Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Season 6

Bargaining: Part 1

1. When Giles is at the airport ready to catch his plane for England, Tara gives him (as a goodbye gift) a little plastic finger monster which she puts on her finger and says "Grrr... argh". This is the same monster and sound that is made at the end, just after the credits, by the production company mascot Mutant Enemy.
2. We see Willow wearing a shirt with a number on it. We then see Xander come in wearing what looks like a football jersey with a number on it. Later when they gang is saying goodbye to Giles, Dawn is wearing a shirt with 07 on it. The crew got many letters asking what the numbers were supposed to mean, but there was no connection. Executive Producer Marti Noxon said that this was completely unintentional and was just a wardrobe coincidence.
3. During the new opening credits, when Michelle Trachtenberg's credits roll, the clip of her from "Spiral" is flipped.
4. Originally the scene with Willow killing the deer had a pan up her very bloody dress, but most of that pan was removed before the episode aired.
5. Alyson Hannigan, who is an animal lover, found the scene where Willow kills the deer difficult to film and was very upset about it.
6. Willow and Tara have moved in to the Summers' residence since Buffy's death. Tara will move out in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Tabula Rasa (2001), and Willow will continue living there until its destruction in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chosen (2003)].
7. Spike's protective stance over Dawn is a reflection to his inability to fulfill his promise to protect her in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Gift (2001).
8. The Buffybot glitches and praises Spike as she was originally programmed, as seen in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Intervention (2001).
9. Giles leaves Sunnydale to England, as he had intended in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Buffy vs. Dracula (2000) before Buffy asked for his help as her Watcher. He'll then return after he's informed on her resurrection, in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Flooded (2001).
10. The Scooby Gang perform a spell to raise Buffy from the dead, a decision which will have consequences for Buffy and her friends throughout the season, and eventually allow the First Evil to exploit the vulnerability in the Slayer line in season 7.
11. The show had run on The WB for the previous five seasons. This episode marks its debut on UPN, which will air the final two seasons of the television series.
12. Dawn describes herself as not being or at least not having the proprieties of the Key anymore. In Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Storyteller (2003), Andrew will say that "Dawn used to be a key." However, her identity as the Key remains, as she begins exploring in the comic In Pieces on the Ground, Part Five.
13. One of the Hellions was to be called Pike but this was changed to avoid confusion with Pike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992).
14. Willow recalls Angel being sent to Acathla's dimension, where he was in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Becoming: Part 2 (1998) to Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Faith, Hope & Trick (1998).
15. Anthony Head has been removed from the opening titles and is now credited as a "Special Guest Star". Alyson Hannigan has taken his place in the opening titles and is now credited as "And Alyson Hannigan as Willow".
16. This aired after the events of September 11, 2001, which caused a drastic change in airport procedures, including not being able to approach departure gates without a boarding ticket. The gang was able to see Giles off to England from the departure gate, indicating this was filmed before 9/11.
17. This episode is named "Bargaining;" one of the five stages of grief as postulated by Elizabeth Kübler-Ross. The model has a series of emotions experienced by people who have lost a loved one: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. In this episode, Willow and the Scooby gang seek to bypass the grief process and bring Buffy back to life.

Bargaining: Part 2

1. This is the first time without Anthony Head as Giles.
2. The street Buffy walks down after being resurrected is the same street used in 'desperate housewives' most notably the house Buffy stops at to lean on the car where the man comes out of and shoots his shotgun in the air, is the same house where Susan Meyer lives. Also notable is the house where Mike Delfino lives in, this can be seen when dawn and spike watch from across the street where the biker gang loot.
3. The episode was originally conceived of as a self-contained episode called "Hell".
4. This is the last show that features the Buffy Bot.
5. After trying to talk Dawn out of resurrecting her Mom, Willow brought Buffy back because she didn't die of natural causes - and as it is insinuated Buffy came back "wrong" just as they assumed Joyce would.

After Life

1. This is not the first time we see Buffy's backyard. We have seen it in previous episodes from season 3, most notably in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Dead Man's Party (1998) when Buffy and Joyce bury the zombie cat, and again later on when Oz steps out onto the porch. Plus, the yard is also seen in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Real Me (2000) and Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Out of My Mind (2000) in season 5.
2. When Spike sees Buffy's injured hands in this episode, he says that he knows how it feels to claw your way out of your coffin, since he had done it himself. In Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Lies My Parents Told Me (2003), it is revealed that his mother did not know that he was dead, so she could not have had him buried; though, in Angel: Reunion (2000), Drusilla buries a recently bitten Darla in compost, and Angel states that she has a habit of burying newly made vampires. This indicated that she may also have buried Spike after she bit him.
3. Spike is shown to be the second person to be worried about Willow's magic strengthening (the first was Tara, in season 5, and again we see her worried during the resurrection), foreshadowing Willow's magic addiction throughout the season. Spike's parting words are "The thing about magic - there's always consequences - always!", which is theme for many episodes of the show, as early on as Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered (1998) in season 2.
4. Buffy confides to Spike she was in Heaven, and says her friends can never know about this. She'll be forced to reveal to them in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Once More, with Feeling (2001).
5. Though knowing that the two witches (Willow very mostly) are responsible for Buffy's resurrection - and being after all glad by this - Spike accuses just Xander to have violated the nature's laws.
6. The scene in which Anya is possessed by the demon ghost and slashes her face several times while laughing maniacally was trimmed by SkyOne for the UK broadcast to show her laughing and then collapsing, editing out the face-slashing.
7. Early in the episode, furious that the Scoobies concealed their plan to resurrect Buffy, Spike grabs and briefly manhandles Xander, despite the implanted microchip that prevents him from harming humans; on close examination, Spike can be seen to wince from the pain the chip inflicts for his actions, but he is so angry he does not care.
8. Spike rides the motorcycle he took from the Hellions in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Bargaining: Part 2 (2001). He'll be last seen riding it in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Empty Places (2003).
9. As the gang is walking back to Buffy's house, Xander remarks that they are safe. As they walk past a burning car, Anya quips "fire is never a sign of imminent safety." However, it is believed that humans became the first animal to walk toward fire out of a desire for warmth and light, aka safety.
10. Willow expects Giles to return to Sunnydale in "a couple days", which happens in the next episode, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Flooded (2001).
11. There's an allusion to Buffy being in heaven when she's walking in the graveyard and sort of pauses in front of a statue of an angel. It makes it look as though she has wings.

Flooded

1. The periscope in Warren's basement has Russian lettering on it. When read phonetically, it says "geek". This however might be just a coincidence, since it's what comes up if one changes their keyboard layout to Russian and types "USSR".
2. The scene with Dawn getting flooded by a burst pipe was originally intended for Spike in Xander's basement in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Doomed (2000) but was not used for that episode.
3. Buffy received a phone call from Angel. Having learned about her resurrection, he wished to speak with her, so Buffy left to meet up with him. This meeting was the subject of Jane Espenson's comic Reunion.
4. This is the first appearance of The Trio. Adam Busch has appeared as Warren Mears and Danny Strong has appeared as Jonathan Levinson in previous episodes but this is the first appearance of Tom Lenk as Andrew Wells.
5. Anya's suggestion for Buffy to cash in on slaying vampires is something that Angel battles with and eventually accepts with his business Angel Investigations in L.A. While Buffy tries that idea at one point, she is unsuccessful and will eventually find herself a fry-cook job to pay the bills. In the canonical comics that occur after the destruction of the original Watchers Council and the activation of all Potential Slayers, Buffy funds the Slayer Organization through theft.
6. The Trio attempt to bribe the M'Fashnik demon by offering to repeat some of their exploits from previous seasons: Warren Mears offers to build him a robot sex slave, as he did in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: I Was Made to Love You (2001) and Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Intervention (2001).Jonathan Levinson offers to cast a spell to make the demon "seem cool", like he did for himself in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Superstar (2000).Warren taunts Andrew Wells about the hellhounds that attacked the Sunnydale High prom in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Prom (1999). Andrew points out that his older brother Tucker Wells was actually responsible for that.Andrew recounts his summoning of monkey demons to ruin the school play, an incident which happened off-screen (and which, we find out later, none of the Scooby Gang remember).
7. Buffy's line about being "really good" at the end of the world refers to the Apocalypses she prevented.
8. After receiving the phone call from Angel, Buffy turns down Giles' request that they look over the bills before she goes, beginning the process of Buffy continually pushing more of her adult responsibility onto Giles through Season Six. Ultimately, this will lead to Giles's departure later on in the season, although other Watchers have been implied to have supported their Slayers so that they would not need to deal with financial issues.
9. After Giles' harsh words to Willow, she threatens him, telling him that given her power, he shouldn't make her into an enemy. This represents a further step on Willow's path to misuse of magic.
10. While having an important conversation with Giles, Buffy doesn't tell him she was in Heaven, or something similar, even though she had the chance to tell Giles the truth. At that point, only Spike knows it.
11. When a security guard shoots a gun at M'Fashnik at the bank and fails, Buffy tells him, "These things? Never useful." This ideology against using guns that Buffy holds persists even until the comics.
12. The beginnings of Buffy's financial issues and the sole responsibility of providing for everyone in the house being laid on her shoulders instead of everyone pitching in.
13. This is not Tom Lenk's first appearance; he also played the vampire Cyrus in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Real Me (2000).
14. The Trio was originally supposed to include Tucker Wells, another Sunnydale High student who had previously caused trouble for Buffy and who was originally meant to be the leader. Since Brad Kane was unavailable, the character of Andrew Wells was created instead and Warren was made the leader of the trio instead.
15. Jonathan resists killing Buffy because she has saved his life "a bunch of times". The two incidents involving Jonathan personally are Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Prom (1999) and Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Superstar (2000), but he is likely including cases where Buffy saved the whole school (Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Bad Eggs (1998), Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Dead Man's Party (1998), Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Graduation Day: Part 2 (1999), etc.)
16. Giles calls Willow a "rank, arrogant amateur" during their argument in this episode, something Dark Willow will reference when they fight in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Grave (2002).
17. When talking about neither of them being much for crowds, Spike says to Buffy "That works out nicely then." Anya says those exact words to Xander in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: As You Were (2002). Both episodes were written by Douglas Petrie.
18. While arguing with Willow, Giles says that a possible consequence of Buffy's resurrection could have been "unleashing hell on Earth". This turns out to be true when, in Season 7, it is revealed that Buffy's revivification violated the balance between good and evil and allowed The First to take action against humanity.

