Episode 1: Bargaining, Part 1
Written by Marti Noxon
Episode 2: Bargaining, Part 2
Written by David Fury
Reddygirl's Summary/Review
Updated 9-26-01
What follows is my report of watching a copy of the rough cuts sent to
tv critics; I loved it, by the way.
Bargaining opens with Spike, Tara and Giles chasing a vampire in a
cemetery, being directed telepathically by Willow, who's got a birds-eye view
standing on a crypt. Spike grouses to Tara about some magick powder she
used that was supposed to slow down the vamp but apparently only made
it more peppy. Tara wonders if maybe the vamp was on prescription
medication, which would interfere with the magick powder's properties,
when Giles pipes up with "At least he wasn't operating heavy machinery,"
and he and Spike share a laugh which is interrupted by Sgt. Willow urging
them on to fight.
Next we hear Willow in Xander's and Anya's heads giving directions. Xander's
startled and a little put out (makes funny reference to The Fury) and
Anya suggests Willow knock first before entering. Anyway fighting ensues
and we see a scene where Willow magically protects Tara from the vamp.
A vamp has a choke-hold on Giles with a shovel and Giles gasps for
Spike, who jumps on the vamp's back and tries to break his grip. Spike
doesn't have much luck with the vamp so he decides to take a cigarette
break; as he nonchalantly lights up we hear Willow's voice demand why isn't
Spike helping Giles and Spike replies "I did", after which the vamp
bursts into flames (Spike had set him on fire with his lighter). As Spike
helps Giles to his feet, Giles grumbles that Spike might have let him in on
the plan, after which Spike quips, "What's the matter, Watcher? See your
life pass before your eyes? Cuppa tea, cuppa tea, almost shag, cuppa
tea?"
Now the Buffybot springs onto the scene and makes short work of the
vamp, uttering a strange line about marzipan. The gang look at Willow,
who sheepishly says she's been programming the Bot with a repertoire of
puns but so far only word salad comes out. Xander tells Willow as long as
she's still tinkering with the program why not make the Bot exactly... and
Spike cuts in and says "she'll never be exactly....
Opening credits on this tape are the same.
It's morning at the Summers home (and yes, Willow and Tara are living
there). Will and Tara exchange a kiss and some words about Will's clogs,
which are missing. Tara says Dawn has them, but Dawn denies this when
Will asks her (uh oh; Dawn's at it again; and could the clogs be the
very same wooden shoes Steve DeKnight keeps talking about?). Anyway, in
the kitchen, the Bot is trying to help by making sandwiches, lots of
sandwiches. Xander arrives with his tool box, makes a joke about Norad,
which the girls don't get, and says he needs some male friends and
mentions...Tito!!
The phone rings and everyone rushes to answer it before the Bot can.
Dawn explains to the Bot she can't answer the phone because Hank is
supposed to be calling and Dawn's scared Hank will find out what's going
on. Dawn is very clear that she wants to stay with Willow and Tara, that she
doesn't want to live with Hank. Anyway, Willow (or Tara?) picks up the
phone and it's Anya on the line reporting she found the "thing" they
were searching for. Xander, Willow and Tara exchange looks and Tara tells Dawn
that Spike will be watching her tonight because there is a Scoobie meeting.
During this exchange there has been a lot of talk about the Bot's
biggest challenge... attending the first day of school with Dawn.
The next scene is a very funny bit with an embarrassed Dawn and a
chirpy Bot, the gist of which has pretty much been described in other
spoilers so I won't repeat it here.
Giles and Anya are bickering in the Magic Shop. Anya is stressed out
both by Giles hemming and hawing about returning to England and leaving
Anya in charge of the shop AND Xander's dragging his feet over announcing
the engagement. Anya says the secrecy is making her stressed, which brings
out her bossiness.
It's night now, and at the Summers house Dawn is giving Spike an
amusing report of her day at school with the Bot (who actually was a hit
with the teachers). Spike explains to Dawn that the teachers liked the Bot
because she was predictably boring and that the whole purpose of school
was to turn out little automatons...at which point Spike stops mid-rant
and says Buffy would want Dawn to attend school and do well. Spike looks
very sad when he says Buffy's name. He asks Dawn what'll it be
tonight, rummy? Dawn assures Spike he doesn't have to stay--he must be bored,
and Spike tells Dawn he's not bored and he's NOT leaving Dawn alone.
Dawn keeps insisting she'll be fine, at which point Spike bangs the cards
on the table and tells Dawn he's never leaving her alone to get hurt
again (he says this very softly in contrast with the loud sound his hands
made on the table).
