0:03 : This lengthy recap covers everything we know about Angel from the series so far, going back to the season one episode Angel and bringing us right up to date with Jenny’s murder. The music running behind the Previously is a new, slower variation on Close Your Eyes.

0:44 : There are two versions of this particular scene; one, in the case of streaming, has Max Perlich doing the narration as Whistler, as he does at the end of the episode. On DVD, at least on Region 2, it’s David Boreanaz, who seems to be speaking as Liam himself.

0:58 : And this is Galway, Ireland, home of Liam’s family. In reality, a plaque in Galway’s centre claims that “On this site in April 1953, Liam O’Malley was bitten by a vampire and went on to become the most feared monster in all of Europe. He later changed his named to Angel and found fame in the 1997 hit TV series ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer and his own spin-off show.”
    The name O’Malley is new and is not considered canon. We don’t actually know Angel’s real full name and it isn’t written on his gravestone in The Prodigal.
    Angel and Fred will visit Galway in Fight or Flight, while Dark Reflections sees a time-travelling Angel trying to change the events of this night. Technically speaking Angel and Illyria are present, watching this scene unfold from off-camera.

1:10 : Speaking of The Prodigal, in that episode we see Liam inside the bar – just before he’s thrown out.

1:30 : Julie Benz makes a surprise return as Darla, for the first time since her death in Angel. It won’t be her last… (guest appearance, return or death!)

2:58 : The last thing Liam hears before he becomes a vampire is Darla’s voice, ushering him to close his eyes…

3:20 : We see events after this moment in The Prodigal, specifically Liam rising from his grave, being named Angelus and massacring his family.

3:40 : Just as in Passion, Angelus is still stalking Buffy and her friends and watching them from a distance.

4:32 : Xander and Buffy both note the rise in vampire numbers recently. Angelus mentioned he was recruiting in Go Fish.

6:15 : Museum curator Doug Perrin. He’s played by actor Jack McGee.

8:24 : Oz has only been back (for the first time since Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered) and he’s already stolen the scene with a great line! After Xander finishes his demonstration. “Well, I thought it was riveting. I was a little unclear on some of the themes…” We can never tell when he’s joking or not.

10:19 : We flashback again, this time to London, England in the year 1860. Drusilla is human in this scene, and is at least aware that something is coming for her. Angelus tells her she is the Devil’s child and frightens her. This scene is set perhaps only hours away from the scenes in Dear Boy where he slaughters the nuns and then turns Drusilla. Presumably it’s the same church in both episodes.

14:01 : Drusilla will go hunting for another mythic statue in a museum in A Tale of Two Families.

15:28 : Buffy has either had a prophetic dream about the pencil, or she’s remembering her nightmare from the season one episode of the same name, which did indeed see her drop her pencil in the same way.

15:37 : Proof that the cleaning rota around Sunnydale High isn’t thorough: Buffy finds the disk when she bends down to retrieve her pencil. So, was it accidentally dropped or was Buffy inspired or pushed by a higher force to do it?

16:55 : 1898, Romania. The Old Woman Elder is played by Shannon Welles. We will see Angelus feeding on the gypsy girl in another flashback in Five by Five.

17:40 : We will also see scenes in Five by Five set after these moments, when Darla rejects and tries to kill him.

17:43 : Actor Zitto Kazann plays the gypsy man who tells Angel about the curse. In a stunning piece of continuity, he’ll return for a slightly longer cameo, in Angel‘s Season 2’s Darla – which was made over 2 years later.

18:07 : Angel has brief memory loss when his soul in restored… That’s useful to know for later.

19:17 : While Giles seems happy enough to let Willow research, he warns her in this episode that the Spell of Restoration is unlike any spell she’s looked at before and tells her so. This is the first time he will warn Willow of the inherent danger of channeling magic she’s not ready for, a warning that will eventually take them all the way to Season Six’s Grave and beyond.

19:33 : This is the first time the Scooby Gang really disagree on a plan or strategy. This time it’s over Angel – Xander and Cordelia both think that he cannot be forgiven, whereas Buffy is clearly torn. Giles wants to honour Jenny’s final request. This conversation will come up again in Season 3’s Revelations, but it’s not nearly as hostile as here. On a separate note, Cordelia will completely do more than forgive him: she falls in love!

19:44 : As stated before, Xander has no reason to suddenly start liking Angel – he’s been anti-Angel from day one. It’s more of an Angel thing rather than a vampire thing, but even so, he raises a valid point, which we also did, in Passion. How do we, as an audience forgive Angel for Angelus’ deeds?

22:03 : Buffy hasn’t worn her Claddagh ring since Innocence. She never wears it again.

22:48 : Bianca Lawson jumps out of the bushes on a return engagement as Kendra. The actress knew she was returning, and was originally going to appear more, but for some reason, at the last minute the plans were changed, and Lawson was told the character would be killed off and then be back again later. This never materialised and this episode marks the Vampire Slayer’s third and final appearance.

23:15 : Buffy quotes Kendra’s line from What’s My Line? “Let me guess? Your Watcher sensed that ‘a very dark power is about to rise in Sunnydale?’”

23:33 : We’re gonna miss Spike’s one-liners when he’s not on the show. This one has provided endless years of laughter: “It’s a big rock. I can’t wait to tell my friends. They don’t have a rock this big.”