OF SPECIAL NOTE: this Episode was nominated for an Emmy Award in the “Best Writing in a Drama Series” category, and also received a nomination for “Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series.”
Lindsay Crouse and Amber Benson appeared together in the 1995 movie Bye, Bye, Love.
The newscaster seen in this episode, Carlos Amezcua, is the real-life co-anchor on KTLA’s morning news. The weatherman from that same show, Mark Kriski, appeared in Episode 44, “Amends,” in Season Three.
67. “Doomed”
(JANUARY 18, 2000)
Director: James A. Contner
Teleplay: David Fury and Jane Epsenson
Recurring cast: Leonard Roberts (Forrest Gates); Bailey Chase (Graham Miller), Ethan Erickson (Percy West)
Guest cast: Anastasia Horne (Laurie); Anthony Anselmi (partier)
Music: “Hey” (during party), by the Hellacopters, from Payin’ the Dues; “Mouth Almighty” (while Willow is eavesdropping on Percy), by Echobelly, from Lustra
Plot: Buffy keeps Riley at bay while trying to prevent the end of the world. Again.
THIS WEEK’S APOCALYPTIC DEMONS: Vahrall demons, who plan to end the world with a recipe that includes the blood of a man, the bones of a child, a special talisman, and three sacrifices.
INTRODUCING: Riley as commando to the Scooby Gang. His cover is blown when he shows up to help fight the demons.
ANALYSIS: Instead of being relieved that Riley is in a similar line of work, discovering that he’s a demon fighter causes Buffy to instinctively push him away. It’s too similar to her relationship with Angel, and she’s worried Riley will be a constant reminder of what she has lost if she works side by side with him the way she did with Angel. Plus, the idea of seeing someone she cares for injured or killed is a pain she doesn’t want to set herself up for again.
Riley, though, doesn’t worry about the “What if?”s. He knows how he feels about Buffy—and he feels pursuing a relationship with her is worth whatever risk they expose themselves to. He knows great joy doesn’t come without the risk of also being hurt.
Spike, in the meantime, is finding his neutered vampire life not worth living. He has no purpose, and the humiliation of having to depend on Buffy’s friends for everything makes him suicidal, but he can’t even dust himself properly. Worried that he’ll hurt himself, Willow drags Spike along on their hunt for the demons bent on ending the world. When he accidentally discovers that he can hurt evil without his head exploding, Spike becomes a new man, with a new sense of purpose, and helps Buffy and the others prevent the demons from making their sacrifice. Even though he has no moral commitment to “good” the way Angel does, Spike merely needs to feel alive, one way or another.
Coming to the brink of apocalypse yet again gives Buffy some newfound perspective. Life is too short to run away from the chance for love, even if it means making yourself vulnerable.
THE REAL HORROR: Having a bad premonition. It’s unsettling when, for no concrete reason, we feel something bad is going to happen. It feels even worse when the premonition comes true, as did Buffy’s portent of doom regarding the earthquake.
IT’S A MYSTERY: Why the rat playing Amy is a male.
BLOOPERS: The eyes of the dead boy Willow discovers, appear to open and shut from one shot to the next.
68. “A New Man”
(JANUARY 25, 2000)
Director: Michael Gershman
Teleplay: Jane Espenson
Recurring cast: Robin Sachs (Ethan Rayne); Amber Benson (Tara); Emma Caulfield (Anya); Lindsay Crouse (Professor Maggie Walsh)
Guest cast: Elizabeth Penn Payne (waitress); Michelle Ferrara (mother)
Music: “In Good Time” (playing during Buffy’s party), from Dreamworks Demo Master; “Over Divine” (during Buffy’s party), by 12 Volt Sex, from Pop Formula
Plot: Giles’s old nemesis Ethan Rayne is up to his old tricks.
THIS WEEK’S HANGOVER: After a night out drinking with Ethan, Giles is turned into a Fyarl demon. This species is spectacularly strong, spits paralyzing mucus, and has to be killed by something made of silver.
ANALYSIS: Giles is suffering a midlife crisis. For most of his adult life he has had a sense of purpose and knew what was expected of him. But, since being fired by the Watchers’ Council and losing his job as librarian when he helped blow up Sunnydale High to kill the Ascended mayor, Giles has been living a day-to-day existence. Sure, he helps Buffy research each new evil as it arrives in town, but Buffy and the others are getting older and establishing individual lives. It stuns Giles to realize he’s a middle-aged man with few friends his own age, and that his closest friends are young enough to be his children. He’s also upset he’s the last to know about Riley and the Initiative, and Professor Walsh adds to his feelings of uselessness when she caustically explains away Buffy’s independence as a lack of a strong father figure.
