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Through flashbacks, we see much of Angel's history. We see him sired by Darla in 1753, driving Drusilla mad and then siring her in 1860, and being cursed with a soul by the Kalderash clan in 1898. In the present, Angelus hatches a plan to awaken the demon Acathla, who will open a gateway to a hell dimension, and bring Hell to Earth.moreless
  • Stand by for a great finale

    10
    "Perfect"
    Becoming pt1

    The Good;
    The glimpses of Liam and Drusilla in their human forms are just too tragic for words, especially Dru. Good scenes with Whistler and of course Kendra back. Angelus' suicide telegram for Buffy (would they allow that post 9/11?). Snyder's chair shortage gag

    The Bad;
    David's accent. Where is it supposed to be from exactly? Are they after his lucky charms?

    Best line;
    Spike; "It's a big rock. Can't wait to tell my friends, they don't have a rock this big"

    Wheldon Cliches;
    Character death; yep, byebye Kendra, making it one recurring character dead every 8 eps or so. A shame to lose her but I think most would agree that Faith is better as both a character and a Slayer. And if she hadn't died? I figure Faith would have turned up as one of the potentials in season 7 and she rather than Kennedy would have hooked up with Willow.

    Knocked out; yep, Xander, Willow and Giles

    Questions and observations;
    We get to see pre-Slayer Buffy in LA and a different version of Merrick. In this version Buffy does indeed miss the heart first time out as she later tells Dawn. The 'Do you know what time it is?' line is very clever, the same words as Joyce says in the movie but with a completely different meaning. Presumably Angel as a tramp is following the diner incident in the 70s we later see in season 4 of Angel. Willow once again play's the bashful virgin for comic effect. Whistler's 'puppets' speech is interesting when you consider Jasmine manipulating the Fang Gang over the course of Angel. Willow attempts her first spell.
    10/10 no contest
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  • Becoming, Part 1

    10
    "Perfect"
    Becoming, Part 1 was another perfectly Classic episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I really enjoyed watching the flash backs into the times when Angel was turned into a vampire by Darla. These types of flash backs are awesome and really add to the characters. I also enjoy watching the deliciously mad Druscilla in action as well. This is a great second to last episode of the second season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I also enjoyed the narration by Oz, or Seth Green. It was also sad to see the end of Kendra, the other Vampire Slayer. However this means that there will be a new slayer appearing at some point! I look forward to seeing what happens to wrap the second season up!!!moreless
  • Season 2, Episode 21.

    9.0
    "Superb"
    Angel's past is revealed through flashbacks, such as when he was sired by Darla and when he sired Drusilla. In the present, however, Angelus tries to bring Hell to Earth.

    Angel looked incredibly sexy in the flashbacks, especially the first one. Rawr. I didn't realize that most of the scenes I've seen already have already happened in this episode. Drusilla's confession was one of them, and Buffy and Willow finding the Restoration spell was another. Sarah Michelle Gellar is a really good actress and she is beautiful, too. Not a bad episode at all. I kinda liked that all those flashbacks were included, but at the same time some weren't needed. Awesome episode. :)moreless
  • Great flashbacks! Awesome episode!

    10
    "Perfect"
    This was an awesome episode leading to an even better finale. The flashbacks in this episode did so much to enrich the Buffy lore with backstory elements that fans had been wishing for. I also loved Spike and Drusilla in this episode. Spike had a couple of very funny lines, and you start to feel for him as he watches Angel interact with Drusilla. It was also nice to see the character of Darla come back in a flashback. She hadn't appeared in the Buffy universe since the middle of the first season. This episode has almost everything. It has great drama, humor and action. All it's missing is romance and a small portion of that is coming up in Becoming, Part II.moreless
  • Whistler: Bottom line is, even if you see 'em coming, you're not ready for the big moments. No one asks for their life to change, not really. But it does.

