Buffy The Vampire Slayer

EPISODE #19: "EMPTY PLACES" - Opens with Buffy wandering around Sunnydale and running into Clem, who is fleeing town in a new car. They have small talk banter, with Clem acknowledging that the situation is bad, getting worse, and she should get out of town. Of course, Buffy is staying, but Clem drives off.....

It is confirmed that Xander has lost an eye (very sad, he is being brave and making pirate jokes but it is obvious how torn up everyone is). Giles is in this episode. Everyone in heavy research mode — Anya has chatted up her remaining demon buddies and has found out that the ubervamps can be staked (although their skin is extra tough) but holy water does nothing. SITs bitter and scared of Caleb.

Buffy is taking the whole thing with Xander, and her feelings of failure from not protecting him and the SITs in the last episode very much to heart. Dawn, Willow and Buffy decide to research Caleb — see if they can find any info about him in police records and files via the internet. While this is going on Buffy goes back to the school (which is now closed) to get her things; while cleaning out her desk she sees a photo of her, Willow and Xander together. She breaks down crying and when she looks up — Caleb is there.

Dawn & co find some info on Caleb’s symbol — that it is on the wall at some abandoned mission. Giles sends Spike to go investigate, saying they need someone strong in case there is danger there; Spike notes that the last "mission" Giles sent him on was a trick to get Spike killed. Andrew is being annoying (very funny stuff with Faith) so Giles tells Spike to take Andrew with him.

Meanwhile, Buffy and Caleb fight again and he knocks her unconscious.

after Caleb knocks Buffy out, he goes back to the vinyard and Buffy/The First asks him how it went. Caleb says everything is ready, and they cackle evilly. Sort of. They say that now she will go back to the SITs and all they have to do is give her one more little push.

Spike and Andrew go off to the mission (very funny — they bond over their mutual love of the flowering onion thing) — while there they find the one survivor of the monks (?) who lived there. Like the girl that Caleb attacked last episode, he has a scar from Caleb’s ring. He tells them that they took in a stranger (I assume Caleb) who found some sort of seal in the basement that they didn’t know was there; they check out the seal and Andrew reads it. Basically it says that "it" is for her alone.

Buffy has gone back to the house; while she was unconscious Faith decided to take the depressed SITs dancing at the Bronze. Giles tells her that Spike is off on a mission, which she is not happy about — and then she goes off in search of the SITs.

Faith and the SITs are having a great time at the Bronze, when a bunch of police arrive to haul off Faith. It appears that SOMETHING is going on with the Police, as they have ducttaped over their badges and are essentially acting as a hit squad. They haul Faith outside and basically try to kill her — the SITs try to help and then Buffy shows up. However, I don’t think Buffy gets that the police are possessed; instead, she gives Faith a big lecture about keeping the SITs safe and so on. Faith says — why weren’t you concerned about keeping them safe when you took them to the wine cellar? Buffy hits her — Faith just takes it.

Everyone goes home (I am not doing this quite in time — sorry — in this part Andrew and Spike are still at the mission) and has a big welcome for Xander when he arrives back from the hospital. Everyone is glad to see everyone and then Buffy comes down and says she has been thinking about why the First isn’t down protecting the seal in the basement of the school. She says that she has figured out that they are at the vinyard because there is something there that has to be protected — so they should all go now to investigate.

EVERYONE says no. Giles says she isn’t thinking clearly; Dawn says no, Rona says she is being reckless, Faith says she doesn’t want to face that kind of danger again on a hunch of Buffy’s, Willow tells everyone to lay off Buffy since she is under a lot of stress — but no one backs her plan.

Okay, so everyone tells Buffy they aren’t going with her. She and Giles start bickering — he says she can’t just do everything alone — people get hurt — like Jenny. She brings up what he did to Spike, and Ben. Xander says he isn’t going either — he has sacrificed enough. Buffy says she is in charge because she is the SLAYER. Someone says - well, isn’t Faith a Slayer too??

Faith is all like — hold on — no — I don’t want to lead anyone. Everyone decides they will follow Faith and not Buffy; Buffy is shocked — she can’t just sit back and watch everything go to hell and she doesn’t think Faith can handle it. Dawn tells Buffy to leave the house if she can’t go along, cause Faith is now in charge. Buffy looks around for support, but no one backs down. Buffy leaves the house.

