The Killer in Me (Buffy episode)
Encyclopedia
"The Killer in Me" is the 13th episode of the seventh and final season of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
prepares to take all of the Potentials – except Kennedy, who's sick with the flu – on a trip to the desert to meet the First Slayer. Buffy goes to check on Spike, who's chained in the basement. They chat about the girls being gone and Spike's decision to stay chained up until they know the First Evil
is through with him. Suddenly, Spike begins to writhe in pain as his chip fires without provocation.
Buffy talks with Willow in the kitchen about Spike's chip and what little they actually know about it. Willow then goes upstairs to bring Kennedy some tea. When Willow walks into the room, she finds that Kennedy is not actually sick, and is instead dressed for a "mission" which she says requires Willow's assistance. The mission turns out to be drinks at The Bronze
. Back in the basement, Buffy checks on Spike again and they talk about the potential causes of the chip's glitches. Buffy realizes that she is going to have to contact the people who implanted the chip in the first place: the Initiative. Buffy tries, but fails, to reach Riley Finn
on the telephone; Spike's chip continues to fire at random intervals.
Willow and Kennedy finish their drinks and then return to Revello Drive. Back in their room, Kennedy gives Willow an end-of-date kiss, with a surprising effect: Willow takes on the appearance of Warren Mears
. Panicking, Willow rushes downstairs; on seeing her, the others recoil, partly because they know that the First Evil has appeared to Andrew
as Warren. Buffy hits "Warren", showing that "he" cannot be the First (who is incorporeal). When Willow threatens to tell some embarrassing old stories about Xander, the gang provisionally accept her claim.
Willow goes off to try to break the spell; Kennedy tags along.
Spike's chip fires again. Buffy and Spike go to the Initiative's abandoned base to look for the painkilling drugs that were used on Spike during his captivity there three years before, when the chip was implanted, and for documentation on the chip.
Robson, a Watcher, telephones Buffy's house from England and reports that Giles may have been killed by a Bringer (as seen in the ending of "Sleeper
"). The Scoobies become alarmed when none of them can remember seeing Giles touch anything since his return; no one has hugged him, nor seen him carry anything, and he is not driving the car to the desert. Xander, Anya
, Dawn
, and Andrew
all go to the desert to find Giles and, in the case of danger, stop him from hurting the Potentials.
Willow and Kennedy go to meet with the Wicca
n group at the University of California-Sunnydale, which now includes an apologetic and repentant Amy
. Amy and Willow work together to break the glamour, but the spell brings forth another surprise: a burst of Warren from inside of Willow. Willow tries to run away as she realizes she's not just looking like Warren, she's becoming him. Kennedy tries to follow, but Willow puts up a magical barrier to keep her away.
Buffy and Spike wander through the remains of the Initiative, finding many dead soldiers and demons ("Primeval").
Inside the Initiative, Buffy and Spike are attacked by a demon. During the fray, Buffy is winded by the demon and when Spike tries to help, his chip fires and renders him ineffectual. The demon grabs Spike and drags him off into the darkness.
Kennedy returns to the lecture hall to find Amy packing up supplies; the rest of the group is gone. Amy comments on Kennedy's concern for Willow, and draws Kennedy's suspicion when she mentions that Kennedy is a Potential, a fact that neither Kennedy or Willow had mentioned.
Willow, increasingly dominated by the Warren persona, goes to buy a gun, of the same model that killed Tara and wounded Buffy ("Seeing Red").
Out in the desert, Giles is tackled to the ground by Xander and the others. They are all pleased to find that he has a solid form and thus is not the First Evil – nor dead.
Back at the abandoned Initiative facility, Buffy battles with and finally kills the demon that attacked her and Spike. As she crouches down by Spike to see if he is okay, lights turn on, revealing a group of soldiers. Their leader explains that Riley received Buffy's message, and they are there to help Spike. An examination confirms that Spike's chip is killing him. It is up to Buffy to decide whether to repair the chip or remove it.
Kennedy confronts Amy, accusing her of causing the "Warren" problem. Amy reveals that she put a hex on Willow, whose effect is determined by the victim's subconscious. She did it because Willow murdered a man and remained beloved – crowning Amy's envy of Willow's relatively easy successes in magic. Amy then teleports Kennedy to the backyard of Buffy's house, where Willow/Warren starts to reenact his attack on Buffy that resulted in Tara's death, saying, "You killed her, you bitch!"