Giles’s brand of self-pity includes getting drunk, even if it is with Ethan Rayne, but he pays dearly for letting his guard down when he wakes up the next morning discovers he’s been turned into a demon. Nobody except Spike can understand his demon dialect, so Giles is forced to ask for Spike’s help. With his own recent groveling fresh in his mind, Spike agrees, but not before making Giles beg a bit, and making him agree to pay Spike money.
Now that Buffy is in a relationship with Riley, she wants to be accepted in his world and agrees to coordinate her efforts somewhat with Walsh and the Initiative. The others are wary of her getting too involved, because even though nobody can pinpoint why, something doesn’t seem quite right with it. However, while Buffy may be on her best behavior, she is certainly not cowed by Walsh and refuses to let anyone interfere with her Slayer duties. So when she and the others mistakenly think Giles has been kidnapped—or worse—by a demon, Buffy is first in line to take the creature down.
Even though Buffy may have be too wrapped up in her new life with Riley to give Giles the time, attention, and respect he deserves, her connection to him remains intact. She stops herself from plunging a letter opener into his chest after one look into the demon’s eyes because she immediately recognizes them as Giles’s. The near-disaster makes Buffy pay better attention to keeping the lines of communication with Giles open. Lost in the chaos of getting Giles returned back to normal, however, is the bit of information passed on by Ethan Rayne, to be wary of 314. It’s an oversight that will cost many lives.
THE REAL HORROR: Feeling superfluous. It’s hard to feel you’re making a valued contribution when you’re out of work and unsure what direction your life is taking.
BLOOPERS: When demon/Giles is in Xander’s room, the number of clothespins holding up the briefs on the line alternates between one and two.
MYTHOLOGICAL REFERENCE: Giles says he felt like Theseus and the Minotaur in the Labyrinth. In Greek mythology, King Minos of Crete sacrificed seven young men and seven young women to the Minotaur, a creature with the head and tail of bull and the body of a man, which lived in a maze called the Labyrinth. The Greek hero Theseus volunteered to be a victim, but when he arrived in Crete he fell in love with Ariadne, Minos’s daughter. Ariadne gave Theseus a large ball of twine so he could find his way out. He tied one end to the entrance of the Labyrinth before entering, to trace his path. Once inside, he came upon the sleeping Minotaur and killed it, then followed the trail of twine back out.
OF SPECIAL NOTE: For those wondering about a body count, Buffy and her friends have killed at least one hundred vampires and fifty demons on-camera.
* * *
WICCA
Wicca is a modern “pagan” religion with roots in ancient European beliefs centered around a female fertility deity. Traditionally, many cultures have associated witchcraft with evil. But unlike those who use witchcraft as sorcery, Wiccans believe in using their magic only for the good of mankind. Their motto is, “If it harm none, do as you will.”
“Wicca” is sometimes used synonymously with “witchcraft”; likewise, “witch” and “Wiccan�
� are often used interchangeably. But while all Wiccans are witches, not all witches are Wiccan.
The ethics of Wicca are based in personal accountability and respect for nature. The Law of Threefold Return warns that all actions, whether good or bad, will come back to the sender three times as strong. Environmental concern is also an important aspect. Because humans are of the earth, harming nature means harming ourselves—both individually and collectively—so each Wiccan strives to preserve the natural balance.
* * *
69. “The ‘I’ in Team”
(FEBRUARY 8, 2000)
Director: James A. Contner
Teleplay: David Fury
Recurring cast: Amber Benson (Tara); George Hertzberg (Adam); Leonard Roberts (Forrest Gates); Bailey Chase (Graham Miller); Jack Stehlin (Dr. Angleman); Emma Caulfield (Anya); Lindsay Crouse (Professor Maggie Walsh)
Guest cast: Neil Daley (Mason)
Music: “Trashed” (at the Bronze), by Lavish, from Polaroid; “Keep Myself Awake” (as Buffy enters the Bronze), by Black Lab, from Your Body Above Me; “Window to Your soul” (during both fight scene and later, in Riley and Buffy’s love scene), by Delerium, from Karma
Plot: Buffy’s involvement with the Initiative worries her friends.
