Buffy vs. Dracula
Real Me
The Replacement
Out of My Mind
No Place Like Home
Family
Fool for Love
Shadow
Listening to Fear
Into the Woods
Triangle
Checkpoint
Blood Ties
Crush
I Was Made to Love You
The Body
Forever
Intervention
Tough Love
Spiral
The Weight of the World
The Gift
Buffy vs. Dracula
The episode begins with Buffy going out on the hunt- she needs that slay before she can rest for the night. The summer is coming to an end. Giles revels to Willow that he has decided to leave Sunnydale and go back to England. Buffy no longer needs him- a fact that he is sort of proud of- and the group can get along without him. Meanwhile, Buffy & her mom sit down for a nice dinner & discuss how quiet the house will be when ONLY CHILD Buffy goes back to school. Out on the hunt, Buffy encounters a tall, dark-clad extremely pale vampire who claims that he is the legendary vamp, Dracula. Buffy is star-struck. She's even more flabbergasted when Dracula says that he's heard of Buffy & that he's here to see her- the great killer. He tells her that her power is rooted in darkness and that she doesn't know what a slayer is. Riley goes to Spike to get info on Drac. Spike says that the mist, the changing into a wolf, all that unique Dracula stuff is gypsy magic. There is a very intense moment here where Riley tells Spike that he has no problem killing a helpless creature like Spike. Later, Drac shows at Buffy's house while Buffy slumbers. He says that they're kindred, & thralls her into letting him take a peck at her neck. The next day the group learns of what has happened and decide to keep Buffy away from her house. Unbeknownst to them, Dracula has used his hypnotic powers to entrance Xander. Xander offers to hold Buffy up at his house- that way she'll be safe- & at sunset he brings Buffy to Drac. Dracula tells Buffy that he wants to teach her her power, her history. & that he can show her- it all starts with her taking a sip of his blood. Buffy is reluctant. Then he tells Buffy: "you think you know- what you are, what's to come- you haven't even begun." These are the lines Tara said to Buffy in the dream where the First Slayer hunted Buffy & everyone. With that, Buffy takes a sip- suddenly flashes come to her- of hunting & the first slayer, & she realizes that that is a dark, evil place to which she just doesn't what to go. She snaps out of Drac's thrall & stakes him- of course, he turns into a misty dust so he easily could still be alive- or undead, you know what I mean. Xander jumps out of his entrancement too & decides to stop being everybody's butt-monkey. Just as Giles is about to tell Buffy that he's leaving, Buffy tells Giles that she needs him to be her watcher again. She needs to train again, & to learn the slayer's history- because right now she's just scaring herself. So, of course, the plans for Giles to go back to England are off. In the closing scene, Buffy is going off to the movies, as she walks into her room a girl is going through Buffy's things. "What are you doing here?" Buffy asks. From the next room, Buffy's mother yells that if Buffy's going out she might as well take her sister. Both Buffy & the girl whine: "Ma-om!"
Real Me
Buffy's new dedication to training is being hampered by Dawn's- her new SISTER'S- presence because she's everywhere! This episode is told mostly from the perspective of Dawn as she writes in her journal, where she conveys how into Xander she is, how much she likes Willow & Tara & wants to do what they do together- witchcraft, & how much she detests Buffy- how Buffy always gets what she wants from their Mom, etc. Some strange guy who looks like he hasn't slept in days comes up to Dawn while she's alone during this episode. He says he's the CAT because he's quiet- "Cat's in the cupboard, but they find you there anyway & it hurts." He tells Dawn that he knows her- "Curds & Whey, you don't belong here." Dawn is comforted from this experience by Tara- who seems to understand Dawn more than anyone. Later, Tara & Willow are talking. Tara says more or less that Dawn should help with the slaying (uh huh). The bad event in this episode is that Harmony has gotten herself some minions & they've taken up Spike's old mission of slaying the slayer. When Harmony comes looking for Buffy while Xander is Dawn-babysitting, Dawn accidentally invites Harmony inside. Buffy's anger over this causes Dawn to go running out of the house where the minions grab her. Buffy saves Dawn, killing all the minions. Harmony gets away, but Willow's already done a deinvite spell so no worry there. Also in this episode, Giles buys the Sunnydale Magic Shop after yet another owner is attack & killed by vampires- who cares about the death risk when there's big profits to be had.
