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1[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/buffys2e7_9500.jpg]]
2-> ''"Things used to be pretty simple. A hundred years, just hanging out, feeling guilty. I really honed my brooding skills. Then she comes along."''
3-->--'''Angel'''
4
5Directed by Creator/JossWhedon
6
7Written by Whedon, Creator/RobDesHotel, & Creator/DeanBatali
8
9Hey, look! It's Ford, an [[ForgottenFriendNewFoe old friend]] (and flame) of Buffy's from Hemery High. He surprises Buffy with news that he's just transferred to her school. Ford regales everyone with embarrassing stories about Buffy, to Willow's delight and Xander's deep irritation.
10
11Later at the Bronze, she introduces Angel to Ford, whom Angel obviously doesn't take a shine to. As Ford and Buffy leave, Buffy hears a suspicious clattering in an alleyway. She asks Ford to go back and fetch her fallen purse, then runs toward the sound. Ford pretends to backtrack for a second before tailing Buffy around the building, where he witnesses her stake a vampire. She makes up a lame story about cats, but Ford reveals that he already knows she's a Slayer. Buffy is relieved that he knows.
12
13Ironic segue time. Ford knocks on the heavy metal door of a nightclub. He's let in, and tells a group of teens inside that in two days, they will be immortal.
14
15Meanwhile, Angel pays a visit to Willow and asks to do a background check on Ford. Willow does a search and finds no record of him enrolling at Sunnydale High. The rest of the Scooby gang tracks Ford's whereabouts to a place called the Sunset Club. They notice everyone inside is Pro-Vampire.
16
17Night. Buffy and Ford have just finished a walking tour of Sunnydale. (They don't look particularly spent.) Seeing a pair of vampires prowling the school, Buffy hands a cross to Ford, who draws a stake of his own. Buffy looks askance at that, but tells Ford to stay frosty. In the resulting melee, Ford grabs the second vamp -- a female -- and menaces that he'll let her live if she tells him what he wants to know. Buffy stakes her foe, and comes running back to Ford, who's now alone. She asks where the other vamp is, but Ford says he dusted her. In the library, the blonde vampire that Ford set free barges out of Giles' office with one of his volumes and escapes through the stacks. Buffy recognizes the vamp and realizes Ford lied to her.
18
19Spike's lair. Ford crashes the place and geeks out, saying that the place is "so cool," to which Spike rhetorically asks if he has anyone on watch. Ford knows who Spike is, and he's offering a token of goodwill. Cue the female vamp handing Spike a book, which he admits will be very useful (as groundwork for [[{{Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS2E9WhatsMyLinePart1}} a later episode]]). Ford offers him a deal: "You make me a vampire, and I give you the Slayer."
20
21The next day, Ford catches Buffy and tells her he had a blast the previous night. They make plans to meet at this spot at nine. Ford returns to his club to finish the arrangements, but Buffy's already lying in wait. Ford signals his toady, who sidles away and locks the door. Ford quickly spills his entire scheme, gloating that the club entrance is "rigged up special," and can only be opened from the outside. Privately, Buffy works out that the rest of the kids aren't going to be changed; they're just fodder. When she pleads that these kids don't deserve to die, Ford blurts out that neither does he-- but he has terminal cancer and [[CurseThatCures vampirism would save him]] (though without a soul "he'd" be dead in either case). Buffy looks stunned; had no idea. Ford bitterly goes on that he's got at most six months to live. Buffy apologizes, but doesn't buy into his solipsistic diatribe. If Spike's gang comes in and starts feeding, she promises she's going to kill Ford before he gets to reap his reward.
22
23At sunset, Spike and his vamps spread out and start chowing down. Buffy knocks Ford out when he tries to stop her warning the others, and spies Dru on the balcony observing the feeding frenzy. Buffy leaps over the rail, grabs Dru and holds a stake to her heart. Spike is alarmed and orders everyone to halt. At Buffy's order, he orders his crew to let the humans go, which they do. Buffy sidles over to the exit, then pushes Dru into Spike's arms and runs out, slamming the door shut again. Spike attempts to pursue her-- then stares at the door in bemusement. Oops. "[[OhCrap Where's the doorknob?]]"
24
25Outside, the kids limp off as Angel, Willow, and Xander arrive. Buffy knows that the vamps will get out eventually, so she'll come back when they're gone. Xander wonders why, and Buffy clarifies, "For the body." Ford regains consciousness locked in with the vamps, and points out that he fulfilled his end of the bargain by delivering Buffy and the others; it was Spike who failed to keep them there.
26
27Sure enough, Buffy reenters the club the next day and finds Ford lying dead at her feet.