Next we see a woman in an alley being chased by a vamp wearing a Hanson
t-shirt!! The Bot appears on the scene, rescues the woman, but the vamp
gets a lucky shot in and the Bot gets a little short circuited and can only
go around in circles. The vamp races off.
The Hanson t-shirt vamp is telling his tale in a bar full of demons.
One demon drags the kid by the ear to Razor and demands the kid repeat
everything about the bot. The demons of Sunnydale now know the slayer
is a robot. Oh and Razor tears the Hanson vamp's head off. The next
scene features the Hell's Hellions tearing into Sunnydale.
At the Scoobie meeting in Xander's and Anya's place, Anya tells the gang she
got the Urn of Osiris on E-bay (and a Backstreet Boys lunchbox for
Xander!). Willow announces it's time to do the spell to bring back Buffy.
Xander balks a bit, is very nervous about doing it, and asks "Who made
you, boss?" Anya says, "You did; we all voted on it". Willow
explains it's
different for Buffy than for Joyce because Buffy was killed by mystical
energy. Willow says they can't tell Giles, Dawn or Spike because "they
might not understand." Xander is worried about Buffy being a
brain-eating zombie and what do they do if this happens, but Willow assures
Xan
this won't happen. Willow says they don't know where Buffy is, so they have
to do this. Xander replies that they know Buffy's location--in her grave,
they buried her. But Willow counters, what about Buffy's soul, her
essence, where are they? Now we come to the reason Willow is determined to
perform the spell. Willow is horrified Buffy might be suffering in a
hell dimension similar to the one Angel was in. Willow convinces Xander,
who simply says "What time do we meet?" They all agree tomorrow's
the
night for the ritual.
Back at the Summers house Spike and the Bot are waiting for Willow to
return. The Bot is programmed to find Willow when she needs repairs but
since at the moment she can only bump into things, Spike thought the Bot
should stay at home. Willow agrees Spike was right, and the Bot pipes
in, saying how much she admires Spike's brain, almost as much as his
washboard abs. Spike looks both distressed and embarrassed by the Bot's
words and asks Willow why she hadn't erased all that "stuff" like
Spike
asked her to. Willow says she thought she had, and Spike demands Willow
try again since she has the Bot open. Spike, looking very upset,
leaves.
Bot asks Willow why Spike doesn't like her anymore, why he won't even
look at her when he's talking to her. Willow tells the Bot Spike likes
her just fine, but he just gets cranky like vampires do.
Everyone's in bed at the Summer's house (and Kittens, we see a shot of a
naked Will and Tara cuddling!). Dawn isn't sleeping and looks teary
eyed. She gets up and goes into Buffy'r room, where the Bot is lying on
the bed, recharging her batteries. The Bot's eyes are wide open. The
next scene is the saddest and most poignant of the epi. Dawn gets into
bed with the Bot for a snuggle. My own eyes teared up at this point.
Buffybot and Giles are working out. Giles relates some of his feelings
of failure to the Bot and talks about leaving.
Okay, the next part is icky and was hard to watch. Willow is in a very
pastoral, peaceful setting chanting. A cute little fawn comes up to
her, and Willow kills the fawn and collects the blood (vino de madre).
This blood is the last ingredient needed for the resurrection spell.
Willow informs the gang later that day that she has all the things she needs
now. Tara is very nervous but Willow assures her everything will be
fine. At this point Anya brings over a note from Giles. He has decided
to return to England and didn't want any fuss, so he didn't want to tell
them directly. The gang of course speed to the airport, stopping by a
gas station to pick up some parting gifts for Giles. Tara made a
finger puppet and has it say "urg arg" just like the Mutant Enemy
logo! Giles
gives Xander a hug and then hugs everyone else, telling Dawn he's just a phone
call away.
Actually this is the point where we see the bikes invade Sunnydale. I
got a bit confused about the sequence because my notes are so hard to
read.
The gang are at Buffy's secluded gravesite, each holding a lighted
candle. They form a circle and Willow begins chanting. Weird stuff starts
to happen to Willow. Tumors under her skin run up her arms, snakes crawl
out of her mouth. Though Tara is wigged, she assures the gang Willow is
being tested, that everything is all right. Willow refers to Buffy as
"the Warrior of the People" and begs Osiris to allow her to cross
over.
The demon bikers are really tearing up Suunydale and we see them roar
up to the Summers house.
Back at the grave more creepy stuff is happening to Willow.
At the Summers house Spike and Dawn are watching tv when they hear the
bikes. Spike orders Dawn to stay away from the window (he's extremely
protective of Dawn in this scene).
