Beneath You (Buffy episode)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode | |
|---|---|
| “Beneath You” | |
 |
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| Episode no. | Season 7 Episode 2 |
| Guest star(s) | Anthony Stewart Head (Giles) Kaarina Aufranc (Nancy) D.B. Woodside (Principal Wood) |
| Writer(s) | Douglas Petrie |
| Director | Nick Marck |
| Production no. | 7ABB02 |
| Original airdate | 1 October 2002 |
| Episode chronology | |
| ← Previous | Next → |
| "Lessons" | "Same Time, Same Place" |
""Beneath You" is the second episode of the seventh and final season of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Contents |
[edit] Plot synopsis
[edit] Summary
The Scoobies find that Anya has cursed a woman's ex-boyfriend to be a worm-demon. Anya is forced to turn the boyfriend back, and Buffy finds that Spike got his soul back.
[edit] Expanded overview
Frankfurt, Germany: A girl is running and looks scared. She has hot pink hair with black bangs at her forehead, a nose ring, and a metal collar. She's wearing all black, with a skeleton shirt, long pants, a leather jacket and boots. She goes through an interior door and jumps down to the next level. Two people are chasing her. They look suspiciously like the robed men from episode 7x01 "Lessons". We can't see any details of their bodies, just the hooded cloaks that completely cover them. She runs out through an exterior door and proceeds to scale down the building. Finally, she thinks she's safe when she goes through a doorway to the outside near a crowd of club patrons, but she is pushed back inside by her pursuers. They close the door behind them and start to fight with her. She is knocked to the ground, lying on her back. Finally, one of the robed people pulls out a curved silver dagger and tries to stab her, but she blocks his move. The other robed person also has a dagger though and stabs her. She winces, and the men resheath their daggers and leave. Then she says, "From beneath you, it devours."
Dawn wakes Buffy up from the nightmare where she saw this happen and Buffy questions the meaning of her dream. Elsewhere in Sunnydale, something large tears through the ground. Spike sneaks around in the school basement he calls home, seemingly headed for a rat while he speaks aloud. Everything around him begins to shake and he falls to the ground, screaming. Xander drives Buffy and Dawn to school and they talk about high school and Xander's relationship problems.
Principal Wood introduces Buffy to her new job and cubicle where she'll be working. Buffy sneaks down to the basement in search of Spike, but doesn't find him. In England, Willow struggles with the need to return to Sunnydale where she'll be forced to face her friends and the trouble she caused. A taxi awaits her as Giles listens to her verbalize her fears and he convinces her that even if her friends don't want her back, her presence on the Hellmouth will be important. Back in Sunnydale, a woman walks her small dog along the sidewalk, but while her back is turned, something sucks the dog through the pavement and into the ground. She runs away and right into Xander, who takes her to the safety of Buffy's house.
The remaining Scooby Gang console the woman, Nancy, and promise to deal with this unusual creature. Much to everyone's surprise, a cleaned up version of Spike joins them in the living room and offers his assistance in the battle. Spike wants to talk with Buffy, but Dawn and Xander are not happy to see him or with the fact that Buffy didn't inform them that she saw Spike earlier. Buffy goes to talk with Spike privately and he offers to help deal with this underground monster. Buffy eventually agrees to let him help, then explains the game plan to the rest of the group. As Spike leaves with Buffy for patrol, Dawn leaves him with a parting threat that if he ever again harms or touches Buffy, Dawn will set him on fire the next time he goes to sleep. Spike is somewhat unnerved by this which is surprising since Spike is not the type who gets afraid easily.
While examining the scene where the dog was eaten, Spike explains that the manifest spirits from the school were the cause of his craziness. Buffy is uncomfortable around him in wake of his attempted rape and he doesn't bother apologizing for what he did, just admits to changing. Meanwhile, Xander takes Nancy home and she asks if they can go out sometime. The ground rumbles and a giant worm chases them down a hallway and emerges from the ground with a roar. Once the worm goes away and the two are safe, Nancy starts to talk about her abusive ex-boyfriend and Xander quickly concludes that she made a wish to a vengeance demon.
Buffy and the gang confront Anya at the Bronze and get her to admit to making Nancy's ex-boyfriend Ronnie into a slug monster. Anya suddenly realizes that Spike has a soul, but Spike tries to stop her from spilling the news to the rest of the group. He starts to attack Anya and she turns on him, with her vengeance demon powers of strength. Buffy steps in and beats up on Spike while he instead hits her back with a verbal assault taunting her about trying to rape her. The fight sends Nancy on the run alone, but her wormy ex-boyfriend is hot on her trail. Meanwhile, Xander tries to convince Anya to reverse the curse on Ronnie, but it's not something she can do easily.
