Recap / Buffy the Vampire Slayer S3E7 "Revelations"

I love the Myneghon Glove. It's so bad.

Buffy: How are you?

Faith: Five by five.

Buffy: I'll interpret that as good.

Directed by James A Contner

Written by Douglas Petrie & Jane Espenson

Gwendolyn Post shows up as Faith's new Watcher. She is British, strict, arrogant, and looks down on all the Scoobies and especially Giles. Despite this, Faith starts to like and trust her. She warns that the demon Lagos is in Sunnydale looking for the Glove of Myneghon, a powerful gauntlet which controls lightning.

That night, Xander spies a very much alive Angel and Buffy sharing an ill-timed kiss. Xander snitches to the rest of the Scoobies about Angel's resurrection, and they stage an intervention for Buffy. Xander and Cordelia are firmly against the idea of Angel being back, still scared by the recent memory of Angelus' actions, while Willow (and by association, Oz) are less sure. Giles ultimately comes to Buffy's defense, but in private scolds her for keeping the secret and says that she has no respect for him or his job as a watcher.

Xander then tells Faith about Angel, they agree that she should go to his mansion to kill him, as it's not clear whether or not Angel has his soul. Gwendolyn also shows up at the mansion and knocks Angel's lights out. When Buffy shows up, Post convinces Faith that Buffy and Angel are working together for the greater bad, and the two slayers erupt into a vicious fight.

Gwendolyn Post takes this opportunity to retrieve the glove, revealing her true intentions all along. Buffy cuts off her hand, severing the glove and frying Gwendolyn. The Scoobies are still wary of Angel but trust Buffy's judgment. Buffy goes to Faith's apartment and tries to convince her that she's still on Faith's side. Faith, her face still bruised from Buffy's fist, announces. "I'm on my side." The Scoobies have just lost a member for good.

Tropes

• Accidental Kiss:
  Cordelia: What gives you the right to suck face with your demon lover again?
  Buffy: It was an accident.
  Xander: What, you just tripped and fell on his lips?
• Adventure Duo: Synchronised slaying. New Olympic category.
• Almost Kiss: Buffy and Angel get a bit too close for comfort during tai chi.
  Angel: What are we doing?
  Buffy: Training. (quietly) And almost kissing.
• An Arm and a Leg: Buffy hurls a shard of glass at Gwendoyln's upper arm, severing it (and the glove) from her body.
• Artistic License – Gun Safety: Giles keeps his weapons in an unlocked cupboard in the book cage used to keep all kinds of demons prisoner.
• The Atoner: Buffy goes out to kill the Lagos demon as "an olive branch for Giles".
• Attack Hello: Upon arrival at Faith's crib, Gwen is greeted with a raised stake.
  Gwendolyn: A word of advice? Vampires rarely knock. Especially in daylight.
• Awesome, but Impractical: The Glove of Myneghon is extremely powerful, but it requires the user to call their attacks, fires quite slowly, and can't be removed without killing the user.
• Bad Guys Play Pool: Following his argument with Buffy, we see Xander still fuming as he plays pool with himself. Faith strolls in, and the pair soon conspire to kill Angel.
• Bait-and-Switch Comment: Willow is about to confess...that there's a demon coming up behind Buffy.
• Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Averted; even with their accelerated healing, Buffy still has a black eye the next day while Faith has a swollen jaw.
• Being Personal Isn't Professional: The Scoobies think Buffy has lost the plot re Angel.
• Benevolent Architecture: Inverted, to Buffy's chagrin. As it so happens, Gwendolyn dons the glove while standing directly beneath a skylight in Angel's house — the skylight we've never seen before. This allows Gwen to summon lightning while indoors.
• Big "WHAT?!": Faith rasps, "What!" when Buffy blocks her attempt to stake Angel.
• Bill... Bill... Junk... Bill...: Faith when describing her boyfriends: "Ronny: deadbeat; Steve: klepto; Kenny: drummer..."
• Blatant Lies:
  • Buffy assures the Scoobies that she was going to tell them about Angel, which directly contradicts what she said to Angel in the previous episode.
  • When Gwendolyn is revealed to have been expelled as a Watcher, Giles says with regards of the Council that "they swear there was a memo" informing about it. Nobody buys it.

