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Season 6, Episode 8
Written by Rebecca Rand Kirshner
Directed by David Grossman
Original Airdate: 12 November 2001
"Monsters are real. Did we know this?"
Buffy, aka Joan
REGULAR CAST
SPECIAL GUEST STAR
GUEST CAST
CO-STARRING
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Geordie White as
Vampire #1
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Stephen Triplett as
Vampire #2
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David Franco as
Vampire #3
SYNOPSIS
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Buffy patrols and runs into Spike who wants to
talk about their kiss. A demon loan shark confronts Spike about his
kitten debt, but Buffy steps in and takes care of the thugs looking to
beat the debt out of Spike. Willow, Xander, Anya and Tara talk about
removing Buffy from Heaven and their feelings in the aftermath of the
truth. Willow suggests fixing the mess with a spell and Tara goes off on
her about her excessive and damaging use of magic. At the threat of
losing Tara, Willow agrees to go a week without magic to prove her love.
Giles informs Buffy that he is leaving and Buffy takes the news very
badly. He knows she is too dependent on him and he must leave if she's
ever going to survive on her own. Without her magic, Willow is late
getting ready to leave the house so Tara and Dawn leave without her. She
then uses magic to get dressed quickly and starts another spell by the
fireplace that will make Tara and Buffy forget the damages of the spells
Willow used on them.
The whole gang, including Spike, who is on the run from the loan shark,
gather at the Magic Box during the day. Giles confesses that he is
leaving and Buffy tearfully reveals how she's feeling deserted by
everyone. Willow has a crystal in her pocket that was used with her
forgetting spell and it glows brightly in her hand before the whole gang
falls unconscious. They wake up later that evening with absolutely no
knowledge of who they are or where they are. Spike suspects he's Giles's
son and Anya assumes she's married to Giles. Everyone figures out their
names from their ID's and necklaces except Buffy, who names herself Joan
and Spike, who gets his name Randy from the inside of his stolen coat.
A couple of vampires outside the shop scare the entire gang and they
hide in fear. Looking for Spike to repay his debt, the vampires attack
the shop. Joan discovers she's a superhero when she stakes one of the
vampires and saves Randy. Anya and Giles stay at the shop while Joan and
Randy run outside to fight off the vampires. Randy unknowingly assumes
his vampire visage to fight off the vampire thugs, which sends Joan
running away in fear.
The rest of the Scoobies retreat to the sewers but they encounter
vampires down there too. Anya turns to a random page in a book and reads
the incantation there, which causes a bunny to appear and frighten her.
Joan attacks Randy when he catches up with her and informs him that he's
a vampire. He's confused by it, but assumes that he's a good vampire, a
vampire with a soul, because he doesn't want to bite her. The loan shark
and his minions attack the two and a fight ensues.
Anya continues to try random spells, which makes many more bunnies, a
dark green cloud to form inside the shop, and a big beast to appear.
Giles and Anya fight while hiding behind the counter and Giles reveals
that he found a one-way plane ticket in his pocket for London. When all
the magic is reversed, Anya begs him not to leave her and they kiss.
Xander fights with the vampire chasing them in the sewers and finally
stakes it. Xander accidentally steps on the crystal that fell from
Willow's pocket and breaks the spell on them all.
Tara and the others realize that Willow used magic, despite her promise.
The spell worn off, Buffy is stunned enough to take a few painful hits
while Spike finishes off the rest of the vampires and promises to make
up his debt to the intimidated loan shark. Tara packs all of her things
into boxes while Willow cries in the bathroom, then, with a cold
reaction from Dawn, she leaves. Regretfully, Giles takes his plane back
to England. Spike finds Buffy at the Bronze, but she turns away from him
and he leaves. She doesn't let him get far though as they kiss
passionately beneath the stairs of the Bronze.
TRIVIA
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Anthony Stewart Head spoke on his kissing
Emma Caulfield: "My children went, "Eeuuww. You kissed Anya." "I know,
but it was gone very quickly and we didn't enjoy it." Thank God nobody
ever asked me to kiss Alyson, because that would have been weird. It was
weird enough with Emma. I was glad it was over with very quickly. Weird;
not right."
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Marti Noxon said about this episode in
the SFX Year End Collector's Edition "One criticism we received about
the episode was the fact that Giles left even after knowing what Buffy
had been through. We tried to make it clear that he began to believe
that she couldn't take responsibility with him there; we really tried to
play up the idea. Plus we really needed him to leave, because Tony had
to leave. We were a little bit between a rock and a hard place - he was
going and we had to make it work the best we could, given what we had.
It was a little bit of a stretch."
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Tabula Rasa is Latin for 'blank slate'.
CONTINUITY
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The tweed suit Spike wears for most of
the episode is similar to the one he wore in Xander's dream in
Restless. It was in this dream that
Giles said he looked upon Spike as a son. As they both have English
accents, they assume they are related when they lose their memories. The
shark in this episode was also mentioned in that episode. In Xander's
dream, he said, "Like a shark with feet and ... much less fins", Spike
then added, "And on land!"
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When Spike decides that he is a "noble
vampire", he says "I help the helpless". Of course, "We help the
helpless" is the motto of Angel Investigations in Angel.
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There's a statue of Janus in the Magic
Box. Janus was used to cast a spell in
Halloween by Ethan Rayne.
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Willow repeats her quote from
Doppelgangland when she says "I
think I'm kinda gay."
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The demon and his vampires are after
kittens that Spike won in poker, first seen in
Life Serial.
GOOFS
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Why does Willow leave the house with a fire
burning in the range? It doesn't seem very safe.
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When Buffy and Spike are fighting the
vampires, Buffy uses a post from a letter-box to stake one of the
vampires. From the vampire's point of view we can see that Buffy held
out the blunt part of the pole, however when the shot changes we can see
that Buffy used the pointed part to stake the vampire.
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When Spike is talking to Giles about him
and Anya he says, "I saw you two, sleeping together". Giles and Anya
awoke before Spike did - how can he have seen them sleeping together?
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
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