Airdate: November 23rd, 1999.

Guest Starring: Carey Cannon
Randall Slavin
Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy

Written by: David Greenwalt & Jeanine Renshaw
Directed by: David Grossman
*This episode follows the events of “Pangs” in BtVS (S4E8)


Teaser

8:52AM Angel is back from Sunnydale, in his office winding a clock. Doyle and Cordy are just outside, watching him do this, Cordy seriously concerned about his feelings. They see him playing with a stake and both rush in, tell him it’s not worth it. But he’s just using the stake to level the desk. Angel explains to them that Buffy never saw him, never knew he was there. Cordelia starts to her retort, which Buffy finishes “If my ex came into town and was stalking me in the shadows I’d be…
…a little upset. Wouldn’t you?”

Act I

Buffy says she’s also here to visit her father. Cordy makes quick intros for Doyle and then they both get out of Buffy and Angel’s way. Buffy’s there for explanations, about his skulking about in Sunnydale, is like a new torment for her. He throws the long story excuse, she deciphers the big points. She tells him she’s a big girl, no longer in high school, and doesn’t need him skulking around to protect him. Except for last night when she was in a gigantic fight to the death and he was doing just that. Angel responds that he was in the neighborhood, skulking.

Cordy takes Doyle out, knowing that the Buffy and Angel angstfest could last a while.

Buffy meanwhile isn’t sure what angel could of done differently, but she feels him inside, when he’s around, even when she doesn’t see him. She informs him to stick to the plan, to keep their distances, until time passes on so they’ll soon…

“forget?” he asks. “Yeah” she tries to force a smile and starts leaving, but a demon, dressed in samurai-like garb and armed with a sword, crashes through. Most noticeable about him is the big jewel on his forehead. He attacks the duo.

As Cordy and Doyle leave, the latter is concerned about the noise, but Cordy assures him it’s all part of the Angel and Buffy Show and shouldn’t stick their noses where it doesn’t belong. They walk out, oblivious.

Back inside the office, Buffy and Angel battle the sword-wielding demon, soon losing his sword and going hand to hand with Buffy. Angel stabs the demon with it’s own sword, then is Buffy is thrown on top of him. The demon pulls it sword out, and jumps out the window. Buffy changes into other clothes and they pursue it into the sewers, Angel tracking it by the smell of it’s blood. Buffy just wants to find it so they can be even and she on her way. Touching a drop of demon blood, Angel feels weird, and Buffy feels weird too, but about their feelings, battling a demon and ending on top of one and other. When angel makes clear what he was talking about, it destroys whatever moment they had. Buffy suggests she goes topside to look for it, and Angel gives her a location to scout. Angel keeps to the sewers and eventually finds it, and they battle. He is cut during the battle, quickly kills it, some of its blood mixing with his. He stumble and a light coarse through his body. He gasps for air, exclaiming “I’m alive.” A heartbeat is hear in the background.

ACT II

Doyle and Cordy return to the office to find the carnage left behind, Cordy mistaken a pile of dust she had originally swept under a rug as Angel. Angel walks in, Cordy weary that he’s made out with Buffy until it click that he came in the front door in broad daylight. Doyle correctly surmises that their boss is alive, human. Angel recaps to them what happened with the demon, and now feels more real. And he’s hungry, Cordy darts out of the way as Angel raids the mini-fridge, eating and savoring everything in sight (aside from yogurt which he quickly discovers he hates). They later research and find the demon that attacked Angel: A Mohra demon, an assassin, a soldier of darkness that takes out warriors and its blood has regenerative properties. Angel stares at his reflection, knowing the cause by not why and unsure if it’s permanent. Doyle hints that the Powers That Be could of stepped in, Angel demands to speak to them. They can’t be approached directly, only through dangerous channels, like the Oracles. Angel asks him to start channelling.

The gateway for lost souls, angel’s doorway…is under the post office. Doyle does the incantation, opens the gateway entry, but only a warrior like Angel can step through. Two toga wearing golden beings, one male, one female, greet the “lower being.” Requiring an offering, Angel gives them his watch. They inform him that while the PTBs were not responsible for his transformation, if he is human now, then it was meant to be. He is released from his fealty to them and thrown back to his dimension where he only left a second ago.

Buffy is patrolling the beachfront, still looking for the demon, when she sees Angel walking to her, in broad daylight, he goes to he and they kiss passionately.