• Book Dumb: Gwendolyn gives kudos to Faith's "Spartan" accommodations. When asked if she's heard of them, Faith snarks that they were "a buncha guys from Spart?"
• Buffy Speak:
  • A lackadaisical Buffy announcing that she found the "magic mitten thingy." Echoed at the end of the episode, with Cordelia asking to make sure it's been destroyed. "No more glove thingy?"
  • Willow piping up that she likes Angel again because he saved her "from a horrible flame-y death."
• Call-Back
  • Xander promised Angelus in "Killed By Death" that he's going to witness his death, and does his best to ensure this by using a Slayer as his surrogate, as in "Becoming, Part Two".
  • The Scooby Gang gangs up on Buffy to give her a What the Hell, Hero?, as in "Dead Man's Party". As on that occasion, there's more venting than fact-finding and problem solving. Also slightly modified in that unlike in the previous argument, Willow is the ignored voice of reason while Cordelia and Oz are more sharply critical (although Oz is gentle about it).
• Cannot Spit It Out
  • At the very end of the episode, Buffy turns to go, and Faith (having second thoughts) calls her name. Buffy hopefully turns around, but Faith, after a pause, says, "Nothing.".
  • Willow finds herself unable to tell Buffy about her and Xander. She comes close, but they get interrupted by the demon right behind them. After it's killed and Buffy asks what she was going to say, Willow claims it was that she looked at her SAT booklet five minutes early.
• Can't Get Away with Nuthin': Angel's resurrection is revealed to the Scoobies at large.
• Captain Obvious: Inverted. Giles, flustered by Gwen's string of insults, asks her opinion on how to stop Lagos. "Well, if it's not too radical a suggestion," she smirks, "I thought we might kill him."
• Clean Cut: When Buffy hurls a shard of glass at Gwendoyln's upper arm to sever it (and the glove) from her body, it does so with little difficulty.
• Clingy MacGuffin: The glove is one foreboding mamma-jamma. The opening is lined with teeth that, once worn, automatically clamp down and puncture the wearer's arm.
• Conflict Killer: Subverted; the fight against the treacherous Gwendolyn makes the Scooby Gang work together again, Angel's help in the battle gives the proof needed of his Heel–Face Turn, and their knowledge of Buffy's history with Angel helps them understand and ultimately forgive her selfish actions. For Faith however, who is secretly insecure and lacks their common history, this episode plants the seeds of distrust that come to fruition in "Consequences".
• Consummate Liar: Gwendolyn plays the role of bona fide Watcher very well, even shaming Giles with her attention to detail. She can tell whoppers on the fly, too: Buffy starts to explain to Faith what's going on, but Gwen interrupts to tell Faith not to trust Buffy because "she's blinded by love." Faith, who had already suspected this, sides with Gwen over her best friend.
• Continuity Nod:
  • Cordelia asks if anyone has noticed anything unusual about Buffy. Xander says not really, what between killing zombies ("Dead Man's Party") and torching sewer monsters ("Band Candy").
  • Xander's tirade at Buffy for keeping Angel's reemergence secret ends by his dumping Miss Calender's death in her lap ("Passion"). Soon afterward, Giles shames Buffy by recounting his torture at Angelus' hands.
• Conveniently Timed Attack from Behind: Faith, who has a much bigger motive to fight Angel, quickly overpowers him and lays him flat. She raises a stake on high, but out of nowhere, Buffy steps in and blocks it.
• Could Say It, But...: Giles uses this to deliver a stinging reprimand: "I won't remind you that the fate of the world often lies with the Slayer. What would be the point? Nor shall I remind you that you've jeopardized the lives of all that you hold dear by harboring a known murderer."
• Dating Catwoman: Faith is curious to learn what it's like to "boink the undead", and is hurt by Buffy's reluctance to discuss Angel. In "Consequences" Faith is able to articulate quite well the Dark Side of Buffy's attraction for a vampire.
• Death Cry Echo: After Gwendolyn is made toast via lightning, the teeth that clamped the glove down to her arm loudly unlock from her now-severed forearm, letting out a "Yeeeek."
• Description Cut: Following his dressing-down by Mrs. Post, Giles is geared up and ready to stop looking inept. "Care for a spot of training?" he asks Buffy. Cut to Buffy and Angel practicing tai chi at his house. We can surmise that Buffy isn't taking her duties as seriously as she used to.
• Destination Defenestration: Buffy tackling Faith through a set of french doors. The broken glass becomes important in a minute.
• Dissonant Serenity: Giles sitting on a bench, taking notes and sipping tea while his Slayers fight vamps. What, no Sudoku? However, his blasé pose looks none too impressive when Gwendolyn suddenly shows up. Giles freezes in mid-sip, the styrofoam cup hanging incriminatingly at mouth level.
• Distaff Counterpart: Gwendolyn Post to Giles, a female British Watcher.
• Distinction Without a Difference: Buffy dropping in on the Scoobies and asking whether her love life is the topic of discussion. "Well, raised but never discussed", chimes Oz.
• Diving Save: Buffy saves Faith, then Angel saves Willow from glove blasts.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?: Buffy's resuming of her romance with Angel is explicitly played like an addiction; the Scoobies even throw together a gathering in the library to talk her out of it while Willow insists on the use of "I" statements.
• Dramatically Missing the Point: Faith, perfectly reasonably, is scared of Angel having the Glove of Myneghon, as he was last seen as Angelus. Scared of how many people he might kill she sets out to kill him, leading to the first (but by no means the last) confrontation against Buffy.
