The Freshman
Willow, Oz, & Buffy embark unto the world of U.C. Sunnydale, that is the University of California Sunnydale division. Oz already knows his way around because his band is known on campus, Willow is in heaven, and Buffy is just overwhelmed. She feels alone in her out-of-placeness until she meets a guy just as confused as her, Eddie. Unfortunately about 2 minutes after they meet he's killed by a group of vampires out to stalk new freshman. Lead by the charismatic Sunday, the group, after targeting Buffy, realize she's the slayer. Sunday and Buffy face off but Buffy realizes she can't take her and runs. Buffy is feeling like she can't cut it until she unexpectedly sees Xander, who has returned from his car trip. Xander lifts her spirits by reveling to Buffy that she's his hero. Buffy goes to stake out Sunday & the gang. She eventually kills Sunday, and her, Will, Oz, Xander, & Giles go back to Buffy's dorm. However, that's not the end of the episode. It ends with a vamp from Sunday's posse that got away being hit by a tazer and helplessly frozen on the ground as three camouflage-dressed individuals descend upon him.
Living Conditions
Buffy's roomie Kathy is just a little too much for Buffy to take. Soon the gang realize something's up as Buffy starts to have dreams of her soul being sucked out by a demon. Yes, something is up with Buffy as her bitchy attitude toward Kathy turns to the homicidal. The group try to confine Buffy, but she breaks free and has a show down with Kathy where Buff reveals that Kathy is in fact the demon in her dreams stealing her soul away. Kathy left her dimension to go to college; & Kathy has no soul, so stealing Buffy's soul, which had been making B less than friendly, will make her relatives take Buffy instead when they come looking for her. Unfortunately for Kathy, Giles figures Kathy's plan out & does a ritual to give Buffy all of her soul back just in time for Kathy's Papa to show up & drag the girl home. Overall outcome? Willow gets to ditch her partying roommate, & her & Buffy get to share a doom room.
The Harsh Light of Day
Harmony shows up, which is never a really good thing for Willow, but especially not considering Harmony's been dead since graduation. She's a vamp & she bites Will. Oz saves her, so Harmony threatens that her boyfriend is gonna get Willow. Disturbingly, her boyfriend is Spike. He's returned to Sunnydale to get the ring of Amara, with a gem that makes a vampire unkillable. Elsewhere, Buffy seizes the moment with a guy she met named Parker. Anya returns & tells Xander they have to have sex so she can get over him, & Xander obliges. Spike & Harmony also have sex (it was a big sex episode), although zero romantics there, only lust. A few days later, Parker hasn't called. Buffy goes to talk to him & he tells her that all they had was fun, & makes Buffy feel that she was reading too much into what went on between the two. Just when she can't feel any lower, enters Spike, in the daylight having found the ring, Buffy ultimately kicks his booty and takes the ring. Then Buffy decides the ring must go to Angel so she sends Oz, who is on his way to L.A. for a gig.
Fear, Itself
Buffy is depressed about Parker, but is forced to have some fun on Halloween night with the gang. Halloween day for Sunnydale includes: Buffy having an inspiring little chat with Riley, her psych class teacher's aide; Buffy visiting at Giles' as he gets all decked out for Halloween; Buffy going to her house & telling her mom that she doesn't know if she can trust anyone romantically again; Xander & Anya making a date of the evening ahead; & Oz going to the Frat House where they will all be for a Haunted House party that night. Oz cuts himself hooking up stereo equipment & his blood, unknowingly to him & the frat guys, activates a symbol painted in the house for Halloween. On Halloween night, Buffy & the gang meet up, except Anya who is having trouble finding a costume. They walk to the house & encounter the camouflage guys but are unaware that they're not in costume & walk on. They get to the house & notice strange things, like real blood, rooms leading to places they didn't lead a second ago, & some very afraid people. Soon their nightmares come true. Xander becomes invisible, because he feels insignificant, having not gone to college. Oz starts changing into a werewolf. Willow casts a spell that attacks her. & Buffy is confronted by vampires, but also is told by a corpse that she's all alone & that 'they' (meaning the men in her life {Dad, Angel, Parker}) all left her & they always will. Giles comes who was tipped off by Anya who had arrived late. Buffy does the wrong thing & brings the fear-demon forth. However, a great metaphor to life, the demon is about 2 1/2 inches tall & Buffy just smashes him with her shoe.
