Trivia
Dawn's bratty outburst: Dawn shouts "Get out, Get out, Get out, Get out" at Buffy and the gang. She did the same thing to Buffy and Joyce in season five's birthday episode, Blood Ties.
Kitten poker: When Xander asks if the boys want to play poker, Clem states it's weird without the kittens. This is a reference to Life Serial earlier on in season six, where Buffy accompanies Spike to a card game with feline stakes.
Older and Faraway : The title to this week's episode is a quotation from J.G. Ballard's autobiographical novel, Empire of the Sun. This is the story of spoiled young British boy, living with his wealthy family in pre-World War II Shanghai. During the Japanese invasion, he is separated from his parents and learns to survive the hostile streets before being captured and sent to a Prisoner of War camp. The novel was turned into a movie by Steven Spielberg in 1987.
Corn children: Xander makes a reference to the 1984 cheesy horror film Children of the Corn when he says, the only thing missing is the cornfield. Starring Linda Hamilton of Terminator fame and Peter Horton (various small parts). Children of The Corn is the story of a naive couple encountering a Nebraskan town filled with demonic teens. These children are controlled by a dark entity which takes the form of a sort of rolling light that comes from beneath the corn fields. By the way Nicholas Bredon appeared in Children of the Corn 3.
Make a Wish: Dawn's wish to Halfrek that she wished that she could stop people from leaving recalls season three's The Wish in which we first meet Anya. Cordelia wishes Buffy had never come to Sunnydale in front of Anya, who grants her wish.
William?: Halfrek and Spike's odd surprise at seeing each other is never explained, although actress Kali Rocha alos played Spike's love interest Cecily in season Five's Fool for Love. It'sprobablu just a neat in-joke.
