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Season 2, Episode 16
Written by Marti Noxon
Directed by James A. Contner
Original Airdate: 10 February 1998
"Do you know what's a good day to break up with
somebody? Any day besides Valentine's Day! I mean, what, were you running
low on dramatic irony?"
Xander
REGULAR CAST
GUEST CAST
CO-STARRING
SYNOPSIS
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Buffy and Xander are talking at the cemetery about
Xander's silver heart pendant gift to Cordelia. Buffy tries to show she
cares and that she is happy with his decision to date Cordelia, but
can't hold back. After Xander goes on about how dating is easier than
slaying, a vampire comes out and attacks him. Buffy slays the vampire
and they walk off. The next day at school, Cordelia is snubbed by her
friends because of her relationship with Xander. As the bell rings to
end one class, Willow brags to Amy about her boyfriend being in the band
at the Valentine's Dance, and Buffy reveals that she hates Valentine's
Day for obvious reasons. As the class leaves, everyone hands the teacher
their homework. When Amy reaches the teacher's desk, she just stares at
her and then the teacher take some invisible homework from Amy. Xander
stands in the background in awe.
Xander meets up with Buffy and Willow as they run into Giles. Jenny
shows up and creates a very awkward scene. Giles and Buffy proceed to
the library where Giles warns Buffy about Angelus' feeding pattern
around Valentine's Day. He suggests she stay in for a few days.
Meanwhile, Spike gives Drusilla a beautiful necklace. As she admires it,
Angelus slaps a human heart on the table in front of her. The tension
between all of them holds strong while Spike tries to get over the fact
that he's in a wheelchair and Angelus is doing things for Drusilla.
That night at the Valentine's Day dance, Willow drools over Oz as he
plays on the stage. Cordelia is snubbed again by her so-called friends
while Xander gathers up the nerve to give her his gift. Xander confronts
Cordelia about their relationship and, after a long lecture, presents
his gift to her. After she thanks him, she tells him she wants to break
up. He is terribly wounded and walks off leaving her hurt as well.
Meanwhile, Buffy and her mother spend the night resting in front of the
television. Angelus anonymously drops off a little Valentine's Day
present for Buffy: a dozen red roses and a note reading 'soon.'
The next day, everyone at school stares as Xander walks the halls.
Xander runs into Cordelia and her friends. They make fun of him as
Cordelia just sits there speechless. He tries to grab Buffy's attention
but she is in a rush to tell Giles about Angelus' little message. He
spies Amy and pulls her aside. He accuses her of being a witch, and then
blackmails her into putting a love spell on Cordelia. Xander gets
Cordelia to give him back the pendant so that Amy can use it for the
spell. She tells him it's in her locker but removes it from around her
neck when he isn't looking.
At the library, Buffy presents Giles with the note and asks him to tell
her everything about what Angelus does. That night, Xander and Amy work
the spell. She chants as he sits in a circle with paint on him and
holding a candle. The next day he confronts Cordelia assuming the spell
worked and realizes that it didn't when she tells him to get lost. In
the library, Buffy comes on to Xander and, just as they are about to
kiss, Amy walks into the library wanting to talk to Xander. They go out
and talk, and then Amy comes on to Xander. He begins to understand what
is going on when another girl comes over and asks him to study with her
that night. He rushes off in hopes of saving himself. He runs home to
his room. When he sits down on his bed, Willow pops up from under the
covers. He is very nervous and tries to get her to leave. She refuses
and continues to approach him. Once he is pinned against the door, she
begins to suck on his ear. He continues to push her off and then runs
away, leaving her confused.
The next day at school, Xander walks in cautiously as every girl in
school checks him out and every guy in school gives him a look of anger
and jealousy. He runs to the library hoping for cover and tells Giles
what happens. He apologizes but obviously it isn't enough. Jenny comes
in and tries to explain herself to Giles but is distracted by Xander.
