OTH: Buffy the Vampire Slayer- "The Killer in Me" / "First Date"
Prepared for a bidet of evil?
Season 7, Episode 13
Aired February 4, 2003
Directed by David Solomon
Written by Drew Z. Greenberg
Synopsis: Giles is taking the girls to the same kind of retreat where Buffy encountered the First back in season 5, but the Slayer and Kennedy are sick, so they’re staying home. Buffy heads into the basement to check up on Spike, who’s been doing better ever since she rescued him from the First. Or he was, until he snaps. Buffy’s able to stop him, and when Spike returns, he thinks this attack was caused by his chip, which appears to be malfunctioning. Unfortunately, nobody really knows what’s going on with the chip, and Willow isn’t able to do any further research, since the Initiative didn’t release their information of it online. So until they have something to fall back on, Willow brings some tea for Kennedy, who she discovers isn’t actually sick. It turns out that she faked the flu to get some alone time with Willow, and while she isn’t pleased about the lying, Kennedy won’t stop to get to know this girl she’s fascinated with. Willow initially tries to keep her guard down, but Kennedy is able to say the right things, first by correctly assuming her sexuality, and soon wins over our favorite (living) lesbian witch. After a drink at the Bronze, they return home and the two kiss. While Willow enjoys the moment, neither woman appreciates what happens next, when she takes on the form of a man- Warren Mears. Kennedy doesn’t realize who this is, but everyone else does when they enter the living room and assume that the First is back inside the house. Willow convinces everyone that it’s her by recalling an embarrassing story only she and Xander would know, and that she’s somehow turned into Warren. The Scoobies are confused, but Willow and Kennedy leave to find something that will help, while the others have their own problems to attend to. Buffy calls up the number Riley left her, hoping that he would have connections that can help in regards to the chip, but she only picks up for a flower shop, while Xander gets a call from one of the surviving Watchers. He has news, albeit unconfirmed, that Giles may have been killed before his trip to the states. Does that mean they’ve been dealing with the First the entire time, and left the Potentials with it? They try to recall if Giles had touched anything or anyone since returning to America, as the First incorporeal. They can’t think of anything, so Xander, Dawn, Anya, and reluctantly (for them) Andrew drive up to make sure that Giles is really Giles. I’ll finish this subplot right away- it is him. Also, you know what, let’s knock out Buffy’s too, before we finish the core story. She and Spike decide to return to the Initiative's former base, to retrieve painkiller medication given to Spike when the chip was implemented, and also to find any information they can about said chip. Instead, they find a demon ready to attack, and the two face it head on. After they defeat it, a group of commandos fly down, revealing themselves to have been ordered by Agent Finn, who received Buffy’s call. The sergeant admits that the chip is damaged, and will kill Spike if it isn’t immediately taken care of. Buffy has the call to either have it replaced or removed, and the episode doesn’t end with her decision. Next time for sure, right?
Anyway, Willow. Er, Warren. Well, she and Kennedy drive down to Sunnydale U so they can find the campus’ Wiccan club, who have graduated to more than just bakeries since the last time Willow was a member. The thing is, Wicca is traditionally a female activity, and the women in the club are startled to see a man come in, particularly one who claims to really be a woman, but someone vouches for Will- Amy. She’s been working on herself since the last time we saw her, and appears to be doing better. Amy is also able to tell that this is Willow in Warren’s body, as they try to find some way to return Willow to her usual form. However, it seems like “Warren” is starting to take over, when during one of the group’s games, she snaps. Willow runs out, sobbing about losing control, and when Kennedy fails to calm her down, she comes inside and sees that everyone but Amy has left, as the rest of the Wicca club has started to be skeeved out. The two start talking, but Kennedy notices something is up when Amy brings up her being a Potential, which she never mentioned. Amy realizes that she screwed up and reveals that she’s responsible for Willow’s current descent, as we see her go buy the same kind of gun Warren used on Tara. It turns out that Amy is jealous of Willow’s love and support from her friends and within the community, despite going evil and killing multiple people. Why does she get to be so lucky and beloved, but other witches who have to work much harder to achieve a fraction of Willow’s power, like Amy, get ignored? Before Kennedy can sock Amy right in the chin like she should, Amy snaps her to the Summers’ backyard, where Warren arrives with the same gun that killed the love of Willow’s life. While the two are starting to morph into one, some of Willow still comes out as she confesses that she regrets kissing Kennedy, that she’s letting Tara die, and she isn’t ready. Kennedy insists that it’s okay, and the two embrace again, with Willow’s body eventually returning to her, and Warren remains a problem of the past.
