This episode is just… really amazing. The build up to the final moments where the doomed love affair from the past speak for the story of the present is really fantastic. James finally manages to have his happy ending, but Buffy must go on living through the horror of a broken heart. Not only that, but the scene where the two spirits reconcile, after James prepares to kill himself again through Buffy, when watched after seeing the season finale is so profoundly prophetic. You can really see the effort put into not only ensuring a cohesive arc for the season with excellent foreshadowing, but also in planting the seeds of how the dynamic between Buffy and Angel changes when he returns in the third season. I’d talk more but I’m trying to keep this marathon going at a steady pace. I’ll have to come back and write a more detailed review of my favourite episodes when I’m done.