Living Conditions (Buffy episode)
Encyclopedia
"Living Conditions" is the second episode of season 4 of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Buffy becomes convinced that her annoying roommate is evil, but her friends think she is crazy.
dorm room in Stevenson Hall at the U.C.
Sunnydale
campus. Buffy's roommate Kathy Newman is cheerfully ironing her jeans while listening to Cher
's "Believe
" on repeat. Buffy, needing to patrol, tells Kathy that she is heading out to the Grotto to get some caffeine
. As Buffy leaves, Kathy informs her that she has devised a system to keep track of calls so that they can be properly billed. She has also noticed that some of her milk was missing from the mini-fridge. Buffy owns up to taking some milk for her coffee. During the conversation Cher's song ends and Kathy quickly runs to the CD player to restart the same "super fun" song.
Buffy meets up with Willow
who notes that Buffy is having trouble getting past Kathy to patrol without getting asked lots of questions, then leaves to see Oz. As Buffy is patrolling, Kathy jumps out onto the path, claiming she decided to join Buffy at the Grotto.
Suddenly, Buffy is attacked by an orange-skinned, glowing green-eyed demon
. Before Kathy can see what is happening, Buffy shoves her into the shrubs. Buffy fights off the demon, and when Kathy climbs out of the bushes complaining about her sweater being ruined, Buffy explains that someone tried to take her backpack. As they leave, they are watched by two of the same type of demon that just attacked; one ominously comments, "She may be the one."
The next morning, Buffy goes to Giles
' flat to describe the previous night's monster. Buffy's atypical interest in what Giles has planned for the day arouses his suspicion, and when pressed she admits she is avoiding her dorm room until Kathy leaves for classes.
As Buffy talks to Giles, Kathy is in the dorm room scrubbing the grass stain on her sweater. She spies Buffy's closet and takes a look inside. She finds a sweater that she likes and removes it from the closet. As she does this she notices Buffy's weapon bag, pulls out a crossbow and a cross, at first looking shocked and then shrugging at such bizarre equipment.
At the Rocket Cafe, Buffy is in line when she spots Kathy. She quickly ducks behind another patron - Parker Abrams, who introduces himself and strikes up a conversation about how to maximize her dining card. Buffy joins Willow, Oz, and Xander
, remarking that Xander is the odd man out since he is not a college student. The group discuss the encounter with Parker (Buffy says it was just "random adorableness"), and the previous night's demon attack. Buffy is annoyed when Kathy - wearing Buffy's sweater - invites herself to their table. Kathy remarks that since Buffy ruined her sweater, she didn't think that she would mind. "Besides, we're practically sisters," she says, "now living together and everything." As Kathy takes a bite of her burger, Buffy watches intensely as ketchup drips onto her borrowed sweater.
That evening, Buffy complains to Willow on the phone about Kathy. As Kathy enters the room Buffy hangs up and Kathy quickly reminds Buffy to log her calls, then proceeds to loudly floss her teeth. Buffy goes to place an apple in the mini-fridge. Upon opening it she is stunned to find everything is now labeled with Kathy's name - including each egg. Kathy gets up and shuts the window on Buffy's side of the room. Buffy immediately goes back and opens it. Kathy picks up her book and finds it is stuck to the table with a wad of chewing gum. Buffy, who is at the moment chewing gum, swallows it while denying that she knows anything about it. Both angrily turn out their lights and go to sleep.
Buffy dreams of the orange, green-eyed demon pouring blood down her throat, putting a scorpion on her stomach and sucking a glowing essence from her mouth. She awakes to find Kathy staring at her and is asked if she "always makes that noise" while she sleeps.
