Season Five

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Regular cast: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendan, Alyson Hannigan, Marc Blucas (through episode 10), Emma Caulfield, Michelle Trachtenberg (from episode 2), James Marsters, Athony Stwart Head

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Buffy is embarking on her new mission to learn about Slayers, which is an important part of Buffy's journey, but bigger events will happen this season that will change her forever. She gains a sister, loses a boyfriend and her mother dies. Finally, Buffy learns that being the Slayer means making the ultimate sacrifice and learning fully what it means when death is your gift. 

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“Buffy vs. Dracula”

 

Episode 1 of Season 5

 

“I need to know more about where I come from, about the other Slayers.”

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Original US airdate: September 26th, 2000 (aired directly before the Angel episode "Judgment")

Rewatched: October 8th, 2022

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• Writer: Marti Noxon

• Director: David Solomon

• Guests: Rudolf Martin, Michelle Trachtenberg, Amber Benson, Kristine Sutherland

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Buffy is sometimes a silly show, prone to issues that abound in many other series. The first thing that always surprises me in this episode is that Buffy and friends are on the beach at the beginning. For all that Sunnydale is supposed to be coastal (and a few episodes featured the docks), this is only the second episode (the first one was in season 2) to show a beach. It will also be the last. I know that slaying is hard to combine with having a life, but the gang really only makes it to the beach twice in seven years? The second is the amazing appearance of everything you need for your story in your small one-Starbucks town. In this case, a castle for Dracula. At least Riley comments on this. I do think they could have ideally had some more consistency (couldn’t Dracula have lived in Angel’s old mansion?) Finally, when Buffy can’t sleep and goes out to slay (hunt) in the middle of the night, why does she put on a full trendy, impractical outfit? Why not some nice athletic clothes? I miss the season 1 athletic slaying clothes. I know Buffy wants to look good and slay, but can she not wear leggings and a sweatshirt?

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That aside, this episode is kind of cheesy because of Dracula. I mean, I guess it was inevitable that he would make an appearance. It also allows the gang to explain why Dracula has powers other vampires don’t have (Dracula has magical party tricks), and it makes for a rousing start to the season.

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However, this episode is also key for four reasons. First, the smallest key part of the episode is Dawn’s appearance in the very final scene. Viewers see Buffy enter her room to find a strange girl there. Buffy asks what’s she’s doing there, and it feels like Buffy’s ready to confront an intruder. But then Joyce tells Buffy to take her sister and both girls yell “Mom.” Buffy’s little sister has arrived. And while I do grant she has her annoying moments, the next three seasons of viewing and writing will allow me to explore all the ways I do kind of like Dawn.

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Another key part is Riley. When Dracula has Buffy in his thrall, Riley tries to find him and take him out, but he is beginning to realize that without the Initiative in town, he is really just the side kick. He can’t fully help Buffy, and Spike tells him as much. Riley threatening to kill Spike just underscores how close to home Spike’s taunts fall. So while overall Riley plays a key role in helping to find Dracula and keep everyone from dying, he’s experiencing limits he didn’t have before and he is even less Buffy’s equal without the military.

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A third aspect is Xander. He ends up doing Dracula’s bidding. He calls him master, spies for him, takes Buffy to him and eats insects. Once Dracula is gone and Xander comes to his senses, he say “I’m sick of this crap. I’m sick of being the guy who eats insects and gets the funny syphilis. As of this moment, it’s over. I’m finished being everybody’s butt-monkey.” While Xander has been working on growing up for a while, this is really his turning point. He has made the choice to be a different person.

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Finally, there is Giles and Buffy. Giles is planning to leave for England at the beginning of the episode and he is getting Willow to help get things in order and letting Willow take a lead role in telling Buffy the down low about the big bad of the episode. At the end of the episode Giles is ready to break the news to Buffy. However, Buffy spends this episode realizing she does need a Watcher. Since the dream with the first Slayer (“Restless”), Buffy has been going out slaying/patrolling every night. Or rather hunting. Dracula calls it hunting and calls her a killer. In full Dracula style, he’s not out for a quick kill, but wants to drink Buffy bit by bit as a form of seduction, have her in his thrall while doing so and then turn her. So they have lots of time for banter. In his attempts to seduce Buffy, he points to their shared darkness, saying that “… your power is rooted in darkness. You must feel it.” Later, he even says the words Tara said in “Restless” about not knowing what she is and what’s to come. Then he lets Buffy drink from him, which does indeed show Buffy who she is, at least enough to break the thrall and best Dracula, but not really stake him, since it’s Dracula. Buffy now knows what she needs. She needs to learn about Slayers and she needs Giles to be her Watcher. So Giles puts off his return to England and will help Buffy explore what it means to be a Slayer.

