77. “Primeval (Part II)”
(MAY 16, 2000)
Director: James A. Contner
Teleplay: David Fury
Recurring Cast: George Hertzberg (Adam); Amber Benson (Tara); Leonard Roberts (Forrest Gates); Bailey Chase (Graham Miller); Emma Caulfield (Anya); Lindsay Crouse (Maggie Walsh)
Guest cast: Jack Stehlin (Dr. Angleman); Conor O’Farrell (Colonel McNamara); Bob Fimiani (Ward); Jordi Vilasuso (Dixon)
Plot: Adam initiates his plans to create an army of demon/human hybrids.
THIS WEEK’S FOLLY: Colonel McNamara loses almost half his commandos when Adam instigates a battle between captured demons and the Initiative in order to cull body parts for his hybrid soldiers.
INTRODUCING: The first Slayer. Buffy taps into the essence of the Slayer’s primeval power through an enjoining spell that joins her spiritual forces with Giles, Willow, and Xander.
ANALYSIS: Buffy realizes she has been taking her friends for granted, and that she needs to do a better job of juggling her romantic life with her “family.” When they were in high school, the close proximity of sharing every class together and being in a contained environment, made it easier to keep up with each other’s feelings and moods. College is a much bigger environment. It’s also a time when personal relationships tend to be more serious because people start contemplating life partners. Both Buffy and Willow come to realize that friendship is as much a commitment as a romantic relationship is, and how important their friendship is.
Right when he’s thinking he’s a worthless appendage, Xander once again proves his value. Just as he figured out how to destroy the Judge with a rocket launcher, his comment about combining their individual powers into a Super-Buffy is the key to the spell that endows Buffy with the necessary mystical power to defeat Adam.
Spike once again learns it’s never a good idea to bet against the Slayer. Although he kills a demon threatening Giles, Willow, and Xander to make amends, you never get the sense he truly worries that Buffy will stake him. Already he’s come to realize she only kills when necessary, and that she deeply values and respects life, even the undead variety. Although he finds the trait a potential weakness, he is also curiously intrigued by Buffy’s character.
THE REAL HORROR: Ignorance. Colonel McNamara’s arrogance and ego prevent him from giving Buffy any credibility. The result is the loss of many lives, including his own, and the dismantling of the Initiative as a failed experiment.
OF SPECIAL NOTE: This episode was originally intended to be the final episode for the fourth season before Joss Whedon added “Restless” as the finale.
78. “Restless”
(MAY 23, 2000)
Director: Joss Whedon
Teleplay: Joss Whedon
Recurring cast: Kristine Sutherland (Joyce Summers); Amber Benson (Tara); Emma Caulfield (Anya); Seth Green (Oz); Armin Shimerman (Principal Snyder); Mercedes McNab (Harmony); Phina Oruche (Olivia); George Hertzberg (Adam)
Guest cast: Sharon Ferguson (the First Slayer); David Wells (cheese guy); Michael Harney (Xander’s dad); Rob Boltin (soldier)
Music: “The Exposition Song” (sung by Giles), by Anthony S. Head, Christophe Beck, and Four Star Mary.
Plot: The spirit of the original Slayer haunts the dreams of Buffy and her friends.
THIS WEEK’S UNEXPECTED THREAT: The original Slayer, who apparently is miffed about Buffy’s use of Slayer power to defeat Adam.
INTRODUCING: Riley to Joyce. Having been involved with Riley for the past several months, Buffy finally introduces Riley to her mother for the first time. Riley stops by before leaving for a debriefing about the Initiative’s demise in Washington, D.C.
ANALYSIS: The premise is that the original Slayer is so upset by her essence being summoned to defeat Adam, that she haunts the dreams of Buffy, Giles, Willow, and Xander. The dream sequences seem to be a way to drop in obscure clues about what is in store for the following season. Buffy is able to disarm, as it were, the First Slayer, by refusing to acknowledge it has any power over her and to sending her back to her primeval realm. The echoing message is that Buffy has no idea what is coming, and nothing can’t prepare her for the impact of that truth.
THE REAL HORROR: Realizing we can’t control what the future holds.
LITERARY REFERENCES: The Greek words Willow paints on Tara’s back in her dream is the opening of a poem by Sappho. Sappho wrote ten books of verse, but over the ages the originals were lost. Scholars only know of her work through quotations used by other writers. Just one poem survives in complete form.