That’s it guys. My take is that this has all been part of the First’s plan — that somehow the final apocalypse has to be brought about BY the Salyer, and in order to get her to the point where she can be manipulated to help it had to destroy her support group. Sort of.

Wood is in the episode. On the evening that Xander returns from the hospital, Faith is waiting outside for him and Wood comes up. They have a whole scene together, and then he is inside and agrees with everyone that Buffy is too stressed to make any decisions.

When Caleb and Buffy fight, he asks how Xander is doing — and then he offers to take the other eye. Buffy goes dead serious and tells him that if he ever comes near Xander again she will destroy him. Caleb torments her with more of his misogynistic evilness ... then they fight and he knocks her out.

Other Summary

EPIDODE 19 : Empty Places Written by Drew Z. Greenberg

Basically, the population of Sunnydale is evacuating itself. Why now I don’t know. Apparently indefinite vibes of something devouring from beneath are scarier than, say, hordes of vampires, covert-ops government types running around bagging demons, giant snake monsters, and Buffy’s speeches. Is this a funny metaphor for the way people are fleeing this show? Anyway, apparently, it’s like the fall of Saigon. Families running, shopkeepers hanging up CLOSED signs. Season seven. I can’t believe I’m still in season seven.

Buffy’s wandering through the streets full of disgruntled viewers, and Clem calls out to her. Hi Clem-who-is-Buffy’s-friend-and-not-Spike’s-friend! Clem expositions that everyone is leaving because things seem crazier this time, he doesn’t think anyone’s going to be able to stop it. He covers himself, says he does have faith in Buffy (no, not in the Who Are You sense), but that he is going to vacate the premises. Says that Buffy should get out, too. She does. Roll credits. No, I kid. But that would be damn funny. Then they could just show Smashed sex on a loop for 40 minutes, and I would consider it a fitting season finale. Buffy is alone, standing still, amidst the chaos.

Willow and Giles are at the Cop Shop, talking to an officer holding a file folder. The officer hands the folder over to Giles. Uh oh. I hope Giles doesn’t find out about all my outstanding parking tickets, or he might send a vengeful psycho out to kill my boyfriend. Giles is claiming to be connected to Interpol, and the cops are buying it due to Obi-Willow Kenobi working some mind control. And yes, the scene is deliberately reminiscent of Star Wars Episode 4: Before Lucas Sucked. A random loony runs up, shouting that from beneath you it.something. The cops cuff him and drag him inside. Damn, I really wanted to hear the end of that sentence. Wonder what it could have been? Willow and Giles are bit put off by the harshness towards Random Loony, and the cop explains that they are just desperate to hand out some justice. Yep, looks like this guy crossed the thin blue line a couple of miles back. Giles and Willow manage to make their exit, and the cops discuss how they have a fugitive in Sunnydale. They want to head out for a spot o’ the old ultra-justice.

Buffy and Willow visit Xander in the hospital. Caleb definitely managed to take out that eye, in his attempt to prove that Spike fans are not the only ones interested in eye candy. And yes, Fury, I’m still pissed off with you over that interview. Buffy is explaining what Xander should expect as the result of his injury and his medication, and I am assuming that a doctor gave her this information, unless Buffy has been interning at the hospital after getting fired from her counseling position. I don’t know why the doctor isn’t telling Xander this stuff personally, but maybe they had to use that extra to play Random Loony. Buffy says that they are working on getting Xander released that night, but she has to get back to the house with the file Willow brought her. Willow thought they were going to play card games, and I’m hoping no one was planning on calling one-eyed jacks as wild. Xander seems to understand, and Buffy leaves. He starts making jokes to Willow about his eyelessness, and she tries to join in but is overcome by tears. They’re both trying to hold it together here. Awwww, maybe I can help. I can make eye jokes. Okay, so a one-eyed man and a misogynistic priest walk into a bar. The one-eyed man says..oh, never mind. I can’t.