Kennedy talks Willow down, and Willow tearfully explains that when Kennedy kissed her she let go of Tara's memory for a moment, making her truly dead.
In an interview with the BBC, Elizabeth Anne Allen
says, "everything had to be so exact." She explains that if Alyson or Adam "gestured or moved their head differently from the other person, they had to do the take over again. So that one scene took us a day and a half to shoot."
Anthony Stewart Head was not allowed to touch anything while onscreen for several episodes prior to this one, in order to set up the suspicion that Giles might actually be the First. According to the DVD commentary for this episode, this was apparently quite a pain for all involved. When asked why he set up this misdirection, Joss Whedon says it was "to make people wonder. Just to have a little fun in the sense of pulling a mystery... an exercise, something to spice things up." Whedon wanted to play off the "creepy" idea that "we don't know where the bad guy is, we don't know where he's coming from. Our trusted mentor could be the bad guy."
In the DVD commentary, director David Solomon notes that Iyari Limon had to do a lot of kissing in this episode. He says she joked that her lips hurt after having to do long kisses with both Alyson Hannigan and Adam Busch.
Plot synopsis
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...
prepares to take all of the Potentials – except Kennedy, who's sick with the flu – on a trip to the desert to meet the First Slayer. Buffy goes to check on Spike, who's chained in the basement. They chat about the girls being gone and Spike's decision to stay chained up until they know the First Evil
First Evil
The First Evil is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The First Evil first appeared in the third season episode "Amends", and became the main antagonist of the 7th and final season.A being manifested from all evil in existence, the First is an...
is through with him. Suddenly, Spike begins to writhe in pain as his chip fires without provocation.
Buffy talks with Willow in the kitchen about Spike's chip and what little they actually know about it. Willow then goes upstairs to bring Kennedy some tea. When Willow walks into the room, she finds that Kennedy is not actually sick, and is instead dressed for a "mission" which she says requires Willow's assistance. The mission turns out to be drinks at The Bronze
The Bronze
The Bronze is a fictional nightclub in Sunnydale, the fictional setting for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Of 144 episodes of the series, 66 have at least one scene at the Bronze, not including its appearance in the unaired pilot....
. Back in the basement, Buffy checks on Spike again and they talk about the potential causes of the chip's glitches. Buffy realizes that she is going to have to contact the people who implanted the chip in the first place: the Initiative. Buffy tries, but fails, to reach Riley Finn
Riley Finn
Riley Finn is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Portrayed by Marc Blucas, Riley was introduced in the 1999 season four premiere episode, "The Freshman", and Blucas was part of the series credited cast for the second part of season four...
on the telephone; Spike's chip continues to fire at random intervals.
Willow and Kennedy finish their drinks and then return to Revello Drive. Back in their room, Kennedy gives Willow an end-of-date kiss, with a surprising effect: Willow takes on the appearance of Warren Mears
Warren Mears
Warren Mears is a fictional character portrayed by Adam Busch in the American television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as well as its canonical comic book series continuation.-Television:...
. Panicking, Willow rushes downstairs; on seeing her, the others recoil, partly because they know that the First Evil has appeared to Andrew
Andrew Wells
Andrew Wells is a fictional character in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, played by Tom Lenk. The character also appears in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, the canonical continuation of the series....
as Warren. Buffy hits "Warren", showing that "he" cannot be the First (who is incorporeal). When Willow threatens to tell some embarrassing old stories about Xander, the gang provisionally accept her claim.
Willow goes off to try to break the spell; Kennedy tags along.
Spike's chip fires again. Buffy and Spike go to the Initiative's abandoned base to look for the painkilling drugs that were used on Spike during his captivity there three years before, when the chip was implanted, and for documentation on the chip.
Robson, a Watcher, telephones Buffy's house from England and reports that Giles may have been killed by a Bringer (as seen in the ending of "Sleeper
Sleeper (Buffy episode)
"Sleeper" is the eighth episode of the seventh and final season of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.-Plot synopsis:Spike digs a grave for and buries the woman he just killed while he hums a tune. In London, a man with a briefcase finds a young woman he knows lying dead...