THIS WEEK’S MAD SCIENTIST: Professor Maggie Walsh.
INTRODUCING: Dr. Angelman, Walsh’s associate.
THE BIG BAD: Adam, a seemingly invincible new-millennium Frankenstein, fashioned out of spare demon parts.
ANALYSIS: After spending years fighting demons, vampires, and other evil creatures—with a bag of weapons and her wits—seeing the high-tech gadgetry wielded by the Initiative is awe-inspiring for Buffy. The entire operation seems so professional and organized that she’s willing to accept official direction from Professor Walsh. Preoccupied with the importance of her new position, Buffy is oblivious to how much she hurt Willow’s feelings by blowing off a planned girls’-night-out.
It’s possible Willow is simply trying to use a night out with Buffy as a distraction. It’s obvious there’s an attraction between her and Tara, but at this point Willow seems frightened by it. That’s why she doesn’t invite Tara to the Bronze—she doesn’t want other people to pick up on it because she hasn’t come to terms with it yet. After Buffy shows up with a entourage of commandos, Willow takes off and ends up at Tara’s door, asking if she wants to do some spells and conveying a more evocative undercurrent. Meanwhile Riley and Buffy build up so much sexual tension while fighting a demon that it serves as foreplay, and they finally consummate their relationship—under the watchful eyes of Dr. Walsh, who has planted a camera in Riley’s room.
The problem with military operations is that, like the Watchers’ Council, they operate by the book and don’t allow for much leeway. To them, Spike is an anonymous enemy to be captured and used as a guinea pig. Xander and Giles find the Initiative even more abhorrent than Spike does, so they remove a tracking device from him and flush it down the toilet.
Even when she’s trying to adhere to the official party line, Buffy’s independence and Slayer experience can’t be hidden, and Walsh immediately recognizes that Buffy is a threat to her secret plan to build the perfect soldier. Walsh sends Buffy into a trap but underestimates just how powerful the Slayer is when Buffy kills her would-be demon assassins, then puts Walsh on notice that she just made a very bad enemy.
Riley is shocked. He respected Professor Walsh and looked up to her, so her betrayal cuts deep. Forced to choose between his job and the woman he loves, the choice for him is easy.
THE REAL HORROR: Getting what you wish for—because it seldom turns out the way you’d hoped. Professor Walsh dreamed of creating the perfect soldier and killing machine. She did and it killed her.
70. “Goodbye, Iowa”
(FEBRUARY 15, 2000)
Director: David Solomon
Teleplay: Marti Noxon
Recurring cast: Amber Benson (Tara); George Hertzberg (Adam); Leonard Roberts (Forrest Gates); Bailey Chase (Graham Miller); Saverio Guerra (Willy); Emma Caulfield (Anya)
Guest cast: Amy Powell (reporter); Andy Marshall (scientist #1); Paul Leighton (rough-looking demon); Karen Charnell (shady lady); Jack Stehlin (Dr. Angleman); J. B. Gaynor (little boy)
Music: “Romeo Had Juliette” (at Willy’s), by Lou Reed, from New York
Plot: Buffy uncovers the truth about 314.
THE WEEK’S ANTAGONISTS: It’s Buffy versus the Initiative when Riley’s men believe Buffy is responsible for Professor Walsh’s death.
ANALYSIS: This episode features a frantic pace of action as everyone tries to figure out who, or what, is responsible for killing Professor Walsh. Riley, who doesn’t realize he’s undergoing withdrawal from a chemical cocktail Walsh had been secretly administering to members of the team, is confused and disoriented. Everything he believes in is methodically stripped away to reveal the lie the Initiative is based on. It’s almost easier for him to believe Buffy is on the side of the demons than admit he’s been manipulated and betrayed by his mentor, Walsh.
Buffy is hurt that Riley would think her disloyal but she doesn’t have time to wallow in self-pity. She senses she’s up against a profound adversary and knows that uncovering the truth will be the best antidote for the mistrust threatening to implode her relationship with Riley. When Adam finally shows himself and the extent of Walsh’s deception is revealed, this sets the stage for Buffy’s most formidable opponent yet.
