Gingerbread

Okay, after "Amends," this episode is a cakewalk. And I'd really forgotten how funny it is. Considering that the opening scene shows two dead kids, that's no mean feat. Let's get to it!

We open with a shot of Buffy patrolling in a park. Something moves in the shrubbery (now I'm already thinking of the Knights Who Say "Ni." This could be one long recap), and she pulls out a stake. Suddenly Joyce's voice calls out, "Is it a vampire?" She walks up, holding a Thermos and a paper bag. Buffy asks what she's doing there, and Joyce says she came to bring Buffy some food and to observe the slaying. Aw. Buffy says that slaying is an "alone thing," but Joyce won't be put off. Buffy switches gears, saying that it's pretty dull, when the bushes move again. A very ugly middle-aged vampire appears and rushes them. He and Buffy fight. The action is peppered with such helpful comments from Joyce as, "C'mon honey, kill him!", "He's over here!", and "oh my God, it's Mr. Sanderson from the bank!" Hee. Mr. Sanderson, bring me a dream! God, I'm even more stream-of-consciousness than usual. I should take this opportunity to write some fan-fic or something. The vamp manages to get away from Buffy, and she tells Joyce to stay put as she goes in pursuit. Joyce walks to a bench in a nearby playground area. She looks around, and with a smile picks up a toy truck that's on the ground. When she looks up, however, her smile fades. She walks forward.

Buffy's caught up with Mr. Sanderson. She quickly dusts him.

Joyce continues her slow march forward. She drops the Thermos and gapes in horror. The camera pans back to reveal a young boy and girl lying dead on the ground. We focus on the girl's open palm, which bears a green symbol that looks like a handlebar mustache over an upside-down triangle. Then again, the whole thing could be upside-down itself. Credits.

The police are now on the scene. They photograph the kids. Although there are no apparent wounds, it's still quite shocking to see. The kids look about eight. The girl has fairly long curly blonde hair, while the boy's hair is brown, in a bowl cut. The kids both look pretty German, which is a nice touch, as we'll see later. Buffy talks to a cop, then walks over and tells Joyce that they have permission to go home. Joyce, looking distraught, says that the kids were "tiny," and asks Buffy if she saw them. Buffy world-wearily says that she did. Joyce, near tears, wonders who could have done it. Buffy says she'll find the killer, but Joyce points out that even that won't make it right. Buffy agrees, and hugs her mom tenderly. She says she'll take care of everything. "Just try and calm down."

Ironic Segue Fairy cut to Buffy telling Giles, "Don't tell me to calm down!" That trick is getting a little tired. Buffy tells him how horrible a sight it was, and that her mom "can't even talk." Too bad Angel didn't see it instead. Giles says he just wants to help, and Buffy says she knows. Giles asks if it was a vampire attack, but Buffy says there weren't any marks, which jogs her memory about the symbol on the kids' hands. She moves to sketch it on a piece of parchment, but Giles yelps, "Twelfth century!" Hee. Buffy draws the symbol on a piece of paper instead and shows it to Giles, who seems pensive. He explains that use of a symbol like this usually represents a "ritual murder," an "occult sacrifice." Maybe ME used it in their character assassination of the cast. Buffy's shocked that the murderer(s) could be human: "Someone with a soul did this?" Girl, don't get me started on the soul thing. Buffy asks Giles to find a loophole in that "Slayers don't kill people" rule. I guess he found it before the end of the season, huh? Giles says Buffy has a right to be upset, but he's worried that she's taking it personally because of her mother's involvement. Buffy agrees that it's personal, but she doesn't care.

Cafeteria. Oz and Xander are to each other in the lunch line. They greet each other. Xander seems nervous, and Oz seems to be subtly enjoying it. They go to Willow's table. Amy shows up from her 51-week-a-year vacation in Wiccaland to join them. Xander compliments Amy on her new dark hair. Now now, we all know what dark hair means! She's clearly been infected by magic. Or maybe it was "addicted to" magic. Oh, wait -- they hadn't made up that drivel yet. I guess she just dyed it. Phew. Oz asks Willow where she's been all day. Xander pipes up: "Not with me! No, sir, ask anyone. No." He crashes and burns, and Oz looks on with a touch of a smile. I actually feel for Xander here -- I think Oz's imperturbable nature would be extremely intimidating in this situation. Willow smiles awkwardly at them both. Oz takes pity on Xander, mentioning that Buffy's birthday is the week. Right -- "Helpless." That one's going to be tough. Xander's relieved to have something to talk about, but Willow shushes him. He's predictably clueless, and of course Buffy appears behind him. Buffy tells them about the events of the prior evening, and they're suitably shocked. Xander wonders why Joyce was there, but Buffy explains that she picked last night to observe the slaying. Willow: "God, your mom would actually take the time to do that with you?" At Buffy's look, she continues, "That really wasn't the point of the story, was it." Heh. Buffy says the point is that her mom is "completely wigging," which is now Joyce's cue to appear behind Buffy. Hello, ME? Hackneyed Techniques is on line one -- they're suing.

