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1[[quoteright:330:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/buffy_loverswalk_8958.jpg]][[caption-width-right:330:Yes, [[VillainOverForDinner Joyce did just have hot chocolate with Spike]].]]
2
3->''"You're ''not'' friends. You'll never be friends. You'll be in love 'til it kills you both. You'll [[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E20TheProm fight]], and you'll [[Recap/AngelS01E08IWillRememberYou shag]], and you'll [[Recap/AngelS01E19Sanctuary hate each other]] 'til it makes you quiver, but you'll never be "friends." Love isn't brains, children, it's blood. Blood screaming inside you to work its will. I may be love's bitch, but at least [[AtLeastIAdmitIt I'm man enough to admit it]]."''
4-->--'''Spike'''
5
6Directed by Creator/DavidSemel
7
8Written by Creator/DanVebber, Creator/JaneEspenson, & Creator/DouglasPetrie
9
10The SAT results are in. Buffy looks positively shaken; her SAT score is a whopping 1430. The gang thinks that these scores could change Buffy's future. Buffy admits that it feels weird, because she was never sure she'd even have a future. Cordy smiles hugely because they enable Buffy "to [[FreudianSlip leave and never come back!]]" Everyone turns to look at her.
11
12->"...Well, I mean that in a positive way. Get out of Sunnydale -- that's a good thing. [[TemptingFate What kind of moron]] [[WhoWouldBeStupidEnough would ever want to come back]] ''here''?"
13
14Cut to the "Welcome to Sunnydale" sign getting mowed down by a car ([[RunningGag again]]). We all know who the moron in question is. A bottle of liquor shatters on the pavement, and then Spike tumbles out.
15
16->"[[MeaningfulEcho Home...hee hee!...sweet home!]]" ''(passes out)''
17
18Xander and Willow are having second thoughts about going on a double-date; Willow is concerned that Oz and Cordelia will notice the sexual pull between her and Xander. Xander tells her that he wishes that they could [[StupidSexyFriend just get rid of their feelings of lust]].
19
20Spike visits the magic shop during the daytime. We figure out that he means to curse Angel, and settles on leprosy as his preferred method. ("We don't carry leprosy.") Willow coincidentally enters with a shopping list. The storekeeper recognizes it as the ingredients for a [[LovePotion love spell]], but Willow explains that she wants the opposite effect. Once she leaves, Spike comes out of hiding and kills the shopkeeper, having decided that a love spell to make Drusilla love him again is an even better idea.
21
22City Hall. Mayor Wilkins is playing golf in his office when his deputy alerts him to Spike's return. Wilkins agrees that they organize and send a "[[TroubleEntendre committee]]" to deal with the problem.
23
24In the school chemistry lab, Willow is working on the anti-love spell while Xander expresses strong reservations about the idea. Spike shows up and clobbers Xander, then announces that he needs to borrow Willow for a while. He drags Willow and the unconscious Xander back to the factory, where he demands that Willow perform a love spell for him. Willow stalls by saying she needs a spellbook.
25
26Back at school, the Scoobies find the chem lab torn up and Willow and Xander missing. Buffy starts to load up on weapons, but the phone rings; It's her mom. Buffy tries to beg off, but then hears Spike's voice in the background. "Hello, Joyce!"
27
28Summers home. Joyce pours Spike some hot chocolate (!) as he relates his sob story. Angel comes strolling through the neighborhood. He spots the couple talking in the kitchen and immediately makes a run for the doorway, but is stopped by the [[MustBeInvited invisible barrier]]. Joyce, still under the impression that Angel is evil, orders him to leave. Buffy arrives and spoils his fun, then, (finally) invites Angel in. Joyce is confused at this role reversal. Spike gloats he's got their friends, and they had better help Spike if they want to see Willow and Xander alive.
29
30Spike whines about sobering up as he leads Angel and Buffy to the magic shop. The couple act smug over Spike's gin-soaked misery, but Spike says they're one to talk, pointing out that the last time he saw Buffy and Angel, they were fighting to the death; Now they're making "[[LongingLook googly eyes]]" at each other. Buffy parrots that they're JustFriends, but Spike torpedoes that notion in one of the most famous speeches the show ever had.