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All these aspects introduced here will continue to play a large role in the coming season.

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“Real Me”

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Episode 2 of Season 5

 

“Boy, is she in for a surprise.”

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Original US airdate: October 3rd, 2000 (aired directly before the Angel episode "Are You Now or Have You Ever Been")

Rewatched: October 16th, 2022

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• Writer: David Fury

• Director: David Grossman

• Guests: Mercedes McNab, Bob Morrisey, Amber Benson, Kristine Sutherland

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An exciting episode where Buffy faces off with Harmony, who is set on killing the Slayer. Harmony has assembled a gang of minions and is trying (badly) to be Buffy’s nemesis. Buffy makes small work of her minions and sends Harmony running. I love the humor Harmony brings to evil and it’s a fun episode. This episode, however, is more important for how it showcases Dawn (and sets up Giles’s new job).

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Dawn is the voice of this episode and through her journal entries we learn who she is. She and Buffy love each other, but they are sisters. It’s not all smooth sailing. Dawn likes Willow and Tara, but not Anya so much. She’s also in love with Xander. Joyce is struggling to juggle work and raising two girls, and relies on Buffy to help, but gets upset when Dawn is exposed to slaying. Dawn seems to be a normal girl and this episode does not really answer any questions about who she is, other than a crazy man who calls her curds and whey (which careful fans can connect to Faith’s line in season 3, and from there to “Restless”. The crazy man also says he knows who Dawn is and that she doesn’t belong here. Dawn herself in her diary entry says that Buffy is in for a surprise if she thinks Dawn is just her stupid little sister (it should be noted that Dawn doesn’t realize what she is and only learns much later, so while this hints at what Buffy will discover and adds to the mystery for fans, for Dawn, this was merely teenage boasting).

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Buffy is struggling with her sister. Dawn disrupts her training. Disrupts her trip to the magic shop. Annoys her. Tattles to their mother. The list goes on. And while they do end the episode on good terms, hiding Dawn getting kidnapped by Harmony from their mom, it is clear Buffy is not used to having a sister. She has the memories, but not the true experience. During her rant to Riley while patrolling for Harmony, she says she knows it’s always been this way, but it’s felt different recently. Deep down, Buffy knows something is off. Finally, Buffy also feels a bit of jealousy beyond sharing her life as she never has before. Dawn gets to be everything Buffy wasn’t. She isn’t a Slayer. As Riley says to Buffy, summing up her graveyard rant, “… you want your mother to give you space to be a Slayer and shield you from it at the same time?” A part of Buffy still wishes she weren’t the Slayer. And Dawn at 14 is almost as old as Buffy when she was called at 15. Dawn gets to be a kid (a very immature 14-year-old at that, as the first scripts were written with a 12-year-old in mind) in a way Buffy didn’t.

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 In other news, Giles is staying in Sunnydale and has bought a new red convertible that he doesn’t seem to like much. Also, when he and the gang stumble across another dead magic shop owner, he realizes how profitable the shop is. Giles will end up owning the shop until it is destroyed at the end of season 6 and it will become the new Scooby hang out.

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Tara also has an important scene. She discusses how Dawn feels like an outsider to the Scoobies and how hard that is for her, noting her own outsider status. Willow claims she’s not an outsider, and this will be confirmed in “Family” this season, but she’s still not quite fully in. It should also be noted that Tara looks uncomfortable when Willow calls her one of the good guys, which will also be relevant in “Family”.

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On a final note, and to return to Harmony at the end, she has an exchange with Spike where she tells him that she’s taken the next step and “I’ve found the real me and I like her.” In addition to “Harsh Light of Day”, this episode shows how Harmony’s often failed attempts at growth in her role as a vampire mirror events Buffy is going through on her journey. Like Harmony, Buffy is searching for the real her as well.

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“The Replacement”

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Episode 3 of Season 5

 

“I get in trouble and Buffy saves me.”