ACT III

5:03PM Cordelia is distraught that her plant is dying, blaming Buffy, and that Buffy’s downstairs with Angel. She explains to Doyle that when they get groiny with one another, the world as we know it falls apart, even without the curse. Cordy sarcastically adds that she’s sure they’re down there having tea and crackers…

…and that’s exactly what they’re doing, albeit uncomfortably. Angel isn’t sure how they should proceed, but doesn’t want to push into it, but he also does. He’s afraid that’s there’s a loophole, he doesn’t want her to get hurt again. He’s not sure what his purpose is now that he’s human. Buffy’s disappointed but Angel says they’ll stay in touch. As she leaves their hands brush and take hold. They start kissing and making out in the kitchen, passionately, creating a mess. Cut to later, the sun has gone down and Angel is naked in the kitchen picking up food from the fridge and returns to bed with her. They eat, savor each other’s food teasingly. She tells him she doesn’t need to do the mature thing anymore.

Doyle and Cordelia are in a bar, drinking their troubles down, until he gets a vision of the very angry Mohra demon.

Angel and Buffy are in bed holding each other, talking about making it work. Soon after she falls asleep Doyle creeps in and Angel meets him outside the bedroom. Doyle tells him of the vision of the regenerated demon at a saline plant near where Angel killed it. Angel goes to fight it alone not wanting to disturb Buffy, even though he doesn’t have his vampire strength anymore. Angel drives to the saline plant with Doyle, still with the demon information. As they walk Doyle finds the passage to bring darkness to a thousand eyes to kill the demon, even though the demon only has two. They find dead bodies, and Angel gags, all part of being human. They spot the demon as he drops on them.

ACT IV

Doyle and Angel fight the regenerated, bigger and stronger Mohra demon, Doyle taken out of action almost immediately. Angel keeps fighting it but the demon is too strong and he retreats further inside the plant.

Meanwhile Buffy is looking for Angel and finds Cordelia putting post-its on items she plans to sell to pay for her severance package. Buffy pleads with Cordy to tell her where Angel is. Even Cordy tells her bluntly she can’t save the world and have Angel she relents.

The Mohra is kicking the living daylights out of Angel, both eventually dropping into a silo. The demon tells Angel that: “the end of days has begun, it cannot be stopped. for any one of us that falls, ten shall rise.” It readies the killing blow, but Buffy drop on him, and fights him, somewhat on a more equal footing, but she’s soon caught in its death grip. Angel, a little less dazed throws salt at it momentarily distracting it. It throws Angel across, and focuses on Buffy. Angel finally realized that the thousands eyes is symbolic for the jewel on the demon’s forehead and yells at Buffy to smash it. Buffy grabs the morning star she brought along and smashes the jewel. The Mohra recoils in pain and disappears in a kaleidoscope of light. Buffy tends to the wounded Angel.

Angel returns to the Oracles (bearing a gift) and asks them if there’s any truth behind the Mohra’s statement. There is, and the slayer will die sooner than the rest for it. He begs for her life, but it’s not theirs to give, so he asks them to take his back. He argues that the Mohra did succeed in taking a warrior from their cause, that he’s no use to them in human form. The Sister sees the sacrifice he’s willing to make. They will make him swallow the day, as if it never happened, 24 hours from the point that the demon first attacked. Only he will remember the events that transpired, so that he can change them. But can he carry that burden?

8:56AM Buffy paces in Angel’s apartment, he returns, and sees his expression. He tells her that he went to see to see the Oracles, to turn him back. She doesn’t want to believe it, but if he stays humans they might both die soon. She feels as if he were just weighing the ups and downs of being human and decided he liked hero better. He can’t stay human if the cost is her life or the life of others. They embrace, Angel wasn’t sure if he could of asked that of the oracles if they’d spent another day together. He tells her that the Oracles will turn back the day in a minute. She nearly cries that it’s not enough time, how can she go on knowing, what they had and could’ve had? But he’s the only one who’ll remember that it happened. She’s adamant that it did happen, feels his heartbeat, and kisses him. She looks as there are only seconds left, crying, repeating, I’ll never forget, I’ll never forget…

…9:00AM Buffy’s in the middle of her keeping their distance speech in Angel’s office, Angel a bit disoriented from his shift. She’s back at “eventually we’ll begin to…”

“Forget.” He says with a bit more finality. She heads out when the Mohra demon crashes in, Angel dodges a slash, grabs his clock and smashes it on the demon’s jewel. The demon screams and vanishes in a bright erupting light. Buffy looks at the unreality of the situation, he just explains that he caught up on some reading and knew how to kill it. she finishes “I guess we’ve covered it” Angel looks down at his clock and then up at her to reply, but she’s already gone. 9:02AM.