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Season 6, Episode 19
Written by Steven S. DeKnight
Directed by Michael Gershman
Original Airdate: 6 May 2002
"Say goodnight, bitch."
Buffy
REGULAR CAST
GUEST CAST
CO-STARRING
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James C. Leary as
Clem
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Garrett Brawith as
Frank
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Tim Hagan as
Administrator
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Stefan Marks as
Guard #1
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Christopher James as
Guard #2
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Kate Orsini as
Girl in Bronze
SYNOPSIS
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Willow and Tara snuggle after spending time in bed
together and talk about Buffy and the possibility that something's going
on between her and Spike. Tara confirms Willow's suspicions and talks
about Buffy's relationship with Spike and her feelings of shame because
of it. Willow's hurt that she was never told about it. Willow goes to
check on Buffy, but instead encounters Dawn, and the two talk about the
struggle Buffy must be going through with Spike. When Tara appears
wearing just a sheet, Dawn gets very happy to see that they are back
together again. Buffy breaks into the Trio's lair, but finds the place
deserted and dangerous traps waiting for her as the guys expected her
arrival. She escapes and manages to take a few items with her as several
large saw blades tear apart the house and her leather jacket.
Buffy, Dawn, Willow and Tara gather to go over the few items Buffy
managed to steal from the Trio's lair and they all realize that the rest
of the group won't be helping since they all have other priorities or
lack an interest to help. Anyanka sits with a young scorned woman who
wants to wish vengeance on her cheating boyfriend, but Anyanka is too
busy talking about her own relationship problems to notice the young
woman's wish. Meanwhile, in a cave, the Trio subdue a large Nezzla demon
they need for their plan to become unstoppable. Dawn visits Spike at his
crypt and lets him know that she knows about what he did with 'Anya' and
his relationship with Buffy. She lectures him about hurting Buffy when
he supposedly loves her and leaves him pondering the thought of how he
shows his love to her.
Back at the cave, Jonathan puts on the skin of the Nezzla demon they
took out and crosses a barrier that can only be passed by one of the
demons. While Jonathan's away, Warren and Andrew talk of their plans to
conspire against their partner. Jonathan returns with a box that
contains two red orbs - the key to their ultimate powers. Warren tests
the power of the orbs on another demon and is quite pleased with the
results when he kills the demon easily. Buffy visits a distraught and
angry Xander at his apartment. He can't believe that she could have been
involved with Spike and the two argue about it until Xander storms out.
He walks the streets alone, pausing briefly to secretly look in on
'Anya' as she works at the Magic Box.
At the house and in bed, Willow reviews some files on her laptop, but is
quickly distracted by Tara. Xander sits at the bar at the Bronze and the
Trio show up to test out the powers of the orbs. Buffy patrols and
fights with a couple of vampires and before turning to dust, one manages
to kick her back into a tombstone, injuring her. At home, Buffy sets up
a bath for herself to soothe her aching back. Spike shows up uninvited
and starts to talk to her about how he knows she loves him and just
needs to admit it. She protests as he forces himself on her, an attempt
to make her feel love for him again. With her back injured, Buffy
struggles against him and ultimately kicks him across the room, stopping
him from going too far. Spike's stunned by his behaviour and tries to
apologize, but Buffy only knows he stopped because she made him.
At the Bronze, Warren tries to pick up a girl while Andrew and Jonathan
debate the appropriateness of Warren's plans. The woman's boyfriend
steps in and a fight breaks out, but Warren's too strong and takes on
the boyfriend and several others with great ease. Xander tries to
intervene but is tossed aside and nearly takes a bad beating, but
Jonathan reminds Warren they have to be elsewhere. Xander goes to Buffy
and gets worried when he notices Spike's coat on the stairs. Upstairs in
the bathroom, Xander finds Buffy on the floor, a large bruise on her leg
and realizes what happened. Buffy refuses to let him go after Spike and
instead focuses on Willow's new discovery regarding the Trio.
Willow and Tara tell Buffy they found plans that indicate the Trio are
planning to steal a large amount of money and have narrowed it down to
one scene that they're likely to hit that night. After Xander tells her
of Warren's new strength, Buffy rushes off to stop them. At the crypt,
Spike thinks back on his actions earlier at Buffy's house and becomes
infuriated. Clem stops by, wanting to hang out, but Spike is more
focused on what he did and questioning what Buffy and the chip are doing
to him. He realizes that something needs to be done to make things
change.