Anya is lecturing the Potential Annoyances.no, wait, they have realized that potential. Anya lectures the Potential Caleb Fodder about the nature of the Ubervamps, with Andrew’s help. If help is writing stuff on his Big Board. God, I love you, Andrew. Now, I’d like it if you came here with your Big Board and tried to explain season six to me. Anya has been talking to some of her old demon buddies, and has found out that the Ubervamps can be staked and burn in sunlight, but holy water doesn’t affect them. Huh now? Didn’t that guy smoke a bit in BotN? I’d say that’s an effect, even if it’s a mere annoyance to the guy. He’d come in handy if one had no dry ice machine, at least. The potentials are despairing, wondering what the point is. They’re a lot more worried about this Caleb guy. Don’t worry, Caleb will soon be leaving to go back to his Space Western, once he wraps up on the set of The Stand: Randall Flagg in Tight Pants. Anya starts to talk about her break-up sex with her one-eyed ex fiancé, and a few of the girls sneak out and make their way upstairs. Don’t know why, listening to Anya talk about sex is far more interesting than anything that’s happened in this episode so far.

Kennedy and Amanda start talking to Faith, who is sitting upstairs eating chips. Well, I see that exactly none of this conversation is going to have any interest for me. What kind of chips are those? Mmmm, I hope barbecue. Kennedy and Amanda express disapproval at Anya’s teaching methods, and Faith says that whenever Anya gets like that she reminds her that she had Xander first. Well, so much for developing Faith beyond season 3. The girls are worried about Caleb. No, really? I thought he liked women!

Buffy comes in and everyone moves into the living room, including Dawn, who inquires as to Xander. Last I heard, he was missing an eye, Dawn. Shut up. Oops, I think my Dawn-hatred is showing. Buffy presents her information, which is related to violence in religious groups in California. They get to work. Dawn inquires after Xander again, and Buffy is clearly uncomfortable talking about it. Dawn gets sent up to look for some information in Giles’ files, and Buffy tries to explain that they are looking for any info that could indicate Caleb’s involvement in any of these violent religious instances. Kennedy makes a nasty remark about Buffy getting knocked out by Caleb. You know, I am really starting to think that maybe the ME writers want us to hate Kennedy, so they can kill her off, say we asked for it, and call us homophobic for it. Just cause we complained about Tara’s death. Buffy says she has to go back to the high school to get the rest of her things. Because Assholtz fired her. Still not over that one. Kennedy and Amanda head back to the basement at Buffy’s instigation, and Faith stands there alone.

Buffy enters the high school, heads through creepy hallways to her office. The school is closed and all. So it’s creepy. She finds an old picture of she, Xander, and Willow amongst her things, and begins to cry over it. Ah, come on, season one wasn’t that great. Suddenly, Captain Mal.or Caleb, I forget. appears next to her and starts talking, saying that crying because things don’t go her way is just like a woman. Apparently Caleb doesn’t understand the pain the we go through, like having to shell out five bucks for a box of cotton every month so The Man can make money.

Ah, crap, Caleb is still talking. Buffy’s both pissed off and a bit frightened, as Caleb launches into some more pseudo-religious crap about God abandoning people that makes me think he’s got Doctor Laura on speed-dial. He says not to bother fighting, as it didn’t do her much good last time around. Buffy, that is, not Doctor Laura. Though I wouldn’t mind watching that. Caleb and Doctor Laura in a cage match, whee! He inquires after Xander, and says he’s ready to finish the job. Buffy says that if he comes near Xander again, that’s the end of him. I do appreciate the sentiment, Buffy, but I would think that now should be the end of him if you were capable. Caleb taunts her, overturning her desk and raving about the great change that is to come. Does he mean the spinoff? Buffy punches him in the face, and then Caleb pitches Buffy onto the ground. He says he’s going to get a lot of pleasure from taming her, and then knocks her unconscious. God, Caleb, you are so going to die. Don’t you know that Buffy doesn’t want to be domesticated? According to Marti, that’s why she had sex with Spike, and then beat him mercilessly. Caleb leaves.

