Season 2, Episode 18
Written by Rob Des Hotel and Dean Batali
Directed by Deran Sarafian
Original Airdate: 3 March 1998
"My whole life just flashed before my eyes! I
gotta get me a life!"
Xander
REGULAR CAST
GUEST CAST
-
Kristine Sutherland as
Joyce Summers
-
Richard Herd as
Dr. Stanley Becker
-
Willie Garson as
Don
-
Andrew Ducote as
Ryan
-
Juanita Jennings as
Dr. Wilkinson
CO-STARRING
SYNOPSIS
-
A flu-stricken Buffy, reluctant to stay at home,
patrols the cemetery. Xander, Willow and Cordelia surprise her and she
nearly stakes Xander. They try to convince her to go home but the damage
that Angelus has done so far continues to fuel her fire. Angelus appears
behind her and attacks Cordelia. Buffy and Angelus fight until he
manages to pin Buffy down. Willow throws a burlap sack over his head and
he is scared off by crosses that they all carry. Buffy faints and the
gang rush her to the hospital. After being stabilized, she is admitted
to the hospital for a few days against her will. Her mother reveals that
Buffy has always hated hospitals ever since her cousin Celia died in one
while Buffy was there with her.
Joyce brings up the topic of Jenny's death to Giles and unknowingly
brings up a topic Giles would much rather forget. Meanwhile, Xander,
Willow and Cordelia wait to protect a very sick Buffy from the harms of
Angelus. That night, Buffy has a dream where she sees a strange man
follow a kid. As she follows the man down the hall, flashbacks of her
cousin's time spent in the hospital bring nightmares to her mind. She
wakes up suddenly in the middle of the night and takes a walk down the
hall. Two men exit the children's ward with a child that died that
night. At the door, she overhears a conversation between a Dr. Becker
and a Dr. Wilkinson about the doctor's experimental treatments on the
kids. As she begins to leave, she encounters two children, one of them a
boy named Ryan, that tell her about 'Death' and how he comes at night.
The next morning Buffy's friends visit bearing gifts. All but Cordelia
that is. They all take a walk and Buffy tells them all about the
conversation she overheard. Becker was trying experimental treatments on
the kids in the children's ward that Dr. Wilkinson didn't exactly agree
with. Since forced to stay at the hospital, she plans to find out what
Becker is up to and Xander volunteers everyone's help. Cordelia and
Xander sneak into the hospital record room and search for records on the
girl that died the night before. Meanwhile, Giles and Willow search for
information at the school library. At the hospital, while looking
through the records, Cordelia is caught by the security guard. She
flirts with him until Xander can escape with the records, and then
leaves herself. Xander expresses his feelings towards her flirting with
him and Cordelia expresses her anger about Xander's behaviour around
Buffy. She leaves to take the records to Giles and Willow, and Xander
"watches her back" as she goes.
That night, Angelus comes to visit Buffy, but Xander stands guard. They
stand face to face and exchange many harsh words until Angelus finally
leaves discouraged by the fact that he may not make it to Buffy's room
with all the security. Buffy takes a walk and finds Ryan. He is drawing
a picture of the man she saw in her dream: 'Death.' Willow digs up
information on Dr. Becker at the library with Giles. She finds out that
he has a large past involving experimental treatments and investigations
into his practices. Meanwhile, Becker is working on trying to cure the
children's illnesses. After finding a solution that he thinks will work
he takes it to the children's ward to try it out. Before he can do
anything, 'Death' attacks him and slashes him up. Buffy tries to stop
him, but is thrown aside.
The next morning, Buffy informs everyone that Dr. Becker is not the
suspect, and shows them the drawing that Ryan drew of the creature.
Xander, Giles and Cordelia leave her alone and come up with a plan.
Giles and Cordelia head back to the library while Xander stands guard
against the threat of Angelus. At the library, Cordelia annoys Giles
with constant questions. Finally, she finds a picture of the monster on
the cover of a book and they research it. After searching, they find
that it is called Der Kindestod. After Cordelia squeamishly describes
what is going on, Giles takes over and then tells Buffy about how it
sucks the life out of a child. Buffy flashes back to her visit to Celia
at the hospital again. She sees her cousin freaking out while she
helplessly watches. Buffy goes silent over the phone and then after
several minutes, Willow takes it from her and hangs up. Buffy then
realizes that Der Kindestod was the thing that killed Celia.
Buffy and Willow head to Dr. Becker's office in search of answers. The
find out about his research and that he meant the children no harm.
Buffy then goes to his fridge, planning to take the drug that he was
using on the kids. Willow stops her from drinking it whole, and dilutes
it in water. Buffy's fever rushes to 107 degrees as she stumbles to the
children's ward. She finds that all the children are gone. They have run
down to the basement in hopes of escaping from the Kindestod. After a
few moments, Buffy sees the Kindestod in the room and watches as he
heads down to the basement after them. The door is locked, so Buffy and
Willow rush to find access to the basement. Dr. Wilkinson tries to stop
them, but Buffy shoves her aside. When security guards stop the two,
Willow takes on the blame as Buffy makes her escape.
Buffy makes her way to Xander and he helps her down to the basement. The
children wait quietly in hopes of not being found, but then the
Kindestod picks up Ryan. He screams along with all the other children.
Buffy arrives just in time and fights off the Kindestod. Just as he is
about to kill her, she snaps his neck and she leaves leaning on Xander.
Buffy finishes her rehabilitation at home with her friends. Joyce
reluctantly waits on them all, and delivers a picture to Buffy from
Ryan: a picture of her slaughtering the Kindestod.
TRIVIA
CONTINUITY
-
Willow's frog fear, mentioned by her to
Giles in
What's My Line? (Part 1) is used as a
distraction to allow Buffy through to the children's ward in this
episode.
-
Joyce suggests that Buffy's unusual illness
is a result of Jenny's murder in the previous episode. She also tells
Giles that she's sorry for Jenny's death.
GOOFS
-
Why is there an unlocked door leading to
the basement from the children's ward?
-
Buffy's hairstyle changes between shots as
she goes after Ryan through the hospital hallway.
-
When Buffy first looks into the children's
ward, there is no blue sign on the basement door, but in the next shot
it is clearly visible.
-
Ryan says Der Kindestod comes at night, but
Celia seems to have been killed during the daylight.
When She Was
Bad |
Some Assembly Required |
School Hard |
Inca Mummy Girl |
Reptile Boy
Halloween |
Lie to Me |
The Dark Age |
What's My Line? (Part 1) |
What's My Line? (Part 2) |
Ted
Bad Eggs |
Surprise |
Innocence |
Phases |
Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered |
Passion
Killed by
Death |
I Only Have Eyes for You |
Go Fish |
Becoming (Part 1) |
Becoming (Part 2)
|