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| 60. Fear, Itself Original Air Date: October 26, 1999 Written by: David Fury Directed by: Tucker Gates Guest Cast: Emma Caulfield (Anya) Kristine Sutherland (Joyce Summers) Marc Blucas (Riley Finn) Lindsay Crouse (Prof. Maggie Walsh) Adam Kaufman (Parker Abrams) Adam Bitterman (Gachnar) Sulo Williams (Chaz) Marcus Rose (Josh) Xander, Willow and Oz psychoanalyze Xander's pumpkin carving, while Buffy wallows in self-pity over the Parker Abrams affair. The gang invites Xander to a Halloween party at Alpha Delta Fraternity and he quickly accepts. Buffy drags herself home, while her friends contemplate the horror that is Parker Abrams. On the street, a demon-faced man confronts Buffy and she lashes out before realizing that her "attacker" is a man in a Halloween mask. He flees; leaving Buffy to consider just how distracted her depression has made her. The next day, in the cafeteria, Willow tells Buffy of her desire to advance her magic arts. Oz joins them and expresses concern that Willow might expose herself to dark forces while conjuring. A glimpse of Parker and Buffy beats a hasty retreat. Catching up to her, Willow tries to boost her spirits. Buffy hopes to bury herself in her Slayer duties tonight, after consulting Giles, who she thinks will agree with her decision. Buffy finds Giles in a huge, ridiculous sombrero and matching poncho, ready to celebrate the evening in a very undignified manner. He assures her that Halloween is a night-in for evil. There should not be any serious danger tonight. At the Alpha Delta house preparations are made for the big party. One of the members has found a circular drawing in a book, which he thinks, looks like an occult design, for decorating the dance floor. Anya surprises Xander in his basement apartment and accuses him of not calling. Surprised that they have a relationship - still, Xander begins to warm to the idea of Anya. He tells her that he is going out with his friends tonight and invites her. She accepts, with the declaration that they are now officially "dating". She cannot, however, understand what Xander still has in common with the other members of the Scooby Gang. Buffy humbles herself before Prof.Walsh after missing a class. Walsh tells her that another absence and she will be thrown out of the class. After Walsh leaves, Riley Finn tries to console Buffy, without taking the edge off of Walsh's warning. He tells her to go out and enjoy tonight, there will be time enough to complete her assignments. Buffy leaves after thanking Riley for trying to cheer her. Oz and Xander deliver stereo speakers to the attic of the frat house. The members have arranged a Haunted House below and party space in the attic. The drawing from the book is on the floor. When Oz cuts himself while stripping a speaker wire a few drops of blood fall to the floor and mystical waves ripple over the floor design. A plastic spider lying on the pattern is touched by the waves, changes to a real spider and crawls away. Buffy's mother helps her to alter her old Little Red Riding Hood outfit. They reminisce about past Halloweens and come to Buffy's feelings of abandonment, this time over her parent's divorce. Joyce Summers talks of the feelings of isolation the divorce forced on her. She reminds Buffy of all the friends that offer her support. At the frat house, the party is in full swing, with loud music and strobe lights, simulating a lightning storm in the attic. A frat boy tries to scare his blindfolded girlfriend by telling her that a bowl of peeled grapes that she has her hand in, is actually a bowl of eyeballs. When she removes her blindfold, her hand is filled with real eyeballs. Buffy meets a tuxedoed Xander, in his James Bond alias. They meet Willow and Oz. Willow is Joan of Arc and since she was close to God, Oz's only costume is his "My name is... God" label. On their way to the party, two armed men in camouflage and ski masks suddenly emerge from the bushes directly in front of them. The commandos silently creep away, with compliments on their costumes. Xander explains that Anya is still looking for a scary costume and will join them at the party. Meanwhile, the party has dissolved into a mass of running, screaming victims. A dread-locked kid in a Marine dress uniform, Chaz runs through the Haunted House looking for a way out. As Buffy's group approaches the door, inside, a frat boy falls down the main staircase and lands at the bottom with his head at an odd angle. Entering the Haunted House, all appears quiet to Buffy and friends at first. Willow hits some cobwebs and a plastic knife-wielding skeleton barely misses Xander. Suddenly they notice a very real, very large spider on Willows shoulder. They brush it away, calm Willow down and proceed. At a point where Oz becomes confused as to the layout of the house, Buffy finds a bloodstain on the floor. A squeaking sound draws their attention to the ceiling, which is covered with bats. The bats swarm around the group briefly. After the bats fly off, Oz finds one on the floor and discovers that now it's rubber. Anya, in a Bunny costume, approaches the quiet frat house. On the side porch, she cannot find a door, only a Welcome mat, where the door should be. Walking around the front of the house, in an attic window, she sees a terrified, screaming girl. Suddenly, the window closes in on itself and disappears. Anya leaves to get help with one thought in mind... Xander. Buffy and friends have