Giles goes for help and takes Jenny with him. Xander locks himself in
the library only to be found by a barely dressed Buffy. She enters and
asks him to undress her but he refuses. Then Amy arrives to have Xander
to herself. Buffy hits her and then Amy turns Buffy into a rat. Giles
and Xander try to find Buffy behind a shelf. As they look, Oz comes in
and hits Xander in the face. He complains about how Willow spent the
whole night crying to him about Xander.
Giles tells Xander to get out of his face, and then asks Oz to go and
find Buffy who has escaped the library. Jenny and Amy stay with Giles
while he tries to find out how to reverse the spell. Meanwhile, Xander
saves Cordelia from an angry mob of girls who are trying to kill her for
not loving Xander. While Giles is lecturing Amy about what damage she
has done, Jenny sneaks out of the library. Xander and Cordelia escape
one mob only to encounter Willow and many other girls who want to kill
Xander for not loving them. The two mobs collide leaving Xander and
Cordelia a few seconds to escape. They rush to Buffy's house and hide
inside. Cordelia goes upstairs to get some bandages and Joyce comes onto
Xander. Cordelia throws Mrs. Summers outside and tells her to stay away
from her boyfriend, former.
Joyce breaks the window as Xander begins to explain how it all happened.
They rush up to Buffy's room where Xander thinks they would be safe.
Angelus then pops in through the window and pulls Xander out onto the
roof. Xander is thrown onto the ground from the roof of Buffy's house.
Angelus jumps down to him. They fight and just as Angelus is about to
bite Xander, Drusilla grabs Angelus and throws him up against a tree.
She kisses Xander and tells Angelus off. As she is about to turn Xander
into a vampire, the mob of girls comes at them. Cordelia saves Xander
from an axe-happy Willow and they rush into the basement of Buffy's
house. While nailing the door shut, Cordelia finds out that the spell
was meant for her. Just then, the girls begin to break the door down.
The mob makes their way in and starts to attack Cordelia and Xander.
While all this is going on, Giles and Amy are breaking the spell. Oz is
down in the basement of the school looking for Buffy. Amy removes the
spell from Buffy and she is returned to her old self in the basement
where Oz finds her naked. Giles then removes the spell from all of the
girls just in time to save Xander and Cordelia from being killed. Buffy
is embarrassed and gets Oz to get her some clothes. Xander and Cordelia
tell everyone about the "scavenger hunt" they were having in hopes that
no one remembered anything. The next morning everyone is back to normal
except Willow. She was hurt terribly by Xander since she loved him even
without the spell. Cordelia tells off Harmony about how rude she was to
Xander. They walk away hand in hand as Cordelia realizes what she did.
Xander comforts her and they walk off.
TRIVIA
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Buffy was turned into a rat in this episode
so that Sarah could film Saturday Night Live in New York. They
filmed all her scenes first, and then she headed off to New York.
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After this episode aired in Britain, Sky TV
dropped the show from it's Saturday 8pm slot and replaced it with 3rd
Rock from the Sun. The series wasn't shown for another year, and was
only aired again after complaints from bitter fans.
CONTINUITY
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Xander has a brief flashback to this
episode in Him, which also deals
with a love spell and a boy at the centre of it all.
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There's a guitar present in Xander's
bedroom, which fits in with his dream in
Teacher's Pet, but doesn't fit in with the fact that he tells Oz he
can't play in The Zeppo.
GOOFS
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Up to this point in the series, the doors
to the library have always opened inwards, and there are only handles on
the inside. When Xander pulls a bookcase across the doors to barricade
himself in, Buffy opens the door outwards.
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In the slow-mo sequence of Xander walking
down the corridor, the same guy can clearly be seen twice, once behind
Xander and then in front of him only seconds later.
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After Xander finds out that Amy's spell
went wrong, he takes Cordelia and runs out of school with her, during
the day. They head to Buffy's place, but when they get there it is
night.
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As Buffy talks to Giles in the library she
is sitting on the chair with her right hand holding her left one. In the
wider shot, Buffy's left hand is holding the right one.
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)
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