| Written by: | David Fury |
| Directed by: | Michael Grossman |
| Starring: | Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris Emma Caulfield as Anya Michelle Trachtenberg as Dawn Summers James Marsters as Spike Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg |
| Guest Starring: | Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles (Special guest star) Tom Lenk as Andrew Wells Iyari Limon as Kennedy Clara Bryant as Molly Indigo as Rona Amanda Fuller as The First Evil (posing as Eve) |
| Co-Starring: | Camden Toy as Ubervamp Lalaine as Chloe Felicia Day as Vi |
Buffys showed a few whiny brats that the Ubervamp can be defeated.
The episode opened at the Sunnydale bus station where a young woman (Rona) got out of a bus. She went to a pay phone only to find herself surrounded by three bringers. Unfortunately, Buffy was also there. She stabbed one bringer and broke the neck of a second. The third tried to flee, but Buffy threw a dagger at him, with much more success than Oz had in "Anne."
At the Summers house, Willow spent an uncomfortable night on the floor while Kennedy kept trying to coax Willow into bed. Willow had very bad news; more slayers-in-training will be arriving soon. Meanwhile, Molly and three new slayers-in-training were busy keeping Xander and Andrew awake with their talk about how the Ubervamp killed Annabelle and beat up Buffy.
Buffy brought Rona home to find everyone still awake. The group discussed the difficulty in fighting the First Evil, especially if it already knew that potential slayers were coming to town. Furthermore, it would be difficult to save Spike with the Ubervamp guarding him. Giles suggested consulting Beljoxa's Eye for information despite Anya's strong objections.
Spike had his own plans. He fantasized about breaking his chains and fighting off the bringers only to find Buffy coming for him. However, he soon returned to reality and found the First Evil, posing as Buffy, taunting him.
Anya and Giles asked a demon named Torg for assistance in accessing Beljoxa's Eye. However, he was still bitter about how Anya broke his heart. She protested that it was just a one-night stand but promised to sleep with him again if he would help them access Beljoxa's Eye. He refused out of a prejudice against humans. Giles intervened and suggested what Buffy might do to him if he were to refuse the favor. Torg granted their wish.
Buffy and Xander decided that they had kept Andrew tied up long enough. Besides, he desperately needed a shower. Buffy made it clear that she planned to use the film, Misery, as a guide on what to do if Andrew tried to run. Meanwhile, Willow received a call about yet another potential slayer in town.
Xander and Buffy went to fetch her. Andrew wanted to go, but a stare from Buffy convinced him that bathing would be a better thing to do. Then Dawn appeared for some token lines stating the obvious: they would be better off if they were babysitting fewer whiny girls.
The potentials were busy training and whining about how useless they were. It was very clear that they knew very little about slayerhood or about how one gets called. One of them, Eve, was particularly vocal in complaining about their vulnerability.
Buffy and Xander went to a cheap motel to pick up the latest potential. Xander looked through the window and immediately told Buffy to kick the door in. Without question, Buffy did so and found the body of a young woman. It was Eve, who had been dead for days.
After a filler scene with Andrew and Dawn, Buffy and Xander returned to confront "Eve" (the First Evil). It warned them of an Ubervamp attack that night and then disappeared, albeit with much less flair than in "Conversations with Dead People."
Beljoxa's Eye told Giles and Anya that the First Evil is eternal and cannot be defeated. The First Evil has recently decided to eliminate the slayer line because of an opportunity provided by Buffy.
The group, except for those arguing with Beljoxa's Eye, discussed the upcoming visit from the Ubervamp. The slayers-in-training did what they did best, whine. They were starting to dominate the conversation when Buffy, Willow, and Xander left for the kitchen and stared at each other.
That night, bringers surrounded the house in anticipation of the Ubervamp. When it came, Willow repelled it long enough for the others to escape the house. Outside, Kennedy, Xander, and Buffy each killed a bringer as the group escaped.
Meanwhile, Giles and Anya returned to their normal dimension. Apparently, there was more dialogue with Beljoxa's Eye in which it was relatively clear that Buffy's resurrection was the reason why the First Evil had the opportunity to remove the slayer line.
Once it was clear that no bringers were following them, Xander and Willow led the main group to a safe place while Buffy slowed the Ubervamp down. She burned one of its eyes with holy water before running off.
Xander, Willow, Dawn, and the whiners all arrived at the future site of the Sunnydale library. The whiners whimpered, especially when the Ubervamp arrived. However, Buffy turned on the lights and started the show. Dawn figured out that everything that happened that night was a plan.
Apparently, Willow, Xander, and Buffy were communicating telepathically when they left the whinefest. They understood that Buffy needed to do more than kill the Ubervamp. She had to do so in front of the others. Xander knew that the construction site would be the ideal place.
