Two to Go

"Two to Go" is the twenty-first episode of the sixth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and is the one hundred twenty-first episode altogether. It was written by Douglas Petrie and directed by Bill L. Norton. It originally broadcast on May 21, 2002.

After flaying Warren alive, Dark Willow turns to Jonathan and Andrew -- who are still in jail -- while Buffy, Xander, and Anya rush to the Sunnydale police station to protect them and try to stop Willow. Dawn convinces Clem to take her to Rack's in order to find Willow. Turns out Willow is already there, has murdered Rack and absorbed his magick in order to become more powerful. After leaving Andrew and Jonathan safe at the Magic Box, Buffy finds Dawn at Rack's with Willow and a fight ensues. Magically, the fight ends up at the Magic Box. Giles appears, to stop Dark Willow.

Plot


Immediately after the events of the last episode, Buffy, Anya, and Xander run through the forest. While Xander fights down the urge to be sick at what Willow has done, Buffy quickly deduces that Willow's last words ("one down") indicate she is now going after Andrew and Jonathan. Xander is convinced that Warren deserved what he got, but Buffy, while she reluctantly agrees, knows full well that Andrew and Jonathan do not deserve such a fate. Anya teleports herself to Jonathan and Andrew's holding cell, while Buffy and Xander have to make the trip on foot, Willow having destroyed Xander's car. At the jail, Anya fills Jonathan and Andrew in on Willow's rampage and Warren's death. Anya tries in vain to convince the cops that they need to free Andrew and Jonathan to keep them safe. Willow arrives and starts ripping bricks from the jail to get at them. While the cops pull guns on Willow, Buffy breaks into the jail and breaks Jonathan and Andrew out. Xander commandeers a police cruiser to cart the escapees away.



While making their escape, the gang is rammed by Willow, who has magically taken control of an 18-wheeler. Fortunately, Willow's power runs down and the group escapes to the Magic Box. Once there, they realize Willow has absorbed all the power from the books in the shop, with the exception of one ancient (and untranslated) Sumerian book of protection spells. It's their last chance against Willow. Jonathan says Willow is out of power and is looking for a new power source. After informing Jonathan and Andrew that they are only helping them for Willow's sake, Buffy goes to track down Willow.

In Africa, Spike undergoes a test that pits him against a fire-fisted demon. Eventually, Spike defeats his opponent, only to discover that this victory is merely the first step toward achieving his goal.

Tired of feeling useless, Dawn convinces Clem to help her find Rack's cloaked apartment so she can help the gang. Little do they know Willow is headed for the same destination, jonesing for a fix. When Willow arrives, Rack's demeanor is seductive. "Tell me, Strawberry," he whispers, "what on this earth do you want?" Willow quotes Rack back to himself: "Just to take a little tour." She sucks the power, as well as the life, out of the pusher. Minutes later, Dawn stumbles on Rack's body. She turns, screaming, and runs straight into Willow, who looks worse than ever--her face is covered in black veins of magic power. A terrified Dawn desperately attempts to reason with Willow, but her attempts only result in Willow telling dawn that the reason she is so unhappy and whiny all the time is that she used to be an energy ball. Willow says she'd be happy if she were energy again, and tells Dawn she's going to put an end to her human existence. At that point, Buffy arrives on the scene.



Meanwhile, at the Magic Box, Xander and Anya attempt to translate the protection spell text, without much luck. During another argument between Andrew and Jonathan that is broken up by Xander and Anya, Andrew warns them that Willow will most likely come after the Scoobies after she kills himself and Jonathan, and Anya reluctantly admits that he may be right. Xander feels enormous guilt because he couldn’t prevent the shooting of his friends, but Anya doesn't offer much sympathy. Though she tells him it's not his fault, she's still bitter over their breakup. Xander tells her to suck it up till after they save Willow, and save themselves in the process.



At Rack's place, Buffy tries to talk Willow down reasonably, but Willow won't listen. All the angst of her lifetime pours out, because all she can see is despair without Tara. Buffy continues to try to convince Willow to stop and focus on positive things, but Willow simply criticizes Buffy's hypocrisy, summarizing all of Buffy's self-destructive habits and depression since she was revived.

During her eerily calm diatribe, Willow manages to transport the three of them back to the Magic Box. When she spots Jonathan and Andrew, Willow unleashes her power on them, but it has no effect. Anya is hidden behind a curtain, chanting her protection spell. Willow does a strength spell on herself, preparing to beat the remaining Trio members to death, when Buffy steps in. Willow knocks her best friend across the room, and a huge fight erupts between the two. Xander grabs Dawn and Jonathan and Andrew and drags them out of the shop, hoping to find a safe place to hide. While on their way, Andrew panics and threatens Xander with a sword, but Jonathan immediately forces him to back down, informing him that they will be going back to jail to do their time when the dust settles.

Buffy and Will fight, and when Buffy falls, she accidentally reveals Anya chanting her spell. Furious, Willow tosses Anya against a bookshelf. Now there's nothing standing between her and Buffy, and she uses everything she's got to defeat the Slayer. Willow believes she's got it made, until out of nowhere, she's thrown across the room by a huge burst of power. A bleeding Willow looks up, shocked to see Giles standing in the doorway.

Starring

 * Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers
 * Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris
 * Emma Caulfield as Anya Jenkins
 * Michelle Trachtenberg as Dawn Summers
 * James Marsters as Spike
 * Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg

Special Guest Star

 * Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles

Guest Starring

 * Danny Strong as Jonathan Levinson
 * Tom Lenk as Andrew Wells
 * Jeff Kober as Rack

Co Starring

 * James Charles Leary as Clem (uncredited)
 * Steven W. Bailey as Cave Demon
 * Jeff McCredie as Officer
 * Damian Mooney as Patrol Cop
 * Michael Younger as Truck Driver
 * Brett Wagner as Trucker (credit only)

Production

 * Nicholas Brendon does the opening narration "This is what happened this year."


 * This line was cut due to length:
 * Clem: "We don't have a plan. Don't we at least need a plan?"
 * Dawn: "Buffy and her friends never have a plan. They just sort of...jump in and don't know what they're doing."
 * Clem: "And this works?"
 * Dawn: "They never really let me come along. Guess we'll find out... It's okay. I mean they usually come back in one piece."

Broadcast

 * This episode, and its second part, "Grave", were shown, back-to-back, as a two-hour feature on its original airing in both the USA and UK – consequently, the presentation of this episode on DVD includes credits such as "Grave" Written by...

Other

 * Tara, despite her death, remains in brief scenes that are part of the opening credits.

Quotes
Andrew - "You think your li'l witch buddy's gonna stop with us? You saw her. She's a truck-driving magic mama! And we've got maybe seconds before Darth Rosenberg grinds everybody into Jawa burgers, and not one of you bunch has the Midi-chlorians to stop her."

Jonathan - "I still can't believe that was Willow. I mean, I've known her almost as long as you guys. Willow was, you know - she packed her own lunches, and wore floods, and was always... just Willow. Geez it!" Andrew - "What was that?" Xander - "Just Willow."

Buffy - "I don't wanna hurt you." Willow - "Not a problem." Buffy - "I said I didn't want to. Didn't say I wouldn't."

Willow - "Buffy, I gotta tell ya. I get it, now. The Slayer thing really isn't about the violence. It's about the power. And there's no one in the world who has the power to stop me now." Giles - "I'd like to test that theory."

Continuity

 * Giles's line "I'd like to test that theory," is repeated by Willow in issue two of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight against Amy Madison.


 * Willow refers back to the events of Normal Again, when she says that Buffy considered a psych ward to be a preferable alternative to being the Slayer.