At school Buffy describes the dream to Willow, Oz, and Giles. Kathy again sneaks in to the group and overhears Giles talking about analyzing dreams. Kathy remarks that she had an odd dream and describes the same dream as Buffy had. Buffy and Kathy spar passive-aggressively as Buffy tries to get Kathy to leave. Buffy asks Kathy if she shouldn't be getting to class, and Kathy remarks that her schedule is off since someone kept her up all night. Kathy leaves and Buffy complains to the group. After Buffy leaves, Giles blames the dream on the previous night's encounter with the demon and everyone expresses concern about how stressed Buffy is acting.
That night the two demons meet again and one confirms that "she is the one." The group chants around a large fire, preparing to summon "the great Taparrich".
Buffy walks into their dorm to find Parker and Kathy chatting on Kathy's bed as Cher's Believe plays once again. Parker nervously gives Buffy some Ziploc
bags to aid her cafeteria hoarding skills. Kathy horns in again. Buffy gets annoyed and snaps at them. Parker leaves with a promise to meet up with Buffy again another time.
More passive-aggressive battling ensues. Buffy puts a lock on her closet while Kathy starts with the loud flossing. Buffy opens the window and Kathy complains that she is cold. Buffy tells her to deal with it and they argue. Finally when Kathy calls Buffy spoiled and says "It's share time now", Buffy goes to the fridge, takes Kathy's marked milk and gulps it until its flowing freely out of her mouth all over the floor.
Willow and Oz are walking back to Willow's dorm room discussing Buffy's odd behavior. Oz offers to watch Buffy by patrolling with her. As he walks outside to find Buffy he passes an unknown woman, and shares an intense look with her.
Oz finds Buffy and she describes the argument she had with Kathy. She gets so upset that she smashes a bench. She tells Oz that "something has to be done" about Kathy.
Back at the dorm, Kathy is cutting her toenails at the end of her bed, letting the cut pieces fly everywhere. Buffy, annoyed, starts tapping her pencil loudly; Kathy drowns her out by turning on the CD player to hear her favorite diva
singing Believe.
That evening Buffy has the same dream again. When she wakes up in the morning Kathy is tossing and turning as if she too is having another nightmare.
A little later Kathy is in the dorm hallway complaining to Willow about Buffy. Buffy approaches and Kathy makes a quick exit. Buffy tells Willow seriously, "Kathy is evil. I'm an evil fighter. It's simple. I'm gonna have to kill her." Buffy holds up a Ziploc bag filled with toenail clippings, which she says she collected the previous night and measured. When she measured them again in the morning, they had grown - "That's a demon thing." Willow convinces Buffy to ask Giles about Kathy being a demon, and then calls Giles to warn him about the strange behavior.
Buffy goes to Giles to show him the toenails and is ambushed by Xander, Oz, and Giles. They drop a net on her and tie her with ropes. Giles believes that Buffy is possessed by the demon from the encounter in the woods and goes to gather supplies for a spell to end the possession. Tied-up Buffy tries to convince Oz and Xander that Kathy is evil and needs to be stopped. They worry that they didn't tie her up well enough and when they go to check, Buffy smashes their heads together and knocks them out.
Buffy returns to her dorm room and finds Kathy there. They decide to "talk." Buffy "accidentally" kicks Kathy's throw rug out of place and Kathy responds by punching Buffy in the face. They fight and Buffy rips off Kathy's face to find that she is an orange, glowing blue-eyed demon. As this happens the two demons in the woods summon Taparrich. Simultaneously Giles realizes that Buffy was right, using the toenail clippings as evidence. He tells Willow, Oz, and Xander that the Mok'tagar are transdimensional demons and the ritual Buffy described in her dreams is used to steal someone's soul. Mok'tagar can recognize their own kind by the lack of a soul. Kathy then confesses to Buffy that she left her dimension without permission to attend college, and fears that her family of demons will come to take her back. So she wanted to "borrow" Buffy's soul so that when the Mok'tagar came looking, Buffy would be the one without a soul and they would take her instead of Kathy.
Giles casts a spell from his flat that returns the parts of Buffy's soul already taken during the previous nights. Kathy's demon father arrives to take her back. He opens a portal and they both disappear.