Life Serial

1. The good demon Clem, appears for the first time playing kitten poker and is credited as "Loose Skinned Demon." In this episode, he is noticeably more hostile toward Buffy and Spike, but befriends them and the Scoobies in his later appearances.
2. The two illustrations on the book of art history that Tara gives Buffy and the Slayer opens randomly are the portrait of Henry VIII Tudor, king of England, by Hans Holbein the Younger, and the Ecstasy of Saint Teresa of Avila, by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Both baroque masterpieces.
3. A meeting between Buffy and Angel takes place immediately before this episode (between the Angel: Carpe Noctem (2001) and Angel: Fredless (2001)). It is the subject of Jane Espenson's Buffy/Angel comic, Reunion. Though even in the comic we don't learn what happened at their meeting.
4. Each of the Trio's attempts to ruin Buffy's day are symbolic of her lack of happiness since returning: At UCSD with Willow & Tara, everything around Buffy is moving too fast for her to comprehend, symbolizing her inability to keep up with college.At Xander's construction site, monsters attack her, symbolizing her male coworker's insults and misogynistic views of Buffy.At The Magic Box with Giles and Anya, the event with the Mummy's hand repeated itself, symbolizing the tedium and monotony of retail.With Spike at the bar, Buffy got too drunk, ruined the kitten poker game, and beat up a disguised demonic Jonathan, symbolizing her inability to fit in with the demon underworld.
5. Though it could have been inferred from previous episodes, the specialties of all of the Trio members are established; Warren's is technology, Andrew's is demon summoning, and Jonathan's is magic.
6. Jonathan's phrase "Let the spell be ended" was used by Willow in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Replacement (2000).
7. The title of the episode is a pun on the breakfast cereal Life.
8. Buffy shows how she would rather hang out with Spike than the other Scoobies. The two now share common interests which will lead to their physical relationship later in the season.

All the Way

1. One of only three shows to be based on Halloween.
2. Spike's admonishment of the vampires for not taking off for Halloween can be seen as a bit hypocritical. In season two's Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Halloween (1997), he attempted to kill Buffy during the chaos caused by Ethan Rayne. This may also be the reason for his warning, as he did not succeed.
3. Giles sees that Buffy is becoming too reliant on him; this leads to his decision to leave Sunnydale in the next episode.
4. When asked to get more Mandrake Root from the basement, Buffy comments that it won't be her fault if they "have this conversation over and over" and over again, a reference to the time loop in the previous episode, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Life Serial (2001).
5. This episode contains some early signs that Xander is unsure of his decision to marry Anya, which later reaches its climax in the later episode Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Hell's Bells (2002).
6. When Willow and Tara are discussing Willow's increased use of magic, Willow uses a spell to mute everyone; "Sekaat", which is "Silence" in Arabic. Then, when Tara unmutes everyone she says "Takalam", which is "Talk" in Arabic.
7. Willow erases Tara's memory in this episode, and when she realizes that, it will influence her decision to end her relationship with Willow over the next two episodes.
8. Dawn and her friend joke about fooling their parents/Buffy by telling each of them that they're at the other's house, and they can't believe how stupid they were to fall for it. This mirrors Buffy telling Giles she was with her mother and telling her mother she was with Giles, when she was really with Angel - as well as the "round robin" that Buffy, Willow, and Xander all did during high school in order to cover demon research and fighting in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Surprise (1998)).
9. Justin attempts to court Dawn by giving her his jacket, just as Angel did with Buffy in [link-tt0533494] and Ripper steals a coat for Joyce in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Band Candy (1998). Dawn would later fall for another Letterman jacket wearing boy, RJ in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Him (2002).
10. This episode means that all three of the Summers women have had romantic encounters with vampires - Buffy with Spike and Angel, Joyce meeting Dracula for coffee and now Dawn with Justin.
11. Dawn mentions her increasing kleptomania that begun in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Forever (2001) (although it is possible she could be lying about stealing lipsticks). The mention of stealing lipsticks is also a call back to when Buffy said to Merrick in the flashback of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Becoming: Part 1 (1998) that she "meant to pay for that lipstick".
12. Buffy scolds Xander when she mistakenly believes he wants to marry Dawn. In the Season 8 comic, he and Dawn will begin a relationship, much to Buffy's dismay.
13. Xander's eye patch with his pirate costume foreshadows his eventual loss of an eye ( Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Dirty Girls (2003) ).
14. This is an epic time for Dawn, full of first times. She's fifteen and sneaks out to go on her first date with an older boy. She enjoys her first kiss with him. Dawn and her friends go in for a bit of Halloween vandalism and robbery, also firsts for her. Then things go really wrong, as they often do for the Summer's girls on Halloween, her date turns out to be a vampire interested in turning her for himself. Large battle ensues with the Scoobies and Halloween hunting vampires. The Coup De Grâce for Dawn; she stakes her first vampire, her boyfriend.

