The Dark Age

Written by: Dean Batali & Rob Des Hotel Directed by: Bruce Seth Green

Cast : Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers, Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris, Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg, Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia Chase, Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles, and David Boreanaz as Angel.

Guest stars : Robia LaMorte as Jenny Calendar, and Robin Sachs as Ethan Rayne.

Original broadcast date: Nov. 10, 1997.

Sunnydale High School at night. A smartly dressed man asks a school caretaker where he can find Rupert Giles. He hurries off toward the outer door of the library. A woman appears behind him ­ she seems to be suffering from a severe case of dead! He recognizes her as ŒDiedre¹, and begins to pound on the library door, screaming for help. The woman calls him Philip, and advancesŠ

Buffy is doing aerobics in the library, and Giles complains about the noisy music. Neither of them can hear the banging on the door.

Diedre grabs Philip¹s neck, and begins to strangle him. As he falls to the floor, dead, she collapses beside him. Her body liquifies into a puddle of blue goo, and is absorbed into Philip¹s corpse.

Giles¹s bedroom. He is having a nightmare about when he was young - his wilder days, when he went by the name of ŒRipper¹. The dream involves a ritual, and people with tattooed arms. He wakes, tremblingŠ

At school the next morning, Buffy, Willow and Xander play ŒAnywhere but here¹. They spot Giles, and wonder if he ever did anything wild when he was young, but decide that he was probably born like this! They follow him inside, and he tells the Slayer to meet him at the hospital at 8.30pm. A shipment of blood is being delivered, and they need to protect it from vamps! Miss Calendar arrives, and asks Wil if she¹s all set for tomorrow. She explains that Willow is helping with a Saturday morning class, for students who are falling behind in computer studies. Xander is amused, until he finds he¹s one of them!

Jenny and Giles walk off together, and she asks him for a date on Saturday night. He happily agrees, and sets off for the library where the police are waiting for him! Detective Winslow explains that a body was found on campus. It had no ID, but a note with Giles name on it was found in his pocket. They want him to come to the morgueŠ

At the morgue, Giles identifies the body as Philip Henry. A friend from London that he hasn¹t heard from in twenty years. Pointing to a tattoo on the man¹s arm, The detective asks Giles if he knows what it means. He lies, saying he doesn¹t know, although it is the same tattoo from his dream.

At the hospital that night Buffy waits for Giles. He is late. She watches as the blood van pulls up, and realizes that the Œdoctors¹ who take the delivery are actually vamps! As the van drives away, a car pulls up beside them. They load up the blood, and Buffy runs in and attacks. It is four onto one, and she is grateful when Angel appears from nowhere to help her out. They dust the vamps, and she asks if Angel minds delivering the blood himself. She is worried about Giles, and needs to go see if he¹s okay.

Giles seems distracted when she arrives at his apartment. He doesn¹t invite her in, and seems to have forgotten that they were supposed to meet. He sends her away. Giles makes a phone call to England, and finds out that Diedre Page died recently. He puts the phone down, and crosses her name off of a list of five. He and Ethan Rayne are the only people on the list still alive! He finishes a glass of scotch, and puts it down beside a half empty bottle. Going into the bathroom he runs some water to wash his face. As he rolls up his sleeves we can see a tattoo on his armŠ

At Sunnydale morgue, Philip¹s reanimated body is up and about! Looking particularly manky, he attacks a morgue attendant, and then leaves.

On Saturday morning Jenny, Xander, Willow and Cordelia head for the computer lab. As they take their seats, Buffy enters the classroom. She asks Jenny if something is wrong with Giles, and tells her that he has been drinking. No-one can think of a reason for Giles¹s unusual behaviour. Cordy says he seemed fine when she saw the police interview him about a homicideŠ!

Buffy rushes to the library to telephone Giles. She sees someone sneaking around, and catches him ­ it¹s Ethan Rayne. Recognizing him from the costume shop she punches him in the face! Buffy threatens to call the police, and Ethan says she should do just that. After they¹ve interviewed him, they¹ll want to talk to RupertŠ Buffy is shocked that he knows Giles, and Ethan says they go way back.

Giles is woken from another nightmare by the phone ringing. He was dreaming of a ritual, and a demon with glowing yellow eyes. He answers the phone. It is Buffy. At Ethan¹s insistence she asks about the Mark of Eyghon. Giles is horrified to discover whom she is with. He sobers up immediately, and tells her to get away ­ she is in grave danger! At that moment Philip bursts into the library, and Ethan runs to hide behind Buffy. Giles drops the phone, and runs from his houseŠ

Xander, Jenny, Willow and Cordy arrive in time to stop Ethan escaping, and Buffy manages to trick Philip into the cage.