28
29At the cemetery, Buffy and Giles lay roses on Ford's grave, waiting to see if he'll rise or not. Ford pops out from his grave, now a vampire. Apparently, Spike kept his promise. He barely gets to blink before Buffy matter-of-factly kills him. As they walk off together, Buffy asks Giles if life gets any easier, and Giles endearingly lies his ass off.
30
31But she sounds grateful, anyhow.
32
33----
34!!Tropes featured in this episode:
35* AbandonedPlayground: A lonely swing set in the ColdOpen, with the usual RuleOfSymbolism in an episode about leaving your childhood illusions behind.
36* AboveGoodAndEvil: Buffy calls out Ford on his double-crossing lies, but he merely shrugs, "Everybody lies."
37* ActingUnnatural: When Willow investigates the past of Buffy's newly-arrived old friend and early crush, she feels guilty about it and tries to act naturally around Buffy - failing spectacularly, but Buffy shrugs off her squeaking high-pitched panic as the result of too much coffee.
38* AllThereInTheScript:
39** The script refers to the blonde vampire as "Julia".
40** Chantarelle's name before changing it was stated to be Joan Appleby.
41* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: Buffy lecturing "Diego" and the other cultists. "You're going to die! And the only hope you have of surviving this is to get out of this pit right now and ''my God'' could you have a dorkier outfit?"
42-->'''Ford:''' Gotta back her up on this one, D. You look like a big ninny.
43* BackFromTheDead: In the epilogue Ford rises from the grave, a vampire just like he desired. Buffy quickly dusts him.
44* BadDate: Jenny dragging Giles into attending a monster truck rally.
45* BaddieFlattery: As Buffy scurries around the shelter looking for an exit, Ford marvels at her determination. Once she demolishes his deluded rationale for the things he's done, Ford sadly replies that he really did miss her, which is tantamount to admitting that her analysis is spot-on.
46* TheBait: Trapping Buffy is the only way the kids could get any vampires to hang with them.
47* BatmanGambit: Ford knows Buffy will work out he's lying to her, and has prepared his trap accordingly.
48* BeautyEqualsGoodness: Chantarelle's first indication that vampires aren't very nice is when she comes face-to-GameFace with Spike.
49* BlackAndGrayMorality:
50-->'''Buffy:''' Nothing's ever simple anymore. I'm constantly trying to work it out. Who to love or hate. Who to trust. It's just, like, the more I know, the more confused I get.
51* BlatantLies:
52** While getting drinks, Buffy runs into Angel at the Bronze. She pointedly asks what he did the previous night, to which he answers that he stayed in and read. Uh huh.
53** An InvokedTrope by Giles at the end of the episode.
54* BookEnds: Ford arranging a date with Buffy is eerily reminiscent of the scene between Angel and Drusilla at the beginning of the episode, and conveys the same sense of battle lines being drawn.
55** Buffy refuses to be lied to anymore, but Angel tells her that some lies are necessary, which is a nice setup for the end of the episode. (See "Title Drop" below.)
56* BrokenPedestal: The vampire wannabes believe vampires to be gentle and misunderstood creatures. When Spike and his men attack and nearly kill them, they discover how monstrous vampires are the hard way.
57* BrutalHonesty: Buffy poses some questions about Drusilla to Angel, and it's a sore spot for him. He admits that he terrorized Drusilla by killing her family and friends, which drove her to a convent, and on the day she was slated to take her holy orders to become a nun, he intentionally drove her insane and made her a vampire. [[TooMuchInformation This naturally creeps Buffy out a bit]], though she admits she needed to hear it.
58* BuildingIsWelding: The entrance to the Sunset Club.
59* CameBackWrong: Buffy tries to dissuade Ford from seeking to become a vampire before he dies of cancer.
60-->Well, I’ve got a news flash for you, brain trust. That’s not how it works. You die, and a demon sets up shop in your old house, and it walks, and it talks, and it remembers your life, but it’s not you.
61* CardCarryingVillain: Buffy lays it all out for Ford, explaining that he's what they in the trade call "the bad guy." Ford giggles and reckons she's 100% correct. PlayedForDrama, as Buffy later realizes that she was just playing into his B-movie fantasies.
62-->'''Buffy:''' It'd be simpler if I could just hate him. I think he wanted me to. I think it made it easier for him to be the villain of the piece. Really, he was just scared.
63* CargoCult: Buffy lampshades this by shouting "This is not the mothership" at the club-goers.
64* TheCavalryArrivesLate: Angel, Willow, and Xander arriving just as the threat's ended. Buffy remarks they're "just in time." (Though her weary tone suggests she's glad to see them, nonetheless.)
