Becoming - Chili peppers

Anthony Stewart Head put chili peppers in his mouth during his torture scenes in Becoming (Part 2) to make his pain seem more realistic. He was afraid the peppers would also affect Robia LaMorte and Juliet Landau, who he had to kiss in the scene.

Emmy Awards

A bone of contention with many who love Buffy the Vampire Slayer is the fact that it is often overlooked by the Emmy Awards. The show has won in these categories: Christophe Beck’s score to Becoming; and ‘Best Make-Up’ for Surprise and Innocence. Joss Whedon was nominated for the ‘Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series’ award for Hush (interesting considering most of the episode has no dialogue!) and Chosen was nominated in the ‘Special Visual Effects for a Series’ category. Beer Bad received an Emmy nomination for ‘Outstanding Hairstyling for a Series’ in the 52nd Annual Emmy Awards. Hell’s Bells got 3 Emmy nominations: Outstanding Hairstyling for a Series, Outstanding Make-up for a Series (non-prosthetic), and Outstanding Make-up For A Series (Prosthetic).

I need a hug

At the end of Becoming (Part 2), the Mutant Enemy monster (seen after the end credits) says, “I need a hug.” The events of the depressing episode were just too much for him.

Joss Whedon’s favourite episodes

Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon spoke to USA Today in May 2003 (after the final episode had aired) about his favourite Buffy episodes. They are as follows:

1. Innocence: “It’s a mission-statement show, and one of the ones where I first found out what we could do.”
2. Once More, With Feeling: “What am I going to say?”
3. Hush
4. The Body
5. Doppelgängland: “Because one Willow is certainly not enough.”
6. The Wish: “Very bleak, very fun. It went to a dark place, and that’s really exciting to me. That’s where I live.”
7. Becoming (Part 2): “Buffy loses everything. Also, it had a sword fight. I love sword fighting.”
8. Restless: “Most people sort of shake their heads at it. It was different, but not pointless.”
9. Conversations with Dead People: “I’m very fond of ‘Conversations with Dead People.’ I just thought structurally and tonally it was very interesting and had a lot to say. And I got to write another song.”
10. Prophecy Girl: “Because that was my first time, besides telling directors what to do, that I actually got to direct. And it was the first time I got to kill Buffy, and the first season ender, and it was the first time I realized I could take everything we did in the season and tie it in a bow.”

Outside Angel’s mansion

Outside shots of Angel’s mansion were filmed on a hill in a residential neighbourhood. The crew had to get special permission to drive a 6,000-pound crane on the street, and all filming had to be wrapped by 10am. This is called the ‘tail-lights at ten’ rule.

Sarah’s favourite episodes

Sarah Michelle Gellar talked to Entertainment Weekly about her personal favourite Buffy episodes:

Sue me

Joss’s stage directions for Becoming (Part 2) included: “Yes, it’s sunrise. Sue me.” This is because it’s very tricky to capture sunrise on film, but Joss wanted it all the same.

James G. MacDonald

James G. MacDonald made his first appearance as Detective Stein in the episode Ted, questioning Buffy over Ted’s death. James appeared as the same character in Consequences and Becoming (Part 2). James has also appeared in Phone Booth, Sour Grapes, Vanishing Point, Malcolm X and Roswell.

Acathla

Acathla was a demon entombed in rock with a sword sticking out of his chest. Buried deep underneath Sunnydale and unearthed by some construction workers before being stolen by Angelus. He removed the sword from Acathla’s chest which created a vortex which began to suck the world into a hell dimension (Becoming (Part 2)).

Angel’s siring

The scene where Darla sires Angel was first alluded to in the episode Angel. We see the scene in a flashback for the first time in Becoming (Part 1). Angel was sired in 1753 in Galway, Ireland.

Being Jenny Calendar

Jenny Calendar appeared on the show twice after Angel killed her in Passion. The first time was when Drusilla cast a spell on Giles, manifesting herself as Jenny in Becoming Part Two, and the second was when the First Evil took her form in Amends.

Buffy’s grey outfit

The grey trousers and black top which Buffy wears in Go Fish are seen again in Becoming (Part 2).

Changed his mind?

In Innocence, Spike and Drusilla attempt to get rid of humanity by reassembling the Judge. This makes no sense considering that in Becoming (Part 2), he admits to Buffy that he loves the “Happy Meals on legs” in the world.

Close your eyes

Angel should really learn not to trust women when they tell him to close his eyes. When he first met Darla (in the episode Angel), she told him to close his eyes and she then sired him as a vampire. In Becoming (Part 2), Buffy told him the same thing and then stabbed him, sending him to hell.

Comatose and lovin’ It

Comas might very well be a running (if depressing) theme in the Buffyverse. First, we had Billy in Nightmares who was in a coma. Then in Becoming (Part 2), Willow was in a coma for a short time after being attacked by vampires. In Graduation Day (Part 2) and This Year’s Girl we see Faith in her long-running coma. In Angel, Cordelia was in a mystical coma until she died, and Faith and Angel lay in mystical comas in the episode Orpheus.

Dreams do come true

In Buffy’s first dream sequence in Surprise, Drusilla stakes Angel in the heart from the back. He then reaches out to Buffy and dies. In Becoming (Part 2), Buffy stabs Angel in the heart - and he reaches out to her before dying.

