0:02 : Lori Carson‘s ‘Fell into the Loneliness’ is the song heard as the episode opens in the Bronze.

0:52 : Once again, Cordy is the Queen of Tactless: while everyone else is skirting around the issue to spare feelings, Cordelia simply asks if Scott has asked Buffy to the dance or not! This episode marks Scott’s final appearance on the series.

1:15 : Oz delivers another fine quip, this time to settle the argument over whether Buffy and Scott want to go to the dance: “The judges will accept that as a yes.”

1:56 : When Buffy visits Angel in the Mansion, she appears to be wearing the leather jacket he gave her in Teacher’s Pet. He even adjusts it for her.

1:56 : Angel is, however, despite talking, still in pain and is slightly jumpy at noises and people.

2:45 : Angel has a memory as soon as she mentions Giles’ name, probably remembering his torture of the Watcher in Becoming and Jenny’s murder in Passion.

3:11 : Buffy mentions to Angel that she’s planning on going to college next year, which is the first sign of her intention. She’ll attend UC Sunnydale in Season Four.

3:50 : Scott, rather insensitively given the lengths he went to to date Buffy in the first place, breaks up with her. Holden will give the Slayer an explanation in Conversations With Dead People.

4:56 : Meet the Gruenshtahler twins, Hans and Frederick. They’re played by Joseph and Jermyn Daube.

5:30 : Their boss, the unnamed tech guy, is played by Ian Abercrombie. He played Alfred Pennyworth in the WB’s Birds of Prey and appears in numerous animations as a voice artist. Performing as an actor from the days of World War II, he passed away in 2012.

5:41 : Mr. Trick returns, now not under anyone’s employ. Yet.

6:46 : This is the first time we see City Hall. In reality, it’s the Iowa Courthouse Building, in Torrance.

6:49 : The Deputy Mayor isn’t named in this episode, but his name is Allan Finch. He’s played by Jack Plotnick. A distinguished writer and director, he appears throughout this season and also had a recurring role on Grace & Frankie as Paul.

7:15 : And we finally meet Mayor Richard Wilkins III, the current Mayor of Sunnydale. He’s played by Harry Groener, a veteran of stage and screen. Born in Germany in 1951, Groener has appeared in over 100 roles in his career, ranging from sitcoms like How I Met Your Mother, science fiction in the Star Trek franchise and procedurals like CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Bones.

7:24 : The Mayor insists on cleanliness, as seen when he admonishes Finch for his dirty nails. This is part of his human fastidiousness and will come into play all season.

8:10 : His line to Allan here is prescient: “You have all my faith.”

8:20 : The yearbook pictures taken by the Scooby Gang here are the ones that feature in the student section of the Sunnydale Yearbook. The music playing over the sequence is ‘Jodi Foster’ by The Pinehurst Kids.

8:50 : While Holly Charleston’s actress is uncredited, Michelle Blake is played by Tori McPetrie.

10:17 : Buffy’s chosen teacher that she goes to for a recommendation is Ms. Moran. We’ve never seen her before and never see her again, but actress Jennifer Hetrick should be familiar to genre fans: she played Vash in two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and one of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. She’s uncredited in the episode.

10:47 : Please note, Ms. Moran doesn’t know who Buffy is and asks if she was absent a lot. Surprise, surprise; she’s a history teacher.

11:28 : Hemery High is mentioned again, when Buffy references that she was popular in Los Angeles. See The Origin for more.

11:43 : Just as she missed the slot for the pictures here, the Sunnydale High Yearbook follows suit and doesn’t contain a picture of Buffy.

12:18 : This scene is class. For a moment, it’s like we’re back in Season One as Cordelia and Buffy revert to the bitchiness seen in earlier episodes, in particular When She Was Bad. And both Sarah Michelle Gellar and Charisma Carpenter revel in it. They are sublime in this episode and make a great double-act.

13:27 : Billy Maddox plays Frawley, the human hunter with the bear traps. He had appeared in Walker, Texas Ranger and later appeared on Beverly Hills 90210.

13:34 : Returning for the final time, is Jeremy Ratchford as Lyle Gorch, a role he last played in Bad Eggs. His wife, Candy, is played by Lee Everett.

13:42 : Mr. Trick doesn’t recognise the species of Kulak of the Miquot Clan, but considering his name, he may be from another dimension (it’s similar to how Pyleans name themselves in Angel). He’s played, rather menacingly, by Chad Stahelski. Out of Kulak make-up, he was regularly David Boreanaz‘ stunt double.

14:40 : Mr. Trick declares that it’s open season on the Slayers, which he refers to as ‘Slayerfest ’98.’ It’s also the name of a popular Buffy podcast.

14:49: We return to Willow’s home, with an exterior shot from I Robot, You Jane. We haven’t seen her bedroom since Passion. The song playing here is ‘How’ by Lisa Loeb.

15:15 : Xander mentions that he borrowed his tux from his cousin Rigby, who is rich and shuns the other half of the family. He presumably does not attend the wedding in Hell’s Bells.

