Season 5, Episode 3
Written by Jane Espenson
Directed by James A. Contner
Original Airdate: 9 October 2000
“Buffy has super-strength. Why don’t we just load her up, like one of those little horses?”
Anya
REGULAR CAST
- Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers
- Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris
- Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg
- Marc Blucas as Riley Finn
- Emma Caulfield as Anya Jenkins
- Michelle Trachtenberg as Dawn Summers
- James Marsters as Spike
- Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles
GUEST CAST
- Michael Bailey Smith as Toth
- Kristine Sutherland as Joyce Summers
CO-STARRING
- Kelly Donovan as Xander Double
- Cathy Cohen as Building Manager
- David Reivers as Foreman
- Fritz Greve as Construction Worker
SYNOPSIS
Xander and Anya watch a movie with Buffy and Riley while listening to the background noise of Xander’s drunk parents fighting and yelling upstairs. The next day, the gang looks at a prospective apartment for Xander. He doesn’t think he can afford it and this upsets Anya. Giles receives a visit from a demon searching for the Slayer. He later identifies the demon as Toth, only survivor of the Tothric Clan.
The gang checks out the city dump in search of the demon and find Spike collecting. The demon hits Xander with light from a rod and knocks him to the ground. He gets to his feet and walks off with the rest of the gang, but then we see that there is another Xander still lying in a pile of trash. The next morning, one Xander awakens at the city dump and then discovers his double upon returning to his house. Spike has put together a Buffy doll from mannequin parts which he uses to practice beating up on.
One of the Xander’s is very ambitious and gets a promotion at work, signs a lease for the apartment, and sets up a date with Anya. The unconfident Xander watches as all this happens and finally confronts his double. After the two Xander’s see each other, the confident Xander talks to Buffy and she makes this a matter of Slayer business. Soaked by the rain, weak Xander goes to Willow and tries to explain that this double is taking over his life. He tells Willow that the double is doing a better job of living his life but then suddenly realizes that his double is going after Anya and that is one thing he won’t allow.
Anya and the Xander double discuss their future and Anya expresses her fears about not living forever. Giles discovers that the rod Toth used split Xander into two real Xander’s, one with weak qualities and the other with strong qualities. The weak Xander crashes the date between strong Xander and Anya. Both think that the other is a demon and the weak Xander pulls out a handgun he got from Anya’s apartment.
Buffy tells the doubles the truth about their situation and tries to convince them not to kill each other. Toth appears at the apartment then Buffy and Riley fight and kill him. Willow ends the spell on the Xander’s and makes them one again. While moving Xander into his new apartment, Xander and Riley talk. Riley confesses that despite how much he loves Buffy, he realizes that she doesn’t.
TRIVIA
Xander’s double is played by his real-life identical twin Kelly Donovan. The boys’ real surname is Schultz but they both use their middle names as surnames when working. Nicholas mostly played both but Kelly was used as a double, and had a bit of dialogue when the two were in the same frame. Here’s what Nick said on the message boards at his official site: “Truth be told, I played both characters. It was very challenging and rewarding and I must’ve done an OK job if you couldn’t tell it was me. I had a blast working with Kelly and he really deserves kudos for his work. He was never promised on-screen dialogue but they did end up using some and I think he did a stand-up job. In fact there was even one point where Kelly, Tressa and I had to rewind and freeze the tape to decipher who was who, (standing side by side, Kelly as “Cool Xander” did a stellar job of imitating my signature blinky eyes).”
CONTINUITY
During Xander’s conversation about how he’s handling his evil twin, he challenges Willow to see how she would cope with it. She reminds him that she handled it just fine. She’s referring to her vampire double in Doppelgangland.
Riley tells Buffy that he even loves her ‘bad ice-skating movie obsession,’ a reference to her being a fan, as seen in What’s My Line? (Part 1) as well as Helpless.
Xander finally performs the Snoopy Dance, which was first referenced in Passion.
Joyce suffers from a headache in this episode, calling her daughter’s arguing is the cause. She’s half right – it’s hinted that the new memories made a situation worse, and caused Joyce’s aneurysm, which later kills her in I Was Made to Love You.
Willow bursts through Giles’s door in this episode, and he swears that the door was locked. Spike did the same in The Yoko Factor.
GOOFS
Xander mentions his Babylon 5 commemorative plates. They don’t exist – they were planned, but never released.
In the scene with Spike and the mannequin, Spike has a tan line on his arms.
Xander’s boss says the construction job is winding down, but the site looks nowhere near finished.
Anya says that she has never been hurt really bad before since she became human, but she was stabbed through the hand in Where The Wild Things Are.
The answering machine only plays back the middle part of Xander’s message.
Buffy wears a bizarre combination of brown tie-dyed trousers, glittery stripy halterneck and long pink cardigan. This is clearly a goof on her part.
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
EPISODE
Real Me / Out of My Mind
STORY ORDER
First Impressions / Untouched
The Watcher's Guide 