Writers: David Fury and Drew Goddard
Director: David Fury

Cast : 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.

Main guest stars : Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles, Tom Lenk as Andrew, Iyari Limon as Kennedy, Clara Bryant as Molly, Indigo as Rona, Caroline Lagerfelt as Anne (Spike’s mother), K.D. Aubert as Nikki Wood, Juliet Landau as Drusilla, DB Woodside as Robin Wood.

Original broadcast date : March 25, 2003

My one-line description: Connor, Robin Wood and Spike found the Oedipus Club.

New York City, 1977. In a place we assume to be Central Park, Slayer Nikki Wood is fighting punk-Spike in the driving rain, as a small pair of eyes looks from behind the safety of a park bench. They exchange barbs, and Nikki seems to gain the upper hand for a moment… until Spike gets a good hold on her. Is it the end? No. The kid behind the bench bumps a garbage can, making noise and distracting Spike long enough for Nikki to break his hold on her. She throws a stake at him, but he stops it with his hands mere inches from his chest, then lets it clatter to the ground. He prepares to leave, saying he doesn’t want the “dance” to end so soon. “By the way, love the coat”, he tells her before running away.

The boy calls to his mom, asking if they can go home now. She says that home isn’t safe anymore, and offers to drop him off at Crowley’s house instead. He wants to go with her, but she reminds him that she has a job to do, and the mission comes first. He nods sadly, and they start walking off – but the kid goes back to pick up the stake, while Nikki calls after him – Robin.

Adult Robin prepares to drive the stake in his vampire attacker in Sunnydale. The camera zooms out to show him, Spike and Buffy fighting a group of vampires in an alley. Spike dusts one with a shovel handle, and Buffy calls out for him to go help Wood, who’s having a hard time. Spike arrives and dusts Wood’s attacker mere seconds before it finishes off the principal. Helping Wood up, he reminds him that the stake’s his friend, and he shouldn’t be afraid to use it. As Spike walks off, a silent and fuming Wood glares at him, gripping the stake so hard blood pours out of his hand. “Just waiting for my moment”, he growls.

The next day at Sunnydale High, a bandaged Wood peers outside through his window slats, when Buffy pays him a call. It seems everything at school is back to normal, and Wood gives Buffy kudos for closing the Seal. Buffy says it’s not over, and Wood replies that he’s been keeping his eye on her – she reminds him of his mother. Buffy doesn’t think it’s a compliment, but says in this case she’ll take it as one. She tells him maybe he’s right, maybe everything will be fine…
“Everything’s terrible!” Giles exclaims as he enters the office. He’s just seen the new library and is distressed that it’s all computers, not a book to be seen. He wonders who he could talk to about the situation, as Buffy represses a smile. “Actually, that would be me”, Wood says, introducing himself. Giles comments that Buffy told him Wood was a freelance demon hunter, and says he’s relieved to have another ally. Buffy asks if things are that bad, and Giles reports that the Coven is still detecting the First gathering power – war is inevitable. “We should go to the school board”, he suddenly adds, still talking about the library. He offers to lend his personal library from England. Buffy cuts in, asking if he brought back more Potentials; however, he says his trip back regards Spike and Buffy’s decision to have his chip removed.

Wood wonders what the chip is all about, and Giles and Buffy, absorbed by their private conversation, fill him in with half-sentences about the chip, the trigger and the soul, leading a baffled Wood to think for a moment that Spike’s trigger isn’t active anymore because the military gave him a soul… They correct him, and Giles reports he’s brought back something that may help isolate the trigger.

Buffy reflects that the trigger is all because of that song that no one can remember – she says that it’s an “old, boring English song like you… l Brynner. Yul Brynner.” (har har) Robin asks what Giles brought back re the trigger, and the Watcher simply says it’ll take a bit of magic…

In the Summers basement, Xander is tying manacles to Spike’s wrists, grumbling about the fact that they’re there only when Spike needs them… (har har). Buffy, Dawn and Robin surround Spike, who wonders what’s going to happen. Giles replies that they’re going to put something in his brain – he produces a small, brown stone. “Bugger that!” Spike protests, but Giles says the Prokaryote Stone will go through his mind and root out the trigger.