Dawn is presenting Giles with information in the Summers’ house. She points out to him a mission up north that kinda stood out to her. Is that the one that Kim Novak got pitched out of? Oh, and did you see the remastering of Vertigo? That audio was really amazing. Andrew comes in, complaining to Giles about how Faith ate his Hot Pocket, even though it was clearly labeled as belonging to him. OK, this is obviously a set-up for Andrew to side with Buffy over Faith, cause Faith ate his freakin’ Hot Pocket! Alliances over microwaveable, dough-encrusted lunch products are far more interesting than political machinations. I think WW1 would have ended differently France had refused to join the Triple Entente because England was hoarding the Jambon and Fromage Biscuits. Dawn attempts to explain that this mission was left abandoned in some sort of eerie way while Andrew continues to complain about his lunch. Giles gets out a magnifying glass and looks at the photo, and I am really hoping for some reason that when he pulls the magnifying glass away that his eye will still be all huge, like in Top Secret. Hey, we have the whole eye theme running here, it’d be funny. Anyway, he notices that Caleb’s mark is on one of the walls. Really, really hoping that he means some sort of insignia, and not that Caleb couldn’t find the mission’s john. Giles tells Amanda to go get Spike. Faith enters, and Andrew seethes at her. Everyone’s pretty worried about the vibe of depression floating around.

Spike enters, ask Giles what’s up. Giles wants Spike to go off on a mission to investigate this mission. It’s a mission mission. OK, that’s really not funny, but for some reason it is making me laugh anyway. I must be tired. Spike says that he’s not particularly fond of Giles’s missions that result in Spike being dead, and I definitely agree on that one. Spike doesn’t really seem to be averse to going, however. Then Andrew pipes up again about the Hot Pocket, and Giles tells Spike to take Andrew with him. Yeah.both are reasonably disturbed by this notion. I know it’s a cute set-up for some funny scenes and the Spike/Andrew spinoff, but it’s a little hard for me to buy all the same. Unless maybe Giles is interested in matchmaking. Spike and Andrew leave.

Dawn indicates to Faith that something needs to be done to keep the girls occupied. Oh, try balancing pencils on their heads! I hear that’s fun. Faith has a plan, though. And no, it doesn’t involve a slo-mo Xander fantasy sequence with pillows and undies. All the Potentials, Dawn, and Faith go to the Bronze. They’re beginning to have a fun time, dancing and drinking and making confetti out of the episode 18 script. OK, that last was my little fantasy.

Buffy returns home, all beaten and bruised. She encounters Giles in the living room, and explains what happened. A misogynistic priest walked into a high school.never mind. She asks what they came up with from the files, and Giles says he sent Spike off to look into it. Uh oh. Someone’s not too keen on Giles putting her property in danger. Buffy wonders if Giles intended for Spike to return alive, and Giles says yes. He says he did what he thought was right. Buffy is not really buying it, and says that Giles sent away the guy who was watching her back, again. She doesn’t feel like anyone else is really behind her. Awww. Kinda. Buffy also inquires as to the whereabouts of everyone else. Giles informs her that they are at the Bronze. OK, now someone is very pissed.

Caleb talks to the FE as Buffy, saying that the groundwork is in order, and that Buffy just needs one more push. They talk of properly exploiting the situation. La la la, shut up. I’m not interested. Plus, I get the vibe that Caleb has the hots for FE Buffy, and it’s deeply disturbing. Plus, it reminds me that I want to see FE Spike make out with Real Spike, except that would probably entail JM having to kiss his stunt double. Disturbed again.

Faith and the SiTs at the Bronze. The cops come in, and Faith wonders why it took them so long. I think they were probably exacting justice on the poor extra, Faith. They grab Faith and begin to arrest her, reading her her rights. You have the right to have no character development. You have the right to make skanky come-ons to Spike. You have the right to get killed off because you turned down Joss’s spinoff. Faith notices that all their badges are covered up in duct tape. Amanda, Kennedy, and Dawn approach, protesting, but the cops take out their guns and tell them to stay out of it. Faith gets hauled outside, and refuses to go back to jail. The cops indicate that they don’t have that planned for her, anyway. I sense another scene involving abuse of authority, and perhaps some misogyny. What do you think?