The Replacement
A demon comes looking for the slayer. The demon, Toth, has this device that splits someone in two halves. He wants to separate the slayer from the weaker human Buffy so she'll be easy to kill- because when you kill one you kill the other. Anyway, he misses & Xander is split in two, the better & a lesser half. The better half gets a promotion in the construction industry, gets a nice apartment, & is perfect supportive boyfriend to Anya. The lesser half is more of the Xander we know. The Xanders don't know that they're both Xander & try to kill each other. Luckily, Buffy stops them & Willow does a quick spell to put them back into one Xander. At the end, Buffy & Riley help Xander move his things out of the basement & into the new apartment. Xander admits to Riley that he's a little jealous of Riley, & his relationship with Buffy. To comfort Xander, Riley reveals that he's nothing to be jealous of- he's crazy in love with Buffy, but she doesn't love him back.
Out of My Mind
Harmony comes to Spike looking for asylum from her arch-nemesis, Buffy. Spike convinces Harmony that she needs to kill Buffy. Spike agrees to help with the thinking part of that. During a normal mother/daughter morning Joyce suddenly stops & says to Dawn: "who are you?" & then falls ill. Upon going to the hospital she's all better & doesn't remember that there's anything wrong with Dawn being her daughter. At the hospital Dawn plays with, the young intern, Ben's stethoscope & learns that Riley's heartbeat is irregular and far too fast. The doctors check him out & say that he could have a heart attack at any moment. Riley doesn't want to seek help because he's wary of the Initiative, & also because he thinks Buffy wouldn't want him if he lost his superhuman abilities. While trying to find an unwanting-of-medical-attention Riley, Buffy stupidly tells Spike about the Initiative-like doctor in town. So Spike, with the able-to-hurt-humans Harmony, kidnaps the doctor. Spike tries to get the doctor to take out his chip. The doctor performs surgery, but fakes the taking-out-of-the-chip part. Anyway, Riley gets all fixed. At the end, Graham, who was there to get Riley some help, tells Riley that he's nothing where he is & that he belongs with the government. &, lastly, Spike has a sexual fantasy about Buffy where he tells Buffy that he loves her.
No Place Like Home
Buffy begins to unravel a mystery. With her mom's illness lacking medical explanation, Buffy turns to the mystical for explanation. She does a spell to see spells & magical influences, & sees that DAWN'S not real! She sees pictures with flashes of Dawn not in them & even Dawn herself fading in & out from real to shadow. Buffy is ready to think that Dawn is here to hurt the slayer, but, investigating an area where a magic protection orb (Daggonsphere) that is supposed to protect beings from "that which cannot be named" was found, Buffy learns the truth. Buffy encounters "that which cannot be named", an otherworldly being, in the form of a girl, who, although in a human form, still exhibits her otherworldly supernatural Adam-kinda strength. She's bad & has a kick-ass attitude. She wants out of this world & is only here because she's looking for something she claims belongs to her- "the key". Anyway, she's torturing this monk because he knows where the key is. Buffy gets him out of there. Unfortunately, the damage the otherworldly girl did becomes fatal, but not before he has time to reveal to Buffy that "the key" is Dawn. Before, "the key" was just energy, & him & some other monks molded "the key" into flesh & sent it to Buffy because they knew the slayer would protect it- they created the memories of Dawn being in the Summers' family & in the Buffyverse before that. Anyway, Dawn doesn't know anything about that- she thinks she's just a normal girl, & so it's Buffy responsibility to take care of Dawn because if she doesn't, & Dawn falls into Glory's hands, "many more will die". Remember the crazy guy from "Real Me" that told Dawn she wasn't real & said to her "curds & whey" from the "Little Miss Muffet" thing? Well, the otherworldly girl does this thing where she goes a little crazy & then gets out the crazyness by putting it into a human, thus sending out a rash of humans who are insane & have knowledge about "the key" & all. Also in this episode, Giles opens the magic shop with much success & offers Anya a job.
