Gone
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| Buffy the Vampire Slayer | |
| Season 6, Episode 11 | |
 | |
| Air date | January 8, 2002 |
| Written by | David Fury |
| Directed by | David Fury |
| Episode Guide | |
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"Gone" is the eleventh episode of the sixth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and is the one hundred eleventh episode altogether. It was written and directed by David Fury. It originally broadcast on January 8, 2002.
A social services worker threatens to take Dawn from Buffy. The Trio accidentally make Buffy invisible.
Contents |
Synopsis
Buffy feels life becoming unravelled after Willow's incident involving Dawn, a car, and Willow 'high' on magic. Dawn is ignoring Buffy, too. The reason for that is because Buffy wasn't around (she was having sex with Spike) and is only talking to Xander. A social worker comes round to check on how Buffy's doing (at the worst possible time). The living room is scattered with Willow's old spell ingredients and objects. Buffy digs herself into a deep hole by saying "It's magic weed." Spike, in the daytime but using a blanket to cover him, comes over to her house wanting his lighter back. Then he leaves, calling Buffy "Goldilocks." In a state of depression, Buffy cuts most of her own hair off, resulting in her visiting the hairdresser asking the hairdresser to please fix it.
The Trio are just outside, about to make themselves invisible. However, Andrew and Jonathan fight over who is going to use it first and activates the invisibility ray and the beam hits Buffy, making her waver and vanish (along with a dumpster, traffic cone, and fire hydrant).
Anya and Xander are talking about their upcoming wedding at the Magic Box. The door opens but no-one enters. Buffy's voice comes out of nowhere, along with picking up two magical circular items and making them look like eyes. Buffy continues her invisible adventures in Sunnydale. "I'm the ghost of fashion victims past," she moans to a civilian, who is wearing a studded cap. She then drives off with a parking inspector's van.
Buffy drives to the workplace of the social worker who had made that morning's inspection to the Summers' home. Using her invisibility to its full advantage, she tricks the social worker into behaving in a bizarre manner and replaces the Summers' report with pages consisting entirely of repetitions of "All work and no play makes Doris a dull girl." She also tells her supervisor that, "There was a voice. It made my coffee dance". The woman's supervisor believes that she is having a mental break with reality and sends her home, saying that he would send someone else to re-inspect the Summers' home the next day.
She then heads to Spike's. Buffy attempts to sexually assault Spike, before he realizes who she is. "I told you to stop trying to see me," she finally jokes and then she and Spike go underground for sex. In the meantime, Xander and Anya discover that the Invisibility Ray is causing the structure of the traffic cone to break down, and realize that the same thing would happen to Buffy if the invisibility isn't reversed. Xander runs to Spike's crypt in search of Buffy, where he finds Spike in bed, naked and apparently alone, "doing push-ups". Xander has a chat with Spike, wanting to know where Buffy is, and Spike honestly says that he hasn't "seen" her. Throughout the conversation, invisible Buffy gropes and physically teases Spike, causing him to feel pleasure in Xander's presence. Spike tries to act normal, somewhat unsuccessfully. Xander finally leaves, disgusted by Spike's odd behavior, telling Spike that he really needs to get a girlfriend.
Buffy wants to continue their physical activities, but Spike tells her that he is tired of being with her and not really having her. He asks her to leave if she isn't really going to be with him. He is frustrated with her carefree attitude and doesn't appreciate the way she seems to be using the invisibility as an excuse to escape her real life. She protests, but eventually leaves. She doesn't do too well at home when she scares Dawn, who has the same frustrations as Spike, combined with extreme worry for her sister. The bad stuff keeps on coming when she gets the message from Xander and Anya on the answering machine about the effects of the Ray. However, before Buffy can head back to the Magic Box, Jonathan phones her up (disguising his voice so Buffy doesn't identify him) and tells her that The Trio has kidnapped Willow and tells her to meet them at the arcade.
Buffy does so. However, Jonathan, Andrew, and Warren have also made themselves invisible, and Warren is holding Willow hostage. Warren lies to Buffy, telling her that he is going to reverse the mechanism into making her visible. But Willow points out that he's put it on a setting that is going to kill her. Warren knocks her to the ground and aims the gun at Buffy, telling her that she can't see them. However, Buffy's Slayer training and experience provide her with some ability to sense the invisible villains. A scuffle ensues. Warren ends up in the ball-pit, Andrew ends up in the pinball machine, and Buffy ends up holding Jonathan. Willow, who has changed the frequency, aims at Buffy, Jonathan, Andrew, and Warren. "So, you three have what? Banded together to be pains in my ass?" Buffy asks. Warren stands firm. "We're your arch-nemesises-ses." After a smoke-bomb goes off and after scuffling to open the door, The Trio escape. Buffy and Willow sit on the curb outside and talk. "You've cut your hair," observes Willow.
Starring
- Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers
- Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris
- Emma Caulfield as Anya Jenkins
- Michelle Trachtenberg as Dawn Summers
- James Marsters as Spike
- Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg
Guest Starring
- Tom Lenk as Andrew Wells
- Danny Strong as Jonathan Levinson
- Adam Busch as Warren Mears
- Daniel Hagen as Social Services Supervisor
- Susan Ruttan as Doris Kroeger
Co Starring
- Jessa French as Cleo
- Kelly Parver as Girl in Park
- Jeffrey Jacquin as Meter Man
- Dwight Bacquie as Security Guard
- Lyndon Smith as Little Boy
- Melinda Webberley as Little Girl
- Elin Hampton as Co-Worker
Trivia
- "All work and no play makes Doris a dull girl." is an homage to the classic Stanley Kubrick film The Shining in which Wendy is forced to accept the reality of Jack's madness when she discovers that the manuscript he's been typing for weeks is comprised entirely of endless pages repeating the phrase "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."
- During the scene in the Social Services building, Buffy types on the social worker's computer, and the keys depress as her invisible hands move over them. In the widescreen (DVD) version of this episode, you can clearly see the strings (coming out of the left side of the keyboard) that were used to make this effect. They weren't visible on the 4:3 TV broadcast version.
- Sarah Michelle Gellar had requested to cut her hair, so the writers made her haircut a plot point of this episode.
- The scene where Buffy has her hair styled (Mane Street) was filmed in Torrance, California -- the names of the various shops and their phone numbers are readily visible.
Continuity
- Buffy is whistling "Going Through the Motions" from "Once More, With Feeling" as she is leaving the Social Services building.
- Xander asks Buffy if she has been feeling ignored, a reference to Marcie the invisible girl from "Out of Mind, Out of Sight".
- The members of The Trio are revealed to the gang.
- Buffy expresses shock when Spike kicks her out of his crypt, wondering aloud if she's slipped into Bizarro World, which is the name Cordelia gave to the parallel universe seen in The Wish.
- When Willow checks the DMV records the name "Jonathan Levinson" comes up twice.
- It's surprising that Willow doesn't recognize Jonathan's voice when the nerds return to their lair, even though they're invisible. She's dealt with him several times before.
- Noah's Arcade is the last new shop we see in downtown Sunnydale. It's next door to the appliance shop and we see it in a couple of future episodes.
Music
- Trespassers William - "I Know"