Beer Bad
Buffy is yet still depressed about Parker. She decides to drown her sorrows with a group of guys offering her one of life's simple pleasures: beer. Unbeknownst to the drinkers, the bar tender has a chip on his shoulder about the snooty college kids & has put something in their drinks to make the kids turn into cave men for a bit. Xander, who has become the college bar tender to fit into the gang's lifestyle, notices when the guys, minus Buffy who he sends home, get in touch with their primordial roots. Elsewhere, Willow sees Parker & has a talk with him. She decodes that he is just a total creep who will say anything to get any girl to sleep with him. Will calls him on it just as the cave boys enter & start a fire. Buffy, who hasn't completely converted, rushes to save the day. She breaks open a window, allowing the cave boys & others to flee; & drags Willow, who is unconscious, out. Then comes the moment of truth, Parker awakens & there is cave-slayer with a heavy stick in her hand. & what does she do? She hits him on the head with the stick, but then drags him out of the fire infested room. Afterward, the cave boys are locked up in a van & cannot possibly understand enough to find their way to the door handle. & Buffy learns a valuable lesson about beer- that it's foamy. Parker awakens again & goes to Buffy & asks for forgiveness. In response, Buffy simply takes her stick & bops him on the head.
Wild at Heart
In the trailer, Spike returns to Sunnydale, & is captured by the camoflage guys. Oz & Veruca, a singer who attends the college, are very apparently attracted to one another. Willow notices & is bothered by it. It happens to be the first night of the three nights a month that Oz is a werewolf. Werewolf Oz gets out of his cage located in a cemetery crept. When human Oz wakes up the next day he is next to Veruca, they had quite a night together both being werewolves & all. Veruca tells Oz that he's an animal & that he should give into that part of himself because that is who he is. Oz denies her, but makes a decision to lock her up with him the following night so that she doesn't hurt anyone. Willow finds them naked together in the morning, & her & Oz have it out. Willow leaves, crying, & runs into Buffy who Will tells everything to. Buffy goes to find Veruca because she thinks she's a threat to people in general. Buffy & Oz meet up to find Veruca & figure that Veruca is going after Willow. Buffy & Oz run to stop Veruca, but Buffy is slowed as she runs into one of the camouflage guys, but she can't waste time on him so she gets up & runs to help Willow. Willow was conjuring a spell to make Oz never love again only hate, but she can't do it. Enters Veruca who plans to kill Willow once the sun sets. Oz arrives & gives into his animal side by killing Veruca. Then werewolf Oz starts to go after Willow, but Buffy arrives just in time. In the morning, Oz is packing his things. He tells Willow that until he fully understands his werewolf side he can't be around people. So he goes.
The Initiative
Riley figures out he has a crush on Buffy & consults a heart-broken (b/c of Daniel Ozborne's {Oz's} departure) Willow about the crush. Meanwhile, Spike, who was captured by the camouflage guys, finds himself in a white-walled cell. Spike assumes Buffy's responsible & goes after her when he breaks free. Spike finds Buffy's dorm room, where Willow happens to be, & hungry Spike goes in for the kill. However, he can't. See, the camouflage guys, who we learn in this episode to be The Initiative, are operated by Professor Walsh, the psych teacher, & among the group that hunts is Riley. Their purpose is to hunt demons & experiment on them. One of the experiments on vamps is a chip implanted in the head to cause strong neurological pain during attempted human feedings. Therefore, Spike can't feed on Willow. She tries to escape, but is stopped by Riley & two of his Initiative guys who have been assigned to retrieve the 'hostile' that escaped. Buffy arrives & Riley & friends fight her, thinking she's with Spike. Meanwhile, Spike gets away. Riley realizes he can't take Buffy, who they can't see because of smoke, so they abort the mission. The episode ends with Buffy & Riley having a little chat, both unaware of what each other is: a fighter of evil.
Pangs
Angel lurks in the dark watching over Buffy after his friend, Doyle, has a vision that Buffy is in danger. Buffy is determined to have a nice Thanksgiving dinner with Giles, Xander, Willow, & Anya. Construction working Xander uncovers 'the old Sunnydale mission' where the college was built in the early 1900's but buried over by an earthquake. Xander's disruption of the earth awakens an Indian spirit who is out for revenge against those who took his land & killed his people hundreds of years ago. The group has a debate on whether to slay this guy or not, but their minds become set by the advice that it's be or be killed from who but Spike. Spike turned to Buffy for help because of his inability to feed & weakened state. (Harmony finally threw him out on the street!) The Indian, who summoned more of his warriors, attacks Buffy at Giles' on Thanksgiving. Buffy & everyone, with a little bit of help from Angel, kill the killer Indians. A tied up Spike, with Anya, Willow, Xander, Giles, & Buffy, sit down for a nice Thanksgiving dinner- where Xander lets the thing slip that everyone knew but Buffy- that Angel had been in town.