• Dumb and Drummer: Faith's list of loser ex-boyfriends goes "Ronnie: deadbeat. Steve: klepto. Kenny: drummer."
• Eagleland Osmosis:
  Gwendolyn Post: The fact is, there is talk in the council that you have become a bit too... [inhales sharply] American.
  Buffy: Him?
  Giles: Me?
• Environmental Symbolism:
  • Not enough seating room at the Bronze. Oz is forced to squeeze in, sandwiching Willow and Xander between their unsuspecting mates.
  • When Gwendolyn shoots down Giles again, a kettle starts whistling.
• Establishing Character Moment: After the vampire dust settles, Buffy and Faith high-five each other and ask Giles what he thought of their performance. Giles, still lounging on a bench, lowers his coffee cup to respond, but a female voice cuts in: "Sloppy." Oh look, it's our new Watcher.
• Evil Brit: Gwendolyn, Faith's new British Watcher, turns out to have been only after the glove.
• Evil Gloating: Gwen takes a moment to gloat about the power of her new weapon after acquiring it.
• Evil Mentor: Gwendolyn, Faith's new Watcher, turns out to have been only after the glove.
• Evil Counterpart: Gwendolyn Post turns out to be one to Giles when she's revealed to have been actually expelled as a Watcher for misusing dark power and is now only for the glove.
• Exact Eavesdropping: Xander spots Angel with Buffy at the worse possible time; the fact that she's macking with a vampire who turned evil after the last time they sex does not convince her friends that Buffy is acting responsibly.
• Failed a Spot Check: Zig-zagged with Xander and Willow macking behind the library stacks. Giles, his back turned to them, calls their names and says he found the location of the glove. Panicked, Willow and Xander pull apart, and Willow asks how he found the glove's location. "I looked." His meaning plain, Willow looks chastened. The pair of them say they'll keep "researching", but Giles simply stomps off. It's unclear whether or not Giles knew what they were up to, but from the kids' perspective (which is what counts), it's a 99% certainty they were just busted. Tellingly, Giles has his glasses off at the time — it's revealed in Season 6 that Giles does his trademark Glasses Pull to avoid seeing what the Scoobies are up to, particularly regarding their sexual antics.
• False Friend: Gwendolyn cleverly insinuates herself into the Scoobies, while at the same time sowing seeds of mistrust among them.
• Family-Unfriendly Death: How Gwendolyn is done. Buffy lets the glass fly, cutting Gwendolyn's glove off at the elbow. Ouch. Another bolt of lightning strikes through the skylight, and not having a target this time, hits a screaming Gwendolyn in the chest, immolating her.
• Fingore: Although it's not obvious, when Faith grabs Buffy in a headlock, she appears to break it by breaking one of Faith's fingers.
• Foreshadowing:
  • Faith good-humoredly listing her string of deadbeat boyfriends to Buffy. She goes on that she only uses men for sex now, because "you can't trust guys." Xander discovers this personally in "The Zeppo" and with near-fatal results in "Consequences".
  • Also Faith saying that she has a problem with authority figures because they end up dead. This applies to both Gwen and her future boss, the Mayor.
  • Faith's mild (yet pointedly) hurt feelings when Buffy refuses to confide in her about Angel. Later, when Gwen goes off on Giles and his methods, she offhandedly refers to the "secret meetings" he holds. This is news to Faith. Gwen innocuously mentions that only "Buffy and her friends" are invited. Somewhat dejectedly, Faith says, "I guess that doesn't include me."
  • Buffy guesses that Gwendolyn was never a Watcher at all. Giles explains that she used to be one, but became a rogue Watcher after she was kicked out for "misuses of dark power. They swear there was a memo." The ineptitude of the Watcher's Council will be made more clear in "Helpless".
  • Xander appears to form a connection with Faith ("The Zeppo"), only to get violently tossed aside ("Consequences").
  • Faith refusing to listen to Xander after they find Giles shows the impulsiveness that will lead to disaster in "Bad Girls".
  • Buffy's lack of judgement regarding Angel causes Giles in Season 7 to attempt to kill Spike, her next vampire Love Interest, in the belief that Buffy isn't objective about the threat he poses.
• The Freelance Shame Squad: Xander and Willow flailing in hysterics after they both reach for the same cup. In doing so, Xander knocks a tray of drinks out of the hand of the waitress standing behind them, which cues a round of applause for his graceful maneuver.
  Xander: Thank you! We're here through Saturday! Enjoy the veal.
• Geographic Flexibility: Sunnydale has twelve cemeteries (actually, this makes a lot of sense)
• Gloved Fist of Doom: Gwendolyn does the trademark upward thrusting motion with the glove upon wearing it.
• Good Cop/Bad Cop: Buffy's intervention. Willow is the only good cop in an entire tribunal of bad cops.
  Willow: Giles, invoked no one's doing the "I" statements!
• Good Is Not Soft: Faith shows she has the chops for this by being pretty decent and understanding, and being less concerned that Buffy lied to her and more concerned that Angelus might be back. And after seeing that Giles had been attacked and could die?
  Faith: He's going to have a whole lot of company unless I do something permanent.
• Going Native: Gwen claims the Watcher's Council thinks he's becoming too American. Giles and Buffy can only respond with incredulity to this nefarious accusation.
• Green-Eyed Monster: Buffy accuses Xander of wanting Angel dead due to jealousy. He replies that with the number of people Angel has killed, he doesn't need an excuse.