Once More, with Feeling

1. Running eight minutes longer than any in the series, the episode was also the most technical and complex. Joss Whedon used a widescreen letterbox format for filming (the only episode in the series to get this treatment), different lighting to bring out the sets more vibrantly, and long takes for shooting-including a complicated shot with a full conversation, a song, and two choreographed dances that took 21 attempts to get right. These were designed to give viewers all the clues they needed to establish all the nuances of the relationships between characters.
2. Two of the show's writers, David Fury and Marti Noxon, have small singing parts. Fury can be seen singing "They Got the Mustard Out" outside the magic shop when Buffy checks to see if other people are singing. Noxon sings about a parking ticket ("I think that hydrant wasn't there") while Giles, Xander, and Anya are walking on the street after Xander and Anya's duet.
3. In the DVD commentary Joss Whedon stated that he gave Emma Caulfield Ford the rock song because she had a habit of randomly screaming rock songs in his face.
4. Preparing for the episode was physically difficult for some of the cast members, most of whom had little experience singing and dancing. They spent three months in voice training. Two choreographers worked with Joss Whedon and the cast on dance sequences. Michelle Trachtenberg, who is trained in ballet, requested a dance sequence in lieu of a significant singing part and Alyson Hannigan, according to Whedon, begged him not to give her many lines. Sarah Michelle Gellar told the BBC that "It took something like 19 hours of singing and 17 hours of dancing in between shooting four other episodes" and she was so anxious about singing that she "hated every moment of it". When Whedon suggested using a voice double for her, however, she said, "I basically started to cry and said, 'You mean someone else is going to do my big emotional turning point for the season?' In the end, it was an incredible experience and I'm glad I did it. And I never want to do it again."
5. Joss Whedon says his biggest surprise in terms of musical ability was Emma Caulfield Ford, while he knew that James Marsters, Amber Benson and Anthony Head are very skilled singers by their former performances.
6. There were plans to have Jewel Kilcher dubSarah Michelle Gellar's singing, but Gellar decided that she didn't want to be the only castmember to not do her own singing.
7. While Anya, Xander, and Giles are walking down the street discussing the "I'll Never Tell" number, the two people dancing in the background (before the dancing street sweepers) are Adam Shankman (the choreographer) and Anne Fletcher (the assistant choreographer).
8. Joss Whedon and Nicholas Brendon named this among their favourite episodes.
9. Fans continued their appreciation in theater showings where attendees are encouraged to dress like the show's characters, sing along to the musical numbers, and otherwise interact in the style of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975). Clinton McClung, a New York-based film programmer, got the idea for a sing-along from audience-participation showings of The Sound of Music (1965) in 2003. The next year, he began putting on sing-alongs in Boston's Coolidge Corner Theater, which became so popular that it went on the road. Audience members received props to use during key scenes, as well as directions (for example, to yell "Shut up, Dawn!" at Buffy's younger sister), and a live cast performed the episode alongside the screen. The sing-alongs received growing media attention as they spread. At the 2007 Los Angeles Film Festival, a special screening and sing-along was held that featured both Marti Noxon and Joss Whedon giving brief speeches to the audience. In October 2007, after a dispute with the Screen Actors Guild over unpaid residuals, 20th Century Fox pulled the licensing for public screenings, effectively ending official sing-alongs. Whedon called the cancellation "hugely depressing" and attempted to influence the studio to allow future showings.
10. Buffy comments, "So... Dawn's in trouble... must be Tuesday." This, of course, refers to the timeslot in which UPN broadcasts the show.
11. Up until Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Conversations with Dead People (2002), this was the only episode to have the title displayed on-screen.
12. On the DVD commentary for this episode, Joss Whedon says that many of the songs he wrote for this musical were conscious references to different musical theater styles and composers. For instance, Whedon characterizes "Going Through The Motions" as an "I want" song in the tradition of the opening numbers sung by heroines of Ashman-Menken Disney musicals such as "Part of Your World" from The Little Mermaid (1989) and "Belle" from Beauty and the Beast (1991) (albeit with what he calls a Stephen Schwartz ending). He says that "I'll Never Tell" is his 1930s "Astaire/Rodgers" number, and he likens "Walk Through The Fire" to the four-part "Tonight Quintet" that introduces the climactic moments of the end of the first act of "West Side Story."
13. This was voted #1 in TV Guide's viewer's poll for the 50 Top Musical Moments on Television from 1990-2002 in 2002.
14. After Anya and Xander's duet when speaking over each other walking with Giles, Anya acknowleges the fourth wall being broken by them singing to the camera. She says "it's like we're being watched, like a wall was missing from our apartment and there wasn't a fourth one"
15. All main actors have to really sing. The only two who made their own career as singers are James Marsters and Amber Benson. Anthony Head has an already successful career as singer in musicals (notably, substituting Tim Curry as Frank'n'Furter in "Rocky Horror Show").
16. The first songs written were Under Your Spell and Rest in Peace.
17. The only show of the entire series to be broadcast in widescreen.
18. This is the highest rated show of the series.
19. The actors who were the dancing vampires and demon in the opening number played the street sweepers later on, in the scene where Giles, Anya and Xander are discussing the situation. If you look closely you'll realize they're actually performing the same dance routine. They are also the dancing henchmen according to the DVD commentary
20. In the overture, the picture Buffy is drawing with pencil is a huge dark tunnel with a square white/light in the far end.
21. In the song 'I'll Never Tell', Anya sings the line, "His penis got diseases from a Chumash tribe." This refers to Season Four's Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Pangs (1999), in which a mystical Chumash vengeance spirit gives Xander the diseases that Native Americans got from Europeans, including smallpox, malaria, and syphilis.
22. "I've Got a Theory" features numerous references to previous episodes: Willow suggests that "some kid is dreaming", a reference to the events of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Nightmares (1997). At the time, Giles said: "Dreams? That would be a musical comedy version of this. Nightmares - our nightmares are coming true."With his theory about "evil witches", Xander could refer to Catherine Madison, whom they had to face in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Witch (1997).Anya blames bunnies, reinforcing her fear of bunnies, introduced in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Fear Itself (1999).Buffy sings "I've died twice", referring to the season finales Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Prophecy Girl (1997) and Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Gift (2001).
23. Joss Whedon admitted on the DVD commentary that "Under Your Spell" is "pornography" and "probably the dirtiest lyric I've ever written, but also very, very beautiful".
24. Anthony Head is not the only member of his family with musical talent. His older brother, Murray Head, had a hit single with the song "One Night in Bangkok" from the musical "Chess" and, perhaps most notably, played Judas Iscariot on the original soundtrack album of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Jesus Christ Superstar".
25. During the "I'll Never Tell" number, Xander picks up the newspaper and the back page shows an ad for the San Fernando Valley College of Law. Although the toll-free number has changed, this is an actual college in Southern California.
26. Joss Whedon spent six months writing the music. When he returned after the end of the fifth season, he presented Davies with a script and CD, complete with notated and orchestrated music, which Gareth Davies found "mind-boggling". The actors were initially bewildered; in 2012, James Marsters commented that "it's obvious now that they were good songs but the thing was Joss and his wife Kai, they don't sing very well. And they don't play piano very well. The songs sounded really cheesy and horrible... We were saying, 'Joss, you're ruining our careers.'"
27. Joss Whedon shot "Standing" so that Giles moves in real time while Buffy works out in slow motion, to accentuate Giles' distance from her. Buffy's not hearing his song was intentional; Whedon explained, "You can sing to someone in musicals and they can never know how you feel or how much you love them, even if they're standing right in front of you".
28. The front page of Xander's morning newspaper, Sunnydale Press' top headline reads "MAYHEM CAUSED" "Monsters certainly not involved, Officials say" "Investigation Turns Down Heat As Teen Vandals Are Suspected Target" (Right Column Headline). "New Technologies Being Integrated By Police Tracking Facilities Against Criminals" (Left Column Headline) "Mayor Approves Fingerprint Computers" (Right Lower Column Headline).
29. Gareth Davies was so impressed with Hinton Battle's performance on Broadway in The Wiz that he asked Battle to play the demon Sweet. Battle, a three-time Tony-winner, wore prosthetic make-up for the first time to give him a demonic red face. Sweet was portrayed as "slick", smooth and stylish; in contrast, most demons on the series were designed to be crude and ugly.
30. In the unusual starting title, the only character who doesn't smile at the camera is Dawn.
31. This was Joss Whedon's first attempt at writing music, which he had always wanted to do. He learned how to play guitar to write several songs.
32. UPN promoted the episode by displaying Sarah Michelle Gellar's face on billboards with music notes over her eyes, and held a special premiere event. Network president Dean Valentine remarked he thought it was "one of the best episodes of television I ever saw in my life".
33. In the production documentary included as extra material on the DVD version, it is mentioned that as well as singing, James Marsters played guitar for "Rest in Peace".
34. When the Scoobies all sing the chorus at once to the line "We will walk through the fire / And let it - burn", two fire trucks race behind the Scoobies as they proceed to the Bronze. Joss Whedon called the shot the "single greatest thing we ever did".
35. It's the third time Buffy kisses Spike, after Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Something Blue (1999) and Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Intervention (2001).
36. The flower used as a catalyst for the memory spell is revealed to be Lethe's Bramble. Lethe is Greek for "forgetfulness" and is also one of the five rivers in Hades, causing forgetfulness in all who drink from it.
37. During the song "Under Your Spell" both Tara and Willow make magical sparks from their hands. Tara's are light blue, while Willow's are red.
38. The set for The Bronze was used frequently throughout the series, but stairs were built from the stage to maximize floor space for Battle's dance.
39. Giles refers to experiencing singing room service delivery, which suggests he has moved out of the Summers' house and is living in a hotel.
40. Gareth Davies commented that the intricacies of filming this episode were "infinitely more complicated than a regular Buffy" episode and Joss Whedon stated in the DVD commentary that he was ambitious to prove what television is capable of, saying "it just depends how much you care".
41. Joss Whedon had wanted to make a musical episode since the start of the series. This was heightened during the fifth season when he hosted a Shakespeare reading at his house, to which the cast was invited. They began drinking and singing, demonstrating to Whedon that certain cast members had musical talents. He knew he would have to write an entire score, which would take weeks or months. During the first three seasons, he was unable to take more than two weeks off at a time, and the constraints of writing and directing the show precluded him from putting forth the effort of preparing a musical. Whedon spoke to the show's producer, Gareth Davies, about his idea; they agreed that a musical episode would be written.
42. Joss Whedon said that "I'd Never Tell" was the most difficult song to write, but the most fun to shoot.
43. Joss Whedon chose the most complicated scene, with the most dancers and choreography in the classic style of musical theater, to accompany an 18-second song ("The Mustard") "to get it out of the way" for more personal numbers later in the episode.
44. Joss Whedon is a fan of Stephen Sondheim and used him as the inspiration for much of the music, particularly with the episode's ambiguous ending.
45. Andy Hallett was rumoured to make a cameo as Lorne from Angel (1999).
46. During "I'll Never Tell" Anya says "Look I'm dancing, Crazy" which is an exact quote from "Les Girls" with Gene Kelly during the song "You;re Just Too Too!" spoken by Kay Kendall during the dance sequence with Gene Kelly. The two songs are very similar in style and the scene is also very similar.
47. At a Q&A held at ATAS in June 2002, Alyson Hannigan stated that had she known what technology can do to correct people's singing, she would have been happy to do more singing. It's clear from Whedon's response to the comment that autotune was used on the episode. Gellar's voice in particular sounds like it's been autotuned.
48. One line was cut due to length, about Sweet and Buffy: Giles: "What does he want?"Henchman: "Her... plus chaos and insanity and people burning up, but that's more big picture stuff."
49. Despite never being part of a real life musical before, Buffy sang while under a curse in episode "Witch", Willow attempted to perform an opera in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Nightmares (1997) and Giles previously played at Espresso Pump in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Where the Wild Things Are (2000) and at home in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Yoko Factor (2000).
50. In the DVD commentary, Joss Whedon says that the backpack Dawn is seen emptying is actually one he brought in from home.
51. Anya references Xander's 'beady eyes' again in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Entropy (2002).
52. Tara finds out that Willow magically made her forget their argument from the previous night (Buffy the Vampire Slayer: All the Way (2001)). She'll confront her about it in the next episode, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Tabula Rasa (2001).
53. In her song about bunnies, which frighten her, Anya sings: "What do they need such good eyesight for anyway?" Willow says something very similar about spiders - "What do they need all those legs for anyway?" - in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Nightmares (1997).
54. The bridal magazine that Anya is reading "Tomorrow's Bride" is fictitious. There is a romance novel by this title written by Alexandra Scott and a bridal magazine entitled, Today's Bride.
55. It's the second time (after Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered (1998)) Xander causes troubles intentionally using magic.
56. Giles asks Buffy if she spoke to Dawn about the incident on Halloween, from Buffy the Vampire Slayer: All the Way (2001).
57. The sequence with the Mutant Enemy mascot, the little monster that goes "Grr Arrgh" at the end, was changed for a total of six times: in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Becoming: Part 2 (1998) it said, 'Oh, I need a hug."in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Amends (1998) it wore a Santa hat and bells were jingling.in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Graduation Day: Part 2 (1999) it wore a graduation cap.in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Once More, with Feeling (2001) it sang its "Grr Arrgh."in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Storyteller (2003) it sang, "We are as gods."in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chosen (2003) it looked out at the viewers instead of looking straight-forward.
58. During the last scene, the gang sing 'Where Do We Go From Here'. This song contains the line "the curtains close on a kiss". This is exactly how the episode ends.
59. Giles offers up the first theory in the song "I've Got a Theory." He states, "I've got a theory that it's a demon. A dancing demon, no wait, something isn't right there." Although he immediately dismisses his theory, it is absolutely correct.
60. Following Spike's rock solo, Dawn starts a song asking "does anybody even notice, does anybody even care...". She is interrupted by demons. This seems to indicate Joss Whedon's acknowledgment of fans' complaints about Dawn's "incessant whining". He doesn't let her finish the song which would clearly have been about her angst.
61. At one point, Anya says "I've seen some of these underworld child bride deals, and they never work out... maybe once." This is most likely a reference to the story of Hades, the Greek God of the Underworld, and Persephone, the young Goddess of Spring he kidnapped and forced to marry him. Some versions of the story depict a happy marriage, while other versions have Persephone as a prisoner, hence Anya's confusion.
62. Before Giles starts his "Standing" number, Buffy worries about her training session turning into a cheesy 80s montage. This actually happens, not only here, but also in the film in which the series is based upon.
63. During the showdown with the Demon, Sweet, Dawn says to Buffy "The hardest thing in this world is to live in it," she is repeating Buffy's last words to her before Buffy sacrificed herself to save Dawn in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Gift (2001).