Something Blue
Riley finally gets to asking Buffy out & she says yes. Willow is still very majorly crushed by Oz's departure. She casts a spell to have her will done, however, since her energy is so unfocused the spell makes things that she casually says come true. It's a big mess. Xander becomes a demon magnet, Buffy & Spike want to get married, Giles goes blind... it's a fiasco. In fact, Will causes so much pain & chaos with the spell that a demon we have seen before in the episode "Doppelgangland" summons Willow. The demon is the demon that made Anya a demon so many centuries ago. However, there is a choice involved in the matter of whether or not you want to be made a demon, & Willow turns them down. Then, Willow shows her wicca power by quickly reversing the spell without any reference magic book of any kind. Everything is back to normal, only now Spike has Buffy-taste in his mouth. At the end, Buffy remembers that she ran into Riley while she thought she was going to marry Spike & quickly goes to convince her new boyfriend that she was only kidding about being engaged. Riley deduces that Buffy must be crazy, but all that really matters to him is that she is still single.
Hush
Buffy & Riley can't stop babbling long enough to get to the smoothies. Fortunately for romantics, fairy-tale monsters called The Gentlemen have come to Sunnydale & stolen all the town's inhabitant's voices. The Initiative members are assigned to keep order, as all is chaos & the town is quarantined. Out keeping order, Buffy & Riley run into each other & get to the smoochies. The Scooby Gang figure that it is these fairy-tale monsters when people are murdered & their hearts are removed (combined with a prophetic dream of Buffy's). The only way to kill these guys is for someone to scream. Buffy goes out to fight the evil & ends up fighting the Gentlemen & their helpers with Riley. Riley smashes the box containing the town's voices & Buffy screams, killing all the monsters. Afterward, Buffy & Riley know that the other isn't normal, but can't verbalize the situation out. Other events in this episode, Giles' English girlfriend, Olivia, doesn't know if she can handle Giles' world of monsters; Anya finally knows that Xander is serious about her; Spike is a free-range roommie of Giles'; & Willow meets a real Wicca girl named Tara, & the two are powerful together.
Doomed
Buffy & Riley finally talked about what each other is. Buffy doesn't want to get into a relationship with someone who is not normal- she thinks it's doomed to end up as tragic as it did with Angel. There is a strong parellel in this episode to The Initiative & The Scooby Gang's way of handling demons. The Initiative use modern tools & almost don't see the connection that demons are supernatural. The big bad this episode is a group of demons attempting to open the Hellmouth, the group has to go back to the burnt Sunnydale High. Meanwhile, Spike is feeling pathetic. When he tries to kill himself, Willow feels sorry for him & takes him along while the group goes back to High School to stop the apocalypse & discovers that he can hit demons- just not humans. His life has purpose. Anyway, Buffy & Riley stop the world from ending- duh, cause check it out! & Willow, Xander, & Spike see Riley in the cammando outfit- busted! Riley feels so awful about everybody knowing about him & The Initiative that he feels like it's the end of the world- but Buffy, who has some first hand knowledge of that feeling, cheers him up- with a kiss.
