"Intervention"

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Episode 18 of Season 5

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"Death is your gift.”

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Original US airdate: April 24th, 2001 (aired directly before the Angel episode "Dead End")

Rewatched: February 17th, 2023

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• Writer: Jane Espenson

• Director: Michael Gershman

• Guests: Clare Kramer, Adam Busch, Troy T. Blendell, Amber Benson

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This episode lets us take a look at the patriarchy and misogyny. For the patriarchy, there is Buffy’s vision quest. It’s not the quest itself that represents patriarchy, but the fact that Buffy is only now learning of this possibility. Why can’t the Watcher’s Council (and by extension Giles) let their Slayers know of all the tools at their disposal? Why is so much on a need-to-know basis? To expand a bit, with Buffy still mourning the loss of her mother, and feeling like being the Slayer drove Riley away and didn’t let her connect with Dawn, Buffy is thinking of pulling away from her renewed Slayer training. She doesn’t want being the Slayer to turn her to stone. Only after expressing this serious fear of what being the Slayer mean does Giles tell Buffy there is a way to learn more. He takes her on the vision quest and Buffy is lead by a mountain lion to the desert where she saw the First Slayer in “Restless”. Here, the First Slayer appears again, but it is the Guide who speaks. She addresses Buffy’s fears:

“You think you’re losing your ability to love… You’re afraid that being the Slayer means losing your humanity… You are full of love. You love with all your soul. It’s brighter than the fire. That’s why you pull away from it… Love is pain and the Slayer forges strength from pain. Love. Give. Forgive. Risk the pain, it is your nature. Love will bring you to your gift."

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This tells Buffy what she needs to hear, and these words confirm what Buffy has always known, since this echoes what she said to Kendra in season 2, that her emotions give her power. When Buffy learns, however, that death is her gift, she is very upset. Having just lost her mother, she knows that death is not a gift. It won’t be until the end of this season that Buffy truly understands what she was told here.

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For misogyny, we have Spike. He has just received his Buffybot from Warren and is having a great time, although Xander and Anya saw the two together and are worried about Buffy’s state of mind. In the middle of all of this, Glory’s minions, who have been trying to figure out which human might be the key, think it may be Spike, as they see Buffy (really the Bot) treating him as something special. They kidnap Spike and take him to Glory, but she figures out he can’t be the key, because he’s not human. She does, however, assume he knows something and sets about torturing him to find out what he knows. Spike holds strong and even manages to escape Glory’s apartment, while the Scoobies gang up with the Buffybot, who they still think is Buffy, to try to find him. They go to Buffy’s house for weapons and the real Buffy returns from her quest. She is a bit scared that no one noticed Buffybot was a robot (when they knew April was one right away). However, they need to keep Spike from talking and Buffy uses her keen skills to figure out where Glory lives. The whole gang (including the Bot) save Spike, but the Buffybot gets fried.

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Later, Buffy is worried about what Spike might have said and knows he’ll just lie if he did tell Glory anything, so she pretends to be the Buffybot and goes to Spike. He tells her he would never tell Glory anything, he’d die first and he nearly did. Buffy believes him and kisses him, which reveals herself to be the real Buffy. As she is leaving, Spike asks her what happened to the Bot. Buffy says it’s gone, and that it “was gross and obscene”. That it’s gone will later prove to be untrue (it’s at the Magic Box, and Willow can fix it), but Buffy continues, saying that what Spike did for her and Dawn “that was real. I won’t forget it.” This revises some of what Buffy said in “Crush” and does leave the door open for the future relationship, but what needs to be underlined is that Spike without a soul and only a chip has shown some very very questionable behavior. If he can’t have Buffy, he’ll make his own Buffy? That’s some serious disfunction, and it again shows that Spike’s actions in season 6 do not come out of nowhere. Without a soul, he is not a good guy.

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So Buffy has learned more about herself as the Slayer, even though she should know what’s she’s learning piecemeal from the Council already, and learned that Spike may be able to be good, even if it’s hard to see through all the bad. It’s a complicated Buffy episode.

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Finally, Dawn is seen stealing a pair of Anya’s earrings. This will not be the last time Dawn steals.

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"Tough Love"

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Episode 19 of Season 5

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"You're my always.”