The episode ends with Willow moving her stuff into the room. She and Buffy will now be roommates.
Plot
Episode two of season four opens in Buffy'sBuffy 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...
dorm room in Stevenson Hall at the U.C.
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
Sunnydale
Sunnydale
Sunnydale, California is the fictional setting for the U.S. television drama Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Series creator Joss Whedon conceived the town as a representation of a generic California city, as well as a narrative parody of the all-too-serene towns typical in traditional horror...
campus. Buffy's roommate Kathy Newman is cheerfully ironing her jeans while listening to Cher
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
's "Believe
Believe (Cher song)
"Believe" is a song by American recording artist Cher. It was released on November 24, 1998 as the lead single from her twenty-third studio album of the same name. It was written by Brian Higgins, Stuart McLennen, Paul Barry, Steven Torch, Matthew Gray, and Timothy Powell and produced by Mark...
" on repeat. Buffy, needing to patrol, tells Kathy that she is heading out to the Grotto to get some caffeine
Caffeine
Caffeine is a bitter, white crystalline xanthine alkaloid that acts as a stimulant drug. Caffeine is found in varying quantities in the seeds, leaves, and fruit of some plants, where it acts as a natural pesticide that paralyzes and kills certain insects feeding on the plants...
. As Buffy leaves, Kathy informs her that she has devised a system to keep track of calls so that they can be properly billed. She has also noticed that some of her milk was missing from the mini-fridge. Buffy owns up to taking some milk for her coffee. During the conversation Cher's song ends and Kathy quickly runs to the CD player to restart the same "super fun" song.
Buffy meets up with Willow
Willow Rosenberg
Willow Rosenberg is a fictional character created for the fantasy television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer . She was developed by Joss Whedon and portrayed throughout the TV series by Alyson Hannigan...
who notes that Buffy is having trouble getting past Kathy to patrol without getting asked lots of questions, then leaves to see Oz. As Buffy is patrolling, Kathy jumps out onto the path, claiming she decided to join Buffy at the Grotto.
Suddenly, Buffy is attacked by an orange-skinned, glowing green-eyed demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
. Before Kathy can see what is happening, Buffy shoves her into the shrubs. Buffy fights off the demon, and when Kathy climbs out of the bushes complaining about her sweater being ruined, Buffy explains that someone tried to take her backpack. As they leave, they are watched by two of the same type of demon that just attacked; one ominously comments, "She may be the one."
The next morning, Buffy goes to Giles
Rupert 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...
' flat to describe the previous night's monster. Buffy's atypical interest in what Giles has planned for the day arouses his suspicion, and when pressed she admits she is avoiding her dorm room until Kathy leaves for classes.
As Buffy talks to Giles, Kathy is in the dorm room scrubbing the grass stain on her sweater. She spies Buffy's closet and takes a look inside. She finds a sweater that she likes and removes it from the closet. As she does this she notices Buffy's weapon bag, pulls out a crossbow and a cross, at first looking shocked and then shrugging at such bizarre equipment.
At the Rocket Cafe, Buffy is in line when she spots Kathy. She quickly ducks behind another patron - Parker Abrams, who introduces himself and strikes up a conversation about how to maximize her dining card. Buffy joins Willow, Oz, and Xander
Xander Harris
Alexander LaVelle "Xander" Harris is a fictional character in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as well as in numerous items in the series Expanded Universe, such as comic books, tie-in novels and video games...
, remarking that Xander is the odd man out since he is not a college student. The group discuss the encounter with Parker (Buffy says it was just "random adorableness"), and the previous night's demon attack. Buffy is annoyed when Kathy - wearing Buffy's sweater - invites herself to their table. Kathy remarks that since Buffy ruined her sweater, she didn't think that she would mind. "Besides, we're practically sisters," she says, "now living together and everything." As Kathy takes a bite of her burger, Buffy watches intensely as ketchup drips onto her borrowed sweater.
