Goodbye Iowa

S04E14

Previously on Buffy: Buffy joins the Initiative but asks too many questions, so Walsh decides to take her out; Walsh's plan to kill Buffy goes awry; Walsh's creation, Adam, shish-kebobs her.

Buffy is at Giles's, where we saw her last, explaining to Giles, Anya, Xander, and Spike how Walsh had planned to kill her. Giles is surprised that Dr. Walsh set Buffy up, and Spike, sitting on the stairs and picking at his fingernail, sighs, "Got to hand it to you Goldilocks, you do have bleeding tragic taste in men." Buffy inquires what Spike's getting at, and he asks if she really thinks Riley was "out knitting booties for [her] future offspring" while Maggie was setting her up. The gang looks concerned, and Giles says that they must consider all the possibilities. Buffy denies that Riley was involved and that Dr. Walsh had made sure that he was very far away when she sent Buffy on "this very special make-Buffy-dead assignment." Willow, ever the romantic, chimes in that Riley doesn't seem at all like the lying type, but Xander cynically says that keeping secrets is the nature of the Secret Forces. Buffy declares that since Maggie wants her dead, she can be sure that the entire Initiative wants the same thing. When Giles ponders why Dr. Walsh turned on Buffy, Buffy confesses that she asked too many questions. Anya suggests that Buffy was "getting too close to something," and Giles looks concerned as to what that "something" could be.

Elsewhere, that "something" -- in the form of Adam, Walsh's human-demon hybrid baby -- exits a bunker-like structure in the forest. He sneers and menacingly surveys his surroundings. I survey the crappy job the make-up department has done on his demon and metal prosthetics and snicker at the fact that the green latex demon skin on his neck is obviously peeling. Dear Joss Whedon, Please come back from Angel. You won't believe what sort of mediocrity your writers are getting up to in your absence. Oh, also, your make-up people apparently need a larger budget for spirit gum. Thanks, Ace.

Chez Giles, Buffy is handing out weapons and telling the gang to hurry. Xander excitedly asks if they are going to attack the Initiative, but when Buffy says she wants them to hide, he's obviously relieved. Giles suggests that they discuss the situation further, and Buffy says they will, once they've moved to someplace safer. Willow suggests "my place," by which I guess she meant her parents' house and not her dorm room, but Buffy says the commandos know how close she and Willow are and will look for them there. Buffy suggests Xander's basement because the Initiative haven't seen her and Xander together too much (except for the gathering at the Bronze last week, of course), and Willow agrees, "Ooh, plus, mirror ball!" Xander invites them all to "boogie at Xander's hideaway" and Anya completely insincerely repeats the invitation. Giles huffs, "Absolutely not. I will not squat in that dank hole," because I guess he prefers squatting in the dank hole of his own apartment with its charming bile-green walls. Spike, rather silent up to this point, asks whether Xander's was good enough for him but Giles is "above it all" and Giles replies, "Precisely." He sits and smugly says he doesn't understand why they can't just stay at his place and that he doubts the Initiative will come to look -- and at that moment, Riley bursts in, calling "Buffy!" Apparently Giles still has not learned to lock his door, or that knocking is very rare on the Hellmouth. Riley wants to know what happened to Buffy; she gingerly explains that Dr. Walsh tried to have her killed. Riley, who is rather agitated, feels there must have been a mistake and doesn't want to jump to any conclusions. He turns and notices Spike sitting on the stairs; Spike drums his fingers and tries to look nonchalant. Riley takes a few steps back and declares, "That's Hostile-17!" and Spike replies, in his Midwestern accent, "No, I'm just a friend of Xaaanderrr's." Then, realizing the game is up, he snaps, "Bugger it. I'm your guy." Buffy gently introduces Spike and tries to explain to Riley that Spike's presence is a long story but basically "he's not bad anymore." Spike is irritated by this and insists he is indeed still bad, but Riley turns accusingly to Buffy and says she knew he was looking for Hostile-17 and she never said anything. Riley wants to know why Spike is there, and Spike decides to leave, saying he has his "stories on the telly" if he wants dramatics. He covers himself with his jacket and as he leaves says, "By the by, if you're trying to kill her," and gives Riley a big thumbs-up and approving grin. Buffy and Willow roll their eyes. Riley again demands to know why Buffy was hiding an HST but Xander jumps to Buffy's defense by reminding Riley that Walsh just tried to kill Buffy. Riley says he doesn't know much, but that this behavior isn't like Professor Walsh. He speculates that perhaps something is controlling her behavior, and Giles tells him that the gang thinks Buffy was getting too close to secrets of the Initiative. Riley is having a very difficult time accepting the evilness of his mentor and excitedly suggests that Walsh had just sent Buffy on "a drill." Buffy quietly corrects this misconception. Giles muses that he's heard the Initiative is not all it seems and that it's actually working towards "some darker purpose." Riley stubbornly declares, "No! That's not what happens there." Buffy tries to reassure him that they will figure things out, but Riley storms out, saying he'll figure things out by himself.