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Original US airdate: May 1st, 2001 (aired directly before the Angel episode "Belonging")

Rewatched: February 24th, 2023

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• Writer: Rebecca Rand Krishner

• Director: David Grossman

• Guests: Clare Kramer, Charlie Weber, Troy T. Blendell, Anne Betancourt, Leland Crooke, Amber Benson

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This episode is about relationships, responsibility and love – the things that bind people together. First, let’s take a look at Ben. He shares his body with Glory, meaning they are stuck with each other whether they want it or not. Evidently, Glory has been getting stronger and taking over for longer, leading Ben to lose his job at the hospital when he doesn’t show up for two weeks. Of course, he does say it’s not his fault, but his boss doesn’t believe him. Ben has been mostly shown in a sympathetic light. He has not told Glory that Dawn is the key, and he tried to keep Dawn out of Glory’s path, so seeing him fired due to something that is not technically his fault is sad. But there is also another way to look at this. Ben knows about Glory. He knows Buffy is the Slayer. He could go to the Scoobies and get help, or at least give them information that could help them. I do grant that he may be afraid they’d see killing him as a viable solution to the Glory problem (which is what will happen in the final episode of this season), but it seems to be a better solution than just ignoring the problem, or summoning a demon to kill the crazy people Glory has created through brain sucking. Before we reach the end and see Giles kill Ben, it’s good to remember that Ben never fully stepped up to be the good guy.

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The second relationship is Tara and Willow. They have their first fight. It is sparked in part by Tara’s comment that it frightens her how powerful Willow’s getting, and that Willow’s changing so fast, Tara doesn’t know where she’s going to fit into her life. This is a two-part worry. First, that Willow may not always love Tara; perhaps Willow may end up dating men again, or, rooted in her bad homelife, Tara may not see why Willow loves her. But the second part is more concerning. Tara is scared of Willow’s witchcraft, and not without cause. Next season will show us that Willow is out of control. Willow, battling her own insecurities, thinks Tara’s attacks are rooted in Tara’s considerable experience as a witch and lesbian. Tara’s experience as a witch is why she recognizes Willow’s dangerous path as a witch, but it is both their insecurities that make them worry the other won’t love them enough or long enough. However, at the end of the episode, with Tara’s mind having been drained by Glory, Willow is willing to commit to taking care of her forever if she has to. Their love is deep, even if they can’t always see that.

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Then, there is Buffy. She is dropping out of college to take care of Dawn. Dawn is skipping school. In a meeting with the principal, Buffy is told she may lose custody of Dawn if things don’t get better. Buffy is freaked out and becomes a super-strict, un-fun older sister. Dawn doesn’t know why Buffy has changed, and Buffy tells her she’s just trying to give her a normal life. Dawn is skeptical- she’s the key; she’s not normal. Dawn is a bit flippant about how she’s been acting until Buffy opens up and tells her she may lose Dawn. This is enough for Dawn to realize she has to take things seriously. Neither sister wants to lose the other. Dawn and Buffy both know they love each other as sisters, not as the Slayer and key, but Dawn is a teenager and Buffy a young adult, and they also have their issues. But in this scene, love wins.

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Spike also has a short appearance. Buffy is willing to trust Spike again, at least with Dawn, after his actions last episode. Buffy stashes Dawn with Spike (the two hide in the caves of Sunnydale) while the Scoobies take care of Tara. Spike is able to comfort Dawn, and tell Buffy that Willow is most likely attacking Glory against her advice. This shows his increasing role as a source of support for Dawn, and for Buffy in particular, which will continue next season and lead to Buffy and Spike’s relationship.