A New Man
It's Buffy's birthday again & it's finally a happy birthday as she receives a fun surprise party. Everyone's happy, except Giles who feels very out of place. Upon searching for Buffy the next day, Giles meets Professor Walsh, who says that Buffy is too much of an individual & that's a problem- a result of the lack of a strong father figure. It doesn't help Giles' mood. As he goes to stop some evil with sidekicks Willow & Xander, the two mention The Initiative- a thing Giles hadn't yet been told about- his nonknowledge of the group leaves him feeling even more annoyed. Ethan Rayne has returned to Sunnydale. In exchange for Giles not giving Ethan a beating, Ethan shares some information with Giles on a new fear in the demon world. It's something called 314, some project of The Initiative. Beside from scaring demons more than the slayer does, it seems to be something throwing the worlds of good & evil out of balance which can only lead to chaos. The next morning, Giles wakes up as a demon. Ethan's done a spell on him. He now cannot speak English to humans. Giles seems to be out of luck until he encounters Spike who speaks his demon language & says he'll help Giles for $200. Meanwhile, Buffy has been introduced as The Slayer to Initiative head, Professor Walsh. Walsh is on board to accept Buffy into The Initiative. Willow & Tara are spending a lot of time together, yet Willow has failed to bring Tara into her social circle of friends, like Tara is just Willow's little secret person. Anyway, Buffy & Riley learn about the demon Giles has become, but don't know it's Giles. Buffy hunts it, & stabs it. Then she sees by its eyes that it's Giles & he lives. Ethan is forced to turn Giles back to a human & then taken away by The Initiative who plan to take him to a military installation for rehabilitation.
The I in Team
Buffy gets heavily involved in The Initiative. She's a hit among everyone but her beloved Professor Walsh. See, they are up to something shady afterall. The soldiers- like Riley- they don't know anything. They were recruited from Military schools. They are army-guys, they don't ask questions, they just act on command. However, the scientists are busy recruiting the demons. Some are used like Spike, they bend the creatures to do their will for a purpose not known at this point. & then there is the pet project, 314. Meanwhile, Buffy & Riley get to it in the bedroom department & it is revealed that the doctors keep close watch of Initiative members. Professor Walsh hears Buffy mention 314 to Riley, so she sends Buffy on an assignment, to meet some of her recruited demons with a faulty weapon. Buffy is fitted with this equipment that monitors her heart rate & gives sound & picture back to The Initiative. As Professor Walsh tells Riley that Buffy is dead (her heart rate went to zero because she took the thingamajig off), Buffy gets in front of the camera & tells Professor Walsh that if she thinks that's enough to kill a slayer, then she doesn't know what a slayer is. & Now she's about to find out. Riley disobeys orders & walks out, which is a big deal for a military man. Also in this episode some Initiative members spot Spike & shoot him with a tracking device. He goes to The Scooby Gang for help. Just as they think everything is safe for Spike- or at least safer- Buffy comes in to tells them that none of them are safe. The last scene is of Professor Walsh talking sort of to herself, but addressing 314- who she calls Adam. Just as she says that Buffy doesn't know what she's up against, she's impaled from behind by Adam. Her spawn has woken up, only she didn't survive the delivery.
Goodbye Iowa
Riley is going through withdraw because Professor Walsh is not there to fed Initiative members medicines to make their bodies and minds strong. Riley starts going a little crazy as he learns Professor Walsh is dead. His whole world turns askew & he starts to suspect that Buffy is bad. But he's really just confused because he thought he'd been doing good all this time & learns he's been lied to about everything. Buffy goes with Xander to The Initiative to find out why Riley is sick, Riley follows. While Buffy is questioning a doctor, 314 shows up. He says that Professor Walsh made him, but he has a design flaw that makes him not do the army-guy thing & follow orders; that he's made of human, demon, & machine; & that Riley & himself were Maggie's two favorites. He's reading this information off a disk & says that on the disk is the plan for Riley & himself, but they never get to hear it. 314 ends up killing the doctor that most knows what is going on, stabs Riley, & leaves. Then the Initiative boys come in & take Riley to a military hospital. At the end, Buffy tells Willow that she worries for Riley because his whole world has been turned upside-down, that he has nothing to hold on to. Then, they cut to Riley in a hospital bed holding on to Buffy's bandanna that she gave him to cover a wound on his hand, showing that the thing he was holding on to- still believing in- was her. Also in this episode, Spike goes to Willy's bar & gets beat up by a demon who says Spike is breaking the demon code by hunting other demons. & Willow tries to do a spell with Tara that shows where demons are & Tara purposely botches the spell.