• Half-Truth:
  • Buffy putting the rumors to rest. "...I am seeing someone — tonight in fact." That's Faith's cue to pop up from nowhere and put her arm around Buffy. How's that lampshade looking, Mr. Petrie?
  • Xander gives Faith the bare minimum of details about the Buffy/Angel situation, just enough to set her in Slaying mode. When he finds Giles unconscious he realises something is wrong and tries to get Faith to wait, but by that stage she's not interested.
• Hands-On Approach: Angel and Buffy, and tai chi.
• He Is Not My Boyfriend: Buffy is still confused over what their exact relationship is, but insists this regarding Angel at the end of the episode.
• Hero-Tracking Failure: When Gwen sees Faith darting around pillars, she starts zapping them in succession, but Faith is always one step ahead of her gunfire.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: During their fight, Buffy gets a shot in that causes Lagos to double over, exposing the sheathed axe on his back. Thinking quickly, she draws the axe and decapitates him.
• Homoerotic Subtext: The Scoobies ask Buffy if she's seeing someone. Buffy looks coy.
  Buffy: I wouldn't use the word 'dating'...but I am going out with somebody. Tonight, as a matter of fact.
  Willow: Really? Who?
  (Faith appears and squeezes in next to Buffy)
  Faith: Yo, what's up? (nudges Buffy's shoulder) Hey, time to motorvate.
  Buffy: (puts her arm around Faith) Really, we're just good friends.

