Checkpoint

Writer: Doug Petrie & Jane Espenson
Director: Nick Marck

Cast : Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers, Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris, Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg, Emma Caulfield as Anya, Michelle Trachtenberg as Dawn Summers, James Marsters as Spike, Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles.

Main guest stars : Kristine Sutherland as Joyce Summers, Amber Benson as Tara, Clare Kramer as Glory, Charlie Weber as Ben, Harris Yulin as Quentin Travers, Cynthia LaMontagne as Lydia, Oliver Muirhead as Phillip, Kris Iyer as Nigel, Kevin Weisman as Dreg, Troy T. Blendell as Jinx.

Original broadcast date : January 23, 2001

My one-line description: Someone, please give these guys a crumpet and a tuppence for the trip back…

The gang has convened at Buffy’s house – messy, since Joyce isn’t yet totally back on her feet – where Giles announces that the Watchers’ Council is coming to town. Buffy doesn’t want the Council in Sunnydale, and points out that hey almost killed her twice. Anya muses that the Council doesn’t sound very ex-demon friendly. Buffy stops talking long enough to tell Dawn out of earshot – as the teen has ventured in the living room. Then Giles tells the gang that the Council might know something useful about Glory.

In her apartment, Glory lies on the floor, looking quite the worse for wear. Two minions, Dreg and Jinx, bring a mailman to her, and she plunges her hands into his skull, draining his brain. As she looks obviously better, Dreg moves to other business, telling her that the “signs of alignment” are moving faster than expected – if she wants to use the Key, she better use it soon. Glory muses that the only thing standing between her and the Key is the Slayer…

At the Magic Box, Giles is helping a client when suddenly a gang of Council members enters – including Quentin Travers. The Council people probe around the shop, reporting to Travers that some stuff is inoffensive, while other items are dangerous. Another Council member raises his voice to ask the shoppers to leave, as the Magic Box is temporarily closed. Giles is outraged, but Travers explains that it’s only for the duration of the review. Giles wants to know about this review, and the Council leader reveals that the research on Glory has been successful, but the Council wants to test the Slayer, to make sure the information will be in good hands. Giles replies that Buffy has become very focused.

Really? In class, Buffy yawns as she listens to the teacher drone on about the death of Rasputin. She stands up to disagree with him, evoking the possibility of supernatural forces having kept Rasputin alive. The teacher mocks her point of view, humiliating her until she sits back down.

That night, Buffy takes out her frustration on a vampire. However, before she can stake him, Spike takes care of it for her. Annoyed, she asks why he did that, and he replies that it was for her heartfelt gratitude and not the money. But she’s far from grateful, and he gets angry, to the point of mentioning Riley running off – Buffy hits him.

At the hospital, Jinx is asking Ben if he knows the whereabouts of the Slayer. Ben realizes that Buffy is the Slayer; Jinx tells him that Glory needs his help, but Ben answers coldly that he has a message for Glory…

Buffy walks into the Magic Box to see Giles and Travers discussing her skills. She steps to go back outside, muttering something about the bad day she’s having, but Quentin calls to her. Giles breaks the news about the review, and a Council member describes what they have in mind – examining her procedures and decisions, observing her training and interviewing her friends. Quentin Travers comments once again that Glory is powerful and dangerous, and that the Council wants to be sure Buffy can handle the information. In response to both Buffy’s and Giles’ outrage, Travers adds that if she refuses the review, he will close down the Magic Box and have Giles deported back to England.

Jinx shows Glory Ben’s message – his own battered face. Glory exclaims that Ben is driving her crazy; then she decides she’ll just have to take care of the Slayer herself.

In private, Giles admits to Buffy that the Council really does have the power to deport him. Buffy is worried about the review, since she hasn’t even beaten Glory yet. Giles reassures her on her capacities, but she wonders where they’ll start…

In Xander’s apartment, a Council member, Phillip, asks Anya her name. “Anya Christina Emmanuella Jenkins”, she cheerfully answers, claiming her date of birth to be the 4th of July and rambling on about being “a little patriot”. Nonplussed, the Council member asks her how she spells “Anya”.