Out in the woods, a little boy is playing with an action figure of a muscular masked man. Walsh's Little Baby approaches the little boy, who looks at him with surprise and then smiles. At this point, I'm cheering out loud at the genius of Sep, who in her last recap called Adam something "off of the clearance table at Toys R Us." I can't believe we are now seeing a scene that makes the exact same parallel. Yay, Sep! Adam asks the little boy, "What am I?" and I groan and prepare myself for a rip-off of, oh excuse me, homage to the scene in Frankenstein when Frankenstein's monster talks to the sweet little girl. Never before have I seen Buffy do such a ham-handed interpretation of other source material. The boy replies that Adam is a monster, which doesn't surprise Momma's Boy; he then asks the boy, "How do you work?" The little boy doesn't know how he works and sweetly asks Adam what the bone skewers on his arms are for. Adam grins evilly and stares down at the boy. Okay, this isn't even anywhere approaching an effective rendition of that scene from Frankenstein. I watched that movie once when I was home alone and very young and it scared the crap out of me, but I'll always remember how poignant that scene was when the monster comes across the little girl who is playing with flowers and floating them on the lake, and she explains to him something about how she floats them because they're pretty, so he decides she's pretty too and decides to float her in the lake too, and of course she drowns, but the monster just doesn't understand, and it's tragic and sad. Instead, Adam is just evil and violent, which means the Buffy writers have missed all the subtle elements that make Frankenstein such a classic tale. Let's take a moment to consider the fact that they've killed off Walsh, who was somewhat interesting because, although she was evil, she was human and seemed to think she was doing the right thing, and have instead left us with this grinning thug who is just evil and boring. Didn't they learn anything from creating Spike, the Mayor, Faith, or any of the other nuanced baddies they've provided on this show?

Riley walks along a Sunnydale street, hands in pockets. Sad music plays.

Dr. Angleman enters Room 314 and attempts to turn on the light, but flipping the switch produces no results. Angleman looks apprehensive and steps slowly into the room, calling, "Dr. Walsh? Adam?" As he walks further into the room he suddenly slips on something and falls to the ground. He raises his hands and sees that they and the floor are covered in blood. He looks further into the room and sees the dead body of Dr. Walsh lying on the floor face down. Kerry Weaver comes banging through the door after him and demands to know why the music is turned up so loud. Oops, sorry, wrong show. Strange TV synergy, though, huh?