    10
    "Perfect"
    This episode starts the end of the second season and it starts off very well. All the Angel flashbacks are really good and it is fun to see him being a monster. The way he tortured Drusilla and drove her even further towards madness shows how far he is willing to go with his victims. The Whistler is also introduced in this episode and even though he is only here for such a short time he is still such a great character and brings a lot of interesting questions and all of his lines are really deep. Seeing Angel as the pathetic street urchin is nice as well. Kendra's reappearance is also at a good time and watching Drusilla take her out is priceless. I really like Xander as well in this episode, because he understands that Buffy doesn't want to kill Angel because she wants the old Angel back and he calls her out on her refusal to do so. I love how Buffy falls for Angel's trap and sets up the catastrophe at the end with a hurt Willow and a dead Kendra. This episodes leaves you dying for what happens next.moreless
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  • TRIVIA (10)

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    • At the very beginning of this episode the flashback in which Angel is sired by Darla is said to take place in 1753. However, in the episode Halloween when Willow and Buffy are looking through the Watcher's Diary, Willow finds an entry dated 1775 and Buffy says that Angel was eighteen and still human at that date.

    • Giles mentions that the Orb of Thessela he has is being used as a paper weight, a clever take back to Passion where the magic shop owner said he had sold some orbs as new age paperweights.

    • When Angel first meets Buffy, in Welcome to the Hellmouth he says that he'd thought she'd be taller, making it seem as if he'd never seen her before, however, in this episode we see flashbacks of Angel watching Buffy in L.A., well before he meets her in Sunnydale. Although it could be said that since he never saw her up close, he couldn't accurately estimate her height. He also says he thought she'd at least have bigger muscles, but in a tone that sounds like he is joking or lying. This could be to cover up the fact that he has been watching her for months.

    • When Kendra gets killed by Drusilla ,Dru slits Kendra's throat open with her finger nail.Then Kendra grabs her throat and there is only a drop of blood, although when the scene comes back to her at the very end there is clearly no blood on the floor at all.

    • In the flashback to 1996 the school building Buffy is seen leaving with her friends appears to be the same building used as Hill Valley City Hall in the "Back to the Future" films.

    • At the start of the attack at the library the wall clock says the time is 7:12. Despite the fact that the attack lasted several minutes, at the end as the vampires drag Giles out of the library the clock still says its 7:12.

    • As cool as the scene where the messenger vampire sets herself aflame while delivering Angelus's message to Buffy, it seems strange that a vampire would commit ritual suicide in the service of another vampire--vampires on the show tending to be pretty self-serving. One possible explanation for her behavior is that she was hypnotized by Drusilla.

    • The scene of young Buffy staking her first vamp takes place in a cemetary that is obviously the same as the one in Sunnydale (otherwise known as the backlot of our beloved show).

    • When Darla cuts herself with her fingernail, you can clearly see that she is just dragging her finger along her chest, and not actually cutting herself.

    • When Willow gets the bookcase shoved onto her, in the first shot we see it land right on her back, however in the second shot we see the case right on her head.

  • QUOTES (23)

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    • Willow: This means I can't help you study for tomorrow's final. Buffy: Eh, I'll wing it. Of course, if we go to hell by then, I won't have to take them... or maybe I'll be taking them forever.

    • Buffy: (picking up a pencil and a computer disk) Oh, hey. You dropped this. Willow: (putting the disk into the computer) It's not mine. It might be something of Ms. Calendar's. Buffy: This feels kinda morbid. Willow: I've gone through most of her files already. Buffy: Does that make this less morbid or you really morbid? Willow: I had to. To teach her class.

    • Angelus: Hello lover. I wasn't sure you'd come. Buffy: After your immolation-o-gram? Come on, I had to show. Shouldn't you be out destroying the world right now, pulling the sword out of Al Franken or whatever his name is? Angelus: There's time enough. I wanted to say goodbye first. You are the one thing in this dimension I will miss. Buffy: This is a beautiful moment we're having. Can we please fight? Angelus: I didn't come here to fight. Buffy: No? Angelus: Gosh, I was hoping we could get back together. What do you think? Do we have a shot...? Alright. We'll fight.

    • Cordelia: Xander has a point. Xander: You know, just for once I wish you would support me and I realize right now that you were and I'm embarrassed, so I'm gonna get back to the point.

