First off, the show has new credits and the same theme song *a little quickened up though*. Now, the show starts off with Willow, Xander and Oz hunting vamps in the graveyard sans Slayer and doing a fairly rough job of it. A highlight is when Oz pulls a warrior move and fails miserably - it's one of those predictable moves a hero makes *To be specific he gets ready to launch a stake into a vamps chest and misses by a mile-- vamp escapes*. Now we skip over to Buffy, who's dreaming of Angel on a beach -- WARNING: This is the ONLY scene with Angel in the ENTIRE ep so enjoy it for what it's worth!! (are they nuts?! only ONE scene?? sheesh...here's hoping for a cracker B & A reunion to make up for it! - Robyn). Angel comes up behind Buffy, wraps his arms around her and she says, "How did you find me?" He replies, "If I was blind, I could see you." Then she asks him to never leave and he states that he will always be there, that's just the point and that he will always be
there...even if she kills him. She awakens abruptly and is in a
shabby apartment in a slummin' city. (Oh, and she has strawberry
blonde highlights....keen eh?)
Now where was I? Ohhh yes, ok, so she's working in a small diner called "Helen's Kitchen", when she runs into a guy and a girl with matching tattoos. Now this is where things get tricky...remember Chanterelle from "Lie To Me"? Well, she's back and has taken on a new identity, "Lily". Now, she remembers Buffy and approaches her in an attempt to thank her for saving her from her underground lifestyle, etcetera etcetera. Buffy is still in denial when it comes to who she is, so she wants nothing to do with anything from her past.
Back in Sunnydale, Xander is eager to see Cordy and vice versa (they haven't seen each other all summer - she went on vacation) and they are both highly insecure on whether or not faithfulness has been maintained *which it has* However when they do run into each other they get major speechlessness and separate without constructing a proper sentence. Oz on the other hand is back at Sunnydale since he didn't attend summer school, so him and Willow are getting along just peachy!! =)
Joyce is busy brooding over Buffy's loss and lives every day hinging on the hope Buffy will return to her, while Giles is following every possible lead that comes his way. There is a scene between Joyce and Giles where she expresses resentment towards him for leading Buffy into this alternate lifestyle. I see some major conflict in this department in the near future.
Back in the ghetto *hee,hee* Buffy runs into this guy named Ken (what's with that show and my name?) who is trying to get teen run aways into his "Hope Shelter" where they can be redeemed yada yada yada. Now to skip over all that stuff I'll make a quick summary...this guy is a yukkee demon who gathers youth who are neglected in society (and won't be missed) and he sucks them into his hellish lair where they are trapped to be slaves at his will. He calls it "Hell", where a day in ordinary time is equivalent to a hundred yrs. Lily is accompanying Buffy on this little adventure as they kick ghoulish butt and are naturally victorious *Buffy smashes Ken's head in with a bat in her attempt at abstract art---it's a funny line, trust me on this one*. Somewhere in all of this, Buffy discovers she cannot run away from her destiny, so she passes her apartment, false identity and waitressing job onto Lily who gladly excepts now that her boyfriend has passed on (I kinda skipped over that but Ken disposed of him before Buffy had a chance to do her rescuing thaaang).
Alrighty, back in Sunnydale, Joyce is busy cleaning her oven when there's a knock on the door...cue slow music, she opens the door and voila!! We have an emotional reunion! Hugs galore and naturally the credits. And there we have it!!