Buffybot confronts the demons and they in turn confront her with the
news they know she's a machine. Bot fights well but gets hurt and goes
off to find Willow with the bikes in hot pursuit.
At the grave, red lights are floating around Will. The Bot arrives at the
site and a biker chasing her runs over the Urn, breaking it into
pieces. The gang scatter with Tara and Anya going in one direction, and
Xander carrying an exhausted Willow in another.
The next scene was hard to watch. We see the decomposed Buffy become
animate again and realize where she is. She frantically begins to dig
her way out of her coffin.
The bikers encircle the Bot and Razor refers to her as Girl Toy.
The gang split up and agree to meet at the shop, and whoever arrives
first should call Dawn and Spike.
Xander carries Willow to safety and props her against a tree. Willow
is very distressed that the spell failed, that because the urn is broken and
defiled they won't have another shot. She says "it was all for
nothing". Xander presses Will about the spell, suspicious about what it
entailed (as we all should be at this point; I have no doubt that there is much
more to the resurrection scenario than we know at this point and there
will be major consequences to Willow, which I'm sure she knew and
"bargained" for when she decided to perform the spell). Xander tenderly
kisses Will on the forehead.
Buffy breaks out of her grave.
Back at the Summers' house, Spike is looking for weapons, and when he
sees Dawn by the window again, yells at her to get away. Spike tells
Dawn they have to leave the house, but Dawn is scared, says they should
wait for Buffy.... BuffyBot. Spike puts his hands on his shoulders and
gently but firmly tells Dawn he knows she's scared but he won't let the
bikers put so much as a warty digit on her. They are on their own,
Spike tells Dawn; no one is coming to their rescue.
Buffy wanders around Sunnydale (she's not seeing very well at this
point) and looks stunned at the destruction and in general dazed and
confused.
Anya and Tara are at the Magic Box and Anya is freaking out that Xander
isn't there yet. Tara soothes Anya, telling her she knows Willow is alive
because she would feel it if anything happened to Willow. Anya and Tara
hug. Tara conjures up a guiding light to find Willow and Xander and lead
them to the Magic Box.
We see Xander and the still exhausted Willow deep in the woods. Xander
again presses Willow to explain more about the spell but Willow puts
him off.
Buffy is still looking shellshocked and aimlessly drifting around
Sunnydale.
Spike and Dawn are hiding behind some shrubbery with Dawn standing
behind Spike, her hands on his shoulders. Dawn makes a comment about the
bikers just wanting to destroy stuff and Spike smiles. When Dawn asks
why Spike's smiling, he replies, "looks like fun" but then immediatley
focuses on getting Dawn to safety. They need transportation and as he sees
a biker ride toward their hiding spot, he steps out, throws Dawn a
football helmet he spies lying among the loot on the ground, goes to the
middle of the street and throws the demon off the bike (very cool
scene) and yells to Dawn, "lets fly, Pidge".
Will and Xan make it to the shop and there are hugs all around. Right
away they ask about Dawn and Spike but are informed they can't get
through. (actually here's where the Tito reference happens; sorry, my notes
are jumbled and I have to start work soon). The gang are worried about
their situation with the Bot carried off by the gang and Spike missing
in action, along with Dawn. Tara comforts Willow, who still looks
devastated. Everyone grabs weapons and heads out to look for Spike and
Dawn.
Buffy comes upon the bikers, who are preparing to tear the Bot from limb to
limb. The Bot spies Buffy, just before it is destroyed. Razor glimpses
Buffy and she runs, confused.
The gang are on the move, searching for Spike and Dawn. Tara wonders
if the failure of the spell is a sign Buffy wasn't supposed to return.
The bikers continue to chase Buffy
The Scoobies are having no luck finding Spike and Dawn, and Anya
declares now would be a good time to announce Xander's and her engagement,
to cheer everyone up with the happy news. They finally run into Buffy,
who they assume is the Bot. Willow realizes first it's Buffy and talks
gently to her, but Buffy seems not to recognize them. She is very
traumatized. Xander notices Buffy's hands are filthy and bleeding and is
near tears when he realizes they left Buffy to dig her way out of her
grave. Xander talks to Buffy but can't get through to her. Anya has no luck
either (she wants to try and cheer up Buffy by informing her of the
engagement). None of the Scoobies is able to comfort or reassure Buffy. And
they don't have more time as the demon bikers have caught up with them.