Sappho lived in Mytilene on the island of Lesbos, where women often congregated, and her poems usually focus on the relationships among women. The word lesbian is derived from the name Lesbos.
There are multiple references to C. S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Willow mentions it during her school report; Giles sings to Willow to “look through the Chronicles”; and Xander has to push his way through a closet in his never-ending basement.
WHAT JOSS WHEDON HAS TO SAY: “The cheese man means nothing. He is the only thing in the show that means nothing. I needed something like that, something that couldn’t be explained, because dreams always have that one element that is just ridiculous.”
OF SPECIAL NOTE: Tara’s warning to Buffy, “Be back before dawn,” has been interpreted as a foreshadowing of the sudden arrival of Buffy’s sister Dawn, never seen before, in Season Five’s opening episode, “Buffy vs. Dracula” (Episode 79).
The actor who plays Xander’s dad is not the same actor who portrays that character in the sixth season, in Episode 116, “Hell’s Bells.”
MUSICAL NOTE: Accompanying Giles onstage at the Bronze are Buffy composer Christophe Beck on the piano and the band Four Star Mary.
SEASON FIVE
Fifth-year overview: Family takes center stage this year for Buffy as she juggles her education, Slaying, and family commitments. Although she’s been burdened for years with the responsibility of being the Slayer, Buffy finds that dealing with family can be far more difficult than protecting Sunnydale from its assortment of vampires and demons—and far more emotionally draining. She also will encounter an adversary like none she’s faced before, who will lead Buffy to a greater understanding of what it really means to be the Slayer.
SEASON FIVE REGULAR CAST
Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy Summers)
Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris)
Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg)
Marc Blucas (Riley Finn)
Emma Caulfield (Anya)
Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn)
James Marsters (Spike)
Anthony Stewart Head (Rupert Giles)
79. “Buffy vs. Dracula”
(SEPTEMBER 26, 2000)
Director: David Solomon
Teleplay: Marti Noxon
Recurring cast: Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn), Amber Benson (Tara), Kristine Sutherland (Joyce Summers)
Guest cast: E. J. Gage (mover #1), Scott Berman (mover #2), Marita Schaub (vampire girl #1), Leslee Jean Matta (vampire girl #2), Jennifer Slimko (vampire girl #3)
Music: “Finding Me” (as Buffy and Riley frolic on beach), by Vertical Horizon, from Everything You Want
Plot: Buffy comes face-to-face with the world’s most famous vampire.
THIS WEEK’S STAR VAMPIRE: Dracula, who comes to Sunnydale, drawn by the dark power within Buffy.
INTRODUCING: Dawn, Buffy’s younger sister, whose existence will be explained—all in good Hellmouth time.
ANALYSIS: the darkness within Buffy will become a recurring theme of the series. Ever since tapping into the essence of the First Slayer, Buffy feels increased power. But she doesn’t understand where it comes from, or how to harness it. In some ways she feels as she did when she first came to Sunnydale and was still struggling to figure out how being the Slayer fit into the overall scheme of her life.
Although Dracula is temporarily able to exert power over Buffy, his comment that they are
“kindred spirits” is perhaps why she is able to break his sway over her after she tastes his blood. She is able to absorb his power into her own and uses it to make her Slayer essence even stronger. Even though she’s apparently unable to kill him permanently, she ends up shooing him away and her rejection is enough to send his vaporized self packing.
Compared to other vampires, such as the Master and Drusilla, Dracula seems less vicious. Although he turns Xander into his Sunnydale Renfield and keeps Giles busy fending off the three sisters, it seems Dracula could have done a lot more damage. But killing didn’t seem to be his primary motive; instead he seemed to be looking for a soul mate as powerful as he himself.
THE REAL HORROR: Unwanted attraction. Although Buffy knows that Dracula is definitely not the kind of man you bring home to Mother, she can’t help being intrigued by him.
BLOOPERS: During the dinner scene, the plate in front of Joyce turns into a bowl from one shot to the next.
LITERARY ALLUSION: The fictional Dracula story originated in Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel, but his character was based on the historical figure Vlad the Impaler. (See Chapter 3, “A Brief History of the Vampire,” page XXX.)