Giles awakes to the noise of TV cartoons; sparkles of light from Xander's mirror ball flash in his eyes. The gang is having a sleep-over Scooby-style in Xander's basement, with Giles sleeping on a blue inflatable chair and footrest, Xander's empty sleeping bag beside him. The camera pans past a makeshift curtain of blankets to reveal Willow, Anya, and Buffy on the fold-out sofa bed, watching a Road Runner cartoon on the TV. The three of them bundled in bed together is perhaps the cutest image I've seen all month. Awwww. They watch raptly while the coyote swings a huge wrecking ball at the roadrunner, who of course avoids it with no problem. The wrecking ball then swings around and smashes into the coyote. Buffy, looking exhausted, says, "That would never happen." Willow doesn't turn from the TV but does say, "Well, no, Buff, that's why they call 'em cartoons, not documentaries." Meta-commentary on the Buffyverse? You be the judge. Giles stomps through the curtain and switches off the television, complaining about the noise (and displaying his Mark of Eyghon tattoo. Nice continuity, but Adam still sucks, sorry). Willow teases, "Well, look who's cranky bear in the morning." Giles says he didn't sleep well on the "beach ball," and Anya complains about the squeaky noises his inflatable bed made. Giles makes a crack about Anya's "Wagnerian snoring," and Buffy breaks in to ask them to not argue. She says things are enough of a mess without Giles and Anya doing "scenes from my parents' marriage." Giles apologizes; Willow reassures Buffy that everything will turn out okay with Riley. Buffy worries that things will get worse, because Riley's "whole world is falling apart," and Anya mentions Buffy's problems with Angel and then tells her to get a "boring boyfriend, like Xander." Anya then remonstrates that Buffy can't have Xander, and Buffy explains that she thought Riley was going to be her boring "Mr. Joe Guy." Hate to break it to you, Buffy, but despite all the problems he's causing you, Riley is still pretty boring. Willow sympathizes, while Anya tells Buffy to dump Riley but keep her hands off Xander. Buffy sadly says it too late to dump Riley because she's at the "I hurt when he hurts" stage, and Anya says she hates that stage. Xander galumphs down the stairs, carrying a tray of breakfast food, and demands that they turn on the TV. Willow does so, and we see a newscast which explains that a young boy was found murdered, first skewered and then mutilated. The newscaster goes on to say that the police have no suspects and the killer is still at large. Buffy recalls the Polgara demon that Professor Walsh sent her to bring back alive in the last episode, and Giles speculates that the Initiative has now sent the demon after Buffy. Buffy is very disturbed by the killing of the child but Willow and Giles tell her that it wasn't her fault. Buffy gets out of bed and gives a rousing speech, to stirring music, about how she'll hunt down the Polgara demon and "make him pay." The gang just stares at her. Buffy looks down at what she's wearing and says, "That probably would have sounded more commanding if I wasn't wearing my yummy sushi pajamas." Oh god, how I love those pajamas. I've taken two vacations out to the Bay Area in the past year and on each trip I saw those sushi pajamas and lusted after them, because I have a serious weakness for both pajamas and all things Japanese, but the exorbitant price tag always kept me from buying them. Lucky Buffy.

Riley enters his dorm and climbs the stairs, with Forrest catching up to him and asking where he was all night. Forrest jumps to the conclusion that Riley spent the night with Buffy and congratulates him. Riley explains that he wasn't with Buffy, but instead spent the night alone thinking things through. When Forrest asks what he was thinking about, Riley ushers him into their room in the dorm. This room is definitely not the same room that Buffy and Riley had sex in, and for some reason, perhaps because watching The Others has fried my brain, I'm obsessed with the fact that for no explained reason, Riley seems to have two homes. Riley tells Forrest that Dr. Walsh tried to have Buffy killed, and Forrest demands to know if Riley has any proof. Riley replies that he "saw enough to know it's true" and Forrest snaps that he can see how Buffy could have pissed off Professor Walsh by always sticking her nose into places it doesn't belong. Forrest seems to like Buffy okay as a sexual conquest, but resents her presence in his chummy boys' club. They continue to argue, with Forrest calling Buffy "a pain" and suggesting that perhaps she was doing something evil. Riley demands to know why his relationship with Buffy bothers Forrest so much, and Forrest replies that Buffy is using Riley to infiltrate the Initiative, adding that perhaps "Buffy needs killing." At that moment, a giant cleft chin enters the room -- oh excuse me, that's Graham. Riley attempts to dismiss him, but Forrest asks why he's there and Graham replies that Professor Walsh is dead. Forrest looks shocked and Riley looks less than healthy.

