"Amends"

****Like our nifty little representation of Buffy and Angel's happy Christmas? Well...okay the entire episode wasn't happy in fact some parts were down right tear jerking but that's okay. This episode was fantastic! We're thinking that Buffy and Angel have finally worked their issues out and are back together again but nothing is definite right now. We snapped over 3 times the usual amount (almost 100 images from this episode.) This was simply a wonderful episode. Buffy and Angel are back together which makes us completely oblivious to everything else :) But we managed to get past that and we saw plot in this episode and it was wonderful.

Our Christmas special starts out as Buffy and her mother are searching for Christmas trees. There is one odd spot in the lot where every Christmas tree has died. It's very strange but nobody thinks much of it at the time.

Then we see the gorgeous Angel in his bed having some very nasty nightmares about his bloody past. The next day, Buffy invites Faith to spend Christmas at her house but Faith formulates some pathetic excuse and says that she can't come.

Angel pays a visit to a very un-welcoming Giles because of his disturbing dreams. Angel starts to tell Giles what has been going on when Ms. Calendar (just her image, it's not her really) shows up behind Giles. Angel freaks out and flees the scene.

We again see Angel attempting to get some sleep but he dreams of some more of his victims and the crimes he has committed. As he is biting some woman (in a very ugly mustache might we add) Buffy shows up and shocks Angel as well as herself. They both wake up from the same dream. This little event leaves Buffy very worried so she speaks to Giles about this dream the next day at school. Giles tells Buffy (after a little coaxing on her part) that Angel had approached him before about the dreams. Xander walks in and (very sweetly) offers to help Angel out. Buffy is happily shocked and Willow joins in eventually. Willow and Buffy have a little chat about Willow's deal with Oz. Willow is glad to tell Buffy that Oz is starting to forgive her and they have a little date planned. Buffy shows her jealousy and loneliness (she's presently Angel-less) but Willow doesn't seem to notice very much. Angel is now having waking dreams and his 'ghosts' are taunting him more frequently. Ms. Calendar acts as the leader and continuously tries to convince Angel that he is an evil thing. She says that it is his destiny to be evil and that there is nothing he can do to change it.

We now see Buffy who has apparently dozed off on the floor. Angel, too, has fallen asleep and they begin to dream. Buffy finds herself in her pajamas in what seems to be the deserted mansion that Angel now calls home. Angel finds her and sits on the bed with her and holds her, at first. They start to very passionately kiss (these poor kids have so much sexual tension it's not even funny!). Without question Buffy and Angel shed their clothes and start to...well, have sex. (This is a little more explicit than their first time on TV. Is stuff like this allowed on cable?) Well this scene is much more romantic (it's so sweet!) than we could possibly depict and much more explicit than we would like to depict. Buffy and Angel show their joy in their facial expressions on their conscious bodies while they are dreaming (pretty funny :) So, needless to say, they climax, but Angel suddenly turns vampire and-sadly enough-bites Buffy. They then see these freaky looking creature with no eyes, and then they both wake up in a shocked state as usual. Buffy tells Giles of this creature she saw in her dream with Angel while trying to keep their erotic little dream private. Angel wakes to find Ms. Calendar, who continues to taunt him. Angel is becoming very emotionally weak by this point and begins to almost believe what Ms. Calendar is telling him. (The fact that he will always be an evil thing no matter what.) She also tries to convince him that he must kill Buffy (suck her blood) to be free of the spirits that are haunting him. He refuses to listen.

The gang has found some more stuff out about what, exactly, is haunting Angel. They discover that it is something called the "First Evil" and is more evil than anything. (Okay so what.) Buffy and Xander go and ask the vampire snitch guy about this "Evil." The only information that he gives away is the fact that it lives (dwells or whatever) underground somewhere in Sunnydale. Buffy is dismayed, but Xander assures her that they will get to the bottom of it and to just go home and enjoy her holiday.

We now see Willow in a very cute little outfit inviting Oz in. Willow informs Oz that she is ready to have sex with him (even though she can't quite say the word). Oz is very moved by Willow's kind gesture but he declines the offer and says that he wants it to be special when they do make love.

Buffy is back at home helping to decorate her and her mother's Christmas tree when Faith shows up. Faith decided to accept their invitation after all. Buffy runs up to her room to get some Christmas presents and finds a very upset Angel there. Angel is very weak (from Ms. Calender's little persuasions) and cannot take his eyes off of Buffy's neck. He realizes what he is about to do and hops out the window before he could risk Buffy's life. Very worried, Buffy heads over to see Giles and tell him about Angel's fast regression. They both realize that Angel might lose control if immediate action is not taken.

Back at the mansion, Ms. Calender is angry to find that Angel has not killed Buffy yet so she lays the guilt on Angel. He now feels as if there is only one option. He thinks that he will not be able to control himself any more so to prevent any harm to Buffy, he walks outside and waits for the sunrise. Giles and Buffy dig into every book they can find in hopes of finding some answers. Giles reads the cryptic clue, nothing grows above or below, and is let down until Buffy realizes where the 'First Evil' is residing. She remembers the Christmas tree lot where every tree in a certain area had died. She returns to this place, and after a little hacking at the ground she finds herself in the home of the First Evil that appears to be Ms. Calendar. Ms. Calendar tells Buffy that Angel will be dead by sunrise. Once Buffy realizes what the First Evil was telling her, she hurries out to find Angel.

She finds him on a small terrace overlooking the rest of Sunnydale. She tells him that he mustn't die. They argue back and forth (a very emotional scene that we cannot depict as always). Angel insists that he is an evil thing that must die. Buffy tries her very hardest to get him inside without saying those special little words. She even tries to forcefully bring him inside but her emotions impair her strength and Angel knocks her onto the ground. He tries to convince her of what he has convinced himself but it doesn't work. (By this point our poor two kids are both crying.) In a moment of anguish and passion Buffy tells Angel that she loves him so much. She says she knows what evil he has done because he did it all to her. This somewhat breaks Angel's heart and he lets her up. Buffy says that if she cannot convince him that he can do good than he will die because there is no one more capable. She says that he will be a coward if he gives up now because they both have to fight every day. (And they kind of decide they need each other for this 'fighting'.) As the situation calms, it starts to snow. Almost as a sign of peace and forgiveness, the warm little town of Sunnydale has been converted to a beautiful winter. We then see Buffy and Angel walking down the snowy streets of Sunnydale holding hands. We must infer that they have resolved Angel's conflicts, and that they are back together to help themselves cope and to help fight against the rampant evil in Sunnydale.