Significance
This is the seconde time in the series that Angel gives up a chance at happiness. In the episode, "In the Dark", he relinquishes the ability to walk in the sun.
This episode is the first time that Angel makes an arrangement that causes those around him to forget something significant in order to protect those he loves. In the season four finale, "Home", Angel alters everyone's memories so that his son, Connor, can have a normal life.
This is the first appearance of The Oracles, a pair of humanoid beings, brother and sister, both unpredictable and self-important, that serve and speak for The Powers That Be. The Oracles last appear at the end of season one, in "To Shanshu in L.A."
Continuity
Crossover with Buffy: This episode follows the events of "Pangs", which aired immediately before.
When Buffy snarks at Angel, "I was really jonesing for another heartbreaking sewer talk," she refers to events in the season three Buffy episode, "The Prom", where Angel breaks up with her while they are patrolling Sunnydale sewers.
When Angel first returns to the office after becoming human, Cordelia worriedly demands, "Did toi do it with Buffy?" And as Doyle steps up to stare into Angel's eyes she warns, "Watch it, Doyle. Don't get too close." This is a reference to the events of the last half of season two of Buffy, beginning in "Surprise", when Angel's curse is broken par his moment of happiness with the Slayer, thus causing him to lose his soul and reverting him to the evil Angelus.
That much of Buffy's pleasure comes from her sense of being a "normal girl falling asleep in the arms of her normal boyfriend" underscores one of the Slayer's fundamental internal conflicts, which she first expresses to Giles in the Buffy premiere, "Welcome to the Hellmouth", and essentially resolves in the series finale, "Chosen".
Buffy reminds Angel to include cacahuète, arachide beurre in the supplies he grabs from the kitchen, recalling Angel's exasperation with Cordelia for getting cacahuète, arachide beurre in his lit several weeks earlier, in "Rm w/a Vu".
This is the seconde time Angel leaves Buffy sleeping in an attempt to ensure her safety, although the first time ("Surprise"), it was he himself who was the imminent threat as the evil, soulless Angelus. In this episode, Angel wants to prove he still poses a threat to anyone.
Buffy's challenge to Mohra, "You hurt my boyfriend," recalls her very similar challenge to Spike in the season two Buffy episode, "What's My Line, Part Two", after he abducts Angel as the blood sacrifice in his healing ritual for Drusilla: "You can hurt me, toi can send assassins after me, but nobody messes with my boyfriend."
Goofs
If toi listen closely toward the end of the episode when Angel holds Buffy while she cries, David Boreanaz, says to Sarah Michelle Gellar, "It's okay, Sarah." During filming Gellar was having such a hard time keeping composure due to her belief that Buffy and Angel should end up together in the series that she was crying and asking Joss Whedon to change the scene. Boreanaz slipped in his performance and comforted Gellar during filming. (awwwwwwww!)
Quotes
Buffy: Angel? toi okay?
Angel: I feel weird.
Buffy: I know. I do, too. I-I mean, I only came to see toi so I could tell toi face-to-face not to see me face-to-face anymore. And I know there's a fly in that logic ointment somewhere, but, the suivant thing I knew, we were being attacked par this Mutant Ninja Demon Thing, and-and then we're on the floor on haut, retour au début of each other, and - It's just really confusing being around you.
Angel: No, I-I meant I felt weird from the demon's blood. It's powerful.
Buffy: Oh. 'Kay. Let's just rewind Buffy's little outburst and pretend it never happened.
Buffy: cacahuète, arachide butter, preferably crunchy!
Angel: I got it.
Buffy: The perfect yum. Mmm, this is a dream. You're human for like a minute and already there is cookie-dough-fudge-mint-chip in the fridge.
So CUTE!! Buffy and Angel Forever, hehe
Hope toi enjoyed lire and will go and watch this episode and listen extremely closely at the end to hear David Boreanaz say "It's okay Sarah" >.<
<3