Tabula Rasa

1. The tweed suit worn by Spike in his guise as Giles' son "Randy Giles" is the same one used in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Restless (2000) for Xander's dream, where he also described Giles as "Like a father to me".
2. The title "tabula rasa", Latin for "blank slate", is a reference to the theory that individuals are born without built-in mental content and that therefore all knowledge comes from experience or perception.
3. When Willow tells Dawn about her attraction to women, she uses the exact same words she did in the season three's Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Doppelgangland (1999) to describe her evil vampire self: "And I think I'm kinda gay!".
4. The neighborhood Buffy and Spike fight in is the Desperate Housewives (2004) neighborhood set (also used in the film The 'Burbs (1989)).
5. This is the first time Michelle Branch appears in a TV series singing 'Goodbye To You'. The second time is on Charmed (1998), another WB network show featuring witches.
6. No matter what reality or dimension Willow finds herself in, she's always mildly surprised to realize she's "gay".
7. The memory loss that the Scooby Gang underwent will later happen similarly to the Angel Investigations crew in Angel: Spin the Bottle (2002), when they forget everything about their lives up to their teen years.
8. The episode does not translate well into other languages. A sizable part of the humor is the interplay between Giles and Spike, laced with British idiom and Americans' stereotyped views of England; the puns based on "Randy" are meaningless in other languages. In French, "Randy" is translated to "Candide", possibly a reference to the Voltaire novel. Buffy's assumed name "Joan" is left as "Joan" in French, and the reference to Joan of Arc ("Jeanne d'Arc" in French) is mostly lost. Dawn's reference to Xander as "Alex", a more common shortened form of "Alexander", lacks significance in the French translation because he has been named Alex in France since "Welcome to the Hellmouth".
9. Even with her memories gone, Anya tells Giles that she feels compelled to take out vengeance against him, a trait she had since her spell in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Selfless (2002) that made her become a vengeance demon. She also retained her fear of rabbits (revealed in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Fear Itself (1999)) and felt the same compulsion to protect the cash register from Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Triangle (2001).
10. "Tabula Rasa" is also a phrase used frequently in Dollhouse (2009), another television show created by Joss Whedon.
11. Giles leaves Sunnydale to England, to return in "Two to Go" and express regret for leaving the Scoobies in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Grave (2002). Buffy will consider this the first step for the group falling apart in the comic New Rules, Part One.
12. Without her memories, Anya mispronounces her name using the flat a, instead of with the usual broad a, (like Anne-ya).
13. This episode addresses the correlation between memory and identity, which is an oft-touched-upon theme in many of Joss Whedon's works.
14. Teeth, the loan shark demon that hassles Spike to pay his debt, reappears in After the Fall comic series as one of the demon lords during the fall of Los Angeles.
15. Spike evokes to Buffy that they kissed each other once in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Once More, with Feeling (2001). They have kissed as well in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Something Blue (1999) and Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Intervention (2001), although under a spell in the first instance and the second kiss was a chaste thank-you.
16. As Spike walks away from Buffy at the Bronze, a fake severed hand can be seen under a glass lid on the counter.
17. "Joan's" reaction to "Randy's" vampire face is very similar to Buffy's reaction when she first saw Angel's vampire face, in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Angel (1997).
18. Just as Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Replacement (2000) mimics the plot of Star Trek: The Original Series: The Enemy Within (1966), this episode bears a striking resemblance to the plot of Star Trek: The Next Generation: Conundrum (1992) (save for the fact that the mass amnesia was a deliberate attack rather than an unfortunate accident).
19. Dawn says "Feature Creature" in this episode. Previously, Xander says "Creature Feature" in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Ted (1997).
20. Willow, Tara, Xander, and Anya discuss the discoveries of the previous episode Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Once More, with Feeling (2001): Buffy being torn from Heaven and Willow her fights with Tara's about her magical abuse.
21. Spike's description as Randy of Giles' "mid-life crisis transport" matches his actual current car, a red BMW convertible acquired in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Real Me (2000).
22. When Spike realizes he is a vampire, as well as deciding that (like Angel) he must be "a vampire with a soul", on a "mission of redemption", he claims that: "I help the helpless". "We help the helpless" is the slogan of Angel Investigations in the spin-off series Angel (1999).
23. After losing her memory, the name Buffy chooses for herself is Joan. This may be an allusion to Joan of Arc who was historically a female warrior and a martyr, like Buffy herself.
24. Xander and Anya fail to sense any mutual connection, foreshadowing their doomed engagement in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Hell's Bells (2002).

Smashed

1. The statue of Janus that Ethan Rayne used to turn everyone into their Halloween costumes in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Halloween (1997) can be seen on top of a shelf in the Magic Box behind Buffy.
2. In his DVD commentary, writer Drew Z. Greenberg says that in his original conception of Willow's confrontation with the homophobic men at the Bronze, he intended for Willow to cast a spell on the men so that they couldn't stop kissing each other. Joss Whedon vetoed the idea because he did not want to portray people's sexual orientation as changing in an instant and he did not want to portray same-sex kissing as a punishment.
3. This episode marks the beginning of Spike and Buffy's sexual relationship. They continued with their violent, passionate, and rough sex throughout many episodes. Ironically, Buffy would later undergo a slightly similar situation with Angel (trying to kill him before sleeping with him) in the comics.
4. The nerds talk about Red Dwarf (1988) and Doctor Who (1963) - Andrew claims to have seen every episode of the latter, but not all of the former as it isn't out on DVD yet. While only about a quarter of the total Doctor Who serials have been released on DVD (and indeed, some serials don't even exist in the BBC archives anymore), he could have watched them on VHS cassette. James Marsters would later go on to have a recurring role in the Doctor Who (2005) spin-off Torchwood (2006).
5. Steve Tartalia, James Marsters' stunt double, says he knocked himself out during the last scene, in which Buffy and Spike fall through the ceiling. "On that fall," he says, "our legs got tangled in the breakaway ceiling, and it caused us to tilt at an angle so that my head would be the first thing to hit the ground. And it did, and it knocked me out. Basically, I came to with some flashlights and smelling salts." Stunt coordinator John Medlen also hurt himself during this episode, while demonstrating how Spike should swing from the chandelier. The chandelier broke, he fell 7 feet, and the chandelier landed on his face, breaking his nose.
6. The estimated maximum lifespan for most species of Rat is three years (if not in a lab). Amy spent three seasons as a rat. She should then be much older than portrayed, this was probably done deliberately. After all, she's a witch self-turned to rat, tended by another witch.
7. A longer, more intense lovemaking scene was originally filmed for the finale of the episode, but cut out. The clip still makes the rounds occasionally in fan circles.
8. Buffy has sex with Spike after fighting and Dawn comments that her sister always goes straight to the refrigerator after Slayer patrol. This bears out Faith's assertion in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Faith, Hope & Trick (1998) that Slaying "makes you hungry and horny".
9. Amy casts a spell on a woman in the Bronze to make her fall for Willow until Willow says no. She identifies herself as "Brie", an appropriate target for Amy since Brie is a form of cheese. Many fans have commented how closely Brie resembles Cordelia in appearance.
10. Both Buffy and Willow are out of control: their fears about themselves become what leads them both into destructive relationships, one sexually, and one magically. Unlike other seasons, where Buffy and Willow are shown having long conversations, there are few times in season 6 when Buffy and Willow actually confide in each other and speak honestly. Buffy approaches Willow to have a serious conversation in this episode, but Amy's presence throws her off and she leaves without having voiced anything real. Thus, this episode typifies the season-long theme that self-involvement often leads to self-destruction. It's not until Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Same Time, Same Place (2002) that the two best friends are able to show their affection to each other fully again.
11. Spike learns that he can hit Buffy without his chip activating.
12. Willow's comment to Amy about sewing her name in her clothes before doing any forgetting spells references the previous episode, where ID and clothing labels told most of the gang who they were.
13. Amy says she wants to ask Larry to the prom, only to be informed by Willow of his death (and that he was gay). Larry was killed by Mayor Richard Wilkins in the Season 3 finale Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Graduation Day: Part 2 (1999), when he broke his neck with a tail whip.
14. This is the first of a long episode run where Giles is not seen.
15. Spike evokes to Buffy that they twice kissed each other in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Once More, with Feeling (2001) and Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Tabula Rasa (2001). However, they kissed each at other times as well (Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Something Blue (1999) and Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Intervention (2001)).
16. Sarah Michelle Gellar was reportedly so loud (when having sex with Spike) that Joss Whedon had to have music put in and the volume lowered.
17. Shortly after Amy is de-ratted, she watches television on Buffy's couch and there is a commercial showing for the Doublemeat Palace, where Buffy will get a job, later.

Wrecked

1. Jeff Kober (the warlock Rack) previously played Zachary Kralik, the psychopathic vampire whom the Watchers Council set on Buffy as a test, in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Helpless (1999).
2. Xander research demons in Tobin's Spirit Guide, a fictional book originally from Ghostbusters (1984). It previously appeared in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Restless (2000).
3. Willow's chest of magical items includes the Gentlemen's box, from Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Hush (1999).
4. Buffy wakes up after her first night with Spike and sees him by her side; she woke up alone after her night with Angel and Parker, while Riley was the first to still be with her in the morning. This time, though, she's the one who leaves her partner.
5. This line was cut due to length: Amy: "I want to have fun, Willow. I've been in a cage."Willow: "There was a little ball. And you seemed to enjoy playing with those cardboard toilet paper rolls."Amy: "As cages go, it was fine. But I was still confined. I've got lost time to make up and if people don't like it, screw them."
6. This episode was dedicated to the memory of J. D. Peralta, Marti Noxon's assistant.
7. Buffy calls what she did with Spike last night a "freakshow", echoing what Angel had called his and Buffy's relationship when he broke up with her in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Prom (1999).
8. Spike describes having sex with a Slayer as better than killing one, in reference to his reference with killing two.
9. While the Scoobies become aware of the seriousness of Willow's addiction, Willow reveals to Buffy that Tara has left her for this same reason, in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Tabula Rasa (2001).
10. Buffy threatens Spike if he tell anyone about them having sex; he'll keep this a secret until she breaks up with him, revealing it to Xander in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Entropy (2002).
11. Xander is researching on the robbery of the Illuminata diamond from the Sunnydale Natural History Museum and the freezing of its guard Rusty, from the previous episode Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Smashed (2001). The Scoobies will only identify the Trio in the next episode, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Gone (2002).
12. Dawn makes peanut butter pancakes but then decides she doesn't like them. According to the DVD commentaries on Ice Princess (2005), Michelle Trachtenberg's character hates peanut butter.
13. Buffy's first words upon waking next to Spike are "Oh. Oh, God, no;" similarly, Spike said "Oh, God, no. Please, no." when he woke up and first noticed he loved her, in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Out of My Mind (2000).
14. Xander and Anya discuss their wedding planning, the ceremony to take place in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Hell's Bells (2002).
15. Willow gives up on magic, but will resume her abuse in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Seeing Red (2002) until she's properly rehabilitated. In the comics, she'll deal with abstaining from magic again to conceal herself (Retreat, Part Three), during the end of magic (Last Gleaming, Part Five), then in exchange for her freedom
16. Willow tells Buffy about her feelings of needing magic to be more than "just some girl", as she displayed in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Restless (2000) and will mention again in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Two to Go (2002).
17. Both very evil characters in this season, Willow and Spike, are shown vulnerable and naked, the witch crying in the shower and the vampire having unsatisfying sex with Buffy.