An armoured car is loaded up with money from a big weekend at an
amusement park but as it tries to drive away, Warren stops it with his
strength and overturns the vehicle. Buffy shows up and starts to fight
with him, but he's able to handle himself fairly well against the
Slayer. She knocks Warren down and he's buried under a mountain of
broken rocks, but he recovers quickly. The fight continues and Warren
taunts Buffy with his supposed mastery of her. Jonathan jumps on Buffy's
back and appears to be fighting her, but he quietly informs her that she
needs to smash the orbs in order to defeat Warren. Buffy returns to the
fight with Warren and when she finds the orbs on his belt, she smashes
them.
No longer strong, Warren takes his jacket off and reveals a jet pack on
his back, which allows him to escape freely into the sky. Andrew reveals
he too has a jet pack, but when he tries to escape, he only knocks
himself out on the overhanging roof above him. The cops arrive and take
Jonathan and Andrew to jail. On his motorcycle, Spike pauses and looks
out over Sunnydale, promising Buffy that she's going to see a change
soon before he takes off. Willow and Tara get dressed and while hugging,
Tara notices Xander and Buffy out in the backyard together.
In the backyard, Buffy talks with Xander about what happened with the
Trio and they touch on the subject of Buffy's relationship with Spike.
Warren interrupts the bonding moment, and declares his intentions of
revenge on Buffy for ruining his plans as he pulls out a gun. He fires
directly at Buffy then shoots randomly over his shoulder as he runs
away. Buffy and Xander topple to the ground as the window to Willow's
bedroom is broken and a bullet strikes Tara in the back as she's facing
Willow. Xander tries to stop the bleeding of Buffy's chest wound while
in the house, Willow cries out as she holds Tara's lifeless body and her
eyes suddenly turn magically dark with pain and fury.
TRIVIA
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For this episode only, Amber Benson is
added to the opening credits. This was a tribute to her three seasons
one the show, and by the next episode, she's back to being credited as a
guest star.
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Amber Benson was incredibly upset that
her character was killed off and vowed not to come back as a demon as so
many characters have done before. She wanted to keep Tara's memory as a
good one. Amber was invited back to appear as The First in
Conversations With Dead People, but
declined. The script then had to be rewritten to edit her out. Joss
Whedon was also upset at the death of Tara but decided if it affected
him that much it would really hurt Buffy fans.
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Whedon explained that prior to contract
negotiation problems, he had intended to bring Amber Benson back after
having Tara murdered at the end of this episode and this is how he was
to do it: "About three or four episodes from the end of the last season,
Buffy was going to be granted one reality altering wish. The episode
would revolve around her struggling with what she could do for herself
with that wish. She could bring Angel back to her. [At the end of the
episode] Buffy would walk into a room and show Willow these shoes that
she wanted. Willow would then express disappointment and say 'You had
one reality-altering wish and you wished for shoes?' Buffy would then
deny that she had done that and leave. Willow would turn around and
there would be Tara."
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During a Convention in London in June
2003, James C. Leary, who plays Clem, said how difficult it was to film
the scenes with James Marsters in this episode as his character had
always been in comical scenes before.
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Several scenes of this episode were cut
out during it's airing on the BBC in the UK. The attempted rape of Buffy
was cut from where she falls and hits her back on the shower to where
she finally kicks him away. The exit wound appearing on Tara's chest and
her blood being splattered on Willow's shirt was also cut and restarted
from where Tara says, "Your shirt." Warren snaps a demon's neck, but the
scenes were changed so that only the sound effect was heard.
CONTINUITY
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Dawn is once again staying in Janice's,
last mentioned in
Normal Again.
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Xander tells a girl in the Bronze that
he's part-fish. This could be a reference to his almost-transformation
in Go Fish.
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All the events from this episodes, up to
the end of
Grave,
take place in the space of 24 hours.
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Spike leaves Sunnydale on the bike he
stole from the Hellions in
Bargaining (Part 2).
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While attempting to coerce a wish,
Anyanka mentions her relations with Spike in
Entropy.
GOOFS
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When Spike and Buffy are in the bathroom
you can briefly see Spike's foot in the reflection of the mirror.
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When Warren tries to tip the armoured car
there is a continuity problem with the light.
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When Warren flies off in his jet pack, you
can just see two long poles sticking out the back.
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The bullet that hits Tara is weird. Did
Warren shoot in that direction?
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Warren fired four shots before the one that
hits Tara. She and Willow are smiling throughout this. Didn't they hear
the shots?
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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