"). The Scoobies become alarmed when none of them can remember seeing Giles touch anything since his return; no one has hugged him, nor seen him carry anything, and he is not driving the car to the desert. Xander, Anya
Anya 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...
, Dawn
Dawn Summers
Dawn Summers is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon and introduced by Marti Noxon and David Fury on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, portrayed by Michelle Trachtenberg. She made her debut in the premiere episode of the show's fifth season, and subsequently appeared in every...
, and Andrew
Andrew Wells
Andrew Wells is a fictional character in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, played by Tom Lenk. The character also appears in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, the canonical continuation of the series....
all go to the desert to find Giles and, in the case of danger, stop him from hurting the Potentials.
Willow and Kennedy go to meet with the Wicca
Wicca
Wicca , is a modern Pagan religious movement. Developing in England in the first half of the 20th century, Wicca was popularised in the 1950s and early 1960s by a Wiccan High Priest named Gerald Gardner, who at the time called it the "witch cult" and "witchcraft," and its adherents "the Wica."...
n group at the University of California-Sunnydale, which now includes an apologetic and repentant Amy
Amy Madison
Amy Madison is a fictional character, a witch played by Elizabeth Anne Allen in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and by Shay Astar in the Season 8 motion comics. She made appearances in every season of Buffy except Seasons Five .Amy is a witch...
. Amy and Willow work together to break the glamour, but the spell brings forth another surprise: a burst of Warren from inside of Willow. Willow tries to run away as she realizes she's not just looking like Warren, she's becoming him. Kennedy tries to follow, but Willow puts up a magical barrier to keep her away.
Buffy and Spike wander through the remains of the Initiative, finding many dead soldiers and demons ("Primeval").
Inside the Initiative, Buffy and Spike are attacked by a demon. During the fray, Buffy is winded by the demon and when Spike tries to help, his chip fires and renders him ineffectual. The demon grabs Spike and drags him off into the darkness.
Kennedy returns to the lecture hall to find Amy packing up supplies; the rest of the group is gone. Amy comments on Kennedy's concern for Willow, and draws Kennedy's suspicion when she mentions that Kennedy is a Potential, a fact that neither Kennedy or Willow had mentioned.
Willow, increasingly dominated by the Warren persona, goes to buy a gun, of the same model that killed Tara and wounded Buffy ("Seeing Red").
Out in the desert, Giles is tackled to the ground by Xander and the others. They are all pleased to find that he has a solid form and thus is not the First Evil – nor dead.
Back at the abandoned Initiative facility, Buffy battles with and finally kills the demon that attacked her and Spike. As she crouches down by Spike to see if he is okay, lights turn on, revealing a group of soldiers. Their leader explains that Riley received Buffy's message, and they are there to help Spike. An examination confirms that Spike's chip is killing him. It is up to Buffy to decide whether to repair the chip or remove it.
Kennedy confronts Amy, accusing her of causing the "Warren" problem. Amy reveals that she put a hex on Willow, whose effect is determined by the victim's subconscious. She did it because Willow murdered a man and remained beloved – crowning Amy's envy of Willow's relatively easy successes in magic. Amy then teleports Kennedy to the backyard of Buffy's house, where Willow/Warren starts to reenact his attack on Buffy that resulted in Tara's death, saying, "You killed her, you bitch!"
Kennedy talks Willow down, and Willow tearfully explains that when Kennedy kissed her she let go of Tara's memory for a moment, making her truly dead.
Writing
Each scene with Willow/Warren was filmed twice - once with Alyson Hannigan playing Willow and again with Adam Busch as Warren. Which actor performed the scene first depended upon how "Willow" Warren was supposed to be. That is, when Willow first changes into Warren she acts more or less like Willow; in these early scenes Hannigan would act first so that Busch could somewhat mimic her performance. In later scenes when Warren's personality is more prominent Busch would act first. Because of this decision to use both actors, filming the Willow scenes took much longer than usual.In an interview with the BBC, Elizabeth Anne Allen
Elizabeth Anne Allen
Elizabeth Anne Allen is an American actress. Allen is best known for her recurring role as the witch Amy Madison on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer....
says, "everything had to be so exact." She explains that if Alyson or Adam "gestured or moved their head differently from the other person, they had to do the take over again. So that one scene took us a day and a half to shoot."