A short time later Giles runs into the library. He stares in disbelief at Philip. Turning on Ethan, he tells him he should have left town, and that staying here has put his friends in danger! Ethan counters that Giles should have gone too, and asks if he¹s been having Œthe nightmares¹. Buffy demands an explanation, but at that moment Philip breaks free! He pushes Jenny over, knocking her unconscious, and Buffy kicks him back into the cage. Suddenly, he convulses, and turns into a pool of blue slime. The slime seeps across the floor, and Jenny wakes as it touches hand. Giles helps her to her feet, and they hug. Briefly, and unseen by the others, Jenny¹s eyes glow yellow! Ethan has run away, and Buffy asks Giles what is going on. He gets angry and says it is private. He doesn¹t want them getting involved. Giles leaves to take Jenny home, and the scoobies hit the books.

Giles¹s apartment. Jenny has asked to be taken there instead of home. Giles offers her a drink, but then says he must take her home ­ he¹s not safe to be around.

Back at the library, Willow has found out some stuff about the demon Eyghon. It is able to possess dead bodies, but they quickly deteriorate, and it must find another host. If no dead bodies are available it can possess the unconscious. The scoobies realize that Eyghon has taken over Jenny!

Jenny rips the telephone wire from the wall just before Giles enters. He hands her a cup of tea, but she comes on to him instead. He rejects her advances, and she gets mad. Calling him Ripper, she says that he hasn¹t changed. He never had the stomach for things, but that¹s okay, cos she¹s gonna rip it out! Her face becomes like that of the demon, and she launches an attack on Giles. Buffy bursts through the door, and punches Eyghon in the face! Laughing, the demon goes after Ethan instead.

Wracked with guilt about Jenny, Giles tells Buffy his story. At twenty one, he succumbed to the pressure of his destiny, and fell in with a bad crowd. The six of them did magic together, and sometimes conjured demons. One night Randall lost control of Eyghon. It killed him, and now it is killing the rest of the group! Buffy leaves to find Ethan, but Giles is too weak to go too.

Ethan is at his shop, and finds it amusing that the Slayer has come to protect him. He shows her the tattoo on his arm, and says that¹s how Eyghon will find him. Buffy tries to lead him to the back of the shop, but he indicates that she should go first. As soon as he is behind her, he knocks her unconscious!

Buffy wakes to find herself tied face down on a table. Ethan is preparing to tattoo her neck with the demon¹s mark! He tells her that she is going to take his place, and be killed instead of him.

Cordy, Willow and Xander are still researching. They have two plans. Either they cut off the demon¹s head (but that would mean killing Miss Calendar!), or find another dead body for Eyghon to possess. Willow has a brainwave, and rushes for the phoneŠ

Back at the shop, Ethan has finished the tattoo. Buffy finds an exposed nail on the underside of the table, and uses it to slowly cut her ropes. Ethan doesn¹t notice as he¹s burning off his own tattoo with acid!

Giles is floored by a vision of Eyghon. He sees his dead friends, and then finally Buffy¹s tattoo. Outraged, he runs from the apartmentŠ

Eyghon enters the shop and corners Ethan. It sniffs him, then pushes him aside and advances on Buffy. The rope breaks just in time, and the Slayer rolls out of reach! Buffy and the demon fight, and Giles runs in. He tells Eyghon to take him instead, and it eagerly does so. Just as it goes for the kill, Angel flies through the door. He grabs Eyghon by the throat, and begins to squeeze. Jenny chokes!

Giles tries to stop him, but the scoobies arrive and persuade him to wait. As Jenny is strangled, the demon is forced to jump ­ into Angel¹s dead body! The demon already inside him puts up a good fight, and Angel convulses. Eventually the vampire wins, and expels Eyghon from his body. Without a host to support it, Eyghon dies. Jenny recovers, and Giles helps her up.

At school, Buffy complains that she¹s got to spend her allowance to remove the tattoo. She compliments Willow on such a brilliant plan. Giles catches Jenny in the corridor. He hasn¹t been able to talk to her because her phone has been off the hook. She seems distant, and he is hurt when she says that she¹s going to need some space. Buffy watches from down the hall, and follows him to the library.

Giles is upset that he put them all in danger, but she says it¹s okay. At least now she knows he is human. Reminding him about their training session she produces a Œperfect¹ CD. Giles despairs of her taste in music, and starts to feel better.

Episode Ratings

Mac -

“Giles’ backstory. Very compelling. Tony Head’s performance with Giles’ vulnerability was well done.”

DJ Angelus -

“A look into Giles past with Ethan. Great ep.”

Quotes

Key: B=Buffy, G=Giles, X=Xander, W=Willow, A=Angel, C=Cordelia, JC=Jenny Calendar, E=Ethan, Ey=Eyghon

G: I know music. Music has notes. This is noise. B: I’m aerobicising. I must have the beat. G: Wonderful. You work on your muscle tone while my brain dribbles out of my ears.