This Year's Girl
This episode starts off with a series of dreams that Faith is having while in her coma. The first is of her & Buffy making Buffy's bed together & talking about "LITTLE SISTER" coming, then the dream turns sinister as Faith's abdomen is still bleeding from the stabbing 8 months ago. The next dream is of Faith & The Mayor laying on a blanket having a picnic outside. Buffy comes along & kills the Mayor with the same knife she stabbed Faith with, Buffy starts chasing Faith with a psychotic look on her face. They run into a graveyard. Faith falls in an open grave & Buffy jumps down in there with her. A fight ensues & Faith climbs out the winner. It is pouring rain as Faith screams at the sky... then, the dreaming Faith wakes up. Faith gets out of bed & finds out from a confused hospital visitor that Sunnydale High School, along with The Mayor, has perished. When the hospital finds out Faith is gone, the cops come because Faith is a wanted women, & a nurse makes a phone call- to The Watcher's Council. Meanwhile, Riley has gotten himself out of the military hospital and he & the Scooby Gang are discussing how to take down Adam, who is continuing in his search to see what makes things work (opening up & examining organisms). Faith pays Buffy a visit the next day on campus & says that the way she looks at it, Buffy tried to gut her for a guy, a guy who she isn't even with today, & that now it's payback time. A fight ensues, but Faith has to run when the cops arrive. Faith is feeling alone as a demon approaches her with a gift from The Mayor. It consists of a tape & a box. The Mayor, on the tape, tells Faith that he's making this video right after he's discovered that she is in a coma. He tells her that now that he's gone (which he assumes he will be if she gets the tape), her days are numbered, she has no place in the world (plus the cops), but that's OK because he's giving her a present- she opens the box to find a little gizmo... Faith goes to Buffy's mom house, in comes Buffy to save her mom & fight with Faith. During the fight, Faith puts the gizmo on her hand & grabs Buffy's hand. A light engulfs the two & each girl's body jolts. Then, "Buffy" hits "Faith" once, knocking her unconscious as the cops arrive. It's OK with Faith that the cops are there, because the little gizmo, that Buffy's body now smashes with it's foot, just so happens to be a little body switching device. In this episode, a parallel is drawn between Buffy with the Watcher's Council & Riley with The Initiative. Riley doesn't think he can quit The Initiative, but Buffy assures him that he can because she quit the thing that was trying to control her & everything worked out just fine. Also, Xander & Giles tell Spike to watch out for Faith for them, & Spike says that if he sees her he'll be sure to point her in the direction of them & watch her as she brutally kills them all.
Who Are You
Bare in mind, Faith never wanted to live Buffy's life. She wanted Buffy's body simply because Buffy was a slayer, as strong as her. Also, what better way to defeat your enemy then giving her your terrible fate. But the important thing to remember is that Faith never wanted to live Buffy's life, however, as circumstances would happen, Faith spent a night & a morning as Buffy that would change Faith's outlook forever. The cops took Buffy, in Faith's body, away. Faith, in Buffy's body, was now free. Faith used Joyce's credit card to order plane tickets. Unfortunately, no flights were leaving until 10 AM. Faith meant to get gone quick, but wasn't totally opposed to messing with Buffy's life before her departure. We start to see signs that Faith doesn't like who she was. First, Faith asks Buffy's mom if she can take one of her lipsticks, & Joyce says that's the lipstick Faith liked, Faith says to burn it. When Faith goes to Giles', she learns that The Watcher' Council has taken "Faith" for rehabilitation. Again, fine with Faith, she got Buffy better than she thought. Faith goes to party at the Bronze & runs into Spike. She taunts Spike when she finds out he has the chip in his head & starts saying she can do anything she wants, but she doesn't because: "it's wrong". She says this mockingly of Buffy. Meanwhile, Adam visits a group of vampires. He says that if they conquer fear they will be unstoppable. The vampires go to conquer their greatest fear. Willow & Tara share a moment when Tara says that none of Willow's friends know about her, & Will says it's because she wants Tara to be just hers. Will decides to introduce Tara to Buffy, & Faith mocks Tara about her relationship with Willow and makes fun of Tara's stuttering. Willow, who was getting a drink, points a vampire out to Faith. Faith goes to kill it, because it's the Buffy-thing to do. She lazily kills it. The girl it was feeding off of grabs Faith's hand & says "Thank you, thank you." There's the first moment of revelation, Faith getting a realization about her duty. Tara tells Willow that she doesn't think Buffy is Buffy, that her energy feels like it's the energy of someone who doesn't belong where they are. Willow goes to the Nether Realms through astral projection to find where Buffy is. Faith goes to Riley & asks what he wants to do to her body, he asks what she's playing & says he doesn't want to play. This takes Faith aback. Riley kisses Buffy's lips & makes love to her, when they're done he says, "I love you." Faith freaks out. This is because she has a revelation