Original Air Date: November 14, 2000

Written byDouglas Petrie
Directed by Nick Marck

Summary

Buffy is in the cemetery fighting some 80s punk rocker vampire. She slips up and the pointy end of the stake ends up in her abdomen, much to her complete shock. She pulls the stake out then tries to run away from the vampire. The vampire catches up to her but before he can hurt her again Riley appears and scares the vamp off. Riley takes her home and bandages her stomach wound up. She refuses to go to the hospital or tell her mom because her mom has enough to deal with already. She shows Dawn her wound and Dawn promises that she won't tell. Riley says he'll go hunting tonight for her, but Buffy makes him promise to take the rest of the gang along with him. That night, Riley acts all stealthy in the cemetery while Xander, Anya and Willow eat chips. Meanwhile Buffy and Giles are researching the last battles of the Slayer but they can't find any details of them. Giles tells her that there isn't any details because since the Slayers are dead they cannot recount the events and their Watchers find it too painful to write about. Buffy then realizes that there is one person who can recount some last battles of Slayers. Buffy finds Spike and takes him to the Bronze. She offers him cash if he'll tell her how he killed those two Slayers of his. Spike begins to reminisce:

1880 - London - Spike is human and known as William. He's a terrible poet and is often ridiculed. William is at a party and finds the woman, Cecily, that he claims to love. He tells her that he writes poetry about her and that he is in love with her. She tells him he's nothing to her and that he's beneath her. Completely heatbroken, William leaves the house and goes into an alley. He's ripping up his poetry when a woman with dark tresses (Drusilla) approaches him. She speaks to his heart and she understands what he wants. He agrees and her face becomes demonic as she bites down into his neck.

Riley and the gang are in the cemetery when Riley spots the vampire that attacked Buffy. The vamp heads into a mausoleim full of vampires. Riley says they'll come back a daybreak when the vamps are asleep. Meanwhile Buffy and Spike are playing pool while Spike continues his story:

1880 - Yorkshire - Angelus is angry with the newly renamed Spike who does not want to keep a low profile. Angelus wants to kill Spike but Spike can only laugh in his face. Angelus says that one day a Slayer will teach him a lesson. Ever since then Spike has been obsessed with Slayers.

1900 - China - Boxer Rebellion - Spike is fighting a Slayer while a city burns up in flames around them. Spike receives rather nasty cut on his eyebrow from the Slayer's sword; giving him his signature scar. Its a vicious fight and Spike gains the upperhand. He comes up behind her, binds her arms and drinks from her neck, draining her. Drusilla joins him after his kill and she's impressed by his work on the Slayer. They kiss passionately while China burns all around them. They meet up with Angel and Darla outside. Angel congratulates Spike on his kill then suggest stiffly that they leave the city.

Without the Scoobies, Riley goes back to the cemetery before daybreak and takes on the group of vampires. He kills the one that attacked Buffy then launches a grenade at the mausoleum containing the rest of the vamps, killing them instantly. Meanwhile Spike takes Buffy outside the Bronze into an alley. He tells her that it isn't how he won against the Slayers, its rather how they lost that matters. Buffy doesn't see the difference so Spike goes on to tell her about the Slayer he killed in New York City in 1977. It was on a subway and the fight was vicious as well. Buffy and Spike are sparring the entire time that he's telling her the story. He tells her the reason the Slayer died was because that every Slayer has a deathwish. They want to know what they're last breath is like and where death'll take them. Their whole life is so much about death and they wish they understood it better. After killing his second Slayer Spike takes her leather coat, which he still wears today. Spike then tells Buffy that the only reason she's managed to stay alive so long is because she has ties to this world; friends, family, etc. She hasn't died yet because she, unlike all the other Slayers, has reasons to live. Terrified by what Spike has just told her she tells him to leave. He then tries to kiss her but she can't believe what he's doing. She tells him that she'd never want to dance with him because he's beneath her. She shoves him to the ground, tosses him his money and leaves. Spike cries quietly while gathering up his money. His mood changes abruptly and he decides to seek vengeance on this Slayer. He grabs a shotgun from his crypt and is determind to kill Buffy, once and for all.

1998 - South America - Drusilla gives up on Spike because he can't kill the Slayer and he won't push her her aura away from him.

Present - Joyce is packing up some clothing and tells Buffy that she needs to spend the night in the hospital for observation; doctor's orders. Buffy goes outside to her back porch where she sits down and starts to sob. Spike appears and, seeing that she's crying, can't bring himself to shoot her. He asks her if there's anything he can do but she doesn't want to talk about it. He sits down beside her and pats her back, trying to be comforting. Buffy stares straight ahead, consumed with fear for her mother's health.

Summary written by Nika

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My Rating

5/5

Nika's Review

There aren't enough good times to say about this episode. It was beautifully written and lived up to everything I had ever hoped to learn about Spike's story. Learning about Spike's history and about those two past Slayers was excellent. I loved the history lesson. The subway scene (as Niki seems to agree with me) was so well done. I loved how it interconnected with the present. And also how Spike has souvenirs from his past kills (his eyebrow scar and the leather coat). I loved seeing the old Slayers because I'd really like to learn more about them. Also interesting was seeing Drusilla (with that hideous Chaos Demon) telling Spike that the Slayer's aura was all around him. The thing that got to me was Buffy, she was so mean... That whole "You're beneath me" line was just a little cruel. She knew that Spike had been told that before and she really didn't need to increase his pain at this point. For all his good cheer, Spike sure has had a hard life. It hasn't been easy for him, easily before he was made into a vampire. It was amusing to see Spike has a blithering man but it only added to his pain which made us (the viewers) cheer when he found Drusilla, because then at least he'd found someone he could be with. What I found a little off was Angelus being so pissed off with Spike, didn't Spike say before that Angelus was like his sire? "His Yoda"? So wouldn't that have meant that they got along a little better than what we saw? Spike subway/dancing/deathwish speech was priceless and kind of shocking. Buffy was certainly scared by what he said. I'm still surprised by Buffy's slipup at the beginning, seemed to easy to me. Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed learning about Spike's past and how he became who he is today.

Niki Bartl's Review

Wow... I was completely impressed by this episode. So much in fact, that my friend's band was playing a concert and I missed the first half just to watch this. And it was completely worth it. I think that everyone watching the show at some point has wondered about Spike and how he was made and how he killed those two Slayers. This episode lived up to all of my expectations of the story. I had expected Spike to have been different before he was made, I thought he would have had a troubled childhood and all, which made him so angry, but this before William was just as good, because you felt bad for him. Poor Spike, so cute. Now I can see how he was so in love with Dru. And James Marsters just aced this episode. He did all forms of William perfectly: before vamping, Spike killing the slayer (I especially loved the second one, on the subway, with the dancing speech and the death wish.....) and Spike after, with Buffy. The subway scene was beautiful, I especially loved the moments where Buffy was looking at the 1970-era Spike. I do believe that I have a new favourite episode which is tied with "Passion". Just beautiful. And how much of a bitch was Buffy at the end?

Cast