0:36 : As Buffy will say herself later in the episode, Joyce picks her moments to find an “activity to share.” This episode already has ‘Classic’ written all over it…

0:49 : Listen to Joyce, on the side lines, embracing her inner cheerleader – just like Buffy, as seen in Witch.

0:56 : Credit has to go to Kristine Sutherland for her delivery of the line “It’s Mr. Sanderson from the bank!” It’s the first of many quips that this episode, penned by writer extraordinaire Jane Espenson, that we’re going to highlight…

1:49 : The child performers here are Shawn Pyfrom and Lindsay Taylor. Taylor would go on to small parts in other acting projects, but Pyfrom would go on to play Bree’s hateful son Andrew Van de Kamp, on ABC’s Desperate Housewives for eight seasons.

2:04 : The symbol on their hands is new to us, but will be explained, somewhat in a hurry, later in the episode…

5:23 : Giles, in a first, believes that the murders of the children could have been a ritual sacrifice, which means someone human did this. This is, perhaps surprisingly, the first time the series hints at a human murderer.

5:45 : Buffy asks Giles to find a way around the ‘Slayer’s don’t kill rule’ – which will come in handy come Bad Girls.

6:12 : This awkward moment is the first interaction between Xander and Oz since Lover’s Walk. They don’t actually resolve any conflict. It’s simply done. For Oz any way.

6:34 : Elizabeth Anne Allen returns for the third year in a row in a one off appearance, once again playing Amy Madison. She had dyed and cut her hair for another role, hence the brunette look in this episode.

6:54 : Oz mentions that it’s Buffy’s birthday the following week, which happens in the following episode (and is usually the 12th episode of each season).

7:28 : This episode says quite a bit about Willow and her relationship with her parents, her mother in particular. Willow would clearly like to hear more from her folks, judging by her tone here.

8:53 : Note Amy rolling her eyes when ‘mothers’ are mentioned. It’s clearly a reference to her mother from Witch.

10:21 : And we finally meet Sheila Rosenberg, Willow’s mother, who’s played, with sublime tactlessness by Jordan Baker. In recent years, she’s guest starred in such diverse series as New Amsterdam and Bull, and also had a run on Spike’s favourite soap Passions!

10:30 : Sheila continuously calls Buffy ‘Bunny’ – a trait also used in the unseen pilot by Stephen Tobolowsky‘s Flutie.

10:42 : Willow mentions to her mom that she cut her hair – last August, before the premiere of Anne specifically.

10:49 : Sheila and Joyce have presumably met off-screen at some point before this episode.

11:13 : Joyce and Giles haven’t seen each other since their ‘indiscretion’ in Band Candy.

11:29 : Willow’s defence of her own foray into witchcraft and her covering it up here is brilliant, another case of Alyson Hannigan‘s emerging comedy talent.

11:43 : Mayor Wilkins takes the podium to speak to the gathering. This is the first time he has any interaction with the Scooby Gang and he comes across as normal as ever…

12:25 : He’s lying through his teeth here, of course – he doesn’t care about the town after he’s done with it. But his affection for it does seem somewhat genuine, since he bought the land it’s built on in 1900, as seen in Tales of the Slayers.

12:56 : Amongst the incidents Joyce lists are: “Skinning” (Go Fish), people who “just disappear” (Out of Mind, Out of Sight), or suffered ‘neck rupture” (herself included, in Angel).

13:22 : Joyce outs the weird incidents in Sunnydale in public and absolutely no one, and we mean no one, looks shocked – apart from the Scoobies!

14:01 : Michael Czajak, who’s surname comes from the Sunnydale High Yearbook, is played by Blake Swendson. Before Buffy, his most prominent role was that of Joey the Rat in Boy Meets World. He is also a long-standing composer and musician.

14:45 : Again we see the symbol, this time used in conjunction with what looks like a dark spell, with Willow and Amy helping Michael to cast it!

15:00 : The bully is unnamed in the episode, but is called ‘Ray’ according to some sources. He is played by Grant Garrison, who went on to appear in NCIS and 7th Heaven.

15:21 : He backs away from Buffy as soon as she even looks at him. Her reputation for defending the victims of bullying, as in Phases, appears to be spreading…

17:21 : Xander has a line here that sums Seth Green‘s entire performance as Oz up for us: “He speaks volumes with his eyes.”

17:32 : Willow gets a tongue twister that we bet you can’t pull off ten times fast: “A doodle. I do doodle. You too. You do doodle, too.”

18:05 : Snyder’s enthusiasm at being allowed to search through the student lockers is delivered with such venom. Armin Shimerman, as ever, is a delight, back for the first time since Band Candy.

