Becoming

*sigh* THE Angel/Angelus episode ever. Already the title says it. If you look closely enough on the ep, you will recognize that it is entirely about Angelus and his development. Also, it's the first episode where we learn anything at all about his past. Before that there is only rare information, like in "Lie to me", where he tells Buffy about his relationship with Drusilla. But here, we actually see him in flashbacks and get a first hand impression of how he was and what his life or unlife has been.

We start right away with the opening scene, where Darla sires him. You get a glance of human Angel, this lead is developped further in season three and in Ats. And the blending over to present Angelus watching Buffy fight, is heart stopping.

My favourite scene in the first part is the one with human Drusilla. It shows what a bastard Angelus is. No morality, no conscience, just the pure desire to destroy and hurt. The contradiction between the vampire Angelus and the innocent, young and naive Drusilla is even more paradox when you keep in mind the vampiric couple Dru/Angelus.

Another great scene is the one where Angelus first tries to awaken Acathla and you get this Manhattan flashback in the middle of his incantation. It's fabulously done and together with Chris Beck's haunting music it's mostly the point where I take my handkerchief out of the box.

Not to forget the final fight between Buffy and Angelus and the reunion because of the restoration spell. It's without doubt one of the strongest moments of the whole series. I felt depressed for two weeks afterwards!