Gone

1. As Buffy is leaving the social services office, she can be heard whistling "Going through the Motions," the opening song from Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Once More, with Feeling (2001),
2. When Buffy shows up at the Magic Box invisible, Xander asks her if she's been feeling ignored and Buffy responds that this isn't a "Marcie" thing. This is a reference to season one's Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Out of Mind, Out of Sight (1997) where a student, Marcie, became invisible inadvertently when everyone ignored her.
3. Buffy tells Dawn that "Xander and Anya are working on it, 'Muldering' our what happened". This is a reference to agent Fox Muller from The X-Files (1993). The last time the X-Files was referenced by Buffy, it was in season one's Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Pack (1997), where Buffy says Giles is "trying to Scully" her, alluding to the other half of the X-Files duo.
4. Sarah Michelle Gellar had requested to cut her hair, so the writers made her haircut a plot point of this episode and she wore a wig for the first few scenes of the episode.
5. Buffy and Willow fail to recognize Andrew, beginning a recurring gag in the series.
6. While Buffy was invisible she stopped a kid from bullying a girl and this line was cut: "Watch who you bully, kid. She might be the next chosen one."
7. Buffy first recognizes that she does in fact want to live - something that she has been struggling with since her return in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Bargaining: Part 2 (2001). This also marks the changing, rehabilitation part of Willow and Buffy's separate problems - Willow's addiction to magic, and Buffy's disdain for being alive.
8. Buffy will learn how to pronounce "nemeses" in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Conversations with Dead People (2002).
9. In the comic Predators and Prey, when facing imminent death, Andrew makes a series of confessions to Buffy, and he mentions he liked when she cut her hair.
10. The scene where Buffy has her hair styled was filmed in Torrance, California - the names of the various shops and their phone numbers are readily visible.
11. Willow doesn't recognize Jonathan's voice when he's invisible, having last interacted with him in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Superstar (2000).
12. While trying to seduce Buffy, Spike admits he likes her hair, contradicting when he told her that she has "stupid hair" in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: No Place Like Home (2000). He had also complained about her "bouncing shampoo-commercial hair" in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Out of My Mind (2000).
13. Buffy recognizes Andrew as Tucker's brother, who she met in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Prom (1999).
14. The members of the Trio are revealed to the Scooby Gang.
15. This is the first of the two episodes written and directed by David Fury, the other being Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Lies My Parents Told Me (2003).

Doublemeat Palace

1. This marks the first time Tara has been missing from two shows in a row since the character was introduced.
2. As a child, Sarah Michelle Gellar appeared in Burger King commercial ads. McDonald's infamously sued her for citing their meat in one of the ads and banned her from eating in their restaurant. Ironically, McDonald's was a sponsor for Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997).
3. When Willow is trying to find out what is in the Doublemeat Burger, you can see the God Janus from the second season, that Ethan Rayne used to make people become their costumes, behind her.
4. Willow tells Xander and Anya that the Trio's headquarters had "pictures of the Vulcan woman from Star Trek: Enterprise (2001)," a reference to T'Pol played by Jolene Blalock. Both Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997) and Star Trek: Enterprise (2001) aired on UPN from 2001 to 2003.
5. Brent Hinckley, who played Manny the manager if the fast food restaurant, also played the manager of a fast food burger joint in "Falling Down" with Michael Douglas.
6. Kali Rocha (Halfrek) previously played Cecily Addams in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Fool for Love (2000). In Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Older and Far Away (2002), it was hinted that Halfrek and Cecily were the same person as Halfrek referred to Spike by his original name of William while Spike appeared to recognise her.
7. After Buffy finds a human finger under the meat grinder, she confronts Manny the manager, and then runs out and warns the customers, "The meat is people, it's people!" This is a spoof of Charlton Heston's famous line from the film Soylent Green, "Soylent Green is People!"

Dead Things

1. This episode has parallels to Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Consequences (1999): Spike's admission of how he went back and "took care of it.", was identical to what Faith told Buffy about the death of the deputy mayor, likely another reason Buffy was even more upset. Interestingly, both attempts failed and the victims were recovered from bodies of water.When Buffy confronted Faith about killing the deputy mayor Faith responded by saying, "Anyway, how many people do you think we've saved by now? Thousands? And didn't you stop the world from ending? Because in my book, that puts you and me in the plus column." When Buffy goes to turn herself in Spike tells her "And how many people are alive because of you? How many have you saved? One dead girl doesn't tip the scale."Faith said, after Buffy slapped her: "There's my girl," the same answer Spike had for Buffy's attack against him in this episode.
2. The outfit Willow has on when talking to Tara outside of the magic shop is the same outfit she has on when she's "Dark Willow"
3. Buffy cries to Spike: "You can't understand why this is killing me." In Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Conversations with Dead People (2002), Spike tells Buffy that after he got his soul he finally understands her self-loathing.
4. Sarah Michelle Gellar disliked the way her character was treated in this episode: "I had trouble with the one where Buffy had sex with Spike on the balcony while watching their friends. I really thought that was out of character. And I didn't like what it stood for. That was the moment that I had the most problems with."
5. In the scene in which Buffy reveals to Tara that she has been sleeping with Spike, Buffy was scripted to lament how hard it is to lie to everyone about who she's sleeping with, and Tara responded, "Sweetie, I'm a fag. I've been there." Dailies reveal that the lines were filmed but cut in editing.
6. Steven S. DeKnight says: "I totally understand why that part made [Gellar] uncomfortable... I wish that I could say it was my idea but it's something Joss Whedon had in the back of his head for a year. It just so happened that it happened in my episode." Despite Gellar's reservations, DeKnight lists this episode as his personal favorite: "Sometimes, you have an episode where everybody 'shows up'. The actors are spot on. The direction is great, the editing, the music, etc... That was just one of those episodes where everything just came together. It had humor at the beginning and then it had that great twist where [the Trio] accidentally killed Katrina and then it got dark, dark, dark, dark. We really wanted to highlight how unhappy Buffy was with herself and really show why she was mistreating Spike because she hated herself."
7. When Faith and Buffy are battling each other in separate bodies in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Who Are You? (2000), Faith (in Buffy) starts attacking Buffy (in Faith), seeing herself and finally coming out of denial. Disgusted in herself she continues her attack saying: "You're nothing! Disgusting! Murderous bitch! You're nothing! You're disgusting..." While Buffy is attacking Spike, she says: "You don't have a soul! There is nothing good or clean in you. You are dead inside! You can't feel anything real! I could never be your girl!"
8. This line from Xander was cut due to length: "According to this, they place the time of Katrina's death almost a full day before you saw her in the woods."
9. When Dawn said she was staying at Janice's house, Buffy said, "And I'm falling for that again because of the surprise lobotomy?" This is a reference to when Dawn and Janice snuck out on Halloween to go on dates with two boys who turned out to be vampires in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: All the Way (2001).
10. Tara becomes the first of the Scoobies to find out about Spike and Buffy's sexual relationship.
11. While in the Bronze, Xander and Anya dance like they did in their apartment in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Once More, with Feeling (2001). When Buffy asked, "Is there singing? Are we singing again?", she was wondering if Sweet had been called again.
12. When Faith accidentally killed someone, Buffy wished (at least until Faith was later shown to have completely betrayed the Scoobies) to shield her from punishment by the civilian legal system, in stark contrast to her intention to immediately turn herself in.
13. When Dawn objects to Buffy's decision to turn herself in to the police, Buffy says, "Dawnie, I have to." This is the same thing she said when Dawn begged her not to sacrifice herself, in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Gift (2001).
14. The situation involving Katrina and the Trio defines Warren, Jonathan, and Andrew's characters. Warren emerges as much darker and more capable of actual evil than Andrew and Jonathan. While Andrew adjusts to the idea of getting away with Katrina's murder over the course of the episode, Jonathan remains uneasy. The Trio will begin to fracture culminating in Warren and Andrew attempting to use jet packs to escape and leaving Jonathan to take the fall, in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Seeing Red (2002).
15. The scene where Spike and Buffy are in the alley, he tells her "I love you." and she replies "No you don't." is pretty much mirroring their last moment together in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chosen (2003). She tells him "I love you" to which he responds "No you don't."

Older and Far Away

1. This marks the last time that Buffy's birthday is celebrated in the series. Spike comments that, because supernatural events have a history of occurring on Buffy's birthday, she should probably stop celebrating them. Buffy traditionally celebrates her birthday around the 12th or 13th episode of each season; her birthday takes place in episode 13 of Season Two (Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Innocence (1998)), episode 12 of Season Three (Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Helpless (1999)), episode 12 of Season Four (Buffy the Vampire Slayer: A New Man (2000)), and episode 13 of Season Five (Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Blood Ties (2001)).
2. The character of Richard is a classic Star Trek reference: A fresh-faced, never-before-seen character who, upon encountering a form of otherworldly life, is immediately injured, almost fatally. Add to this the fact that he's dressed in a red shirt, and you have an example of an early Star Trek: The Original Series (1966) throwaway character.
3. In Dawn's classroom, the teacher is saying, "... if we can come up with things Jim lost during his years in Shanghai, and things he gained." She is referring to author J.G. Ballard, whose autobiographical novel "Empire of the Sun" was adapted to film in Empire of the Sun (1987).
4. Xander makes reference to Children of the Corn (1984). Nicholas Brendon played a role in Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest (1995).
5. Tara has come to comfort Buffy where none of her other friends could at least twice; first when Joyce died, and secondly when Buffy confessed about her mutually abusive relationship with Spike. Aside from Willow, Buffy seems the closest to Tara in the group, with Xander saying that "it would mean a lot to Buffy" if she came to her birthday party.
6. Buffy's line was cut due to length: "All the good ones got picked off by that lady with the wig. Lay off."
7. Spike comes to Buffy's party with a six-pack of Einbeck beer bottles under his arm.
8. Tara continues to gain confidence in herself and helps her friends. She stood up to Spike when he was making inappropriate advances toward Buffy and defended Willow when Anya pressured her to perform magic.
9. When Dawn goes to her bedroom and everyone follows, she shouts "Get out. Get out! Get out! Get out!" She did the exact same thing a year before in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Blood Ties (2001) to Joyce and Buffy. Coincidentally it was also during Buffy's birthday party both times.
10. The only two times we celebrate Buffy's birthday (after Dawn's arrival), the episodes happen to be Dawn-centric. This being the second episode.
11. Willow and Anya's exchange was cut due to length: Willow: "I'll be fine."Anya: "This isn't some weird definition of 'fine' that means hiding in your room and crying?"Willow: "No."Anya: "Because we're tired of the crying."
12. The premise of this episode is similar to the film The Exterminating Angel (1962) which also has a group of characters mysteriously trapped at a party who eventually discover how to escape.
13. Xander mentions that Anya is trying to unload slug candles, first mentioned in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Life Serial (2001).
14. Dawn's kleptomania and abandonment issues are revealed to the Scooby Gang.
15. Willow has not cast a spell for 32 days up to the start of this episode, meaning this episode takes place exactly those days after Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Gone (2002).
16. When Halfrek first sees Spike, she identifies him as "William". Kali Rocha first appeared in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Fool for Love (2000) as Cecily, the woman who spurned William, causing him to find Drusilla, who turned him into the vampire known as Spike. When Buffy asks whether they know each other, Spike doesn't recognize her (because she has her demon face on) and she seems to not want him to recognize her. Joss Whedon later made a statement that Halfrek and Cecily were indeed the same entity.
17. When Anya angrily tells Willow that she should work some magic to free everyone who came to Buffy's party from the house, Tara steps between them and says, "...you're not gonna make her do something she doesn't want to. And if you try, you'll have to go through me first." The triumphant smile on Tara's face suggests her memory of Buffy, in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Family (2000), saying to Tara's relatives, "You want to take Tara out of here against her will, you gotta come through me."