Kennedy is not a popular character, and I’ve been on the record confirming that I’m on the side of her detractors. She’s honestly kind of annoying, a spoiled, stuck up brat who tries to play puppet master but isn’t smart enough to deserve the credit.
But I know that a lot of people dislike Kennedy because she’s not Tara, but I don’t think that’s as much of a problem as fans make it out to be. She shouldn’t be, that would be boring and disrespectful to a character that remains beloved to this day. And it’s not fair to Willow either, who is a multifaceted woman in her own right and shouldn’t be typecasted to like the same kind of woman.
Kennedy was partly written in to prove that Tara wasn’t a fluke and that Willow’s sapphic feelings aren’t a phase. That this is the same problem for many fans, that she isn’t Tara and can never be her is moot. She shouldn’t be, and even if I don’t like how the character turned out, I think it’s for the best that Kennedy is as far removed from Tara as possible.
And I like that “The Killer in Me” is a big episode, one with a recognizable theme- to move on from a former relationship, you must come to grips with your past and what happened, warts and all- that also exists to remind the audience that Willow’s sins are a little bigger than most. She killed a guy. Two!
For Willow to accept Tara’s fate and to even attempt to form a new relationship, she can’t run away from what she did, but she’s only a fictional character. It’s up to the narrative to form judgment on her for her actions, and while the show largely shrugs off Rack (my guess is that he’s recognized as a drug dealer and deserved to die for that alone, which I think is unfair and not the best read of the show’s use of magic), but Warren is identified as a dangerous incel, one whose death count matches Willow and could easily rank higher if given the opportunity. While Warren didn’t intend to kill Tara or Katrina, the former’s death was caused by his deliberate intent to kill or at least wound Buffy, and the latter didn’t appear to mean much more to him. It’s fair to assume that the powers that be (not the Powers That Be which watch over Angel, mind you) may have decided a different fate for Warren, and Willow’s flailing was unjustified. Or maybe this is how it was meant to be, and Willow is ultimately meant to be forgiven for giving a creep what he deserved. Even Buffy, who has strongly opposed her crew killing other humans, eventually says that “maybe” he deserved his fate.
Still, Kennedy didn’t sign up to fall for a murderer, and as irritating as she gets, she has every right to opt out. The fact that she doesn’t, and is willing to stay with Willow even after seeing her wrath up close, does validate her character a little. Even as cold as the character makes me, Iyari Limon does a fantastic job of selling her, including how annoying she’s supposed to seem.
But this is Alyson Hannigan and Adam Busch’s episode. The two had to constantly repeat each other’s material, trying to align themselves into matching each other’s mannerisms, moreso as the episode goes along and Willow becomes closer to Warren, and they do terrifically. The show even wisely, if awkwardly, avoids dated transphobic moments and doesn’t make Busch wear Willow’s dress, which I’ll consider a victory.
This episode also gives us our last glimpse of Amy, who has been hiding from the action after hers and Willow’s falling out in the previous season, building her into a mini bad as she tries to get one up on perfect little Will. It’s a turn that I think is justified and fits for the character, although it’s sad knowing that she won’t appear again.
The Buffy and Spike material is also solid, recalling the Initiative one last time as Buffy needs to make an important decision regarding her crew’s other greatest fighter. Not bad for an episode that had to write out the majority of the Potentials due to budget issues!
