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| 58. Living Conditions Original Air Date: October 12, 1999 Written by: Marti Noxon Directed by: David Grossman Guest Cast: Dagney Kerr (Kathy) Clayton J. Barber (Demon #1) Adam Kaufman (Parker Abrams) Roger W. Morrissey (Taparich) Paige Moss (Veruca) Buffy "Believes" that if her roommate Kathy plays that Cher song one more time, Buffy will have to kill her. Behind Kathy's bubbly exterior, she is very uptight, insisting on logging every telephone call they make to compare against the phone bill. She almost accuses Buffy of stealing for borrowing milk for her coffee. Buffy prefers a reduced-Cher environment and, of course, someone less interested in questioning her about her life. They trade smiling jabs, each designed to mock the habits of the other. Using a trip to the Grotto coffeeshop, as an excuse, Buffy makes her escape to meet Willow and do some patrolling. After a late evening walk and talk with Willow, about how annoying Kathy is, they part. Neither of them sees, in the shadows, a hooded figure, with a wrinkly, inhuman face and green glowing eyes. Buffy proceeds along the path, but hears a noise from the trees. As she tenses and challenges the unseen foe, out of the darkness springs... Kathy. Abandoning her patrol, Buffy has to pretend she's interested in getting a latte. But after they walk a short distance, a menacing growl alerts Buffy to the hooded demon's attack. Pushing Kathy over and into the bushes, Buffy turns to face the threat. A brief exchange of fists and feet, and the demon retreats back into the darkness. Kathy quickly recovers and Buffy uses a "mugger" cover story, which Kathy seems to accept. The only casualty being Kathy sweater, which was ruined when she fell. Kathy and Buffy begin to walk back to their room. In the bushes, a second demon joins the first. In demon tongue, they discuss whether she is "the one" and the first demon is assigned to follow her. The next day, Buffy describes her attacker to Giles, but the topic quickly turns to Kathy. Buffy is freaked, by Kathy's habits, including sharpening her pencils to a measured length. Even as she speaks, Kathy is fussing around their room. Raiding Buffy's closet for a sweater, she also finds a bag of stakes and crosses, which she shrugs off. Trying to avoid Kathy in the cafeteria line, Buffy slips in front of Parker Abrams. He makes a good impression on Buffy, while dispensing tips on using (or abusing) cafeteria meal allowances. After a moment's awkwardness, they split up to meet their friends. Buffy joins Xander, Willow and Oz. Willow quizzes Buffy about Parker, but there's not much to tell... yet. Suddenly Kathy swoops in and makes a place for herself. Buffy watches in horror (and in slow motion, complete with dramatic music) as Kathy's burger drips ketchup on the sweater she "borrowed" from Buffy's closet. In the evening, Buffy continues to vent her spleen about Kathy's latest crimes, over the phone to Willow, who is suffering because of a "party-hardy" roommate. When Kathy returns to the room, she quickly begins to irritate Buffy with everything she does. It's apparent that Kathy is no less unhappy with Buffy, when they both decide to go to sleep. In Buffy's dreams, the hooded demon stands over her and she lies helpless, in her pajamas. In a blur of images, she is held down, as a scorpion crawls across her bare belly and blood is poured into her mouth. In the final image, the demon holds Buffy's mouth open, as a vapor-like substance flows from her mouth into the demon's maw. Buffy awakes with a start, to find Kathy staring at her, in irritation, over Buffy's noisy slumber. The next day, in a student lounge, Buffy describes her nightmare to Giles, Willow and Oz. Kathy joins them and at the mention of dreams, she describes the same nightmare that Buffy had. After Kathy leaves, Buffy again lashes out at everything Kathy. The gang agrees to do some research on the demon and the dream. After Buffy leaves for class, her friends express concern that Kathy is becoming an unhealthy obsession for Buffy. The two demons meet before a raging log fire, amid the woods. The first demon has confirmed that she is the one and the second demon has prepared to summon the great one, Taparrich. That evening, Buffy steels herself against the loud Cher waves coming from their room, before she enters. She finds Parker Abrahms and