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Original US airdate: October 10th, 2000 (aired directly before the Angel episode "First Impressions")

Rewatched: October 22nd, 2022

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• Writer: Jane Espenson

• Director: James A. Contner

• Guests: Michael Bailey Smith, Kristine Sutherland

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In this Xander-centric episode, which reminds me a bit of "The Zeppo", Xander is split in two by a demon (who was aiming at Buffy). One half contains his better qualities and the other his immature qualities. This serves the purpose of showing Xander that he really can be a confident adult.

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At the beginning of the episode, Riley, Buffy, Xander and Anya are watching a movie at Xander’s place, when his parents come home fighting (and possibly drunk). Although not seen on screen, the sound of their fighting makes everyone uncomfortable, most of all Xander. This is one of the more overt scenes that indicate how broken Xander’s home life is. This is also what makes Xander decide to move out of the basement.

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The next day he looks at an apartment with Buffy, Riley, Anya and Willow. First, the building manager thinks Riley is Xander, and once she realizes who Xander is, she seems skeptical. Xander is also skeptical whether he can afford the place, but Anya wants it, even though she has her own place, and Xander fills out the application. However, when he learns he needs references, he assumes he won’t get it.

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After this, the Scoobies hunt down a demon who, while looking for Buffy, attacked Giles in the Magic Box. They find him at the dump and fight, but the demon retreats when his spell hits Xander. The gang help Xander up and leave. But then, another Xander wakes up in the dump the next morning. The immature Xander who wakes up at the dump assumes confident Xander, who went home with the Scoobies, is an imposter and, once confident Xander runs into immature Xander, vice versa. Immature Xander observes confident Xander get a promotion (and real job) at his construction site. Confident Xander also scores the apartment and helps Anya deal with her fear surrounding her mortality, which surfaced due to her injury at the hands of Harmony’s minions in the last episode. In fact, his approach to Anya is loving and caring, showing how he truly can be the heart of the Scoobies. Confident Xander also goes to Buffy to deal with his imposter.

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Immature Xander tracks down Willow and gets her help, but first he proves he’s the real Xander by doing the Snoopy dance, referenced previously in “Passion”, as something he does every year when the two watch the Charlie Brown Christmas movie. He also pours his heart out to Willow, expressing all his uncertainties, such as never being a help but always being the one saved by Buffy, and being a humiliation. Xander thinks his life has been stolen by something that is now living it better than he did. Xander says everyone treats the imposter like an adult and considers letting him take his life permanently.

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Once the Scoobies realize the two Xanders are, in fact, two halves of the same person, they track both down and perform a spell to put them back together. But more importantly, Xander begins to realize that the confident Xander is him. He is good at carpentry and therefore got a promotion. He evidently has good credit and good references, and does earn enough money for his dream apartment. While part of him is still immature Xander, he can start to embrace adult Xander because he now knows adult Xander exists. This is a great episode for seeing the evolution of Xander, and that he is finally no longer stuck in the basement.

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In fun facts, we see Anya’s apartment for the first time and learn she owns a gun. Joyce tells Buffy and Dawn that their arguing is giving her a headache, which may foreshadow her brain tumor later this season. Spike raids the dump for stuff for his mausoleum, taking a mannequin, a blonde wig and a woman’s top. He seems to be making a Buffy mannequin, which ties in with his developing lust for Buffy. Finally, Riley tells Buffy he loves her. Buffy did tell Angel she loved Riley (in the Angel episode “Sanctuary”), but here she doesn’t answer. Riley previously told Faith (in Buffy’s body) in “Who Are You?” that he loved Buffy and mentioned he was so in love with her in the “The Yoko Factor”. At the end of the episode, Riley tells Xander that although he is very much in love with Buffy, she doesn’t love him back, another indication of trouble brewing for them (although I argue a bigger issue is Riley’s inability to accept that Buffy does not need his protection. He keeps claiming he loves Slayer Buffy, but he also keeps trying to stop the evil out to get Buffy).

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“Out of my Mind”

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Episode 4 of Season 5

 

“You used to have a mission and now you’re what, mission’s boyfriend?”

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Original US airdate: October 17th, 2000 (aired directly before the Angel episode "Untouched")

Rewatched: October 28th, 2022

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• Writer: Rebecca Rand Kirshner

• Director: David Grossman

• Guests: Mercedes McNab, Bailey Chase, Charlie Weber, Time Winters, Amber Benson, Kristine Sutherland

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So much happens in this episode. So much. The Initiative makes a brief return to Sunnydale, Spike and Harmony are back together again, Riley and Joyce need medical help, leading Buffy to a key player in this season’s events, and Willow’s magical prowess makes a brief appearance.

