Dublin, 1838.  A young man runs through the snow, past carriages and Christmas carolers, looking over his shoulder constantly.  Angel, with an icky mustache and with his vamp face on, drags the guy into an alley and bites him, after telling him he should have not played poker with him if he didn't have the money to pay up.  Angel in the present wakes up form the vivid memory-dream, and goes for a walk.  On the street he runs into Buffy, and they make awkward conversation until Angel sees the young man from his dream standing in the street behind Buffy.  At school the next day, Buffy tells Willow and Xander about Angel's weirdness the night before.  They all talk about what they'll be doing over Christmas break, and Cordelia, after a pissy comment to Xander, says she'll be in Aspen.  Skiing.  With real snow.  Xander starts to get mad, but Willow says they should cut her some slack after what happened.  She herself is big on the forgiveness theme this year, after what happened. Just then Oz shows up, and he and Willow go to an empty classroom to talk.  Oz tells her that he doesn't know if it will ever really be over between Willow and Xander, but he does know that he misses her, like every second.  He's willing to give them another shot.  They hug, and they're both happier.  Later Buffy and Joyce shop for Christmas trees, and Joyce brings up the possibility of Faith spending Christmas eve with them.  Buffy doesn't want to, but says she'll ask when her mom lays a guilt trip on her.  Buffy suggests asking Giles, too, but Joyce kinda freaks out and says he wouldn't want to spend christmas with a bunch of girls, because she's still antsy on the Giles-topic due to her having sex with him in Band Candy. They seperate, and Buffy sees a bunch of dead trees toward the back.  The keeper tells her some of them just up and died, and he doesn't know why.  We see a brief scene of Angel waking up from another bad dream, and then Buffy shows up at Faith's hotel room to ask her to Christmas Eve dinner.  Faith says she's got a party to go to, but Buffy says the offer still stands, if Faith changes her mind.  At Giles's, Giles is stunned to find Angel at the door, needing his help.  Giles, holding a crossbow on him, invites him in.  Angel tells him about the dreams he's been having lately, dreams about the past, in which he feels like he's living it all over again.  He wants to know why he was saved from hell, and returned to earth.  Giles says that maybe he SHOULDN'T be given his peace of mind, since last time he had that he turned back into a demon.  Just then Angel sees Jenny Calendar over Giles's shoulder, and runs from his house, petrified.  Back at the mansion, he tries to sleep again, only to 'remember' a formal gathering at Christmas time at a nobleman's house.  Angelus taunts a serving maid before biting her, heedless of her cries about how her son will survive without her.  Sensing something amiss, he looks up from his kill to see Buffy standing there staring at him.  Angel and Buffy wake simultaneously, both having been in the dream. Angel gets out of bed and dresses...he goes out to the main room where he's confronted by Jenny Calendar.  He tells her to leave him alone, but she says she can't, he won't let her.  Angel doesn't know what else to do to make it up to her, but she changes into the young man from the first dream, and he says he just wants to show Angel who he is.  Cut to the library, where Buffy tells Giles that it wasn't a shared dream...she'd been sucked into Angel's dream.  She worries that there's something wrong with him, and Giles tells her about Angel's visit.  Buffy says that it's over between her and Angel, but she can't move on if they're doing guest spots in each other's dreams.  Giles says that they'll help him, and Xander (moved by the theme of forgiveness), agrees to help.  Willow shows up, and joins in.  Later, Willow tells Buffy she's worried that Oz won't ever be able to trust her again.  Buffy says that Xander has a part of Willow that Oz will never be able to have, and now it's all about making Oz know that he comes first.  At the mansion, Angel is still being tortured by his former victims.  One of them accuses him of being more heartless than other beasts, because he killed not only to feed, but for the pleasure of causing pain.  They torment him mercilessly, and Jenny comes in like salvation, saying that she doesn't want to hurt him, but that cruelty was the only talent he'd ever had, and he should go with it.  At the library, Buffy lies sleeping on the floor, and shares a sensual dream with Angel where they make love until Buffy sees a demon with no eyes standing in the corner, and Angel suddenly changes and bites Buffy.  