Selfless (Buffy episode)
Encyclopedia
"Selfless" is the fifth episode of the seventh and final season of television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
finally gets back into her old vengeance demon ways by helping a girl get revenge on an entire fraternity
by having a spider demon tear their hearts out. Willow
, returning to college, discovers this and she, Buffy
and Xander
fear the worst of Anya.
While Buffy is determined to kill Anya, Xander cannot believe she could do such a thing, as he is still in love with her. Anya, meanwhile, is feeling deep remorse about the event - even though Halfrek
tries to convince her that what she did was a work of art.
Buffy and Xander track Anya back to the Frat house, where the two women fight. Buffy stabs Anya, seemingly killing her, but Anya's demon side prevents her from dying. Xander begs Buffy to stop, and Anya realizes that she does not want to be a demon anymore. Willow has called forth Anya's boss D'Hoffryn, using the amulet he gave her while trying to recruit her as Anya's replacement. When he interrupts the fight between her and Buffy, Anya begs him to reverse the spell she did - even though she knows the cost of reversing such a spell is the life and soul of a vengeance demon.
Anya is ready to die, even if Xander does not want her to, but D'Hoffryn instead summons Halfrek and kills her. He wants Anya to feel the pain and suffer for leaving him. A distraught Anya leaves, Xander attempting to follow her. She is now alone.
episode "Once More, with Feeling
", two new songs are heard, both written by Joss Whedon
.
Plot synopsis
AnyaAnya Jenkins
Anya is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She also appears in the comic book series based on the television show. Portrayed by Emma Caulfield, the character appears as a guest star in the third and fourth seasons of the show before...
finally gets back into her old vengeance demon ways by helping a girl get revenge on an entire fraternity
Fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
by having a spider demon tear their hearts out. 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...
, returning to college, discovers this and she, Buffy
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...
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...
fear the worst of Anya.
While Buffy is determined to kill Anya, Xander cannot believe she could do such a thing, as he is still in love with her. Anya, meanwhile, is feeling deep remorse about the event - even though Halfrek
Halfrek
Halfrek or Hallie is a recurring fictional character on the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She appears as a vengeance demon in seasons 6 and 7, and has previously appeared as Cecily in season 5. She is played by actress Kali Rocha....
tries to convince her that what she did was a work of art.
Buffy and Xander track Anya back to the Frat house, where the two women fight. Buffy stabs Anya, seemingly killing her, but Anya's demon side prevents her from dying. Xander begs Buffy to stop, and Anya realizes that she does not want to be a demon anymore. Willow has called forth Anya's boss D'Hoffryn, using the amulet he gave her while trying to recruit her as Anya's replacement. When he interrupts the fight between her and Buffy, Anya begs him to reverse the spell she did - even though she knows the cost of reversing such a spell is the life and soul of a vengeance demon.
Anya is ready to die, even if Xander does not want her to, but D'Hoffryn instead summons Halfrek and kills her. He wants Anya to feel the pain and suffer for leaving him. A distraught Anya leaves, Xander attempting to follow her. She is now alone.
Flashbacks
- c. 880, when Anya's lover Olaf comes home and she suspects him of infidelity
- 880, when Anya first became a demon, after turning her lover Olaf into a trollTrollA troll is a supernatural being in Norse mythology and Scandinavian folklore. In origin, the term troll was a generally negative synonym for a jötunn , a being in Norse mythology...
- 1905, when Anya and Halfrek were involved in the onset of the Russian Revolution of 1905Russian Revolution of 1905The 1905 Russian Revolution was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. Some of it was directed against the government, while some was undirected. It included worker strikes, peasant unrest, and military mutinies...
- 2001, a few months before Anya and Xander's failed wedding, during part of "Once More, With Feeling"
Music
In a flashback to the musicalMusical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
episode "Once More, with Feeling
Once 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...
", two new songs are heard, both written by 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...
.
- "Mrs" - sung by AnyaAnya JenkinsAnya is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She also appears in the comic book series based on the television show. Portrayed by Emma Caulfield, the character appears as a guest star in the third and fourth seasons of the show before...
(Emma CaulfieldEmma CaulfieldEmma Caulfield is an American actress best known for her role as ex-demon Anya Jenkins on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as well as Susan Keats, a love interest of Brandon Walsh's on the television series Beverly Hills, 90210.-Early life:Emma Caulfield was born Emma Chukker in San...