65* CheapCostume: The episode features a gang of (literal) vampire wannabes, all of whom dress to emulate movie vampires. While some of the teens are fairly convincing, about half are sporting cheap Halloween getups. Confronted with the ringleader Marvin cum Diego (who is wearing a blue polyester cape and ruffled cravat), Buffy quips, "My God--could you ''have'' a dorkier outfit?" Also subverted, rather humorously, in the ''same'' episode: as Angel enters a Goth club, he scoffs that the clubgoing teens are completely ignorant of how real vampires dress; almost immediately, he comes face-to-face with a young man dressed identically to himself!
66* ChekhovsGag: Ford saying that he knows all of Buffy's dark secrets, to which Xander smugly adds, "Care to make a small wager on that?" The fact that Ford ''does'' in fact know Buffy's [[SecretIdentity darkest secret]] is a subtle irony.
67** Buffy mocking Ford's total ignorance of vampires, calling him -- ironically in light of his imminent revelation -- "brain trust."
68* ChekhovsGun:
69** On his way into the club, Ford walks by a guy doing some welding.
70** Spike's stolen book.
71* ChekhovsGunman: Chanterelle encounters Buffy again in "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E1Anne Anne]]", and becomes a minor recurring character in the ''Series/{{Angel}}'' spin-off TV series and comic series.
72* CoincidentalBroadcast: Buffy notices a photo of Drusilla among Giles's research materials.
73* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Cordy giving her own spin on the French bread famine.
74-->'''Cordelia:''' I just don't see why everyone's always picking on Marie Antoinette. I can ''so'' relate to her. She worked really hard to look that good, and people [[ItsAllAboutMe just don't appreciate that kind of effort]]! And I ''know'' the peasants were all depressed...\
75'''Xander:''' I think you mean ''oppressed''.
76-->'''Cordelia:''' Whatever. [..] And-and Marie Antoinette cared about them. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let_them_eat_cake She was gonna let them have cake]].
77* CordonBleughChef: Oreos in apple juice.
78* ConsummateLiar: He's a smooth operator, that Ford. Watch him pretending to cough after supposedly 'dusting' the vamp he was interrogating.
79* CreateYourOwnVillain: Angel visited upon Drusilla every mental torment he could devise, ending up with.... well, a pretty deranged supervillainess, all told.
80* CreatorCameo: The fake vampire who greets Willow when she comes in ("'Hi' Vampire" in the credits) is played by Todd [=McIntosh=], the show's makeup supervisor, in a brief cameo.
81* CrowbarCombatant: Ford's weapon of choice..
82* CruelToBeKind: Chantarelle asking Buffy if she can't see that it's a beautiful day for them. Time to duck, because Buffy's not pulling any more punches: "What I see is that, right after the sun goes down, Spike and all of his friends are going to be pigging out at the all-you-can-eat moron bar."
83* CurbStompBattle: Time between vampire Ford rising from the grave and Buffy dusting him = a whopping six seconds.
84* CurseThatCures: Ford wants to be turned into a vampire because it would cure his cancer. Sadly, it would also "cure" him of a soul.
85* DealWithTheDevil: If Spike had really wanted Ford to live forever, he could have taken the body with him.
86* DeathByIrony: Ford wanted to become a vampire and be immortal because his cancer only gave him about six months to live. As soon as he becomes a vampire, he's immediately killed by Buffy, ending his life even faster than he estimated from what the cancer was doing to him.
87* DeathOfAChild: Averted. It looks like Drusilla is about to chow down on a young boy, but Angel shows up in time to rescue him.
88* DeathTrap: The Sunset Club. The handles have been cut off the metal doors, and the walls are three feet of solid concrete.
89* DissonantSerenity: Buffy's deadpan expression when staking Ford.
90* DoNotCallMePaul: Ford's flunky, Marvin. ("'''Diego!''' C'mon, man, it's Diego now!")
91* DoubleMeaning: Buffy asks Giles if [[ItNeverGetsAnyEasier it gets any easier]], then has to stake a vampire. Buffy then explains she means does Life get any easier, but the subtext of [[ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne her being a Slayer is obvious]].
92* DoYouTrustMe:
93-->'''Angel:''' Do you love me?\
94'''Buffy:''' What?\
95'''Angel:''' Do you?\
96'''Buffy:''' I love you. I don't know if I trust you.\
97'''Angel:''' Maybe you shouldn't do either.
98* DressesTheSame: Angel and a vampire groupie, to the former's embarrassment.
99* DrivenToVillainy: The injustice of his life ending so early was the impetus to Ford's evil. Contrary to what he says, however, Buffy insists that he ''does'' have a choice (albeit not a good one), and that nothing he says will make mass murder okay.
100* DudeWheresMyReward: Ford sticks his chin out and declares he fulfilled his end of the bargain, and Spike sneers that that's true. This is one of the series's most ambiguous moments.
101* EmergencyTransformation: Ford believes that it would be better to live as a vampire than to die riddled with tumors.
102* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: During the vampire feeding Buffy recovers, captures Dru and [[HumanShield holds a stake to her heart]]. She forces Spike to let the humans go; rather than let his lover be staked he does as the Slayer demands.
103* EvilIsNotAToy: Most of the wannabe vampires help Ford in his plan to become a vampire. When Spike arrives, he allows his minions to eat them. Averted with Ford, whom Spike turns.
104* ExactEavesdropping: Recognizing that if Drusilla and Spike remain in Sunnydale, a fight with them is inevitable, Angel tries to persuade her to leave town, to no avail. While Dru and Angel are talking, Buffy spies on them from a rooftop, sparking her curiosity and jealousy.
105** Marvin overhearing the Scoobies in the club.
106* ExactWords:
107** The lost boy telling Dru that he's not supposed to talk to people. Dru starts to snarl that she's not a person, but Angel spoils her hunt.
108** Ford makes a deal with Spike to turn Buffy over to him in exchange for being turned into a vampire. When Buffy ultimately escapes, Ford points out to Spike that even if Buffy got away, he still technically fulfilled his end of the bargain by delivering her to him; Spike agrees and turns him. However, when the vampires break out, they leave Ford's body to be found instead of taking it to their lair, thus he doesn't survive long as a vampire and they probably didn't expect him to.
109* {{Facepalm}}: Xander sitting next to Cordy in class, wearing with an expression that's somewhere between "If I look into your ear real hard, I can see the 'for rent' space in your brain" and "[[UsefulNotes/MarieAntoinette Decapitation]] would look real good on ''you'' right about now."
110* FailedAttemptAtDrama: Spike's reaction to Ford knowing his name ("Yeah I know who I am too, so what?") underlines how unimpressed he is with the twerp's opening gambit.
111** Angel's lookalike walking down the stairs just as Angel is making a very serious and important point about poseurs.
112* FalseReassurance: Chantarelle getting jittery on the eve of the big night. She asks if Ford really thinks the vamps will "bless" them. Ford smiles that he knows they will.
113* FlatWhat: Buffy trying to sell a story about two cats fighting, and Ford shrugging that he thought she was "just" slaying a vampire.
114-->'''Buffy:''' What? Whatting a what?
115** Later, this is Giles's reaction upon learning that Ford knows the secret. At first, he thinks Buffy has been using her Slayer status to impress cute boys, then she explains that Ford already figured it out on his own.
116** Also, Spike's reaction to Ford's fanboy behavior. Ford gets this a lot from people.
117* ForgottenFriendNewFoe: Practically spelled out in neon over Ford's head, particularly his knowledge that Buffy is the Slayer. It all seems too convenient, so the story is quick to unmask the character's evil intentions.
118* FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse: While Buffy is sympathetic to Ford's plight when he reveals his brain cancer, she still points out that [[ImmortalityImmorality he's willing to sacrifice innocents to Spike]] [[VampireVannabe in order to become a vampire]], and ''nothing'' will make that okay.
119-->'''Buffy''': Isn't this exactly how you imagined it? You tell me how you've suffered and I feel sorry for you. Well, I ''do'' feel sorry for you, and if those vampires come in here and start feeding, [[IllKillYou I'll]] ''[[IllKillYou kill you myself!]]''
120* GetOut: Angel offering Drusilla a one-time only opportunity to take Spike and clear out of town.
121
122* GigglingVillain: Ford, though he ends up [[DefinitelyJustACold hacking and coughing]] from the illness.
123* GoodIsNotSoft: Buffy has no problem with leaving Ford to die and later killing vampire Ford.
124* GraveMarkingScene: Buffy laying roses on Ford's grave while waiting to see if he rises.
125* GrievousHarmWithABody: The female vampire knocks Giles into Buffy, enabling her to escape the library with the book she's stealing. Later Buffy throws Drusilla into Spike to give her time to duck out the door.
126* GreenEyedMonster: All over the place; Ford incites jealousy in Xander and Angel. Xander is alarmed on hearing Angel was in Willow's bedroom. Neither Spike nor Buffy is happy that Drusilla met with Angel, while the female henchvamp appears to be jealous of Spike/Dru.
127* GutFeeling: Angel admitting that he does get jealous sometimes, but that his "gut" tells him Ford is a bad dude.
128* HalfTruth: Ford observing that Angel looks older than Buffy, to which Xander answers, "You're not wrong." Buffy introduces them, and Ford exclaims that Angel's hand is cold. Xander: "You're not wrong."
129** Buffy apologizing for beeping Giles during his date, and Giles telling her she did the right thing, a little too enthusiastically. Miss Calendar picks up on that, and says she thought monster trucks would be a change of pace, to which Giles mutters, "It was a change."
