Anne (Buffy episode)
Encyclopedia
"Anne" is the third season premiere of the WB Television Network
's of the drama
television series
Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The 35th episode of the show, it was first broadcast September 29th 1998. The episode was written and directed by Executive Producer
/Showrunner and series creator Joss Whedon
. The episode takes place a few months after Buffy Summers
(Sarah Michelle Gellar
) killed her lover Angel (David Boreanaz
) and left Sunnydale; she has moved to Los Angeles
and is living under her middle name, Anne.
follows every lead to her whereabouts. Using the name "Anne," Buffy is working as a diner waitress in L.A. She serves Lily and Ricky, a young couple living on the streets. Later that evening Buffy and Lily meet on the street, and Lily reveals that she remembers Buffy from when Buffy saved her from a cult of vampire-worshippers. As they talk, a man wanders into the street, muttering "I'm no one," and is nearly hit by a car, only saved by Buffy's quick rescue. Buffy refuses Lily's invitation out and says she just wants to be left alone. She runs into a man named Ken, who comments on her "lost" state and offers to befriend her. Buffy leaves him there.
The next day Lily comes to the diner and tells Buffy that Ricky has disappeared. Buffy reluctantly agrees to help find him. They go to a nearby blood bank and ask the nurse if she's seen him. The nurse says no, but Buffy's suspicions are roused, and later she finds the body of an elderly man with Ricky's tattoo. Buffy reports her findings to Lily, who doesn't believe that the body could be Ricky's; she runs away and on the street meets Ken, who claims to know Ricky. He tells her Ricky is back at the "Family Home" waiting for Lily, who goes with him. Buffy returns to the blood bank and speaks to the nurse, who admits that she gives the names of healthy young donors to Ken.
Meanwhile, Ken has prepared Lily for a "cleansing," which entails stepping into a bath in the floor, after which she will be reborn into a new life. Lily hesitates, as the "bath" looks like black oil. At the Family Home door, Buffy attempts to pass herself off as a "sinner" wanting a new chance, but ends up kicking her way into the building in time to see Lily fall into the pool. Buffy and Ken wrestle and they both fall in, coming out below into a huge factory. Ken's human mask falls off, revealing him to be a demon. Buffy and Lily are now amongst many other slave laborers of varying ages. Ken tells Buffy and Lily that they're in a hell dimension where time passes very quickly: by the time anyone notices they're gone, they will have worked themselves to a used-up death of old age. He tells Lily that Ricky eventually forgot her. Lily accepts her fate.
Ken lines the captives up and each one is asked, "Who are you?" and then bludgeoned until they answer, "I'm no one." Buffy realizes this is where the muttering old people on the street had come from, and when it's her turn to be asked who she is answers with her name and kicks the demon who asked. She rouses the rest of the captives to fight back and a battle ensues. She's finally stopped as Ken holds Lily at knifepoint. He then delivers a speech about how they're all stuck and will die there, until Lily, who has been passive until now, steps up and pushes Ken off the upper level onto the concrete floor. Buffy and Lily then help the captives back up through the "pool",
leaving Ken trapped. Buffy dispatches him with a blow of a club.
Back in her apartment Buffy has packed her bag. She gives Lily her "Anne" identity – apartment, job, and nametag. (Lily will later appear as Anne in Angel.)
The episode ends with Buffy appearing at the door of her home and being embraced by her relieved mother.
The WB Television Network
The WB Television Network is a former television network in the United States that was launched on January 11, 1995 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and Tribune Broadcasting. On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and Warner Bros...
's of the drama
Dramatic programming
Dramatic programming in the UK, or television drama and television drama series in the US, is television program content that is scripted and fictional along the lines of √a traditional drama. This excludes, for example, sports television, television news, reality show and game shows, stand-up...
television series
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The 35th episode of the show, it was first broadcast September 29th 1998. The episode was written and directed by Executive Producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
/Showrunner and series creator Joss Whedon
Joss Whedon
Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon is an American screenwriter, executive producer, director, comic book writer, occasional composer and actor, founder of Mutant Enemy Productions and co-creator of Bellwether Pictures...
