why do I let you people get me into these things?” — perfectly caps her stellar performance throughout.

34:25 : In Buffy’s flashback we see Celia attacked in her hospital bed. Her screams are chilling, as is young Buffy’s reaction. Later in the episode we’re put in the perspective of the victim, and it is deeply disturbing — possibly too creepy for the episode.

36:17 : The orderly walks straight past Willow and Buffy, who can barely stand, passes a locked but empty children’s ward, and doesn’t raise the alarm. And isn’t Willow out of place at night? While we’re on a roll, why is there an unlocked door to a dark, dangerous, clearly underground basement in the children’s ward?

38:14 : Willow, despite handling a frog and removing its eye in Witch and holding a stuffed one in Inca Mummy Girl, again claims to be afraid of frogs, as she did in What’s My Line? Thankfully, her fear of frogs is never mentioned again. We do, however, embrace Anya’s later fear of bunnies — hideous creatures.

40:06 : When originally aired on the BBC, the fight sequence at the end of the episode — including most shots of the Kindestod — was removed due to the early evening timeslot. It made such an initial mess of the scenes that you genuinely couldn’t tell what was happening. Thank goodness for uncut DVDs.

41:15 : The shot of the creature extending its eyes toward Buffy is the same shot used minutes earlier when it grabbed Ryan.

43:09 : A nice close to the episode: Ryan’s gory cartoon of Buffy slaying the demon. It’s nice to be appreciated sometimes. Joyce at least finds it slightly unnerving, judging by her look.