Dead Man's Party

Buffy is settling back in at home after her return and decides to settle her nerves by going to patrol. She goes to tell her mother; who is putting up a mask in her bedroom. Buffy patrols the alley and suddenly pulls a stake on a suspicious looking male, who turns out to be Xander. She says a classic Buffy line while he looks shocked to see her. Then, a real vampire makes an appearance. They fight him until the Scooby Gang comes to the rescue. But, they are thrown out of the way and Buffy dusts the vamp. They go to Giles's house to tell him she's back. They sit around and wait for tea to boil and try to discuss where Buffy's been, but the answers are not forthcoming. They address the issue of school.

Buffy and her mother meet with Snyder, but he refuses to let her back in school. Buffy and her mother talk, and she tells her that she try to get her into a private school. Buffy waits for Willow in town, but she never shows. Buffy goes home and meets her mother's new friend Pat. She goes inside and asks her mother if Willow left a message. Her mother tells her yes and says that she's invited the whole Scooby Gang and Giles to dinner the next night. When she goes to get dinner plates, she finds a dead cat. She and her mother bury it in the backyard. While they are sleeping, the cat rises from the dead.

Buffy has a dream where she's walking through school by her self and it's empty. None of her friends are there and she's distraught. She meets Angel and tells him that she's afraid. He assures her that she should be. And, so she walks on until the bell rings. But, she awakens to see that's it's her alarm clock.

At breakfast, her mother tells her that she's working to get her back into school and that they might consider an all girls school. Suddenly, the dead cat jumps out and runs upstairs. They are rightfully freaked out and call Giles; who comes to retrieve the thing. He takes it back to the library. Buffy wants to go, but she's not allowed on school property.

At the library, they contemplate how to handle Buffy's welcome home party. They decide that she might prefer to have a big party (hoot'n'nany!). Oz arranges for 'Dingo Ate My Baby' to play.

Buffy answers the door that evening to find that her mother has invited Pat. Shortly, 'Dingo Ate My Baby' and the others arrive. So, a huge party ensues with many people Buffy doesn't know. Buffy isn't feeling the party spirit, and while all this goes on, the dead begin to rise.

Willow stands around watching Oz play, Xander and Cordelia make-out, and Buffy overhears her mother tell Pat it was almost worse with Buffy home. Buffy can't handle it anymore, so she runs upstairs and in a mist of confusion, begins to pack. And the dead continue to rise. Giles figures it out and tries to call Buffy, but it doesn't work. So, he jumps in the car and rushes to the house.

But, before he can get there, Willow walks in on Buffy and can't believe she's deserting again. They yell a bit, and then her mother bursts in and joins the yelling thing. Buffy can't take it and runs downstairs. Her mother stops her in the living room and begins to wig. Xander joins the party and Cordy tries to defend Buffy; in an insulting kind of way. Buffy tells her to stop defending her. Xander and Buffy go at it in a major way. Oz and Willow try to stop it, but a bunch of dead guys burst in through the window.

They all put aside their problems to fight the dead guys, but they won't go down with a stake to the heart. Oz and Cordy run and hide in a closet while Buffy, Willow, Xander, Joyce, and Pat run upstairs, with the dead guys following them. They go into Joyce's bedroom (home of the mask) and the dead guys try to pound down the door. Downstairs, Giles comes onto the scene and finds Cordy and Oz. They try to get upstairs. The dead guys get into the bedroom and kill Pat, who rises and puts on the ancient mask from the wall. Buffy and demon Pat go out the window and Buffy throws a shovel at her eyes; killing her.

Everybody meets in the living room and practically makes up. Giles sees how much Buffy needs her friends. That prompts him to go see Principle Snyder; where he pummels him slightly (in the more verbal sense) and 'convinces' him to let Buffy back in school. And, so Willow and Buffy work to restore their friendship. They fight playfully, as a way to restore their ties.

After the disapointment of Anne, I needed this. It was the perfect way to get the Scooby Gang back together. The jokes were on, especially of the Oz kind. Xander's shock when he first sees Buffy is genuine, reminds me of his expression in Becoming II when he admits his love for Willow. The fight scene was priceless. Amazing. I was pissed at Xander, but kind of agreeing with him. And, poor Willow, I really felt empathy for her. Mostly, it was the Buffy/Xander exchances that made this episode great. Stunning, really.

Back to Buffyisms