The Initiative (episode)
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| Buffy the Vampire Slayer | |
| Season 4, Episode 7 | |
 | |
| Air date | November 16, 1999 |
| Written by | Douglas Petrie |
| Directed by | James A. Contner |
| Episode Guide | |
| previous Wild at Heart | next Pangs |
"The Initiative" is episode 7 of season 4 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Contents |
[edit] Summary
Riley and a couple of friends, Forrest and Graham, watch as Buffy manages to make a mess of the soda and yogurt machines in the cafeteria. Forrest and Graham comment on how attractive she is and how interested in her they are, but Riley is reluctant to make fun.
Giles and Xander discover the commando guys are human and that their help will not be needed, again. Buffy arrives and while Giles tells her to patrol, she says she's going to party with Willow and hopefully cheer her up.
Spike, having been knocked out by a Taser at the beginning of the previous episode, wakes up in a facility where various types of demons are held captive behind electrically charged barriers. A packet of blood drops from the ceiling into Spike's cell but before he drinks it, a vampire in the next cell - Tom, who was captured in "The Freshman" - warns him that doctors starve the vampires and then feed them drugged blood before doing experiments on them.
In class, Willow asks about Oz but Riley says he dropped out. After Willow tries to tell him that Oz will return, Professor Walsh informs her that he won't be back to her class, whereupon Willow abruptly leaves, saddened. Buffy approaches the professor, and tells her off, prompting Walsh to comment to Riley that she likes her.
Forrest asks Parker about Buffy, and when Parker vulgarly brags about having sex with her, Riley punches him. Riley then realizes he likes Buffy. He visits Willow and asks her advice in wooing Buffy; Willow, still emotionally distressed, questions his motives, but eventually relents, listing some of Buffy's likes and interests.
Spike lies on the floor of his cell, pretending to have drunk the drugged blood, and when the doctors come to get him he attacks. He escapes the Initiative and returns to Harmony's lair, telling her he's "back for good" - then immediately leaves to kill the Slayer. Xander later discovers Harmony crying, burning some of Spike's things. The two get into an inept slap-fight, and then mutually agree to stop. Harmony lets Xander know that Spike is back.
At the party, Willow tries to help Riley flirt with Buffy, but his attempts are thwarted when Xander arrives to inform Buffy that Spike has returned. Riley is also called away; he and Forrest break away from the party and, after passing through several electronic checkpoints, go down a hidden elevator to the underground facility where Spike had been held. The operation's head, Professor Walsh, informs them that "Hostile 17" (Spike) has escaped, and the guys suit up. Riley gives orders to three teams that he sends out all over Sunnydale to find Spike.
Riley's team spot Buffy sitting on a bench. Riley says she won't be their bait and goes out to get rid of her. Each unaware of the other's secret identity, Riley and Buffy try to send each other out of harm's way.
Meanwhile, Spike has found Buffy's dorm through the school computer system, and is accidentally invited into the room by Willow. When he tries to bite her, he is stopped by an intense pain in his head. Willow hits him with a lamp and runs out just as Riley and friends cut the power and then work their way up to the dorm room. They capture Spike but, while they consider whether to take Willow or not, Spike breaks free. Buffy arrives and fights Riley and his friends while Spike manages to escape through a window. Unable to make out the identity of their attacker, Riley orders them to retreat.
Professor Walsh is not happy with what happened or with Riley's report on the event. It is revealed that Spike cannot harm a human without feeling pain in his head thanks to an implant they placed there. Riley catches up with Buffy and they talk. Buffy tells him he's a little peculiar, which he says he can live with.
[edit] Continuity
- Spike receives a chip in his head from the Initiative in this episode. The chip (a/k/a plot device) will continue to be a major story point for years to come.
- Spike mentions the pink sweater Willow wore in Lovers Walk.
- Spike's inability to perform as a vampire is played for laughs when he notes, "Nothing like this has ever happened to me before."
- Many of the names in the student directory Spike examines are actually behind-the-scenes production people.
[edit] Credits
Starting with this episode, Seth Green's name is no longer in the credits as Oz. Instead, James Marsters is added to the credits as Spike. He will remain part of the main cast for the remainder of the series.
[edit] Recurring Characters
Riley Finn, Maggie Walsh, Forrest Gates
[edit] Quotes
"We gotta Clark Kent our way through life." -- Forrest to Riley, on having a secret identity
"Oh, I get it. 'You're not the kind of girl I bite. But I'd like to bite your friend.'" -- Willow, feeling oddly rejected when Spike can't bite her