Season 7, Episode 14
Aired February 11, 2003
Directed by David Grossman
Written by Jane Espenson
Synopsis: We learn what Buffy decided to do with Spike when he tackles Giles as he takes the Potentials patrolling, mistakenly thinking that he’s the First. Giles recalls how he survived his attack from earlier in the season while wondering just how Spike is able to hurt him without hurting himself. Buffy tells him that she was given the chance to remove or replace the chip in Spike’s head, and went with the former, which Giles isn’t sure is the right decision, although this only confuses the girls, who are unaware of Spike’s deal. The next day, Giles meets with Buffy as she prepares for work and talks about this further. Buffy thinks that this is the right decision, believing that Spike’s soul is genuinely a part of him and that he feels remorse for his actions, but Giles remains unsure. But Buffy has another lead, as she brings up the time she and others found Principal Wood ominously carrying a shovel underneath the school’s basement, and plans to discover what his deal is today. We see her dig around his office, when the principal comes in and startles her. Buffy tries to come up with an alibi, but Robin (that’s his name, remember?) changes the subject and asks her out to dinner that evening, which she agrees to. When she leaves, we then see Robin wipe blood off of a dagger with a handkerchief. At home, Buffy tells Willow that although she partly wants to use this opportunity to dig into what his deal is, Buffy is genuinely attracted to her boss and is looking forward to a date with someone who doesn’t remember the industrial revolution. It turns out that between Buffy getting to know Robin and Willow not-so-secretly hooking up with Kennedy, Xander has also found a date, a pretty girl at a hardware store named Lissa (Ashanti), and Anya is totally jealous. Andrew does not have a date, but instead a has a fateful encounter with the First taking on the guise of Jonathan, who has a mission for him that they won’t take no for an answer on- use the gun Willow bought last episode to shoot all of the Potentials. For their date, Robin shows Buffy to what he insists is a nice restaurant that’s hidden a little deep in town, and the two go through a dark alley to find it. Perfect for a vampire attack, although their hopes to get the Slayer are thwarted when she kicks most of their asses, and just before she intends to knock out her “date” for setting her up, she sees him slay a couple, himself. It turns out that Robin was the son of a Slayer, possibly the only child born from one, who lost his mother to a vampire at a young age and was raised by her Watcher. He was taught some moves, but doesn’t have any of her powers, yet he still go vampire and demon hunting- freelancing, as Buffy puts it- in hopes of finding the one who killed his mother. He’s also aware of what’s going on with the First, which is why Robin maneuvered his career to Sunnydale and hired Buffy. Back home, Andrew meets up with “Jonathan” after finding Willow’s gun and asks them for questions, including their weaknesses and end game, which leads the First to realize that Andrew is wired and becomes furious with him. While Willow and the others initially can’t hear the First, soon it makes its voice known as it echoes and leaves a message for them, as it’s more pissed off than ever. As the Scoobies have a meeting to discuss what happened with Andrew and the First, Giles asks that Buffy comes back to learn about the situation. As Willow takes her phone out to call her, she receives a text from Xander, using one of their code signals. It turns out that Lissa has ulterior motives, and has kidnapped him to open the same kind of seal Andrew and Jonathan did earlier in the season. Spike tracks Buffy’s scent and has her and Robin head over to find and save Xander, which turns out to be pretty easy. Buffy and Spike take a bruised Xander home, where he becomes subject to a jealous Anya, causing Giles to snap and tell everyone to bone up. He’s right, though, things are getting pretty serious. Spike meets with Buffy and tells her what he heard from the First, that he’ll be needed later, thinking that he should run away. Buffy tells him no, that she needs him there, and not just for his ability to fight. Spike understands, but asks how Principal Wood will factor in now, and the episode ends with him meeting up with his “mother”, which he recognizes as the First. He tries to get her out of his house, but they offer a piece of advice, letting Robin know that he fought with the vampire who he’s been hunting for since he was four.
In case you couldn’t tell, Robin’s mother was Nikki Wood, the second Slayer that Spike killed. We saw their fight back in season 5’s “Fool for Love”, and now it’s come full circle.
While “The Killer in Me” is about accepting and moving on from your past. “First Date” gives the Trio a chance to move on from their prior relationships and give someone else a shot. Willow is trying (and failing) to sneakily snuggle with Kennedy, Xander meets a gorgeous lady at the hardware store, and Buffy accepts a date invite from her sketchy boss.
You’d think that Buffy has the worst night out, but it’s really Xander, but hey, it allows R&B star Ashanti the chance to show off her acting chops, which are perfectly acceptable. And she is gorgeous, I can understand why Xander was instantly smitten with Lyssa.
The bulk of the episode involves Buffy and Robin, who had been hinting at featuring some kind of baggage for a while- just how did he know about Buffy, and why did he offer her a job despite no experience in counseling, or much of anything? Learning what his deal is adds some last sprinkles of color to this world, offering us a rare (possibly only?) child of a Slayer, someone who knew of his mother’s lineage and learned some of her moves, but doesn’t quite have the power to become a proper Slayer.
And he even knows about the world-ending damage the First is invoking. He’s a real keeper, right? The show brings Robin into the forefront at just the right time, now that we the audience know what Buffy is facing, but not too late before one last fighter is useless. He has more experience and knowledge than any of the Potentials, yet he doesn’t have the possibility to achieve their incredible strength, which makes him a useful, if maybe not the most important part of the equation.
