Overall Rating: 9.45 Matt: 9.4 Eric: 9.5 Writer/Director: Joss Whedon 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 : Eliza Dushku as Faith, Harry Groener as Mayor Richard Wilkins III, Kristine Sutherland as Joyce Summers, Alexis Denisof as Wesley Wyndham-Pryce, Emma Caulfield as Anya, Armin Shimerman as Principal Snyder, Mercedes McNab as Harmony, Ethan Erickson as Percy West, Hal Robinson as Professor Lester Worth. Original broadcast date : May 18, 1999 Hints of impending graduation are all around at Sunnydale High; Cordelia and Xander pick up their gowns (Cordelia doesn¹t like the color), and discuss the upcoming Ascension ­ Xander¹s convinced that his time has come to meet his Maker. Meanwhile, Willow and Harmony sign each other¹s yearbook and say nice things to each other, and even though Willow hates her, she admits to Buffy that she¹ll miss her. The Slayer, however, doesn¹t share in the good feelings ­ she says that she¹ll probably miss the graduation ceremony since she¹ll be fighting the Mayor. Hearing this, Xander comes up and informs her that in fact, the Mayor will be giving the commencement address. The Ascension will be at the graduation ceremonyŠ At a cozy apartment somewhere, a knock comes on the door, and a late-middle-aged man goes to answer. Standing outside, Faith asks him if he¹s indeed Professor Lester Worth, then invites herself in. After ascertaining that they¹re alone, she pulls out a knife and tells him the Mayor wants him dead. When he threatens to scream, she shrugs and says, "Who wouldn¹t?", before stabbing him to deathŠ Back at her apartment, Faith emerges from behind a folding screen, wearing a flowery pink dress the Mayor gave her to wear on Graduation Day. As she shyly shows him the fit, saying that it¹s not really her style, Wilkins exclaims that she looks stunning, adding that the Ascension is her day as much as his, and that no father could be prouder than he is of her. The next day, Willow arrives at school on her dorky bike ­ a scene reminiscent of the opening sequences of Welcome to the Hellmouth. Percy West, the basketball player she was tutoring, proudly shows her the results for his history final ­ a B minus, and tells her that he¹s happy to finally be able to forget about the whole crap. After he goes away, Oz shows up, and Willow confides to him about the gravity of the situation and the necessity to find a spell to stop the Ascension. Xander arrives late to a class where the teacher is having the students play Hang Man, since the finals are over. Anya takes the opportunity to have a desk-to-desk whisper-chat with Xander about doing something together over the weekend, like watching sports. After scolding her for presupposing that all men like sports, Xander apologizes, saying that the whole Ascension business has him on edge. Buffy is in the library showing Giles and Wesley a newspaper headline about the murdered Professor. She tells them she¹s sure that the Mayor ordered Faith to do it, and that what they have to find out is what the Professor knew that the Mayor wanted hidden. Just then, Xander comes in, dragging Anya, claiming she¹s the only living being ever to have witnessed an Ascension. She tells them about an individual, some centuries back, who turned into the demon Lohesh and destroyed an entire village doing it. She adds that during an Ascension, an individual turns into a pure demon (allegedly all the demons that walk the earth are only part-demon), which is, among other things, bigger. Outside the school, Principal Snyder is showing the Mayor the setup for the graduation ceremony. Wilkins mysteriously tells him that he¹ll soon be repaid in full for the services he¹s rendered as principal, and then wanders offŠto the library, where he enters just as the Scoobies are pressing Anya for more information about the kind of demon the Mayor will turn into. An angry Buffy tells him off, but he promises that he¹ll eat her, prompting Giles to plant a sword in his chest. Pulling out the sword ­ the wound automatically heals ­ Wilkins scolds him for giving the kids a bad example. As he leaves, he tells them to be sure not to miss the commencement address, saying "it¹s going to be one helluva speech!" Later in the school hall, Anya informs Xander that she¹s leaving town. Cordelia asks him