130* HeyWait: Willow very-obviously acting jumpy around Ford. Buffy tells her to "'fess up", then accuses her of drinking too much caffeine. Willow gives a strained fake laugh.
131* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Spike and his gang get trapped in the bomb shelter, so he can't chase after Buffy and the others.
132* HonorBeforeReason: Buffy refuses to kill Ford, who betrayed her, until after he becomes a vampire.
133* HypocriticalHumor: Angel railing on about how these kids don't know anything about vampires. "What they are, how they live, how they dress!" At that moment, a dude dressed in exactly the same outfit as Angel walks by. Angel {{ahem}}s, and Xander and Willow share a smirk.
134* IGaveMyWord: Ford challenges Spike to turn him into a vampire in exchange for the Slayer. Well Ford delivered, and when Buffy threatens Dru and escapes he again brings it up. The episode ends with us finding out that Spike did indeed keep his word.
135* IHaveToIronMyDog: Buffy covering for a vamp attack by asking Ford to fetch her purse, which she "left back at the Bronze."
136** "I-I-I'm gonna do work in the computer lab on school work that I have, so I cannot hang just now. Hi, Ford."
137** Giles saying he's going out that evening, and giving Buffy Miss Calendar's beeper number, in case she needs "study help."
138* IHaveYouNowMyPretty: Spike [[DramaticNecklaceRemoval tearing off Chanterelle's choker]], presumably for Dru to wear instead.
139* IllKillYou: Buffy to Ford after he reveals his full plan; she ''does'' feel for him, but she'll still kill him if he throws all those people's lives away.
140* ImmortalityImmorality: Ford is dying from a "nest" of brain tumors, and thus makes a deal with Spike to hand Buffy over to him, as well as the {{Vampire Vannabe}}s in the Sunset Club, in exchange for being turned into a vampire and becoming immortal. While Buffy is sympathetic to his plight, she states outright that Ford's motivations and desperation to live do ''not'' excuse his actions.
141* ImplausibleDeniability: Chanterelle noticing that Willow and her friends are newbies at the Sunset Club.
142-->'''Willow''': "Oh, no! We come here... often."
143** Poor Giles. The extremes he'll go to for love.
144--->"Uh, honestly, I've ''always'' been interested in, uh...monster trucks."
145* ImpossiblyTackyClothes: Diego seems to be aiming for "ManOfWealthAndTaste", hence the bowtie, frilled shirt, and cape which looks borrowed from a failed [=LARPer=].
146** Lampshaded by Buffy.
147* InSeriesNickname: Billy "Ford" Fordham.
148* ImprobableInfantSurvival: Drusilla slinks up to a child left unattended, but Angel steps between them and sends the boy packing.
149* {{It Has Only Just Begun}}:
150-->'''Angel:''' This can't go on, Drusilla. It's gotta end.\
151'''Drusilla:''' Oh, no, my pet. This is just the beginning.
152* InnocentInnuendo: Giles is unsure about Jenny's "surprise" for him, but finally stammers, "Alright, I put myself in your hands."
153-->'''Jenny''': That sounds like fun.
154** Buffy moped over Ford for months, and would sit in her room listening to "[[SongsOfSolace I Touch Myself]]" by the Divinyls. She wisely shifts gears by saying she had no idea [[IntercourseWithYou what the song was about]].
155* ItNeverGetsAnyEasier:
156-->'''Buffy:''' Does it ever get easy?
157-->'''Giles:''' You mean life?
158-->'''Buffy:''' Yeah? Does it get easy?
159-->'''Giles:''' What do you want me to say?
160-->'''Buffy:''' [[TitleDrop Lie to me.]]
161-->'''Giles:''' Yes, it's terribly simple. The good guys are always stalwart and true, the bad guys are easily distinguished by their pointy horns or black hats, and we always defeat them and save the day. No one ever dies, and everybody lives happily ever after.
162-->'''Buffy:''' Liar.
163* ItsProbablyNothing: Willow discovering that Ford isn't actually registered at Sunnydale High.
164-->'''Willow:''' I-it's probably nothing.\
165'''Angel''': That'd be nice.
166* JackBauerInterrogationTechnique: Ford kneeling over Julia and menacing her with a stake and cross.
167* JoeSentMe: Angel knocking on the entrance door to the club. The viewport slides open, and Angel gain entry by claiming they're friends of Ford's.
168* KirkSummation: Buffy tries to convince her friend that vampires are nothing but demons inhabiting corpses, but Ford does not care and says it's better than nothing. When she turns to warn the others, Ford shuts her up by hitting her in the back with a crowbar.
169* LateToThePunchline: Willow finally figures out what the song "I Touch Myself" is about.
170* LeaveHimToMe: When the vampires burst into the Sunset Club, Spike orders his mooks to kill the others, but to leave the Slayer for him.