Family
Tara's family come to visit for her birthday. Revealing Tara's secret- that she's part demon. Her family wants her to stop with witchcraft & come home with them. Tara is so ashamed of what her family has made her think about herself, that she does a spell so that the Scooby Gang can't see demons. This backfires, obviously, when Glory, the otherworldly girl, sends some demons out to kill the slayer. Anyway, Tara comes in & breaks the spell at the end & there is a big showdown with Tara & her family where Spike figures out that the whole "part-demon" thing is something men in Tara's family perpetuate to subdue their women (this is confirmed when Spike receives major head pain upon hitting Tara). Buffy & the Scoobies, who aren't that tight with Tara, stand up for Tara & ask her false family to leave- they are Tara's family now. Also in this episode, Riley & Buffy grow even more apart, especially because Buffy is going through things she can't tell Riley about. Namely, about Dawn, who Buffy decides to tell only her watcher about- to keep the truth about Dawn a very selective secret.
Fool for Love
Buffy gets staked by a vampire, she lives, but it causes her to wonder about the death of the slayer- what made that patrol different, why the girl lost that fight. She turns to Giles, who can find no record of slayer deaths, so Buffy goes to the next available source- Spike, the killer of 2 vampire slayers. Spike takes Buffy through a little history lesson about Spike's life. Starting with when Drusilla made him a vampire. He was the proper English studious poet (who people called William the Bloody for his bloody awful poetry). He's in love with a girl who rejects him saying that he is "beneath" her. After she rejects him, he runs into Dru who offers Spike something like the girl he loves, something bright & glistening. Spike accepts it. He hangs out with Angel, Darla, & Dru for a while & learns from Angel about this thing called "the slayer". He becomes obsessed with the slayer. & finally catches up to one during the Boxer Rebellion. After a fight, he kills her & celebrates with Dru, Darla, & Angel- wait, Angel? Wasn't he with soul by then? They explain about that in the second half of this "Buffy"/"Angel" crossover. Then Spike recounts the killing of a slayer in the 1970s on a subway train in New York. He tells Buffy that it's not about what punch the slayer didn't throw, but something else. He explains that the slayer wakes up everyday with the same question hanging over their head: "Is today the day I die?" & that the slayer is sort of in love with death because it is so much a part of what she does & who she is- that every slayer has a death wish & that that's why he won those fights, because those slayers wanted death. He further explains that the reason Buffy has stayed alive all these years is because she has ties to the world, but that sooner or later she will want death & that will be her last day. Violence & threats must be an aphrodisiac for Spike, because he leans in to kiss Buffy. She doesn't let him & instead uses the knowledge about his past against him, saying "you're beneath me." Spike starts to cry, but stops himself. Determined, he grabs a shotgun & goes searching for Buffy- willing to take the head pain for a few hours in order to kill Buffy for good. This segways into a flashback where Dru & Spike break up (the time right before Spike visits Sunnydale & tries to get Willow to do a spell to make Dru love him again). Dru tells Spike that she's cheating on him because she has to get her pleasure somehow & that his head is elsewhere- his head is all up in Buffy. Back to Spike with the shotgun, he shows up at Buffy's just as she's coming out of her house crying- her mom has just revealed that her unexplained condition could be something medical afterall, she's going in for some x-rays. Spike drops his gun, seeing Buffy crying, & instead sits along side of her asking: "Are you OK? Is there something I can do?" Fool.