Anthony Stewart Head was not allowed to touch anything while onscreen for several episodes prior to this one, in order to set up the suspicion that Giles might actually be the First. According to the DVD commentary for this episode, this was apparently quite a pain for all involved. When asked why he set up this misdirection, Joss Whedon says it was "to make people wonder. Just to have a little fun in the sense of pulling a mystery... an exercise, something to spice things up." Whedon wanted to play off the "creepy" idea that "we don't know where the bad guy is, we don't know where he's coming from. Our trusted mentor could be the bad guy."
In the DVD commentary, director David Solomon notes that Iyari Limon had to do a lot of kissing in this episode. He says she joked that her lips hurt after having to do long kisses with both Alyson Hannigan and Adam Busch.
Cultural references
- When Kennedy is teleported into Buffy's backyard she says to herself "that was a hell of a thing," a reference to Galaxy QuestGalaxy QuestGalaxy Quest is a 1999 science-fiction comedy parody about a troupe of human actors who defend a group of aliens against an alien warlord. It was directed by Dean Parisot and written by David Howard and Robert Gordon. Mark Johnson and Charles Newirth produced the film for DreamWorks, and David...
, mimicking Tony ShalhoubTony ShalhoubAnthony Marcus "Tony" Shalhoub is an American actor of Lebanese descent. His television work includes the roles of Antonio Scarpacci on Wings and sleuth Adrian Monk on the TV series Monk. He has won three Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe for his work in Monk...
's understated attitude to being teleported for the first time. - When Buffy and Spike are discussing a solution to Spike's chip's malfunctions, Spike says "Who you gonna call?" This is an allusion to GhostbustersGhostbustersGhostbusters is a 1984 American science fiction comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. The film stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, and Rick Moranis and follows three eccentric parapsychologists in New York City, who start a...
.
Arc significance
- What Willow says when she first enters Buffy's backyard with the gun is similar to, though not exactly what Warren says before he shoots Buffy in "Seeing Red". Willow says, "You think you could just do that to me? That I'd let you get away with it?" while Warren says, "You think you could just do that to me? You think I'd let you get away with that?"
- The largely unseen vision quest is implied to be the same as Buffy underwent in "InterventionIntervention (Buffy episode)"Intervention" is the eighteenth episode in the fifth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.- Plot synopsis :At the Summers's home after dinner, Buffy confesses to Giles that she's worried about her ability to love. Giles suggests he and Buffy go to a sacred location in the desert so that she can...
." - In this episode the issue of Willow grieving for Tara is directly addressed. It also helps progress the Kennedy/Willow relationship by featuring their first kiss.
- This episode marks the final appearance of the Initiative, and the removal of Spike's chip.
- This is the last episode where Tara is mentioned.
- This episode marks the eighth and final appearance of Elizabeth Anne AllenElizabeth Anne AllenElizabeth Anne Allen is an American actress. Allen is best known for her recurring role as the witch Amy Madison on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer....
as Amy. - Later, in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season EightBuffy the Vampire Slayer Season EightBuffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight is a comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics. The series serves as a canonical continuation of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and follows the events of that show's final televised season. It is produced by Joss Whedon, who wrote the...
s "The Long Way Home, Part 4The Long Way Home (Buffy comic)"The Long Way Home" is the first arc from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight series of comic books, a direct continuation of the television series of the same name. It is written by creator Joss Whedon. It ran for four issues. The first issue was released on March 14, 2007, and the final...
", it is revealed that Amy and Warren (who had survived through Amy) concocted this revenge plan together.
Continuity violation
- Buffy and Spike return to the Initiative to find painkillers for Spike. However, Spike was captured by the Initiative in "Wild at HeartWild at Heart (Buffy episode)"Wild at Heart" is the sixth episode of season 4 of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In a BBC interview, writer Marti Noxon says she would have liked to direct this episode, as it was "close to [her] heart" - particularly the metaphor that "most of us have a creature inside of us that...
", then wakes up in his cell at the beginning of "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...
" not knowing where he is and promptly escapes - he didn't even know about the implant until he tried to bite Willow and couldn't. Thus, there were no experiments or meds for him to remember. - Furthermore, in the penultimate episode of Season 4, the government overseers rule that the former Initiative base would be filled with cement to hide evidence of its existence, but in this episode Buffy and Spike find they had not done so.