Bargaining, Part One

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Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Season 6, Episode 1
Air date	October 2, 2001
Written by	Marti Noxon
Directed by	David Grossman
Episode Guide
previous The Gift	next Bargaining, Part Two

"Bargaining, Part One" is the Season 6 opener of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

For months after Buffy's jump, the Scooby Gang's repaired Buffybot kept Sunnydale's demons from learning of her death. As Buffybot visits Dawn's school for a Parent-Teacher day, Giles and Anya bicker about the running of the Magic Box, leading Giles to wonder whether he still has a place in Sunnydale without Buffy.

After Anya manages to find the last remaining Urn of Osiris on eBay, the Scoobies are finally able to set the ball rolling on a plan to raise Buffy from the dead. Willow is convinced that she will be able to do so using a magic spell, however her friends aren't so sure that they should meddle with the laws of nature. Once Willow points out that Buffy could be trapped in a hell dimension, the gang soon relents and they make plans to perform the spell on the following night.

Meanwhile, a vampire discovers that the Slayer has been replaced by a robot, leading to a gang of demon bikers heading towards Sunnydale for some fun.

The next day, Willow kills a fawn to obtain its blood, which is required for the spell, and Giles decides to leave for England to start a new life away from Sunnydale. That night, Willow, Xander, Anya and Tara gather at Buffy's grave to perform the powerful resurrection spell.

However, the demon bikers have arrived and start causing chaos in the town, disrupting the spell and breaking the Urn of Osiris. The Scoobies are forced to flee Buffy's gravesite, believing that the spell has not worked, however the episode ends with Buffy waking up in her coffin.

[edit] Quotes and trivia

• "That'll put marzipan in your pie plate, Bingo." - The Buffybot after dusting a vampire. Willow's experiments with punning have resulted in word salad.
• References the end-of-credits logo for Mutant Enemy. Tara gives Giles a small rubber monster and says "Grrr. Argghh."
• There are many patrons at the Espresso Pump after dark, hardly a sensible move in a vampire town.
• The Sun Cinema is showing "Dude, Where's My Car" - positive proof that the town's on a Hellmouth.
• The show had run on the WB for the previous five seasons. UPN showed a series of Buffy Season 6 UPN promos prior to airing the show. The UPN aired Buffy for the next two seasons.
• Originally the scene with Willow killing the deer had a pan up her very bloody dress, but most of that pan was removed before the episode aired.
• When put into syndication, some parts of this episode have been edited out. Specifically, Willow's sacrifice of the doe (dubbed "Willow kills Bambi") to garner the blood necessary for her ritual, is cut out, however it is included in the episode aired on SPIKE TV and Sky One.
• The 2 hour season premiere of "Bargaining Parts 1 & 2" on UPN attracted 7.7 million viewers, the 2nd highest viewership the show has ever received, only behind Season 2's 'Innocence'.
• Buffy's move from WB to UPN was marked with a major advertising campaign and giant billboards proclaiming "Buffy's Back".
• Alyson Hannigan, who is an animal lover, found the scene where Willow kills the deer difficult to film and was very upset about it. It probably didn't help that the music in the scene was dubbed "Willow Kills Bambi".