Angel

While Angel and Spike go to Italy to retrieve the head of a demon mobster (and save Buffy from a new suitor), Fred’s parents arrive at Wolfram and Hart, looking for their daughter.

As Angel and Gunn try to convince Spike to go to Italy to retrieve the body of a demon mobster for one of their clients, Angel gets a phone call telling him that Buffy is in trouble: the Immortal, “the foulest evil Hell ever vomited forth,” has been spotted in Rome near her new home. Because of this Angel decides to go to Italy himself, but then Spike - who also still carries a torch for Buffy - says he wants to go, too. A bit later, on the Wolfram and Hart jet, Angel and Spike squabble a bit, bringing their old jealousies to the fore, but then agree to cooperate, “just like old times,” to save Buffy. As the plane starts to descend, they remember the last time they were both in Italy, in 1894, and we see them imprisoned (by the Immortal) in an Italian dungeon. Meanwhile, back at Wolfram and Hart, while Illyria mopes about her lost powers, Fred’s parents, Roger and Trish Burkle, arrive for a surprise visit with their daughter. Lorne and Wesley quickly whisk them away, but Illyria watches, fascinated. A bit later, in Rome, Angel and Spike arrive at Buffy’s apartment and find it occupied by Andrew, who says Buffy is out... on a date... with the Immortal.

Back in 1894, Angel and Spike are released from the dungeon and return to their hotel room, where they find both Darla and Drusilla happily ravaged by the Immortal, and swear blood vengeance. When they try to visit the Immortal a bit later, they’re rebuffed by his bouncer. Returning to the present, Angel and Spike go to an Italian villa to pick up the demon’s body. A demon woman hands Angel a small bag, which contains only the demon’s severed head. Angel is surprised, but the woman assures him that a new body will grow from the head if he returns it to the U.S. and the appropriate rituals are performed within a few hours. So Angel and Spike return to Buffy’s apartment. She’s still not home, but Andrew reminds them it’s only 8:30. Back at Wolfram and Hart, the Burkles admire the new offices and ask where Fred is. Just as Wesley is about to explain, Illyria enters and greets the Burkles as if she were Fred. Meanwhile Angel and Spike go to a dance club looking for Buffy. A bartender points them to a crowd of dancers, but just as they’re about to plow in, Angel realizes the demon head bag is missing, and sees Alfonso, the demon butler from the villa, sneaking off with it. Angel and Spike chase him, but are stopped by three huge demon goons, who greet them with a punch.

Angel and Spike fight off the goons, but when they chase Alfonso outside, they see him speeding away in their car, and are forced to give chase on a borrowed Vespa. They careen through the streets, detour down a flight of stairs, and finally crash as Alfonso gets away and they realize they have only 12 hours to get the demon’s head back to Los Angeles. Before going after Alfonso again, however, they return to the club and learn Buffy and the Immortal have left. Then Spike remembers Wolfram and Hart has a location in Rome. A few minutes later they arrive in an office identical to their own, and are greeted by the local CEO, Ilona Costa Bianchi, who welcomes them effusively. Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, “Fred” (Illyria) gives the Burkles a tour of her lab. Wes pulls her aside and asks what she’s doing, and she says she thought this might help alleviate his constant grief. In Italy Angel and Spike explain to Ilona that the Immortal must have their friend Buffy in some sort of spell, but Ilona insists the Immortal is a nice guy who never uses magic to control others. She also reminds them about their duty to retrieve the stolen demon head, and says a ransom note has been received for it. They’re ready to do battle, but Illona explains that in Italy it’s best to simply pay the money and get the head back. A bit later Angel and Spike wait with the ransom money in a cold, dark piazza, where they bicker over who’s the better man for Buffy until Alfonso and his goons appear. Back in L.A. the Burkles finally leave, and Wesley tells Illyria never to pretend to be Fred again. In Italy Angel and Spike attack the goons, who toss the head to Alfonso. Then he holds it at gunpoint, threatening to shoot if the ransom isn’t paid. Finally Spike hands over a suitcase full of money, and Alfonso hands them the head bag and leaves. When Spike opens the bag, however, all it contains is a bomb on a timer that quickly ticks down to zero.

A few minutes later Angel and Spike return to Wolfram and Hart to change their explosion-tattered clothes. When they tell Ilona they need to get violent to get the demon head back, she insists her office will take it from here, and ushers them out the door. They return to Buffy’s apartment, but Andrew says she’s still not back. Angel insists she must be under some sort of spell, but Andrew says she simply fell in love, and suggests Angel and Spike might want to get on with their lives as Buffy has with hers. Then Andrew’s beautiful date arrives and he too leaves. Back in Los Angeles, Illyria continues pretending to be Fred, hoping it will cheer up Wesley. He insists she stop, and orders her never to impersonate Fred again. A bit later Angel and Spike return, and admit to Gunn that they lost the demon head. Gunn says it’s waiting for them in Angel’s office. When Angel investigates, he finds a card with the bag expressing best wishes from the Immortal. Angel and Spike bristle again, but then Spike says it really might be time to let Buffy go, and Angel agrees. Then Spike agrees again. They both continue to stand there, however, still not quite ready to let go.