Overall Rating: 8.65 Matt: 8.8 Eric: 8.5 Writer: Marti Noxon Director : David Solomon Cast : Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers, Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris, Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg, Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia Chase, Seth Green as Oz, Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles, David Boreanaz as Angel. Main guest stars : Kristine Sutherland as Joyce Summers, Alexis Denisof as Wesley Wyndham-Pryce, Emma Caulfield as Anya, Danny Strong as Jonathan, Brad Kane as Tucker. Original broadcast date : May 11, 1999 Picking up where Choices left off, the episode begins with Buffy waking up in Angel's bed at the mansion; the two had come back for a post-slayage nap that lasted longed than it was supposed toŠ She gets up and looks for a mirror to fix her hair, but Angel reminds her that there are none. Buffy rambles on a bit about the fact that they should make some improvements to the place, for example a drawer for her things, since she sleeps over often. Then, after reminding Angel that he has to dress up for Prom night soon, she opens the curtains to see what the weather is, and Angel is forced to jump back as the sunlight flows inŠ Outside Sunnydale High, Anya calls after Xander and clumsily asks him to be her date for the Prom. He mocks her for not being able to find a date, causing her to rant about how she used to punish men who scorned women, before finishing with: "All men are evil. Wanna go with me?" Anya, still a mere human being, asks Xander to the Prom. Since he¹s also dateless, he accepts. Later, Xander is discussing his new date with Willow (who warns him Anya better not try to cross her), Oz and Buffy. Our Slayer mentions how excited she is about her dress, and how it¹s going to make Angel "lose it." Meanwhile, at the mansion, Angel receives a visit from Joyce Summers, who lectures him about his having to make some "hard choices" concerning his future with BuffyŠ At the library, Giles and Wesley have discovered, from studying the pages Willow ripped out of the Books of Ascension, that the rite consists in the Mayor turning into a demon. However, they don¹t know what kind of demon he¹ll turn into. Giles is to chaperone the dance, and Wesley decides to join him ­ especially after Cordelia tells him that he¹d look great in a tux. As for Buffy, she tells her friends that Prom night is their last chance to have a night of high school fun. In a house somewhere, a wild dog kind of demon goes wild as someone plays a video for itŠ In the next scene, Buffy and Angel walk down the aisle, just married. As they get outside in the sun, Angel is obviously worried, but the one who catches fire is Buffy, looking pleadingly as she burns up at a horrified AngelŠ He wakes up with a start in his bed in the mansion. That night, he and Buffy are patrolling in the sewers when she notices that he¹s not himself. She urges him to talk to her, and he does. He tells her that the Mayor was right, that she deserves to try and have a normal relationship, with someone who can make love to her. She protests, asks him if he means he doesn¹t want to be with her, and he answers "No." When she tearfully asks him how she¹s supposed to stay away from him, he tells her that he plans to leave after the Ascension. Some time later, Willow is comforting Buffy in her room. While acknowledging that Angel may be right, Buffy tells her friend that she feels worse than horrible, and is just trying to keep from dying. She collapses, sobbing, in Willow¹s lap. Meanwhile, back in the unknown house, the wild dog monster breaks free and escapesŠ Xander spots Cordelia in a store, looking at a dress. Unable to resist the temptation, he goes in and taunts her againŠ until Cordy¹s boss comes over and tells her to get to work. Resignedly, she tells an astounded Xander about her family¹s bankruptcy and how she can no longer go to any of the universities she was accepted to. The deal is, she¹s working to earn enough money to buy her prom dress. Before Xander can react, though, the wild dog breaks through the window and attacks a boy dressed in a tux. It then goes after a girl in a fancy dress, but then it leaps out, seemingly for no reason. Outside, a boy is working some kind of remote controlŠ At the library, Giles, Wesley, Buffy and the gang are studying the video recording of the attack at the store, and recognize the guy outside as Tucker Wells. Willow hacks into Tucker¹s email and discovers a message he sent to another boy, saying that Prom night would be the last one for Sunnydale studentsŠ Giles figures out that the Hellhounds (the wild dogs) must have been trained to attack people in formal wear. Willow, Xander, Cordelia and Oz freak out and talk of not going to the Prom, but suddenly Buffy won¹t have any of it. She tells them that they deserve to have a good time, and that she¹ll see to it that they get it. Until then, she dispatches them to investigate on the whereabouts of Tucker. At the butcher shop, she gets the address of a "strange kid who always orders cow brains" (to feed the Hellhounds). Just as she¹s about to leave, she sees Angel taking delivery of his weekly ration of blood. She fills him in on the ongoing mission, but gruffly turns him down when he offers to help. Meanwhile, at work, Cordelia gets a surprise: her dress has been paid in full for her, by someone elseŠ At the library, Buffy orders her friends off to the Prom, and starts stocking up on weapons. Giles realizes that Angel is not taking her; after Buffy tells him that Angel is leaving town, he tries to comfort her, but she just shrugs it off, saying that slaying is comfort food. She goes to Tucker¹s house and confronts him, tying him up before he can release the hounds, but he tells her, smiling, that he¹s already unleashed his "three fiercest babies" on the Prom. At school, the Scoobies at filing into the dance hall, looking quite dashing in their formalwear. Xander looks quite uptight, holding the arm of an unstoppably yapping Anya; he seizes an opportunity for a break by engaging in conversation with Wesley and Cordelia, who thanks him for the dress, a happy smile in her face. He tells her that she looks great in it, to which she responds jokingly, "Well, duh!". It seems they¹ve finally made peaceŠ Meanwhile, Buffy chases the Hounds to Sunnydale High. She manages to kill one and attract the other two away from the dance hall. Then, "Celebration" starts playing and the Hounds run back towards the Prom. An indignant Buffy chases after them, deploring that they would like that lame song. She finally succeeds in killing them both, and then goes to change into her Prom dressŠ After a few dances, class awards are given out. Xander is passed over for the Class Clown award, but then Jonathan steps up to the microphone and asks if Buffy Summers is in the room. As a thoroughly startled Buffy listens, Jonathan reveals how all the students knew that Sunnydale High was not a normal school, and how they were aware of Buffy protecting them. He then awards her the Class Protector award, a cute little toy umbrella. Afterwards, couples start going to the dance floor for the slow, romantic songs, and Buffy walks slowly with Giles, umbrella in hand, telling him how sometimes people will surprise you. Giles spots someone just entering the room, agrees that effectively, people will surprise you, and gently takes Buffy¹s umbrella. She turns around to see Angel, stunning in a tuxedo. He tells her that it doesn¹t change anything to the fact that he¹s leaving, but he wanted her to have this nightŠ They dance, Buffy savouring this last moment. Summary by OttsFiveByFive.