OK, so, the cops have their guns on Faith. No, not like that, you pervs. I mean that they have their steely weapons trained upon Faith to.never mind, I am just digging myself deeper. Then she launches herself at them in an attempt to disarm them, which is moderately successful in that she manages to get the guns away, but not so much successful in that she manages to get beaten by nightsticks. Whenever I think of nightsticks, I think of the little green glowy things that kids take on Halloween or that people take when tripping on acid. You know, the chemical glow sticks? Somehow people getting smacked in the thigh by those is not as brutal as I imagine this scene to be. "Give me your candy or I’ll beat you with my glowy rod!" Shut up, I had that happen. This is intercut with scenes of Dawn and the Slayerettes attempting to get out of the Bronze as the cops restrain them, telling them to stay inside. Faith fights, while inside one of the cops tells the girls to wait there with a great show of force. By that, I mean they shoot some lamps out. Yep, it’s like going all Elvis on a TV set, which I will if I don’t get my Spuffy smoochies. The girls start beating on the cops, then find their way to Faith, who is herself being beaten in the alley. She fought the law and the.ok I will shut it. Oops, turnaround, the girls start winning, and they are taking pleasure out of it.

Buffy appears and sends the other girls away, saying she wants to talk to Faith. Uh oh, we know what Buffy’s "talks" tend to entail. She asks Faith why she took the girls out, and Faith explains that they needed to blow off steam. Buffy is not enthused, as the girls were drunk and essentially getting into a bar fight. She thinks this was way out of line, and could put them in danger. I’m definitely wondering why Giles thinks it’s okay for Faith to take the underage kids out drinking, but not okay for Buffy and Xander to go out on dates. Faith counters that the whole vineyard incident got people killed, in a bit of a vindictive manner. Buffy slugs Faith, but Faith does nothing. Buffy walks away. Oh, come on, Buffy. You stayed and slugged Spike in the alley for a long time after he didn’t fight back. Oh, right, this is about ’girl power". If Faith had testicles, there would have been a few more punches. And a kick in the "orbs".

Spike is on his motorcycle, with Andrew in tow. Andrew is supposed to be wearing the football helmet from "Bargaining". Hee. Okay, I am officially a sucker for these two. ME, I am the whore who feeds off the crumbs you provide me with. Andrew wants to stop for curly fries. Spike tries to explain that this isn’t exactly a road trip, but Andrew wants his damn fries. Mmm, now I want fries. Then Spike brings up the onion, and Andrew agrees on its goodness. Mmmm, now I want an onion. You see how this show makes me watch with its promises of fried food? I think we have two peas in a pod here. Spike details to Andrew how to go about making one, and then says if any of this conversation leaks, he’ll bite him. Andrew goes along with that. Very cute.

Faith sits on the Summers’ porch, trying to calm down. Wood approaches her. They both know who the other is.

WOOD: Hi, I’m vindictive vengeance a$$hole. FAITH: Hi, I’m the person who is supposed to have matured but still is obviously being written by people who haven’t watched Angel. WOOD: Alright then. Let’s get it on. FAITH: Of course! Didn’t you know I will sleep with anyone? I have to come off as being slutty, so that ME thinks it is okay to kill me off. Women who have sex and like it are doomed to die. WOOD: No problem there, I’m doomed to die because I’m black.

Faith says she got banged up by a cop, but her favorite bruise is from someone who thinks she is a cop. I assume she means Buffy. They are playing up RESENTMENT ISSUES. They banter a little, and realize how much they know about each other. Wood says he reads people well. Faith proceeds to read Wood a bit in turn. Are they really trying to set up a Food ship? Cause I can see it a bit here.

At the mission, Spike and Andrew walk through creepy tunnels. Andrew is nervous, and Spike concurs with the nervous feeling, saying they have yet another thing in common. Aww, I am telling you, what it is, is that Andrew is William with all the Windows software. It’s cute. Andrew details how he once snuck into church and ate an entire box of holy wafers, and then got sick. Spike is clearly amused by the story. Suddenly, some robey type leaps on Andrew. Spike fights the guy off, but it turns out to be just a priest. He has Caleb’s mark burned into his cheek. And, yes, it’s the ring, okay? Not the territory-marking.

Xander returns to the Summers’ house, in the tow of Willow and Anya. There’s a Welcome Home banner for him. All the SiTs are around, too, and he’s touched. Buffy comes down, and welcomes Faith and Wood as well as Xander. She says she has news about the wine cellar, and realizes what they have to do. She says they are going back in. Dum dum dum!!

