Predictable cut to a packed City Hall. Oh, look, a fax from Hackneyed Techniques. Cease, desist, copyright, damages, blah blah blah lawsuitcakes. Everyone's holding candles, even though they're inside. What a bunch of losers. Many of them are also carrying signs with the two kids' pictures and a caption that reads, "Never Again!" Do they have one of those with Marti Noxon's picture on it? Buffy and Willow walk in, thankfully candle-less. Buffy snits about the crowd, but Willow points out that at least Buffy's mom is making an effort. "My mom's probably" -- a middle-aged red-haired woman walks up -- "standing right in front of me right this second." All right, now I'm pissed. It's such a quick succession that my "Hackneyed Techniques" joke has itself become hackneyed. I'm just going to mope for a while. Okay, I'm done.

Willow's mom greets her, and then turns to Buffy: "Hi, Bunny." Hee! Bunny the Vampire Slayer! Now I'm thinking of Monty Python And The Holy Grail again. Can you imagine if the killer rabbit were a vampire slayer? Hey, that's not nearly as fucked up an idea as Strangers With Candy, so leave me alone. By the way, I loved that show. Willow wonders what her mom is doing there, and she says she read about it in the paper. She notices that Willow's hair is short, and comments that it's a new look. Willow: "Yeah, it's just a sudden whim I had...in August." Heh. Well, at least no one bitched and moaned about it like when Keri Russell cut off her hair. Don't people have anything better to do than bitch about other people? And for those of you who are gleefully pointing out that I do an awful lot of that, I'd like to point out in turn that I can't hear you. Uh-oh. I just realized I can hear Sars, and I've left myself wide open. ["Nah, too easy." -- Sars]

Willow's mom, who we'll imminently learn is named Sheila, says she likes the haircut, then turns and greets an approaching Joyce. Giles arrives, and there's the now-stock awkwardness between him and Joyce. Sheila says to Giles that there's a rumor going around. Giles: "A rumor? About us?" Hee. Joyce flashes him a look, and he valiantly tries to recover. Sheila clarifies that the rumor is that the murderers are people who call themselves witches. Giles and Willow say that that's strange. Willow's mom starts to give a sociological explanation of why it's not that strange, but is thankfully interrupted by the start of the proceedings.