). Song was arranged and produced by Douglas RomayneDouglas RomayneDouglas Romayne is a composer writing music for moving pictures . He is Irish, Scottish and Croatian and works out of his home production studio in Venice, California....
who was Assistant Music Director on "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...
." In the song, Xander has fallen asleep and Anya muses over how good her life will be once she becomes Mrs. Xander Harris. One of the lyrics briefly references marital doubt similar to the number the two sing in the original episode, "I'll Never Tell": "He's my Xander and he's awfully swell, it makes financial sense as well, although he can be... I'll never tell." - Mustard/Parking ticket song - sung by Marti NoxonMarti NoxonMartha Mills "Marti" Noxon is an American television and film writer first known for writing and producing Buffy the Vampire Slayer.- Production :...
& David FuryDavid FuryDavid Fury is an American television Screenwriter and Producer, best known for his work on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Lost, 24, and Fringe.Fury was a Co-executive producer and Writer for the first season of Lost...
. A brief off-screen number sung by David FuryDavid FuryDavid Fury is an American television Screenwriter and Producer, best known for his work on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Lost, 24, and Fringe.Fury was a Co-executive producer and Writer for the first season of Lost...
and Marti NoxonMarti NoxonMartha Mills "Marti" Noxon is an American television and film writer first known for writing and producing Buffy the Vampire Slayer.- Production :...
. In the original episode, they played respectively a man ecstatic that the dry cleaner had gotten mustard out of his shirt, and a woman complaining about a parking ticket. Here, in a flashback set the night before their numbers, the aftermath of Noxon's character spilling mustard on Fury's character is heard.
Fullscreen vs. widescreen
In the audio commentary for the episode, writer Drew Goddard mentioned whether or not the "Mrs." scene should have been shown in widescreen for American audiences since it was a flashback to "Once More, with Feeling", the only episode of Buffy shown in widescreen in the US. Director David Solomon thought it would have been too confusing to switch between full-frame and widescreen, so it was not done.Trivia
- All of Kali Rocha's (HalfrekHalfrekHalfrek or Hallie is a recurring fictional character on the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She appears as a vengeance demon in seasons 6 and 7, and has previously appeared as Cecily in season 5. She is played by actress Kali Rocha....
) shots in her death scene were green-screened, because of time constraints. - Sarah Michelle Gellar was only available for three days of shooting on this episode because of her wedding to Freddie Prinze, Jr.Freddie Prinze, Jr.Freddie James Prinze, Jr. is an American actor. He rose to fame during the late 1990s and early 2000s, after starring in several Hollywood films aimed at teenage audiences, I Know What You Did Last Summer and its sequel, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer , as well as She's All That , Summer...
- On the DVD around the 13:30 mark, a villager chasing Olaf in the flashback yells out, "You asshole!" while chasing the troll out of town.
- For the benefit of the viewers and ease of scene production, Aud and D'Hoffryn speak to each other in American English. However, from a historical perspective, American English would not exist for almost another thousand years. English at that time (Old English) would be incomprehensible to modern English speakers.
- In the DVD commentary for this episode, writer Drew Goddard claims that the Sjornjost scenes were written in Swedish but he intended for the lines to be dubbed badly in English. Thus, Emma Caulfield and Abraham Benrubi were told that they did not need to memorize the Swedish that carefully because it would not be heard. Both actors memorized all of the alleged Swedish words phonetically, and the show creators were so pleased with their performances that they decided to subtitle the scenes rather than dub them.
- Goddard also says that he chose the name Aud for Anya's original human name because while researching Viking names he found a Viking king named Olaf who had a wife named AudAud the Deep-MindedAud the Deep-Minded was an earlier settler in Iceland.-Biography:...
, known for her sense of humor and her ability to manage money. The description of Aud fit Anya so well that he had to use the name. - Drew Goddard considered a flashback to "HushHush (Buffy episode)"Hush" is the tenth episode in the fourth season of the fantasy television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer . It was written and directed by series creator Joss Whedon and originally aired in the United States on December 14, 1999 on The WB Television Network...
" rather than to "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...
", but decided that it would be difficult to show Anya defining herself through Xander without dialogue. - During Anya's song there are numerous pieces of trivia. Before she begins to sing the viewer can hear people singing outside about spilling mustard on their clothes, and worrying it will never come out. In "Once More With Feeling" a group of ecstatic people sing happily about mustard being removed from a man's clothes just outside the Magic Box. Also, Anya says in her song that she is good at math, most probably a nod towards her love of money, yet in her first appearance after losing her powers she complains that she is stuck in Sunnydale High and "flunking math!" An allusion to her duet with Xander "I'll Never Tell" is also included, in the line "Although he can be — I'll never tell."