That evening, Buffy complains to Willow on the phone about Kathy. As Kathy enters the room Buffy hangs up and Kathy quickly reminds Buffy to log her calls, then proceeds to loudly floss her teeth. Buffy goes to place an apple in the mini-fridge. Upon opening it she is stunned to find everything is now labeled with Kathy's name - including each egg. Kathy gets up and shuts the window on Buffy's side of the room. Buffy immediately goes back and opens it. Kathy picks up her book and finds it is stuck to the table with a wad of chewing gum. Buffy, who is at the moment chewing gum, swallows it while denying that she knows anything about it. Both angrily turn out their lights and go to sleep.
Buffy dreams of the orange, green-eyed demon pouring blood down her throat, putting a scorpion on her stomach and sucking a glowing essence from her mouth. She awakes to find Kathy staring at her and is asked if she "always makes that noise" while she sleeps.
At school Buffy describes the dream to Willow, Oz, and Giles. Kathy again sneaks in to the group and overhears Giles talking about analyzing dreams. Kathy remarks that she had an odd dream and describes the same dream as Buffy had. Buffy and Kathy spar passive-aggressively as Buffy tries to get Kathy to leave. Buffy asks Kathy if she shouldn't be getting to class, and Kathy remarks that her schedule is off since someone kept her up all night. Kathy leaves and Buffy complains to the group. After Buffy leaves, Giles blames the dream on the previous night's encounter with the demon and everyone expresses concern about how stressed Buffy is acting.
That night the two demons meet again and one confirms that "she is the one." The group chants around a large fire, preparing to summon "the great Taparrich".
Buffy walks into their dorm to find Parker and Kathy chatting on Kathy's bed as Cher's Believe plays once again. Parker nervously gives Buffy some Ziploc
Ziploc
Ziploc is a brand of reusable, re-sealable zipper storage bags and containers originally developed by Dow Chemical Company, and now produced by S. C. Johnson & Son. According to Dow's website, the bags were originally test marketed in 1968....
bags to aid her cafeteria hoarding skills. Kathy horns in again. Buffy gets annoyed and snaps at them. Parker leaves with a promise to meet up with Buffy again another time.
More passive-aggressive battling ensues. Buffy puts a lock on her closet while Kathy starts with the loud flossing. Buffy opens the window and Kathy complains that she is cold. Buffy tells her to deal with it and they argue. Finally when Kathy calls Buffy spoiled and says "It's share time now", Buffy goes to the fridge, takes Kathy's marked milk and gulps it until its flowing freely out of her mouth all over the floor.
Willow and Oz are walking back to Willow's dorm room discussing Buffy's odd behavior. Oz offers to watch Buffy by patrolling with her. As he walks outside to find Buffy he passes an unknown woman, and shares an intense look with her.
Oz finds Buffy and she describes the argument she had with Kathy. She gets so upset that she smashes a bench. She tells Oz that "something has to be done" about Kathy.
Back at the dorm, Kathy is cutting her toenails at the end of her bed, letting the cut pieces fly everywhere. Buffy, annoyed, starts tapping her pencil loudly; Kathy drowns her out by turning on the CD player to hear her favorite diva
Diva
A diva is a celebrated female singer. The term is used to describe a woman of outstanding talent in the world of opera, and, by extension, in theatre, cinema and popular music. The meaning of diva is closely related to that of "prima donna"....
singing Believe.
That evening Buffy has the same dream again. When she wakes up in the morning Kathy is tossing and turning as if she too is having another nightmare.
A little later Kathy is in the dorm hallway complaining to Willow about Buffy. Buffy approaches and Kathy makes a quick exit. Buffy tells Willow seriously, "Kathy is evil. I'm an evil fighter. It's simple. I'm gonna have to kill her." Buffy holds up a Ziploc bag filled with toenail clippings, which she says she collected the previous night and measured. When she measured them again in the morning, they had grown - "That's a demon thing." Willow convinces Buffy to ask Giles about Kathy being a demon, and then calls Giles to warn him about the strange behavior.