Kathy talking. He stopped by to give Buffy some zip-lock aids for squirreling-away food from the cafeteria. The friendly banter between Parker and Kathy quickly becomes too much for Buffy and she cuts them off, rudely. Before Parker leaves, Buffy makes a quick apology to him and a promise for another time. With him gone, both women are confrontational. Buffy padlocks her closet, opens windows and sloppily drinks from Kathy's milk carton, all just to spite her roommate. Willow and Oz worry about what the demon dreams may mean and how oddly Buffy is acting. Oz volunteers to offer Buffy a shoulder while Willow finishes a paper. As they approach Willow's room, she steels herself to face the party inside. Blasted by loud music when she opens the door, Willow suddenly decides that the library will be a better place to work. On his way to meet Buffy, Oz passes a young woman about his height with short, blonde hair. Both are drawn to look back and their eyes meet for several seconds. Turning back around Oz continues down the sidewalk. In the bushes, armed men, in camouflage clothes and ski masks, prowl. While patrolling, Buffy tells Oz of her fantasies of mayhem that she would like to visit upon Kathy. Back in their room, Buffy and Kathy cannot do the slightest little thing without irritating the other. In frustration, Buffy retires, only to have the same nightmare. This time, blood is used to write strange letters on her stomach. The last image, is again, something vaporous being drawn from Buffy's mouth into the demon's. The next day, Buffy tells Willow of her decision to kill Kathy. She has collected Kathy's toenail clippings and is convinced that they prove that Kathy is demonic. She does, however, agree to consult Giles first. After she leaves, Willow calls Giles to warn of a dangerously unstable Buffy coming to visit him. When Buffy enters Giles house she is netted and bound by Xander, Oz and Giles. Despite her pleas, Giles determines that she is being influenced by the hooded demon she fought. He leaves for the magic supplier, intending to cast a spell to save her. Meantime, Willow's suggestion that Kathy make herself scarce, prompts Kathy to tell her that she fears Buffy may be dangerous. A call from Oz tells Willow that Buffy is captured, so Willow leaves. At Giles' house, Buffy is still unable to convince Xander and Oz to release her. They check her ropes, but she is already free and she knocks them both unconscious. When Buffy returns to her room, she squares off against her roommate. Suprisingly, Kathy hits first, with a hard left backhand. They grip each other's hair and struggle. Buffy's nails dig into Kathy's skin and she rips Kathy's face off. The face underneath has green glowing eyes. Buffy falls backwards, as the demonic Kathy pounces. At the fire in the woods, the two male demons chant together. A taller, robed demon, Taparrich, rises straight out of the ground and demands to know where she is. Giles' research and Kathy's rantings to Buffy are interweaved to tell of a demonic ceremony that Kathy is using to steal Buffy's soul. Having a soul will prevent her people from being able to track her and force her to return to their dimension. She has run away from home to go to college. She hopes to trick her people into taking the soulless Buffy in her place. Giles realizes that Buffy's early desire to provoke or harm Kathy is due to the fact she is missing part of her soul. As Buffy fights to save the remainder of her soul, Giles and Willow begin a spell to reverse the soul transfer. Oz and Xander go to Buffy's aid. Buffy and Kathy's fight continues, causing heavy damage to the room. Kathy gains the upper hand and prepares to claim the rest of Buffy's soul, just as Giles and Willow complete their spell. Buffy's soul is pulled from Kathy's mouth and returned to Buffy. As both recover, Taparrich passes through the closed door of their room in a flash of light. Like an angry parent, he growls that the 3,000 year-old rebellious Kathy will return with him. Xander and Oz rush into the room, but a glare from Taparrich and they wisely decide to cower in the doorway. With a wave of his hand, he opens a vortex in the floor under Kathy's feet and she is drawn in, with a scream. He follows and the vortex seals. The next day, Buffy helps Willow move in. Summary by: OBCooke at EpisodeGuides.com |
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