Shadow
Glory's minion gets Glory a spell- a spell that will create a huge snake (not as big as the Mayor) that will seek out "the key" & tell Glory where it is. Glory needs some spell ingredients to make the monster so she goes to the magic shop & gets them- just as the Scooby gang is investigating Glory herself! It's Anya who later figures out that it was Glory, based on the ingredients Glory bought & they tell Buffy about it & what they think Glory is doing. Meanwhile, Riley is further distanced from Buffy when it is learned that Buffy's mom does in fact have a brain tumor. It also doesn't help Riley that Dawn doesn't think about how what she says- the information she reveals- effects the people she says it to. Riley... something cracks. He heads down to Willy's old bar, meets up with a vampire & lets her suck on his neck for a few before he stakes her. Back to Glory, Buffy goes to stop Glory from doing the spell. Buffy is unsuccessful. The snake-thing slithers out & searches the town for "the key". It finds Dawn & then runs off to tell Glory. Buffy intercepts & kills it.
Listening to Fear
Buffy's mom is about to undergo surgery for her brain tumor, but until that happens Buffy & Dawn have to deal with the weird things their mom is doing & saying because of the brain tumor. They decide to take Joyce back home the night before the surgery. Good thing too, because a "meteor" has crashed to Earth killing all the people who are acting crazy- mostly the people Glory, with her power, has made crazy. One of these such people say something else to Dawn about Dawn not existing. & later, when back at the Summers' house, Joyce even says something along those lines to Dawn. Buffy tells Dawn that it's nothing, & to not listen to them. Anyway, about the "meteor" creature, it turns out it's not an alien from outer space, but a demon summoned from the moon to kill crazy people. &, since Joyce's tumor is pressing on her brain & making her do weird things, the creature thinks Joyce is crazy & tries to kill her, but Dawn, with a little help from Buffy &, the ever-hanging-out-in-Buffy's-neighborhood, Spike kill the creature. Remember the nice-guy intern, Ben? Well, it turns out he called the creature. To do what he's "done his whole life", to clean up "Glory's mess." Something interesting to mention is that there is a history of the "meteor" creature killing the insane, dating back to the middle ages... hum. Also, in this episode, Riley continues his nocturnal habit of getting, this is going to sound awful, sucked- by vampires, I know what YOU'RE thinking, & completely ignoring his superboy vamp fighting. At the very end, Buffy's mom sits Buffy down before the surgery & confesses that she's had a flash of knowledge that she doesn't think is the tumor. That Dawn isn't her daughter, but that Dawn's important to the world, precious- as precious as Buffy is to her. Then she makes Buffy promise her that if she doesn't come out of this, that Buffy will take care of Dawn, because Dawn still "feels" like her daughter. Buffy promises, & it's looking pretty final as Joyce rolls down the hospital corridor to the operation.
Into the Woods
Joyce survives the operation! The doctors removed the tumor & it seems that Joyce is going to be just fine. To celebrate, Buffy has a night alone with Riley. Spike, obsessed & in love, aggravatedly watches on her front lawn & sees when Riley leaves in the middle of the night. Curious, Spike follows him... The following night, Spike comes into Buffy's house & tells her that there is something she needs to see. He takes her to a vampire-whorehouse, where humans pay vampires to suck their blood for a thrill. Spike leads Buffy to where Riley is. Upset, Buffy runs out & Riley goes home to find Graham & some army official in his apartment saying that there's a job they need him for in the jungle- to clear out some demons killing missionaries. It's not government they're working work, it's military- not all testing, just fighting. Buffy goes back to the whorehouse during the day & finds no vamps- so she torches the place. Riley shows Spike how appreciative he is of Spike reveling his nocturnal habit by staking Spike- well, fake-staking him with a plastic stake. Spike & Riley discuss their situation. Both in love with Buffy. Spike wonders which is better: the one who loves her & is not with her or the one who loves her, is with her, but with her not really there. Buffy & Riley finally meet up & have a confrontation. Riley tells Buffy that he's done what he's done because she hasn't been there for him. She says that she doesn't know what more she can give him- she's given him her heart, body, & soul. He says he just doesn't feel that. She says that's not her fault. He tells her that the military wants him back & that, if he accepts, he'll be leaving tonight. She doesn't like the sound of what he's saying: is he giving her an ultimatum? Accept what I did or I'm gone? Furiously, she leaves as he says he's gonna' do it, he's gonna' leave unless she stops him. Outside, Buffy comes up against the whorehouse vampires & their pimps. She stakes them fast & Xander appears. He tells her that when things went down with Angel, she shut down emotionally & that she hasn't been open to Riley. & just like that she realizes what she's about to lose & runs to stop Riley from leaving. He's waiting for her with a black helicopter behind him. He finally has enough waiting, his love won't come, & boards the helicopter. It takes off. Only a yard or so off the ground, Buffy gets to it, but the helicopter is so loud that he doesn't hear her calling his name. She's right next to him, but his face, depressed, is turned away from her & he never knows that she tried to stop him from leaving. Xander, not wanting to make the same mistake as Buffy, tells Anya that he's totally, completely, messily in love with her.
