Cordy’s brownies

The script directions for Cordelia’s brownie making in I’ve Got you Under My Skin were: “She tries cutting them. They fight back.”

Anthony Cistaro

Anthony Cistaro played the Ethros demon in I’ve Got You Under My Skin, and the Scourge commander Trask in Hero. He has also been in Alias, Friends, She Spies, Witchblade, Alright Already, The Nanny, Seinfeld, Cheers and The Method.

Ryan Anderson

Ryan Anderson was a human boy who became possessed by an Ethros demon. Angel exorcised the demon out of him, supposedly making Ryan normal again, but when he spoke to the demon, Angel discovered that the boy had no conscious at all, and the demon had in fact become trapped in Ryan. Ryan took some matches and wedged his parents door shut while he poured petrol in his sister’s room and then set it alight. Angel rescued the girl and Ryan was taken to social services.

Wesley’s father

We get the first impression that something is wrong in Wesley’s relationship with his father in I’ve Got You Under My Skin, when he says, “A father doesn’t have to be possessed to terrorize his children. He just has to…” We learn more about this is Belonging and Lineage.

Ethros demons

Ethros demons have the ability to possess humans and take over their body. They excrete a sticky substance called plakticine, the amount of which one can determine the approximate maturity of the possessing Ethros. It’s presence can be revealed by feeding the demon’s host Psylies Eucalipsis powder. They can be contained within in Ethros Box, which is made of six hundred species of virgin woods and handcrafted by blind tibetan monks.

The Exorcist

The 1973 movie The Exorcist starred Linda Blair as a child named Regan who becomes possessed by a demon. The film was adapted from the horror novel by William Peter Blatty, and banned in the UK for more than fifteen years. It is referenced a few times in Buffy and Angel:

• In Teacher’s Pet, Buffy says that Miss French’s head did a “full-on Exorcist twist”, referring to a famous scene in the movie.
• In I Only Have Eyes For You, When Willow suggests an exorcism, Cordelia replies “Are you crazy? I saw that movie: even the priests died!”
• In Lover’s Walk, Buffy says of her mother, “her head spun round and exploded” (to which Giles replies, “I’ve been on the Hellmouth too long. That was metaphorical, yes?”).
• In Living Conditions, Xander says, “Are you saying that Buffy’s been doing a Linda Blair on us because Kathy’s been sucking her soul?” At the beginning of her possession in The Exorcist, Regan showed dramatic changes in her behaviour, just as Buffy did in Living Conditions.
• Buffy name-checks The Excorcist in Bring on the Night.
• In the Angel episode I’ve Got You Under My Skin, Cordelia says, “I’m wondering if I should put plastic down. Angel, are you expecting any big vomiting here? Because I saw the movie.” Large parts of this episode are a nod to The Exorcist - in the book and movie, a Catholic priest dies in much the same way as Angel’s Father Fredricks.

Seen at 25.58 minutes:

When Ryan is trying to kill his mother in I’ve Got You Under My Skin and Wesley starts chanting in Latin, if you look behind him you can see David Boreanaz laughing.