• Hope Spot: Faith looks like she's going to accept Buffy's attempt at reconciliation for a moment, but she doesn't.
• Humble Pie: It's possible to lose count of how many times Post verbally bitch-slaps Giles in their first scene together. It has a hidden, insidious purpose, too: Giles begins to seriously doubt the Scoobies' work ethic and respect for his authority.
• Hypocrite: Xander calls Buffy out on her keeping Angel's return a secret when he's secretly cheating on Cordelia with Willow.
• Ice Queen: Gwendolyn assumes the guise of this in order to intimidate Giles. However, just wait until she gets her mitts on the...well, mitt.
• Idiot Ball: New character shows up and claims to be a Watcher. Giles does not contact the Council to verify her legitimacy.
• Improvised Weapon:
  • Gwendolyn clobbering Giles with a wood totem.
  • Later at the mansion, Gwendolyn whacks Angel over the head with a shovel, briefly knocking him out. As Gwendolyn is busy with the trunk containing the glove, a vamped-out Angel gets up and comments that hurt. Gwendolyn doesn't even bat an eye. She cheerfully replies that she intended to kill him, then cracks the shovel handle over her knee and tries to stake him with the pieces.
  • Faith hurling a patio chair at Buffy.
  • Gwendolyn manages to break open the trunk and get the glove. She mutters, "Finally!" before whacking Willow across the face with the glove, sending her to the ground. This woman has a talent for hitting people with blunt objects.
  • And lastly, Buffy slicing Gwen's arm off with a glass shuriken.
• Inspector Javert: When Xander and Faith find Giles unconscious at the library after Gwen's attack on him, Faith automatically jumps to conclusions and assumes that Angel was the culprit. Amazingly enough, Xander, who can't stand Angel and manipulated Faith into going after him to begin with, doubts that Angel did so.
• Insufferable Genius: Gwendolyn.
  Buffy: Interesting lady. Can I kill her?
• Kill It with Fire: Giles and Angel separately come to the conclusion to destroy the Glove by using an enchanted fire called Living Flame.
• Language of Magic: Gwendolyn shouting "TAUO FREIM!" (Gaelic for "Be free") each time she fires electricity from the glove.
• Lady in a Power Suit: In her entrance scene, Gwendolyn wears a black power suit.
• Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Buffy mentions "and it's another Tuesday night in Sunnydale" while talking to Angel at the mansion. Buffy aired on Tuesday nights on both The WB (beginning with Season 2's "Innocence") and UPN.
• Let's You and Him Fight: Gwendolyn tricks Faith into fighting Angel. It was easy enough, after Xander laid the ground work.
• Locked Out of the Loop:
  • The Scooby gang neglects to include Faith in the intervention when they find out about Buffy hiding Angel. This winds up making her less trustful of them, and allows Gwendolyn Post to manipulate her into fighting Buffy.
  • On the flip side, at the end of the episode, Giles reveals that Gwen Post was in fact a real Watcher, but had been fired from the Council position a few years before arriving in Sunnydale for abusing black magic; of course, they neglected to tell Giles a thing.
    Giles: They swear there was a memo.
• Magical Incantation
  • Angel recites the usual Latin incantations while attempting to dispose of the glove.
  • Once bonded with the glove, Gwendolyn recites a Gaelic chant which translates to, "Be mine, the power of Myhnegon!"
• Manipulative Bitch: Gwendolyn.
• Mêlée à Trois: Buffy coming to Angel's aid, unwittingly engaging Faith in the process, while Gwendolyn is scrambling to get the glove chest open.
• Mid-Season Twist: Faith finds someone to depend on, only to find that person a liar. This compounds her distrust of others. Gwendolyn Post also reinforced Faith's feeling of distance from the rest of the gang.
• Mood Whiplash: Xander is sneaking through the cemetery at night, bemoaning the fact that he was silly enough to do this alone because he was guilty about kissing Willow, when he suddenly sees Angel. Next moment Xander's creeping after him in deadly earnest with a stake in his hand.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Buffy after kissing Angel.