Whenever I see one of Sarah Michelle Gellar's Maybelline ads, I can't help but think that I like her much better when she's playing Buffy than when she's playing Sarah Michelle Gellar.

Riley pushes his way through the crowd of people in front of Room 314 and stands staring at Maggie's body which is still lying on the ground. Forrest joins him and suggests that the wound looks like it was made by a stake, and that they only know one person who could have killed Maggie that way. Riley, starting to look sweaty and a little green around the gills, again protests Buffy's involvement and agitatedly speculates that it could have been the Polgara demon. Forrest says it was Buffy's "M.O." and Riley grabs him by the shirt and says he's making a serious accusation. Forrest pulls away and they start yelling at each other again, sigh, with Forrest calling Buffy a "supernatural freak." Can someone tell me happened with Joss Whedon? Did he just wake up one sunny morning in July and think, "The hell with cliché-busting, ass-kicking females and clever, campy tales of the supernatural. What my fans really want to see is a couple of overly-muscled, testosterone-addled jarheads shoving each other in a white hallway"? Angleman breaks in between them and tells them they're showing disrespect to Dr. Walsh. She's dead, dude. He goes on to explain that a team is coming in from Washington to investigate, and until the team arrives they need to wait. Riley insists the Polgara demon killed Walsh, and Angleman lies and says it did escape but they are supposed to be in "total lockdown" until the team from Washington arrives. Angleman resembles an older, saggier Jason Priestley, even down to his shelf-head (tm xixax). Angleman tells Forrest and Riley to return to their quarters and then leaves, mentioning he has to go film a Bare Naked Ladies documentary. Riley turns to a group of commandos, including Graham, and tells them that he's in charge until the team from DC gets there, and that they should get their gear on and hunt down the Polgara demon. The commandos rush off; Forrest, standing behind Riley, gives him a nasty look.

On a Sunnydale street, camo-clad commandos jump out of their Humvees and start a search of a cemetery. Forrest and Graham, guns at the ready, enter Spike's mausoleum and notice that someone's been staying there. Forrest angrily says if he sees a demon, it dies, and Graham feels Spike's telly and says it’s still warm. They sling their guns over their shoulders and move the stone lid off the tomb in the center of the room. Inside, they only see a rag-wrapped skeleton, so they leave, but not before Forrest smashes in the screen of Spike's TV. After they’ve gone, Spike sits up from where he's been hiding under the skeleton and sighs.

By Ace

Riley walks along a Sunnydale street, hands in pockets. Sad music plays.

Ha ha. Wendy's has discovered these wacky-talking people known as Brits. They don't know what cheeseburgers are and they sure do talk funny. Also, why is Michael on Roswell wearing Liza Minnelli's hair?