31
32Oz and Cordelia drive off to fetch Giles. Oz suddenly swerves around when he detects Willow's scent in the air ("a residual werewolf thing"). Back at the factory, Xander wakes up to find that he and Willow are locked in a basement. Deciding that [[MustNotDieAVirgin the high probability of death]] is a mitigating factor, the pair of them start kissing and do we even remotely need to tell you who shows up at at moment? Cordelia looks sick and runs for the exit, but the stairs give way. Xander rushes over to see her lying face up on some rubble. She manages, "I fell." The camera pans down to show that she's been impaled on rebar.
33
34As they leave with the needed supplies for Spike's spell, Buffy, Angel and Spike are surrounded by the "committee" of vampires sent by Wilkins. The three of them get herded back inside the magic shop, then barricade the windows, but it's no use. Lenny reaches Spike and laments that he's gone soft. Wrong thing to say, I'm guessing. Spike repeatedly hammers Lenny's head against a table before staking him. Buffy and Angel let fly some vials of holy water. Repulsed, the vamps flee. Spike's elated to have had a good fight. Buffy asks about the spell. Spike shrugs.
35
36->"Sod the spell. [[MundaneSolution Your friends are at the factory.]]"
37
38Buffy gives him an "I can't believe I'm so dumb" look. Spike jauntily says that all he needs to get Dru back is to quit whining and to be the man he was. He strolls out.
39
40Back at the factory, Xander kneels over Cordelia, rebar sticking through her torso, as she loses consciousness. Cut to a cemetery, where a funeral service is being performed. Buffy and Willow walk on by, chatting about how Cordelia survived the fall and is in the hospital. ([[FakeKillScare Not cool]], Creator/MutantEnemy.) Willow whimpers that Oz is refusing to talk to her, and Buffy suggests time and groveling. Speaking of which: Xander, huge bouquet of flowers in hand, knocks on the door to Cordy's hospital room. "Stay away from me," comes the reply. Ice cold and totally right.
41
42Buffy visits Angel, and tells him that they are not friends; she explains that she's not coming back, as he doesn't need her help anymore. Angel protests, and Buffy tells him that the only way they can see each other is if Angel can say that he doesn't love her, something he cannot do.
43
44The next day, Spike drives off, feeling like a new man and singing "My Way".
45
46!!Tropes
47* AesopAmnesia: Buffy is frank with Giles over how she intends to visit Angel (though she is still in denial over the reasons) having learnt her lesson from "Revelations". However she's decided not to let Joyce know that Angel is back and no longer evil, which could have had serious consequences had Spike's motives been more sinister. Averted with Xander who knows first hand the dangers of love spells, and so objects to Willow using similar magic to solve their problem.
48* AffectionateGestureToTheHead: Xander strokes Willow hair, then jumps away when Oz and Cordelia walk up. Oz then strokes Willow's hair, causing her to shift guiltily. Spike strokes Willow's hair in an IHaveYouNowMyPretty moment, and Xander strokes Cordelia's hair as she lies impaled by the rebar.
49* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: Angel and Buffy being blackmailed into saving Spike's ass. Props to Spike for using a nonexistent bargaining chip, though.
50* AnswerCut:
51** "What kind of moron would ever want to come back--" [VROOM!] [SMASH!] ..Oh.
52** Joyce continues to push the idea of college. "I mean, honestly, is there anything keeping you here?" Cut to Angel.
53* AntiClimaxCut: Buffy is talking to Joyce on the phone when she hears Spike speaking on the other end. Buffy rushes out without replacing the phone; cut to [[DidWeJustHaveTeaWithCthulhu Joyce pouring hot cocoa]] for Spike and providing a sympathetic ear while he moans on about being ditched by his girlfriend.
54* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: Willow insists that even a bowling alley won't suppress her and Xander's hormones. "[[JustLikeMakingLove It's a very intimate situation!]] It's all sexy with the smoke, and the sweating, and the shoe rental..."
55-->'''Xander:''' You're [[GeekyTurnOn turned on by rented shoes?]]\
56'''Willow:''' That's not the issue.
57* AtLeastIAdmitIt: Drusilla breaking up with Spike has left him a complete drunken wreck - but he still gets to snark at Buffy and Angel's attempts to pretend that they're JustFriends now. "I might be Love's Bitch, but at least I'm man enough to admit it."
58* BadCopIncompetentCop: The Mayor's aide makes a reference to the police having to cover up the murder of the Magic Shop storekeeper, showing that it's not just SunnydaleSyndrome that keeps a lid on things.