18:58 : Willow explains that the symbol is used in a luck spell, which doesn’t explain why the demon is using the same symbol.

20:49 : Mothers Opposed to the Occult. MOO. That is all.

21:05 : We see the same shot of Willow’s front door from the exterior shot used in I Robot, You Jane.

21:15 : We’re also back inside the studio for the interior, back in her living area, as seen in Amends and her bedroom, seen first in Lie to Me.

23:02 : Willow tells her mother that she’s a witch and that she can float pencils, which we’ll see in Choices. She also mentions she can summon two of the four elements and also that she’s dating a musician.

23:12 : That last part is the only bit her mother hears.

24:15 : Buffy mentions, rather comically, that she won’t be able to ‘stop the world from being sucked into Hell’, like she did in Becoming.

25:47 : Surprise! Joyce can see dead people!

28:45 : Giles is shouting at his computer, but at least he’s using it. In I Robot, You Jane, he explained his disdain of them.

30:55 : The murders of the unknown children date back every fifty years as far back as 1649.

32:22 : As Oz explains, fairy tales are real – or real enough that the stories are based on real-life circumstances. This is the first time the series uses folk lore as an antagonist’s origins. It’ll do so again in Hush.

32:27 : The children’s names are revealed to be Hans and Greta Strauss, also known in folk lore as Hansel and Gretel, two children who ran away and fell afoul of a witch and her gingerbread house. Giles explains that a demon can use the form of the children to inspire chaos and prejudice amongst the humans so it can revel in it.
        Hansel and Gretel were the creation of the Brothers Grimm and the story was first published in 1812.

32:36 : Another great line from Buffy: “Yeah, it’s all falling into place. Of course that place is nowhere near this place.”

34:25 : Giles is targeted from behind and smothered with chloroform.
        Number of Times Giles is Knocked Unconscious in the Series: 14.

35:08 : Why are the residents of Sunnydale burning witches… indoors?

35:22 : This scene was filmed on Elizabeth Anne Allen‘s birthday. While she was tied up, the crew and cast lit a cake and sang ‘Happy birthday’ to her! They then proceeded to light her on fire!

35:29 : Cordelia, in one of her more enthusiastic ways, struggles to wake Giles up – by slapping him. All because her mom confiscated her incense and scented candles.

36:00 : Cordelia asks the question we often ask ourselves!

36:05 : A great line. “I swear, one of these times you’re going to wake up in a coma.”
       Ironically, Cordelia will ‘wake up’ while still in a coma in You’re Welcome.

36:14 : Another: “Now let’s be clear, the brain damage happened before I hit you.”
        Charisma Carpenter prepares for leading lady status…

37:00 : You have to love a show that can put Joyce and Sheila together for the first time – and have them plan a lunch date as they’re burning their only children! Hilarious!

37:24 : Amy, using the same spell she used on Buffy in Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered, turns herself into a rat…

37:41 : …which must have been her intention. Does this mean she was counting on Willow knowing how to bring her back to human form?

38:02 : Buffy’s line to the crowd, despite being a moment of dire crisis, is absolutely laugh-out-loud brilliant: “That’s right! You will all be turned into vermin… And some of you will be fish… The people in the back will be fish…”

39:03 : And Cordy again, with her “I hate you” to Giles. Anthony Head and Charisma Carpenter are a delight together and should have been paired more often.

39:22 : Quite why Oz and Xander decide the air duct is the only way into the main hall is beyond logic, since Giles goes straight to the door…

40:17 : He takes one of Cordelia’s hair pins to pick the lock, and she makes a reference to his ‘Ripper’ days which she learnt about in The Dark Age.

40:50 : Giles’ German incantation translates to “Demons show yourselves. I call on the powers of Hecate, queen and protectress of witches, to strip away the masks. Let evil wear an evil face… Hecate implores you. Lift the veil. Lift the veil. Hide not behind false faces.”

40:48 : The demon is played by Roger Morrisey, who would later play Tapparich in Living Conditions.

40:54 : The mistress of understatement is Cordelia Chase: “I liked the two little ones better than the one big one.”

42:11 : The demon’s transformation into his natural self allows the public to see through the disguise of the children, which, as Buffy points out, is to his detriment.

42:22 : Buffy’s line: “Did I get it?” Perfect.

42:46 : Willow mentions that her mother is doing the same selective memory denial that Joyce used to do before she discovered Buffy’s activities.

43:13 : Willow uses the same reversal spell that Giles did in Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered. In that episode, he was stunned that Amy had access to those magics, so it’s hardly surprising that novice Willow doesn’t either.

43:30 : Amy will remain a rat until Something Blue.