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Finally, Willow and Buffy’s relationship is changing. Buffy has always been the leader of the Scoobies, but Willow is growing more powerful and in some ways her power rivals or even exceeds Buffy’s. When Glory comes after Tara because she thinks Tara is the key, and then drains Tara’s brain as a message when she realizes Tara’s human, Willow is ready for revenge. Buffy tries to talk Willow out of it, but Willow has some valid arguments about whether it’s Buffy’s place to decide who gets to attack Glory when or for what reason. Willow allows Buffy to think she’s won the argument, but instead Willow heads to the Magic Box to load up on dark magic (her eyes go black for the second time while using magic and in other ways it mirrors her use of magic when she goes dark in the next season) and then she goes after Glory. While Willow is no match for Glory, she is the first person to actually hurt Glory and holds out longer than Buffy ever has. This foreshadows Willow’s problems in season 6, but also foreshadows events in season 7 by raising the question of whether hierarchy is a must. Can Willow and Buffy both be powerful and work together, with neither being the leader? On a final note, Willow’s dress is very similar to the dress she wore in season 3 when she broke into town hall. This was another turning point for Willow’s role in the group and the wardrobe paralles remind us of Willow's continued growth.

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So Buffy and Dawn, and Willow and Tara end the episode secure in their love and relationships. Buffy and Willow also end the episode on a strong note, having survived their renegotiation of roles to some extent and coming to an understanding that their friendship can survive at least occasional role reversal. Ben, on the other hand, is so stuck in his hatred of Glory that he can’t see the way out. Relationships are tough.

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A final note: Tara is not always the strongest of the Scoobies, as she tends to avoid violence, but in this episode, she showed true strength. She held strong and didn’t tell Glory about the key, even though it cost her sanity. At the very end of the episode, however, Glory does find out Dawn is the key. Glory has come back to attack Willow and Buffy again (Tara and Dawn are also present in Tara’s dorm room) and Tara, now crazy, says that Dawn is green energy. Things are not looking up for the Scoobies. 

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"Spiral"

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Episode 20 of Season 5

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"At least things can’t get any crazier, right?”

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Original US airdate: May 8th, 2001 (aired directly before the Angel episode "Over the Rainbow")

Rewatched: March 5th, 2023

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• Writer: Steven S. DeKnight

• Director: James A. Contner

• Guests: Clare Kramer, Charlie Weber, Wade Andrew Williams, Karim Prince, Amber Benson

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With Glory’s discovery in the previous episode that Dawn is the key, things have come to a head for the Scoobies. Buffy can escape campus with Dawn, and everyone regroups at Xander’s house. There, Buffy decides fleeing is the best option and she gets an RV, picks up Spike, collects the gang and off they go. Her choice to leave is a clear sign Buffy is feeling overwhelmed. Too much has happened to her. As she says to Dawn, “It just keeps coming. Glory. Riley. Tara. Mom.” And then, the Knights of Byzantium show up (in full armor and on horseback) and try to kill Dawn. They manage to impale Giles and crash the camper, so the Scoobies are forced to flee on foot and find refuge in an abandoned gas station. The Knights follow but Willow keeps them out with a spell.

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Before Willow’s spell can be done, Buffy is able to capture the Knights’ general, who finally tells Buffy and Dawn what the key is. Dawn can open all gates between dimensions, causing the walls between dimensions to dissolve. While it can be argued the key is neutral – it’s neither good nor bad – because it’s only use is negative, Dawn is feeling a bit bummed. She’s a normal teenage girl, full of some crazy mystical key that can end the world as we know it. In many ways Ben is similar,  which is emphasized in this episode.

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Buffy calls Ben (and makes a deal with the Knights to let him in) because Giles is not doing well. Ben is able to patch up Giles, but is faced with a dilemma. Like Dawn, he has something inside of him that is, in his case, truly evil. He didn’t ask for it and Glory is controlling his life, making it not his own. The general tells Ben that if Dawn is killed, Glory will fade. Ben chooses not to kill Dawn, but is unable to prevent Glory from taking over his body, grabbing Dawn and fleeing. It's interesting that Ben came in the first place. He knows who Buffy and Dawn are. He knows he can turn into Glory at any moment. He could have sent someone else. But he chose to come. So, on the one hand he’s a good guy for letting Dawn live, but on the other hand, his actions caused her to be taken. The only positive is that Glory kills all the Knights of Byzantium, although despite their attempts to kill Dawn, they weren't actually evil, just dogmatic.

 

In the end, Dawn is gone and Buffy is catatonic. It’s too much for her to handle.

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So, this episode has two main themes. For Buffy, the theme is how can you deal with life when it’s not going the way you want. This episode does not give us a solution, only the knowledge that even the Slayer has her limits. The second, for Ben, is about navigating the fine line between good and evil, and the choices you make when your life is entwined with someone else’s. Ben may not be making the best choices.