THE REAL HORROR: Suspicion. Mistrust can undermine the strongest relationship, and is usually born of insecurity, jealousy, or misunderstanding. All three play a factor in the finger-pointing that occurs after Professor Walsh’s murder is discovered. Riley’s peers don’t like it that Buffy has disrupted the status quo and takes up so much of Riley’s time and attention. Riley can’t believe Walsh would do anything behind his back, and lashes out at Buffy in grief. And without Walsh to direct them, the other members of the Initiative feel anchorless and angry that their leader has been taken away. Everybody is so busy accusing Buffy, they fail to see what the real threat is.
BLOOPERS: When Riley and Forrest are arguing over whether Buffy was involved in Walsh’s death, Riley points at Forrest with his left hand, but when the camera cuts to the next angle, his right hand is up.
OF SPECIAL NOTE: The word cyborg is a compound form of “cybernetic organism.”
The Greek goddess Willow mentions—Thespia—was the daughter of the river god Asopus and his wife Metope.
71. “This Year’s Girl (Part I)”
(FEBRUARY 22, 2000)
Director: Michael Gershman
Teleplay: Douglas Petrie
Recurring cast: Kristine Sutherland (Joyce Summers); Eliza Dushku (Faith); Harry Groener (Mayor Richard Wilkins III); Amber Benson (Tara); Leonard Roberts (Forrest Gates); Bailey Chase (Graham Miller)
Guest cast: Jeff Ricketts (Weatherby); Kevin Owers (Smith); Mark Gantt (demon); Kimberly McRae (visitor); Sara Van Horn (older nurse); Brian Hawley (orderly); Jack Esformes (doctor); Chet Grissom (detective); Alastair Duncan (Collins)
Plot: Faith wakes up from her coma and comes after Buffy, seeking revenge, with a little help from the mayor beyond the grave.
THIS WEEK’S ASTRAL PHENOMENON: Switching bodies. Once again showing his genuine concern for Faith, Mayor Wilkins left behind a magical talisman that allows her to switch bodies with Buffy and escape the consequences of her past evil deeds.
FORESHADOWING: In Faith’s dream she remarks that Buffy has a lot to do to get ready for the arrival of “Little Sis.”
ANALYSIS: Faith’s dreams reflect the conflict raging inside her comatose head. On the one hand she obviously fears Buffy, but on the other, she covets all that Buffy is. Once she regains consciousness and learns the mayor is dead and that Buffy prevailed, Faith knows it’s only a matter of time before either the police or the Council come after her again. Her only hope is to use the mayor’s gift and get a second chance in someone else’s body.
Having
Faith back in the picture creates some dilemmas for Buffy. She’s unwilling to open old wounds, and reticent to let Riley know too much about her relationship with Angel—out of fear he would never understand, and reject her. Buffy is vague with Riley about exactly why Faith hates her so much. Riley might press her further, except he’s going through his own soul-searching. He’s a soldier used to taking orders, so being on his own has left him feeling out of sorts.
His distraction plays into Faith’s hands as she sets out to engage Buffy in a confrontation so she can initiate the switch. Once it’s completed, Faith may look like Buffy, but she discovers that her soul will ultimately give her away.
THE REAL HORROR: Lack of personal responsibility. Unwilling to accept culpability for what she’s done and all the hurt she’s caused, Faith makes Buffy the object of her sins and plots to make Buffy take the fall instead by trapping Buffy in Faith’s body and letting the Council’s henchmen take Buffy away instead.
IT’S A MYSTERY: Exactly who calls Buffy to let her know Faith has escaped? And what happened to Faith’s tattoo? It’s not there when she’s looking through Joyce’s makeup.
BLOOPERS: When Buffy throws Faith across the dining-table during their fight, everything is knocked off, but in the next shot the tablecloth and some fruit are still there.
OF SPECIAL NOTE: Amber Benson previously worked with Eliza Dushku in the 1995 movie Bye, Bye, Love.
The expression “Five by five” is old radio jargon that means a signal is loud and clear. It has also come to mean, “Everything is all right.”
72. “Who Are You? (Part II)”
(FEBRUARY 29, 2000)
Director: Joss Whedon
Teleplay: Joss Whedon
Recurring cast: Kristine Sutherland (Joyce Summers); Amber Benson (Tara); Leonard Roberts (Forrest Gates); George Hertzberg (Adam); Emma Caulfield (Anya); Eliza Dushku (Buffy)
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