Riley is sitting with his head in his hands on the sofa bed in Xander's room. He's sweaty and shivering. Buffy covers him with a blanket and tells him to lie down. Riley compulsively scratches at the back of his hand, drawing blood, and Buffy ties her head scarf around his hand to make him stop. Oh, that's sanitary. Riley frantically tries to explain to Buffy that he "doesn't know anything" while she tries to reassure him that he's just sick and needs rest. He worries that he can't tell who the "bad guys" are anymore and says that perhaps he is bad and is the thing that Buffy should kill. She strokes his cheek and whispers that he should lie down and sleep. Riley looks very lost and sad and creeps onto the bed to huddle in the fetal position. I don't like Riley very much and I'm still mad at him for shoving Buffy around in the last scene, but I find something very poignant about his shoeless sock-clad feet as he lies shivering on the bed. Buffy strokes the hair off his forehead and tells him he'll be okay. After he appears to fall asleep, Buffy goes through the blanket curtain and tells Giles, Xander, and Anya that she thinks something more than grief is making Riley act strange. Anya asks if Professor Walsh might have done something to Riley, and Buffy says she's going to find out. She wants to go the Initiative with Xander to try to get some answers. Anya breaks in and says, "No Xander," and when Buffy says she needs Xander for his military experience, Anya replies, "It's not like he was in the 'Nam." Sniff, sniff. What's that I smell? Could it be, I don't know, foreshadowing? Anya wants to know why he can't just do something less dangerous like Xerox fliers, but Xander assures her he'll be fine. Giles inquires how Buffy will get into the Initiative, and Buffy responds that she plans to use her security clearance. Giles adds that his research hasn't turned up any recent sighting of the Polgara demon. Buffy tells him to keep looking.

Willow and Tara sit on the floor in Tara's room, a square of yarn on the floor between them. Willow explains that the square will act as a map of Sunnydale, and when they do the incantation and each toss some potion on the square, a mist will appear that shows where the demons are. She asks if Tara is ready; Tara hesitates and then nods yes. Willow pours some of the potion into Tara's hand and takes the rest. They both close their eyes and begin the incantation to Thespia, "ruler of all darkness." When Willow finishes her part, she blows the powder in her hand onto the square. Tara makes a blowing noise, but actually sneaks her hand under her bed skirt and dumps the powder there. Willow looks down at the empty square, confused that there was no result, and Tara looks concerned. I guess Tara just isn't as into "casting spells" and playing with "Thespia" as Willow is. Cough, cough.

Buffy, her hair parted and pulled back and wearing glasses, and Xander, in faux commando gear, enter Riley’s dorm. Buffy stands in front of the elevator mirror and swipes her access card. Xander tells her to "check the look later," but Buffy shoves him out of the way. As he asks why, she explains she has to undergo the retinal scan. Xander, confused, says "ew." Silly Xander, not knowing his rectum from his retina. Buffy is scanned and the elevator door opens. The elevator descends, and Buffy, now wearing a lab coat, and Xander exit into the Initiative's installation. Xander is awed by the size of the operation and quips, "I totally get it now. Can I have sex with Riley too?" Buffy leads him down the stairs, and when they are approached by some commando guys, Xander grabs her and whispers, "Quick! Pretend to make out with me." Whew, someone open a window. All this foreshadowing is stinkin' up the joint. Buffy struggles away and explains that Initiative people don't go around making out; Xander suggests that that’s what's wrong with the world. They continue down the stairs.

Back at Xander's, Willow is explaining to Giles and Anya that her spell produced no effects. Giles replies that things aren't going so well for them either; Riley is asleep but doesn't look well, and their research hasn't turned up any indication that Polgara demons kill and mutilate children. They wonder how the Polgara demon has managed to go unseen for the past few days. Willow pulls aside the blanket curtain to check on Riley and is surprised to find him standing right behind it. He demands to know where Buffy is and starts to pull on his boots. Giles tells Riley to rest, and Willow explains that Buffy went to investigate why Riley is sick. Riley denies being sick and, when he realizes that Buffy went to the Initiative, says that she shouldn't be there. Willow tries to get him to stop, and when she won't stand aside, Riley shoves her to the ground and runs out. Giles and Anya help Willow up. Knocking down tiny Willow isn't going to score Riley any points with me. It was bad enough that he shoved Buffy around, but at least she has her Slayer skills to protect her.

At the Initiative, Buffy and Xander walk down a hall, hiding when they hear Dr. Angleman approaching. He's telling another scientist that things could get nasty with their troops going through withdrawal from their "meds." As Buffy eavesdrops, Dr. Exposition explains that the troops don't know they've been receiving substances in their food and will therefore be very confused by their symptoms. The other scientist tells Angleman that they've located most of the commandos, some of whom were in "pretty bad shape," but that they haven't yet located Riley Finn. Angleman demand that they find Finn and that he's "too important to the work to lose now." That's a damn shame.