59* TheBadGuyWins: The episode ends with all three main couples (Buffy/Angel, Xander/Cordelia and Willow/Oz) breaking up, Cordelia gets impaled and almost dies (there's even a tease cut to a funeral in-progress, only for Buffy and Willow to walk past talking about how she'll recover), and Spike, having gotten over his intense depression/drinking problem and gaining a new lease on (non)life, gets away scot-free, driving off into the sunset to "torture [Drusilla] until she likes me again".
60* BaitAndSwitch: Cordelia falls through a stairway and is impaled on a piece of rebar. There's a sad scene of her getting weaker and passing out, played out exactly as if she were dying. Cut to a funeral service being held at an open grave... and then the camera pans away to show Buffy and Willow walking past the Cemetary chatting about how Cordelia survived.
61* BastardlySpeech: Joyce sides against Angel with Spike, who keeps making like he's going to bite her neck.
62-->'''Joyce:''' ''[to Angel]'' You get out of this house, or I will stake you myself!
63-->'''Spike:''' You're a very bad man.
64* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Suffering from a bad hangover, Spike moans "I wish I was dead." Buffy immediately goes to stake him before Angel stops her.
65* BenevolentBoss vs. BadBoss: The leader of the henchvamps sent after Spike used to work for him. Spike asks Lenny how he's doing. Lenny replies, "Better since you left."
66* BetterAsFriends: [[DeconstructedTrope Deconstructed]] by Spike.
67* BigShutUp: Angel needles that Spike's going to a lot of trouble for the sake of the fickle Drusilla. Wrong thing to say, Lothario. Spike lunges and socks Angel in the face.
68* BittersweetEnding: On one hand, every single Scooby breaks up with their respective love interest. On the other hand, an ending where Spike is back to his old self and triumphantly singing "My Way" can't be that big of a downer, can it?
69* TheBGrade: Willow grouses over receiving a 'pathetic' 740 on Verbal, while Xander notes that her Verbal score closely resembles his combined scores.
70* BloodKnight: Spike feels a lot better after their fight with the vampires.
71* BookEnds: Spike gloomily sings "My Way", originally performed by Music/FrankSinatra, as he wanders around his old haunts. When he is "back to his old self," he sings the Creator/GaryOldman version from the ''Sid & Nancy'' soundtrack. (The characters Spike and Drusilla were fashioned after Sid and Nancy). Spike was ''supposed'' to be singing along to the Music/SexPistols, but they couldn't obtain the rights.
72* BowlingForRatings: Both Xander and Willow beg their respective dates to join the other couple for bowling night. [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] as it's just a ploy to throw attention off Xander and Willow's infidelities, and the date never happens.
73* BreadEggsMilkSquick: Spike sniffles that he gave Drusilla everything: "beautiful jewels, beautiful dresses, with beautiful girls in them!"
74* BrickJoke: The argument involving Spike, Dru and the Chaos Demon is shown in "[[{{Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS5E7FoolForLove}} Fool For Love]]". And the BlackComedy of an unwilling Willow giving support to a depressed Spike is repeated in "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS4E7TheInitiative The Initiative]]" in Season 4. On that occasion [[spoiler:Willow is the one who's just been dumped, so Spike assures her she's still appealing to him, referring to the fuzzy pink sweater she wore in this episode]].
75* BrainlessBeauty: Lampshaded when Xander jokes about Cordelia's high SAT scores.
76-->'''Xander:''' Well, I'm just worried it may hurt my standing as campus stud when people find out I'm dating a brain.
77-->'''Cordelia:''' Please. I have ''some'' experience in covering these things up.
78* CallBack:
79** Spike's entrance is identical to his first appearance in "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS2E3SchoolHard School Hard]]", right down to the line reading ("Home...sweet...home! *hic*") and one of the Scoobies TemptingFate beforehand.
80** The scene with Spike and Joyce plays the same as in "[[{{Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS2E22BecomingPart2}} Becoming, Part 2]]", except with Spike and Angel swapping roles. In both episodes, Joyce is left stammering and totally confused as to what's going on.
81** Spike's line about being "love's bitch" calls back to Platt's advice to Buffy in "[[{{Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E4BeautyAndTheBeasts}} Beauty and the Beasts]]":
82-->'''Platt:''' Love becomes your master, and you're just... its dog.
83* CannotConveySarcasm: As he peruses Willow's test scores, Oz mimics Xander's reaction: "Well, I can see why you'd be upset." At Willow's nod, he plaintively tells everyone "That was my sarcastic voice."