171* LiesToChildren: Giles on life. In fairness, Buffy asked him to do it.
172* LinkedListClueMethodology: Willow expositing that all her searches on Ford turned up was an address, the "Sunset Club."
173* LogicalWeakness: Ford knew he couldn't defeat a Slayer with strength and so devised a way to lock her in his club. Once the doors are shut, not even someone with supernatural strength can break out.
174* LoveConfession: Although it's been apparent for some time, Buffy actually says outright that she loves Angel when he asks her before telling her Drusilla's history.
175* TheMasqueradeWillKillYourDatingLife: Buffy breaks the news that Ford knows she's the Slayer.
176-->'''Giles''': You are not, by any chance, betraying your {{secret identity}} just to impress cute boys, are you?
177* MayDecemberRomance: [[ParodiedTrope Lampooned]] by Ford, who half-jokes that he wouldn't compromise his sixth-grade status by dating a fifth-grader.
178* MidSeasonTwist: Angel sired Drusilla. And he not only sired her, he also drove her insane.
179* TheMovieBuff: Ford mapped out his entire story as if it were a movie, from the cheesy lines he makes Spike recite, or in his expectation that Buffy will completely understand and perhaps even accept his plan once she learns of his condition.
180* MurderByInaction: When Buffy beats Spike and saves the teens, she locks an unconscious Ford in the club with the vampires.
181* MustBeInvited: Willow has to invite Angel in before he can enter her bedroom. He asks Buffy's permission too, and explains he's just being polite, given that she gave it to him back in Season One.
182* NeckLift[=/=]PerpSweating: Buffy starts to tell Ford that vamps are kind of picky about who they sire -- then realizes that Ford meant to offer her up in exchange. None to happy with that she hoists him by the throat and shoves him against the wall.
183-->'''Ford:''' I don't think I wanna talk anymore.\
184''(Buffy grabs him by the throat and shoves him up against a pillar)''\
185'''Buffy:''' Yeah, well, I still feel awfully chatty!
186* NervesOfSteel: SecretlyDying has given Ford some balls. He doesn't show any fear of Spike, which is either bravery or deep, deep stupidity.
187* NoOneCouldHaveSurvivedThat: Giles identifying Drusilla as a "sometime paramour of Spike's" who was killed by an angry mob in Prague. Buffy notes that they don't make angry mobs like they used to.
188* NoodleIncident: The Oreos. Also, Willow slyly saying that Ford was telling them about the "ninth-grade swimsuit competition."
189-->'''Buffy''' The more people you tell, the more people I have to kill.
190* NotEvilJustMisunderstood: Chantarelle welcoming the Scoobies to her posse, saying it's cool they're interested in "the Lonely Ones." Willow isn't familiar with the term, but a bored Angel reappears and says that she's referring to vampires.
191-->'''Xander:''' Oh! We usually call them the 'nasty pointy bitey-ones'."\
192'''Chantarelle:''' So many people have that misconception. But They Who Walk With the Night are not interested in harming ''anyone''!
193* NotSoDifferentRemark: Invoked by Ford. Buffy isn't buying it, though.
194-->'''Ford:''' Too many people, they just lay back and take it. But us...\
195'''Buffy:''' ''Us?'' We have something in common now?\
196'''Ford:''' More than you think.
197* NotWhatItLooksLike: Buffy spying on Angel and Drusilla, whom she assumes are sharing some sort of tryst.
198* OhCrap: Buffy roughs Ford up, saying he must have known she would figure it all out. He brings everyone onto the same page by laughing that he was "counting on it."
199** "Where's the doorknob?"
200* OfCorsetsSexy: Chanterelle wears one for her vampire outfit.
201* OrbitalShot: When Ford is inviting Buffy to come into his trap.
202* ParrotExpowhat:
203-->'''Ford''': [walks up behind Buffy, who has just slain a vamp] What's going on?\
204'''Buffy''': Um, uh... there was a-a cat. A cat here. And um, uh, then there was a-another cat. And they fought. The cats. And... then they left.\
205'''Ford''': Oh. I thought you were just slaying a vampire.\
206'''Buffy''': What? What-ing a what?
207* PassingNotesInClass: Buffy and Willow are amusingly passing notes in class discussing what Buffy saw on the roof.
208* PetTheDog: Spike is willing to give up the giftwrapped opportunity to kill Buffy and allows the humans to walk free because Buffy points a stake at Drusilla's heart.
209* PoliticalOvercorrectness: Angel flatly calling Chantarelle stupid. Hurt, she chides him for being "confrontational" and says that "other viewpoints than yours may be valid, you know."
210* PreMortemOneLiner: Dru reciting her "Run and Catch" nursery rhyme for the first time. "What will ''your'' mummy sing when they find your body?"
