Amends

Plot

During the Christmas season in Sunnydale, Angel is tormented by dreams of those he killed while he was Angelus. These visions include Jenny Calendar and other past victims. When Buffy begins to be pulled into these same nightmares, sharing Angel's dreams, they both understand that something unnatural is at work. The visions escalate, urging Angel to murder Buffy, promising that doing so will free him from his suffering.

Unable to harm her, Angel decides to end his own life by waiting on a hill for the sunrise. Buffy and Giles deduce that the First Evil is behind Angel's torment. Buffy tracks down the Bringers of Death and beats them. The First Evil appears to her, claiming she cannot defeat it and warning that Angel will be destroyed by morning.

She rushes to his mansion to intervene. Earlier, Buffy had invited Faith to Christmas Eve dinner and asked her to guard Joyce. After consulting Giles, Buffy realizes where to find the Bringers' underground lair. Meanwhile, Oz tells Willow he is willing to try again with their relationship, while Cordelia remains unforgiving and returns to her old hostile attitude toward the Scooby gang.

Oz goes to Willow's house to watch videos, but finds her dressed seductively with Barry White playing, intending to sleep with him. Oz appreciates the effort but explains he wants their first time to be special and that she has nothing to prove. Buffy finds Angel on the hill behind the mansion, waiting for the sun. The heatwave that had gripped Sunnydale suddenly breaks, and the first snowflakes begin to fall.

Angel sees this as a sign that he was brought back for a purpose. With the weather forecast predicting no sun all day, Buffy and Angel take a walk through the town.

Interpretation

Susannah Clements argues that this episode offers a deep look at humanity's sinful nature. People are not strong enough to fight evil in general, nor can they fight their own sinful nature. The good they manage to do is never enough and cannot be sustained. The First Evil pulls Angel back from hell with the goal of killing Buffy.

Because Angel has a soul, he is locked in a struggle with his evil side. Buffy cannot fight or kill the First Evil. The First Evil convinces Angel that his only options are to kill Buffy or himself. There is no way for humans to stand against this pure form of evil.

Angel understands this, even as Buffy tries to save him. She tells him that everyone has a weakness, but everyone also has the power to do real good and to make amends. Angel responds that it is not the demon inside him that must be killed, but the man. The evil is too powerful, and it cannot be fought alone.

In the series, salvation comes from outside humanity. The sun Angel waits for to kill himself cannot be seen all day. Angel is saved. As he waits for sunrise to die, it suddenly begins to snow, and the sun is hidden.

When asked if God caused the snow, Joss Whedon said he is an atheist but cannot ignore the idea of a Christmas miracle. He finds Christian mythology fascinating, and it appears in his stories. Redemption, hope, and purpose matter to him. He does not mind if people place a strictly Christian interpretation on the episode, but he hopes it is not limited to that.

Reception

Vox ranked it at #100 on their "Every Episode Ranked From Worst to Best" list, writing that Angel-centric episodes tend toward melodrama and that "Amends," with its tearful clifftop climax, leans toward the overwrought end of the spectrum, but as a way of dealing with the trauma of season two it is cathartic and remains one of the most effective uses of the First Evil. A reviewer for the BBC praised the writing, acting, and directing of Buffy's rescue of Angel, though noting that the idea that the arrival of snow would somehow prevent the sun rising is somewhat odd.

Did You Know?

• Oz asks Willow, "You ever have that dream where you're in a play, and it's the middle of the play and you really don't know your lines, and you kinda don't know the plot?" This will happen to Willow in "Restless."
• Willow makes seductive amends to Oz, and they get back together.