84-->'''Xander:''' You know, it sounds a lot like your regular voice.\
85'''Oz:''' I've been told that.
86** Alternately, this being Oz, he is in a constant state of sarcasm.
87* CasualKink: Xander finds a black feather among Willow's spell ingredients and starts to tickle her with it. Willow enjoys it for a moment before realising she's got to focus.
88* [[ChekhovsGun Chekhov's Door]]: During the Magic Shop siege, a vamp comes in through the back door. Maybe Spike should have anticipated that, considering that he did the same thing earlier in the episode.
89* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Spike confiding to Willow that Dru didn't even have the [[NotWorthKilling courtesy of chopping his head off, or setting him on fire]]. "I mean, is that too much to ask, you know?! Some ''little'' sign that she cared!"
90** "Xander's a witch?"
91* ContinuityDrift: Spike returns to Sunnydale drunk, despite it being established later that Vampires are immune to the effects of alcohol. Specifically, it's not that they're immune, just that they have a much higher tolerance for it and it takes considerably more alcohol to get them drunk compared to humans.
92* ContinuityNod
93** Angel's doors are still boarded up from when [[{{Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E7Revelations}} two skinny chicks fell through them.]]
94** Spike's old factory haunt is burned down from the events of "[[{{Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS2E17Passion}} Passion]]" (Drusilla's charred doll collection is still lying beside the bed).
95** Outside Angel's mansion, Spike starts a drunken rant about how he and Dru were happy until Angel brainwashed her. He later confesses that Dru dumped him [[{{Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS2E22BecomingPart2}} for coming to Buffy's aid.]]
96** A testy Xander reminds Willow about [[{{Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS2E16BewitchedBotheredAndBewildered}} his dodgy history with love spells]].
97** Angel still isn't allowed back into the Summers house after Buffy [[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS2E17Passion "changed the locks"]] to keep him out; she lets him back in when she has to face Spike.
98* CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot: Buffy is ''not happy'' when she learns that she correctly guessed where Xander and Willow were hidden at the start, and she could've just killed Spike instead of being forced to help him.
99* CulturedBadass: Angel is seen reading ''La Nausée'', [[ContemplateOurNavels Sartre’s book on existentialism]].
100* DeadpanSnarker: Buffy saying "I guess you had to be there" in response to Spike [[ReminiscingAboutYourVictims reminiscing about he and Dru murdering a homeless guy]].
101* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Spike's temporary alliance with Buffy = infidelity. ("I told her [[ItDoesntMeanAnything it didn't mean anything]], I was thinking of her the whole time, but she didn't care.") [[spoiler: A flashback scene in "Fool for Love" shows us that Drusilla isn't wrong to think this; as a {{seer|s}} she can tell Spike [[FoeRomanceSubtext is falling in love with Buffy]] long before he realises it.]]
102* TheDoorSlamsYou: As the vamps rush the shop, Angel barricades a door with his body, but is comically flattened as the horde charges in.
103* DrowningMySorrows: Spike is thoroughly sloshed. He sobers up once he experiences the thrill of the kill.
104* EmbarrassingRescue: Willow and Xander kiss, and the camera pans around to Oz and Cordy coming down the stairs.
105* EnemyMine: This is the only occasion where we see the Big Three (Buffy, Angel and Spike) fighting side-by-side-by-side, and it's noticable that they're actually quite good at it.
106* EnvironmentalSymbolism: Willow is very prominent in the photos of Xander in Cordelia's locker.
107* EvilerThanThou: Mayor Wilkins has enjoyed Spike's antics in the past, but can't risk him running loose this year.
108* EurekaMoment: Willow gets a bright idea from Xander wishing he could erase his lust for her. Spike comes to the opposite conclusion when he overhears Willow buying ingredients for a love spell.
109* EyeOfNewt: Or Eye of Rat.
110-->'''Buffy:''' Spike can get those.
111* FakeKillScare: Shameless. Absolutely shameless.
112* {{Fanservice}}: Buffy jumping rope in a low-cut top.
113* FoolForLove: But [[AtLeastIAdmitIt at least he admits it]].
114* {{Foreshadowing}}:
115** This is the first time (but not the last) that Willow uses magic as a 'quick fix' for a relationship problem, and without the consent of the affected party.
116** Spike's ability to read the Scoobies (particularly Buffy) is a skill he'll use for good and ill in future seasons.