X: Giles lived for school. He’s actually still bitter that there were only 12 grades. B: He probably sat in math class thinking, “There should be more math. This could be mathier.” W: C’mon, you don’t think he ever got restless as a kid? B: Are you kidding? His diapers were tweed. Giles! G: Oh, there you are. B: Hey, morning. Say, is that tweed?

B: So, what’s on tap tonight that’s so important? Uprising? Prophesied ritual? Pre-ordained deathfest? X: Ah, the old standards. G: A medical transport is delivering a monthly supply of blood to the hospital. B: Hmm, vampire meals-on-wheels.

G: I’ll bring the weaponry. B: I’ll bring the party mix.

B: Have I ever let you down? G: Do you want me to answer that, or shall I just glare?

JC: Morning, England. G: Oh, hello, Ms., uh, Jenny. W: Feel the passion. JC: Willow… W: Coughing, not speaking. *cough*

X: Those poor schlubs have to attend school on Saturday. JC: 9AM okay with you, Xander? B: You got a bit of schlub on your shoe, there.

JC: Cordelia’s going to meet us. X: Ooh, gang, did you hear that? A bonus day of class plus Cordelia. Mix in a little rectal surgery and it’s my best day ever.

JC: This weekend. G: Would you like to go out? JC: No, I think I’d like to stay in.

JC: Saturday night. I’ll see if I can make you squirm.

C: Well, evil just compounds evil, doesn’t it? First, I’m sentenced to a computer tutorial on Saturday. Now I have to read some computer book. There are books on computers? Isn’t the point of computers to replace books?

C: Can you help me with a ticket? It’s totally bogus. It was a one-way street. I was going one way!

B: All’s well that ends with cute E.R. doctors, I always say.

B: I’m worried about Giles. He was supposed to meet me here. A: Maybe he’s late. B: Giles? Who counts tardiness as, like, the eighth deadly sin? A: You’re right.

JC: All right, guys, the first thing we’re going to do is… Buffy. X: Huh? Did I fall asleep already? W: Aw, you miss your friends? X: Sit here, Buffs. De-militarize the zone between me and Cordelia. C: Yeah, and de-louse him while you’re at it.

B: He was acting, well, very anti-Giles.

B: I think he was drinking. JC: He was home alone drinking? W: But… tea, right?

X: My Uncle Rory was the stodgiest taxidermist you ever met - by day. By night it was booze, whores, and fur flying. Were there whores? B: He was alone. X: Give it time.

C: I didn’t think it was important. X: We understand. It wasn’t about you.

B: Honesty. Nice touch. E: It’s one of my virtues. Not really.

G: Is everyone all right? C: Super. I kicked a guy!

X: Dead guy here interrupted our tutorial. Been meaning to thank you for that.

E: Hello, Ripper. G: I thought I told you to leave town. E: You did. I didn’t.

C: Why did he call him Ripper? G: You should have left when I told you. C: Ohh!

C: This is what happens when you have school on Saturday.

B: Xander, how do you feel about digging though some of Giles’ personal files and seeing what you can find? X: I feel pretty good about it. Does that make me a sociopath? ….Nah.

X: Okay, Giles and orgies in the same sentence. I could have done without that one.

B: The dead guy’s all puddly now.

Ey: Oh, you’ve never had the stomach. But that’s okay, ’cause I’m about to rip it out.

B: Don’t be sorry, be Giles.

B: Come on, we fight monsters, this is what we do. They show up, they scare us, I beat them up, and they go away.

E: How does Ripper inspire such goodness? B: Because he’s Giles. E: And I’m not. Still, lucky me!

B: I’m not much into running. E: Aren’t we manly? B: One of us is. You’re going to hide until it’s over. E: Excellent plan!

C: I’ve got the solution right here. “To kill a demon, cut off its head.” X: Oh, yeah, we’ll find Ms. Calendar, then we’ll decapitate her. Hey, she’ll be the first headless computer teacher in school. You think anybody’ll notice? C: Do you know what you need, Xander, besides a year’s supply of acne cream? A brain. X: That’s it! Twelve years of you, and I’m snappin’. I don’t care if you’re a girl or not, I’m throwing down. Come on! C: I’ve seen you fight. And don’t think I can’t take you. X: Give it your best shot.

E: Well, I hate to mutilate and run, but…

A: I’ve had a demon inside me for a couple hundred years. Just waiting for a good fight. B: Winner and still champion.

X: I think that Ethan guy disappeared again. B: Darn, I really wanted to hit him until he bled.

B: Hey, maybe you should consider a career as a Watcher. W: Oh, no, I don’t think I could handle the stress. X: And the dental plan’s crap.

B: Is she okay? G: Um, the hills are not alive. B: I’m sorry to hear that. I think.

G: Bay City Rollers - now, that’s music. B: I didn’t hear that.