Intervention (Buffy episode)
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| “Intervention” | |
|---|---|
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode | |
 |
|
| Episode no. | Season 5 Episode 18 |
| Guest stars | Amber Benson (Tara) Clare Kramer (Glory) Adam Busch (Warren) Troy J. Bendel (Jinx) Sharon Ferguson (Primitive) Todd Duffey (Murk) Kelly Donovan (Xander) |
| Written by | Jane Espenson |
| Directed by | Michael Gershman |
| Production no. | 5ABB18 |
| Original airdate | April 24, 2001 |
| Episode chronology | |
| ← Previous | Next → |
| "Forever" | "Tough Love" |
"Intervention" is the eighteenth episode in the fifth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Contents |
[edit] Plot synopsis
[edit] Summary
When Buffy is worried that she is becoming unable to love, Giles sends her to a spiritual quest in the desert. In the mean time Warren delivers the Buffybot that Spike commissioned in "I Was Made to Love You". Xander and Anya see Spike and the Buffybot (whom they mistake for Buffy) have sex, and Xander decides to confront Spike. Spike is kidnapped by Glory's minions, because they think he is the key. Glory decides to torture Spike for the key's location. Buffy's spiritual journey leads her to the First Slayer, who tells her that love will lead her to her gift, which is death. When Buffy comes back from her quest, the confusion between her and the Buffybot is soon sorted out, and they all head to rescue Spike. Buffy then pretends to be the Buffybot, as she approaches Spike to make sure he did not tell Glory that Dawn is the Key, and when she finds out he did not, she kisses him.
[edit] Expanded overview
At the Summers's home after dinner, Giles discusses with Buffy how she's feeling and she goes on to say how she's worried about her ability to love and be the Slayer. She excessively expresses her love to both Giles and Dawn, worried that something may happen and they may never know how much she loves them. Giles suggests he and Buffy go away for a couple of days to a sacred location, which Dawn encourages Buffy to do, if it will help her. Spike receives his Buffybot from Warren, complete with all the extras he ordered. Warren wants to leave immediately, but it takes a kiss from the robot for Spike to be convinced she's what he wants.
Glory complains to her minions about not having the Key and sends them out to watch over the Slayer and see who is new and special in her life now. Giles and Buffy arrive in the desert for their "retreat." Giles performs a ritual that will create a guide for Buffy. A mountain lion appears and directs Buffy along a path and into an open desert setting which reminds her of her dream from "Restless." Spike and his Buffybot pretend to fight, which inevitably leads to sex. The sex becomes a major theme of their relationship as Buffybot is always looking to please Spike, and Spike enjoys having Buffy with him, robot or not.
Xander, Anya, Tara, and Dawn gather at Xander's place where Tara places a protection spell on the room. Dawn secretly takes Anya's earrings from a table. One of Glory's minions watches from outside one of the windows. Another minion watches Willow as she heads to Xander's after tutoring a student. At the crypt, the Buffybot dresses before heading out to patrol and slay vampires.
In the desert at night, Giles awaits Buffy's return while Buffy fends off the impending sleep. Buffybot runs into Xander and Anya in a graveyard and her programming allows her to fool the two into thinking she's the real thing. Spike arrives and desperately tries to convince Xander and Anya that he's just helping Buffy with a big group of vampires. A few vampires do show up and are all slain by the four. Spike and the Buffybot end up on the ground, having sex again, but this time Xander and Anya see and hear it.
Later, Xander goes to confront Spike and Buffy at the crypt, but Spike sends the Buffybot underground first. After a brief discussion, Glory's minions enter, knocking Xander unconscious and taking Spike. Buffy wakes to a large fire and to find the First Slayer on the opposite side of the fire. The first Slayer advises Buffy that love is center of Slayers and that it will bring Buffy her Gift. The First Slayer later answers that death is her gift before leaving.
Worried that Spike has left her, the Buffybot leaves Xander unconscious at the crypt and goes to his place for help. Willow talks to the Buffybot about her supposed sexual relationship with Spike. Willow discovers that Glory's minions took Spike and worries that he will tell Glory about the Key. Upon receiving Spike, Glory is upset that he is not the Key but chooses to torture him in hopes that he knows where the Key is.
At the Summers's house, the gang gathers weapons and while the Buffybot goes upstairs to change, the real Buffy enters, confusing everyone again. Both Buffys end up in the same room at the same time and the gang straightens out all of the confusion. Everyone heads for Glory's place, which Buffy knows the general location of. Meanwhile, Spike is getting brutally tortured by Glory who is not amused by his jokes and insistence upon not telling her what she wants to know. Spike is able to break free and escape through the elevator. As he reaches the bottom, the Scooby Gang is waiting there and they fight and defeat Glory's minions.
At the Magic Shop, the gang talks about the fight while Willow works on the chip from inside the Buffybot. Xander and Giles reveal that they returned Spike to the crypt, actually feeling sorry for him for his condition. Spike rests in his crypt, his face a mess. The Buffybot enters, worried about Spike and curious as to why he didn't tell Glory what she wanted. Spike reveals that he couldn't hurt the real Buffy like that, which leads to a kiss between the two. Spike pulls back, realizing that it isn't his robot. The real Buffy tells him that the robot is gone, and she'll never forget what he did for her and Dawn.
[edit] Production details
- In some scenes in "Intervention", Xander was played by Nicholas Brendan's identical twin, Kelly, because Nicholas was sick.