Buffy goes to Giles to show him the toenails and is ambushed by Xander, Oz, and Giles. They drop a net on her and tie her with ropes. Giles believes that Buffy is possessed by the demon from the encounter in the woods and goes to gather supplies for a spell to end the possession. Tied-up Buffy tries to convince Oz and Xander that Kathy is evil and needs to be stopped. They worry that they didn't tie her up well enough and when they go to check, Buffy smashes their heads together and knocks them out.
Buffy returns to her dorm room and finds Kathy there. They decide to "talk." Buffy "accidentally" kicks Kathy's throw rug out of place and Kathy responds by punching Buffy in the face. They fight and Buffy rips off Kathy's face to find that she is an orange, glowing blue-eyed demon. As this happens the two demons in the woods summon Taparrich. Simultaneously Giles realizes that Buffy was right, using the toenail clippings as evidence. He tells Willow, Oz, and Xander that the Mok'tagar are transdimensional demons and the ritual Buffy described in her dreams is used to steal someone's soul. Mok'tagar can recognize their own kind by the lack of a soul. Kathy then confesses to Buffy that she left her dimension without permission to attend college, and fears that her family of demons will come to take her back. So she wanted to "borrow" Buffy's soul so that when the Mok'tagar came looking, Buffy would be the one without a soul and they would take her instead of Kathy.
Giles casts a spell from his flat that returns the parts of Buffy's soul already taken during the previous nights. Kathy's demon father arrives to take her back. He opens a portal and they both disappear.
The episode ends with Willow moving her stuff into the room. She and Buffy will now be roommates.
Production details
- This episode, running just under 42 minutes, is the shortest of the Buffy episodes which aired on the WB. Also, with the exception of the two-part "Bargaining" episode, the musical episode "Once More, with FeelingOnce More, with Feeling (Buffy episode)"Once More, with Feeling" is the seventh episode of the sixth season of the fantasy television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the only one in the series performed as a musical...
", and the series finaleChosen (Buffy episode)"Chosen" is the series finale of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It serves as the 22nd episode of the seventh season, and the 144th episode overall. The episode was written and directed by series creator Joss Whedon and originally aired on UPN on May 20, 2003...
, this episode is longer than any of those which aired on UPNUPNUnited Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
.
Trivia
- When Willow moves into Buffy's dorm room, she hangs a poster of Dingoes Ate My BabyDingoes Ate My BabyDingoes Ate My Baby is a fictional rock band on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The name was derived from the widespread news coverage of the disappearance of 9 week old Azaria Chamberlain in Australia in 1980...
, Oz's band, in the same spot that Kathy's poster of Celine DionCeline DionCéline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
once was. The band whose music is "played" by the fictional group onscreen, Four Star MaryFour Star MaryFour Star Mary are an alternative rock group formed in California in 1997.Four Star Mary gained recognition after appearing in several episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, providing the music for the fictional band Dingoes Ate My Baby, of whom the character Oz was the lead guitarist...
, plays the song "Pain" in the background. - This is the first episode of the series since "Inca Mummy Girl" not to feature at least one vampire. The only other episodes in which no vampires appear are "WitchWitch (Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode)"Witch" is the third episode of the first season of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer . It serves as the show's first regular episode after the Pilot and originally aired in the United States on March 17, 1997, on The WB Television Network...
", "The Pack", "I, Robot... You, JaneI, Robot... You, Jane"I, Robot...You, Jane" is the eighth episode of season 1 of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The episode was written by staff writers Ashley Gable and Thomas A. Swyden, and directed by Stephen Posey....
", "The Puppet ShowThe Puppet Show"The Puppet Show" is the ninth episode of season 1 of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The episode was written by story editors Rob Des Hotel & Dean Batali, and directed by Ellen S. Pressman. The Scooby Gang becomes involved in the school talent show through the mechanations of new...
