Oh, damn, Kar, you turned on my waterworks. :sobs into the third Kleenex of the thread: I thought I'd stopped crying after I saw the ep last night, but evidently your subtext has the ability to move me all over again.
I love the idea of counting referenced eps for this one. They did such a good job of continuity. Did anyone else notice that Eve said, "The house always wins"? I wondered if that was a reference to something that happened in that ep. Where Angel lost his path and Cordy set him back on it from the higher realms. Ah, are we sensing a pattern?
I can't wait to watch this ep again. I taped it for Trillian--I wasn't even going to bother taping it at all, and wouldn't have if she hadn't asked for it. But now Trillian might not get her tape. LOL
Let's hope her TIVO worked! 
:hugs Kar: Thanks, sweetie, for all the years of reading between the lines and interpreting the story for us. Your insight brings so much to my viewing of the show--after reading your subtext threads, I have to go back and watch the ep again, and I always get more out of it.
Kel