A New Man
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| Buffy the Vampire Slayer | |
| Season 4, Episode 12 | |
 | |
| Air date | January 25, 2000 |
| Written by | Jane Espenson |
| Directed by | Michael Gershman |
| Episode Guide | |
| previous Doomed | next The I in Team |
"A New Man" is the twelth episode of the fourth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and is the sixty-eighth episode altogether. It was written by Jane Espenson and directed by Michael Gershman. It originally broadcast on January 25, 2000.
Giles, feeling left out, has several drinks with Ethan Rayne. When he awakens the next day, he discovers he's been turned into a Fyarl Demon and has to hire Spike to help him. Mistaking him for a threat, The Initiative and Buffy try to hunt him down.
Contents |
Synopsis
Now able to hurt and kill demons, Spike packs his things as he moves out of Xander's basement. Professor Walsh is informed that Buffy is the Slayer. After revealing Riley's 17 captures and kills, she inquires about how many 'hostiles' Buffy's killed, but she keeps quiet to avoid bragging. Giles discovers a powerful demon is about to rise, and calls Buffy, but Willow informs him that she is with Professor Walsh. Buffy gives Riley some details about her history of slaying and he's incredibly intimidated, but impressed. Giles goes to talk with Maggie Walsh about Buffy, but is offended when she says that the lack of a father figure in Buffy's life is a problem.
Willow and Xander go with Giles to the cemetery to find the demon. They are very late and fail to find the demon. Instead, they find the area incredibly clean, which Willow suggests is the work of The Initiative. She and Xander go on about how thorough the operation is, only to discover that Giles never knew about The Initiative or that Riley and Professor Walsh are behind it. Again feeling incredibly out of the loop and unwanted, Giles sends Willow and Xander away, offering to stay in case anything happens, but after a few seconds realises it's utterly pointless and dejectedly leaves. Ethan Rayne walks out of the shadows, speaking of interesting things to come, only to be caught when Giles re-enters the mausoleum.
Giles prepares to beat Ethan, sparing him only with Ethan's hastily uttered promise of information. Going out for a drink, Ethan tells Giles that the underworld is being threatened by The Initiative, especially by something called "314." Whatever The Initiative is doing, it's throwing everything out of balance.
Buffy and Riley spar together, both holding back at first until they decide not to. Buffy kicks Riley hard enough to send him flying across the room. Meanwhile, Giles & Ethan get very, very drunk, with Giles opening up about how left out he feels and his annoyance that the Initiative have the demons running scared when he'd been fighting evil for 20 years, and Ethan flirts and gives his number to their waitress. Willow and Tara meet to practice magic and a simple magical exercise to float a rose goes awry, causing the rose to fly wildly around the room.
When he wakes the next morning, Giles discovers he's been transformed into a horned demon with incredible strength. First trying to make a call, he breaks the receiver, then breaks the door off its hinges as he tries to leave the house. At breakfast, Willow lies to Buffy about where she was, saying she was practicing magic alone. She does mention that some magical force interfered with the spell she was attempting to cast. Buffy realizes she never told Giles about Riley and The Initiative. Giles goes to Xander's basement and tries to get him to help, but when Xander wakes up, he doesn't recognize and cannot understand Giles, who is speaking in a demonic language. Xander starts to throw things at him and Giles runs away.
The gang finds Giles's place destroyed, and are worried that the same demon that went to Xander was responsible for hurting, or even killing Giles. Walking through the cemetery Giles runs into Spike. Spike recognizes Giles, and identifies him as a Fyarl demon. Because he speaks the language, Spike agrees to help find Ethan and fix things, for cash. Riley shows up at Giles's apartment where everyone is researching the demon. After finding the demon in Giles's books, they determine it can only be killed with a silver object.
Spike tries to figure out how to drive Giles's car while telling Giles of his experiences with Fyarl demons. Upon spotting Professor Walsh, Giles makes Spike stop the car so he can chase her down the street in return for her comments in their last conversation. Spike gets information out of the waitress that Ethan flirted with, and finds out where he lives. Breaking into the magic shop, Buffy finds a receipt for materials purchased by Ethan Rayne. Trying to escape the commando vehicles chasing after them, demon Giles jumps out of the car while the commandos continue their pursuit on Spike. Spike later crashes the car while trying to get away.
Demon Giles charges into Ethan's motel room, and attacks him. Buffy and Riley arrive on scene and while Riley takes care of Ethan, Buffy fights with demon Giles. With a letter opener she took from Giles's place, Buffy stabs the demon, but then she looks into its eyes and realizes the demon is Giles. Fortunately, the letter opener turned out not to be made of pure silver. Giles is turned back into a human and Riley arrests Ethan. While Giles goes to watch Ethan get put away, Buffy and Riley talk about her abilities again. Buffy apologizes for not telling Giles about Riley and The Initiative, but Giles is worried about her safety and who she trusts. Professor Walsh is upset that Riley disobeyed orders for Buffy, but says she thinks that Buffy will "work out". Passing through security doors, Walsh enters a room labelled "314."
Starring
- Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers
- Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris
- Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg
- Marc Blucas as Riley Finn
- James Marsters as Spike
- Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles
Guest Starring
- Emma Caulfield as Anya
- Robin Sachs as Ethan Rayne
- Amber Benson as Tara Maclay
- Lindsay Crouse as Maggie Walsh
Co Starring
- Elizabeth Penn Payne as Waitress
- Michelle Ferrara as Mother
Trivia
- Anthony Stewart Head has said that he's extremely comfortable wearing high heels, which obviously helped in the scene where he's a Fyarl Demon and runs after Maggie Walsh.
Quotes
Professor Walsh - "So, the Slayer!" Buffy - "Yeah. That's me." Professor Walsh - "We thought you were a myth." Buffy - "Well, you were... myth-taken."
Giles - "[running from Xander's house] Bloody Humans!"
Riley Finn - "You're really strong. Like, Spiderman strong." Buffy - "Yes. I don't stick to stuff, but, yeah."
Giles - "You help me and I don't kill you." Spike - "Oh, tremendously convincing. Try it again without the stutter."
Giles - "If you can't find third gear, don't try for third gear." Spike - "I'm doing my best - I don't know if I'm driving this thing or wearing it."
Giles - "How did you know it was me?" Buffy - "Your eyes. You're the only person in the world that can look that annoyed with me."
Ethan Rayne - "I've got to learn to just do the damage and leave town. It's the "stay and gloat" that gets me every time."
Continuity
- This episode marks the only time Buffy's birthday is celebrated on the show in which the inevitable unfortunate event doesn't happen to her.
- The crypt in which Giles encounters Ethan later becomes Spike's home for the next few seasons.
- This episode marks the last appearance of Ethan Rayne (until season Eight) and Giles's Citroën.
- When Giles comes to Xander's basement for help, we see laundry hanging up behind Giles' head. A pair of briefs alternates between hanging correctly on the drying line to hanging limply with only one side attached. The change happens at least four times, going from one state to the other.
Music
- 12 Volt Sex - "Over Divine"
- Other Star People - "Then There's None"
- Scott Ellison - "Down Down Baby"
- Christophe Beck - "Fyarl in the Morning"