As Spike asks how they’ll get it into his brain, Willow steps forward with a magic book. She chants an incantation, and the stone turns into a blob of light, writhing in its box. Spike freaks as Giles informs him that the stone will have to go through his optic nerve. He holds the box up to Spike’s eye, and the stone writhes its way onto the vampire’s face, and into his eye. After a moment, Spike grabs his head and howls in pain. Buffy rushes to his side, but the pain subsides, and he says he’s fine… His voice trails off, and the room fills with light.

It’s 1880 again, and William is standing in a cozy English mansion living room, reading poetry to an older woman… his mother, Anne (the poetry is really awful and stuffy, by the way). Mommy congratulates her son on the beautiful poem, but wonders if the “Cecily” he mentioned might be the Underwoods’ daughter. William becomes evasive, but she tells him he needs a woman in his life. He replies that he has a woman in his life – her. Anne smiles, but erupts in an awful coughing fit. She presses a handkerchief to her mouth as William goes to get some water. The handkerchief comes away covered with blood, and he wonders whether to call the doctor; but his Mother asks him to just sit by her. He sits on the floor as she begins singing a song… the one which triggers Spike.

William becomes Spike, who vamps out. Roaring, he grabs Buffy and throws her off him, then lunges off the cot, growling at the others as the chains restrain him. Furious, he throws the cot at the gang, and a corner hits Dawn, who falls to the floor unconscious. Suddenly, however, he stops in his tracks and howls as pain seizes him again. The Stone exits through his eye and falls to the floor, inert. Spike looks around, confused, as the others gaze at him in fear… except Wood.

Spike is clamoring for the chains to be taken off him, saying he’s fine, but Buffy wants him to be sure before they do so. Giles adds that the Stone was only a catalyst, not a cure. Spike says he remembers the name of the song – “Early One Morning”, an old folk tune his mother used to sing to him.

Upstairs, Willow tends to Dawn’s head wound as Andrew, Kennedy, Xander, Anya and Rona look on. Rona and Kennedy are concerned about Buffy still allowing Spike in the house, trigger and all; the phone rings, and as Andrew goes to answer it, Anya launches into a rant about how Spike has a get-out-of-jail-free pass. Andrew calls out to Willow, saying that there’s a guy named Fred on the phone for her, and that he sounds kind of effeminate…

In the basement, Giles asks Spike what about his mother would make the trigger activate, but Spike angrily retorts that there’s nothing, he had a fine relationship with his mother. Buffy and Giles argue over whether to unshackle him, as Spike looks down at his hand and…

… another hand, gloved with black lace, takes his. It’s 1880 again, and a familiar female voice compliments William on what a pretty house he has – it smells of daffodils… and viscera. Drusilla and William start waltzing together in the living room, then lie down on the couch and kiss. William begins speaking of his plans to lay waste to the world, and Drusilla listens with glee… until he says “the three of us” will cause carnage. Bewildered, she wonders what it means, and he specifies that he means him, her and his mother. Drusilla isn’t that pleased…

“William?” his mother calls from the living room door. She appears in a nightgown, wobbling on a cane. She tells him she’s been worried about him for days, and he replies with a tender smile that she’ll never have to worry again. Anne notices the woman behind her son and asks who she is; Drusilla replies that she’s the other one who gave birth to her son. William takes Dru’s hand and confirms this, saying he’s changed – he’s now a vampire. A very confused Anne wonders if her son is drunk, and he admits that he is, a bit. But still, he wants her to live forever, be with him forever, never be sick again and never age another day. He lovingly embraces her as he reassures her, saying that it’ll only hurt for a moment. William, in vamp face, sinks his teeth in his mother’s neck…