Buffy arrives in time to rescue Nancy from certain death and before Buffy can begin to battle with the giant worm, Spike intervenes. After a few hits with a metal pole, he goes to stab the worm only to have it turn back into Ronnie's human form before Spike makes contact. Both guys scream in pain as Spike stabs Ronnie in the shoulder. Spike starts to freak out and act crazy again while Buffy calls the paramedics to help Ronnie. Anya and Xander arrive on the scene and Anya knows she will pay a steep price for reversing the spell.
Buffy chases after Spike and finds him in a church. He's confused and speaks metaphors of what he really is to Buffy. One really important line he says is that "he tried wearing a costume", his blue tight shirt. He tried to act like his usual mean, heartless, badass self but now with a soul he cannot anymore. He concludes that she's there to use him like she did before, but Buffy is quick to correct him. He unbuckles his belt telling her that its time to service her. She chokes him and she then throws him across the room. He tries to explain what he did to get the missing piece that would allow him to become what she wanted. Buffy realizes that he got his soul back and is completely shocked by the revelation. Spike continues to speak of all the voices that are in his head, those from his past and new ones alike. Spike turns to a large cross at the front of the church and drapes himself onto it, letting it burn him. Tears fall from Buffy's eyes as she looks on.
[edit] Writing and acting
[edit] Production details
[edit] Music
- Gus Gus - "David"
- Joey Ramone - "Stop Thinking About It"
- Stillste Stund - "Von der Tiefe"
- The Von Bondies - "It Came From Japan"
[edit] Quotes and trivia
- The opening Scene is likely a tribute to another Television show with a strong, independent female lead, Alias. Similarities to Alias include the character's appearance, music, setting, and camera direction. It might also be a homage to the German film Run, Lola, Run, which was also set in Germany, featured a lead with bright orange hair, and who happens to run throughout large portions of the film to techno music.
- The german voice in the techno music means: "Von der Tiefe, verschlingt es" That is the rough translation of the phrase: "From beneath you, it devours". The exact translation would be: "Von unter Dir, verschlingt es".
[edit] Continuity
[edit] Arc significance
[edit] Timing
- Stories that take place around the same time in the Buffyverse:
| Location, time (if known) |
Buffyverse: Fall 2002 - December 2002 (non-canon = italic) |
|---|---|
| Sunnydale, 2002 | B7.01 Lessons |
| Mexico, 2002 | Buffy/Angel book: Seven Crows |
| L.A., 2002 | A4.01 Deep Down |
| L.A., 2002 | B7.02 Beneath You |
| L.A., 2002 | A4.02 Ground State |
| Sunnydale, 2002 | B7.03 Same Time, Same Place |
| Sunnydale, 2002 | Buffy book: Apocalypse Memories |
| L.A., Las Vegas, 2002 | A4.03 The House Always Wins |
| Sunnydale, 2002 | B7.04 Help |
| L.A., 2002 | Angel book: Dark Mirror |
| Sunnydale, 2002 | Buffy book: Mortal Fear |
| Sunnydale, 2002 | Buffy book: Spark and Burn |
| Sunnydale, L.A., 2002 | Buffy/Angel book: Heat |
| L.A., 2002 | A4.04 Slouching Toward Bethlehem |
| Sunnydale, 2002 | B7.05 Selfless |
| L.A., 2002 | A4.05 Supersymmetry |
| Sunnydale, 2002 | B7.06 Him |
| L.A., 2002 | Angel book: Solitary Man |
| L.A., 2002 | A4.06 Spin the Bottle |
| L.A., 2002 | Angel book: Love and Death |
| L.A., 2002 | Angel book: Monolith |
| Sunnydale, 2002 | B7.07 Conversations with Dead People |
| L.A., 2002 | A4.07 Apocalypse, Nowish |
| Sunnydale, 2002 | B7.08 Sleeper |
| L.A., 2002 | A4.08 Habeas Corpses |
| Sunnydale, 2002 | B7.09 Never Leave Me |
| L.A., 2002 | A4.09 Long Day's Journey |
| Sunnydale, 2002 | B7.10 Bring on the Night |
| Unknown, 2002 | Tales of the Vampires: Stacey |
| New York, 2002 | Tales of the Vampires: Spot the Vampire |
| Unknown 2002 | Tales of the Vampires: Taking Care of Business |
| L.A., 2002 | A4.10 Awakening |