. The episode takes place a few months after Buffy Summers
Buffy Summers
Buffy Summers is a fictional character from Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchise. She first appeared in the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer before going on to appear in the television series and subsequent comic book of the same name...
(Sarah Michelle Gellar
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Sarah Michelle Prinze , known professionally by her birth name of Sarah Michelle Gellar , is an American actress, singer and executive producer...
) killed her lover Angel (David Boreanaz
David Boreanaz
David Boreanaz is an American actor, television producer, and director, known for his role as Angel on the supernatural drama series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, and as Special Agent Seeley Booth on the television crime drama Bones....
) and left Sunnydale; she has moved to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and is living under her middle name, Anne.
Plot
Back in Sunnydale, lacking a Slayer, the Scooby gang tries to take her place, while Rupert GilesRupert Giles
Rupert Giles is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The character is portrayed by Anthony Stewart Head. He serves as Buffy Summers' mentor and surrogate father figure...
follows every lead to her whereabouts. Using the name "Anne," Buffy is working as a diner waitress in L.A. She serves Lily and Ricky, a young couple living on the streets. Later that evening Buffy and Lily meet on the street, and Lily reveals that she remembers Buffy from when Buffy saved her from a cult of vampire-worshippers. As they talk, a man wanders into the street, muttering "I'm no one," and is nearly hit by a car, only saved by Buffy's quick rescue. Buffy refuses Lily's invitation out and says she just wants to be left alone. She runs into a man named Ken, who comments on her "lost" state and offers to befriend her. Buffy leaves him there.
The next day Lily comes to the diner and tells Buffy that Ricky has disappeared. Buffy reluctantly agrees to help find him. They go to a nearby blood bank and ask the nurse if she's seen him. The nurse says no, but Buffy's suspicions are roused, and later she finds the body of an elderly man with Ricky's tattoo. Buffy reports her findings to Lily, who doesn't believe that the body could be Ricky's; she runs away and on the street meets Ken, who claims to know Ricky. He tells her Ricky is back at the "Family Home" waiting for Lily, who goes with him. Buffy returns to the blood bank and speaks to the nurse, who admits that she gives the names of healthy young donors to Ken.
Meanwhile, Ken has prepared Lily for a "cleansing," which entails stepping into a bath in the floor, after which she will be reborn into a new life. Lily hesitates, as the "bath" looks like black oil. At the Family Home door, Buffy attempts to pass herself off as a "sinner" wanting a new chance, but ends up kicking her way into the building in time to see Lily fall into the pool. Buffy and Ken wrestle and they both fall in, coming out below into a huge factory. Ken's human mask falls off, revealing him to be a demon. Buffy and Lily are now amongst many other slave laborers of varying ages. Ken tells Buffy and Lily that they're in a hell dimension where time passes very quickly: by the time anyone notices they're gone, they will have worked themselves to a used-up death of old age. He tells Lily that Ricky eventually forgot her. Lily accepts her fate.
Ken lines the captives up and each one is asked, "Who are you?" and then bludgeoned until they answer, "I'm no one." Buffy realizes this is where the muttering old people on the street had come from, and when it's her turn to be asked who she is answers with her name and kicks the demon who asked. She rouses the rest of the captives to fight back and a battle ensues. She's finally stopped as Ken holds Lily at knifepoint. He then delivers a speech about how they're all stuck and will die there, until Lily, who has been passive until now, steps up and pushes Ken off the upper level onto the concrete floor. Buffy and Lily then help the captives back up through the "pool",
leaving Ken trapped. Buffy dispatches him with a blow of a club.
Back in her apartment Buffy has packed her bag. She gives Lily her "Anne" identity – apartment, job, and nametag. (Lily will later appear as Anne in Angel.)
The episode ends with Buffy appearing at the door of her home and being embraced by her relieved mother.