  Buffy: What am I doing? What are you doing?
• Needle in a Stack of Needles: Gwendolyn says that the glove is believed to be buried in a tomb in Sunnydale, and suggests they search the town cemetery. Giles timidly informs her that there are twelve cemeteries within the city limits. Undaunted, Gwen declares that they're going to take them one at a time.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Not just in this episode either, but Buffy's actions affect her relationship with Faith, and in later seasons Giles.
• No Body Left Behind: A massive burst of electricity reduces Gwendolyn to ash.
• "No" Means "Yes": Xander starts massaging Willow's temples. Without moving or pushing him away Willow asks him to stop.
  Xander: Right. (continues rubbing) Stop means no... (keeps rubbing) And no means no, so, um... (finally stops) stop.
  (Willow seizes Xander and starts snogging him passionately)
• No True Scotsman: Gwen reports that the rest of the Council thinks Giles is too Americanized. Gwendolyn herself is British to the point of carrying her own tea leaves and pointedly throwing away the teabag Giles was about to steep for her.
• Not Herself: The Scoobies note that lately, Buffy's been distracted and spending more time by herself.
• Not Me This Time: Faith and Xander find Giles on the floor of the library, and Faith, assuming that Angel is responsible, takes it as more incentive to kill him. Well, it's still early yet: By the time Faith arrives at the mansion, Angel has easily disarmed Gwendolyn and thrown her against the wall. He leans over Gwen menacingly, eliciting both shock and outrage from her pupil. "I can't believe how much I'm gonna kill you."
• Not What It Looks Like
  Buffy: It's not what you think.
  Xander: Hope not. Because I think you're harboring a vicious killer.
• Oblivious Guilt Slinging: Xander and Willow react in opposite ways to Buffy's Secret Relationship with Angel. Xander is openly hostile, while Willow makes excuses and even asks Buffy if the secrecy made it more exciting.
• Off with His Head!: Buffy decapitates Lagos with his own axe.
• Poor Communication Kills:
  • Buffy's failure to come clean about Angel's return nearly gets him killed.
  • Giles has the strength to warn about destroying the glove, but apparently can’t manage to pass an additional warning about Gwendolyn. The paramedics wheel him away before Buffy can get details.
  • For that matter, the Watcher's Council fails to inform Giles promptly about a rogue Watcher, though according to him "they swear there was a memo."
• Power Fist: The lightning-shooting Glove of Myneghon.
• Power Hair: In her entrance scene, Gwendolyn wears her hair pulled up in a severe style.
• Punch! Punch! Punch! Uh Oh...: Faith catches Lagos searching a sarcophagus and says it's her lucky day, only to find her Super-Strength punches have little impact. Lagos tosses her against a tomb a couple of times, then strides off to continue his search.
• Pre-Asskicking One-Liner:
  • Giles reveals to Gwendolyn that a living flame will destroy the glove. He says that the ritual to create the flame is complex, but that he has all the necessary materials. He turns to inspect his inventory. Gwen says, "Good show," and conks him on the head with a statue. He looks at her, stunned. "Good show indeed." CONK.
  • Repeated with Angel, who gets a shovel to the back of the head. "That's what I love about this town. Everyone's so helpful."
  • Once Angel recovers, Gwen realizes her mistake. Snapping her shovel in half, she astutely points out, "I believe this is your poison."
  • Gwendolyn holds the glove aloft, chanting in Gaelic. Thunder starts to rumble, and Faith asks what's going on. Gwen, grinning madly, turns to regard her. "Faith, a word of advice: You're an idiot."
  • Gwendoyln finally makes her one mistake, a little Drunk on the Dark Side allowing herself a moment to fawn over the glove. "There's nothing you can do to me now. I have the glove, and with the glove comes power." Buffy, shard of glass in hand, appears in the doorway: "I'm getting that."