Spike enters Willy's bar and requests a "double shot of O-neg." As Spike grouses about the Initiative commandos messing up his place, a heavy demon hand lands on his shoulder. When he turns to see who it is, he gets punched in the face.

Xander and Buffy are still lurking around the corner from Angleman; when he leaves to enter the "Records" area, Buffy follows him. She grabs Angleman and threatens to kill him unless he helps her by explaining what they've done to Riley and what's going on in Room 314. Angleman tries to scare Buffy by saying she's most likely been seen on the security monitor, but Riley lumbers in just then, looking like death left out on the counter overnight and then microwaved for too long, and says that the monitors are all broken. Angleman demands that Riley take Buffy into custody, but she stops him by asking why Walsh wanted her dead. Angleman claims that it was personal between Maggie and Buffy, not something the Initiative had commanded. Buffy wants to know why, and when Angleman says he doesn't know, she tightens her grip on his jacket. Angleman explains that "the project" in 314 escaped, and Riley breaks in, distressed that they're tarnishing the memory of his mentor. He insists Walsh was brilliant and was "trying to help people and this is the way you want them to remember her?" Buffy tries to tell Riley that he's been drugged and he turns on her, accusing her of killing Maggie. They engage in a shove-fest with a side of yelling, and as Buffy says they can find all the answers once they know what was in 314, they are interrupted by a camo-clad corpse falling to the ground. The camera pans up and Adam, standing on a ledge above them, says, "Me."

We're back from commercial and Adam is orating from his lofty position, explaining that he wanted to see the world and learn about it. He saw the inside of the little boy and found it "beautiful" and it made him "feel." As Buffy, Riley, Xander, and Angleman silently watch him, Adam bores them and us by saying that he wants to learn about himself and that's why he came back to the Initiative. He leaps down to the ground and puts a smallish floppy into a drive on his chest. Reading off the floppy, he explains that he's a "kinematically redundant, biomechanical demonoid," which in English translates to "extremely boring plot device." He goes on to say that he was created by Maggie Walsh, who called him Adam, "and I call her Mother." And I call this a motherfuckin' lame story-line. Angleman tells Adam that Maggie would have wanted him to "stand down," and Adam responds that he realizes that, but he seems "to have a design flaw." Insert your own joke here. Big Old Testosterone Adam continues to brag about his "equipment" and explains that he's been created out of demon, man, and machine parts. Maggie's Little Boy is having an identity crisis, however, and explains that "Mother" loved him and had a job for him. Riley jealously snaps that Maggie didn't love Adam and wasn't his mother. Xander tries to warn Riley against antagonizing the demonoid, but Riley continues that Adam was merely created because Maggie was a scientist. Adam, without ejecting the floppy, draws another out of his pocket labeled "Finn." He sticks it in his drive and says that "Mother" created Riley as well and "shaped his basic operating system." Adam confirms that Riley has been fed chemicals to strengthen him, and that he and Adam were Maggie's favorite children and therefore are brothers. Riley protests that he is nothing like Adam and Adam notes that Riley is in pain, both because he's off his "chemicals" and because of Maggie's death. The siblings have a little squabble wherein Riley threatens to kill Adam, and Adam says Riley can't do that because he hasn't been "programmed to." I think somebody needs a time-out. Riley, Adam, go to your rooms and don’t come out until you've learned to play nice. Adam holds up yet another floppy, telling Riley that it contains the plan that Maggie had for them. Riley doesn't want to hear it and attempts to attack Adam. Adam knocks Buffy down and then throws Riley across the room. Xander rushes Adam but is knocked into a wall. Buffy again tries to engage Adam, but she can't even land a blow on him; he knocks her down again, and stabs Angleman as he tries to run away. Adam then stabs Riley in the stomach. Buffy again tries to fight Adam as the commandos outside try to batter down the locked door. Adam thanks them all for an "interesting" time and leaves through a vent in the ceiling. Buffy kneels by Riley as the commandos finally break in, led by Forrest. Riley tells them to chase after the demon that just escaped, and Buffy adds that the demon is not the Polgara and looks half-human. Forrest sneers that Buffy "just happened to be in the neighborhood?" but Riley insists that she's telling the truth. Some of the commandos chase after Adam as Buffy tells Forrest that Riley needs to go to the hospital. Buffy wants to go along, but Forrest tells her that they take care of their own, and the remaining commandos, excepting Graham, point their guns at her. Xander steps in to draw Buffy away as Forrest and Graham help Riley away. Riley murmurs, "Buffy," as he leaves.

