OH MY GOD.

Wow.

WOW.

That was the most amazing episode of BtVS I’ve ever seen. It was – wow.

OK, I'm going to go away for a while and wait until I'm sufficiently unstunned until I continue this review.

I'm back. I’m writing this a long time after first having seen Becoming two: I've seen the episode a million times, and I've watched all of season three. And the fact remains that this episode still keeps me on the edge of my seat, which really says something – and it’s not a something about my seat.

OK, let's take this from the top. First of all, where the heck did Snyder and the cops come from all of a sudden? Perhaps he knew something fishy was going on and called the police to suss it out. In any case, that troll guy has some serious issues, and he's chosen to vent them on poor Buffy.

The hospital: Buffy, that 'copping a feel' comment was a little unneeded, OK? C'mon, Xander's not *that* into you anymore now that he's with CC. Go feed your ego elsewhere. Speaking of him and Cordy, they made a cute couple, didn't they? Sigh, those were the days. I was amazed to see how *good* Cordy was back then: she actually lamented not being able to help the Buffster in her save-the-world crusade. Compare in Graduation 1 where she really couldn't give a.

OH MY GOD, ANGELUS!! You are a GOD!! Open a window, it's getting hot in here. Why oh why did they have to rip him out of our television screens so soon :0( His witty remarks about torturing Giles was a hoot and a half! (Except, probably not if you're Giles...) I won't bore you about Angelus' godliness anymore, but for those of you share my incredible taste, there's more Becoming 2-inspired gushing over Angelus here.

The Xander/Willow thing: This is going to shock you, but I actually felt sorry for Xander. I know, I know, Gasp! But who wouldn't? There he is, worried headless about his best buddy who he finally realises means the world to him (in a non-romantic way - at least, at this stage), and in walks her boyfriend who takes all the love from Sleeping Beauty even though he doesn't actually know what's going on. But rest assured, fellow Xander haters, that any sympathy for big dorko guy soon dissolved when he did the dirty deed and kept Buffy in the dark about Willow's re-cursing attempt. Bastard.

One of the main reasons why this was such a fantastic episode, was because so much happened: Buffy's being chased by the police, Willow's in hospital, Angelus is trying to end the world, Giles is being tortured, Spike and Buffy join forces, Joyce finds out Buffy's the Slayer, Angelus and Buffy have their final showdown, Angel returns, Buffy sends him to hell, Buffy leaves Sunnydale. Phew!

Spike: Oh Wow. Oh wow oh wow oh wow. I'm tellun ya, I love Angel and all, but if it doesn't work out with him, Buffy should *really* consider going for undead guys of the peroxided blonde variety. Their interaction was hilarious! Did everyone else almost fall off their seats drooling when Spike said "hullo cutie"?! OK, needing breath. I loved Buffy's retort about Dru being a "hoe". Woo-hoo, yeah, say what we're all thinkin, gurl!

I was so not expecting Buffy to reveal her true identity to her mom in this episode. Have to say, I was disappointed with Joyce's lame reaction: "Are you sure you're a vampire slayer?... Well, have you tried not being one?" Come on! She should have been more disbelieving, less pathetic. And only Buffy could have pulled off a cheesy line like "..but I've got to say the world - again". I did like the tension between mother and daughter though.

That was quite sad for Giles, huh? Mind torture. But oh my god, is anyone else out there *really* getting annoyed with Dru? She started out as a very cool character, but now she's gone way too spacey; more weirdo crazy than scary insane. An oh, ewww - darling Angelus called Dru "honey"! Yuck.

Final showdown: Interesting how Buffy is dressed in black like Angelus, and the fact that she introduces herself by reciprocating his past taunts: "Hello lover." She has to become her enemy to defeat her enemy - this is evidenced in Graduation with Faith as well. But why was he so harsh with his "I don't have time for you" seeing as he's passionately obsessed with her?!

Ok, I love Angelus and all, but I couldn't help yaying Spike on as he took his revenge on Angel with the pole. I'm sure it didn't hurt *that* much... Oh, and hate Dru even more! There Spike is going to so much trouble to get her back, and what does she do but go and claw at his beautiful face, the whining loon. He deserves *so* much better!

Great fight sequences betweem B and A - nice to see some sword work; a bit of a change from the usual hands action. I just can't bring myself to believe that Angelus would've just stabbed Buffy in the corner like that. No! He would've bit her, and then got her to suck his blood so she could be a vamp and they could go be passionately evil together. I'm sure of it, dammit. The sword thing was just a scare tactic. Humph.

The reunion. Yes, I know I love Angelus, but oh, oh Angel! God he looked so innocent and beautiful, tear-stained, and confused. Buffy was so strong to be able to push that sword in him. Oh God that scene was so tragic! I LOVED it!!! Poor poor Buffy. My heart goes out to her. And Angel, the honey; he didn't know what hit him. There he was, being sucked into Hell, eyes innocently questioning why his lover would do that to him - and there she was, unable to look him in the eyes. And then Full of Grace! It was the most superbly orchestrated finale ever imaginable. The last sequence with the song in the background captured Buffy's plight perfectly and now embodies for me, all that is so incredible about the show.

The whole episode - nay, the whole second half of the season was showing Buffy's character into a stronger, more independent individual. It is encapuslated by Whistler's words of advice: "In the end you're all you've got. That's the whole point."

Hands down five hearts.