Spike snaps out of it as Willow comes downstairs to inform Buffy that she has to leave for a few days. Buffy asks where she’s going, but Willow promises to fill her in when she gets back, and she may even bring back good news. Buffy tells her to hurry back, then moves to unshackle Spike, much to Giles’ disapproval. The vampire and the Slayer move past Giles and up the stairs. The Watcher moves to follow, but Wood calls to him. “We’ve got ourselves a problem”, the principal grimly says – Spike may prove a problem if the trigger is still active. He recalls the First’s words to Andrew, about it not being time for Spike yet, and says that the vampire is a liability – something needs to be done. Giles argues that Buffy would never allow it, but Wood wants Giles, as her Watcher, to convince her. Giles, however, snickers that Wood doesn’t understand the Watcher-Slayer relationship. Wood begs to disagree – he was raised by one, Bernard Crowley. Giles says he remembers the name, a Watcher based in New York who resigned after his Slayer was killed. He realizes that Robin is Nikki Wood’s son… and that Spike killed his mother. “Does Buffy know?” he asks. Wood says she knows how his mother died, but not about Spike. “And this has nothing to do with personal vendetta!” Giles says sarcastically. “Does it matter?” Wood replies intensely. He explains that Spike is an instrument of evil and will be Buffy’s undoing. Giles finally agrees to Wood’s plan, who asks him to keep Buffy away for a few hours.

That night, Giles has Buffy patrolling in a cemetery. As they walk, she wonders if it’s a good idea, with all that’s going on. Giles replies that at a time like this, it’s good for her to remember her calling, and it’s always time to learn new things; he can still impart some valuable lessons. “Impart away”, she says. He starts telling her about the necessity of looking at the big picture and learning to make hard decisions, but she defensively argues that she is making hard decisions, and asks if he’s seen how she’s treated the girls, treated her friends… Giles says that it’s what they’re here to see… while she works on the basics, he adds as a vampire hand erupts through a fresh grave.

Wood unlocks the door to his garage – or workroom, as he tells Spike. They enter the place, and Wood turns on the lights… to reveal walls covered with crosses. “What the bloody hell is this?” Spike asks, alarmed. Wood explains that it’s his sanctuary, and since this is the Hellmouth… He tells Spike he’ll be fine if he stays away from the walls. He walks over to a computer and starts entering commands into it; Spike, looking suspicious, asks him what his story is. Wood dismissively says he has none, he’s just trying to do what’s right. He asks Spike’s what’s his story. “Sorry. Not much for personal reflection.” Spike answers, never taking his eyes off the principal – who has now taken off his shirt and is donning studded combat gloves. Wood admits he’s been looking for Spike for a long time, and informs the vampire of who his mother was. “So you brought me here to kill me, then?” Spike says matter-of-factly. But Wood says he doesn’t want to kill Spike – he wants to kill the monster who took his mother away from him. And with that, he presses a key on his keyboard and “Early One Morning” starts playing. Spike panics, then vamps out and roars, much to Wood’s pleasure.

In 1880, William walks into the living room and sees his mother’s cane on the empty couch. He calls for her, and suddenly she appears in the doorway, looking quite different. Her hair is loose, and she’s healthy and confident. He goes to embrace her, marvelling at how well she looks, and she says she has him to thank for it. He gets excited and tells her they’ll go out tonight – dinner, then a dance… what’s her pleasure? “Why, to take my leave of you!” Anne replies. She mocks his poetry, and asks whether he really believed she’d want to spend eternity listening to his prattle…

Spike roars at Robin, who punches him and screams for him to fight back.

In 1880, Anne comments that she hates to be cruel – no, actually, she used to hate it, but now she likes it. She tells him it may be the only way to get his paws off her apronstrings… She adds that she could have saved herself a lifetime of tedium if she’d just bashed his brains when she first saw him. William looks at her, gaping, his face a mask of pain.

Robin punches Spike again and pushes him against a cross, making the vampire’s cheek start to burn and hiss…

William’s mother lets loose on him, telling him how she’d hoped he’d find a woman to release her, but he showed no interest. He tries to defend himself, saying that he’s not that person anymore, but she replies that it’s what he’ll always be – a limp, sentimental fool.

Wood has now floored Spike. "Hurts, don't it?” Robin says as he advances on the vampire. “Is this what it felt like, when you beat the life out of her... toyed with her... when you SNAPPED HER NECK?!?" he screams, kicking Spike again.

