The vampire prosthetics (excepting Angel's) were a newly-created prototype design for this episode, as the production team wanted to try a darker, scarier look. However, they were unhappy with the effect, and soon returned to Buffy-style vamp-faces.
When this episode originally aired, it followed The Freshman (1999) on the same night. At 29 minutes into the earlier program, Buffy answers the telephone and says, "Hello? Hello?" But no one responds. At 41 minutes into this episode, Angel makes a phone call, and Buffy's voice at the other end says, "Hello? Hello?" Angel hangs up without speaking.
Joss Whedon and David Boreanaz did not intend to put flashbacks of Angel's life in this episode but the studio wanted it for a smoother transition for viewers who had not previously watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997).
David Greenwalt and Joss Whedon say in the DVD commentary that the scene of Angel slipping off the bar stool and walking through the bar with the overhead shot of the ceiling fans was inspired by John Woo films.