Get away from my daughter

Joyce saves her daughter in School Hard by hitting Spike over the head with a fire axe. She reminds him of this in a hilarious scene when she meets him again in Becoming (Part 2).

Give me a reason

In Becoming (Part 1), Principal Snyder chaleenges Buffy to give him a reason to kick her out of school - he expels her in the very next episode.

Have you tried not to be?

In the film X-Men 2 Bobby (Iceman) tells his parents that he is a mutant and his mother asks him, “Have you tried not being a mutant?”
This is the exact same thing that Joyce asks Buffy is Becoming (Part 2) when she finds out that Buffy is a Slayer: “I mean, have you tried not being a Slayer?”

Kick his ass

In Becoming (Part 2), Xander failed to tell Buffy that Willow was going to perform the spell to re-cast Angel’s curse (instead he told her to “kick his ass”). This was never discussed until season seven’s Selfless, when Buffy finally revealed to Xander she knew this was not Willow’s true message. Buffy also reminds Xander in Selfless that she killed Angel in Becoming (Part 2).

Losing the one you love

During the seven years of Buffy, all four core Scoobies have the person they love die at some point:

• Xander - Anya dies fighting against The First’s army (Chosen)
• Willow - Tara is shot and instantly killed by Warren (Seeing Red)
• Giles - Jenny gets her neck snapped by Angelus (Passion)
• Buffy - Angel was already dead but Buffy kills him by stabbing him in the heart with a sword (Becoming (Part 2))

Sad overalls

There seems to be a continuing theme that Buffy wears dungarees (overalls) when she’s sad. She wears them in Ted after she thinks she killed Ted; in Becoming (Part 2) before boarding the bus to run away; in Helpless when arriving, sans her power, to save her mother; and in Inca Mummy Girl when she wears them to hunt Ampata instead of going to the dance.

School Year

In When She Was Bad, Joyce says, “I’ll just be happy if she makes it through the school year.” Buffy is kicked out of school at the end of the school year, in Becoming (Part 2) - making her mother’s fear certain.

Sent to Hell

In the Angel season four episode ‘Deep Down‘, Angel says the following line to his son, Connor:

This is a reference to the Buffy episode Becoming (Part 2) when Buffy killed Angel to stop Acathla destroying the world.

Sarah McLachlan

The stunning song which plays as Buffy leaves Sunnydale in Becoming (Part 2) is by Sarah McLachlan and is called “Full of Grace”. It’s from her album Surfacing. The lyrics are:

Sarah’s song “The Prayer of St Francis” plays at the end of the season six finale, Grave. It appears on the bonus disc originally included with the limited edition double CD release of her ‘Surfacing’ album in 1997. The lyrics of “The Prayer of St. Francis” are:

Orb Of Thesulah

The Orb Of Thesulah was the key to translating the Transliteration Annuls for the Rituals of the Undead. These texts contained the spell to restore a soul to the undead but were lost. In Becoming (Part 1), Giles says to Willow that he has an Orb Of Thesulah which can restore Angel’s soul - he uses it as a paper weight. In Passion, the owner of the Occult shop says to Jenny that someone bought an Orb but the person that bought it was going to use it as a paper weight, so he must have been talking about Giles.

Ritual of Restoration

The Ritual of Restoration is a spell to restore a vampire’s soul. The aim is to force the vampire to live with his evil actions and repent for them, whilst shunning him from other vampires. It was performed on Angelus by gypsies of the Kalderash clan. If the vampire has one moment of perfect happiness, the spell is broken and the vampire’s soul is stripped from him. The Ritual was lost for years until Jenny Calendar discovered a translation. It was performed on Angel again by Willow in Becoming (Part 2).

It’s A Long Way to Tipperary

Spike says, “Good-bye Piccadilly, farewell Leicester bloody Square” in Becoming (Part 2). This is a (slight paraphrase!) line from the song ‘It’s A Long Way to Tipperary’. It is also the title of a novel by Arthur La Burn.

Manchester United

Spike name-checks the British football club Manchester United in Becoming (Part 2).

McDonalds

In Becoming (Part 2), Spike calls humans “Happy Meals with legs” after the McDonalds children’s meal. In Choices, Buffy calls the Mayor “Mayor McSleaze”, referring to the McDonalds character Mayor McCheese.

Seen at 05.57 minutes:

We know that Buffy lives at 1630 Revello Drive. When Joyce is talking to the police officer in Becoming (Part 2), the door is open and you can see the outside column has the numbers 163 on them - but no 0. The numbers are also facing the other column. Later on in the episode, when Buffy and Spike bump into Joyce outside the house, you can see the numbers are placed correctly - but on the other column and facing the street.

Seen at 09.03 minutes:

When Spike pulls out the cigarette from the box that he took out of the policeman’s pocket he puts the box on the police’s chest. When we see Spike again the box is gone.

Seen at 32.40 minutes:

Sarah and David’s stunt doubles are clearly seen several times during the sword fight. David’s double is particularly noticeable due to the huge difference in their hairlines.

Seen at 34.06 minutes:

When Spike is carrying Dru out of the mansion she is holding onto his shoulder even though she is supposed to be unconscious.

Seen at 34.55 minutes:

When Spike starts to drive the car, he turns the wheel hard round to the left for ages, so the car should be going in circles.