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This episode has two interesting scenes that are worth noting as well. First, with Giles seriously injured, he takes a moment to tell Buffy he’s proud of her and that she is everything he hoped for. It’s a touching scene, underlining that they are more than Watcher and Slayer. Then, before fleeing, while brainstorming ways to kill Glory, Xander mentions the rocker launcher used in season 2. It’s interesting that Buffy rarely reuses solutions for hard-to-kill bad guys. Because it makes an appearance in season 7, it seems Buffy still has the rocket launcher. Why doesn’t she try to kill Glory with it? Some questions can never really be answered.

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"The Weight of the World"

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Episode 21 of Season 5

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"And so you wanted out for one second. So what?”

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Original US airdate: May 15th, 2001 (aired directly before the Angel episode "Through the Looking Glass")

Rewatched: March 10th, 2023

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• Writer: Douglas Petrie

• Director: David Solomon

• Guests: Joel Grey, Clare Kramer, Charlie Weber, Dean Butler, Lily Knight, Bob Morrisey, Amber Benson, Kristine Sutherland

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Buffy is out of commission and Willow takes charge of the Scoobies. She gives everyone a task and gets them on their way to Sunnydale. Xander gets Giles to the hospital, Spike looks for Glory, Anya will look after Tara, and Willow will try to get Buffy out of her catatonic state.

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Additionally, the running gag of this episode is that no one, except Spike, remembers Ben is Glory. However, later in the episode, the wall between Ben and Glory begins to break down and the Scoobies slowly remember. This break down causes Glory to start feeling what Ben feels (and vice versa), meaning that for a short time, Glory has a conscience. And she doesn’t like it. Her minion tells her that nothing comes without a price, but Glory is very sure “Gods don’t pay”. Dawn, held captive by Glory, is able to use the breakdown to her advantage. Ben is able to surface and Dawn convinces him to help her flee. When Dawn later tries to shake Ben by knocking him out, Glory reappears. Ben and Glory end up fighting for control, but Glory wins by promising Ben everything he can ever want – immortality and a life free of her if she wins. Ben decides he can sacrifice Dawn after all. More indication that Ben is not a wonderful guy.

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Spike is unable to track down Glory, but he and Xander visit Doc, the demons Spike took Dawn to in “Forever”. Spike is aware Doc is a demon, despite Dawn not telling him in the last episode, but is unaware Doc worships Glory. Spike and Xander overpower Doc and run him through with a sword, and are able steal scrolls from Doc. Unfortunately, they do not check that they actually killed Doc. The information in the scrolls help the Scoobies finally understand the ritual Glory needs Dawn for.

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Finally, Willow enters Buffy’s mind, much like Buffy and Faith were able to share dreams in the final episode of season 3. Willow follows Buffy through her memories – her mother and father bringing Dawn home from the hospital, a scene at the Magic Box where Buffy shelves a book, the scene in the desert where Buffy is told death is her gift, and a scene starting in Joyce’s room with a grave instead of her bed and then Buffy goes to Dawn and smothers her with a pillow. Willow goes through a few loops before she stops Buffy. The scene at the Magic Box is pivotal. It’s the moment Buffy quit, just for a minute, a moment when she realized she couldn’t beat Glory and she felt relief. She wanted it to happen. She then says “I wanted it over. This is, all of this, it’s too much for me. I just wanted it over. If Glory wins, then Dawn dies. And I would grieve. People would feel sorry for me. But it would be over. I imagined what a relief it would be. I killed Dawn.” Willow then calls Buffy out: “All this? It has a name. It’s called guilt. It’s a feeling, and it’s important. But it’s not more than that… You’ve carried the weight of the world on your shoulders since high school and I know you didn’t ask for this but, you do it, every day. And so you wanted out for one second. So what?” And Buffy does indeed snap out of it and is ready to save the world again.

