Trivia
Bedtime for Angel: So, Angel sleeps in the day. Well, that makes sense - he can only go out at night, and daytime TV's not worth staying up for. Strange then, that later on, in episodes of Angel, everyone always seems to expect him to get up bright and early.
Grimm thought: "You ground his bones to make your bread," says Xander of Buffy's earlier foe, The Master. This, she admits, is true, "except for the bread part."
Xander is referring to the spinechilling threat of the giant in classic fairytale Jack and the Beanstalk. On scenting Jack somewhere in his house, the giant cries out "Fee fi fo fum. I smell the blood of an Englishman. Be he alive, or be he dead, I'll grind his bones to make my bread." So, giant Hovis not all that nice, then.
Cheeky monkey: During Buffy's dream at the start of the episode, we see Willow sitting in the Bronze with a small organ-grinder's monkey, all dressed up in a little red coat. (The monkey, not Willow). Anyone who started watching Buffy during season three will be relieved to finally learn where that strange little clip in the title sequence came from.
Even translated, the French phrase Willow says is pretty obscure. She says "L'hippo a piqué ses pantalons," which translates as: "The hippo has stolen his trousers." And indeed, the monkey has no trousers. But what Buffy is to do about this is unclear.
Gypsies, tramps and thieves: Jenny Calendar is revealed to really be Janna, a Romany of the Kalderash clan - the same clan who cursed Angel by restoring his soul ninety years previously.
Although Angel referred to the people who cursed him as Gypsies, the more polite term is Romanys or Roma. A travelling people and a distinct ethnic minority, Romanys can be found all across the world, although the largest number, unsurprisingly, live in Romania. There are four main "nations" of the Romany people, the Machavaya, the Lovari, the Churari and the Kalderash, plus many smaller "tribes".
Romanies originally came from India, and have their own language which includes words of Indian origin. A traditional Romany greeting is "droboy tume Romale", to which the polite response is "nais tuke" - thank you.
The hand of friendship: Faced with being parted from Buffy, Angel presents her with a Claddagh ring. These traditional Irish rings, showing a heart surmounted by a crown being clasped by hands, are said to have been invented by Richard Joyce, a master goldsmith living in the Galway village of Claddagh, about 400 years ago. So, as Angel describes the rings as being exchanged as a sign of devotion by his people, that means he's Irish.
The ring can be worn in several different ways, each sending its own message. Worn on the right hand with the crown turned inwards means that the wearer's heart is not spoken for by anyone. On the right hand with the crown turned outwards means that a love is being considered. And if worn on the left hand with the crown outwards, it means that your heart is utterly promised to another.
In 1984 the people of Claddagh presented a specially commissioned Claddagh ring to Ronald Reagan.
Latin feel: "Carpe diem", Willow tells Buffy when she's unsure where to take her relationship with Angel. It means seize the day. Whether Willow got the phrase from taking extra Latin in the evenings, or, more likely, from earnest teen flick Dead Poets Society is not revealed.
It's also a reference to the very first Buffy episode, Welcome to the Hellmouth. Upon first meeting Willow, Buffy gives her some dating advice, telling her to "seize the moment, because tomorrow you might be dead." In neither that case nor this does it turn out to be very good advice though - back then it led Willow into the clutches of a vampire, and here it causes Buffy to turn her boyfriend into an evil fiend.
He speaks!: At last we get to see a bit more of Oz, who swiftly reveals himself to be way cool. Even a vampire exploding into dust only puts him off his stride for a moment. Told "Vampires are real. A lot of them live in Sunnydale," he just replies, "Actually, that explains a lot."
Name that tune: At the start of this episode we hear Anything by Shawn Clement and Sean Murry. Later on, Drusilla's party music is Transylvanian Concubine by Rasputina, which is on the Buffy soundtrack album.
Poor baby: As suspected, Spike is definitely not dead. (Other than being a vampire, of course). But his condition is hardly tip-top, we discover.
Surprise!: Xander asks if the Judge's arm is the "vamp's version of 'snakes in a can'." This cheap but effective joke-shop trick, consisting of squeaky springy tubes which can be made to leap out of small containers, is one of the Cult teams' faves. In fact, we were thinking of putting some in the coffee tin for a lark.