By Ace

Buffy enters Willy the Snitch's bar; his face falls when he sees her. He explains he's trying to change his image from being a "double-dealing snitch," but Buffy just wants any information he has on a Polgara demon in the area. He tries to hold out, explaining that he doesn't talk behind people's backs, and he wants Buffy to punch him so that the demon customers will think she's forcing him to talk. After a few false starts, she smacks him in the face and again asks about the Polgara demon. Willy replies that the last he heard, Buffy and the commandos had caught the only Polgara demon in the area. Buffy starts to ask about the commandos and 314, but at that moment Riley stalks into the bar. He looks sweaty and disoriented. Buffy asks if he's following her and he raises his voice, accusing her of socializing with demons rather than hunting them. Demons at the bar stare at the scene Riley is making, and Buffy snides at him for not being very undercover. Riley demands to know what Buffy is doing in the bar and who she is, but Willy keeps breaking in and trying to get Riley to calm down. Riley yells at Willy to shut up and threatens to take him back to the lab. Buffy explains that Willy is human and then notices that Riley is shaking. Riley bitches about Willy "harboring demons" like Buffy, and as she looks at him with some sort of scared suspicion on her face, he grabs her by the shoulders and yells at her to tell him the truth. She tells him that he's too upset over the death of Dr. Walsh to see the truth and demands that he let go of her. One of the bar patrons, a middle-aged lady in a floppy hat, chooses this moment to try to leave the bar, but Riley points his gun at her and says nobody is leaving. Buffy and Willy try to get him to calm down but he continues to point his gun at the woman, his hand shaking and sweat rolling down his face. He rambles about lies sounding like the truth, but after a tense moment he finally drops the gun and leans against the bar, wondering what's happening to him.

By Ace

A door opens and Spike, bruised and bloody, is tossed onto the pavement outside Willy's bar. A large demon follows him and explains that since Spike has been seen with the Slayer making war on demons, he isn't welcome around demon haunts any more. The demon goes back into the bar and leaves Spike lying there.

Willow and Buffy walk across campus as Willow asks if Buffy has heard from Riley. Buffy says she needs a better plan than just storming into the Initiative and seems sad that there's no way for her to help Riley. Willow is looking pretty in a hunter-green top, but Buffy is being worn by a monstrous hot-pink sweater with a floppy cowl collar. Blech. What's more evil, Adam or that sweater? Buffy complains that she can't waste too much energy on the Initiative because she needs to hunt Adam, who seems to be the "ultimate warrior." Willow suggests that Adam must have a flaw; Buffy sadly wishes that she could have prevented the Initiative from taking Riley from her. She explains that everything important has been taken from him and that he's "alone" with "nothing to hold onto." We then cut to Riley lying on a bed in a military ward, looking a little healthier than last we saw him, but still sick. He slowly raises his hand, which is still wrapped in Buffy's head scarf. He looks at the scarf and then sadly around the room, wondering why the military doctors didn't remove the filthy thing from his hand.