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This conversation has some parallels to previous seasons. The sureness that Glory will win echoes the prophecy that the Master would kill Buffy in season 1. Much like the prophecy came true but Buffy still managed to win, this season Glory will be victorious, but also not. Saving the world will come at a great cost, but not the cost Buffy feared. Secondly, it’s also like Buffy’s conversation with Spike, that there comes a moment in time when a Slayer welcomes death. Finally, it’s also clear in this conversation that Buffy continues to think that her gift is bringing death to others, including Dawn.

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In the final scene, Giles tells Buffy about the portal. Much like with Angel’s portal in season 2, once Dawn’s blood starts flowing and opens the portal, only Dawn’s blood can close it. Giles tells Buffy she may need to kill Dawn.

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Life is full of choices and all our choices have costs. Glory must suffer through humanity, Ben is swayed to the side of evil and will pay in the next episode, and Buffy chooses to try to save the world yet again, however in the final scene, it’s clear she’s not quite ready to kill her sister.

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"The Gift"

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Episode 22 of Season 5

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"You're just a girl.”

"That's what I keep saying."

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Original US airdate: May 22nd, 2001 (aired directly before the Angel episode "There's No Place Like Plrtz Glrb")

Rewatched: March 17th, 2023

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• Writer: Joss Whedon

• Director: Joss Whedon

• Guests: Clare Kramer, Charlie Weber, Amber Benson, Joel Grey

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The finale of season 5 is also the 100th episode of Buffy and the last on the WB before the series moves to UPN for season 6. This move, away from teen-oriented WB and to more adult UPN, will allow the series to grow up a bit more. Also, because Angel will stay on the WB, the two series will be forced to stand alone with few crossovers for the final two seasons (three seasons for Angel). But I digress.

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This episode starts with a “Previously on” segment covering all the seasons so far, an impressive recap of where Buffy started and where she is now. In the episode opener, a young man is chased by a vampire through an alley and Buffy pops out of the Magic Box to save the day. The vampire doesn’t recognize her, and Buffy is able to dispatch him handily. Buffy comments to herself after staking him that “it’s been a long while since I met one who didn’t know me.” The young man points out that she’s just a girl. But we all know Buffy isn’t just a girl. In fact, as she later discusses with Giles’, she’s faced six apocalypses. She’s been a hero for five seasons. It’s been awhile since a vampire didn’t know her because she’s made a name for herself. This small scene says so much about Buffy and the series.

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In the last episode, Buffy found out she might need to kill Dawn and she is not amused. In fact, she’s sure she won’t do that. If Buffy can stop the ritual soon enough (but not soon enough for Glory to re-group before the window for opening the portal closes), then it becomes a moot point. But if Dawn’s blood opens the portal, only Dawn’s blood can stop it. Buffy says to Giles: “Tell me to kill my sister.” To which Giles responds: “She’s not your sister.”

Buffy: “No. She’s not. She’s more than that. She’s me. The monks made her out of me. I hold her and I feel closer to her than… It’s not just the memories they built, it’s physical. Dawn is a part of me.”

At some point, Buffy has discovered that Dawn was made from her (she may have known this earlier) and Buffy has truly come to love Dawn, perhaps even more than a sister. As Buffy continues later when she is alone with Giles:

“I’ve always stopped them, always won … I sacrificed Angel to save the world. I loved him so much, but I knew what was right. I don’t have that anymore. I don’t understand. I don’t know how to live in this world if these are the choices, if everything just gets stripped away. I don’t see the point. I just wish… I just wish my mom was here. … If Dawn dies, I’m done with it. I’m quitting.”

This reminds me of the season 1 finale in many ways, with Buffy quitting slaying because of the prophecy about her death, but it is a much more adult perspective. This Buffy has felt a lot of loss. Directly related to her slaying, she killed Angel, lost Riley and lost classmates at graduation. She hasn’t been able to be “just a girl”. She also lost her mother and had to give up college to care for her sister. Giles, however, does not agree with Buffy. For him, killing Dawn to save the world is a price he’s willing to pay, but perhaps he’s only willing because he’s never really been asked to pay like Buffy has (although Angel did kill Jenny Calendar and he has had to reckon with his bad boy past). This series of exchanges marks Buffy and Giles moving away from each other. Buffy is becoming an adult and she does not need to rely on Giles to guide her through the tough decisions. In season 1, Willow showed Buffy that a sacrifice to save the world was worth it. And Buffy has repeatedly stepped up. Asking to sacrifice her sister is where Buffy draws the line and she has enough experience now to know where she will draw the line.

