2.21 Becoming (Part 1) | A Buffy the Vampire Slayer Podcast
May 6, 2026
AI Summary
5 min readIn 1753 Galway, a young man named Liam is thrown out of a pub by his father, a drunk who has "seen nothing of the world." He is met outside by Darla, who tells him to close his eyes before she bites him. That moment of surrender—"he just kind of gave in to it," one of the hosts notes—is the first glimpse of the vulnerability that will define Angel for centuries. This episode, the first part of the two-part season two finale, is built around that tension: the person you become when you give up, and the person you might become when you choose to keep going.
The Flashback as Origin Story
This episode marks a turning point for the show's use of backstory. Until now, Darla was mostly remembered as "the Master's lapdog" from season one, and Angel's past was referenced but never shown. Here, the flashbacks become essential to the Buffyverse DNA. We see Liam sired in Galway, then jump to 1898 Romania, where Angelus (now soulless and cruel) stalks a young clairvoyant named Drusilla. The hosts pause to admire Juliet Landau's performance: "There's not this massive… you know, she's obviously not Drusilla, but she's Drusilla still." Drusilla's pre-vampire life was already a nightmare—her mother called her evil for her visions—so becoming a vampire was less a fall than a release. "They're all having more fun as vampires," one host observes, dryly adding, "without taking into account th
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What you'll learn
- 1 (06:06) **Episode Welcome & 10-Year Celebration Announcement** - Jenny and Kristen welcome guest Rishy K. Sherawat and announce the 10-year anniversary live shows in Brooklyn.
- 2 (08:48) **Jenny's Episode Summary & Rishy's Character Prep** - The hosts read Jenny's capsule summary and Rishy reveals his deep-dive research into 18th-century fashion.
- 3 (11:30) **Rishy's New Album & The Episode Song** - The guests discuss the song "When I Look At You," which will close the episode and is featured on Rishy’s new album.
- 4 (16:16) **The Galway Flashback & Liam's Character** - The hosts analyze the 1753 Galway flashback, focusing on Liam’s youth, his strained relationship with his father, and his vulnerability.
- 5 (22:57) **Darla's Green Ribbon & The Siring** - A discussion of Darla’s costume detail (the green ribbon) and the hypnotic, willing nature of Liam’s siring.
- 6 (26:20) **Angelus in Sunnydale & The Museum Tomb** - The scene shifts to present-day Sunnydale where Angelus taunts Buffy and the museum’s mysterious obelisk is excavated.
- 7 (30:44) **Doug the Curator & Giles's Scraping** - The incompetent curator Doug ignores Giles’s warning not to open the tomb, leading to his death.
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Show Notes
Welcome to Once More, With Spoilers, where Kristin Russo & Jenny Owen Youngs revisit every episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, one at a time — for the SECOND time! — this time discussing each episode with spoilers!
The one and only Hrishikesh Hirway joins us for our conversation on S2E21 "Becoming Part 1" (we hope you don't mind his Irish accent)!! We discuss very important things such as covalent bonds, the shape of an obelisk, the green ribbon tied around Darla's neck, and disks that are either hard or floppy! Also also: the Kendra jingle has now been masterfully recorded and a new eyeliner jingle is in the mix!! Who says you can't have your big rock and eat it, too?!
Our original coverage of "Becoming (Part 1)" — with no spoilers! — aired on June 28, 2017 and you can find it here: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/2-21-becoming-part-1-a-buffy-the-vampire-slayer-podcast/id1150241800?i=1000389272193
ABOUT OUR GUEST
Hrishikesh Hirway's stunning new album In the Last Hour of Light is out now; you can listen to it wherever you stream music. For tickets to his album release tour (and for all things Hrishi) visit hrishikesh.co.
CELEBRATE 10 YEARS OF BUFFERING
Join us at Brooklyn's Littlefield for our first-ever Homecoming Weekend on October 16th & 17th.
Tickets go on pre-sale Thursday, May 7th at 10AM ET and will be live for the public at 10AM ET on Friday, May 8th — all information: bufferingcast.com/live
READ (OR LISTEN TO!) SLAYERS, EVERY ONE OF US
bufferingcast.com/book
LOCATE YOUR HOSTS UPON THE INTERNET
Jenny Owen Youngs | @jennyowenyoungs; jennyowenyoungs.com
Kristin Russo | @kristinnoeline; kristinnoeline.com
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MUSIC | Theme song and jingles composed and performed by Jenny Owen Youngs | More from this podcast