Triangle
Buffy is still recovering from Riley's departure & the end of her second long-term relationship. Giles visits the Watcher's Council in England, desperate for information about Glory- because after months of research, he can't find a thing about her or Dawn, The Key. While he's away, Anya & Willow catfight over the magic shop. Willow tries to do a spell & Anya's interruptions cause a troll to be released. Turns out the troll is the boyfriend Anya had that cheated on her when she was human- she made him a troll & got her demonic powers. Then he came up against some witches & was sealed in the "cauldron"-thing Willow was using for the spell & got released when Anya interrupted the energy-flow of the spell. Willow & Anya have to work together & work through their issues- Willow's that Anya will end up turning Xander into a troll or something & Anya's that Willow wants Xander. The troll shows up as Willow & Anya are reaching a truce. Xander comes in. The troll is impressed by Xander's fight so he tells Xander that he'll kill only one of his girls, but that Xander has to choose who will live. He won't choose between his girlfriend & his best friend. Luckily, he didn't have to. Buffy comes in & after the troll gets her really mad when he says that Anya & Xander's relationship won't last (she's upset about Riley so she's all sensitive about love criticism), she kicks his ass long enough for Willow to send him away- probably to the land of the trolls. Where there are lots of trolls... Finally, Giles comes home. The Council couldn't help him immediately- they don't know anything off-hand or on easy reference- but they are going to look into Glory & The Key. Joyce, Buffy, & Giles discuss this & the unsettling possibility of what the Council would do if they found out that Dawn was The Key- unaware that Dawn is listening in on their conversation from the next room- so Dawn now knows that her mother, her sister, & her sister's Watcher know something about her that she doesn't even know about herself & that someone may be after her.
Checkpoint
The Watcher's Council have found information about Glory & The Key, & they've come to Sunnydale to share it with Buffy, but they want her to play by their rules in order to get it. They investigate her life, her friends, & challenge her to a test of knowledge & brute. Buffy doesn't want to cooperate, but they threaten to deport Giles, & as Buffy says they picked the perfect thing to threaten her with because she can't lose him. Meanwhile, Glory is running out of time in her search for The Key because the "alignment" is nearing. Glory bids the hospital intern Ben, who we know from "Listening to Fear" to have some past connection to Glory, to get Buffy to tell him where The Key is (she's figured that Buffy probably knows where the Key is). He refuses. Glory decides to pay Buffy a visit. She comes into Buffy's house & tells Buffy that if Buffy won't reveal where The Key is she will kill Buffy's family & friends, & that the next time she comes asking about The Key, one of Buffy's beloveds will die bloodily (ironically, she threatens Dawn. She'd be pretty sorry if she killed The Key to get The Key, wouldn't she?). Buffy rushes her mom & sister to Spike to hide them away at his place. On route to the Watcher's Council test, Buffy encounters 3 fighters who are part of a huge & ancient order called the Knights of Byzantium who are after The Key, too- but their mission is to destroy The Key. Somehow, they too figure that Buffy knows where The Key is & intend to kill Buffy, the protector of The Key. Buffy finally makes it to the test, nerves shot. She tells the Council that there won't be any test. They have the knowledge, but they can't do anything with it- Buffy's the fighter. She tells them to reinstate Giles with pay & even to give Giles back-pay for the 24 months when he was officially fired. Buffy says that they didn't come here to see if Buffy was good enough to handle what they know Glory to be, but to beg her to let them back into the slayer's world because the slayer is all there is for them- it's their existence. She's made an accurate call & they accept her terms & begin to tell her about Glory as the episode ends. Buffy asks them to tell her what kind of demon Glory is. They answer that Glory's not a demon, "she's a God".
