0:28 : The French film playing in the cinema is Le Banquet d’Amelia, a fictional title, translated as ‘Amelia’s Banquet.’ It appears to not be about a sit down meal…

0:40 : Please note, for the first time since season two, Buffy and Angel seem to actively be on a date!

2:51 : Faith has been placed back on active duty by the Council, seemingly after completing the evaluation mentioned in the previous episode.

3:36 : Enter the demon Skyler. He’s not named in the episode itself, but he is in the shooting script. He’s played by Michael Manasseri, who played Wyatt in the 1994-1998 TV version of Weird Science and guest starred on Sliders. Nowadays, he works in production rather than on camera.

3:45 : Skyler objects to the Slayers assuming he’s evil just because he’s a demon. As we learnt in Becoming and will see in the future, some demons seem to just want to exist in peace.

4:00 : Skyler offers to sell them the Books of Ascension (books so important to the Mayor that he doesn’t seem to know about them or need them, please note). Yet now, because of this, the Scoobies become aware of the word ‘ascension’ for the first time.

6:22 : Judging by the way she grimaces when he tells her she’s pretty and should tie her hair back, Faith clearly doesn’t like receiving compliments – or isn’t used to receiving them.

6:55 : The Mayor’s oddness continues. Just after telling her to find the demon and kill him, he pours Faith a glass of milk and tells her that there’s nothing bad about healthy teeth and bones! She seems to find him quite bewildering.

7:36: Giles gets a great line when he discovers that the demon wants money for the books: “Demons after money. What ever happened to the still-beating heart of a virgin? No one has any standards anymore.”

7:47 : Xander asks exactly what an ‘ascension’ is. Wesley says that it’s not a word used widely in demon circles, so they have no clue.

7:55 : Willow remembers something in a volume Giles has hidden from her. In Season Five he will keep the potent magics out of the way, above the shop floor, in the same manner.

8:56 : Cordelia enters the library, once again with the intention of getting Wesley to date her and pay for the fancy meal!

9:38 : Xander’s take on Cordelia’s visit: “On the day the words “flimsy excuse” were redefined, we stood in awe and watched.”

11:00 : Faith kills Skyler after a brutal struggle and freaks out at the blood on her hands. She’ll do this again in Sanctuary.

11:35 : Faith retreats to the one person who she has opened up to since Bad Girls: Angel. Of course, it’s hard to tell when she’s being genuine or when she’s playing games and lying…

13:28 : …and she gets too close here, their lips almost touching before Angel pushes her away.

15:05 : Faith once again uses anger to cover up the intense emotion she feels over Angel’s rejection.

15:59 : Wesley asks Giles if he’s found anything on the Ascension. His perfect response: “Six-course banquet of nothing with a scoop of sod-all as a palate cleanser.”

16:34 : Giles on working with Wesley: “I wasn’t about to burst into glorious song about it myself.”

17:37 : Xander enters – having bribed Willy the Snitch for info on Skyler. Willy was last seen in The Zeppo, and met Xander in Amends.

17:50 : Giles, once again, has a delightful rant about standards. “Again, see? No standards. Any self-respecting demon should be living in a pit of filth or a nice crypt.”

19:51 : The demon wrapped in a cloak, and unidentified by name, is played by Gary Bullock. He would later cast magic on Sabrina the Teenage Witch and visit space on Enterprise. He passed away in 2022.

20:40 : This beautiful moment between Buffy and Willow is a lovely touch, as she tells Buffy that Angel would never cheat on her. And then, her line as she orders Buffy away: “Go. I give you leave to go.”

23:55 : The demon Shaman arrives in the Crawford Mansion, shrouded, and casting a spell. He encases Angel in blue light…

24:24 : …and Angelus is back!

26:01 : Faith reminds Angelus that Buffy sent his backside to Hell in Becoming.

28:20 : The first meeting between the Mayor and Angel occurs in this scene. The first thing the vampire does is attempt to kill Wilkins…

29:48 : …and he’s stunned to discover he’s impervious. He also notices the Mayor doesn’t like germs.

30:38 : The Mayor doesn’t know his Slayer lore. He tells Angelus that he doesn’t want a replacement Slayer called in the event of Buffy’s death, but Buffy’s death wouldn’t activate a new Slayer – the line runs through Faith now.

31:02 : “She’s not a little girl anymore.” He’s so crazy, we can never tell when he’s being serious or not, but he does seem to care about her here…

32:40 : Buffy can tell by Angelus’ tone and what he calls her that something is amiss…

33:30 : Faith exposes herself as she sides with Angelus over Buffy, outing herself as the Mayor’s new henchwoman.

34:20 : As Wesley and the Scoobies discover at the Hall of Records, Mayor Wilkins is the founder of Sunnydale and is over 100 years old. He isn’t human…

35:23 : Buffy is chained using the same manacles Faith was caged with in Consequences.

36:22 : Faith mentions her alcoholic mother here. As always with Faith, we don’t know how much she says is actually the truth. Faith’s backstory was revealed in the novel Go Ask Malice. We meet her father, Pat, in Angel and Faith Season Nine.

37:28 : “This was supposed to be my town.” And there it is, the root of Faith’s issues. She wants to have Buffy’s life, the mom, the boyfriend, the school, the friends, all of it and resents that she has to share her position of power with Buffy, who as far as she’s concerned should be dead.

38:05 : Faith returns the single punch Buffy gave her at the docks in Consequences.

38:10 : Buffy’s line here is powerful enough to make you pity her opponent: “You had to tie me up to beat me. There’s a word for people like you. Loser.”

38:37 : Faith unravels in delight, telling Buffy that Sunnydale was designed to be fed on and, come the Ascension, scheduled for Graduation Day, the whole town will be the Mayor’s.

39:39 : Faith claims to have been a good actor, but is then told by Angelus that she’s not as good as him. It’s in this moment that the audience and Faith find out that Angelus is not back at all – Angel has been acting to expose Faith! Presumably this was set in motion after her attempt to seduce him at the beginning of the episode.

39:46 : The two Slayers have blades to each other’s throats here. Faith dares Buffy to kill her.

39:59 : Faith kisses Buffy on the forehead, before she escapes. Buffy will return the gesture in Graduation Day.

40:50 : We find out that Giles was owed a favour by the Shaman – because he introduced him to his wife!

41:13 : The Scooby Gang struggle, knowing that, at least, they are now aware of Faith’s treachery.

41:44 : Faith, on the other hand, seems to genuinely be upset in the loss of her friendship circle and her time with the Scooby Gang. The Mayor has two words that cheer her up: Miniature. Golf.

43:38 : Buffy, reeling from just how good Angel’s performance as Angelus was, asks him for a break.

44:01 : As Buffy exits the mansion, the first few notes of Christophe Beck‘s ‘Close Your Eyes’ can be heard.