Season 7, Episode 2

Written by Douglas Petrie

Directed by Nick Marck

Original Airdate: 1 October 2002

"Sunnydale - come for the food, stay for the dismemberment."

Xander

REGULAR CAST

• Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers

• Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris

• Emma Caulfield as Anyanka

• Michelle Trachtenberg as Dawn Summers

• James Marsters as Spike

• Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg

SPECIAL GUEST STAR

• Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles

GUEST CAST

• Kaarina Aufranc as Nancy

• D.B. Woodside as Robin Wood

CO-STARRING

• Tess Hall as Punk Girl

• Benita Krista Nall as Young Woman

• Jack Sundmacher as Ronnie

SYNOPSIS

• A girl with bright pink hair runs around a building, followed by men in black robes, like the woman in Istanbul. She is grabbed and stabbed with large knives then says, "From beneath you, it devours." Dawn wakes Buffy up from the nightmare where she saw this happen and Buffy questions the meaning of her dream. Elsewhere in Sunnydale, something large tears through the ground. Spike sneaks around in the school basement he calls home, seemingly headed for a rat while he speaks aloud. Everything around him begins to shake and he falls to the ground, screaming. Xander drives Buffy and Dawn to school and they talk about high school and Xander's relationship problems.
  
  Principal Wood introduces Buffy to her new job and cubical where she'll be working. Buffy sneaks down to the basement in search of Spike, but doesn't find him. In England, Willow struggles with the need to return to Sunnydale where she'll be forced to face her friends and the trouble she caused. A taxi awaits her as Giles listens to her verbalize her fears and he convinces her that even if her friends don't want her back, her presence on the Hellmouth will be important. Back in Sunnydale, a woman walks her small dog along the sidewalk, but while her back is turned, something sucks the dog through the pavement and into the ground. She runs away and right into Xander, who takes her to the safety of Buffy's house.
  
  The remaining Scooby Gang console the woman, Nancy, and promise to deal with this unusual creature. Much to everyone's surprise, a cleaned up version of Spike joins them in the living room and offers his assistance in the battle. Spike wants to talk with Buffy, but Dawn and Xander are not happy to see the blond or with the fact that Buffy didn't inform them that she saw Spike earlier. Buffy goes to talk with Spike privately and he offers to help deal with this underground monster. Buffy eventually agrees to let him help, then explains the game plan to the rest of the group. As Spike leaves with Buffy for patrol, Dawn leaves him with a parting threat should he hurt Buffy in any way.
  
  While examining the scene where the dog was eaten, Spike explains that the manifest spirits from the school were the cause of his craziness. Buffy is uncomfortable around him in wake of his attempted rape and he doesn't bother apologizing for what he did, just admits to changing. Xander takes Nancy home and she asks if they can go out sometime. The ground rumbles and a giant worm chases them down a hallway and emerges from the ground with a roar. Once the worm goes away and the two are safe, Nancy starts to talk about her abusive ex-boyfriend and Xander quickly concludes that she made a wish to a vengeance demon.
  
  Buffy and the gang confront Anyanka at the Bronze and get her to admit to making Nancy's ex-boyfriend Ronnie into a slug monster. Anyanka suddenly realizes that Spike has a soul but Spike tries to stop her from spilling the news to the rest of the group. He starts to attack Anyanka and she turns on him, Vengeance demon at the fore. Buffy steps in and beats up on Spike while he hits her back with a verbal assault. The fight sends Nancy on the run alone, but her wormy ex-boyfriend is hot on her trail. Meanwhile, Xander tries to convince Anyanka to reverse the curse on Ronnie, but it's not something she can do easily.
  
  Buffy arrives in time to rescue Nancy from certain death and before Buffy can begin to battle with the giant worm, Spike intervenes. After a few hits with a metal pole, he goes to stab the worm only to have it turn back into Ronnie's human form before Spike makes contact. Both guys scream in pain as Spike stabs Ronnie in the shoulder. Spike starts to freak out and act crazy again while Buffy calls the paramedics to help Ronnie. Anyanka and Xander arrive on the scene and Anyanka knows she will pay a steep price for reversing the spell.
  
  Buffy chases after Spike and finds him in a church. He's confused and speaks metaphors of what he really is to Buffy. He concludes that she's there to use him like she did before, but Buffy is quick to correct him. He tries to explain what he did to get the missing piece that would allow him to become what she wanted. Buffy realizes that he got his soul back and is completely shocked by the revelation. Spike continues to speak of all the voices that are in his head, those from his past and new ones alike. Spike turns to a large cross at the front of the church and drapes himself onto it, letting it burn him. Tears fall from Buffy's eyes as she looks on.

TRIVIA

• The last scene between Spike and Buffy was rewritten and reshot by Joss Whedon. He felt, that in the original draft, it did not show enough emotions between the characters and also thought it was time Spike told Buffy his soul was returned and how. 
   

CONTINUITY

• The title is an obvious reference to William being beneath Cecily from Fool for Love. It's in this episode that the consequences of Spike receiving a soul in Grave is dealt with.

• Again reference is made to Principal Flutie being eaten by students in The Pack.

• Reference is made to the Hellmouth having teeth, which we find out later this season to be literal when the Turok-Han come forth from it.

• Buffy flashes back to the attempted rape, which was seen in Seeing Red.

• Nancy mentions how the residents in Sunnydale feel about the weirdness that happens there: "You hear things in this town, living here in Sunnydale, but nobody actually believes them." They all panic later this season and evacuate the town.

• Buffy asks Wood if she can issue detention to the students who come see her. Willow asked Jenny the same in Passion.

GOOFS

• When we first see Spike in the basement, moving toward the rat, his reflection can be seen on the wall to his right.

• Xander seems surprised when Nancy runs into him, but he was walking in the direction of the hole and would have seen all the commotion.

• When Xander and Nancy start running from the monster in her apartment building, we see the tiles behind them being thrown up by the worm ploughing through, but in some shots when they're running toward the camera, the tiles behind them appear to be intact.

• In the Bronze, Buffy puts her sword on Anyanka's table. During the fight, the sword disappears and there are also fewer glasses on the table.

• When Buffy first talks to Principal Wood, the strap of her bag changes position in different shots.

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