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Season 3, Episode 14
Written by Douglas Petrie
Directed by Michael Lange
Original Airdate: 9 February 1999
"Whenever Giles sends me on a mission, he
always says "please". And afterwards I get a cookie."
Buffy
REGULAR CAST
GUEST CAST
CO-STARRING
SYNOPSIS
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While out slaying, Faith asks Buffy if she's ever
done it with Xander and Buffy says that they're just friends. They're
attacked by a vampire with two blades, one short, one long, and then
kill it. The next day at school, the gang is looking into college and
they discuss future plans. Wesley, Buffy's stuffy new Watcher annoys
Giles in the library while both Slayers do their best to ignore him as
much as possible. Buffy is instructed to go and retrieve an amulet that
once belonged to a demon named Balthazar before he was killed.
That night, Buffy finds the amulet, but a group of Balthazar's vampires
enter the crypt before she can take it. Faith arrives and the two slay
some of the vampires before taking the amulet back. After handing over
the amulet to Wesley, Buffy leaves to take a necessary chemistry test,
but she can't stop talking through the whole test. Faith shows up at the
window and she and Buffy leave to destroy a vampire nest. The two go
dancing afterwards at the Bronze where Buffy meets up with Angel. She's
acting very strange and he tries to ignore it and tells her that
Balthazar isn't dead and he's looking for his amulet. When Wesley comes
looking for Buffy, she takes the amulet from him and gives it to Angel.
Buffy and Faith go out and find Balthazar, a very heavy and ugly demon
that must live in a large pool of water and constantly be kept wet. At a
loss for weapons against a large group of vampires, they break into a
hardware store and steal some. The police arrive and arrest them, but in
the car the two Slayers kick down the metal gate separating them from
the cops, causing the car to crash and the cops to be injured. The
following morning, Buffy checks the local newspaper for any news
regarding the accident, but finds nothing.
Balthazar asks for the two Watchers to be brought in and the Slayers to
be killed so that he may get his amulet back and his strength may be
returned. Willow presents Buffy with a protection spell and is ready to
go slaying that night, but Buffy tells her that it's too dangerous and
that she's going with Faith instead. The two run into several vampires
and stake them but then Allan Finch, the Deputy Mayor, walks out and
Faith accidentally stakes him too. He dies before anything can be done
and both Slayers flee the scene of the crime in separate directions.
Buffy runs into Angel and he tells her about Balthazar taking Giles,
while Faith returns to where Allan was killed and just stares at the
body.
With the two Watchers in his possession, Balthazar searches for answers
as to who has his amulet. Wesley, being the coward that he is, is
willing to give up anything in exchange for his life. Angel shows up
with Buffy, frees Giles and everyone fights. When Balthazar captures
Angel, Buffy tosses live wires into his tub of water, electrocuting him.
In his office that night, Mayor Wilkins performs a ceremony that makes
him invincible. He is now unable to be killed. Buffy confronts Faith
about the killing but she lies and says she doesn't care that she took
the life of a human.
TRIVIA
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Alexis Denisof makes his first appearance
as Wesley in the franchise. After nine episodes of Buffy, he
graduates and becomes a series regular on Angel from the first
season onwards. Not bad for someone who was supposed to die after a few
episodes. The original pitch for the character of Wesley was for him to
be a bit like Michael J. Fox, and so to get on Giles' nerves. The
writers eventually decided to try and make Giles look rebellious by
making Wesley strait-laced. Joss's original stage directions for Wesley
were: "He thinks he's Sean Connery but he's actually George Lazenby."
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When Xander runs through the list of
colleges Willow has applied to, one of them is Wesleyan College in
Connecticut, which is also Joss Whedon's Alma Mater.
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An internet rumour claims that at the end
of this episode, when Buffy goes to talk to Faith, she was supposed to
have discovered Faith dead, having hung herself.
CONTINUITY
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Wesley Wyndam-Pryce arrives in Sunnydale in
this episode, and nothing will be the same again. He's a replacement for
Giles, although to be honest, he's useless in every single way.
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Finch, the deputy mayor, is murdered by
Faith in this episode. His body is dumped, but it's found in the
following episode. The murder will haunt Faith for years and she'll
eventually end up confessing her crime to Kate Lockley over in Los
Angeles in
Sanctuary.
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Buffy tells Faith that she hates it when
they drown her, which is a reference to the Master's murder of her in
Prophecy Girl.
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Faith's bow and arrow, stolen in this
episode, is used again by the renegade Slayer in
Choices and
Graduation Day (Part 1).
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Faith tells Buffy that they can't save the
world from jail. She ends up in prison until Angel's
Salvage.
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Faith asks if Buffy has ever slept with
Xander, a reference to the fact that she has, in
The Zeppo.
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The Mayor mentions that he's invincible for
100 days and Balthazar mentions that when he rises, they'll all
regret not being killed. These references are about the Ascension, which
takes place during Graduation Day (Part
2).
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Wesley and Cordelia are instantly attracted
to one another, but never go beyond a very bad kiss in
Graduation Day (Part 2).
GOOFS
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When telling Wesley about the three
vampires she and Faith killed, Buffy says, "One of them had swords. I
don't think he was with the other two." All three of the vampires were
dressed in the same Eliminati uniform, so why would she think they
weren't together?
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In the underground fight scene, there are a
few visible shots of Buffy's stunt double's face.
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When Buffy breaks the glass case for the
dagger, the weapon falls and she catches it between her index and middle
fingers. In the next shot, the dagger is between her thumb and index
finger.
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When Faith and Buffy are in the squad car,
Buffy is on the right and Faith is on the left. After crashing the car
the left side door is open and Buffy is helping Faith out. Why would
Buffy climb over Faith to get out of the car first?
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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