Well, damn. That was just the most emotionally devastating hour of fiction ever. No spoiler warnings, because you'd have to have been living under a rock in a third world country to not know by now that Buffy's mom died. Beyond that, there was no plot development. It was just an hour of Buffy & co. dealing with the immediate aftermath of Joyce's death. It was all done in real time, and, having been through the sudden death of a parent, I can assure you that it was entirely realistic. A bit too much so. There were some moments that cut a bit too deeply. I'm sure I'll have more to say about it tomorrow. Right now I'm still reeling and picking up the used Kleenex^tm.

Thankfully, Angel was quite a bit lighter in tone, but not so much that it didn't make a good compliment to the first hour. And it looks like Angel's not going to be playing the part of Broody McBroodpants anymore, and he didn't even have to turn evil for that to happen, so that should be fun.