117** Spike's description of Bangel ("You'll fight, and you'll shag, and you'll hate each other 'til it makes you quiver, but you'll never be 'friends'") is taken up to eleven with [[spoiler: Spuffy, even down to Spike being the only one "man enough to admit it", as Buffy repeatedly denies their relationship.]]
118** Spike's BloodKnight enthusiasm for a good fight beside Angel and Buffy against an attacking pack of vampires predicts Spike's future willingness to [[spoiler: fight demons for fun beside the Scoobies once Spike is no longer able to attack humans.]]
119** Cordelia's {{subtext}} in being delighted that Buffy can now leave Sunnydale comes into the open in the next episode, [[spoiler: when she [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor wishes Buffy had never come there in the first place]].]]
120** Cordelia's remark about Buffy leaving Sunnydale and never coming back prove prophetic [[spoiler: of her own fate, [[Series/{{Angel}} as she leaves for Los Angeles at the end of the season]] [[LongBusTrip and never returns]].]]
121* FriendOrFoe: Joyce siding against Angel with Spike, who keeps making like he's going to bite her neck.
122-->'''Joyce:''' [to Angel] You get out of this house, or I will stake you myself!\
123'''Spike:''' [[BastardlySpeech You're a very bad man.]]
124* FriendshipDenial: Buffy and Angel try to act like they're JustFriends, but Spike calls them on it, telling them they'll never be just friends. Buffy is forced to acknowledge that Spike's right, and tells Angel as such near the end:
125-->'''Buffy'''': We're not friends. We never were.
126* FuneralCut: Subverted when Cordelia gets impaled on a rebar during an action scene. Cut to a funeral in the distance, then Buffy & Willow enter the scene from screen left, {{Walk And Talk}}ing about how Cordelia is in the hospital but going to be OK.
127* FunnyBackgroundEvent: Spike pulling Creator/BelaLugosi imitations behind Joyce's back.
128* GeniusDitz: Cordelia may be blunt and tactless but she apparently scored highly on her [=SATs=].
129* GrievousBottleyHarm: Willow promises she'll "try" to perform the spell for Spike. Wrong choice of verb. Spike breaks the bottle he's been drinking from and points the jagged glass at Willow's face. He menaces that she'd better come through with the spell, or he'll shove it into her brain.
130* HealItWithBooze: Spike passes out dead-drunk after [[DrowningMySorrows his break-up with Drusilla]]. He's woken up the next day when the rising sun sets his hand on fire, so he dunks it in a fountain and flees for his car, where he retrieves a bottle of bourbon among a pile of empties, drenches the injury causing him to shout in pain again, then drinks from the bottle. "[[HumiliationConga This is just too much]]."
131* HolyBurnsEvil: Fortunately a shelf of the Magic Shop is well stocked with vials of holy water; a barrage sends the vampires fleeing for good.
132* HostageForMacguffin: Spike initially threatens to kill Xander if Willow doesn't toe the line with him. He graduates to blackmailing Buffy and Angel, though (unbeknown to Spike) [[SubvertedTrope his hostages have already been freed]].
133** And this trouble for a spell that is never performed.
134* HumiliationConga: Spike, hellbent on revenge, makes a trip to see Angel, but promptly passes out on the doorstep. When morning comes, his left hand, lying in the sun, bursts into flames. He wakes up in a panic, sticks his hand in the nearby fountain, then scrambles into his car.
135** "This is just too much!" We know, buddy. We know.
136* HypocriticalHumor: Xander is confident he and Willow can hold it together in public.
137-->'''Xander:''' What are they gonna know? That we're friends. Old, old friends. And [[{{Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E5Homecoming}} maybe we've had]] [[{{Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E6BandCandy}} one or two]] [[{{Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E7Revelations}} indiscretions]], but that's all past. Look, we're just very good friends who like to hang out, and can I kiss your earlobe?
138** "No! Well, okay. No! [[[ItMakesSenseInContext holds up dispenser]]] '''[[BigWordShout PEZ!]]'''"
139* IneffectualSympatheticVillain: Spike has gone from being the new badass in town, with FeetFirstIntroduction, MakeWayForTheNewVillains and everything, to an [[DrowningMySorrows alcoholic]] drifter telling his sob story to anyone who'll listen (even laying his head on Willow's shoulder and invoking a "There, There"). Except for the part where he [[NotSoHarmlessVillain kills people]].
140* ImprovisedWeapon: Willow grabs a microscope and comes at Spike with it. He stops her in mid-swing ("That's not nice"), yanks the microscope from her grip, and clocks Xander in the head with it. Ow.
