It’s always all about her.

Genevieve ‘Gigi’ Savidge is showing ‘Hope Lyonne’ everything she knows about the commoner with the silly name, the so-called leader of the Slayers. Buffy. Can you believe the very fount of the power they wield, is called Buffy? Gigi’s distaste for the name, as well as her envy over Buffy, is evident in her voice and body language.

Faith just sits there, going along. This is why Giles asked me. Not to do the dirty work. But to save his precious golden girl. She feels like she’s been played. “And you’re really going to kill her?” ‘Hope’ asks her host, even though she already knows the answer.

Murder her? Don’t make it sound so pedestrian. Gigi says it’s bigger than that. She needs to be assassinated. And when her crown slips to Gigi, they’ll begin a new glorious reign. Faith asks what they’ll reign over. Gigi starts to get hysterical with her movements, excited by the prospect of a new ally in her grand plans: Buffy has forced them to become servants to society. Slayers should be strong, independent and need to be brought out of shadow, into the bright light of –

She’s cut off by Roden, clearly not wishing her to divulge more to their ‘guest’. He warns Gigi that her parents have finally left for Venice and there is much to prepare for before this evening’s battle. Gigi shrugs off his concerns: she is prepared – but perhaps he should worry about himself? She is taking a day to herself and she’s taking ‘Hope’ with her, providing her ‘father’ wouldn’t mind. Faith shakes her head. Nope, no dad to care…

At that exact moment, on the edge of the Savidge property, an exasperated Rupert Giles is yelling Faith’s name into his comm device and he is rapidly losing his patience. He’s been there all night. Waiting. He’s worried due to her lack of response. He has also hired a freelancer to break through this rather advanced magical field that surrounds the estate.

His freelancer, a magical dwarf named Trafalgar, is hammering repeatedly into thin air behind Giles, a faint shimmer in the air appearing when he hits his unseen target. He turns to Giles. Afraid your secret agent is on her own, if she’s still alive. Giles has no doubt as to Faith’s survival, but Trafalgar stops him – that’s not what he meant. What if the bad girl Giles brought here to kill the other bad girl goes native and they team up?

Inside the palatial estate, Faith, or ‘Hope’, shares a giant tub full of bubbles with Gigi, luxuriating in the feeling of indulgence. Her eyes are closed in bliss: this is her idea of Heaven – if she believed in it.

Gigi is talking about music, specifically music for her coronation. When they both suggest the same band at the same time, Gigi grins at her: See, I told you we were kindred spirits.

As they get out of the tub and dry off, Faith asks when she met Roden. Gigi doesn’t think much of him – he’s just someone she met at one of mum’s boring fundraisers, but he had her attention when he mentioned her nightmares. She’s had Slayer dreams since she hit puberty and she hasn’t had a decent night’s sleep in years. Roden says the spells in his book will stop the nightmares – as soon as Buffy Summers is taken out.

Faith questions Roden’s motives, but Gigi uses logic on her: what does he get out of lying? Why would he? Gigi can handle a boy – you make them feel useful and play them at their own game.

Faith nearly drops her façade for a minute: “Unless that’s what they want you to think. Gigi, please. Don’t go after this girl.”

Genevieve smiles at her. She appreciates the concern, but why does Hope think she is going anywhere at all?

In Scotland, Willow is magically fixing the radar system to detect incoming threats. Buffy thinks sonar could be cool, until Willow reminds her that the castle is kinda landlocked – even if it has got a moat! Willow appreciates the humour, but does take a serious tone for a moment: where does all the money come from to keep all this equipment going? Buffy tells her that they have anonymous donors, but Willow isn’t quite buying it – what happens if those donors are breached by the Twilight soldiers.

Buffy tells her, honestly, that she doesn’t know. She can’t go all Slayer on human beings. They’ll have to cross that bridge when they come to it, she says – before disappearing in a poof of orange smoke!

The Slayers in the room react in shock. Willow looks at them confused. “Did I do that?”

In England, Rosen is using the Twilight tome and has used a spell to teleport Buffy directly to them. She instantly feels nauseous and warns him that he is going to regret that.

From a balcony overlooking them, Faith is horrified. They did it. They brought Buffy here. Gigi picks up a sword from a nearby suit of armour and tells Hope to enjoy the show.

Buffy is threatening an unimpressed Roden, as Genevieve approaches her. She tells her that when in the presence of royalty, colonists belong on their knees – and brutally kicks Buffy square in the face.

Buffy reacts, recognising Gigi as a Slayer, but is not particularly impressed with her bluster about being the ‘Honourable’ Lady Savidge. In fact, Buffy tells her, for the country that invented Girl power, her sense of sorority sucks! She proceeds to headbutt Genevieve in the face, breaking her nose.

This prompts a grin from Gigi, who thinks this is the most fun she’s had in a while, the biggest challenge yet. She matches Buffy, blow for blow, mentioning that at least Buffy is stronger than the last Slayer she brought down.

That pisses Buffy off, royally. She ups her speed, Gigi miscalculating, falling to the ground. Buffy stands over her, sword in her hand. “You were given a gift,” she tells her. “And you used it to hurt innocent girls? Other Slayers?”

Buffy is angry. Angrier than Faith has ever seen her. She leaps down from the balcony, calling Buffy’s name. Buffy turns in shock: Faith? Gigi reacts to the name? ‘Faith?’

There’s no time for any more talk, as Faith tackles Buffy and heads straight for the nearest window, smashing through the glass and hoping for the deep end as they fall towards a pool to break their fall.

As they hit the shallow end, Buffy punches Faith, asking why she should be surprised that Faith is hanging with an evil Slayer. Like attracts like, after all. Faith tries to get her to stop, explaining she was undercover for Giles, but Buffy doesn’t stop, unrelenting with her blows. “You’re lying! Giles never trusted you any more than I did!”

That hits Faith’s last remaining nerve: when Giles approached her, she felt wanted and needed by someone. She had a mission, she had a goal. And whenever Buffy is around, she’s the villain. That’s what they think – she’s bad, until they need her.

She grabs Buffy, patience gone, and holds her head under the water. Buffy reaches up to stop Faith, but she’s too strong, and Buffy, desperately trying to breathe, looks up into Faith’s eyes.

Faith lets go and yells “Shut up!” Whilst Buffy takes a breath, she asks Faith who she’s talking to, but Buffy just tells her to go. She wishes Buffy would just go away.

Before Buffy can reach Faith, she’s gone in another poof of smoke.

In Scotland, Willow is shouting in Latin, eyes black, roots starting to darken, when Buffy finally appears in front of her. It seems there were some false starts in the initial attempts to bring Buffy home: namely a Norwegian truck driver and two mamosets. As Buffy throws up again, Willow asks her what happened. “Who did this to you?”

Buffy looks at her, anger in her eyes. “Get me Giles,” she orders.

At Mansion Savidge, Faith looks around – where did Buffy go? She sits down on the edge of the pool, exhausted. She feels too tired to fight anymore, too tired to do anything.

Behind her, tears streaming down her face, axe in hands, stands Gigi. She’s asks Faith if she let Buffy go. She’s trembling as she prepares to swing at Faith’s head… “I thought you were my friend…”