The concept of the Scythe was previously and originally created for Joss Whedon's comic series Fray.
This line from Willow was cut: "It doesn't have any markings. Would it be so hard to include a little sticker? 'Hello. My name is Blank of the Blankthuselah, consult operating instruction before wielding'."
Marti Noxon was originally due to write this episode. However, she was already working on Still Life (2003) and was unavailable to do so. As a result, Jane Espenson and Douglas Petrie, the next two writers with the most seniority on the show, co-wrote this episode.
Spike does not appear until midway through the episode as, when he woke up and found that Buffy had gone, the sun had already risen and he had to wait until nightfall before leaving the house.
Xander tells Buffy: "Besides, if you die, I'll just bring you back to life. That's what I do," alluding to his role in resurrecting her in both Prophecy Girl (1997) and Bargaining: Part 1 (2001).