Spiral

Season 5, Episode 20
Written by Steven S. DeKnight
Directed by James A. Contner
Original Airdate: 7 May 2001

“We should drop a piano on her. It always works for the creepy cartoon rabbit when he’s running from that nice man with the speech impediment.”

Anya

REGULAR CAST

Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers
Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris
Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg
Emma Caulfield as Anya Jenkins
Michelle Trachtenberg as Dawn Summers
James Marsters as Spike
Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles

GUEST CAST

Clare Kramer as Glory
Charlie Weber as Ben Wilkinson
Wade Andrew Williams as General Gregor
Karim Prince as Dante
Amber Benson as Tara Maclay

CO-STARRING

Justin Gorence as Orlando
Lily Knight as Gronx
Todd Duffey as Murk
Bob Morrisey as Crazy #1
Paul Bates as Crazy #2
Carl J. Johnson as Crazy #3
Mary Sheldon as Nurse

SYNOPSIS

With Glory now possessing knowledge of Dawn’s true nature, Buffy and Dawn run for their lives and are fortunate enough to escape thanks to Willow’s magic and a large semi-truck slamming into Glory out on the street. The gang gathers together at Xander’s, where Buffy resolves that they must get out of town. Ben talks to one of Glory’s minions, revealing that he is just a human body to hold Glory’s God form. Spike solves the gang’s transportation problem by providing a sun-protected RV.

The Knights of Byzantium retrieve their crazy member from the hospital and discover the Key’s true form. Giles drives the RV in Spike’s place and talks with a motion sick Xander about Buffy’s state of mind. Depressed and worried about their future plans, Buffy is comforted by Dawn until the Knights attack them all. A sword through the roof nearly kills Buffy, but Spike stops it with his bare hands. After going to the top of the RV and fending off the Knights, Buffy thinks she has fought them all off. One Knight attacks by surprise, getting in front of the RV and sends a spear flying right into Giles and the RV crashes to its side.

Briefly, everyone tries to regroup at a gas station before more Knights attack. Buffy fends of the attackers as best as possible until a barrier spell from Willow protects them all with a shield. General Gregor of the Knights is captured and talks of Glory’s plans and what Dawn really is. All those left crazy by Glory suddenly get restless and repeatedly state that it’s time. Realizing that Giles’ health is in serious danger, Buffy arranges a deal to call on Ben to come and tend to the wounded.

He fixes Giles and Dawn and talks with Buffy. Spike suggests to Xander that they run, but Buffy refuses to let anyone die. She later talks with Gregor who talks more of Glory and reveals that if Buffy kills Glory’s human vessel, she can be destroyed. He also says that the Key, if used, will destroy all separation between dimensions and destroy the universe. Buffy promises Dawn that she’ll protect her.

Gregor suspects Ben is an outsider and tempts him with the idea of killing Dawn. Ben realizes that Glory is about to take over his body, but it’s too late: Glory comes forth, kills Gregor, fights off the Scooby Gang to take Dawn and breaks through the force field. By the time Willow releases the field, Glory has disposed of all the Knights and disappeared with Dawn. Knowing they have to move fast, everyone heads for Ben’s car to chase after Glory. The loss of Dawn to Glory has left the Slayer completely emotionally broken and she can’t bring herself to do anything when she should be going to save her sister.

TRIVIA

Steven DeKnight said of the beginning of this episode: “As a matter of fact, in the first draft of the outline for that script, the opening action scene where Buffy is trying to escape from Glory with Dawn, was massive. It was a ten minute long escape scene. Buffy gets smacked into a tree a hundred feet away, she ends up beating Glory with a sheared off lamp pole, there was big, big action. Joss read it and said “This is great, this is wonderful, Kubrick couldn’t film this in 20 days with five million dollars, so cut everything”. I’m like “Great, okay, that’s fine, as long as I get the Knights chasing the Winnebago.””

CONTINUITY

Buffy calls Ben to help them in the desert. She got his number from him in I Was Made to Love You.

At one point, Buffy says “We’re not going to win this with stakes or spells or pulling out some uranium power core,” which refers to her killing Adam in Primeval.

Xander mentions the rocket launcher used to kill the Judge in Innocence.

GOOFS

The face of Sarah Michelle Gellar’s stunt double can be seen clearly several times on top of the Winnebago.

When Buffy is fighting the knights on top of the Winnebago she is wearing flat shoes. When she talks to the Byzantium leader, she is wearing high-heeled boots.

Buffy is clearly holding a dummy of Dawn when she runs from Glory at the beginning of the episode.

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

EPISODE
Tough Love / The Weight of the World

STORY ORDER
Tough Love / The Weight of the World