OF SPECIAL NOTE: Rudolf Martin starred on All My Children as Anton Lang, who had a brief affair with Sarah Michelle Gellar’s character, Kendall. He also played Vlad the Impaler in the 2000 TV movie, Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula.
Dracula is the first vampire in the series to shape-shift into an animal.
Emma Caulfield has been added to the opening credits.
80. “Real Me”
(OCTOBER 3, 2000)
Director: David Grossman
Teleplay: David Fury
Recurring cast: Mercedes McNab (Harmony); Amber Benson (Tara); Kristine Sutherland (Joyce Summers)
Guest cast: Bob Morrisey (crazy guy); Brian Turk (Mort); Chaney Kley Minnis (Brad); Faith S. Abrahams (Peaches); Tom Lenk (Cyrus)
Plot: Dawn puts a crimp in Buffy’s Slaying. A new vampire gang is in town.
THIS WEEK’S LEADER OF THE PACK: Harmony, out to prove she’s a force to be reckoned with.
INTRODUCING: Giles as entrepreneur. Now that he’s staying in Sunnydale and resuming his duties as Buffy’s Watcher, he’s decided to buy the magic shop, despite the disturbingly high mortality rate of previous owners.
ANALYSIS: Dawn is suffering the angst felt by many younger siblings. She’s angry that Buffy is considered so important. Nobody seems to give her any respect and they treat her like a child. The truth is Dawn idolizes her sister but resents having to struggle to get noticed. She is living in Buffy’s huge shadow.
For her part, Buffy feels saddled with and crowded by Dawn, and feels her sister doesn’t appreciate all the responsibilities she has, between college, Slaying, and babysitting Dawn. Buffy is used to people listening to her and being in command when it comes to Slayer matters, so she gets snappish when Dawn is not cooperative.
Tara seems to empathize with Dawn. Because Buffy and the others have been friends and Slayer partners for so long, Tara knows that sometimes, for any newcomer, being around them feels like being on the outside looking in.
Part of Buffy’s frustration is that she needs to do her job and also wants to protect Dawn from being exposed to the horrors of the Hellmouth—a tough juggling act. Buffy really does know better when it comes to Sunnydale’s dark side, but to Dawn her warnings are just so much noise. Dawn learns the hard way that she might not be as grown-up as she thinks is, when she mistakenly invites Harmony into the house and is kidnapped and used as bait to ambush and kill Buffy. Buffy is furious that Dawn broke a well-established house rule and feels more put-upon than ever. While Dawn feels Buffy gets to do whatever she wants, Buffy feels everybody else excuses Dawn’s irresponsibility just because she’s only fourteen. When Dawn runs out of the house in a snit and is captured by one of Harmony’s gang, it seems to prove Buffy’s point.
Like Dawn, Harmony has image issues. Alive and undead, she’s always felt unfairly maligned and underappreciated, and plans to prove her mettle by being the one to bag the Slayer. All she’s looking for is respect and to be somebody. Dawn shares that desire, unaware that what she is, isn’t anything even she can imagine.
THE REAL HORROR: Impatience. Buffy is so irritated with Dawn that she runs the risk of being unreasonable.
IT’S A MYSTERY: How has Giles managed to afford rent and buy the magic shop after being unemployed for a year?
LITERARY ALLUSION: When Dawn mentions Hogwarts, she’s referring to the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry that Harry Potter attends, from the hugely successful series of books by J. K. Rowling.
OF SPECIAL NOTE: The actor who plays Harmony’s minion Cyrus, Thomas Lenk, will return in Season Six as Andrew Wells, one of the nerd trio.
The magic shop used to be called Uncle Bob’s Magic Shop, but is now named the Magic Box.
81. “The Replacement”
(OCTOBER 10, 2000)
Director: James A. Contner
Teleplay: Jane Espenson
Recurring cast: Kristine Sutherland (Joyce Summers)
Guest cast: Kelly Donovan (Xander double); Cathy Cohen (building manager); David Reivers (foreman); Fritz Greve (construction worker)
Plot: A close encounter with a demon leaves Xander feeling like two different people.
THIS WEEK’S WOULD-BE SLAYER-SLAYER: Toth, the last of his demon clan, who wields a magic rod that splits an individual into two beings—one possessing their strongest traits, the other their weakest. If one dies, so does the other.
