AllMovie

Episode seven of the series is a landmark for Buffy-philes in that it is the first episode where Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Angel (David Boreanaz) kiss. An enigmatic, if peripheral character up until this point, Angel stakes his claim as a full-time cast member by revealing his secret: He is a vampire, the ultimate outsider, a James Dean with fangs -- and Buffy wants him. That is, until she catches him putting a Dracula-hold on her mom -- bite marks and all. It becomes clear that Buffy's mom was actually bitten by the evil Darla (Julie Benz) and saved by Angel. After confronting him, Buffy learns Angel's story: Darla "sired" him (turned him into a vampire) some 240 years earlier, becoming his lover. Later, after killing a gypsy woman, Angel had a curse put on him by the woman's family, restoring his soul. Since then, he's walked the earth, trying to amend his evil vampiric ways. As if he hadn't already proven his undying love to Buffy, Angel puts a fine point on it by staking Darla. This seminal Buffy episode ends at a Sunnydale High dance where Buffy and Angel -- all too aware that theirs is a forbidden and doomed love -- share a slow dance and another kiss. Buffy's crucifix leaves a cross burned into Angel's neck, and a lump in the audience's throats.