What makes the addition of Robin to the fold all the more interesting is his history with one William the Bloody, which the ending reveals in one of a couple of spooky moments with the First. I’m looking forward to seeing how this turns out, since as Angel has learned in his own series, atoning for your sins, voluntarily or not, does not equate instant forgiveness from everyone who you’ve ever wronged. Will Spike and Robin have an epic battle? Now that his chip is removed, don’t count it out.
There’s more to the episode than just the dating scenes, and Spike’s lack of chip factors into this. An early sequence gives Buffy and Giles another iconic heart-to-heart, with the Slayer’s formerWatcher suggesting that it’s risky and possibly foolish of her to remove his chip, but Buffy remains steadfast in her belief that honesty is the best policy for Spike, wanting him at full power. It’s a little heavy handed, but it delves into one of the last season’s biggest topics, whether Buffy does truly love Spike. Gellar and Marsters are too perfect in their roles to ignore their incredible chemistry, as even the young, inexperienced Watchers can tell that there’s something going on between the two of them, but Buffy is too headstrong to admit to anything. For now, this is fine, but it’s going to blow up sooner or later.
Giles is clearly right, though, when he calls out how hormonal the Scoobies are acting. Despite dealing with a house full of teenage girls, it’s the twenty-somethings who are focused on dating and attraction. Between Buffy’s conflicting feelings for Spike and Robin, Willow’s obvious romancing of Kennedy, and Xander’s upcoming date, which is driving Anya insanely jealous, the Watcher has a point that more important things are coming up that they need to bone up for. But at the same time, when is the last time that Giles got some? We haven’t heard from his love interest, Gina, since season 4.
How can we forget the First, especially when we get a memorable performance from Danny Strong portraying them? Jonathan got to be a memorable recurring character over most of the show thanks to Strong’s enigmatic performance, and he pulls off a deeper shade this time, adding hints of terror to the character as he tries and fails to get Andrew to follow his bidding. Despite getting some fan favorite characters back to portray them, this results in one of my favorite appearances of the First to date, right down to his chilling warning to Willow and the Potentials before disappearing once more.
One thing I think that stands out in “First Date”, for worse, is Chao-Ann’s material. This relies heavily on tired lack of communication gags that only result in torturing an innocent young woman because haha, language barrier. The show can and should do better.
Still, this is an otherwise great episode when we really need it, as we’re hitting that final stretch.
Watcher’s Guidebook:
I don’t know if I want to hear the Aquman underoos story or not.
“Wait a minute, you think I’m evil if I bring a group of girls on a camping trip and don’t touch them?”
So no more Riley, but we get some parting words from him, referring to Spike as “assface”.
Call out to “Conversations with Dead People”- Anya doesn’t think that’s blood on the top Buffy wants to wear for her date.
As gorgeous as she is, I don’t really need to know what’s in Buffy’s underwear drawer, although from my understanding on the subject, thongs do seem like an appropriate choice for her line of work.
Meanwhile, in Los Angeles: In “Salvage”, Angelus learns of the Beast’s motive, which was to bring Angelus out upon the world while the true evil forms, and in hopes of putting him back, Faith breaks out of prison to take him on. Yay Faith! She struggles against the Beast, but Angelus does the job. In “Release”, she tries to restore Angel, but that doesn’t quite work out, since it ends with him biting Faith. Also in these episode, Cordelia turns out to be pregnant, and look, I’m not ready to go there yet.
Next Week: Buffy meets the creators of the Slayer, and then we see things from Andrew’s perspective. Uh, tentative yikes.
Spoiler Corner: Okay, let’s talk about this- in the comics, Warren survives Willow’s flailing, but not from her missing. Oh no, what happens is that Amy, of all people, finds the skinless Big Bad and, feeling sorry for him, reverses Willow’s damage. Or at least I think that’s what happens, but didn’t Willow burn Warren alive after skinning him? And if Warren didn’t die, how was the First able to use his persona? Whedon later admitted that this was a plot hole on his end, and it wasn’t in the plans to bring Warren back until he and the crew started working on the season 8 comic. Personally, I’m more disturbed that bastards like Warren get to survive and find love (he and Amy do get together), while innocent women like Tara and (
redacted Angel spoilers) have to stay dead. It’s pretty fucked up, amirite? Oh, and when we find this out in the comics, it’s revealed that what happened in this episode was Warren’s idea all along.