The Bronze. Buffy and Angel slow-dance in each other's arms. He's not wearing black, so you know it's a dream sequence. Third Eye Blind's "The Background" plays in the background. See what they did there? Buffy tells Angel that she misses him. In a quick, lovely shot, we see that Oz, Willow, Cordy, and Xander are staring at them, entranced. The intensity of their expressions makes it one of my favorite throwaway moments. Buffy and Angel touch hands, and we see both of their claddagh rings. Buffy's slips off her finger and falls to the ground. She looks a bit stricken. Angel picks the ring up, then stands to stare accusingly at her. She flashes back to killing him. The gang is still staring. The music has changed from Third Eye Blind to nine kinds of creepy. Buffy, her voice breaking, tells Angel that she had to. He crushes her ring in his hand, which starts streaming blood. He grits out, "I loved you," as blood starts to stain his white shirt from the spot where Buffy stabbed him. She starts forward, but he yells, "Go to hell!" Quick cut to Buffy, then back to Angel, whose face has gone all veiny and dark green: "I did." David Boreanaz displayed more emotion in that scene than in the whole of Season One.

Buffy wakes up. She opens the nightstand drawer and takes out her claddagh ring. Joyce knocks and interrupts her reverie, brightly asking, "Are you ready to face the beast?" Cut to said beast, as Principal Snyder outlines the terms for Buffy's readmission to Sunnydale High. She has to take a make-up test for the classes she missed, get a letter of recommendation from a teacher that is "not an English librarian," and complete an interview with the school psychologist to make sure her "violent tendencies" are under control. As he says that, he grabs a letter opener that Buffy's been fidgeting with away from her. Heh. Joyce calls him on his snotty attitude, and Snyder is forced to admit that he's required to educate Buffy. Buffy sasses him for getting overruled by the school board. Joyce stands and says that what Buffy's trying to say is, "Nah nah nah nah nah." That would have been funnier if she made a face and said "NYAH NYAH NYAH NYAH NYAH!" But still, ha! Joyce is likable again, too. Thank you, David Greenwalt. Snyder is not pleased, and is then informed that he has a call from the Mayor. He looks surprised and scared. I love Mayor foreshadowing.