141*** This episode marks the second time that Xander gets smashed in the head with a microscope, which is probably a record for a TV character (the first time was in "[[{{Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS2E12BadEggs}} Bad Eggs]]". By Willow, no less).
142** When Buffy catches Spike in her mother's kitchen, she almost stakes him with a wooden spoon.
143** Angel twirls a pole outside the café, while Buffy runs inside and snaps a mop handle in two. She also breaks up a wooden chair to get stakes for the three of them.
144** In the Magic Shop, Buffy kicks a rolling ladder, clocking a vamp in the head. She then ducks behind a vamp's punches by using the ladder as a shield.
145** Buffy smashes vamp's head through a display case, knocking him out. She then kicks him head-first into the ladder and watches it slide away.
146* InsultToRocks: Spike sobs that he's "nothing" without Dru, a sentiment which Buffy is inclined to agree with. "You're not even a loser anymore. You're a shell of a loser."
147* InterruptedIntimacy: Oz and Cordelia walk in on Xander/Willow having a NowOrNeverKiss. [[NotHelpingYourCase On a bed, no less.]]
148* IronicBirthday: Oz presents Willow with a gift, and she asks what the occasion is. Oz: "Pretty much you are." She unwraps it to discover a Pez dispenser with a witch's head. Aww. She laments that she doesn't have anything to give him. Oz is delighted just to be her boyfriend. He walks off, and [[ObliviousGuiltSlinging we see that Willow looks nine kinds of guilty]].
149* IronicEchoCut: Apropos Angel, Giles looks warily at Buffy. But she assures him, "Nothing's gonna happen." We cut to Willow telling Xander, apropos bowling, "Something's gonna happen!"
150* ItsAllAboutMe: Joyce starts to commiserate with Spike over her own failed romance with Buffy's father, but Spike just cuts her off.
151* IWillPunishYourFriendForYourFailure: {{Invoked}} as a threat. Spike, distraught over his failed UnholyMatrimony, kidnaps Willow and Xander and forces Willow to make him a love spell. Made oddly terrifying by how heart-broken and depressed Spike is.
152-->'''Spike:''' And if at first you don't succeed ... I'll kill him, and you can try again.
153* JerkassHasAPoint: Spike drunkenly explains to Angel and Buffy that the two will tear each other apart but can never be just friends, characterising himself in the process as "...Love's bitch, but at least I'm man enough to admit it".
154-->'''Buffy''': I can fool my friends. I can even fool Giles. But I can't fool myself... or Spike, for some reason.
155* KickTheDog: Spike killing the shopkeeper and threatening Willow with a broken bottle, just to remind us he's still evil and dangerous.
156* KungShui: The vampires chase Buffy, Spike and Angel into the Magic Shop which is demolished in the subsequent fight. And it won't be for the last time.
157* LameComeback: Outside Angel's window, Spike slurs, "I'll show YOU who's a...cool guy." He continues, "You're goin' down," then predictably trips and passes out.
158* LetsJustBeFriends: Spike's voice cracks as he recalls Drusilla saying this to him. "How could she be so cruel?!"
159* LiteralMinded:
160** Buffy mentions that her mother's head spun around and exploded upon seeing her high SAT score. Giles takes it literally, but adds the disclaimer that one can't make too many assumptions, what with living on the Hellmouth.
161** Mayor Wilkins bemoans a missed shot. "I swear, I would sell my soul for a decent short game. Of course, it's a little late for that. I don't suppose I could offer ''your'' soul, huh? Really help me on the green." Alan makes a note to himself to update his will for the third time this month. Mayor: "I'm just funnin'."
162* LostLoveMontage:
163** The episode closes with Angel brooding, Willow sadly playing with her Pez witch (aw), Oz pensively holding his guitar without playing it, Xander in the library looking sad, Cordy in bed looking pained, and Buffy (looking sad as well). Everybody loses... except for Spike having the time of his life.
164* LoveSpell: Willow schemes to cast an [[InvertedTrope inverse]] version, with a "de-lusting spell".
165* MadeOfPlasticine: Buffy staking two vamps at once with a broken mop.
166* MeaningfulEcho: "Home sweet home!"
