Season 6, Episode 2

Written by David Fury

Directed by David Grossman

Original Airdate: 1 October 2001

"Is this Hell?"

Buffy

REGULAR CAST

• Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers

• Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris

• Emma Caulfield as Anya Jenkins

• Michelle Trachtenberg as Dawn Summers

• James Marsters as Spike

• Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg

GUEST CAST

• Franc Ross as Razor

• Amber Benson as Tara Maclay

CO-STARRING

• Geoff Meed as Mag

• Mike Grief as Klyed

• Richard Wharton as Homeowner

SYNOPSIS

• Xander carries a weakened Willow off to the magic shop where Tara and Anya will meet them with Spike and Dawn. The BuffyBot is in the possession of the demon bikers and getting beaten badly. Meanwhile, beneath the ground, the real Buffy desperately fights her way through her coffin. Xander stops on the way to the Magic Box, and Willow breaks down into tears as she thinks her attempt to bring Buffy back failed. Tara and Anya pause on their way in time to hide from a few of Razor's followers and overhear their conversation about visiting some stores.
  
  Spike prepares to leave the house with Dawn for a safer location. Buffy finally breaks out of her coffin and rises to the surface. Dressed in black, Buffy roams the damaged streets of Sunnydale, confused by the mayhem occurring. Back at the Magic Box, Tara and Anya return to find that the store is still safe. Tara starts to cast a spell to locate Willow and Xander. Xander questions Willow's directions back to the shop and the power of the spell she conducted. A small blue light appears and it's Tara.
  
  A disorientated Buffy bumps into a car, setting off the alarm and causing the owner to threaten her with a shotgun. Out in the streets, Spike knocks one of the demons off his moving bike and takes it for him and Dawn to ride off on. The gang meets up at the shop to discuss their plans and how they're going to deal without Buffy, Spike, Giles or a strong Willow. The real Buffy stumbles upon the demon bikers in the midst of celebration. Four demons on their bikes are chained to the limbs of the BuffyBot and drive off in four different directions, destroying her.
  
  The real Buffy draws attention to herself and is forced to run off, followed by the bikers. The Scooby Gang are armed and ready for battle, discussing the reasons for their failure when Buffy drops down from a fence in front of them. Willow recognizes her as the real Buffy, but scares her off. The gang follows and Xander realizes just what their spell accomplished. Buffy is frightened and confused, but is motivated to kick demon ass when Razor and his crew try to hurt her and her friends.
  
  Dawn and Spike find BuffyBot's head and torso and while Spike looks for the rest of her, the robot hints that the real Buffy is back. Dawn takes off, leaving Spike to freak out when he doesn't know where she went. Buffy finishes off most of the demons, but Razor doesn't die and Buffy runs off to the tower where she died. Willow, Xander, Tara and Anya fight with and eventually kill Razor with various weapons and magic. Dawn is able to track down Buffy at the tower and follows the Slayer as she heads to the top.
  
  Buffy remembers what occurred the last time she was there until Dawn interrupts. Buffy questions if she's in hell and and contemplates another jump. The tower starts to collapse and Dawn begs Buffy to come with her where she's needed. Buffy uses a rope and pulley to get partially to the ground. They fall the rest of the distance and Buffy cushions the fall and rolls them out of the way before the tower completely collapses. Safe, the girls hug, but Buffy's eyes don't reflect happiness.

TRIVIA

• The UK video box sets split the 'Bargaining' two-parter into its two separate parts. Each one had a set of credits at the beginning of the episode. The DVD release combined the two episodes together again.

CONTINUITY

• The BuffyBot , created in Intervention, is destroyed.

GOOFS

• Buffy seems to be very clean for someone who's just crawled through six feet of earth. Just a leaf in her hair for all that effort?

• Spike moans about the lack of weapons in the Summers house. Where did all the weapons from the trunk go?

• Though we know the police in Sunnydale are pretty dumb, why did none of them show up when the bikers destroyed Sunnydale?

• Dawn should have run into the Scoobies when she went into the alley.

• When Spike finds out about the spell the Scoobies performed to bring Buffy back from the dead, he gets mad and pushes Xander against a tree. Why didn't Spike's chip go off when he hit Xander?

Bargaining (Part 1) | Bargaining (Part 2) | Afterlife | Flooded | Life Serial

All the Way | Once More, With Feeling | Tabula Rasa | Smashed | Wrecked | Gone

Doublemeat Palace | Dead Things | Older and Far Away | As You Were | Hell's Bells | Normal Again

Entropy | Seeing Red | Villains | Two to Go | Grave