Blood Ties
Buffy tells the gang about Dawn. Dawn breaks into the magic shop after everyone starts treating her oddly & learns from Giles' notes that she's the Key. She freaks & runs away. She goes to the hospital to ask all the crazy people what she is. One of the Knights is there (crazy & bound) & he tells her she's a destroyer. Dawn runs into Ben & they start talking, Dawn says that she's not real she's just something that the monks made to hide her from Glory. Ben freaks. He warns her to run, to get out of there, Glory's coming! She's shocked & doesn't move. Just then, Ben transforms into Glory. She doesn't remember the conversation Dawn had with Ben, but she says Ben & her are family (& Ben said something earlier about a sister he didn't like). She tells Dawn about the Key. It's not evil- well, it is depending on how you look at it & that it's almost as ancient as herself. Buffy comes in with Willow. Will does a spell to transport Glory elsewhere & she's out of their hair for now. Dawn says she doesn't remember what happened to Ben. Buffy tells Dawn that she's still her sister.
Crush
Dawn has developed a crush on Spike. This bothers Buffy, but Dawn assures Buffy that her crush on Spike is irrelevant, Spike's too busy obsessing over Buffy. She then reveals what's very apparent to her, that Spike's totally in love with Buffy. Buffy freaks. She goes to Spike to make clear that it's not going to happen between them. Spike doesn't listen, & upon going back to his crypt, finds Drusilla, mostly healed from the torching by Angel. She tells Spike to come to L.A. with her, and to be a family again with Darla, and, she hopes, Angel soon (that was my attempt to get you to watch 'Angel' if you haven't been lately, it's so good). She tells Spike that he can be bad if he just deals with the pain of being bad. He pretends to go along with her, but ends up tying her & Buffy up. He says he will kill Dru to prove to Buffy how much he loves Buffy (yeah, it's not that good a concept when you're watching it either). Of course, he doesn't. She gets away, presumably heading back to L.A. Things get heavy & Spike unties Buffy. Buffy, in turn, punches Spike. Spike then follows Buffy home saying that there's something between them & it's undeniable, Buffy can't just shut him out of her life. That's as Buffy is walking into her house, Spike goes to follow, but Willow has done a de-invite spell. So, I guess she can just shut him out of her life.
I Was Made to Love You
A guy has made the perfect girlfriend, only she has one flaw besides the fact that she's a robot, her only purpose is to love him & when he falls in love with someone else, she gets very upset. Buffy takes care of her. As she's losing energy, or dying, Buffy realizes that the notion of living for someone else & everything we do for love is sort of ridiculous & decides to cancel a date with Ben, who has asked Buffy out for coffee. It's okay for her to be single. Spike tries to get into Buffy's life via Giles & the magic shop, & Giles kicks him out. Joyce is the best she's been since the brain tumor afflicted her. She goes out on a date & has a wild time with a nice man. Buffy comes home to find flowers from the guy & her mom no where to be found. She looks around & sees Joyce on the couch, eyes wide open & not blinking.
The Body
This episode is more of an experience, then anything to do plotlines. I can't explain it, you'd have to see it. But in this episode Joyce is proclaimed dead. She died of an aneurysm, a result of the brain tumor surgery. Buffy, Dawn, Xander, Giles, Willow, Anya, & Tara face the shock of Joyce's death. Dawn needs to see the body to believe what's happened, so she sneaks into the morgue. A vampire rises, but Buffy comes & kills it. Then, the two are faced with their mother's dead body. Buffy tells Dawn that their mom isn't in that body anymore. Dawn asks: "Where'd she go?"
Forever
Intervention
Tough Love
Spiral
The Weight of the World
The Gift