211* PretenderDiss: Angel is investigating a club full of [[VampireWannabe vampire wannabes]], bemoaning the fact that these teenagers don't know anything about vampires, from the way they act to the way they dress. [[HypocriticalHumor Cue a wannabe brushing past him wearing exactly the same clothes as Angel]].
212* PromiseMeYouWontX: Angel asks Willow to check Ford's background. Willow asks not to be bitten for saying he's just being jealous.
213* PutDownYourGunAndStepAway: "Now you let everybody out, or your girlfriend fits in an ashtray."
214* ReReleaseSoundtrack: The original airing included a song by Music/TheSistersOfMercy which was removed for subsequent re-airings and the home versions. The exact reason has never been made clear, it's been suggested that it was either a licensing issue or the band objecting to the use of their music.
215* TheReveal: "Couple more days, and we'll get to do the two things every American teen should have the chance to do: die young, and stay pretty."
216* RewatchBonus: You can see Beljoxa's Eye on a mural behind Ford and Buffy. Beljoxa's Eye plays a pivotal role in season seven's "[[{{Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS7E11Showtime}} Showtime]]".
217* RuleOfSymbolism: As Buffy talks with Angel over coffee, the camera switches to a view from outside the open window, with both characters separated by a table. We're to understand here that when Angel warns that Buffy shouldn't trust Ford, he's also referring to himself.
218* SawStarWars27Times: Ford lip-syncing along with Creator/JackPalance.
219* SecretlyDying: Ford's been in constant agony from "nest of tumors" in his brain the whole time.
220* SecretSecretKeeper: To Buffy's confusion, Ford already knew she was the Slayer, having figured it out when they were at Hemery.
221* ShapedLikeItself: Jenny keeping the details of her date with Giles a "secret."
222-->'''Giles:''' ''(suspiciously)'' What ''kind'' of a secret?\
223'''Jenny''': The kind that's secret. You know, where I don't actually tell you what it is.
224* ShoutOut:
225** Ford's line "die young and stay pretty" is a reference to the line "live fast, die young and leave a beautiful corpse" from Creator/HumphreyBogart's 1949 film ''Knock on Any Door''. Creator/JamesDean also quoted the line in an interview shortly before his death.
226** Xander calls Angel "Bossy the Cow", one of the characters featured in a ''Series/SesameStreet'' sketch.
227** The movie playing at the Sunset Club is Dan Curtis's 1973 television adaption of ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'', starring Creator/JackPalance. Ford is able to quote along with it from memory.
228* ShutUpHannibal: Ford is going to hand Buffy and a bunch of innocent people over to Spike in exchange for being made a vampire. He gives Buffy a long speech about how he's dying and in pain. Buffy listens, and tells him she feels sorry for him... but if he goes through with it, she'll kill him herself. Commence ass-kicking.
229* ShutUpKirk: Buffy tells Ford that becoming a vampire isn't what he thinks it is, that [[MonsterFromBeyondTheVeil the real him will die and a demon will possess his corpse]], but Ford tells her he doesn't care, since he's already dying from brain cancer and has nothing to lose either way.
230* SidetrackedByTheAnalogy: Xander and Willow contrasting their own colorful duds with the gloomy club atmosphere, and determining that they stick out like sore thumbs.
231-->'''Willow:''' Do they stick out? I mean, have you ever seen a thumb and gone, 'Wow! That baby is sore!'\
232'''Xander:''' You have too many thoughts.
233* SixthRangerTraitor: Ford being thrown into the group dynamic does make for some interesting tension.
234-->'''Xander:''' ''(as Buffy)'' This is Ford, my bestest friend of all my friends! ''(as himself)'' Geez, doesn't she know any fat guys?
235* SmashCut: Buffy sadly making plans to retrieve Ford's body. We cut back to the club interior, where Ford lies dead and the vamps have flown the coop.
236* TheSocialDarwinist: Ford, gesturing below the catwalk, says that the "others" are just sheep, and want to be vampires because they're lonely, miserable or bored. He, on the other hand, is on the precipice of becoming immortal.
237* StalkerWithACrush: Angel shows up at the Bronze and even claims that he was hoping Buffy would show despite the fact that Buffy often attends with Xander and Willow.
238* StealthHiBye: Angel.
239-->'''Willow:''' ''(to Xander)'' See, you made him do that thing where he's gone.
240* StealthInsult: Ford asking if he'd be imposing on the gang at the Bronze. Xander, mock-sweetly: "Oh, only in the literal sense."
241* StealthPun: After Giles’s monologue about good guys and bad guys, the screen goes to dark and Joss’s executive producer credit pops up, and we hear Buffy reply "liar."
242* SwissCheeseSecurity: Spike bemoans his poor security when he discovers Ford gawking at his "cool" lair.