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Let’s start with the vamps. Harmony is on the lamb after the events two episodes previous. However, Buffy doesn’t realize Harmony is on the lamb. Spike milks the situation, trying to get Harmony to kill Buffy for him, and later changing the plan to get Harmony to help him get his chip out of his head. None of this works and at the end of the episode, both are back in Spike’s crypt. However, Spike has a dream about Buffy where the two end up kissing. This is Spike’s revelation that he has feelings for Buffy. His feelings for Buffy are important as they ultimately lead to an unhealthy relationship with her, and once this is over, to Spike’s quest for his soul. This is a turning point in Spike’s journey to redemption.

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Then the magic. Willow has been learning a lot from Tara. But she may be going overboard. Tara taught Willow how to make tiny little lights and Willow adapts the spell to make daylight, basically, which she uses to light up the ruins of the school while she and Tara look for Riley. It is clear Tara is concerned about Willow. Season 6 will show that Tara has every right to be concerned. Willow’s journey from high school nerd to powerful witch is derailed by her unhealthy addiction to power, which fully appears in season 6. This is an early indication that Willow would rather use magic than any other practical solution, like a flashlight.

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The last small point is Joyce. She has a fainting spell while making Dawn breakfast. She becomes disoriented and asks Dawn “Who are you?” before collapsing, a strong hint that Joyce may have realized in that moment that Dawn isn’t her daughter. At the hospital, tests are run and Dawn meets a resident named Ben, who will be important later in the season. He’s a nice guy who helps Dawn deal with everything until Buffy arrives. Later, Joyce is able to go home. However, it’s clear Buffy is worried about her. Buffy is growing up and in this episode it is clear that she is shouldering the adult responsibility of dealing with parental health issues. Joyce’s continued health issues, her death later this season and Buffy’s need to step up to care for Dawn are just as big a step on her journey to adulthood as being called to be the Slayer.

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The most important plot point is Riley. The episode opens with Buffy doing a kick-ass patrol, slaying vampires before they fully rise. She is interrupted by Riley (and Spike), neither of whom are really welcome. Buffy is getting stronger and stronger, embracing her mission as Slayer. Riley is stuck. No longer in the Initiative, he is second fiddle to Buffy and finding it difficult to be just a Scooby. At the same time, he is feeling the aftershocks of what the Initiative did to him. One aspect is his inability to trust the government. The second is the effects of the drugs. Riley also ends up in the hospital, his heart racing and in danger of a heart attack. He isn’t willing to stay and leaves against the doctor’s wishes. In a conversation with Buffy, Riley makes it clear that he doesn’t want to lose what little superhuman strength he has, that he’s afraid of the government messing with him again, and he’s afraid of losing Buffy. He’s afraid being normal isn’t enough for Buffy. Buffy convinces, or tries to at least, him otherwise. She isn’t able to say she loves him, but she does say she needs him. After Riley is successfully treated, he talks to Graham, who notes that Riley doesn’t belong in Sunnydale and that there’s nothing for him there. He tells Riley there’s a place for him with the government if he wants back in. When Buffy leaves Riley at the hospital to go check on her mother, it’s clear Riley is thinking hard about whether he has a future with Buffy.

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Ultimately, I think Riley’s insecurities are the biggest issues in his relationship with Buffy. He’s clearly jealous of Angel, he’s often taken aback by how strong and capable Buffy is, and the loss of his strength (government weapons and backup) and capability (government intel and resources) make him even less able to hold his own. However, this episode also showcases how Buffy is also not quite so innocent. To be fair, she’s the Slayer, which takes a lot of bandwidth, she lost her big love at the end of season 3, she started college, which is stressful, and has new responsibilities towards her mother and sister. She's got a lot going on. She takes the time to save Riley from himself with her big speech, but then when he still needs her, she leaves him at the hospital. I mean, I know she needs to be with her mom and Dawn, but I think the best move would have been to take Riley back to her place so she  could keep an eye on him and her mother… So overall, this episode really shows the cracks in the relationship and we are one step closer to Riley leaving Sunnydale.

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In fun facts, we see Riley’s apartment for the first time.

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