Inca Mummy Girl
Inca Mummy Girl
Season 2, Episode 4 (Episode 16 of entire series)
This episode marks some great continuity from Teacher's Pet in that mention is made of a praying mantis. See quotes below. Also marks the appearance of Oz and Devon, of the Sunnydale band Dingoes Ate My Baby. Also marks Jonathan's debut. For the first time, Willow thinks about getting over Xander. Episode also gives rise to the Chosen One theme in a different light; and Buffy gratefully acknowledges Xander's saving of her life from Season 1's Prophecy Girl.
Anyhoo, we see Rodney Munson, "God's gift to the bell curve", scraping something off of a mask artifact. Willow goes to stop him, and we learn that she's tutoring him in chemistry. She has her work cut out for her...Cut to the Inca Princess exhibit, where the mummified princess is lying down clutching a shield to her body. Turns out that the princess died at age 16 so that her people might be saved. The gang's not all that impressed with the exhibit, Xander asks Buffy where she's picking up Ampata, and then the scene shifts. Once everyone's gone, Rodney comes back, begins chipping at the seal in order to steal it, and succeeds. Unfortunately, the force of pulling at it causes him to lose his grasp on it, and it smashes onto the floor. Rodney looks alarmed, and then some mummy arms grab for him, the mummy rises, and gives him a big smooch, sucking the life force out of him. This is probably why all museums have these "Do Not Touch" signs...I mean, really, who wants to chance it, you know?
The next day at school, Buffy's training with Giles while Xander looks on. She bugs Giles to let her go to the dance and he finally relents when she says it would look weird to her houseguest if she didn't go. Xander tells Buffy he can drive them to the dance, which causes Buffy to say that she thought he was taking Willow to the dance. Xander explains that if Buffy goes, they're 3, and that's safe. Buffy pushes Xander to see if he's ever thought about Willow's lips. Neither of them notices that Willow's just walked into the library.
Xander tells Buffy that he loves Willow and that she's his best friend, which makes her not the kind of girl whose lips he thinks about that much. Willow's upset, but makes her presence known. She then tells the gang that Rodney never made it home last nite. Buffy doesn't recall seeing him on the bus yesterday either. The gang jokingly says that maybe the mummy rose and killed him...Realizing this could be true, the gang, including Giles, goes over to the museum.
At the museum, they discover that the mummy's missing and a freeze-dried Rodney is in its place. Also, the Inca Princess Guard makes an appearance, brandishing his sword.
Back at school, the gang discusses what's going on until Buffy remembers she must pick up the exchange student at the bus depot. Willow and Xander go with her, and they're greeted by Ampata. What they don't know is that she's the mummy who's just sucked the life out of the real Ampata. Xander and Ampata take a liking to each other and hang out much.
When Giles asks Ampata to help translate the seal, she tells them to hide it or destroy it, and then misleads them as to what the seal is for.
Basically what ends up happening is that Xander takes Ampata to the dance on Willow's suggestion; Buffy stays home because she and Giles are gonna do some investigating at the museum after it closes, and eskimo Willow is dejected at the dance. Buffy and Giles discover that Ampara is the mummy --finding the mummified body of the Inca Princess Guard and finding the mummified body of the real Ampata in Ampata's trunk probably clued them in -- and Giles drops Buffy at the dance so she can get Xander away from Ampata. Giles then goes to the museum to piece together the seal; it was discovered that the broken seal is what freed the mummy, so reassembling it would trap her.
Ampata tries to kill Jonathan at the dance but is interrupted by Xander; Ampata goes to smooch Xander and leaves him alive but breathless. She discovers that the seal is being put together and heads towards the museum just as Buffy and Willow find Xander barely breathing.
Basic fighting at the museum; when Ampara goes to kill Willow, Xander forces Ampata to take his life instead. Ampata gets ready to suck the life force out of Xander when she's attacked from behind by Buffy.
The next day at school, Xander tells Buffy that his taste in women, minus her, is the worst ever in the world. Buffy tells him that Ampata wasn't evil to begin with, and that she was robbed of her life since she was the Chosen One. A couple of insights, Buffy remarks about how she didn't want to face The Master but she knew that she had to. Then she tells Xander that she had him to bring her back, so there you go. Some closure about how he brought her back from the dead.
I suggest watching this episode to get the most out of it; lots of character insights and revelations, plus you get to see Oz become infatuated with Willow!
1. Buffy fought with Ampata, and finally attacked her from behind; since Ampata was already returning to her freeze-dried state, the attack made her lose her grip on Xander, her body detached itself from her arms, and she fell to the ground and broke!
1. Xander's limited Spanish includes: chihuahua, Doritos, and Aye carumba!
2. Xander's costume is from the country of Leone, which "is in Italy, pretending to be Montana."
3. The word "dogly" -- coined by Cordelia, meaning..ugly.
4. Twinkies should be shoved into one's mouth in its entirety. So sayeth Xander.
5. There are 103 natural elements, according to Willow.
1. Sunnydale High School
2. Sunnydale Museum
3. Buffy's house
4. The Bronze
5. The Sunnydale Bus Depot
1. Buffy
2. Willow
3. Xander
4. Giles
5. Cordelia
6. Joyce Summers
7. Ampara
8. Oz
9. Rodney Munson
10. Devon
11. Sven
12. Inca Princess Guard
13. Jonathan