Tara does a quick little incantation that alerts the bikers they are
dealing with witches. Xan announces he is a "man witch" but then hastily
amends it to warlock. There is fighting and Buffy does come to life at
this point. The girl is STRONG, kicking major demon butt all over the
place. Tara also gets her licks in, protecting Willow by killing Razor
with an axe and saying "No one messes with my girl".
Spike and Dawn come upon the destroyed Bot. While Spike picks up the
pieces, Dawn goes to the side of the Bot, who tells Dawn she is her sister
(very touching) and then starts to ramble about the "other" Buffy,
who is
alive. Dawn starts running off, and when Spike turns around she's
gone. Spike, in a very panicky tone of voice, starts shouting out for
Dawn.
The Scoobies and Buffy have defeated the bikers and Xander declares
Buffy is herself again just before Buffy runs away.
We see Buffy spy the tower.
We see Dawn spy the tower.
Buffy is at the top of the tower, and images from the Gift play in her
mind. Dawn is now also at the same spot and calls out gently to Buffy,
who asks "Is this hell?"
The tower is starting to collapse but Dawn is having trouble connecting
with Buffy. Finally just before the tower crumbles, Buffy seems to come
awake and realize where she is and saves Dawn. There is quite a bit of
touching dialogue between Buffy and Dawn at the tower with Dawn telling
Buffy how hard it was to live without her, but I don't have time to
type it all up. This scene was fantastic, though. The last shot is of a
happy-looking Dawn hugging a not-so-happy Buffy.
This epi was brilliant. The first half was much funnier than I
expected, which nicely balanced the darker aspects of Willow's magick and
Buffy's return.
Also see:
Posted on scoopme.com on 9-19-01
Extensive Spoilers for Season Premiere
Posted on 9/19/01 11:26:40 AM
By Kelly Woo
I've seen the season premiere and have included a =rough= synopsis (don't have time for anything more detailed -- plus, that is the reviewer's job when the episode airs) below for those of you who can't wait.
**SPOILERS BELOW... BEWARE**
**REALLY... IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ THESE, DON'T GO ANY FURTHER**
** THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE TO TURN BACK!!!!**
- The remaining Scoobies, plus the BuffyBot, work together to kill Sunnydale baddies. Willow is in charge. Her witchy powers have developed considerably.
- The gang is still trying to deal with Buffy's death. Giles is preparing to leave for England, and Anya can't wait to take over the store. Willow, Tara and BuffyBot live in the Summers' house with Dawn. Willow is trying to program the Bot to act like Buffy so nobody will get suspicious.
- Willow, Tara, Xander and Anya are planning to raise Buffy from the dead, but aren't going to tell Giles, Dawn or Spike. Willow is VERY determined to bring Buffy back. She's willing to do anything. (This foreshadows some other spoilers I have read about Willow later in the season).
- Giles finally leaves when he realizes his job is over. He bids the gang a sad farewell.
- A vampire discovers BuffyBot isn't the real slayer, and tells a gang of Hells Angels-like demons. The demons ride into town and destroy everything in sight.
- The same night, while Spike watches Dawn, the Fab Four enacts the resurrection spell at the cemetary. Creepy things happen to Willow as part of the 'test' involved with the spell.
- The demons find the BuffyBot, who becomes injured. Whenever she is injured, she is programmed to go to Willow. The demons follow and break up the spell.
- The four scatter - Xander and Willow, and Tara and Anya. They think the spell has been ruined for good. They plan to meet up at the Magic Shop.
- But the spell has worked, and Buffy wakes up in her coffin. She can hardly breathe. She's panicked. Finally, she breaks out of the coffin and through the earth. She sees her gravestone and is shocked. She cannot see well. She stumbles out of the cemetary and into the streets.
- At the Magic Shop, the Fab Four decide they need to fight the demons. Out on the streets, they discover Buffy. They're amazed, but can see she's completely catatonic. They try to get through to her.
- Demons come and knock them around, and finally Buffy stops cowering and kicks some butt. However, she is still in shock. She runs away, to the tower from the season finale.
- Dawn and Spike find the BuffyBot, who has been ripped apart by demons. The Bot saw the real Buffy, and tells this to Dawn. Dawn isn't sure what to think and runs away, to the tower.
- Buffy is remembering her last moments, with Dawn, jumping into the dimensional hole. Buffy is about to jump again. Dawn finds here there, and pleads with Buffy to come down. The tower is unstable and begins to collapse. Buffy snaps out of it, and rescues Dawn safely to the ground.
- The two sisters hug. Dawn is ecstatic, but Buffy's eyes say that it ain't easy coming back from the dead.