INTRODUCING: Anya’s apartment is shown for the first time.
ANALYSIS: This episode touches on previously covered ground—how everyone must deal with the coexistence of disparate qualities within themselves. While more pronounced in Buffy’s case, her friends also struggle with their own innate dichotomies. Xander’s self-image has been skewed by his upbringing and by his lack of expectations. He knows he’ll never be a college graduate and doesn’t expect much opportunity to ever come his way. But the promotion he gets from the contractor makes him realize he finally might have found his calling in carpentry and building. And what his twin self proves is that underneath the self-deprecating humor is a young man confident in what he could achieve, given the chance. Xander’s decision to move out of his parents’ basement into his own apartment is a further sign that Xander knows it’s time to start thinking more in terms of his future.
Up to now, Xander has not felt any sense of urgency as far as accepting more adult responsibilities. Anya, however, feels time is slipping through her hands. As a demon, she knew she had thousands of years to live, but humanity gives her a much smaller window and she’s more cognizant than any of the others how precious time is.
Giles clears up the question of which one is the real Xander—they both are—and Willow easily reverses the spell once everyone is in the same room. Xander seems to suffer no lingering emotional effects from the experience, although it has made Riley thoughtful. He eloquently describes his love for Buffy to Xander, then almost offhandedly adds that despite the way he feels for her, he knows she’s not in love with him. His lack of bitterness over this knowledge is the first indication that it’s inevitable Buffy is going to break Riley’s heart. But he is helpless to walk away until the relationship plays itself out to its end.
THE REAL HORROR: Confronting our weaknesses and learning to accept them as a part of us. What Xander learns from his literal better half is that our weaknesses are just as important as our strengths in determining who we are.
IT’S A MYSTERY: Why would Spike have an apparent tan-line on his arms?
FORESHADOWING: Joyce’s headache.
BLOOPERS: There’s no way Xander could own Babylon 5 commemorative plates, because they were never released.
OF SPECIAL NOTE: Kelly Donovan is Nicholas Brendon’s identical twin, and played the confident Xander. “Donovan” and “Brendon” are actually Kelly’s and Nicky’s middle names. Their real last na
me is Schulz.
WHAT NICHOLAS BRENDON HAD TO SAY: “Truth be told, I played both characters. It was very challenging and rewarding, and I must’ve done an okay job if you couldn’t tell it was me. I had a blast working with Kelly, and he really deserves kudos for his work. He was never promised onscreen dialogue but they did end up using some and I think he did a stand-up job. In fact there was even one point where I had to rewind and freeze the tape to decipher who was who.”
82. “Out of My Mind”
(OCTOBER 17, 2000)
Director: David Grossman
Teleplay: Rebecca Rand Kirshner
Recurring cast: Mercedes McNab (Harmony Kendall); Bailey Chase (Graham Miller); Charlie Weber (Ben); Amber Benson (Tara); Kristine Sutherland (Joyce Summers)
Guest cast: Time Winters (Initiative doctor); Dierdre Holder (hospital doctor)
Music: “Breathe” (as Riley plays basketball), by Nickelback, from The State
Plot: Buffy races the clock to save Riley. Spike is determined to regain his ability to kill but instead learns a shocking truth.
THIS WEEK’S DEADLY DOSE: Drugs previously administered to Riley by Dr. Walsh makes him think he’s Superman.
INTRODUCING: Ben, an intern at Sunnydale General Hospital, who treats Joyce for an unexplained fainting spell. Ben will come to play a pivotal role in Buffy’s and Dawn’s lives.
ANALYSIS: A side effect of Walsh’s previous experiments has left Riley on a constant adrenaline high. While it gives him superstrength and makes him impervious to pain, it will also destroy his heart if left untreated. But Riley doesn’t want to be “just” normal. He is worried about being able to keep up with Buffy—he’s worried that he won’t keep up with Angel in her eyes. He wants to be her partner and her equal. He doesn’t believe he can match her physical power. So even though his drug-induced stamina is killing him, he’s reluctant to give it up. Like the husband whose ego can’t take his wife earning more money than he does, Riley worries about being seen as an adornment on Buffy’s arm. While it’s acceptable in our society for women to be seen as trophies, most men can’t handle a similar situation.
The Girl's Got Bite: The Original Unauthorized Guide to Buffy's World Page 30