what Anya¹s problem is, and he tells her that the Mayor intends to kill them all. Saying "Oh", she asks him if he¹s going to fifth period. (har har) At home, Joyce enters her bedroom to find Buffy packing a suitcase. She starts thinking that her daughter is running away again, but then she notices her clothes ­ the suitcase is for her. Buffy has a hard time convincing her mother to leave town, but in the end, Joyce agrees, after her daughter says pointedly that "If you stay, you¹ll get me killed." In Willow¹s bedroom, her and Oz are searching for a spell, but having no luck. Willow scolds Oz for not panicking because they¹re all about to die, and he obliges by panicking his way ­ kissing her passionately. Buffy is at Lester Worth¹s apartment, searching for clues, when Angel enters ­ in not the most stealthy of manners ­ and tells her Giles sent him to help her. After filling him in on what she¹s found so far, Buffy leaves, hefting a box of documents. Angel offers to help her, but she gets angry, saying that it¹s hard enough staying away from him. They argue, when an arrow plants itself in Angel¹s chest. The camera pans up to the top of a building where, concealed by a neon sign, Faith lowers her crossbow and examines her work. A vampire next to her tells her she missed the heart, and she answers that she meant to. At the library, they patch Angel up, Buffy relieved that Faith (which she¹s sure is behind this) has such a bad aim. Meanwhile, Wesley discovers that Professor Worth had found, in a lava bed, the fossilized carcass of what he thought was a dinosaur, but might be the demon the Mayor plans to turn into. Assuming that is the case, the carcass would show that the Mayor, once transformed, wouldn¹t be invulnerable anymoreŠ Angel tries to get up, but collapses and breaks out in a cold swear. Smelling the tip of the arrow, Giles figures out it¹s poisoned. While Wesley phones the Council to find the cure, the gang move the vampire to his bed in his mansion. At Willow¹s house, her and Oz are in bed, naked, peacefully enjoying the afterglow of having sex. The phone rings, and Willow, learning what¹s happened to Angel, jumps out of bed. The break¹s overŠ At City Hall, Faith tells the Mayor that the mission is accomplished, and that Angel will keep Buffy distracted for a while. The Mayor, preparing to eat some bugs from the Box of Gavrok, tells her that she can take some time off and get some rest. At the mansion, Wesley awkwardly informs Buffy that the Council won¹t help Angel ­ it¹s not Council policy to cure vampires. Angry, Buffy coldly tells Wesley that she won¹t be working for the Council anymore, and walks away from him, telling him to get a job. She then learns from Oz and Willow that the cure to the poison isŠ the blood of a Slayer. No problem, says Buffy, she¹ll bring Angel a Slayer ­ Faith. After training a bit in her apartment, Faith blasts some music and crashes on her bed, reading a magazine. She doesn¹t hear Buffy come in, bearing Faith¹s knife (given to her by the Mayor in Choices). Buffy turns off the sound system, and Faith, not seeming startled even a bit, asks her if Angel is dead yet. Buffy coldly informs her that there¹s a cure: Faith¹s blood. The rogue Slayer reminds her that she¹ll never be able to take her alive, and Buffy answers that it¹s not a problem. The two Slayers start fighting, then crash through a window onto a balcony, where Buffy manages to handcuff herself to Faith. Meanwhile, at the library, Giles and Xander discover that the demon the Mayor is turning into ­ the Ovlikon ­ is indeed hugeŠ At City Hall, the Mayor is consuming the bugs, relishing the power of the creatures (plus the babies are high in fiber), when a vampire runs in and tells him there¹s trouble at Faith¹s apartment. At the apartment, Faith and Buffy are still fighting, and Faith manages to break the handcuffs off. But Buffy quickly takes out the knife and stabs Faith in the stomach. Standing on the edge of the balcony, losing blood, the rogue Slayer congratulates Buffy on finally managing to kill herŠ and says that it won¹t help Angel. She lets herself fall away from the balcony, landing on the bed of a passing truck, either unconscious or dead. As the truck carries her away, Buffy looks on, in complete shockŠ Summary by OttsFiveByFive.