[Synopsis]
Buffy, Riley, Xander and Anya are all sitting in Xander's lovely <smirk> basement home watching a movie. We get a reminder of what a hellhole it is, but Buffy is too busy studying her Slayer stuff to really notice.
Cut to a dark, dank lair with a not so pretty demon casting a spell with a cauldron. You guessed it, folks. A spell for the death of the Slayer.
Opening credits
Xander and Co. are checking out an apartment. Anya is pretty much willing to sell her (or Xander's) soul to be able to live there, but it costs more than what Xander can afford. The real estate lady is less than thrilled with Xander and his lack of finesse.
At the Magic Shop, Giles is going through a box of Miscallaneous Curses. (Have to grin at that!) Toth, the ugly demon from earlier, approaches him. Giles pulls out a rabit's foot and then a fertility statue that he does his best to beat the demon with. Toth, however, is not concerned with anybody but the Slayer, so he leaves.
Giles tells the Scoobies about his run in with Toth, and tries to make it look a lot more dramatic than it really was. The gang sorta insults him in a roundabout way, and he says, "Well, I'm not dead or unconscious, so I say bravo for me." (Ha ha ha!)
Giles figures out that the demon's name is Toth. (To which Buffy says to Riley, "He called you a Toth. It's a British statement. It means, like, moron.") The book doesn't say where the demon might stay, but judging by the smell, Giles has a good idea.
Of course that leads them to the city dump. And who do we see there? That's right, our favorite peroxide vamp is also there, 'scavenging.' He's collecting a lamp and a mannequin arm, and points Toth out to them. "Big guy! Kick her ass!" Toth responds by firing his oversized stick at them, and breaking Spike's 'new' lamp. (Poor baby...)
Toth shoots again, and Xander pushes Buffy aside, getting hit in the process. We see him fly backwards, and the Scoobies all rush over to help him. Toth leaves. Xander gets up and leaves with the Scoobies. The camera pans out, and lying in the trash we see... Xander?
(Commercial and a note from me... To avoid confusion, I'm gonna start calling the two Xanders by Scrub Xander and Casanova Xander.)
Scrub Xander wakes up in the dump and walks back to his parent's place. He looks in the window and sees Casanova Xander getting dressed. (At this point I'm totally convinced that Casanova Xander has to be totally evil.)
Scrub Xander goes and calls Buffy from a payphone. (Ha ha moment: He talks to the operator and finds a quarter in his pocket... "Ooh! I found a quarter! I found a quarter! ... Well, ma'am, for me it *is* worth getting excited about." ROTFLMAO!) He pops in his quarter, calls Buffy, but runs off to follow Casanova Xander.
Back at the Summers' house, Buffy and Riley are sitting in her old room getting some serious tongue action. (I get my first liking of Dawn as she makes gagging noises and gets them to stop.) A sibling squabble takes place, and Buffy shuts the door in Dawn's face.
Then we're at Spike's. (Uncontrollable smile.) He's putting together a manequin (from the waist up) and playing 'let's pretend this is Buffy.' Nothing sick, people. He just gives it a good kick. This *is* only the beginning of the season, you know. (g)
Cut to Xander's work, where Casanova Xander is getting ready for a day at the job. Scrub Xander is watching, looking very disheveled. The boss goes over and tells Casanova Xander to get in his office, and Scrub Xander is really happy that after he's been having a day of hell, his other self gets to take the firing. Then the boss... gives him a promotion.
Scrub Xander is about to go out of his mind. His luck improves even more (sarcastic voice) when Casanova Xander buys the apartment that Anya wanted so badly. Not only that, but the manager who didn't take a kind liking to the real Xander was coming on to Casanova Xander.
Finally, the two Xanders have a confrontation... And Casanova runs to Buffy to tell her there's someone out there with his face. Scrub Xander hopes that Buffy will know the difference between the clean guy and him, but she believes him fully.
Scrub Xander runs to Willow's for help. He tells her some things that only she would know about him (and has me laughing my ass off in the process). He then tells her about his Xander double, and she believes him.
