History Recap / BuffyTheVampireSlayerS7E1Lessons

* ILoveTheDead: Buffy Lampshades her own... [[VampiresAreSexGods affinity for vampires]] when one of the zombie ghosts claims he wants Dawn to be his girlfriend, pointing out that ''she's'' the only Summers girl who dates dead guys.

* DeadpanSnarker: Dawn has dropped the whiny-ness and reverted to [[ItRunsInTheFamily good 'ole Summers snarkiness]].

* DescriptionCut: From Giles saying "In the end, we all are who we are, no matter how much we may appear to have changed" to Xander back in Sunnydale in a suit and tie, getting out of an expensive car.
* DesignatedParents: Xander as the bread-winning Dad, Buffy with her Mom hair, and Dawn as the kid. Unfortunately Xander is still recovering from the Anya disaster, so the ShipTease implications of this haven't occurred to him.

* ExpectingSomeoneTaller: When Buffy meets Principal Woods for the first time:

** The gift-wrapped 'weapon' Buffy gives Dawn. [[BoringButPractical It's an entirely practical cellphone.]]

* BrickJoke (also GeniusBonus): A historical reference that actually takes ''two episodes spaced three seasons apart'' to complete. Anya has a throwaway line in "Superstar" describing the vengeance wishes she'd enact on wronged women's ex-boyfriends: "I'd wish he was a dog or ugly or in love with President [=McKinley=] or something." Three years later, chastising Anya for going soft, Halfrek says: "You were the single-most hard-core vengeance demon on the roster, and everybody knew it. Do I have to mention Mrs. Czolgosz?" President William [=McKinley=] was assassinated by a man named Leon Czolgosz.

Spike is now huddled in a corner in his basement room. He says that he had a speech to Buffy prepared, but she would not understand. A figure that appears to be Warren is seen pacing around him. He begins to give a speech about how great he is. He turns into Glory, then Adam, followed by Mayor Wilkins, Drusilla, and the Master. Each of them continues the speech, but each in their own particular voice and using their individual personalities and manner of speaking. The Master says: "It's not about right. It's not about wrong." He then transforms into Buffy and says: "It's about power."

* BackForTheFinale: The First Evil takes the form of each BigBad we've encountered thus far: Master, Adam, Glory, etc.

* ContinuityCavalcade: The First torments Spike while shifting into the {{Big Bad}}s of the previous seasons (choosing Warren for Season 6[[note]]as the leader and only "dead" member of The Trio[[/note]] and Drusilla for Season 2[[note]]Angelus couldn't be used for legal reasons following the WB-to-UPN move[[/note]]) in reverse order.

* ArcWords / BookEnds / IronicEcho: "It's about power." Buffy's words to Dawn when she's training her to fight vampires are repeated back to Spike by the First (manifesting as Buffy).

* BadassBoast / BreakThemByTalking: Who better to do this than a line-up of past {{Big Bad}}s?

* InTheHood / SacrificialLamb: The episode opens with hooded men chasing and murdering a young woman in Instanbul.

* MirrorScare

* NotHimself / TalkativeLoon: Spike has gone insane, and it's not just his newfound soul that's the culprit.

* SuperCellReception / LampshadeHanging: Dawn's cell phone.

* ComesGreatResponsibility: Willow is being taught control of her powers rather than abstination.

-->'''The First as Drusilla:''' (touching Spike's face) --you never will. [[TheyStillBelongToUsLecture You'll always be mine. You'll always be in the dark with me]], singing our little songs. [[EnthrallingSiren You like our little songs, don't you? You've always liked them]], right from the beginning. And that's where we're going--

* NotSoDifferent: Spike shows similarities to Drusilla and will for a while.

* NotSoDire

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Despite the implication that Carlos and Kit will join with Dawn to form their own Scooby Gang, we don't see them again - Dawn starts her segment of ''Conversations With Dead People'' mid-call with Kit, but she doesn't actually appear. Carlos suffers from ChuckCunninghamSyndrome and is never ever mentioned again.
* YouWouldntLikeMeWhenImAngry

-->'''Buffy:''' Oh, I'm [[BuffySpeak damage bound]].

* RealLifeWritesThePlot: When the First impersonates the Mayor, he leans down to talk to Spike. This is due to the fact that Harry Groener wasn't available to shoot the scene with the other actors, so he was added in later.

* RealLifeWritesThePlot: When the First impersonates the Mayor, he leans down to talk to Spike. This is due to the fact that Harry Groening wasn't available to shoot the scene with the other actors, so he was added in later.

** Principal Wood already knows about Buffy having read her file, but mistakes her for Dawn's mother. [[spoiler:He's later revealed to be the son of a Slayer.]]

** Principal Wood already knows about Buffy having read her file, but mistakes her for Dawn's mother. He's later revealed to be the son of a Slayer.

* CreatorsInJoke: In her intervention over Anya's lackluster vengeance, Halfrek praises Anya's previous hard-core performance as a vengeance demon, saying "Do I have to mention Mrs. Czolgosz?" This is exceptionally obscure in-joke directed at Jane Espenson, who wrote a joke in "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS4E17Superstar Superstar]]" about Anyanka making a male victim fall in love with President [=McKinley=]. Leon Czolgosz assassinated President [=McKinley=]. The joke was a little too obscure; Espenson didn't catch it.

-->'''The First as Glory:''' --more than blood. I'm...you know, [[{{Narcissist}} I honestly don't think there's a human word fabulous enough for me.]] Oh, [[ItsAllAboutMe my name]] [[DemonicPossession will be on everyone's lips]], assuming [[NightmareFuel their lips haven't been torn off]]. But not just yet. That's alright, though--

* BaitAndSwitch: Buffy fights her way through the spirits guarding the door she thinks Dawn is behind, only to find it opened by Spike who she hasn't seen since his AttemptedRape in "Seeing Red".

* BigBad: The First.

* TheCanKickedHim: The school toilet has zombie ghosts and floors that give way beneath you.

* DaydreamSurprise / EyeScream: The boy next to Dawn asks to borrow a pencil. Suddenly he's a zombie jabbing the pencil into her eye.

* {{Duck}}

* {{Foreshadowing}}

** Halfrek's warning causes Anya to overcompensate in her wish-granting. The results are seen in "Beneath You".
** Willow believes she's not getting the punishment she deserves. This sets up "Same Time, Same Place".

* ImprovisedWeapon / HandbagOfHurt: Buffy tells Dawn to find a weapon. Carlos finds two bricks, Dawn places them in Kit's bag, and Buffy swings it to good effect. On the commentary, Creator/JossWhedon refers to it as "[[FooFu Bag fu]]."

* TechnologyMarchesOn: The show ''finally'' acknowledges that cell phones exist, with Buffy telling Dawn that it may be the only thing keeping her from death someday.

* TheTriple

As we begin the final season, Sunnydale High is reopened, Buffy discovers the place is infested by zombie spirits, and finds a crazed Spike living in the basement.

* CaliforniaDoubling: Creator/AnthonyStewartHead's home in Somerset doubles for Westbury. The horse is his too. (To be fair, most American viewers wouldn't know the difference between Somerset and Westbury.)

Sunnydale High is reopened. Buffy discovers the place is infested by zombie spirits. She also finds a crazed Spike living in the basement.

** Principal Wood already knows about Buffy having read her file, but mistakes her for Dawn's mother. [[spoiler:He's later revealed to be the son of a Slayer.]]