Another Council member, Nigel, interviews Tara and Willow. He asks them about the Slayer, then about their relationship. The two innocently state that they’re friends, but then… “We’re in love,” Willow blurts out. “We’re… lovers. Lesbian, gay-type lovers.” Nonplussed, Nigel specifies that he meant their relationship with the Slayer… “Oh… just good friends.” “Best friends”, Xander tells Phillip. He goes on to describe how Willow and himself have helped Buffy from the start. He denies having mastered any fighting skills, but recounts the time he became part of a Super-Buffy. Phillip asks if the Slayer needs that kind of help often. “No!” Willow tells Nigel, shaking her head defensively. The Council member goes on to ask her and Tara about their magical powers, making them uncomfortable.

Elsewhere, Spike tells Lydia – yet another interrogator – about his business relationship with the Slayer. But then he slips a bit, causing Lydia to ask him why he would want the Slayer to cry on his shoulder…

In the training room, Quentin Travers describes the next phase of the review: blindfolded, Buffy must protect a dummy from an attacker, using the fighting moves Travers will tell her. However, Quentin assumes Buffy speaks Japanese… (uh oh). Giles tries to help her by translating Quentin’s orders, but it proves too binding for Buffy, who decides to do it her way. Relying on instinct, she lashes out at her attacker, cracking one of his ribs, and then flings an axe at the dummy, swiftly killing it. Oops… Travers schedules the next part of the review for 7 PM.

An embarrassed Buffy arrives home, and finds no encouragement there – Glory is waiting for her. As Glory rambles on about the Key, Buffy discreetly picks up a fire poker, but Glory disarms her, claiming she didn’t come to fight. She wants to make a deal with the Slayer. As Buffy listens to what she has to say, Dawn enters the room, and her sister tries to warn her off. But Glory asks Dawn to come closer, and she asks the teenager about the Key. Buffy quickly says that her sister doesn’t know anything, but an angry Dawn lashes out at her, saying that she knows “some stuff”. She stomps out of the living room, and Glory exclaims that she likes the girl – she’s sassy. “I’ll kill her,” she adds. She threatens to torture and kill all of Buffy’s family and friends, and then leaves. “Pack a bag”, Buffy instructs Joyce as she enters the room.

Spike jerks awake when Buffy enters his Crypt, Joyce and Dawn in tow. She asks the vampire to protect them, and he accepts, albeit reluctantly. Everyone is uneasy about the arrangement, especially Joyce, who compliments Spike on what he’s “neglected to do with the place”. However, Spike and Joyce finally bond over an episode of “Passions”.

At the Magic Box, the Scoobies and the Council members are waiting for Buffy to show. Quentin Travers points out that she’s already 20 minutes late…

Buffy is hurrying toward the Magic Box when she’s surrounded by… three knights (!) in full armour and weapons. She manages to subdue them, and pulls the hood off one knight’s face to ascertain who he is. The knight – a mere human – introduces himself as a member of the Knights of Byzantium; they too are looking for the Key, although they are not allies of Glory. The knight adds that they aim to destroy the Key, and that Buffy is now their enemy, since she protects it. Buffy lets the knight go, keeping his sword.

Buffy slowly walks into the Magic Box and lays the sword on the table, pointed towards Quentin Travers. She tells him there will be no review – and no interruptions while she explains.

Buffy comments that for the last couple of days, people have gone out of their way to make her feel unimportant. And she’s finally figured out why – power. She has it, they don’t. She mentions Glory’s visit to her house, then muses that the Council didn’t come all the way from England to let her back in – they came to beg her to let them back in. One of the Council members exclaims in outrage, prompting Buffy to throw the sword at him, very nearly missing him. “I’m pretty sure I said no interruptions”, she calmly states. Then she dictates her conditions: the Council will give her the information it has on Glory, then go away; Giles will be reinstated as Watcher at full salary, retroactive to the month he was fired; and Buffy herself will continue to use her friends’ help to battle evil. Again, one Council member argues, saying that her friends are civilians. But Buffy points out that her friends are two powerful witches, a very old ex-demon, and a boy who has logged more field time than all of the present Council members combined. Buffy turns back to the subject at hand, asking Quentin to give her an answer. “Your terms are acceptable”, he rumbles huskily. As the Scoobies whoop in delight, Quentin asks Giles for a glass of scotch…

Buffy stops him, asking Quentin what kind of demon Glory is. “She’s not a demon,” Quentin replies. “She’s a god.”

“Oh,” Buffy answers as her eyes widen in surprise.

Summary by OttsFiveByFive.