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Other important interactions happen this episode, too. In the run-up to the great battle with Glory, Spike gets re-invited into Buffy’s house, and Buffy asks him to take care of Dawn if she doesn’t make it. In fact, Buffy is sure they’re not all going to make it. Spike tells Buffy that he’ll protect Dawn to the end of the world, and that “I know you’ll never love me, I know that I’m a monster, but you treat me like a man…” Buffy and Spike have found a way to be friends. Also, Xander proposes to Anya, who asks him to ask her again when they don’t die. Next, Buffy acknowledges Willow’s power, noting that she’s probably the most powerful person they have and the only one who has hurt Glory so far. Finally, Anya is pivotal in brainstorming good ideas for the final battle. She is no longer running from the apocalypse.

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So, the gang uses Tara to find where Glory’s going to hold the ritual (all the people whose brains Glory sucked are convening on the site - a crazy metal tower they built with Dawn at the top). Willow reverses what Glory did to Tara, bringing Tara back and weakening Glory. The Buffybot goes in next with the Dagon Sphere, used by the monks to repel Glory. Spike, Giles and Anya go after the minions and try to get to Dawn. When the Buffybot and sphere bite the dust, the real Buffy uses the troll hammer left by Olaf (why no rocket launcher in the mix?) and Xander uses a wrecking ball. In the end, Buffy is triumphant. Glory is beaten into submission and turns into Ben. Buffy doesn’t kill Ben, but once she leaves, Giles comes and finishes him off, saying to Ben that Buffy is a hero, “she’s not like us.” Although Ben is not fully innocent in his actions, he didn’t have a choice (much like Buffy) and his decisions were influenced by his lack of choice, and Buffy couldn’t kill him, showing again the lines she draws. Giles is not willing to draw that same line and kills Ben to protect Buffy and Dawn, although the Scoobies never seem to learn about this. So, Glory is gone. But, while the fighting was going on, Doc made it up to Dawn. Spike was also able to make it up, but was no match for Doc (perhaps if Dawn had shared her experience of Doc with the Scoobies or if Spike and Xander had taken a minute to check if he was dead, it would have ended differently). But Spike is bested by Doc and Doc starts to bleed Dawn. When Buffy makes it up, it’s too late.

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Dawn knows what this means. She knows she has to stop it. She tells Buffy: “you have to let me go. Blood starts it and until the blood stops flowing, it’ll never stop. You know you have to let me. It has to have the blood.” Earlier, at the Magic Box, Xander had questioned why it was always blood and Spike told him “Cause it’s always got to be blood … Blood is life … why do you think we eat it? It’s what keeps you going, it makes you warm, it makes you hard, it makes you other than dead.” So, blood is what makes us human, in a sense, what makes us unique. And Glory’s ritual demands blood. But there is another choice than Dawn dying. Buffy makes that choice and finally learns what her vision quest earlier this season meant. It’s Buffy’s death that is the gift- a gift to Dawn, to her friends, to this world. Buffy’s blood is Dawn’s blood and thus Buffy can stop the portal. Buffy gives Dawn some parting words:

“Dawn, listen to me, listen. I love you, I will always love you. This is the work that I have to do. Tell Giles that… Tell Giles I figured it out and and I’m okay. Give my love to my friends. You have to take care of them now. You have to take care of each other. You have to be strong. Dawn, the hardest thing in this world is to live in it. Be brave. Live. For me.”

Then, Buffy swan dives into the portal, closing it and returning everything to normal. The Scoobies are victorious… but also not. The episode ends with a shot of Buffy’s headstone, with the engraving “She saved the world a lot.” And she did.

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So what can we take away? This episode marks the end of Buffy’s childhood. Her death is a metaphor for the death of her childhood. In becoming an adult, Buffy has realized that life is hard and sacrifices have to be made. Navigating adulthood means figuring out how to be responsible, how to stand up for what you believe in, and in some cases, picking what’s important to you and giving yourself fully to the cause. While Dawn will have to deal with losing her sister, Buffy’s sacrifice, allowing let Dawn have a true life, is powerful.

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