S7-08 Sleeper

Top level Episode Guide Buffy Buffy Season 7

Author: Stuart Millington Publishing date: 26.11.2002 21:25

4:30am: Buffy arrives at Xander's apartment looking for Spike. Spike is burying the woman he killed at the end of [S7-07 Conversations with Dead People].

[London, England: A man arrives home to find Laura dead in his house. He is attacked and stabbed by hooded figures.] Willow arrives back at the house and finds Dawn sitting in the ruins of the living room. Dawn tells Willow about Joyce. Willow tells Dawn that it may not have been Joyce, that it may have been the same evil that she met.

Xander is willing to believe that Spike is a killer again, but Buffy is not certain. Spike returns to the apartment and Buffy mentions the vampire that claimed that Spike sired him, to see if he reacts. Spike goes to bed. Buffy leaves to check on Dawn and Xander has to find someone to watch Spike during the day. Anya agrees, but is nervous when Xander leaves her alone with Spike.

Buffy arrives home and Willow tells her what happened to Dawn and herself. Buffy tells Willow about Spike and Willow suggests that the vampire may also have been the evil. Buffy realises that she must find out if Spike is killing again and, if so, she has to stop him.

Anya sneaks into Spike's room while he is sleeping, looking for evidence. He wakes up and asks her what she is doing. She claims that she wants to have sex with him. That evening, Spike leaves the apartment and Anya makes a phone call.

Buffy follows Spike and sees him meet a woman. Buffy gets caught in a crowd and looses them. Spike takes the woman into an alley. He is about to drink the woman when Buffy[The Other] arrives. She tells him that he wants to do it and she wants him to do it. Spike drinks the woman and Buffy[The Other] smiles. (Spike receives no pain from his chip.) Spike drops the woman and leaves the alley. Buffy[The Other] changes into Spike[The Other].

Later, Buffy enters Spike's room and wakes him up to ask him if he killed the woman. He denies it. He claims that he couldn't, not because of his chip, but because of his soul. (He claims that he wanted his soul back - which is not the impression given in [S6-22 Grave].) He claims that he finds it hard enough to live with the deaths he caused before and that Buffy is jealous of him meeting other women. He says that he still loves Buffy. Buffy tells him about the vampire and asks him what happened after she lost him. He claims that he can't remember, but that he did not kill anyone. Buffy leaves to find proof.

Buffy sets the gang working to find proof, either way. Willow finds that the number of missing people in Sunnydale has increased suddenly.

That night, Spike goes to leave the apartment and Xander tries to stop him. Spike knocks Xander out and it appears that his chip is still working. (There is no-one else in the room, so no reason for him to fake the pain.) Spike returns to the Bronze, looking for the woman he met in [S7-07 Conversations with Dead People].

When Xander wakes up, he calls Buffy and tells her that Spike has left. A woman approaches Spike, alone on the balcony, and he tells her to leave him alone. Then she changes into a vampire and claims that he sired her. They fight and he stakes her.

I don't know if "The Other" is an official title for the "thing" that is seen here, but it seems to be a common name in current discussions. Plus, it's better than the "thing"!

Buffy arrives at the Bronze. The bouncer tells her that Spike has been there many times recently and that he leaves with a different woman every night. Spike phones Buffy's mobile and tells her that he remembers some of the things he has done. They arrange to meet at a house. Before he can leave Spike[The Other] appears.

Spike meets Buffy at the house. Spike[The Other] is also there, but Buffy can't see it. Spike tells Buffy about the people that he remembers killing and where he buried them. Spike[The Other] sings a verse from a song - Spike turns evil and attacks Buffy. As they fight 6 vampires rise from their graves and Buffy is outnumbered. Two of them hold her for Spike to drink.

As Spike goes to drink Buffy, he remembers more killings and stops. Spike collapses into a corner and Buffy stakes the vampires. Spike[The Other] tells Spike that he has failed and that Buffy will kill him. Buffy doesn't, she realises that Spike was under the influence of the evil. Spike asks her for help.

Buffy takes Spike back to the house and tries to convince the gang that she has to keep Spike close, so that she can learn about the evil.

In London, Giles arrives at the house. He finds the man, barely alive. He warns Giles that "it's started". A hooded figure swings an axe towards Giles' head.

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