Real Video Summary
As Christmas draws near, Angel begins to relive in his dreams the numerous murders he has
committed. One of his victims was a young man named Daniel, whom Angel killed in Dublin in
1818. Unable to stay in bed any longer, Angel ventures out onto the streets of Sunnydale and
runs into Buffy, who's doing some last-minute Christmas shopping. Angel's attention is soon
diverted from Buffy to a familiar face in the distance. Impossible as it may seem, Angel
recognizes this person as Daniel, the same man he killed 180 years ago.
After Buffy tells her friends about her encounter with Angel the next day at school, Oz finally
decides to give Willow a second chance at their relationship. Later that night, Buffy and Joyce
shop for a Christmas tree. While looking around, Joyce suggests that Buffy invite Faith to their
place on Christmas Eve. Buffy notices a small group of dead trees that the salesman can't
explain. At the motel, Faith turns down Buffy's invitation, explaining that she already has plans
to attend a party. Meanwhile, Angel shows up at Giles' doorstep in need of help. Giles invites
him in, but not before he grabs a crossbow to protect himself with. Angel wants to find out how
and why he returned to Earth, but he is soon distracted by the presence of Jenny Calendar in
the apartment. She is invisible to Giles, which adds to his confusion when Angel suddenly
runs out the door. Back at the mansion, Angel dreams about another moment in time when he
took the life of a servant named Margaret. After drinking her blood, Angel looks up to see
Buffy watching the whole event. Angel suddenly wakes up... as does Buffy.
Inside the mansion, Angel is haunted by Jenny, Daniel, Margaret, and visions of his many
other victims. Buffy, meanwhile, tells Giles that she shared Angel's dream the previous night.
They decide to do some research in hopes of discovering the reason for Angel's return to
Earth. Xander and Willow show up shortly to aid in the research. After a while, both Buffy and
Angel fall asleep and share another dream in which they make love in Buffy's bedroom. Their
romantic moment is interrupted by the vision of a man with no eyes. Before Buffy can figure
out what's going on, Angel bites into Buffy's neck, effectively waking both of them up from their
slumbers. Angel listens to Jenny as she tries to convince him that losing his soul with Buffy
again and killing her will bring him the peace he desires. Giles shows an illustration of three
men with no eyes to Buffy, who recognizes the face from her most recent dream. Called the
Bringers, or Harbingers, these high priests can summon The First. As Giles explains, The First
is the name given to Absolute Evil. Since it is not a physical being, Buffy cannot fight it. Buffy
and Xander visit Willy's bar, hoping to get some information on the whereabouts of the
Bringers. All they learn is that the Bringers might be underground. Xander decides that they
should go home and enjoy Christmas Eve before resuming their search.
With her parents out of town for the evening, Willow invites Oz over to her home to watch a
few movies. When Oz arrives, he soon realizes that Willow has made a small change of plans.
Willow tells him that she's ready to sleep with him, but Oz knows that she's only doing this as
an extreme means of redemption. He turns down Willow's offer, preferring to spend the night
in a simpler way, like kissing on the couch. Meanwhile, Faith shows up at the Summers' front
porch. Explaining that she thought twice about the party, Faith gives a couple gifts to Buffy
and Joyce. While Faith settles in, Buffy goes upstairs to her bedroom to fetch their presents.
She is surprised to find Angel in her bedroom. However, he's a little out of it at this point,
staring longingly at her neck. Jenny stands behind Buffy, urging Angel to take the final plunge,
both symbolically and literally. Angel can't go through with it, and he dives through Buffy's
window. Back at the mansion, Angel tells Jenny that he will end his own life, using the deadly
rays of the sun to do the deed. After entrusting Faith with her mother's safety, Buffy goes to
Giles' apartment in an attempt to find out where the Bringers are. One of Giles' books contains
a passage that indicates the inability of life to grow above or below the Bringers. This leads
Buffy back to the suspicious group of dead trees she noticed a while ago. Using an axe, Buffy
breaks open a hole in the ground that she immediately enters. Underground, Buffy finds the
Bringers and makes short work of them with the axe. However, Buffy isn't prepared to see the
figure of Jenny Calendar standing before her. Buffy listens as the vision of Jenny speaks for
The First, boasting its legendary might. Buffy has no time to entertain The First, which tells
her that Angel will die by sunrise. Buffy runs back to the mansion to find Angel, but he is no
longer there. She finally locates him at the top of a hill which overlooks Sunnydale. Buffy tries
to get Angel indoors before sunrise, but Angel won't budge. He tells her that he can't go on
living, knowing that his very existence presents a threat to the woman he loves so dearly.
Buffy refuses to agree, expressing her love for Angel and the self-hatred that goes along with
it. Their stand-off is unexpectedly interrupted by several flakes of snow falling from the sky.
Soon enough, a steady snowfall envelops Sunnydale for the first time ever, preventing the
sun's rays from reaching the ground below and ending Angel's life. Nobody can explain it, but
that doesn't matter to Buffy and Angel. Some higher power, whomever or whatever it may be,
has given Angel yet another lease on life... on Christmas, no less.
Episode Summary by: Alan Hufana
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