I never quite know what to make of the main Angel and Spike plot of this episode. While being indubitably entertaining and nicely fan indulging, I feel like it would have fitted better earlier in the season, perhaps not too long after “Destiny”. Why? Because the previous episode ended on such a dark note, with a potent cliff-hanger, which I think would have been better if followed by a little less silly episode.

Sure, the whole flying-off-to-Italy-to-find-Buffy thing is amusing, but it’s hardly very plot promoting. Naturally, one might say that after the gloom of the last few episodes, a little silliness was needed, and I don’t necessarily disagree with that. I just think that doing it somewhat less blatantly would have been better.

That this is contrasted by Fred’s parents’ visit to W&H makes it even weirder. It’s strange to see changes between the corny Italian visit cross-cut with these almost heart-wrenching moments of Fred nostalgia and her super cute parents. And when Fred’s old whimsical self at times reverts to Illyria’s cold and straightforward manners, it gets even harder. Because these parts are good in every respect, included context-wise. The Italy sequence? Not so much. That one is good if evaluated as a stand-alone — even if it loses much meaning if seen independently of the Buffyverse continuity, of course — but once you put into the context of the arc, it gets in trouble.

So, all in all this was a fun episode, but I believe it would have benefited — or the show would have, anyway, if its Italy plot’d been integrated in an episode earlier in the season.