Back at Giles', Casanova Xander wants to hurry up and just kill his 'imposter.' They decide that Scrub Xander must be Toth in a different form. Willow and Scrub Xander decide that Casanova Xander is Toth.
Scrub Xander is very upset that his other self is so suave. (Awww, Xander!) Jealousy is the word of the day here. He ends up running to Anya's and finds that she's already gone to meet Casanova Xander.
At the apartment, Casanova Xander proves to be very suave indeed, as he has a bottle of champagne with Anya and reassures her fears of getting old and dying. Things are going great for the two of them, and then Scrub Xander bursts in. Anya is obviously very confused of who the real Xander is, and finally she goes to Casanova Xander. (Awww again)
Back at Giles', Willow bursts in and tells them that they had the wrong Xander. She tells them that he snoopy danced, and they realize that their Xander had been way too confident. Finally, they find out that both men are REAL Xander's, but they're both different sides of him. Toth had planned to separate Slayer Buffy from Girl Buffy and accidentally shot Xander. If one part of him dies though, all of him dies.
Anya is still confused over which Xander she is supposed to be with. Casanova Xander attempts to fight his other half, and Scrub Xander pulls out a gun.
Uh oh.
Buffy and Riley have a heart to heart on the way to the apartment. He says that he loves all of Buffy, slayer parts and all. She smiles, but doesn't return the 'I love you.' She changes the subject and says, "We better get there soon. If Xander kills himself, he's dead. You know what I mean."
Meanwhile, back at the apartment both Xander's are fighting for the gun. Finally Casanova Xander gets it, but Buffy and Riley rush in. He hands the gun (which belongs to Anya) to Buffy, and some squabbling over who the 'real' Xander is takes place.
Through a very scientific test of 'what number am I thinking of' Buffy convinces both Xander's that they are one and the same. Then, of course, Toth enters the scene. He shoots a hole through the floor, and Buffy kills him with the sword. (Not because of the hole in the floor, but you know what I mean.)
At the Magic Shop, both Xanders are dressed the same. The only difference between them is that Casanova Xander's hair is neater. Everything about them is physically the same. So of course Anya wants some quality threesome time with them. (It wouldn't technically be cheating or anything, right?)
A bit more time passes, and both Xander's end up being exactly how normal Xander would be. Giles says, "He's clearly a bad influence on himself." (LMAO!) With the most simple spell in the world, the spell is ended, and we're back to our one lovable Xander.
In Xander's parents basement, everyone is helping him pack up his things. Him and Riley have a bonding moment, and Riley confesses that he knows Buffy doesn't love him. (The only time I've ever really felt bad for Commando Boy.) Buffy goes and gives him a kiss, while Xander watches, knowing how Riley feels.
[Review]
Okay, considering how ridiculous I thought this was going to be, it turned out to be a great episode. I really was convinced that Casanova Xander was a demon, and I really think this is going to be the start of a much more confident Xander.
Spike's parts, as always were great. Not too much of him in this episode, but I have faith in Joss to give us more! The whole dump scene with him was a hoot, and it's things like that that make me love his character even more.
Nothing new is revealed on Dawn, which is a bit odd. They're acting as if she didn't just suddenly appear five seasons into the show. Did I blink or something?
Xander (both of them) were wonderful tonight, and I loved seeing the twins act together! (All hail the snoopy dancing!)
Riley for the first time ever, has my sympathy. I just don't get why he doesn't do something about Buffy not loving him.
Anya was a riot as always, from her wanting the apartment, to wanting to have sex with both Xander's. She's a character that I could never get sick of.
Giles was very witty, which is always a good thing. I loved his description of how he was fighting Toth, and almost all of his lines were hilarious tonight. ASH becomes funnier as the days go by.
Everyone else was great tonight too, but IMO, this ep didn't have much to do with them. Even Buffy was a small player in this episode. Then again, Buffy isn't the main reason why I watch this show, so I'm really not complaining. :)
All in all, I really enjoyed this ep. The combination of humor with seriousness was a perfect match, and it really leaves me feeling good about the rest of the season.
Overall Rating: 8/10 British Expressions