As You Were

1. When Buffy breaks up with Spike, she calls him "William" for the second and last time, the first time having been in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: No Place Like Home (2000), when she found Spike lurking outside her house.
2. Alice Dinnean, the puppeteer who operated the baby demons, also operated the living mummy hand in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Life Serial (2001) and the Angel puppet in Angel: Smile Time (2004).
3. When Riley catches Buffy in bed with Spike, Spike quips "What can I say? The girl just needs a little monster in her, man." This is almost the same thing Spike said to him once before: "The girl needs some monster in her man, and that's not in your nature." in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Into the Woods (2000).
4. When talking about their marriage lasting forever, Anya says to Xander: "That works out nicely then." Spike says those exact words to Buffy in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Flooded (2001).
5. Buffy says "I have a house, I think it's safe, sometimes you can't leave" referring to her birthday party in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Older and Far Away (2002).
6. During this episode's shooting, [link=nm0085990 went on location for the the Blackwood Meets Buffy featurette. He was alongside Sarah Michelle Gellar and "portrayed" Buffy on the legend dialogue she has with Samantha Finn. In the interview, Gellar mentions her initial fear of graveyards and discusses Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Once More, with Feeling (2001) and the upcoming Scooby-Doo (2002).
7. The outfit Willow is wearing is the same outfit that Dawn wears in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Lessons (2002).
8. On the widescreen version, during the initial demon chase, a green bar is visible across the left-hand side of the screen, presumably where the screen is cut off for the fullscreen version.
9. The first and only reappearance of Riley Finn after leaving Buffy in the season five's Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Into the Woods (2000).

Hell's Bells

1. While Buffy is playing charades with the crowd at Xander and Anya's wedding, she puts her fingers up to her head like horns and you can hear someone in the background guess "Deathwok Clan!". This is a reference to Lorne from Angel (1999), who is a demon with horns and a member of the Deathwok clan.
2. After Willow and Xander see each other in formal wear, she jokes that it's a good thing she realized she was gay. This refers to Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Homecoming (1998), where she and Xander couldn't resist each other in formal wear and shared an illicit kiss.
3. This is the first and last time Xander's parents (and extended family) appear. Though, his mom has been heard on the phone and shouting downstairs, previously.
4. The title "Hell's Bells" is an exclamation of anger, frustration or surprise. The full exclamation is "Hell's bells and buckets of blood". It's also making reference to a song by AC/DC, a popular rock band in the 1970s and 1980s.
5. Amber Benson said in an interview to Buffy magazine that "I'm the biggest klutz on the set. Remember Emma [Caulfield] in that wedding dress? I got that dress off of her at least four times, because I'd be following her and I'd step on the dress and she'd be pulling it back up. But she looked gorgeous in that dress."
6. A cut dialogue explains Giles' absence: Dawn: "I thought Xander and Anya couldn't afford flowers."Willow: "Giles sent 'em. Aren't they gorgeous?"Dawn: "Yeah. I wish Giles was here."Willow: "Me too. And I'm sure he'd much rather be here than fighting that nasty demon-"Dawn: "Da-e-mon. In England it's daemon."Willow: "Daemon, too right. But Giles's got responsibilities. And so Anya and Xander have flowers. And flowers. And more flowers. Ooh, it's going to be so pretty."
7. Sarah Michelle Gellar displays her real-life talent for juggling in this episode.
8. In her final scene in this episode, Buffy wears a t-shirt saying "I survived" with a picture of a dragon on it. This could be a reference to the dragon we see in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Gift (2001).
9. In the wedding, Clem is sitting among Xander's family and friends. They recently met each other in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Older and Far Away (2002).
10. Buffy displays fondness for Anya and Xander's relationship, stating that "it's like a light at the end of her long, dark, nasty tunnel". She had acted similarly protective of them in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Triangle (2001), declaring that they "can't break up" and "have a miraculous love".
11. When fighting with the demon Stewart, Buffy rips her dress to enable her to kick. Buffy encountered the same problem in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Flooded (2001) when fighting the M'Fashnik while wearing a long skirt, which she ripped with a letter opener.
12. Xander's dad mockingly says to one of the guests, "I'm sure you come from a long line of geeks." This is a reference to the older definition of geek, that of a circus freak, particularly one who would bite the heads off of live chickens.
13. Willow considers wearing the traditionally burlap with blood larva for a bridesmaid's dress. Anya first mentioned this in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Wrecked (2001).
14. Xander's uncle, Rory, scares a woman at the wedding by informing her that a moose head on the wall is stuffed incorrectly. In Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Dark Age (1997), Xander mentions that his Uncle Rory is a taxidermist.
15. Rebecca Kirshner reveals in her DVD commentary of this episode that Anya's reference to herself as a "sex poodle" was a reference to colleague Jane Espenson, who had been using the name herself.
16. When Xander kills the demon, Willow asks "Is anyone else waiting for it to go poof?" This echoes her exact words from the opening of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Wish (1998), which was Anya's first appearance on the show. This served as a tribute to her first appearance.
17. At the end, Buffy says "they were supposed to be my light at the end of the tunnel". In Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Once More, with Feeling (2001), Buffy can be seen drawing a tunnel with a light at the end of it. A clear metaphor for heaven, or at least an indication of something positive following a period of darkness.
18. Anya becomes a vengeance demon again, after being stripped of her powers in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Wish (1998). She'll become mortal again in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Selfless (2002).

Normal Again

1. Sarah Michelle Gellar would later appear on one of the last shows of All My Children (1970) as an unnamed character. She played a well dressed, coiffured and otherwise coherent young woman brought in from the town for medication because she claimed she "saw vampires before they were in". Gellar originally played the daughter of Susan Lucci on the show.
2. Buffy's pre-Sunnydale experience in an asylum was later told in the comic book "Slayer, Interrupted", a title reference to Girl, Interrupted (1999) which co-starred Clea DuVall who appeared in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Out of Mind, Out of Sight (1997).
3. In his DVD commentary, director Rick Rosenthal says that he was a little intimidated working with Sarah Michelle Gellar at first because she has the habit of jokingly saying to directors, "You're not the boss of me!" or "Don't tell me what to do!"
4. First with no appearance of Anya since she became a regular in Season 4.
5. This marks the fifth and final appearance of Hank Summers (albeit as a hallucination).
6. At ComicCon 2013, while speaking about this episode, Joss Whedon mentioned that, during his time writing Astonishing X-Men, he envisioned Cyclops, whose real name is Scott Summers, making a reference to a female cousin of his who had been sent to a mental institution for believing she was a demon hunter. However, he could not find an appropriate place in the storyline to fit it in, and therefore it was never featured.
7. This is reminiscent of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Shadows and Symbols (1998) from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993) wherein Sisko is led to believe that he is a patient in an asylum. In both, the protagonist thinks that they are experiencing a mental lapse in which the series is an hallucination. Both series also co-star Armin Shimerman.
8. In the very first scene, Jonathan says "I'm going Jack Torrance in here". This is a reference to the protagonist in Stephen King's The Shining (1980). Played in the film adaptation by Jack Nicholson. Jack Torrance went insane as the result of being cooped up and isolated.
9. Buffy tells Willow about her parent's reaction when she first attempted to tell them about vampires; Joyce only learns and believes about her status as a vampire Slayer in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Becoming: Part 2 (1998).
10. The psychiatrist in the hospital provides mental health rationales for many of the incidents that have occurred in recent seasons, such as Dawn's sudden appearance, Buffy's increasing infamy among Sunnydale's human residents and especially her death and resurrection.
11. Buffy will tell Giles about the events from this episode during their cathartic laughing session in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Grave (2002).
12. This episode was the basis for the gamebook La nuit je suis Buffy Summers, by French author Chloé Delaume.
13. This episode is the final appearance of the Doublemeat Palace, although she continues working there until Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Lessons (2002).
14. Willow will go out with Tara in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Entropy (2002) as she planned to ask in this episode, when Tara clarifies the girl she greeted with a kiss was just a friend.
15. Warren and Andrew arrive with packages with their contents hidden from Jonathan, this culminates on Jonathan secretly helping Buffy against them in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Entropy (2002) and not having his own jet pack to escape her.
16. Alike what she reveals that had happened to her, Ted also threatened to put Buffy in a mental institution based on the contents in her diary about being a Slayer in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Ted (1997).
17. After Willow sees Tara kiss another woman, she tells Buffy she left so she didn't magic her fist through a wall. The threat of using magic again because of something that happened with Tara comes to pass in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Seeing Red (2002).
18. According to Joss Whedon, this was the "ultimate postmodern look at the concept of a writer writing a show," as it questioned fantastical or inconsistent elements of the show "the way any normal person would." Whedon added that it is intentionally left open to interpretation; the actual cause of the delusions, either the poison or Buffy's return to "reality", is not made explicitly clear. "If the viewer wants," Whedon says, "the entire series takes place in the mind of a lunatic locked up somewhere in Los Angeles... and that crazy person is me." Although, "personally, I think it really happened." Fan theories concerning Asylum Buffy and his statement are referred to as the Normal Again alternative, exploring the possibility that Buffy being the Slayer is simply a 7 year long delusion beginning when she hallucinates first meeting Merrick and ending when she regains her sanity again with the final scene in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chosen (2003).
19. Marti Noxon said of the ending: "It was a fake out; we were having some fun with the audience. I don't want to denigrate what the whole show has meant. If Buffy's not empowered then what are we saying? If Buffy's crazy, then there is no girl power; it's all fantasy. And really the whole show stands for the opposite of that, which is that it isn't just a fantasy. There should be girls that can kick ass. So I'd be really sad if we made that statement at the end. That's why it's just somewhere in the middle saying 'Wouldn't it be funny if...?' or 'Wouldn't this be sad or tragic if...?' In my feeling, and I believe in Joss' as well that's not the reality of the show. It was just a tease and a trick."
20. Marti Noxon also refers to the famous ending to St. Elsewhere (1982) (which implies the entire show occurred within the mind of an autistic child): "We made a lot of jokes about the snow globe and St Elsewhere. But it's not the truth."