", "Fear, Itself" and "Beer Bad". - Buffy claims to be from the StevensonStevenson CollegeAdlai E. Stevenson College is a residential college at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Currently, the college is host to the Linguistics Department, as well as many humanities faculty....
dormitory and Parker claims to be from Kresge HallKresge CollegeKresge College is one of the residential colleges that make up the University of California, Santa Cruz. Founded in 1971, Kresge is located on the western edge of the UCSC campus. Kresge is the sixth of ten colleges at UCSC, and originally one of the most experimental. The first provost of Kresge,...
at UC Sunnydale. Both are actual residential colleges at UC Santa CruzUniversity of California, Santa CruzThe University of California, Santa Cruz, also known as UC Santa Cruz or UCSC, is a public, collegiate university; one of ten campuses in the University of California...
where Marti NoxonMarti NoxonMartha Mills "Marti" Noxon is an American television and film writer first known for writing and producing Buffy the Vampire Slayer.- Production :...
(writer of this episode) went to college.
Cultural references
- The TerminatorThe TerminatorThe Terminator is a 1984 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron, co-written by Cameron and William Wisher Jr., and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, and Linda Hamilton. The film was produced by Hemdale Film Corporation and distributed by Orion Pictures, and filmed in Los...
– After witnessing Buffy and Parker's first encounter, Xander affectionately refers to her as "the Buffinator", and Oz adds that "he'll be back." - The ExorcistThe Exorcist (film)The Exorcist is a 1973 American horror film directed by William Friedkin, adapted from the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty and based on the exorcism case of Robbie Mannheim, dealing with the demonic possession of a young girl and her mother’s desperate attempts to win back her...
– Xander describes the insane behavior Buffy exhibited while losing her soul as "doing a Linda Blair on us". Linda BlairLinda BlairLinda Denise Blair is an American actress. Blair is best known for her role as the possessed child, Regan, in the 1973 film The Exorcist, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award and two Golden Globes, winning one. She reprised her role in 1977's Exorcist II: The Heretic.-Biography:Blair...
was the actress who played the possessed child Regan in The ExorcistThe Exorcist (film)The Exorcist is a 1973 American horror film directed by William Friedkin, adapted from the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty and based on the exorcism case of Robbie Mannheim, dealing with the demonic possession of a young girl and her mother’s desperate attempts to win back her...
and its sequel Exorcist II: The HereticExorcist II: The HereticExorcist II: The Heretic is a 1977 American horror film and the sequel to The Exorcist , directed by John Boorman from a screenplay by William Goodhart and starring Linda Blair, Richard Burton, Louise Fletcher, Max von Sydow, James Earl Jones, Ned Beatty and Kitty Winn...
.
Continuity
- When Buffy tells Giles, "Ok, you're not having one of those mid-life things, are you? 'Cause I'm still going 'ick' from the last time you tried to recapture your youth.", it's a reference to "Teenage Giles" in season three's Band Candy.
Arc significance
- Parker is introduced in this episode. He will feature in the next few episodes as a significant part of Buffy's growing experience
- Veruca is also seen in this episode, although it remains unknown on who she is. The attraction between her and Oz is evident in their first brief encounter and this event foreshadows the break-up of Oz and Willow that occurs this season.
- Members of the Initiative also make a brief appearance in this episode but their purpose in this season's storyline is not yet revealed.
- Xander's fear of alienation from the rest of the Scooby Gang is touched upon in the Rocket Cafe, when Buffy notes that he is not a college student yet he hangs out on campus.
- The effects of a lost soul are touched upon in this episode: Buffy's changing attitude when Kathy is stealing her soul is mentioned by the Scooby Gang at several points. Willow compares Buffy's behavior to CordeliaCordelia ChaseCordelia Chase is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer; she also appeared on Buffy's spin-off series Angel...
.