They both wake, and Jenny Calendar tries to urge Angel to 'take' Buffy.  To take all of his pain and guilt and bury it in her.  She says that this is why 'they' brought him back..to take her.  And then he'll be ready to kill her.  In the library, Giles discovers information about the first evil, which would have the power to bring Angel back.  Buffy confirms that the pictures match the guy she saw in her dream (which she gives Giles the G-rated version of), and he tells her they're called Bringers, they can call forth images of the dead and use them to torture the living.  Buffy and Xander head off to Willie's, (What's my Line parts one and two), who tells them what little information that he has, that the Bringers are holed up outside town somewhere, underground.  That night, Oz shows up at Willow's place to find it all decked out in sensuality mode.  Willow's dressed provocatively, and has Barry Manilow on the stereo.  Oz figures out that she wants Oz to be her 'first' to prove to him that she loves him, and that she and Xander aren't an issue any more.  He says it's not the right time, but gets the message.  They kiss.  At Buffy's house, Joyce starts a fire, much to Buffy's chagrin considering that it's all hot outside and everything.  Faith shows up, and they all make to celebrate Christmas together.  Buffy goes upstairs and finds Angel in her room. He tells her needed to see her, then says she needs to stay away from him.  Jenny Calendar whispers to him as he struggles not to 'take' Buffy.   He advances upon her, but manages to gain control of himself long enough to jump out the window.  Buffy leaves Faith in charge at the house, and she goes to Giles to figure out how they can help Angel.  He tells her if he loses control, she may have to kill him....again.    At the mansion, Jenny tells Angel that he was born to hurt Buffy, but Angel says he never will.  He'll kill himself first.  She says he doesn't have the strength to kill himself, and Angel says he doesn't need strength....he just needs the sun.  He leaves, and Jenny says to herself that this wasn't the plan....but it would do.  Upon discovering some clues in Giles's books, Buffy heads to the Christmas tree place where the dead trees are.  She breaks through to underneath, and finds the Bringers there.  She pummels them and destroys their altar.  Jenny Calendar shows up and confronts Buffy, saying that Buffy can't fight her because she's evil, the first evil.  She tells Buffy that Angel will be dead by sunrise, and Buffy goes off looking for him.  She finds him up on a cliff overlooking Sunnydale.  Buffy pleads with him to get inside before sunrise, but he won't leave.  He's convinced that the Bringers showed him what he really was, and he doesn't want to become that again.  Buffy tells him to fight it, but Angel says that he's weak, and that he wants to take comfort in her, even knowing that it would make him lose his soul, and a part of him doesn't care.  The Bringers have convinced him that it's not the demon in him that needs killing, it's the man, because he's never been strong or done the right thing.  Buffy tells him that he has the power to do real good; to make amends.  She begs him, but he won't listen to her.  She hits him to try to get him to come with her, and he hits her back, knocking her down.  He tackles her, trying to convince her that he's not worth saving.  But Buffy asks him what about her? She loves him so much, but she can't make him go away.  She hates that it's so hard, she hates that he can hurt her so much, but she can't wish him dead.  The both stand, and Angel asks her to just this once let him be strong.  But Buffy says that giving up is not being strong, staying alive and fighting is being strong.  If she can't convince him that he belongs in this world, then she doesn't know what can.  Just then, a miracle happens.  It snows.  In Sunnydale, California.  The clouds and the snow block the sun, and Angel is saved.  We see images of everyone marveling over the snowfall, and Buffy and Angel walk down main street, hand in hand, amidst the now-forming snow-drifts.  FLAWS:   none found.  Man, I'm starting to get a bit bummed out.  There haven't been any flaws for the past like, five episodes! THOUGHTS ON THE EPISODE: Good one.  Nice interaction between Buffy and Angel, and I'm glad that Oz and Willow get back together.  The whole theme in this one is forgiveness.  In a way, Buffy and Giles forgive Angel for what he's done, and he's able to, if not forgive himself, at least realize that he wants to make amends for the things he did.  This lays the groundwork for all of his ideals of Redemption, and gives us a basis for the Angel series.  BEST LINE:      Nothing quirky in this one.  Oh well.

"Amends"