Passion

These snapshots may contain SPOILERS for the entire series, so if for some reason you haven't yet seen some of the episodes and do not want to know what is going on, read no further.
----------------------------recap-------------------------------
Angelus continues his obsessive torment of Buffy by visiting her during the night and leaving presents in her bed. Meanwhile, Ms. Calendar tries to make amends for deceiving Buffy and Giles by attempting to translate the Gypsy curse to restore Angel's human soul, with dire consequences.
--------------------------end recap--------------------------

Angelus: Passion. It lies in all of us. Sleeping...waiting...and though unwanted...unbidden...it will stir...open its jaws, and howl. It speaks to us...guides us. Passion rules us all. And we obey. What other choice do we have? Passion is the source of our finest moments. the joy of love...the clarity of hatred...and the ecstasy of grief. It hurts sometimes more than we can bear. If we could live without passion, maybe we'd know some kind of peace. But we would be hollow. Empty rooms, shuttered and dank. Without passion, we'd truly be dead.


Solid character development, great dialogue and a riveting plot.

This is the episode that cranks up the entire series continuing where Surprise / Innocence pretty much left off. Up until this point, Angelus has mostly been wandering around Sunnydale, taunting Buffy and playing little mind games. Passion is a terribly sombre episode, darker in tone than any other in Season 2. Much of the episode is atypical of the series. For the first half it's all doom and gloom... and then it gets even worse. From here on out its a dark and tragic story that carries through the rest of the season.

In the teaser when Angel/us is stalking Buffy, its almost identical to when Spike first saw and stalked her in School Hard.

There's a lot to like about this episode. I love Willow's face when she opens that envelope and sees what Angel/us did to her fish. And you just have to laugh when Cordy announces that she's traded cars with her grandmother. The end of the episode is brilliant. While the factory burns, Buffy and Giles collapse into each others arms sobbing. It's a beautiful scene. Mostly, though, I love Angel/us. The smirk he wears as he watches Buffy, Willow and Joyce react to Jenny's death is just so wonderfully evil. The voice over, as he talks about passion, is so sinister and perfect. And he kills Jenny. Having a major character of the show brutally murder a woman who is also a significant character is a REALLY gutsy move, but then thats Whedon for you. We knew Jenny, we liked her and Angel/us snaps her neck on screen. That is genuinely distressing, and pretty shocking.

On the upside one of the more heartwarming parts of the episode: Spike and Little Miss Sunshine. Dru comes in, cuddling a puppy that she's gotten. She just wants Spike to eat it for dinner. He refuses, angry that she keeps babying him. Angel/us arrives. Spike and Angel/us immediately begin arguing, the two of them glaring at each other furiously as they fight. Drusilla, enjoying the chaos, casually drops Little Miss Sunshine into Spike's lap. Never taking his eyes off of Angel/us, Spike moves his arm so the puppy won't fall off the wheelchair. In "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered," we learned that Angel/us used to nail puppies to things as a valentine gift. Spike, in his soul-less state, automatically protects Little Miss Sunshine. He doesn't want the puppy hurt. He's not even conscious of it, it's an unconscious gesture that speaks volumes. Spike without a soul, is a much kinder vampire than Angel/us without a soul. It's one of the first glimpses of the gentler Spike underneath his evil facade.


Foreshadowing
Willow telling Buffy, you're still the only thing Angel thinks about.



My views/status of characters;
Buffy - like
Willow - like
Xander - like
Giles - like
Cordelia - like
Spike - like
Angel/us - like
Oz - absent

Overall I consider this a very good episode compared to the rest of the season.