Back at the mission mission, Spike has the priest pinned up against the wall. I’m sure there’s another good beginning to a joke in there somewhere. "So, this vampire has this priest against a wall, and he’s looking for info on a misogynistic preacher who wants to attack a one-eyed guy." The priest tells Spike to do it quicky. Sorry, guy, but he said he could go about 5 hours, unlike three-thrust Angel. Spike leans in, menacing, wants to know about the burn mark. He thinks the guy is part of Caleb’s cult. Does Caleb actually have a cult, and how does one go about getting one? I mean, I can make Kool-Aid, or tell people to run around in Jordans. I don’t get it. Could it be because of his fine, Captain Mal-shaped ass? Andrew tries to be "bad cop" here, and it’s obviously not working and quite adorable. Did I mention I love Andrew? The priest indicated that he has information for Our Boys, and leads them to a secret room. Words are carved into a stone panel there, and apparently Caleb was upset by those words. What are they? "Firefly Was Cancelled"? "Hello, I’m your friendly Sumerian tutorial, call Dawn if you want to read me"? "Hee hee, UPN is gonna fold, sucker"? Nope, apparently the words are that it is not for thee, it is for her to wield. Spike translates, I guess. I really hope he is talking about his denim-clad love-mushroom. Back to Buffy’s house, where everyone sits in stunned silence. No, not from the prospect of what is hidden in Spike’s pants, but from Buffy’s encouragement to go back into the fray. (Hee, look, I made a comic joke. Get it? Fray? Stop looking at me.) Wood asks if it’s the seal acting up again, and I get a few funny images of Marineland seals refusing to eat their fish in a revolution. Buffy wonders why no one is protecting the basement seal if that is the real deal, and I just got way too rhymy. She has a point, though. She thinks that Caleb and Co. are protecting something bigger at the vineyard, the source of their power, perhaps. Buffy wants to take it down, now.

However, no one is enthused. Faith says she doesn’t want to go in without proof. Wood and Giles agree. And why is Wood even talking? I mean, yeah, Buffy accepted that he could maybe be of help, but if I were Buffy I’d shut him the hell up. Mister Firey-pants boyfriend-killer. Buffy says she’s spent seven years making all the hard decisions, and suddenly everyone doesn’t trust her. Giles says Buffy just told him earlier that she thought no one trusted her. Willow and Xander look hurt. Oh, please tell me this is not-Giles, even though I actually think it is real-Giles. Come on, someone convince me. Buffy wonders if Giles sent Spike away so that she could be ambushed. Rona speaks up then, and says that Buffy is so obsessed with beating Caleb that she’s not thinking. Kennedy agrees, and shut up, Kennedy. Just. Because. I hate you. And so does everyone else. Willow tells everyone to back off, and then adds that Buffy just needs some rest. Uh oh. Things are not looking good. Buffy says that democracies don’t win battles, that she needs to be able to give orders despite individual feelings. Then Anya starts in, saying that Buffy isn’t better than any of them, that she has special abilities by luck and that is all. Buffy says that she’s gotten them all this far, and Xander adds that it’s not without a price. I think Buffy should say something here about how it’s an eye for an eye, but she doesn’t. He continues that they follow whatever she says, no matter what, but people keep having to pay the consequences. Giles attacks Buffy now, saying that her way isn’t right, and she is acting alone. Buffy brings up Ben and Spike, and Giles brings up Jenny. Buffy throws a vase to the ground. She’s still in charge. Rona says there is another Slayer. Well, according to this mythos, there are hundreds of slayers, they just need to be offed one by one until you get to be in charge, Rona.

Faith demures from the leadership role. Kennedy calls for a vote, and Buffy looks to Willow and Xander for help. They don’t give it. They say Buffy should rest, let Faith take over for a while. Buffy says that they have a chance to end this now, and that she doesn’t want to sit back and watch Faith lead them into disaster. Dawn gets up, and kisses Buffy on the cheek. Then she says Buffy can’t stay there. Either Faith takes over, or Buffy has to leave. Dawn starts to sing "Everytime I look at you I don’t understand/Why you let the things you did get so out of hand/You’d have managed better if you’d had it planned". Feeling utterly alone and betrayed, Buffy leaves the house and walks through the deserted Sunnydale streets.

The End.