Buffy The Vampire Slayer # 9: Conversations With Dead People

Season 7, Episode 7
First Aired November 12, 2002

Speaking of The First, this is the episode that may have tipped fans off as to what Buffy and her friends would be dealing with in Season 7 (I never watched the show when it was on, and I knew The First was the Big Bad long before ever seeing this episode). This is also the only episode to not feature Xander and the only episode to show the title onscreen. The episode followed various characters interacting with people were dead, and each dead person passed themselves off as something different. Buffy simultaneously fought and conversed with a vampire she went to high school with. He was a psych major in college, and he evaluated why she has such trouble fitting in with her friends, even after readjusting to life on Earth (the previous season dealt with her resurrection). Willow spoke to Cassie, a recently deceased Sunnydale High student, who told Willow that she was a kind of spirit guide who brought a message from Tara (originally, the script was written to have Amber Benson show up as "Tara", but there are conflicting reports as to why this was changed). Dawn was haunted by images of her mother in one of the series' most terrifying sequences. Spike WAS the dead person who spent the night wooing a woman at a bar (there was no dialogue in his scenes). He eventually fed on her, which was an incredible turn because (1) he had a soul and (2) he still had his violence-inhibiting microchip in his head. And finally, Andrew and Jonathan returned to Sunnydale. As Jonathan spoke to Andrew of redemption and joining Buffy, Andrew conversed with Warren, who was killed by Willow (or, as we would "learn" in Season 8, temporarily killed, only to be revived by Amy). "Warren" was able to goad the weak-willed Andrew into doing his bidding by telling Andrew that the ghost of Warren was speaking to him, and that by killing Jonathan, the three of them would ascend into god-like beings. As it turned out, "Warren", "Cassie", and "Joyce" were all manifestations of The First who had a purpose for each of its victims.

The episode is one of Season 7's highlights (I think that many people who detest the season admit this episode as one example of Buffy's latter-day glory). It is extremely dark, humorous at times, and sets the course for the rest of the season (and series).

Up next: Buffy # 8...