Wolfram & Hart is run by the Black Thorn while the Senior Partners actually live on a different plane of existence. Angel's team realize that Angel is being corrupted by the Circle of the Black Thorn. Back in the dark room from the beginning, Angel takes the bag off the man's face to reveal it is Drogyn. Angel drinks his blood and is then branded with the symbol for the Circle of the Black Thorn. The robed attackers reveal themselves and celebrate Angel's acceptance into the fold. The next day at Wolfram & Hart, Angel is attacked by Gunn, Lorne, Spike, and Wesley. Angel disarms everyone and pulls a crystal out of his jacket, which activates a glamour that conceals the room for six minutes. Angel reveals that everything that he has been doing — agreeing with their evil clients, sending Wesley the symbol, hiring the assassin to kill Drogyn — is to convince the Black Thorn that he is evil so he can infiltrate them and eventually kill them to prevent the apocalypse. Angel explains further that two months earlier, Cordelia gave Angel a vision from their farewell kiss about the Black Thorn and the apocalypse. Spike grimly points out that it is a suicide mission as the Senior Partners will kill them all in retaliation. However, the team eventually agrees to go along with Angel's plan as Hamilton ominously watches them from the window outside the office, suspicious but unable to prove anything. Writing The writing staff had originally hoped Sarah Michelle Gellar would return as Buffy for this episode, but Gellar was busy shooting "The Grudge" at the time. Writer David Fury says, "We did think she [Gellar] might be in the second last episode, just like Angel appeared in the second last episode of Buffy's finale. We thought we'd do that but wound up not." Continuity Angel plays a game of racquet-ball with Izzy, a demon who resembles Satan. This game was mentioned in "You're Welcome". Cultural references Spike suggests that Illyria and Drogyn play Crash Bandicoot. Angel mentions World Wide Wickets in his speech about business. This is a reference to "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying". Spike refers to Illyria as 'The Blue Meanie.' This is a reference to the 1968 Beatles film "Yellow Submarine." Gunn refers to Drogyn as Aragorn, a character from The Lord of the Rings whom he strongly