    • Merrick: There isn't much time, you must come with me. Your destiny awaits. Buffy: I don't have a destiny. I'm destiny free, really. Merrick: Yes you have. You are the Chosen One. You alone can stop them. Buffy: Who? Merrick: The vampires. Buffy: Huh?

    • Whistler: She's gonna have it tough, that Slayer. She's just a kid. The world's full of big, bad things. Angel: I want to help her. I want... I want to become someone. Whistler: God, jeez, look at you. She must be prettier than the last Slayer. This isn't gonna be easy. The more you live in this world, the more you see how apart from it you really are. And this is dangerous work. Right now, you couldn't go three rounds with a fruit fly! Angel: I want to learn from you. Whistler: Alright. Angel: But I don't want to dress like you. Whistler: Again, you're annoying me. You're lucky we need you on our side.

    • Buffy: Then Willow might be our only hope. Willow: I don't wanna be our only hope. I crumble under pressure. Let's have another hope.

    • Xander: Hi! For those of you who've just tuned in, everyone here is a crazy person. So this spell might restore Angel's humanity? Well, here's an interesting angle. Who cares? Buffy: I care. Xander: Is that right? Giles: Let's not lose our perspective here, Xander. Xander: I'm Perspective Guy. Angel's a killer.

    • Angelus : Tonight were're gonna make history... end.

    • Kendra: This is my lucky stake, I've killed many vampires with it. I call it Mr. Pointy. Buffy: You named your stake? Kendra: Yes. Buffy: Remind me to get you a stuffed animal.

    • Buffy: So I'm, like, "Dad, you want me to go to the dance in an outfit I've already worn? Why do you hate me?"

    • Cordelia: (about Snyder) How about because you're a tiny, impotent Nazi with a bug up his butt the size of an emu?

    • Cordelia: I think it's great to do that before you go out and fail in the real world. That way you're not falling back on something, you're falling, well, forward. Xander: And almost 65% of that was actual compliment. Is that a personal best? Cordelia: Gee Xander, what are you gonna teach when you fail in life? Advanced loser being? Xander: I will teach zee language of love! Cordelia: Don't touch me! You have fish hands!

    • Xander: (using his fish sticks as puppets) Tell Angel I'm gonna kill him. No wait! I'm gonna kill you! Die! Die! Die! Ahhh!! Thunk. Mother? Cordelia: That's it? Xander: That's it. Scene. Buffy: It's exactly how it happened. Oz: I thought it was riveting. I was a little unclear about some of the themes. Buffy: The theme is Angel's too much of a coward to take me on face to face. Xander: The other theme was Buy American, but it got kinda buried.

    • Angelus: What did the moon tell you? Did you have a vision? Is something coming? Drusilla: Oh, Yeah! Something terrible, pss, pss, pss. Angelus: Where? Drusilla: At the museum. A tomb… with a surprise inside. Angelus: You can see that all in your head? Spike: No, you ninny. She read it in the paper.

    • Spike: Nice walk, pet? Drusilla: I met an old man, didn't like him. He got stuck in my teeth.

    • Spike: It's a Big rock. I can't wait to tell my friends. They don't have a rock this big.

    • Drusilla: Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It's been two days since my last confession. Father? Angelus: That's not very long. Drusilla: Oh, Father, I'm so afraid. Angelus: The Lord is very forgiving. Tell me your sins. Drusilla: I had … I've been seeing again, Father. Yesterday, the men were going to work in the mine. I had … a terrible fright. My stomach all tied up, and I saw this horrible … crash. My mummy said to keep my peace, it didn't mean nothing. But this morning … they had a cave-in. Two men died. Angelus: Go on. Drusilla: My mum says … I'm cursed. My seeing things is an affront to the Lord, that only he's supposed to see anything before it happens. But I don't mean to, Father, I swear! I swear! I try to be pure in his sight. I don't want to be an evil thing. Angelus: Oh, hush, child. The Lord has a plan for all creatures. Even a Devil child like you. Drusilla: A Devil? Angelus: Yes! You're a spawn of Satan. All the Hail Marys in the world aren't going to help. The Lord will use you and smite you down. He's like that. Drusilla: What can I do? Angelus: Fulfill his plan, child. Be evil. Just give in. Drusilla: No! I want to be good. I want to be pure. Angelus: We all do, at first. The world doesn't work that way. Drusilla: Father … I beg you … Please … Please, help me. Angelus: Very well. Ten Our Fathers and an Act of Contrition. Does that sound good? Drusilla: Yes. Yes, Father. Thank you. Angelus: The pleasure was mine. And my child... Drusilla: Yes? Angelus: God is watching you.