The kids say hi to Joyce. She asks Buffy if she's talked to Giles about the murders yet. Buffy says that it might have been a cult, and I can't understand why she would tell Joyce even that much, but whatever. Joyce: "A cult -- like witches." Willow chokes on her drink. Hackneyed Techniques is on the phone again. They say that that was funny, so they'll let it slide. Amy just looks a little offended. Joyce says she knows they "dabble" in witchcraft, which I also find hard to believe, since she's normally about as clued in as someone who still owns a Betamax. She says that whoever did this is not cool. Wow, killing little kids isn't cool? That's some political platform. And do you think nuclear war is a no-no as well? Joyce babbles on until Buffy pulls her aside. Xander laments the fact that Joyce had to see the corpses, especially considering that she had only recently come to terms with the slaying thing. Willow's thankful that her mom is "not interested in [her] extracurricular activities. Or [her] curricular activities." Aw.

Joyce asks Buffy if her friends will help with the investigation. Buffy thinks that it's not the right place to talk about it, as she's loath to mix her school and home lives. Joyce says she feels like she has to help; she called everyone she knows to set up a vigil at City Hall. She called everyone she knows? What's she going to do with the change from that dime? She goes on that even the Mayor will be there. Well, since he works there, that's not much of a stretch. Buffy looks chagrined, and tells Joyce that in an investigation such as this, they like to keep the number of people involved small. Joyce back-pedals that there won't be all that many people.

Predictable cut to a packed City Hall. Oh, look, a fax from Hackneyed Techniques. Cease, desist, copyright, damages, blah blah blah lawsuitcakes. Everyone's holding candles, even though they're inside. What a bunch of losers. Many of them are also carrying signs with the two kids' pictures and a caption that reads, "Never Again!" Do they have one of those with Marti Noxon's picture on it? Buffy and Willow walk in, thankfully candle-less. Buffy snits about the crowd, but Willow points out that at least Buffy's mom is making an effort. "My mom's probably" -- a middle-aged red-haired woman walks up -- "standing right in front of me right this second." All right, now I'm pissed. It's such a quick succession that my "Hackneyed Techniques" joke has itself become hackneyed. I'm just going to mope for a while. Okay, I'm done.

Willow's mom greets her, and then turns to Buffy: "Hi, Bunny." Hee! Bunny the Vampire Slayer! Now I'm thinking of Monty Python And The Holy Grail again. Can you imagine if the killer rabbit were a vampire slayer? Hey, that's not nearly as fucked up an idea as Strangers With Candy, so leave me alone. By the way, I loved that show. Willow wonders what her mom is doing there, and she says she read about it in the paper. She notices that Willow's hair is short, and comments that it's a new look. Willow: "Yeah, it's just a sudden whim I hadin August." Heh. Well, at least no one bitched and moaned about it like when Keri Russell cut off her hair. Don't people have anything better to do than bitch about other people? And for those of you who are gleefully pointing out that I do an awful lot of that, I'd like to point out in turn that I can't hear you. Uh-oh. I just realized I can hear Sars, and I've left myself wide open. ["Nah, too easy." -- Sars]

Willow's mom, who we'll imminently learn is named Sheila, says she likes the haircut, then turns and greets an approaching Joyce. Giles arrives, and there's the now-stock awkwardness between him and Joyce. Sheila says to Giles that there's a rumor going around. Giles: "A rumor? About us?" Hee. Joyce flashes him a look, and he valiantly tries to recover. Sheila clarifies that the rumor is that the murderers are people who call themselves witches. Giles and Willow say that that's strange. Willow's mom starts to give a sociological explanation of why it's not that strange, but is thankfully interrupted by the start of the proceedings.

The Mayor taps the microphone. He thanks everyone for coming, and says that "it proves what a caring community Sunnydale is." He goes on that it's a good town with good people, and promises that the crime will be solved. He holds up one of the signs, and says that "Never Again!" is his pledge to the community. Yeah, if by "Never Again!" he means "never again, until I ascend and eat every last one of you." He calls Joyce up to the dais. She addresses him and says he's dead wrong. "This is not a good town. How many of us have lost someone who just disappeared? Or got skinned? Or suffered neck rupture? And how many of us have been too afraid to speak out?" I give her credit for challenging the Mayor, but again, "monsters are bad" is her platform? See my earlier comment about nuclear war. She goes on to say that silence is Sunnydale's disease, and that the town belongs to "the monsters, and the witches, and the Slayers." Buffy, Willow, and Giles look horrified that she grouped those three together -- and that she mentioned them at all, I'd imagine. Joyce charges the adults with taking Sunnydale back, and to start by finding the murderers and making them pay. Buffy's all, "Who is this woman and what has she done with my mom?"