made their way back to where they thought the entrance was, but the door is missing. Following a noise, they find the "Marine" Chaz, in the closet, babbling in fear. The plastic skeleton and knife change to bone and steel, and begin to move. While they are trying to find out from Chaz what they are facing, the skeleton slashes Buffy's back with a glancing blow. She knocks the skeleton down and it is plastic again. The closet Chaz is hiding in disappears. Buffy begins to prepare for a fight. She unpacks weapons from her picnic basket. She instructs the others to escape and get Giles' help. Anya comes knocking on Giles' door, demanding that he save Xander..... and the others, of course. She describes what it was that she saw and Giles begins gathering together the things that he needs. Meanwhile, Buffy and Willow are arguing vehemently. Buffy wants to protect them by sending them all away, but Willow demands to be allowed to try an incantation that may help. To Buffy the others are a distraction that she must defend, instead of concentrating on defeating the evil. Buffy thinks she is in charge and Willow disagrees. She resents Buffy's condescending attitude and demands a chance to prove herself. Frustrated, Willow storms away, with Oz following. Xander tries to calm Buffy, only to discover that she can no longer see or hear him. Mad at Xander, because she thinks he wandered off as usual, Buffy storms away, down a hallway, calling his name. Xander tries to follow but loses her. Willow is venting her anger at Buffy to Oz. They find the main staircase, with no sign of the fallen frat boy. As they go up the stairs, Oz begins to realize that he is changing into a werewolf. Despite the fact that there is no full moon, Oz is half-wolf by the time he can get Willow's attention. Fearing that he may hurt her, he runs, with Willow's scream, for him not to leave her, echoing down the hallway. Xander finds a mirror and realizes that he is still visible at least, but alone and frightened. Oz sits in a bathtub, still only half-wolf, fearfully chanting over and over, "You're not gonna change." Buffy walks the halls jumping at every sound. Willow begins a chant to conjure a spirit to help her find her way. A small, green light appears and floats around her head - Tinkerbell-like. While she tries to decide what to do first, without her noticing, the light splits and splits again, with each new option she considers. Suddenly, a swarm of buzzing lights surrounds her. She tries, unsuccessfully, to fight them off. They even fly into her mouth, when she tries to call to Oz for help. She has to flee, with the swarm following. Buffy hears Willow calling for help and tries to follow the sound. She shoves open a door,only to fall into the basement. The frat boy, who fell down the stairs, stands in the basement, with his head at a sickening angle. He plays on Buffy's fears, by reminding her of how alone she is, as she recovers on the basement floor. Suddenly, hands burst through the floor. All around Buffy, zombie-like ghouls begin to emerge, grabbing at her. Outside Giles, sans his Mexican gear, with Anya, consults a book as he inspects the place where there was once a door on the frat house. Going to his bag, he retrieves the talisman he needs to create a new door... a chainsaw. In the basement, Buffy is fighting off the creatures risen from the floor, with dead frat boy still spouting words of despair. She manages to escape through a coal chute door. On the other side of the door, she finds herself in the attic. Around her, partygoers are balled-up in fear, each living an invisible nightmare. Willow enters the room still fighting the light swarm, although no sprites are around her. Oz was cowering in the attic with the others, but at the sound of Willow's voice, both he and Buffy rush to her aid and she calms down. Suddenly, Xander is heard ranting about how he is ignored and belittled by his friends. Now they can see and hear him, much to his relief. Reunited and free of their illusions, they prepare to face whatever has driven them to this point. Xander finds the book that the floor design came from and Willow translates the Gaelic text. Gachnar, the Fear Demon, is trying to manifest himself, by feeding on their fears. Giles and Anya reach the others in the attic. Finding a fearsome picture of Gachnar in the book, they decide that the best course of action is to prevent the demon's arrival. Unfortunately, Buffy tries to destroy the floor design, the Mark of Gachnar, with her fist, before Giles can stop her - she has ensured the immediate arrival of Gachnar, the Fear Demon. A blinding light from the hole Buffy punched in the floor and an inhuman howl heralds the emergence of Gachnar, a four-horned demon with strands of wire wrapped around a hideous and frightening face. Gachnar is... a 6" tall demon. The demon's threats, in a strange little voice, amuse the gang. Giles reminds Buffy that Slaying is serious business, despite the size of her opponent. Gachnar tries one last ploy, telling Buffy that all her friends will abandon her, before Buffy squishes him with a stomp of her shoe. Back at Giles' house, they pig-out on leftover Halloween candy. Xander teases Anya about her "scary" costume and she admits that bunnies frighten her. Giles is mad at himself for not translating the caption in the book, under the picture of Gachnar... actual size. Summary by: OBCooke at EpisodeGuides.com |
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