Episode Ratings

Mac -
“The Watchers Council is back, and we get our first look at the Knights of Byzantium. Plus we find out what Glory is. Oh, and Anya gets nervous. Geez, just for everything that happens I have to give it a four.”

Quotes

(B=Buffy, G=Giles, X=Xander, W=Willow, R=Riley, S=Spike, A=Anya, D=Dawn, T=Tara, J=Joyce, Gl=Glory, Q=Quintin Travers)
—
B: Arrive? They’re coming here? Now? Why do they have to come here?
X: Yeah, don’t they have phones? [in fake Brit accent] ’ello, Buffy! Here’s some stuff we know, pip, pip!
B: Yeah! Phones. See, I’d like them on phones.
T: Well, what’s so bad about them coming here? Aren’t they good guys? I mean, Watchers. That’s just like other Gileses, right?
B: Yeah! They’re scary and horrible.

G: Essentially, their agenda is the same as ours. They want to save the world and kill demons.
A: Kill the CURRENT demons, right? CURRENT demons.

B: They put me through that test and almost killed me. And then when I was Faith, they almost killed me again. Honestly, I really can’t handle almost being killed right now.

A: They don’t sound very ex-demon compatible.

T: Are you sure they’re English? I thought English people were, uh, gentler… than normal people.

Gl: I have been cooling my heels in this crappy little town long enough. Sunnydale’s got too many demons and not enough retail outlets.

Demon monk: All you need is the key.
Gl: Yes, and I bet Mousey the Vampire Slayer has an idea where it is.

G: If you’re serious about this, madam, you need to be very careful. Measure precisely, and please, don’t step ahead.
Q: Oh, he’s quite right. You wouldn’t want to do anything dangerous. Turn the wrong person… into a badger.

Watcher: This statue… its removal from Burma is a criminal offense, and when triggered, it has the power to melt human eyeballs.
G: In that case, I severely underpriced it.

A: Customers! Please, bring your money back.

A: Council? You’re the Council? Welcome to our store. We’re closed now. I’ll be in the back.

G: You all stand around and look somber. Good job.

Q: You used to respect us, Giles. You used to be one of us.
G: You used to pay me.

Prof: They held the tenet that in order to be forgiven, one first had to sin. Rasputin embraced this doctrine and proceeded to sin impressively and repeatedly.

B: There’s also a near-consensus about Columbus, you know, until someone asked the Vikings what they were up to in the 1400’s and they’re, like, discovering this America-shaped continent.

Prof: Maybe you’d prefer I’d step aside so the you can teach your own course: Speculation 101 perhaps? Intro to Flights of Fancy?

B: Maybe you would like to teach your own class!
Vamp: Who’re you talking to?

S: I saved you.
B: I was regrouping.
S: You were about to be regrouped into separate piles.

S: Wishing I was your boyfriend What’s-his-height? Oh, wait, he’s run off.

B: I don’t need a boyfriend, to rescue me or for any other reason.
S: Don’t need or can’t keep?

S: Maybe that’s your problem – maybe you push them away. Or is it the other? Maybe you cling too much. Or maybe, your beauty’s fading, the stress of slaying ageing you prematurely – things not as high, not as firm.

Dr. Ben: Don’t touch me – you’re… crusty.

Jinx: She’s short, symmetrical, hair on top. Buffy something?

Q: The council fights evil. The Slayer is the instrument by which we fight. The Council remains, the Slayers change. It’s been that way from the beginning.
G: That’s a very comforting, bloodless way of looking at it, isn’t it?

Gl: All he has to do is turn over that tiny, squirming, Slayer girl!

Gl: Sweet, lumpy minion. You’re the only one that understands. Probably because I haven’t sucked your brain out yet.

G: It’s about who has the power.
B: I’m guessing they do. Big power outage in Buffy country.

G: I should have set you loose on them, that’s what I should have done.
B: Giles, that Travers guy is like 60. I can’t hit him. Can I?

G: They can kill you with the strike of a pen – poncy sods.

G: Holding what they know hostage with a gun pointed at my bleeding green card, no less.

A: Anya Christina Emmanuella Jenkins, 20 years old, born on the 4th of July, and don’t think there weren’t jokes about that my whole life, Mister, ’cause there were. “Who’s our little patriot?” they’d say, when I was younger, and therefore smaller and shorter than I am now.
Watcher: So, you spell it A-N-Y-A, then?

