Angel is haunted by ghosts from his past, and must decide what to do with his unlife. Meanwhile, several bridges are mended.
It's such a perfect title for the episode. Angel is forced to decide whether he should be trying to make amends for his evil life, Willow tries to work things out with Oz, and Buffy tries to forge a relationship with Faith after the events of Revelations.
Written and directed by Joss Whedon, this is one of the most touching, emotional, moving episodes Buffy has ever had, as everyone is forced to confront how they really feel about things. The real loser in all of this is Xander, but it's good to see the show again taking a different tack to the soap opera one in which Xander and Willow would realize a deep love and get together.
What works the best is the one-on-one scenes between various characters. Giles gets his first meeting with Angel since he regained his soul, and is more than ready to shoot the vampire on the spot for the death of Jenny Calendar, and the whole scene is completely credible.
Willow's invitation to Oz is particularly beautiful, as she tries to show the part-time werewolf just what he means to her, and Oz's response is extremely grown-up and in total keeping with the character. Buffy's visit to Faith, and Faith's later arrival at the Slayer's house works nicely too, but the best scene is the one-to-one between Buffy and Angel. All Buffy's emotions come to the fore in some superb playing by Sarah Michelle Gellar, and she has to confess how she feels, despite the fact that she will never be able to act on her feelings again.
All this and some background about Angel that we weren't privy to before makes this an unmissable episode.
*****
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