Season 7, Episode 12
Written by Rebecca Rand Kirshner
Directed by James A. Contner
Original Airdate: 21 January 2003
"Hey, everybody, look. It's Willow. Perhaps
with a blunt weapon of some sort."
Buffy
REGULAR CAST
GUEST STARRING
CO-STARRING
SYNOPSIS
-
Two Potential Slayers, Rona and Vi, walk alone in
the cemetery until Spike knocks Rona out of the way, grabs Vi and leans
in for the kill. Buffy and the other Slayers watch and learn from this
example and Buffy lectures the girls on how to deal with vampire
attacks. Buffy has Spike attack her to continue, but she easily gets the
upper hand and pins Spike to the ground, reawakening some of his wounds
and his feelings for her. In the Summers basement, the Potentials argue
about petty things until Buffy gets their attention focused again with a
strict reminder about the seriousness of death. They believe the First
is taking a brief break from them, but it will come back stronger and
better than before. While Dawn watches silently from the stairs, Buffy
tries to give the girls another pep talk.
At work, Buffy talks with Xander on the phone until a student, Amanda,
comes in for counselling. The girl asks about liking a boy who picks on
her and seeks Buffy's advice, but Buffy gets a bit distracted with her
own similar situation with Spike and rambles about how she's not going
to let that problem happen again. Buffy returns home to bickering
amongst the Potential Slayers and news from Willow that another
Potential Slayer has been found, already in Sunnydale. The Potentials
examine weapons and Dawn tries to fit into the groups conversation, but
it's a struggle. Spike arrives and then leaves with Buffy and the other
girls for some training. Andrew pouts because he's not invited and
although silent, Dawn feels left out as well.
Willow prepares the ingredients for a spell that will locate the
Potential Slayer and surround her with a glowing aura. The spell is
performed at the fireplace, but at first it doesn't succeed, just
creates a horrible smell. Dawn tries to open a door to air out the room,
but the light follows her, knocking her into the door and surrounding
her. Dawn starts to freak out at the news that she's the latest
Potential Slayer. She's worried that her becoming a slayer would mean
her sister would have to die first. Dawn doesn't want to tell Buffy
what's going on and goes upstairs to think alone while the rest of the
gang debate the pros and cons of the situation and telling Buffy. Dawn
overhears the conversation and feeling the weight of their concerns and
her potential fate of death, she sneaks out the window.
Buffy and Spike take the girls to a demon bar to explain the art of
getting information out of the demonic patrons there. They run into Clem
and after a brief happy exchange with him, Buffy secretly asks him to
scare the overly confident Potentials. His face expands into a mass of
snakelike limbs and such, making the girls scream and Spike laugh. While
walking alone outside, Dawn runs into Amanda who has a scratch on her
head and claims to have been attacked by a vampire. The girl explains
that she managed to get away and lock the vampire in one of the
classrooms. Having heard rumours about Buffy, Amanda was going to ask
for her help, but Dawn volunteers to take care of the problem.
Dawn and Amanda break back into the school, but when they reach the
classroom, they find the door unlocked and don't see the vampire hiding
wedged against the ceiling. The vampire falls as the girls try to leave
and it chases them out into the halls until they reach locked doors.
Trapped, Dawn turns to a fire extinguisher and when she can't get it to
work, she knocks the vampire around with it instead then bolts with
Amanda. Buffy and Spike show the girls a crypt and teach them about the
living quarters of vampires. While investigating the area, the girls
find a dead body, but Buffy shows them that it's a vampire.
At the school, Dawn and Amanda hide in a classroom and push a set of
drawers against the door while Dawn prepares for a plan of escape. Buffy
tosses the vampire around while lecturing the girls about successful
fighting and keeping a straight head during battle. Meanwhile, Dawn puts
Buffy's lessons to use and acts resourcefully until the vampire pins her
to the ground and goes in for the bite. The Bringers then suddenly break
in through the windows and grab Amanda instead of Dawn. After beating up
the vampire a bit, Buffy drops her stake and along with Spike, she
leaves the girls trapped alone with the vampire. Back at the house,
Willow, Xander and Anya find that Dawn has bolted and Willow rushes to
do a spell to find her before it's too late.
Dawn uses the room's chemistry supplies to set the Bringers on fire and
escape with Amanda. She realizes that Amanda is the true Potential
Slayer and willingly hands over the right and her weapon to Amanda. The
frightened teen has a hard time grasping these strange realities Dawn
explains, but she doesn't have much time to think about it. Xander
arrives at the school with Buffy and Spike as the Bringers attack full
force. Amanda keeps the Bringers at bay and stakes the vampire that
attacked her earlier while Buffy and Spike finish off the Bringers. As
Amanda rambles to Buffy about the strangeness she's dealing with, Dawn
reveals that Amanda was standing outside the front door when she was hit
by the aura cloud from Willow's spell.
Amanda and the other Potential Slayers talk and bond about their
successes with fighting the forces of darkness while Dawn secretly
watches from the other room. Buffy checks in with Dawn, but she doesn't
pick up on Dawn's real problem. While Buffy takes the other girls down
to the basement for training, Xander catches on to Dawn's disappointment
about not being a Potential. Xander confides in her how hard it is for
him to be the unpowerful member of the gang and he relates to Dawn's
pain. He reminds her that she doesn't need to be special with powers,
she's "extraordinary" just the way she is. In return, Dawn suggests that
he does have a power, his ability to notice what's really going on with
the people he loves, despite the barriers.
TRIVIA
CONTINUITY
-
Xander's ability to 'see' what's
happening around him will cause him great distress in
Dirty Girls.
-
Andrew says that its hard to kill pigs.
He should know... he tried and failed in
Never Leave Me.
-
Andrew is comfortable enough in the
Summers' house to state that the microwave needs replacing. Dawn
destroyed the last one after being confronted by the First in
Conversations With Dead People.
Dawn has also told Willow, but not Buffy, about her meeting with her
mother.
-
Willow recalls that Dawn is made from
Buffy's blood, as revealed in Blood Ties.
Anya claims that she never 'got it'.
-
Giles is in Shanghai picking up another
Potential Slayer, Chao-Ahn, who we meet in
First Date.
-
Dawn mentions the Army training that
Xander briefly picked up in Halloween.
-
Once again, Willow gets a message from
the Coven in Devon.
GOOFS
-
Dawn leaves the Summers' house after
finding out she's a Potential. Amanda bumps into her walking towards the
house, but she must have been there already and fled... so where is she
going?
-
Why is everyone so adamant that another
Slayer will be called if Buffy dies. We know that it's not the case.
Lessons |
Beneath You |
Same Time, Same Place |
Help |
Selfless
Him |
Conversations With Dead People |
Sleeper |
Never Leave Me |
Bring on the Night |
Showtime
Potential |
The Killer in Me |
First Date |
Get It Done |
Storyteller |
Lies My Parents Told Me
Dirty Girls |
Empty Places |
Touched |
End of Days |
Chosen
|