about the life she's taking, she's taking the woman this guy loves. & also, a revelation that someone can love someone & not be wanting something in return, really that someone can love someone else- she didn't think that existed. Faith shakes the revelations off. It is now the morning. Faith has an hour and a half to get to the airport. While she's leaving, she runs into Forrest, Riley's Initiative 'buddy' who doesn't like Buffy. He says something about how they, The Initiative, have a mission. Faith says that she's been fighting demons a lot longer than he has. & he says "oh, yeah, you're a killer". Faith says, "I am not a killer", which is huge in itself. Then Forrest asks if she really cares what he thinks, Faith gains her equilibrium & says "god, I don't. I don't." & leaves. Faith is all ready to board her plane when she sees a news story... Meanwhile, The Watcher Council's special operations unit crash into the cops & take who they think is Faith. They are supposed to deliver her to The Council, but the Council can't get them passage through the border, so they are ordered to kill her. Buffy breaks free & goes to Giles'. Buffy convinces Giles that she's really Buffy & Willow comes in saying that she's figured it all out & congured a little something to switch the bodies back- only Buffy & Faith need to make physical contact. Xander calls & says to turn on the news... The vampires have taken Adam's tutelage to heart & taken a church hostage. Both Buffy & Faith go to save the people! Faith gets there first. When asked why she won't let the vamps kill the people, Faith says from her soul, "because it's wrong." Faith kills some of the vamps & then is struggling with the last one, when Buffy comes in & stakes it. Faith attacks & starts pounding on her own face, saying to herself "you're nothing, you're a murderous bitch, you're disgusting." Then, Buffy grabs her body's hand & switches the body's back. Faith runs away as Buffy sits with confused revelation at what Faith was feeling. Afterward, Buffy finds out Riley slept with Faith. Then Buffy states that she doesn't think Faith is coming back. They cut to Faith, on the back of a moving truck riding out of town. Now, this is the thing, Faith was free of herself when she switched bodies. She wanted to be free because, as she soon found, she hated who she was. But, now that she's back in her body, there's no denying herself. Now, she has to live with who she is, knowing exactly what she is.
Superstar
Jonathan, who we know as an ignored nerdy kid from the high school years, has suddenly become king of the universe. What he's done is a little spell to take the best of everybody & make people believe that Jonathan is all of those qualities. Of course, there is a side-effect. Along with this, a creature is created with the worst of everyone- our worst nightmare. Every creature is fooled by Jonathan's spell, but Adam, who seems to be the only thing to see that this reality is a lie (he says it's because he knows his purpose and that makes him totally aware.) Then Buffy starts to realize that there was something she could do before that she can't now & remembers who she is. Buffy then kills the inverse-Jonathan creature, which reverts reality back to normal. At the end, Jonathan & Buffy talk about taking small steps to improve your reality. Also in this episode, we see that Tara is more powerful a wicca than she's letting on to Willow. & Buffy forgives Riley for sleeping with Faith.
Where the Wild Things Are
Buffy & Riley's sexual passion awaken the poltergeist spirits of children who were once abused into thinking that they were bad for having impure thoughts. All the Scooby Gang need to do is awaken Buffy & Riley from their poltergeist-induced trance to stop the disturbances. But if Buffy & Riley stop being entranced before someone wakes them up, they both will die. Anyway, Xander & Anya work together to get through the apparitions and awaken Buffy & Riley. Also in this ep, Spike & Anya bond over having relationship issues and not having powers anymore. & Giles sings soft rock at the Expresso Pump, which just shakes everyone's world to bits.
New Moon Rising
Oz returns wanting to pick up with Willow again. He revels that he's learned to control his wolf-side with herbs & self-control, but as he soon learns, when he gets angry he turns into a wolfer at any time. Tara sparks some anger when Oz smells Willow on her & figures out that they have a romantic relationship. The Initiative capture Oz in his wolf-state. Riley first figures out that not all demons are evil, which challenges his whole Initiative teachings once more, & trys to help Oz escape. The Initiative catch him doing it. Meanwhile, Adam is continuing to bring the demon race together as he contacts Spike. Adam promises Spike that, in exchange for helping him, he'll remove the chip in Spike's head. So Spike agrees, & his first task as Adam's helper is to help the Scooby Gang get into The Initiative to save Oz. The Scoobies go in, get Oz & Riley (who was jailed), & escape. Riley is in some deep trouble with the military, as well as officially out of The Initiative, but at least now he knows where he stands. Afterward, Willow & Oz talk about how, with Oz turning Wolfy whenever he gets agitated, their relationship can't work. So Oz leaves again, taking comfort in the fact that at least Willow is happy now. The episode ends with Willow going to Tara & telling her that she's in love with her.