167** Buffy asks Angel "Tell me you don't love me" mirroring what she asked Angel when possessed by James' ghost in "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS2E19IOnlyHaveEyesForYou I Only Have Eyes For You]]"
168* MoodSwinger: Spike angrily threatening Willow's life if she fails to work her mojo. He then downshifts back to pathetic, sitting beside Willow on a bed. He whines that Dru thought he had gone soft after his alliance with Buffy, and ends up weeping on Willow's shoulder. And starts to lasciviously play with her hair.
169* MoodWhiplash: The DownerEnding of all of the Scoobies having to deal with the revelation of the affair at the end.... which then cuts to Spike playing Gary Oldman's cover of Sid Vicious's cover of ''My Way'', happier than ever.
170* MortalWoundReveal: Cordelia lying on a bed of rubble. A stick of rebar has pieced her stomach, somewhere beside her kidney.
171* MortonsFork: Xander, having awakened in a locked room, asks Willow for a status report. "Well, I figure either I refuse to do the spell and he kills us or I do the spell and he kills us."
172** TakeAThirdOption: "He's so drunk he forgets about us and we starve to death." Well, that's comforting.
173* MustBeInvited: Angel tries to storm into Buffy's house when he sees Spike there... but just slams into the barrier, since Buffy had [[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS2E17Passion previously revoked his invitation]]. When Buffy shows up and pins Spike down, she invites Angel in for backup.
174* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Willow giving Spike the idea to win Drusilla back with magic.
175** In fact, Spike barely causes any trouble this episode; aside from killing the shopkeeper, his attempts at evil are feeble. The heroes do all the work for him.
176* NoHonorAmongThieves: Spike is nonplussed at seeing Lenny working for Wilkins. "This pissant used to work for me!"
177* NotSoHarmlessVillain: Spike may be a drunken, sorrowful mess over his breakup with Drusilla, but he's still a vampire, and proves it by not only killing a magic shop owner in broad daylight, but also kidnapping Willow and Xander and using Xander's life to threaten Willow into casting a love spell on Drusilla for him. He's also noted to be such a [[WildCard loose cannon]] that the Mayor preemptively arranges a "welcoming party" of Spike's former henchmen to kill him.
178* TheNoseKnows: Oz picks up Willow's scent -- presumably the pheromones she's giving off due to fear.
179* OfficeGolf: Wilkins practices his golf putting as Alan briefs him on the "Spike problem."
180--> "I swear, I'd sell my soul for a decent short game. Of course, it's a little late for that..."
181* OhCrap: Buffy's reaction when she's talking to her mother over the phone... and hears Spike's voice.
182* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Instead of the expected torrent of verbal abuse, a hospitalized Cordelia quietly tells Xander to stay away from her. [[WomanScorned She makes up for it over the rest of the season.]]
183* OpenSaysMe: Spike kicking open the door to his crime scene.
184* OppositesAttractRevenge: After his falling out with Dru, Spike caught her making out with a chaos demon. "Have you ever seen a Chaos Demon? They're all slime and antlers!"
185** Done metaphorically as Spike cries on Willow's shoulder, then looks up and regards her neck. [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty He says he hasn't had a woman in weeks]]. Willow jumps up in fright and says she'll do the spell, but that "there will be no bottle in face, and there will be no 'having' of any kind, with me, all right?"
186* PercussiveTherapy: Spike returns to the old burned down factory and surveys the damage. He picks up one of Dru's burnt dolls, and starts asking why she left him. Then he vamps out, throws the doll to the ground, and smashes it to pieces with a candlestick.
187* PetTheDog: Spike, drunk and upset because Dru left him, proceeds to kidnap and threaten his way through the entire population of Sunnydale, except Joyce. From Joyce, he wants hot chocolate with marshmallows in.
188* PoorlyDisguisedPilot: Creator/JossWhedon has also mentioned in interviews that Spike's appearance was meant to appear like one of these, in order to distract from the rumors of the upcoming ''Series/{{Angel}}'' spin-off.
189* PreAsskickingOneLiner: Lenny's disappointment at learning the rumors are true -- Spike's gone soft.
190-->'''Spike''': [increduously] ''Soft?''\
191'''Lenny:''' Yeah. Like baby food.\
192'''Spike''': Well, then, let's give baby a taste.
193* PunctuatedPounding
194** Spike giving Dru's doll a piece of his mind. "YOU! STUPID! WORTHLESS! BITCH!"
195** Spike repeatedly smashing Lenny's head onto a table. Ooph. "'''[[IronicEcho Baby like his supper?! Baby like his supper?!]]'''"
196** PreMortemOneLiner: "Why doesn't baby have a '''NAP?!'''"
197* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: Spike's villainous threat level spikes the meter when he goes from moping about Dru to vamping out and threatening Willow, saying "I haven't had a woman in weeks."
198* RhetoricalQuestionBlunder: Spike, standing behind Joyce, enrages Angel to the point of threatening to [[IWillTearYourArmsOff rip Spike's head off]]. Spike scoffs, "[[YouAndWhatArmy You and what army?]]" Buffy lunges out of nowhere, grabs Spike by the neck, and pins him to the counter.
199-->'''Buffy''': That would be me.
200* RunningGag: The owner of the Magic Shop being murdered [[spoiler: is a trend that continues until Giles buys the shop in Season 5. And not even then, if you include the comics.]]
201* SelectiveObliviousness: As Xander regains consciousness, he asks if he really did just have a fight with Spike. Then pats his bloodied head. "I won, right? Kicked his ass?"
202* ShoutOut: Willow's unhappy about scoring 'only' a 740. "I'm [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Cletus the slack-jawed yokel]]!"
203* SidetrackedByTheAnalogy: Apropos Spike, Mayor Wilkins states that it's too important a year for him "to let a loose cannon rock the boat." In the middle of his deputy's response, the Mayor wonders whether he just employed a {{mixed metaphor}}. "Boats did have cannons. And a loose one ''would'' cause it to rock."
204* StalkingIsLove: Even though Joyce doesn't know he's good again, Angel goes hanging around Buffy's house after she walks out on him. It's just as well he does though, because he sees Spike there.
205* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Xander inquires about whether Willow's lab "experiment" is going to make them late "for an evening of bowling magic."
206-->'''Willow:''' [jerks up] ''There's no magic!'' --oh. I mean, bowling, yeah.
207* TemptingFate: As they exit the shop, supplies in hand, Buffy tells Spike she wants him out of her life. Spike is happy to oblige. "No trouble." On cue, a crowd of vamps accosts them and greet Spike.
208-->'''Buffy''': [[IronicEcho No trouble at all.]]
209*** And it becomes a RunningGag over the course of the series -- [[spoiler: every time Buffy tells Spike to get out of her life it means he's about to get deeper into it (e.g. "Crush" and "Wrecked").]]
210** Buffy tells Willow that groveling has been known to work. Cut to Xander going to apologise to Cordelia with a big bunch of flowers. Before he has time to even start grovelling, Cordelia tells him to GetOut.
211* ThatCameOutWrong: Giles warns Buffy against doing anything 'rash' while he's away (e.g. having sex with a certain vampire who'll lose his soul as a result). Buffy candidly admits that she'll be seeing Angel "but there's not gonna be any rash", then realises it sounds like she's referring to TheDiseaseThatShallNotBeNamed.
212* VillainBall: Angel reminds Buffy that she can't kill Spike, as the Scoobies' lives hang in the balance. Buffy sneers that he's probably just hidden them at the factory. Spike, rather unconvincingly, scoffs, "How thick do you think I am?"
213* VillainEpisode: This episode is Spike-centric.
214* VillainHasAPoint: ...and does he ever: the "Love's bitch" speech quoted above.
215* VillainOverForDinner: Spike shows up at the Summers house... to casually drink hot chocolate and vent his sorrow over his breakup with Joyce.
216* WasntThatFun:
217-->'''Spike:''' "Now that was fun. Don't tell me that wasn't fun. It's been so long since I had a decent spot of violence. Really puts things in perspective."
218* WildCard: Mayor Wilkins regards Spike as a "loose cannon" that will ruin his plans, and has Mr. Trick arrange a "welcoming party" to get rid of him.
219* WrestlerInAllOfUs: At the Espresso Pump, Spike topples a henchvamp with a well-placed arm bar.
220* YouAndWhatArmy: Spike taunts Angel by making like he's going to bite Joyce, to which Angel threatens to [[OffWithHisHead chop his head off]] if he touches Joyce. Spike retorts with this, and at that very moment, Buffy shows up and pins Spike to the kitchen counter.
221-->'''Buffy''': That would be me!
222* YouRemindMeOfX: Giles is going on a retreat in the woods for a few days. Buffy teases him about how much stuff he's bringing: "You pack like ''me.''"
223* YouWillBeSpared: Lenny offers Buffy and Angel the chance to leave quietly. Spike pipes up, "I die, your friends die."
224-->'''Buffy''' [apologetically] Sorry, we're staying.
225----

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