243** When Buffy crashes his party, Ford mutters to Diego that it's "drafty." Subverted, as this is code for "seal the doors."
244* SympathyForTheDevil: Subverted with Ford. To his surprise, Buffy astutely grits out that his confession is just another phase to his "fantasy drama," and refuses to play along.
245* TapOnTheHead: Buffy grabbing Ford's crowbar arm in mid-swing, sending him into a wall.
246* TemptingFate: Willow thinks it's "neat" that Ford kept her secret, and Buffy agrees, because now she can relax around him. In a lovely ironic transition, we fade to Ford knocking on the door of the Sunset Club.
247** Ford searches for a word to describe the town, and Buffy suggests "dull." He agrees, but upon seeing two vampires hurrying near the school, he changes his mind.
248* ThereAreNoCoincidences: It is a pretty big coincidence, Ford knowing that Buffy's the Slayer and then "moving" to Sunnydale.
249* ThisMeansWar: The way the ColdOpen is framed gives a sense of two emissaries having just discussed terms for war.
250* ThisIsThePartWhere: Ford blathering about some action movie convention where Spike is supposed to "take out a watch" and give Ford thirty seconds to convince him not to kill him.
251-->'''Ford''': Oh, c'mon! Say it! It's no fun if you don't say it.\
252'''Spike''': What...? ''(exasperated sigh)'' You've got thirty seconds to convince me not to kill you.\
253'''Ford''': [[BigYes Yes!]] See, this is the best.
254** "It's already happening."
255* TitleDrop: Giles and Buffy in the epilogue.
256-->'''Giles:''' What do you want me to say?\
257'''Buffy:''' Lie to me.
258* TooDumbToLive: Billy Fordham. Want to cure your cancer? All you have to do is ask some nice vampires to turn you into a vampire in exchange for giving them the Slayer. Nothing wrong with this plan AT ALL. Somewhat justified in that he was dying anyway and had nothing to lose, but his plan was flawed and ultimately he ended up staked.
259* TheTriple: Xander saying Buffy needs cheering up, and suggests a "crazed dance party at the Bronze." Buffy doesn't reply, and he downgrades that to "very calm dance party at the Bronze," finishing with "moping at the Bronze."
260* TroubleEntendre: Ford inviting Buffy into his trap. He says he has a surprise for her, and she neutrally says she likes surprises. They agree to meet at the school at nine. He leans in and tells her it will be fun, and walks away. After a beat, she does the same. (We later discover that Ford already knows she's onto him.)
261* UnwantedAssistance: Giles picking up on Buffy's somber mood and offering her the night off, which causes her face to brighten. He immediately undoes his good work, however, by suggesting that she spend some time with Angel.
262* UnwantedRescue: Buffy starts to say what will happen to the kids, but they pipe up that they'll be changed, and it's what they want.
263* VampiresOwnNightClubs: Or their fans do, at least.
264* VampireVannabe: Ford, Diego, Chantarelle and the rest of the "true believers," though only Ford knows what vamps are all about.
265* VerbThis: Spike says he's known Ford two minutes and he ''already'' can't stand him, and that he doesn't "feature" Ford living forever. Ford shoots back, "Feature ''this''," and offers Spike a trade.
266* WakeupMakeup: When Angel comes over to Willow's, she's wearing freshly-applied lipstick, even though she was just about to go to bed.
267* WalkInChimeIn: Ford is reassuring his followers that the vampires will turn up as planned. "It's gonna be fine." Buffy suddenly appears at the top of the stairs. "No. It's really not."
268* WouldHitAGirl: Ford swinging a crowbar at Buffy, knocking her down the stairs. He advances on her and hits her again, but is interrupted by Spike at the door.
269* WouldHurtAChild: Drusilla: "What will your mummy sing when they find your body?" Fortunately, Angel intervenes.
270* YouHaveFailedMe: Simultaneously subverting this and an "ILied" moment: Spike detests Ford and he has no reason to honor his agreement and very good reasons not to.
271-->'''Ford''': ''(dazed)'' What happened?\
272'''Spike''': We're stuck in a basement.\
273'''Ford''': Buffy?\
274'''Spike''': She's '''not''' stuck in the basement.
275** That he did in fact turn him after all is only revealed at the very end when Ford rises and is immediately staked.
276* YourCostumeNeedsWork: Angel pulls this on ''himself'' when complaining about vampire fanboys, saying that they can never get the right look to appear genuine. Right on cue, a fanboy dressed identical to Angel walks by.
277* YourDaysAreNumbered: During his MotiveRant, Ford reveals his brain cancer, and he has, at best, six months left to live.
278* YourVampiresSuck: Angel grouses at moderate length about the kids' misapprehensions about vampires, including how they dress...only to have one of the groupies push past him wearing his exact outfit.

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