Surprise
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| Buffy the Vampire Slayer | |
| Season 2, Episode 13 | |
 | |
| Air date | January 19, 1998 |
| Written by | Marti Noxon |
| Directed by | Michael Lange |
| Episode Guide | |
| previous Bad Eggs | next Innocence |
"Surprise" is Episode 13 of Season 2 on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Contents |
Plot
The Scoobies are planning a surprise birthday for Buffy's 17th birthday. Willow is asked by Oz on a date, but is reminded of the party after promising him she will agree. She invites him to the party.
Drusilla also has a birthday, and Spike plans to reassemble The Judge for her as a birthday present. The ancient demon would destroy humanity. One of the pieces Spike arranged to be shipped to Sunnydale is intercepted by Buffy, however, as Ms. Calendar drives her to the surprise party. Buffy slays the vampires transporting an arm of The Judge and crashes through the wall and into her party. Oz, surprised, is told that vampires exist and finds that would "explain a lot."
Jenny, who was revealed earlier in the episode to be Janna of the Kalderash tribe (the gypsies who cursed Angel with a soul), takes advantage of the situation by sending Angel to hide the arm in the farthest corner of the earth. As Buffy and Angel say their goodbye at the docks, Spike's vampires attack them and steal the arm. Returning empty-handed, they decide to go to the factory where Drusilla is having her party. There, they find the judge fully assembled and narrowly escape with their life. Angel and Buffy end up at Angel's apartment drenched, leading to Angel finally revealing his love for her. Buffy tells Angel she loves him as well and both share their first intimate night together. While Buffy sleeps contented afterwards, Angel finds himself kneeling on his knees outside, crying out Buffy's name in the heavy storm in pain and fear.
Starring
- Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers
- Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris
- Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg
- Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia Chase
- David Boreanaz as Angel
- Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles
Guest Starring
- Seth Green as Oz
- Kristine Sutherland as Joyce Summers
- Robia LaMorte as Jenny Calendar
- Brian Thompson as The Judge
- Eric Saiet as Dalton
- Mercedes McNab as Harmony Kendall ( credited in some aired versions only )
Special Guest Stars
Trivia
- Snakes-in-a-can: Xander references a popular practical joke.
- Denny's: Xander's fantasy harks back to Cordelia's repeated predictions that he himself is slated for a brilliant career as a pizza delivery boy.
- Claddagh Ring: Angel gives Buffy a present of a Claddagh Ring, saying, "My people... before I was changed... they exchanged this as a sign of devotion." (This is the second time we hear that Angel is Irish.)
- Brian Thompson, who played the Judge, also played Luke in "Welcome to the Hellmouth." Both episodes were two-parters in which his character died in the second part.
- Together with "Innocence," the show transitioned from Mondays to Tuesdays. This was the last episode to be played on a Monday—all subsequent episodes aired on Tuesday.
Continuity
- Several important plot-lines begin in this episode. Oz and Willow have their first date, commencing one of the longest relationships on the show. Angel is transformed into Angelus, becoming the Big Bad of season two. Spike and Drusilla are established as worthy adversaries, allowing for Spike's eventual return appearances in seasons three and four, and for his permanent membership as regular cast for seasons five, six and seven.
- In the first dream, Willow says "L'hippo a piqué ton pantalon," which means, "The hippo stole your pants" in French, while speaking to the monkey. This refers back to her conversation with Oz near the end of "What's My Line, Part Two," in which, intentionally absurd, he wonders if the hippo animal cracker is jealous of the fact that the monkey is the only animal cracker with pants, as well as asserting that, "All monkeys are French." Buffy is not shown to have witnessed this conversation, which lends credence to her fear that this dream is prophetic, yielding real information about things outside her direct experience to date.
- Buffy's birthday gift from Angel, her Claddagh ring, not only comes to signify her lost love for the rest of season two, but also plays an important part in the beginning of season three, first as a resonant antecedent to Scott Hope's impromptu gift, and then as a mystical focus for Angel's return from Acathla's hell dimension.
- This episode begins a tradition of Buffy birthdays gone awry, although Buffy does not celebrate her birthday on-screen in the final season. The 12th or 13th episode of each season is traditionally when Buffy celebrates her birthday; her birthday takes place in episode 12 of Season Three ("Helpless"), episode 12 of Season Four ("A New Man"), episode 13 of Season Five ("Blood Ties") and episode 14 of Season Six ("Older and Far Away"). Buffy's birthday is not shown celebrated in Season One (it presumably occurred before the beginning of the half-long season) or in Season Seven.
Music
- Christophe Beck - "Buffy-Angel Love Theme"
- Christophe Beck - "Escape"
- Christophe Beck - "Moment of Happiness"
- Clement & Murray - "Anything"
- Rasputina - "Transylvanian Concubine"