17:34 : Raging hormones kick in when the pair see each other in their formal wear. Willow had harboured a crush on Xander until Phases, while Xander confessed he had feelings for her in Becoming, while she was comatose. This marks their first kiss in the series.

18:11 : Hilariously, on Buffy’s board of her rivals strengths and weaknesses, Xander is listed as one of Cordelia’s weak links. The other is brie.

18:43 : Buffy gauges her popularity on her welcome home party, which was in Dead Man’s Party. During which, as Willow reminds us, most of the guests were killed by zombies – which is a slight exaggeration!

19:42 : As each member of the Scoobies comes up with an excuse, Seth Green delivers a fan-favourite line with cool, quick-witted neutrality: “As Willow leaves, so goes my nation.”

20:21 : Fastball‘s ‘Fire Escape’ plays over the shots of the hunters preparing and the girls campaigning.

21:50 : For what it’s worth, Sarah Michelle Gellar proves just how different Buffy is in this episode. She’s clearly having fun running this campaign.

22:32 : Willow delivers another of her chaotic ramblings that Alyson Hannigan is so good at. She’s overcompensating because of the kiss and claims that ‘there are dark, incomprehensible forces at work!”
    Denial, thy name is Willow.

23:06 : Buffy finds a student she claims to have a bond with: Danny Strong‘s Jonathan. She’s joking here, but after Earshot, they’ll have one for real.

23:22 : Cordelia attempts to win the ‘nerd squad’ with a demonstration of the ‘Vulcan Death Grip’ from Star Trek. Unfortunately for her, it’s ‘Neck Pinch.’ There’s no such thing as a ‘death grip’.

23:50 : Buffy’s line is sarcasm, but we never actually see Cordelia’s parents apart from a photo in Slouching Towards Bethlehem. Presumably, they’re both in jail for tax evasion, as revealed in The Prom.

23:57 : Buffy’s bitchiness delivers a killer put-down and one of the episode’s best zingers: “Your brain isn’t even connected to your mouth, is it?”

24:07 : And then it gets worse and they have to be pulled apart! Cordelia hits out with ‘You crazy freak’, while Buffy goes for the jugular by calling Cordy a ‘vapid whore’!

27:57 : Please note Trick’s sense of humour: he went to the effort of creating a title shot for the Slayerfest intro!

28:14 : We arrive at the school dance to the soothing tones of Four Star Mary, in character as Dingoes Ate My Baby. The song is titled ‘She Knows’ – which Willow claims was written by Oz for her.

28:20 : Where the Dingoes go, Jason Hall‘s Devon is right behind.

20:49 : In a funny moment, Giles attempts to scare the Scoobies by claiming that there’s danger – until he realises there’s finger food being served and rushes off!

31:33 : Cordelia seems to have genuine emotion for Xander and surprises herself, Buffy and the audience when she confesses she loves him. He ‘grows on you’ she claims. ‘Like a chia pet’.

32:18 : Another great moment. Cordelia grabs a weapon (in this case a spatula) and tells Buffy that she found it by a telephone. The look on Buffy’s face and Cordelia’s attempts to rationalise her choice is laugh-out loud funny.

33:50 : And the bitchy façade falls away as Buffy explains why she wanted to be Homecoming Queen: her chance to prove that she had a normal life, outside of the Slaying and proving that deep down, she and Cordelia aren’t so different. It’s a touching moment…

35:02 : …Which is interrupted by Kulak. As soon as he gets inside, Cordelia hits him repeatedly with the spatula. While Buffy tells her to use the gun, she quickly tells her to go back to the spatula – once she realises how bad a shot she is! The spatula will come in handy later…

36:35 : Candy mentions Lyle Gorch’s brother Tector, who was killed by the Bezoar in Bad Eggs.

36:42 : The newlyweds have also knocked Giles to the ground.
    Number of Times Giles is Knocked Unconscious in the Series: 12.

37:46 : There we go! Cordelia throws Buffy the spatula – which is promptly used to dust Candy Gorch.

38:04 : Gorch is chastised and threatened by Cordelia with nothing but steel will and strong words. This is the Cordelia we’ll know and love in Angel.

38:38 : Lyle, frightened out of his wits, flees the scene. He never reappears in the series.

40:57 : The Mayor brings Mr. Trick to his office, proving that he’s aware of the demonic activity in Sunnydale. He says that he’s been Mayor for a long time – which is a huge understatement…

42:02 : Wilkins tells Trick that the children are the future and are important, particular to him. That’s because he’ll want to eat them later…

42:24 : Mr. Trick isn’t given a choice: he works for the Mayor now. His tenure as his right-hand man will continue through to Consequences.

43:21 : Hilariously, despite everything they’ve been through in the episode, both Buffy and Cordelia stick to their guns: the title is what matters…

44:06 : Naturally, the other two candidates win the title in a tie. As Buffy and Cordelia slink away from the dance, Michelle Blake can be heard over the producer title card announcing that she promised herself she wouldn’t cry!