Season 7, Episode 21

Written by Douglas Petrie & Jane Espenson

Directed by Marita Grabiak

Original Airdate: 13 May 2003

"All I did was hold you and watch you sleep. And it was the best night of my life."

Spike

REGULAR CAST

• Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers

• Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris

• Emma Caulfield as Anya Jenkins

• Michelle Trachtenberg as Dawn Summers

• James Marsters as Spike

• Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg

SPECIAL GUEST STARS

• Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles

• Eliza Dushku as Faith Lehane

• Nathan Fillion as Caleb

GUEST STARRING

• David Boreanaz as Angel

• Tom Lenk as Andrew Wells

• Iyari Limon as Kennedy

• Sarah Hagan as Amanda

• Christine Healy as She

CO-STARRING

• Felicia Day as Vi

• Dania Ramirez as Caridad

• Lisa Ann Cabasa as Injured Girl

SYNOPSIS

• The bomb explodes seconds after Faith's warning, sending Faith and the other girls flying. Meanwhile, Caleb finds Buffy as she discovers the scythe and she surprises him by pulling the scythe effortlessly out of the rock in which it is embedded. The First convinces Caleb to let Buffy leave, hinting that Faith and the others are in trouble. The girls that survived the blast (including Kennedy, Amanda, Vi, Rona, and Caridad) gather and they find Faith's unconscious body in a pool of water. As a demonic growl sounds, the girls take Faith and run through the tunnels for the nearest escape. As they make it over a pile of rubble, one of the Ubervampires leaps at them. Kennedy tells them all to form a circle so they can fight as one. At the house, the gang enjoy a selection of junk food and snacks taken from the abandoned grocery store while they wait for the others to return. Xander, Willow, Dawn and Anya return without having found Buffy and the news gets worse as Giles confirms that they haven't heard from Faith yet either.
  
  The girls quickly find themselves surrounded by three Ubervampires and struggle to fight the powerful vampires. One Potential is torn apart, and just as one Ubervampire grabs Kennedy by the throat, Buffy crashes down through the ceiling above with the scythe in hand. She quickly disposes of the three Ubervampires, then directs the girls to take the wounded and follow her out of there. The wounded are tended to at the house and Faith is taken upstairs. Giles, Willow and Buffy discuss the scythe and what little they know about it. Buffy just knows that she knew it belonged to her and asks them to research anything they can find on it to determine its significance. Anya and Andrew clean one of the girl's wounds and talk about the poor medical care they're offering the wounded. Realizing they're lacking materials, Andrew suggests they go to the hospital, which is likely abandoned, to get the supplies they need and asks Anya to join him.
  
  Buffy asks Xander to do something, but he doesn't like the idea of not being there with her during the final battle. Buffy convinces him that she needs him to do this job because she trusts him. Willow and Giles try to research the weapon, but they don't have much luck. Giles suggests that Willow use magic to tap into the scythe, but Willow is reluctant to open herself up to the dark magic. Willow finds a strange name on a website and Giles recognizes it as symbolism for a scythe. He directs Willow to research the Pagan Temple that the vineyard used to be as he suspects that may be the connection they need. Xander and Dawn search the car for Dawn's crossbow that she assures him she didn't leave there. They joke about his loss of an eye and when Dawn doesn't suspect it, Xander covers her mouth with chloroform and tosses her unconscious body in the car, then speeds off.
  
  At the vineyard, an angry Caleb rants and yells about the Slayer getting out of his grasp, but the First reassures him that they will get her in time. The two prepare to merge, then the First Evil leaves the non-corporeal form of Buffy and enters Caleb. Afterwards, Caleb is left with black eyes and a deeper voice. A newly awakened Faith feels the strength of the scythe. She talks with Buffy about who's going to lead their group now and Faith's guilt over leading the girls into a trap. The two bond over the loneliness felt as the leader and as the Slayer.
  
  Buffy heads downstairs as Spike arrives back at the house and they talk about the scythe and the purpose of their mission. Spike brushes off the night before, but Buffy doesn't let go so easily. She confronts him on the issue and he confesses that the night was the best of his "unlife." Buffy lets him know the night meant something to her, but she can't really specify what her feelings are.
  
  Anya and Andrew gather bags full of supplies as they chat about the impending battle. Anya confesses that she ran at her first apocalypse, but this time, she feels inspired by the others to keep fighting and not give up. They talk about who's going to die, then play around in wheelchairs. Buffy patrols with the scythe and finds an underground dwelling. An older woman emerges from behind a curtain and reveals that she was one that provided the scythe for her. The woman explains the history of the scythe and implies that Buffy could win this battle. Suddenly, Caleb appears behind her, breaking her neck. Dawn slowly comes awake as Xander drives them away from town. Dawn asks questions about what happened and where they're going, but Xander just answers her with a note from Buffy. Dawn reads the letter explaining that Buffy wanted the two of them somewhere safe and shocks Xander with a tazer. She takes control of the car and turns it around, driving back towards Sunnydale.
  
  Buffy and Caleb fight, but Caleb repeatedly blocks her efforts to kill him. Just as Caleb raises the scythe to kill Buffy, Angel arrives and knocks Caleb down. Buffy and Angel briefly exchange pleasantries then Angel realizes Buffy has to do this fight herself and stands back to watch as she battles Caleb. In the end, Buffy slices Caleb across the chest with her scythe, and he appears to be dead. Buffy and Angel reunite with a kiss. As the two kiss, Spike and the First in Buffy's form watch from the shadows.

TRIVIA

• The final scene in this episode is famous for the fact that Sarah Michelle Gellar, David Boreanaz and Nathan Fillion are the lead actors in all three Whedon shows.

• Faith spends a great deal of time off-screen in this episode, mainly due to the fact that Eliza Dushku was filming Tru Calling at around the same time this episode was being filmed.

CROSSOVER

• Angel is back in Sunnydale for the first time since Forever. He's been informed of everything that happening in Sunnydale by Lilah Morgan of Wolfram and Hart in Home.

CONTINUITY

• Xander mentions that bringing Buffy back to life is what he does. He's done it in Prophecy Girl and Bargaining (Part 1).

• It's implied that Tara and Willow's cat, Miss Kitty Fantastico, last seen in season five, was killed by a Dawn-wielded crossbow... purely by accident of course.

• Faith is found face down in water, which is exactly how Buffy was found in Prophecy Girl.

• Buffy's letter to Dawn mentions that she once promised to show her the world. She said this in Grave.

• Anya mentions that she skedaddled out of town in Graduation Day (Part 1) to avoid an apocalypse.

GOOFS

• When Buffy fights Caleb, she gets thrown onto a large cement block. When she gets up you can see the block wobble. It's clearly not cement.

• Buffy calls the weapon a scythe, but it's nothing like a scythe, which has a long, curved blade.

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