While researching a way to defeat the Judge, a demon with the power to destroy the world whom "no weapon forged" can harm, Xander and Cordelia are caught kissing in the library by a jealous Willow.
Buffy finds Angel in his apartment, not knowing that he is now Angelus, and he blows her off, laughing at her as she weeps.
Jenny is castigated by her uncle Enyos, who tells her that if Angel has one moment of true happiness, the curse placed on him will be broken and his new soul taken from him.
Tracking down the Judge, who is slaughtering people at a crowded mall, Buffy blows him to bits with the anti-tank weapon.
"[2] Joss Whedon listed "Innocence" as his favorite episode of the series; the interviewer wrote, "Every girl's nightmare, and one of the show's most sly yet most powerful uses of metaphor...
"[4] Reviewer Billie Doux writes that the two episodes "together are outstanding, and mark a major turning point in the series," adding, "David Boreanaz is much more impressive as Angelus than as Angel.
I noticed mostly how he goes for a much lighter, more whimsical tone; good Angel is usually grim and haunted, but Angelus is playful, enthusiastic, and smiles all the time.
"[5] Myles McNutt notes that "what 'Innocence' does so well is give us a clear indication of what the show will be like now that Angel has moved to the dark side.
It doesn't just turn Angel into Angelus without giving us a sense of how the character will act or what his dynamic will be with Spike and Drusilla; instead, David Boreanaz is given a great deal of time to flesh out just what Angel is like without a soul..." He adds that it's "clever how the Judge was an unquestionably dominant threat but was not actually a dominant character: because it took him time to regain his power, it allowed for the wheelchair-bound Spike, the newly returned Angelus and Drusilla to remain the clear villains of the piece.
"The best 60 seconds of the season occur when the Judge arrives at a shopping mall and starts killing people.