Entropy

1. The Doublemeat Palace is shown for the last time on Willow's Macbook for a few seconds, as she is looking through the camera feeds.
2. When Willow and Tara reconcile, the dress Willow wore during the song "Under Your Spell" from Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Once More, with Feeling (2001) is seen hanging on her bedroom door behind Tara. This is a reminder of happier times, before Willow and Tara began to fracture due to Willow's use magic.
3. When Willow and Tara talk at the university, Tara wears the leather jacket Dawn attempted to give to Buffy in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Older and Far Away (2002).
4. During the scene where Tara and Willow kiss after getting back together, Amber Benson accidentally used tongue on Alyson Hannigan.
5. Halfrek explains to Anya that vengeance demons are unable to enact wishes on their own behalf. In the comic Own It, Part Four, D'Hoffryn will attempt to remove this limitation from their powers.
6. Xander describes Spike as obsessed with Buffy and hanging out in her yard to keep an eye on her; Spike's love for Buffy became public knowledge in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Crush (2001) and she first saw him lurking in front of her house in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: No Place Like Home (2000).
7. The Scoobies discover they are under surveillance from the Trio, which they have been doing since Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Life Serial (2001).
8. In their conversation at the coffee shop, Willow recalls the Wig Lady from Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Doublemeat Palace (2002), the invisibility ray from Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Gone (2002), and the Suvolte demon eggs from Buffy the Vampire Slayer: As You Were (2002).
9. Anya mentions to Buffy her former lovers, but Buffy counters with that "there have only been four- three! Three! Three guys." This line refers to Buffy's past sexual partners Angel, Riley Finn, Parker Abrams, and (secretly) Spike.
10. Anya and Spike bond talking about their common situation among the Scoobies with their evil pasts, as they had done in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Where the Wild Things Are (2000).
11. Buffy's relationship with Spike becomes general knowledge among Willow, Dawn, Xander, and Anya. Riley discovered in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: As You Were (2002) and Buffy told Tara in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Dead Things (2002), but Giles will only know in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Grave (2002).
12. Anya and the Scoobies see each other for the first time since the cancelled wedding in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Hell's Bells (2002).
13. Jonathan mutters about being "deader than an ex-girlfriend," in reference to Warren having killed Katrina Silber in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Dead Things (2002).
14. Dawn argues that the Scoobies patrolled since they were her age (16), which Buffy says it's true, but claims that she's technically one and a half years old, since she was first created as a human in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Buffy vs. Dracula (2000).
15. Buffy mentions having tried to kill her sister and friends in the previous week, referring to when she acted under the Glarghk Guhl Kashmas'nik's influence in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Normal Again (2002). Tara asks Willow about the aftermath as well. As Tara clarifies about her friend seen in the same episode, Willow gains courage to ask her out as she planned at the time.
16. Anya claims that Xander likes to watch "girl on girl action;" in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Restless (2000), he dreamed about watching Willow and Tara kiss.
17. Dawn asks Buffy so they'd patrol together; she'll only allow her in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Lessons (2002), after they fight together in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Grave (2002).
18. Buffy and Willow's exchange about the Trio's lair was cut: Willow: "Can't help thinking maybe you were closer than you thought that day you went out with the addresses."Buffy: "And they sent Psycho Demon to interrupt me."
19. Edie Caggiano was credited as "Mother" even though her scene was cut.
20. Tara paraphrases Yeats' poem "The Second Coming", saying: "Things fall apart, they fall apart so hard."
21. Anya said to Xander that she wished tentacles where "his beady eyes" were. Anya previously stated that Xander's eyes are beady in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Once More, with Feeling (2001).
22. Buffy jokes that if Willow had put the "creepy" lawn gnome in her home while she was dead, she'd have crawled from her grave sooner, in reference to having done so in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Bargaining: Part 2 (2001).
23. The Trio's efforts to locate something in Sunnydale are revealed in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Seeing Red (2002) to be so they get to the orbs of Nezzla'Khan and be able to physically fight the Slayer. Warren and Andrew's mistrust on Jonathan discussed in this episode will be put in practice as well.
24. When Buffy tells Spike she suspects him to be spying on her with the camera, Spike strongly denies it because he has changed. Before he fell in love with her, Spike had recruited a minion to spy on her with a camera in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Halloween (1997).
25. Dawn says she doesn't use the "w-i-s-h" word anymore, in reference to the accidental wish she made in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Older and Far Away (2002).
26. Buffy and Dawn's shopping trip originally contained a scene where a young mother pushing a baby stroller calmly cuts across, about to bump into Dawn, who is looking at a store. Buffy takes Dawn's arm to steer her out of the way. Dawn jumps, ever so slightly at Buffy's touch, startled. They both stop, looking at each other, embarrassed, realizing what just happened.
27. Willow and Tara resume their relationship, having been separated since Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Tabula Rasa (2001).

Seeing Red

1. The time period spanning from the last scene of this episode up to the end of the season takes place within twenty-four hours.
2. Tara is unique amongst the Scooby Gang in that during her time on the show she was never tied up and was never possessed or went evil.
3. This is the last time in the series where someone has been added to the main cast.
4. This was the last episode written by Steven S. DeKnight.
5. Buffy causes a stone archway to cave in. This is probably her greatest feat of physical strength in the series.
6. A line was cut where Buffy tells Xander that it's a little early in the morning for him to be drinking: Xander: "The tyranny of the clock must be overthrown."Buffy: "So how many coup d'états is that?"Xander: "General Cirrhosis has seized control of the Liver Parliament."
7. Clem echoes Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Lovers Walk (1998): "Love's a funny thing."
8. Xander's lament that he is part fish recalls his brief tenure as a member of the Sunnydale High swim team in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Go Fish (1998).
9. Spike says "It won't let me be a monster. And I can't be a man. I'm nothing". This mimics what Buffy said to him in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Smashed (2001).
10. In the DVD commentary, James Marsters said that filming the scene in which Spike attempts to rape Buffy was one of the hardest he ever had to do. He has since said that he will never do such a scene again. That scene has also generated intense controversy between fans and the writers, but Jane Espenson says that that moment was necessary to set up a powerful motivation for Spike's quest to gain a soul. As Marsters points out, "How do you motivate him [to] make a mistake that's so heart-rending that he'd be willing to do that?"
11. From 2002 to 2009 Amber Benson (Tara) and Adam Busch (Warren) were in a relationship and lived together in real life. In the series, ironically, it was Warren who murdered Tara. Joss Whedon told Busch, "In this episode, you're gonna kill your girlfriend. To which Busch replied, "Warren gets a girlfriend?" Whedon replied, "No, your REAL girlfriend".
12. Amber Benson is added to the opening credits for this episode only. Joss Whedon had long wanted to kill off a major character in the same episode in which they first joined the main credits (he'd hope to do so with Jesse in the pilot, but couldn't afford to make an extra set of opening credits). This is the first and only episode where Benson appears in the main title credits, and is also her death episode.
13. By the end of the filming of Tara's death scene, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Amber Benson were crying.
14. Tara's death provoked a strong reaction from fans, many of whom claimed that the show was homophobic in killing Tara (who spent much of the episode naked in bed with Willow), and that her death contributed to the stereotype of homosexual relationships on television ending badly, usually with the death or turn to evil of one of the partners. Joss Whedon and Amber Benson both deny that Tara's death was ill-intentioned, and insist that it was only meant to further Willow's character.
15. Although this is by far the most extreme example, Buffy has been sexually assaulted before in episodes such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Halloween (1997), Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Phases (1998), Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Go Fish (1998), Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Pack (1997), and arguably in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Prophecy Girl (1997) and Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Get It Done (2003). Buffy was also sexually harassed in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Anne (1998) and Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Helpless (1999). She was also under the legal age of consent in California when she lost her virginity to Angel in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Surprise (1998). Faith's sex with Riley whilst in Buffy's body in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Who Are You? (2000) and Willow having sex with Tara in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Once More, with Feeling (2001) after using magic on her in the preceding episode could also be construed as rape.
16. In the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences panel discussion that took place between seasons six and seven, Alyson Hannigan revealed that getting the shot of Tara's blood spraying onto Willow's shirt was incredibly difficult. Because they only had two shirts, the wardrobe department kept washing the shirts but did not have time to dry them, so the shirt was wet in most of the takes. Hannigan joked that when they finally got the take she wasn't sure what she was doing acting-wise, she was just concerned with, "Was that blood good? OK, good. Let's move on."
17. When Tara is shot she is wearing the shirt (or a shirt fitting the same description) that Willow wanted to wear to Joyce's funeral in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Forever (2001).
18. From Tara's gravestone in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Help (2002), her death occurs on May 7, 2002 which was the original airdate of this episode.
19. This episode begins a tradition in television shows created by Joss Whedon in which a character's lover is killed/injured in front of them, and their blood sprays on the characters clothing and face. Tara's blood sprays on Willow in this episode when she is shot. Later, on Angel (1999), when Fred becomes fatally sick after being infected by Illyria, she coughs up blood onto her lover, Wesley. In Serenity (2005), Hoban "Wash" Washboune is killed by a harpoon through the side of the ship, and his blood sprays on his wife Zoe. And on Dollhouse (2009), this happens twice: the character of Bennet Halverson is shot in the head, and her blood sprays on the man she had just kissed, Topher Brink; and Mellie shoots herself in the head, her blood spraying on the face of her lover, Paul.
20. Spike's horror of nearly raping Buffy would be his sole motivation to regain a soul and be a better man, which he received in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Grave (2002). However, this event also caused Buffy to distrust Spike and briefly have a strained relationship with him, which is shown in early Season Seven.
21. The Trio's skinning of the demon foreshadows Warren's flaying by Dark Willow. Also, Andrew calls Jonathan a "skin job," a reference to Blade Runner (1982). The show's obsession with skin will continue into the next season, where Gnarl flays victims alive, including a paralyzed Willow.

