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Season 3, Episode 11
Written by Jane Espenson
Directed by James Whitmore Jr.
Original Airdate: 12 January 1999
"A doodle. I do doodle. You too — you do
doodle, too."
Willow
REGULAR CAST
GUEST CAST
CO-STARRING
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Lindsay Taylor as
Gretel
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Shawn Pyfrom as Hansel
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Blake Swendson as
Michael Czajak
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Grant Garrison as
Roy Dukeshire
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Roger Morrissey as
Demon
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Daniel Tamm as
MOO Supporter
SYNOPSIS
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While on the nightly patrol, Buffy not only
encounters a vampire, but her mother looking for some quality time and a
chance to "share" in the slaying experience. As Buffy kills the vampire,
Joyce discovers the bodies of two children, dead in the park. The police
arrive and after some questioning Buffy and Joyce are free to leave.
Joyce is really disturbed by this.
At school the next day, Buffy confronts Giles about the situation,
explaining that the situation is not one that should go unpunished. She
draws him a symbol which was found on the hands of the two children. He
says it's probably occult related and Buffy wigs, not quite believing
that a human being could do this. Willow and Amy sit with Xander and Oz,
who exchange a few awkward words, at lunch. Buffy joins them and fills
them in on the murders. Joyce shows up at school and informs Buffy that
she has spread the word about the murders to all her friends and that
there will be vigil at city hall that night.
Many concerned parents attend the vigil, including Willow's mother
Sheila, and Mayor Wilkins, who says a few words before handing the mic
over to Joyce. She gives a speech about how Sunnydale has got to take
back their city from the monsters, and witches, and Slayers. Later,
Michael, Amy and Willow, three witches, are performing a spell in a
circle that surrounds the symbol Buffy found on the children's hands.
The next day, Michael is shoved up against his locker by another student
who threatens both him and Amy. Buffy makes a brief appearance and the
big tough guys go running. Cordelia, having witnessed the whole
incidence comments to Buffy about evolving oneself with losers. Buffy
goes to Willow, who has a book Giles needs for researching the symbol.
However, when she finds the book, Buffy also finds the witch symbol in
one of Willow's notebooks. Before Willow can explain, a search of all
the school lockers begins in an attempt to find any material that may be
witch related. Willow then tells Buffy that the symbol is harmless and
that she wasn't doing anything wrong, just making a protection spell for
Buffy's upcoming birthday. Amy and Willow are taken to Principal
Snyder's office for questioning. Also, all of Giles' books are
confiscated by the police, which leaves the Slayer and Watcher without
their resources.
Buffy goes home, where she finds out that her mother, the new founder of
a group called MOO (Mothers Opposed to the Occult), doesn't want Buffy
to see Willow anymore and admits that she is the one responsible for the
locker searches. The two argue and then Buffy leaves for a pointless
patrol, insulted by her mother who claims her Slaying isn't doing
Sunnydale any good. The ghosts of the two children appear to Joyce and
tell her that she has to hurt the "bad people." Later, Willow goes home,
where her mother calmly tells her that she's grounded. Willow flips out,
unable to control her anger towards the fact that her mother doesn't
believe that she's a witch.
Buffy meets up with Angel at the park and they talk. He convinces her to
keep fighting and to not give up. He also unintentionally gives her the
idea that they don't know anything about the two kids. Buffy heads back
to the library to find Giles yelling at a computer, while Xander and Oz
were unable to retrieve any books from city hall. After hooking up with
Willow over the Net, the Scooby Gang find out that the two children died
hundreds of years ago. They return every fifty years to persuade a town
to kill the "bad people" or as it seems, witches. They are an example
that fairy tales are true: Hansel and Gretel.
While confronting Joyce, Giles and Buffy are subdued. Waking up, Buffy
finds that herself, Amy and Willow have been tied to wooden posts in a
real, Salem-like witch burning at city hall. Joyce lights the books on
fire, sentencing the three girls to death by burning at the stake. Amy,
however, manages to cast her rat spell and transforms herself, scurrying
away, avoiding death. Cordelia, meanwhile, finds Giles unconscious at
the Summers home, wakes him and they then go in search of everyone.
Xander and Oz find Willow's room in shambles where Sheila forcefully
removed her.
In his car on their way to city hall, Giles is practicing an incantation
while Cordelia prepares a concoction to allow the demon to show it's
real self. Oz and Xander climb through the air vents of city hall with
the intent of saving their friends. Giles and Cordelia break into the
room, which is now partially on fire with parents watching, and Cordelia
uses a fire hose to put the fire out. The children's spell is broken and
Giles reveals the demon, which then goes for Buffy. She breaks the stake
she's tied to and stakes the creature through the neck. She's saved
everyone, just as Oz and Xander crash through the ceiling too late to do
anything.
The next day, all of the parents don't remember much of anything
regarding the recent events. Buffy and Willow are performing a spell in
Willow's room to restore Amy, but it doesn't work and Buffy suggests
that they get her a spinning wheel.
TRIVIA
CONTINUITY
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Buffy asks if Sunnydale is any better now
than it was when she first arrived. She obviously hadn't seen the
previous episode.
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Amy turns herself into a rat in this
episode to escape the mob, and isn't permanently deratted until Willow
finally figures it out in Smashed.
She briefly appears in Something Blue,
and Willow mentions many times her attempts to restore her to human
form.
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Giles and Joyce have an uncomfortable
moment when they first see each other for the first time since
Band Candy.
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Willow mentions that she can make pencils
float, which she does in Doppelgangland
and Choices.
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Joyce mentions numerous demonic activities
that have plagued the town, including the 'skinnings' from
Go Fish.
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Cordelia finds Giles unconscious, which has
been a running joke since Never Kill a
Boy on the First Date. This time, she asks him how many times he's
been knocked unconscious, and while he may not know, Giles is knocked
unconscious a total of nine times in the series' run. Maybe one day he
really will wake up in a coma.
GOOFS
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When Giles is ranting at the computer it is
evident that it is not turned on, but when Oz sits down at it, the glow
of the monitor is clearly reflected off of his face.
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When Willow is locked in her bedroom, why
doesn’t she just go out the door that leads directly outside. The door
has been seen and used several times before and since this episode. That
side of the room is conveniently not shown in this episode at all.
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The German article on the computer is full
of mistakes, especially the grammar. It looks like Giles's explanation
was translated word by word from English into German - and that often
doesn't make any sense.
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During the locker search, a cop is looking
through a purse. A long time later, and after looking through other
things, the same cop is seen looking through the same purse.
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It's strange that the residents of
Sunnydale are holding a witch burning indoors. In City Hall. And that
they're burning their own children.
Anne |
Dead Man's Party |
Faith, Hope and Trick |
Beauty and the Beasts |
Homecoming
Band
Candy |
Revelations |
Lover's Walk |
The Wish |
Amends |
Gingerbread
Helpless |
The Zeppo |
Bad Girls |
Consequences |
Doppelgangland |
Enemies
Earshot |
Choices |
The Prom |
Graduation Day (Part 1) |
Graduation Day (Part 2)
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