At the battle, Kennedy dropped her crossbow. Buffy picked it up and shot the Ubervamp in the center of the chest. So far, this did no good, so Buffy went after it with a metal pipe, a pickax, and a cinder block. The Ubervamp fought off all of these until, Buffy pulled the crossbow bolt out of its chest and put the bolt in its remaining good eye. They traded blows until Buffy removed its head using a barbed-wire garrote. She then gave another speech. The group walked away as a very disappointed First Evil looked on. Buffy then returned to the First Evil's lair and rescued Spike.
There were good action scenes in this episode.
I liked the twist of having Buffy, Xander, and Willow plan the climax of the episode in advance.
We have three new slayers in training and more are on their way.
The whiny potential slayers are getting very tiresome.
Buffy fought off three bringers to rescue Rona.
Spike fantasized about fighting bringers and escaping.
The characters fought bringers on their way to the library construction site.
Buffy defeated the Ubervamp at the construction site.
Anya, Andrew, and Beljoxa's Eye had a few good lines.
The potentials worried about their safety, especially considering the fact that the Ubervamp appeared to be more than a match for Buffy.
Kennedy still wants to share a bed with Willow.
Apparently, Anya broke Torg's heart three lifetimes ago.
Kennedy comes from a very wealthy background. She is still eager to share a bed with Willow and is interested in Willow's magic. In fact, the thought of Evil Willow appears to be a turn on. She was less whiny in this episode than in the previous one.
Anya is getting frustrated at her celibacy.
Andrew is now allowed to walk around the house and bathe. He thinks that a male slayer would be good, particularly if he were a ninja. He is also starting to realize that loneliness is a consequence of killing his only friend.
The First Evil is eternal and cannot be defeated, if Beljoxa's Eye is to be believed. It is taking advantage of an opportunity, presumably created by Buffy, to eliminate the slayers.
Willow still has her telepathic communication ability.
Three more slayers in training are in town. At least the fourth was killed.
Giles and Anya got some exposition from Beljoxa's Eye, although it remains to be seen if that will do any good.
Buffy defeated the Ubervamp, which should silence the brats for a little while.
Buffy has rescued Spike.
Buffy is the clear MVP for defeating the Ubervamp in front of an audience that needed to see the performance.
Beljoxa's Eye provided a bit of exposition, and Dawn was the first to realize that the final battle went exactly as planned. However, the main plan came from Buffy, Willow, and Xander. It was not clear who came up with which aspects of the plan except that Xander chose the location. Therefore, he gets the award for this episode.
The Ubervamp hardly gets a pass for being defeated by a superior foe. Instead, it earned this award for going too easy on Buffy and meeting the same fate that most villains do when they go too easy on Buffy.
Many people use the conversation among the potential slayers as evidence of their ages, Kennedy's in particular. Kennedy stated that she thought that she was too old to be chosen as a slayer. Many interpret this as saying that she is 18 or 19 years old. However, the whole point of the conversation is that nobody knew how anyone is chosen to be a slayer. There was nothing in this conversation to indicate that she was any older than her mid-teens.
I would question the maid service at the motel where Eve stayed if she could be dead for days without anyone noticing, except it did look like a very cheap motel.
"Hey, try picking on someone my own size." Buffy
"Welcome to the Hellmouth." Buffy
"I'm bored, Episode I bored." Andrew
"The night we spent together was important to me." Torg
"One date. It wasn't even a date. We happened to be invited to the same massacre, and you hit on me after I had a few." Anya
"I remember. You wore pink." Torg
"Those were entrails." Anya
"I'm sorry. Perhaps we could skip the nostalgic... Sorry, no, continue on." Giles
"OK, Torg, look, you open this tiny little gateway to Beljoxa's Eye for me, and I... You and I can go... I'll have sex with you again." Anya
"Please, you're human. The way you look now, wouldn't touch you for all the kittens in Korea." Torg
"You're rejecting my offer of sexual bribery? What am I, a leper in this town? I can't even give it away." Anya
"Watch it. That's my joystick hand." Andrew
"Not gonna touch that one." Xander
"Buffy said if you talked enough, I'm allowed to kill you." Dawn
"I'm so alone." Andrew
"Then maybe you shouldn't have killed your only friend." Dawn
"It cannot be fought. It cannot be killed. The First Evil has been and always will be. Since before the universe was born, long after there is nothing else, it will go on." Beljoxa's Eye
"I refuse to believe that. There must be some way to destroy it." Giles
"What, am I talking to myself here? There's no way!" Beljoxa's Eye
"The Eye sees not the future, only the truth of the now and before." Beljoxa's Eye
"Yes, we've all got that. It's called memory. Can you help us out with something a little more demony?" Anya
"Last time I tried using magic, the First, it turned it around on me. It got inside. I felt it just surging through me in every fiber of my being. Pure, undiluted evil, I could taste it." Willow
"How's evil taste?" Kennedy
"A little chalky." Willow
"I'm the thing that monsters have nightmares about." Buffy
Highlight the space after each question to find the answer. It is strongly recommended that you do not do so if you have not seen episodes through the episode indicated.