Watcher: I need to know a little bit more about the Slayer, and about the both of you – your relationship, whatever you can tell me.
T: Our relationship?
W: We’re friends.
T: Good friends.
W: Girlfriends, actually.
T: Yes, we’re girlfriends.
W: We’re in love. We’re lovers. We’re lesbian, gay-type lovers.
Watcher: I meant your relationship with the Slayer.
T: Um… just good friends.

Watcher: So, you have no special skills or powers or knowledge you bring to the mix, neither of you?
A: Just enthusiasm for killing the demons. Go deadness for the demons!

X: We merged, and I was the heart part of a Super-Buffy. Again, let me stress the not-as-weird thing.

Watcher: Interesting. What level are you at?
T: Level?
Watcher: Magical proficiency level?
W: Oh, uh, high – high level. Very high. One of those top levels
T: Five.
Watcher: And you’re registered as practicing witches under the names as you gave them to me?
T: R-r-r-registered?

S: Personally, I’m shocked. The girl’s slipping.
Watcher: You’ve noticed a decline in her work?
S: Oh, yeah. See, the poor little twig can’t keep a man. Gets her all down. Few more disappointments and she’ll be crying on my shoulder, mark my words.

S: Heard of me, have you?
Watcher: I… wrote my thesis on you.

Q: Agility, clarity, stamina, and strength. These are the qualities that the Slayer must possess to do her job.
B: What came after agility?

Gl: Buffy, if I wanted to fight, you could tell by the being dead already.

Gl: Ooh, I like her! She’s sassy. And I’ll kill her. I’ll kill your mom, I’ll kill your friends, and I’ll make you watch when I do.

Gl: Obviously, this is a one-time only deal. Next time we meet, something you love dies bloody.

S: Oh, it’s the Slayer. For a second there, I was worried.

S: They didn’t put a chip in your head, did they?
B: No.
S: Be funny if they did.

S: Come on in. There’s plenty of blood in the fridge.
D: Do you mean, like, real blood?
S: What do you think?
D: Mostly, I think ewww!

S: Yeah, yeah. “anything happens to ’em, I’ll stake you good and proper.” Sing me a new one sometime, eh? That bit’s gone stale.

J: I love what you’ve, um, neglected to do with the place.

S: Don’t make a lot of noise. Passions is coming on.
J: Passions? Oh, do you think Timmy’s really dead?
S: Oh, no, no. she can just sew him back together. He’s a doll, for god’s sake.

T: Why doesn’t Mr. Giles put them all out of here?
X: Because if they deport him, they’re not just destroying his career, they’re condemning the man to a lifetime diet of blood sausage, bangers, and mash.

B: Uh, guys? Any way we could not do this?

B: No review. No interrogation. No questions you know I can’t answer. No hoops, no jumps. And no interruptions.

B: She told me I’m a bug, I’m a flea, she could squash me in a second. Only she didn’t.

Watcher: Oh, this is beyond insolence!
[Buffy throws sword across room and into wall inches from Watcher]
B: I’m fairly certain I said no interruptions.
X: That was excellent!

B: You can’t do anything with the information you have, except maybe publish it in the Everyone-Thinks-We’re- Insano’s Home Journal.

B: The magic shop will remain open, Mr. Giles will stay here as my official Watcher, reinstated at full salary.
G: [coughing] Retroactive.
B: To be paid retroactively from the month he was fired.

B: I will continue my work with the help of my friends.
Watcher: I-I, uh, I don’t want a sword thrown at me, but… civilians… we’re talking about children.
B: We’re talking about two very powerful witches, and a thousand-year-old ex-demon.
A: Willow’s a demon?!

Watcher: The boy? No power there.
B: “The boy’s” clocked more field time than all of you combined. He’s part of the unit.
W: That’s Riley-speak.
X: I’ve clocked field time!

Q: Uh… Rupert…
G: Quintin?
Q: When we inventoried your shop, we found a bottle of single-malt Scotch behind the incense holders…
G: It’s–it’s not, you know, during working hours…
Q: I think I could use a glass.

B: Just tell me what kind of demon I’m fighting.
Q: Well, that’s the thing, you see. Glory isn’t a demon.
B: What is she?
Q: She’s a god.
B: Oh.

Credit: The Sunnydale Slayers