Buffy asks Giles if she can kill the vampire yet, and he says no. She resumes fighting with the bloodsucker, and Giles asks her whether she’d let him live if it meant saving the world. “Sure, he seems like a nice enough guy”, Buffy replies. “Thanks!” The vampire says. “By the way, my name is Richard” he adds. “Hi Rich!” she cheerfully greets him before resuming her talk with Giles. He asks whether she’d sacrifice Dawn, and she says that yes, now she would, if she had to save the world. As Buffy fights, Giles wonders if she knows what difficult decisions she’ll have to make, and that she cannot allow any threat to jeopardize their chances of winning… Yes, Buffy replies. “And yet, there’s Spike”, he says…

Spike lays on the ground, now totally out of combat, as Wood takes off his gloves and puts his shirt back on. He takes back his mother’s leather duster, then talks about Spike not caring about his kills, as he takes a cross off the wall…

In 1880, Anne advances on her son, now suggesting that all along he wanted her in another way. He says he loved her, but not like this, but she backs him against a chair and goes to kiss him. He pushes her back, and she grabs her cane, swinging at him and yelling for him to get out. The cane breaks, and Anne goes into vamp face. “There, there, precious”, she says. “It’ll only hurt for a moment”.

”I’m sorry”, William whispers.

“I’m sorry”, Spike whispers as Wood looms over him.

William thrusts the broken cane into his mother’s midsection, and she morphs back to the features he loved… before exploding into dust.

Robin swoops down on Spike with the pointed cross, intent on staking him, but the vampire – now lucid and back to normal – stops the move and kicks Robin back, then stands up. “I’m sorry? And you think that’s gonna make up for everything?” an outraged Wood cries. “I wasn’t talking to you”, Spike says evenly as he starts punching Robin. “I don’t give a piss about your mom. She was a Slayer, I was a vampire. That’s the way the game is played.” As he beats Wood down to a pulp, he adds that his mom knew what she was signing up for. Wood argues that HE didn’t sign up for it, but Spike doesn’t think Robin has to blame him for that. He coldly tells Wood that his mother didn’t love him as much as her mission – he knows Slayers, and with them, the mission always comes first. Wood argues that his mother loved him, but Spike replies that she didn’t love him enough to walk away. “Let me tell you a story about a mother and a son”, he says, and he relates the story of Anne, saying that in the end his mother loved him, but the demon he’d created when he vamped her did not. He has Wood to thank for realizing it. “My mother loved me with all her heart. I was her world” he adds as he walks to the computer, clicks on the mouse and listens to the song again… with no effect. He then walks back to Wood and thanks him – he’s not under the First’s influence anymore, or anybody else’s. He adds he wanted Wood to know… before he killed him. Vamping out, he lunges at Robin’s neck.

Giles tells Buffy that Spike is a liability, and that she refuses to see it. Buffy, still fighting Richard, argues that Spike has a soul now, but Giles retorts that the First is using that to his advantage. Suddenly, Buffy realizes with horror that Giles is stalling her… she dusts Richard and runs off as Giles, behind her, shouts that it’s time to stop playing General and start being one.

Spike walks out of Wood’s “sanctuary” and begins to walk off when Buffy arrives, calling his name. “What happened?” she asks. Spike silently opens the garage door, revealing Wood, bloodied and battered. “I let him live, on account that I killed his mother”, he explains. “But that’s all he gets – he even so much as look at me funny again, I’ll kill him!” he adds, before walking off. Buffy enters the sanctuary and goes tend to Robin – then takes a look at the crosses around her. She softly tells Wood about how she found her mother dead two years ago… and that she knows what he tries to do, but that it won’t bring his mom back. She says that Spike is different now, and that he’s the strongest warrior they have. She warns that if he tries anything again, he’ll kill him. And even worse – she’ll let him. Echoing Nikki Wood, she tells him, as she leaves, that the mission comes first…

Buffy is at Dawn’s bedside, watching her sleep as she brushes her hair out of the way of the bandage on her forehead. As she gets up and steps outside in the hallway, Giles calls out to her and starts apologizing for what he and Wood had to do. “He’s alive” she says neutrally. “Wood failed”. “That doesn’t change anything”, he replies, saying that what he told her is still true. She needs to learn… “I think you’ve taught me everything I need to know”, she says coldly as she closes her bedroom door in his face.

Special thanks to Loey.