• Psycho Electro: The Glove allows Gwendolyn to call down and redirect lightning bolts. It can also call forth thunderstorms for this purpose.
• Shoot the Dog: Xander gives a very limited version of recent events to Faith, knowing she'll be motivated to put Angel out of the picture forever. Regardless of how justified his lie to Buffy was in "Becoming, Part 2", Xander seems to realise he crossed a line here, and reconciles with Buffy by offering his help re Angel in "Amends".
• Shovel Strike: Gwendolyn interrupts Angel at the mansion, claiming that Giles sent her to help with the ritual. With an air of suspicion, Angel tells her that that the glove is in the trunk. He turns away, and Gwen grabs a shovel and clocks him over the head.
• Smash Cut:
  • Buffy's 'night out' with Faith. Cut to a cemetery, where they're double-teaming some vampires, of course.
  • With the glove now history, all's well that ends well... or so it seems. Buffy says she has one more bit of "damage control" to perform. Cut to an apologetic Buffy knocking on Faith's door.
• Smug Snake: Gwendolyn oozes this trope.
• So You Were Saying...?: Willow innocuously asks if having no-one know about Buffy and Angel's tryst made being with him sexier. Buffy says that there was too much pressure for her to enjoy it. Willow asks Buffy not to judge her, but right before she can spill the beans, Lagos pop up and attacks. Buffy slays him, then returns to their conversation. Willow's lost her nerve.
  Buffy: Sorry about that. So, what were you saying?
  Willow: Oh. I... I opened my SAT book five minutes early.
• Sparing Them the Dirty Work: After the revelation about Angel, Xander is playing pool alone. Faith chats him up and he spills the beans, and she decides to take a page from one of Giles' many books and kill Angel.
• The Spartan Way: Invoked by Gwendolyn. Seeing the impoverished conditions Faith lives under, Gwendolyn praises them as character-building like those of the ancient Spartan warriors, and claims her training will be harsh yet make Faith a better Slayer. It's just what Faith wants to hear.
• Spikes of Villainy: The glove's opening is lined with spiked teeth that, once worn, automatically clamp down and puncture the wearer's arm.
• Standing Between the Enemies: Xander tries to stop Faith and Buffy fighting, only to get thrown across the room by Faith.
• Stock British Phrases: As if to emphasize that she's somehow more British than Giles, Gwendolyn uses a disproportionate amount of these. Played for laughs as Gwen mutters "Bugger!" while irritably whacking the padlocked chest with the blade of her shovel.
• A Storm Is Coming: A storm forms once Gwendolyn straps on the glove. As it turns out, the glove creates storms to use their lightning.
• Suspiciously Specific Denial:
  • From Willow:
    Willow: I think it's great when two people like two people and want to be close to them instead of anyone else.
  • And later, combined with ...Or So I Heard:
    Willow: Keeping secrets is a lot of work! One could hypothetically imagine.
    Buffy: You have no idea.
    Willow: None whatsoever.
• Tap on the Head: Angel is severely stunned by Faith, but does not lose consciousness. Nevertheless, he remains splayed out on the couch for a good three minutes before finally rejoining the fight. Xander stays down for even longer.
• Tempting Fate:
  • Gwen starts to broach the topic of Buffy, but Giles cuts her off at the pass (as it were), declaring that he's in full control of "(his) Slayer". In barges Xander, shouting, "Giles, we got a problem! It's Buffy!" Gwen gives a sardonic smirk. Poor Giles.
  • Faith is delighted to find the demon they're searching for. "It's my lucky day!"
  • At the start of the intervention Willow says, "Nobody's here to blame you, Buffy." The Scoobies spend the next five minutes doing exactly that.
  • Gwen can't resist doing the Nothing Can Stop Us Now! thing.
• Terms of Endangerment: Faith is none too happy about Buffy siding with a vampire against her. "You're confused, Twinkie. Let me clear you up."