The Yoko Factor
Xander, of all people, talks to Riley about Angel- who Buffy has just told Riley about. Riley starts to get insecure that Buffy has gone to L.A. to get with Angel (she went because Faith was there). Then Riley is the first to encounter Angel on his latest visit to Sunnydale. Riley fights Angel, thinking he's evil & that Buffy & him have done it again. Angel breaks away & shows up at Buffy's place & Riley comes in. Buffy has to separate them. Angel has come to apologize to Buffy for yelling at her in L.A. Buffy admits that she was wrong to come into Angel's world & judge what he was doing. Angel leaves & Buffy goes to talk to Riley. The two share a moment over that they are so much in love with each other. But Buffy has to tell Riley about how, while having a little tisk with Forrest, Adam appeared & killed Forrest, one of Riley's former close Initiative buddies. Riley reacts very strangely- he looks down for a while & then mechanically tells her that he has to go & leaves without even looking at her again. Meanwhile, Spike & Adam discuss Adam's plan. It's not known to us yet what the plan is, but Buffy is an essential part of it. Adam wants her alive & in the thick of his chaos. Spike mentions that the Slayerettes may get in the way of Buffy doing whatever Adam banks of her doing, so Adam tells Spike to separate them from Buffy. Spike goes to do that. He says comments to the group individually- making Xander feel useless, making Willow feel that the whole group is making fun of her for Tara, & making Giles feel like he has no sway over Buffy because he's not even her watcher anymore- in other words making the Scooby core feel insecure about their Scooby membership. This leads to a confrontation at the end when Buffy decides it's time to go seek Adam out to take him down. Willow & Xander want to come, but Buffy doesn't want them to get hurt. Anya & Tara shy away from the fight & leave the room. It's mostly Xander, Buffy, & Willow having it out as a drunk Giles makes funny comments. Buffy says that she does need them, Willow asks how does she need them & Buffy really can't give a good answer. Then Buffy leaves with that she sees now why there aren't any prophecies about the slayer & her friends. The episode ends unpredictably with Riley showing up at Adams cave. Adam tells Riley that he's been waiting for him.
Primeval
Adam revels to Riley that Riley has a chip in his chest that Professor Walsh had implanted. Now that Adam has activated the chip, Riley has no will of his own. Adam says that demons are strong yet unintelligent and humans are smart but emotional, which makes them weak. To bring together demon's strength & human's intelligence would create the ultimate race. But, this isn't an original idea. It was Maggie Walsh's vision. & now Adam is going to carry it out. Adam takes Riley to a secret lab in The Initiative. There is Professor Walsh & Dr. Anglemen- both who Adam killed months ago- they are alive but not. Resesitated by Adam to be mindless workers, they literally are walking corpses. & there is one more not-dead victim of Adam's- Forrest. But he's not like the others. Adam has fixed Forrest up with a bunch of demon parts. Buffy goes to Adam's cave & when Spike shows up, Buffy figures out that Spike's been working for Adam. She goes to tell the Scooby Gang that Spike's the one who caused their big fight, but everyone, although not verbalized, knows that there was more to it then just Spike's meddling. Willow has decrypted a disk that Adam had given to Spike to give to the Scooby Gang. It says that there is a secret lab in The Initiative & about how Adam is supposed to create a race of the human-demon hybrids. So they figure that since Spike, working for Adam, gave them the disk, that Adam wants Buffy in The Initiative. This leads the group to figure out Adam's plan. Adam is Tony Robins for demon-kind. He's like a cult leader. He tells them whatever they need to hear to make them think that Adam himself is the answer to whatever they've been lacking in their existence. Mr. Cult Leader has been telling the demons to get caught by The Initiative. Buffy & friends figure out that Adam plans to set these demons loose & have them kill The Initiative soldiers as The Initiative soldiers kill them. But, Adam doesn't bank on the soldiers being mucho successful, so that's why he needs Buffy. She'll even the odds in the fight- kill as many demons as demons will kill humans. & then Adam will have a bunch of human & demon body parts to create his new race of beings. The Scooby Gang knows something has to be done, but Adam is too strong for any of them to go up against as is. A core of uranium is what makes Adam