    • Angelus: There are moments in your life that make you, that set the course of who you're gonna be. Sometimes they're little, subtle moments. Sometimes... they're not. I'll show you what I mean.

    • Buffy: You know, polite people call before they jump out of the bushes and attack you. Kendra: Just wanted to test your reflexes. Buffy: How about testing my face-punching? 'Cuz I think you'll find it's improved.

    • Snyder: These public displays of affection are not acceptable in my school. This isn't an orgy, people. It's a classroom. Buffy: Yeah! Where they teach lunch.

    • Buffy: What happened to Angel wasn't his fault. Xander: Yeah, but what happened to Ms. Calendar is. You can paint this any way you want. But the way I see it is that you wanna forget all about Ms. Calendar's murder so you can get your boyfriend back.

    • Whistler: Bottom line is, even if you see 'em coming, you're not ready for the big moments. No one asks for their life to change, not really. But it does. So what are we, helpless? Puppets? No. The big moments are gonna come. You can't help that. It's what you do afterwards that counts. That's when you find out who you are. You'll see what I mean.

  • NOTES (9)

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    • At the Hellmouth Convention in Belfast in April 2003, Juliet Landau noted the problem with her fight scene with Bianca Lawson (Kendra). Juliet had to wear those fake nails and every time the scene would be going well, the nails began to "ping ping ping" (her words) right off her fingers, which resulted in many takes being necessary to film the scene.

    • Whistler speaks of "our side" and it is doubtful that he is referring to the Watchers' Council. This could be a subtle foreshadowing to the "Powers That Be" in the spinoff "Angel."

    • Drusilla was precognitive before she became a vampire.

    • When this episode was repeated on September 15, 1998, it was presented with an altered first scene. There are several subtle differences, but the most noticeable is that Max Perlich provides the voice-over for that scene, rather than David Boreanaz as it was the first time the episode aired.

    • When Drusilla is about to kill Kendra she says "Be in me" hypnotizing Kendra. This same line is used by the vampire in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie.

    • When Buffy fights Angelus in the cemetary, she figures out that she was being distracted away from the library so that Drusilla could capture Giles. In the first episode of the season, the Master's minions used the same trick on Buffy to capture Willow for the resurrection ritual. Angelus says to her when she leaves for the library: "And you fall for it every time!"

    • James Marsters will work with Max Perlich again in the 1999 horror House on Haunted Hill.

    • The character of Whistler was originally intended to be Angel's sidekick in the planning stages of the spinoff Angel, but the actor wasn't able to commit to the series so the character of Doyle was created.

    • Richard Riehle guest stars as Merrick, Buffy's first watcher; a role that was portrayed by Donald Sutherland in the feature movie.

  • ALLUSIONS (4)

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    • Buffy: And you're sure this was the tomb of Alfalfa?
      Alfalfa was one of the main characters in the Our Gang series of films from the 1930's and the TV series Little Rascals.

    • Whistler: My name's Whistler.
      The name Whistler may be a reference to the popular adult comic "Blade" in which the main character, a vampire human hybrid named Blade has a human sidekick named Whistler. This is interesting because the original plan as for Whistler to be Angel's sidekick in his spin-off series, which would then have borne a striking resemblance to Blade.

    • Kendra: This is my lucky stake; it has slain many vampires. I call it, Mr. Pointy.
      In the german version of BTVS the stake is called "Van Heugen", the nemesis of Graf Dracula.

    • Buffy: Pulling the sword out of Al Franken or whatever his name is.
      Al Franken is an American actor, comedian, and politician. He began on such shows as Saturday Night Live, later became a political pundit and even founded the radio network Air America Radio in 2004. Franken eventually ran for and won the position of Senator from Minnesota.

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