Villains

1. Although Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Seeing Red (2002) is generally believed to have been Amber Benson's last show, she appears briefly here, playing the corpse of Tara. When filming was done, Joss Whedon and the cast presented Benson with a tombstone-shaped cake to commemorate her final scene.
2. Anya says to Xander, "I'll help. But I'm helping Willow," showing her finally thinking of Willow as a true friend. Their friendship took longer to develop, as they were often at odds throughout the series because Willow did not think Anya would change from being a demon. This is Anya's way of showing she understands as a scorned woman what Willow is going through and that their friendship is still as strong as ever.
3. Buffy's subdued response when learning that Anya was a demon again foreshadowed their inevitable clash. (If Anya the demon harmed humans, Buffy could never abide it.) The silent communication between the two characters indicated they were both aware of this eventuality from the get-go. Xander, however, remained ever clueless and would stay that way until Buffy spelled it out for him in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Selfless (2002).
4. Willow's descent into darkness over Tara's death is very reminiscent of her rage following Glory's attack on Tara almost exactly a year to the day in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Tough Love (2001). In each episode she turns to the Magic Box to seek dark arts books to aid her in seeking revenge on the one responsible. The notable difference is that by this episode she is far more powerful, bringing the books to her using magic and absorbing their teachings, whereas previously she ran to the books and stole one to use.
5. This is the third time that Willow has caused a deity pain by harming Osiris, with the first two being in her two fights with Glory in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Tough Love (2001) and Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Gift (2001).
6. Buffy may have been killed after she was shot by Warren, as she flat-lined right before Dark Willow removed the bullet and sealed the wound. If so, this would have been her third death, following her respiratory failure in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Prophecy Girl (1997) and her self-sacrifice in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Gift (2001).
7. In the comic Return to Sunnydale, Part One, Willow reveals that Warren's family made him a funeral with his remains.
8. This was the creation of "Dark Willow", who takes over the role of Big Bad for the rest of the season. Dark Willow would later return in the comics Time of Your Life, Family Reunion, Part Four, etc.
9. The Angel Investigations team will also experience a team member seeking to exact revenge on a human being; both times someone (Buffy / Gunn) attempt to stop the person (Willow / Fred) from killing a human being. Ironically, with all of Buffy's attempts to save Warren's life in Season 6, she is the cause of his ultimate death in Season 8. Similarly, Gunn is the cause of Professor Seidel's death.
10. Xander says "out of the mouths of babes" after a comment made by Dawn, which is the same line said by the Master after a similar comment made by the Anointed One in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Angel (1997), both referring to murder.
11. Amber Benson is removed from the opening credits, only one episode after joining them, and also makes her final appearance in the series.
12. Amber Benson's removal from the credits marks the final change in the main cast line-up.
13. When Willow says "Bored now" before exacting her revenge, she is making a reference to the alternative universe vampire Willow, who used this as her catchphrase (possibly hinting at the new Willow losing her conscience and being more like the vampire alter-ego).
14. While everyone believed Warren was dead, he was kept alive by Amy Madison in the comics. This has led many to question The First taking on Warren's form to which Joss Whedon himself has said he may have made a mistake.
15. When Rack tells Warren that Buffy is the least of his problems, he sarcastically responds "You're right. I'm sorry. Let's talk about my skin troubles", an ironic foreshadowing of his death.
16. The movie that Clem is watching when Buffy and Dawn arrive at Spike's crypt is Meet John Doe (1941). The scene from the movie that can be seen in the background on Spike's TV is taken from the end of the film in which several characters are rushing to prevent the protagonist from committing suicide.

Two to Go

1. When Spike faces his opponent in the test, he remarks, "Here we are now, entertain us," which is a quote from the Nirvana song "Smells Like Teen Spirit".
2. Buffy's warning to Willow about not wanting to hurt her, only to be attacked in response and then attacking back, claiming she didn't want to but is still willing is similar to a situation in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Becoming: Part 2 (1998) between Spike and Drusilla where in mid-fight, Spike says "I don't wanna hurt you, baby" before being forced back at his throat where he then easily manages to release himself from her grasp and punches her, then saying "Doesn't mean I won't".
3. Anthony Head is not credited in the opening guest cast list because the writers wanted viewers to be surprised to see Giles back.
4. In the beginning, when Buffy, Xander and Anya are walking in the woods back towards Xander's car and realize it's been smashed by Willow, Anya leaves via teleportation and Buffy runs off in her "super hero" way leaving Xander behind. Xander then says "Glad I could help". This is a reference to/same line he says in Season Three's Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Zeppo (1999) when Xander is left out of a huge fight against the Hellmouth Beast because the rest of the Scoobie Gang feels he is an inadequate fighter (no super powers like Willow, Buffy or Faith) - though he still tries to help, he is constantly told to stay out of it. In the end, he ends up saving the school in his own battle against zombies.
5. Giles' reappearance was described in the script as "pure Ripper".
6. The title of the episode is a reference to the previous one, which ends with Willow saying "One down" after killing Warren. It is also a double entendre as to there being two episodes left in the season (this one and Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Grave (2002)).
7. This line was cut due to length: Clem: "We don't have a plan. Don't we at least need a plan?"Dawn: "Buffy and her friends never have a plan. They just sort of... jump in and don't know what they're doing."Clem: "And this works?"Dawn: "They never really let me come along. Guess we'll find out... It's okay. I mean they usually come back in one piece."
8. Anya refers to Andrew as "what's-his-face, the other guy." This is part of the running joke of the Scooby Gang being unable to recall Andrew's name, also present in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Gone (2002), Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Never Leave Me (2002), Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Grave (2002) and the comics Turbulence, and Own It, Part Five.
9. Dawn searches for Rack's residence based on the time Willow took her there, in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Wrecked (2001).
10. Nicholas Brendon does the opening narration "This is what happened this year" which precedes a longer-than-usual recap of all the major events of season six.
11. Giles' line "I'd like to test that theory" is repeated by Willow in the comic The Long Way Home, Part Two.
12. Rack is revealed to have survived being drained by Willow, albeit powerless in the comic Wonderland, Part Four.
13. Buffy states that killing someone changes you, followed by "Believe me, I know." She has twice thought she had killed a person: the robotic Ted in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Ted (1997) and, more recently, when she was framed for the death of Katrina in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Dead Things (2002). This also reflects her experience with Faith when the Slayer went rogue after accidentally killing Allan Finch in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Bad Girls (1999).
14. When Clem is performing a taste test on chips, Dawn replies that "as taste tests go, this is definitely one of the better ones I've been to," possibly referring to her culinary experiment in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Flooded (2001) where she asks Giles, "You ever try mixing parts of every cereal you got in one bowl?" She also experimented with peanut butter pancakes one time, commenting "remind me never to invent that again," in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Wrecked (2001).
15. Anya rebuffs Xander at the Magic Box, cutting him short when he's about to make plans if things get "really bad", wondering if he will "propose". This is a reference to Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Gift (2001), where Xander proposes Anya while the apocalypse is underway.
16. Willow refers back to the events of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Normal Again (2002) when she says that Buffy considered a psych ward to be a preferable alternative to being the Slayer.
17. Anya and Xander discuss her night with Spike, in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Entropy (2002).
18. Andrew retells his encounter with Dark Willow in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Storyteller (2003), with the events altered in his favor. He describes it to his camera again in the comic Retreat, Part Three.
19. Buffy's warning to Willow about not wanting to hurt her, only to be attacked in response and then attacking back, claiming she didn't want to, but is still willing, is similar to the fight between Spike and Drusilla in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Becoming: Part 2 (1998).
20. Just before Willow drains Rack, she repeats his phrase "just to take a little tour," from Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Wrecked (2001).

Grave

1. The only season finale of Buffy not to be written and directed by Joss Whedon.
2. Kingman's Bluff, where Willow tries to invoke Proserpexa, is the very same area where Angel attempted to commit suicide in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Amends (1998).
3. In the DVD commentary, director James A. Contner says that while filming the scenes with Willow and Xander on the cliff, the wind churned up dust, which blew into Alyson Hannigan's eyes. Because of the dust, Hannigan removed her black contacts and her eyes were blackened digitally in post-production.
4. In the previous episode, Buffy says her main strategy for dealing with Willow will be to talk to her, which Xander dismisses, though that's pretty much what he does to convince her to stop.
5. When Willow sends the flame ball after Jonathan and the other one (Andrew), she says "fly, my pretty, fly". It is widely believed that "fly, my pretties, fly" is a quote from The Wizard of Oz (1939) when the Wicked Witch of West sends her flying monkeys to attack Dorothy. However, the phrase does not appear in the film. She just says "fly" repeatedly.
6. This is one of only two episodes in the entire series where you can briefly see one of Sarah Michelle Gellar's real life tattoos. It is seen when Giles and Buffy are talking in the training room (as she is bent over the vaulting horse laughing) and later when Buffy is crawling out from the grave with Dawn. It can also be seen in the first act of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Lessons (2002).
7. One of the original ideas for the finale was for Buffy to fight the dragon we glimpse at the end of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Gift (2001). However, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Once More, with Feeling (2001) had taken up a great deal of the season's budget so instead the dragon appeared in Angel: Not Fade Away (2004).
8. It's possible to read some Christian imagery of the finale, in which a simple carpenter saves the world through love and forgiveness followed by a "resurrection" from a grave.
9. Buffy ends the season crawling out of the grave again, replacing the traumatic event in the season debut Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Bargaining: Part 2 (2001).
10. This line was cut due to length where Giles talks about the true essence of magic: "Which comes, in all its purity, from the Earth itself."
11. Giles apologizes to Buffy for leaving the Scoobies in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Tabula Rasa (2001).
12. Willow refers to Andrew as "the other one". This is part of the running joke of the Scooby Gang being unable to recall Andrew's name, also present in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Gone (2002), Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Never Leave Me (2002), Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Two to Go (2002) and the comics Turbulence, and Own It, Part Five.
13. Willow resents Giles for calling her a "rank, arrogant amateur" during their argument in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Flooded (2001).
14. The Magic Box is destroyed in this episode. The next headquarters for the Scooby Gang will be Buffy's home.
15. Buffy tells Giles about various events he's missed, such as Xander leaving Anya at the altar (Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Hell's Bells (2002)), Dawn's kleptomania (discovered in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Older and Far Away (2002)), Buffy working at the Doublemeat Palace (Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Doublemeat Palace (2002)), her sexual relationship with Spike (Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Smashed (2001)), and when she was poisoned by the Glarghk Guhl Kashmas'nik (Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Normal Again (2002)).
16. Dawn proves herself to be a capable fighter and Buffy agrees to stop being overprotective of her. She is already seen training her sister to fight vampires in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Lessons (2002).
17. Spike receives a soul, an event that significantly impacts the Buffyverse.
18. From the ending of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Entropy (2002), all events until the season finale occur within three nights (including the one that ends with the dawn at the end of this episode).
19. In the commentary, David Fury mentions that he had intended for Willow to stand and pace while she talks about the effects of sucking Giles' magic, but The Wizard of Oz (1939) wanted to sit during the speech. She wanted to convey that draining the magic weakened her at first but then made her stronger.
20. In an Academy of TV Arts and Sciences Panel Discussion regarding Season Six (viewable as an extra on the Season Six DVDs), show creator Joss Whedon makes it clear that during his trials in Africa, Spike was trying to regain his soul (not to remove his chip) all along. The dialogue that many audience members took to mean that Spike's goal was chip removal was deliberately misleading so his re-ensouling would come as a surprise twist.
21. There is a hardcover copy of a William Shatner novel in the pile of books on the floor of the Magic Box after Giles shoots Willow through the wall (DVD, chapter 7, 12:49).