[edit] Music
[edit] Quotes and trivia
- In Intervention, the Buffybot pronounces "Giles" with a hard g (as in "guy-els"). Joss Whedon and Marti Noxon have said on several occasions that they get annoyed with so-called fans of the show when they pronouce "Giles" in this way.
- Spike's dislike of Angel manifests when we see the Buffybot's programmed opinion of Angel is that he is "lame. His hair grows straight up and he's bloody stupid."
- Xander says of Buffy and the Buffybot in "Intervention", "They're both Buffy". This is a reference to the catharsis of "The Replacement", also written by Jane Espenson who said on multiple occasions she enjoys adding references to episodes she wrote.
- The desert in which the mountain lion leads Buffy on the vision quest in "Intervention" is the same desert which Buffy dreamed about in "Restless". She says she remembers it. It’s also the first place she saw the First Slayer in "Restless".
- Giles's ritual for the vision quest resembles the Hokey-Pokey.
- Spike tries to convince Glory that Bob Barker is the key.
- Xander calls Glory's minions hobbits with leprosy.
- Buffy asks if the quest is for finding a grail.
- When Buffy sees the mountain lion that leads her on the quest, she says "Hello Kitty".
- In this episode, Dawn reads Twist magazine.
- Tara avoids telling Dawn what Spike really made the robot for, informing her instead that he built the Buffybot to play Checkers with.
- Buffy: "What you did for Dawn and me; that was real. I won't forget it."
- When Glory punches Spike across the room you can see that his hands are untied. But when he hits the wall in the next shot they are back to being tied.
- According to Buffy Bot's system screen Xander: Friend. Carpenter. Dates Anya. / Anya: Dates Xander. Likes Money. Ex-Demon. / Willow: Best Friend. Gay (1999-Present). Witch. Good with computers.
[edit] Translations
- Italian title: "Pronto intervento" ("Prompt intervention")
- German title: "Der Zorn der Göttin" ("The rage of the goddess")
- French title: "La quête" ("The Quest")
[edit] Continuity
[edit] Arc significance
The Buffybot, shown in that episode, plays a crucial role in "The Gift" and "Bargaining". In this episode, Buffy finds out that "death is [her] gift", which leads to her decision to die to save the world in "The Gift". This episode, like "Something Blue", foreshadows the romance between Buffy and Spike. The emphasis in this episode on the First Slayer as a beginning of the slayer tradition (and not just a hostile force, like in "Restless"), foreshadows her role in season 7.
[edit] Timing
- Stories that take place around the same time in the Buffyverse:
| Location, time (if known) |
Buffyverse chronology: January 2001 - Spring 2001 (non-canon = italic) |
|---|---|
| Sunnydale, 2001 | B5.12 Checkpoint |
| L.A., 2001 | A2.12 Blood Money |
| L.A., 2001 | A2.13 Happy Anniversary |
| Sunnydale, 2001 | B5.13 Blood Ties |
| L.A., 2001 | A2.14 The Thin Dead Line |
| L.A., 2001 | A2.15 Reprise |
| Sunnydale, 2001 | B5.14 Crush |
| L.A., 2001 | A2.16 Epiphany |
| Sunnydale, 2001 | Buffy book: Wisdom of War |
| Sunnydale, 2001 | B5.15 I Was Made to Love You |
| L.A., 2001 | A2.17 Disharmony |
| L.A., 2001 | Angel book: Vengeance |
| Sunnydale, 2001 | B5.16 The Body |
| L.A., 2001 | A2.18 Dead End |
| L.A., 2001 | Angel book: Haunted |
| Sunnydale, 2001 | B5.17 Forever |
| L.A., 2001 | A2.19 Belonging |
| Sunnydale, 2001 | Buffy graphic novel: Ugly Little Monsters |
| Sunnydale, 2001 | Buffy comic: 'Chaos Bleeds' prequel |
| Sunnydale, 2001 | Buffy video game: Chaos Bleeds |
| L.A., 2001 | Tales of the Slayer: Again, Sunnydale |
| Sunnydale, 2001 | B5.18 Intervention |
| Sunnydale, 2001 | Buffy book: Tempted Champions |
| Sunnydale, 2001 | Buffy book: Little Things |
| Sunnydale, 2001 | Buffy book: Crossings |
| Sunnydale, 2001 | Buffy book: Sweet Sixteen |
| Sunnydale, 2001 | B5.19 Tough Love |
| L.A., 2001 | A2.20 Over the Rainbow |
| Sunnydale, 2001 | B5.20 Spiral |
| L.A., 2001 | A2.21 Through the Looking Glass |
| Sunnydale, 2001 | B5.21 The Weight of the World |
| Sunnydale, 2001 | B5.22 The Gift |
| L.A., 2001 | A2.22 There's No Place Like Plrtz Glrb |
| Sunnydale, 2001 | Buffy graphic novel: Death of Buffy: Lost & Found’ |
| Sunnydale, 2001 | Buffy graphic novel: Death of Buffy |
[edit] External links
- Intervention at the Internet Movie Database
- BuffyGuide.com
- Buffyworld Summary
- Buffyworld statistics
- TV Tome
- Buffy Trivia Guide
- All Things Philosophical -- Metaphysics in "Intervention"
- Music in "Intervention"
- Buffy vs. Angel Episode Guide
- Quotes from wikiquote