• Training from Hell: Gwendolyn warns she has some of this in store for Faith, but does so in such in a way that reassures Faith it's for her own benefit. Unfortunately, it's yet another ploy to demean the Scoobies and isolate Faith from them.
• Tranquil Fury:
  • Giles calls a halt to the bickering, saying that Buffy's coverup of Angel's whereabouts, "however ill-advised, can be understood." He dismisses everybody, then disappears into his office. Unwisely, Buffy tails at his heels and start to thank him for bailing her out until Giles tells her to be quiet. He slowly turns, regards her with a burning intensity, and delivers the following:
    Giles: I won't remind you that the fate of the world often lies with the Slayer; what would be the point? Nor shall I remind you that you've jeopardized the lives of all that you hold dear by harboring a known murderer. But sadly, I must remind you that Angel tortured me, for hours, for pleasure. You should have told me he was alive; you didn't. You have no respect for me, or the job I perform. [turns his back on her]
  • This also extends to Buffy and Willow when they find out that Xander successfully manipulated Faith into trying to kill Angel. Buffy looks about ready to rip his liver out when she presses him for information, and when she leaves, Willow just snaps at Xander to "shut up and help" gather information about the Glove.
• Treacherous Advisor: Ms. Post, the dark magician who poses as Faith's new Watcher.
• Tyrant Takes the Helm: Post revealing that the Council wants her to "report on the entire situation here", including Giles. There's talk on the Council that he's becoming too... [shudder] ...American.
  Giles: Me?
  Buffy: Him??
• Unconfession: Willow innocuously asks if having no-one know about Buffy and Angel's tryst made being with him sexier. Buffy says that there was too much pressure for her to enjoy it. Willow asks Buffy not to judge her, but right before she can spill the beans, Lagos pop up and attacks. Buffy slays him, then returns to their conversation. Willow's lost her nerve.
  Buffy: Sorry about that. So, what were you saying?
  Willow: Oh. I... I opened my SAT book five minutes early.
• Unfinished, Untested, Used Anyway: Willow isn't sure she got the ingredients for the Living Flame right, and says they need to test it. Xander then shows her a picture of what the Glove can do. They quickly throw the potion into a plastic bag and rush off.
• Use Their Own Weapon Against Them: Buffy kills the demon Lagos by decapitating him with his own axe.
• Villain Ball: Gwen takes a moment to gloat about the power of her new weapon, allowing Buffy to get the jump on her.
• Walk-In Chime-In: After the vampire dust settles, Buffy and Faith high-five each other and ask Giles what he thought of their performance. Giles, still lounging on a bench, lowers his coffee cup to respond, but a female voice cuts in: "Sloppy." Oh look, it's our new Watcher.
• Wall of Weapons:
  Xander: Good old Sunnydale library. Fully equipped with reference books, file cards... (opens the cabinet doors) and weapons.
• We Need a Distraction: Buffy asks Faith if she can draw Gwendolyn's fire. Faith puts a brave face on ("You bet I can.") and takes off running. Gwen sees Faith darting around pillars, and starts zapping them in succession.
• What the Hell, Hero?: At the intervention the Scoobies get on Buffy for a) not telling them a potentially dangerous Angel has returned, b) flirting with the same behavior that caused him to turn evil, c) leaving Angel alone with a Weapon of Mass Electrocution, and d) not caring enough about her friends (particularly Giles) to think they needed to be consulted on these matters.
• Wicked Cultured: Seeing as Gwendolyn is an ex-Watcher, it goes without saying.
• The X of Y: The Glove of Myneghon.
• You Remind Me of X: An inanimate example. Buffy reaches over to examine the glove ("World's ugliest fashion accessory"), but Angel swats her hand away, saying that once it's on, it can never be taken off. "So, no touching.," she observes. "Kinda like us."

---