live. If they get the uranium out, Adam will die. But they can't, because Adam is too strong to even fight. The Scooby Gang find an enjoining spell that might be powerful enough to defeat Adam. Giles, Xander, Willow, & Buffy sneak in through Lowell House & climb down the elevator shaft. While climbing down, Buffy tells Willow that things have been weird between all of them & that she wants it to stop, & the Scooby Gang make-up. When they get to the bottom, the Initiative soldiers are waiting for them. Meanwhile, since Buffy didn't come alone, Adam doesn't following-through with his deal to take Spike's chip out & Spike runs to the only place he can- out of the secret lab & into the main part of The Initiative. The Colonel, who's been running The Initiative for months, ignores Buffy when she tries to warn him that Adam is coming. Buffy tells the Colonel that him, & the Pentagon, are treading on her turf & they have no idea what they're dealing with. When the lights go out & Adam sets the demons loose, Buffy gives the Colonel one last chance to listen to her & get his men out of there, but he doesn't listen & tells his men to go to fight the loose demons. What the Scoobies plan to do cannot be interrupted, so they get through the chaos that is The Initiative & barricade themselves in room 314. Buffy goes into the secret lab behind the room, & Giles, Xander, & Willow begin their spell. Buffy finds Professor Walsh & Anglemen, along with Riley unable to speak or move. Adam directs Forrest to kill Buffy. Riley physically removes his chip with some broken glass & "kills" the two undead doctors. Buffy has to get to Adam, so Riley takes on Forrest & eventually gets Forrest to blow himself up. Meanwhile, Giles, Xander, & Willow are invoking all the power of all the slayers ever, as well as themselves, into Buffy. Buffy goes to fight Adam who turns his arm into a multi-gun launcher. Buffy flees from the bullets until the spell works. When it does, Buffy speaks with the voices of Giles, Willow, Xander, & herself in synchronicity. They invoke different spells. They block Adam's bullets & turn one big bullet into doves. Then Buffy avoids Adam's punches & grabs him by the neck. He asks how is she able to do this & she tells him that he cannot begin to grasp the source of her power. Then she plunges into his chest & takes out his uranium. Adam dies & Buffy (plus 3) conquers a spell that engulfs the uranium in white light. It vanishes. Buffy & Riley greet Willow, Xander, & Giles- & Spike- & they all go to gather the remaining Initiative soldiers & get them the hell out of there. The episode closes with an older man in the Pentagon discussing The Initiative. He says that it was an experiment, a vision of Maggie Walsh's to try to harness demonic power for military purposes, but the experiment has failed now. That when the prototype, Adam, took over, they lost 40% of their soldiers & there would have been a total loss if not for a group of civilian insurrectionists & a deserter (the Scooby gang & Riley). They conclude that demons cannot be controlled & decide to burn The Initiative & fill it in with concrete.
Restless
Riley goes to get debriefed & most likely dishonorably discharged, & the gang sit down for some videos. They all fall asleep, but don't have pleasant rests. Giles, Xander, Willow, & Buffy are being stalked by some primal force. It is stealing the things they were in the enjoining spell. Willow is first. Then Xander, in which Buffy calls Xander BIG BROTHER. Then Giles, in which he tells the thing as it's stealing his mind that it never had a watcher. Then comes Buffy's dream. She eventually finds herself in a desert. Tara is there speaking for it. The primal thing lurks behind Buffy. Buffy figures out that the thing is THE FIRST SLAYER. It doesn't like that Buffy has friends. It says that the slayer should be alone; the slayers only purpose is to kill. Buffy tells that she, Buffy, is not alone & for it to give her back her friends. They fight. Eventually, Buffy refuses to fight, use her hand, and the first slayer simply goes away. The group wake up & try to shake off the dreams. But, as Buffy walks by her made bed, she knows she can't shake it off as Tara's voice from the dream overlaps with: "You think you know, what you are, what's to come. You haven't even begun." Mentions: Faith & Buffy made Buffy's bed together in "This Year's Girl" in which Faith told Buffy that LITTLE SISTER was coming (there's a whole thing about the beds, refer to That's My Take for that.). Also, in Buffy's dream sequence the time said 7:30 by Buffy's bed ("Little Miss Muffet Counting Down from 7-3-0" said by Faith in the dream in "Graduation Day pt.2").