Continuity
- Anya's history with Olaf the troll (who appeared in "TriangleTriangle (Buffy episode)"Triangle" is the eleventh episode of season 5 of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Giles visits England, leaving Anya in charge of the Magic Box. Willow accidentally unleashes a troll, who used to be Anya's boyfriend. Eventually, Anya and Willow manage to send him to the land of...
" and mentioned their history briefly) is fleshed out in this episode. - In Anya's flashback sequence, before she starts singing her song, Xander mutters "I just want a happy ending". In 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...
" (season 6, episode 7), Xander claims to have summoned Sweet, a demon who makes people dance until they burn. His excuse for summoning Sweet was that "I just wanted to make sure we were gonna work out. Get a happy ending." - In Sjornjost 880, Aud happily raises rabbits, while from season 4 until the end of the series Anya demonstrates fear and hate toward rabbits. This implies that Anya's hostility toward rabbits might be a subconscious association of them with the simple, happy life she enjoyed with Olaf before his infidelity, the action which set her life as a vengeance demon into motion.
- During the battle, Anya asks Buffy "Are there any of your friends you haven't tried to kill?" This is most likely a reference to "Normal AgainNormal Again (Buffy episode)"Normal Again" is the 17th episode of season 6 of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.The Trio bring a demon whose hallucinogenic venom makes Buffy believe that her implausible and nightmarish life as vampire slayer has actually been her own elaborate hallucination as a mental patient,...
," in which, under the influence of a hallucination, Buffy sets a demon lose to kill Xander, Willow, Dawn, and Tara. Buffy has also battled Willow ("Two to Go"), Angel ("Becoming") and Spike (often), and mistakenly attacked Cordelia ("Welcome to the HellmouthWelcome to the Hellmouth"Welcome to the Hellmouth" is the series premiere of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This episode and "The Harvest" were originally aired as a two-part series premiere on The WB Television Network...
"), Oz ("What's My Line, Part 1"), Riley ("The InitiativeThe Initiative (Buffy episode)"The Initiative" is the seventh episode of season 4 of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Written by Doug Petrie and directed by James A. Contner, it originally aired on November 16, 1999 on the WB network...
"), and Giles ("A New ManA New Man (Buffy episode)"A New Man" is the 12th episode of season 4 of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer.-Plot synopsis:Buffy and Riley are making out on her bed, but before it gets too serious, Willow barges into the room and tells them of a demon that attacked the rec room. Armed with weapons, they go to the...
"). - When Anya rouses herself after Buffy stabs her through the chest, she says that Buffy should know better, that a sword through the chest doesn't kill vengeance demons. She is referencing "Older and Far AwayOlder and Far Away (Buffy episode)"Older and Far Away" is the 14th episode of season 6 of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer.-Plot synopsis:Buffy apologizes to Dawn for having to leave and hunt down a dangerous demon, promising that they'll soon spend time together. In the cemetery, Buffy fights the demon and stabs it...
" in which Halfrek, a fellow vengeance demon, is stabbed through the chest and calls it a "flesh wound." She also remarks, "I forgot how much swords to the chest hurt," implying that she had been stabbed before; but she was surprised when Halfrek survived it. - D'Hoffryn reminds Anya, Xander and Buffy that, despite his wit and occasional sensitivity, he is still an evil being. When Anya tells D'Hoffryn that he should have killed her instead of Halfrek, he says that he wouldn't worry about that and tells her to be patient, foreshadowing her death at the end of the season.
- When Halfrek is congratulating a remorseful Anya in the interior of her new apartment, the camera passes a round glass jar in a box of leftover "Magic Box" supplies. It closely resembles the "Mu-Ping" Jar that will temporarily house Angel's soul during the fourth season of the Spin off Series AngelAngelAngels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
Arc significance
- The Xander and Anya problem is reversed in Buffy and Spike, which would be fully explored in further episodes.
- Willow finally discovers that Xander never told Buffy of her plans to restore Angel's soul (season 2), when Buffy quotes the message that Xander had instead invented.
- Through the flashbacks, it is established that Anya's odd behavior throughout the series is not because she is an ex-demon, but that she has been an outcast all her life. Fittingly, her original human name Aud is pronounced "odd."