Where the Wild Things Are

"Where the Wild Things Are" is the eighteenth episode of the fourth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and is the seventy-fourth episode altogether. It was written by Tracey Forbes and directed by David Solomon. It originally broadcast on April 25, 2000.

At a fraternity party, Buffy and Riley are compelled to have sex by a mystical influence. The party is held in a house — formerly a home for wayward children — that is haunted by angry manifestations of children who were physically and emotionally abused by the woman who managed the home.

Synopsis
Buffy and Riley fight a vampire and a demon in the cemetery, finally disposing of both of them. While they intend to go tell Giles about the odd pairing of demon and vampire, they opt for sex at Riley's dorm at Lowell House. Later that night, Riley gets up in the middle of the night, acting as if he hears something from the restroom. All he finds is a dripping faucet in the tub.



Xander is driving an ice cream truck and Anya is with him. Xander wants to attend an upcoming party at Lowell House, but Anya, being an ex-demon, dislikes the idea of partying with the Initiative. She feels Xander is not being sensitive to her feelings. She is also concerned that Xander might be losing interest in her since they did not have sex the previous night, the second such night in the course of their relationship. Xander suggests they have sex right then and there. The back door of the truck opens and we see a group of children and parents waiting for ice cream.

At UC Sunnydale, the gang meets to discuss the patrol the night before. Riley suggests that Adam is bringing the races of demons together. Everyone agrees this is the most explanation for vampire and demon working together. Buffy and Riley escape for some alone time, which is no secret to the rest of the gang. Giles learns there will be a party, but says he can't attend because he has a prior engagement at The Espresso Pump.

That evening, the heat is out at Lowell House, which makes it hard for the residents to sleep. Buffy and Riley continue their romp in Riley's room tirelessly. An Initiative agent builds a fire in a fireplace. For no apparent reason, the fire suddenly flares up out of its enclosure and sets his clothes on fire.

Outside the Bronze, Spike jumps out at Anya, trying to scare her into giving him money. She taunts him as being pathetic and friendless. He asks where "Droopy Boy" (Xander) is, suggesting he might have "better things to do" than spend time with Anya.

At the party, Buffy and Riley are making eyes at each other from across the room while their friends attempt to talk to them.

Spike and Anya bond over beer at The Bronze. They both miss their demon powers. Spike suggests they both take vengeance on their respective lovers, but Anya says she can't. Spike says he might attack Drusilla some time later.

At the party at Lowell House, a man casually places his hand on a wall while talking to a girl. He suddenly feels great sexual pleasure. Xander flirts with a girl named Julie. Riley and Buffy escape upstairs to resume their own private party. Another man at the party puts his hand on the same wall, with the same result. Willow and Tara are sitting on a stairway. Willow touches Tara's knee, but Tara backs away, disgusted with the gesture. Anya and Spike then arrive at the party and the two verbally gang up on Xander. Spike joins the party when it appears that the Initiative soldiers are not interested in capturing him. Anya tells Xander their relationship is over. Xander insists he is the one who is leaving.

A group is playing spin the bottle, and Xander joins in. On Xander's turn, the bottle lands on Julie, and he kisses her on the cheek. She jumps him, forces him down and kisses him aggressively, then seems to snap out of a trance, apologizes and runs away. Xander follows. More partygoers try touching the wall. Xander finds Julie in a closet cutting off her hair and calling herself bad. Willow goes to the restroom looking for Tara. Instead she finds what seems to be a boy drowning in a bathtub. When she reaches for him, he vanishes, then reappears behind her.

Upstairs, Buffy and Riley continue their lovemaking. Riley hears Willow scream, but Buffy says it doesn't matter. Xander tries to find someone who is a friend of Julie's, but no one seems to hear him. Xander finds Willow as Tara comes down the stairs. Tara says she doesn't like the place and suggests they leave



In the spin the bottle game, the bottle spins rapidly and then explodes. Willow, Tara and Xander run upstairs to find Buffy and Riley, but their door is locked and they no longer hear anything outside their room. As vines seem to grow from beneath every door in the house, Tara goes to a balcony to see what is going on in the party.

The house begins to shake, as if from an earthquake. Spike is pleased that the party is becoming more interesting, until leather straps, moving by themselves, bind him to the chair where he is sitting. Forrest wants to help people to safety, and appeals to Graham. Graham, in an unnatural voice, replies, "touch not the impure thing ... find salvation in the cross of our Lord and Savior." Forrest chivvies Graham into an elevator that leads down to the Initiative headquarters. What appears to be a ghost runs straight through Anya. Spike breaks free of his bonds and everyone escapes outside. Julie, who has cut off all her hair, is one of the last to leave.

Downstairs, the Initiative locks down. Graham is back to normal.

Willow wants to go back into Lowell House for Buffy and Riley. Xander tries it, but an unseen form hurls him through the air. He suggests getting help from Giles.

The gang goes to the Espresso Pump, where it turns out Giles' big event is that he is playing guitar and singing (quite well). Willow, Tara, and Anya are impressed, but Xander is disturbed.

Lowell House is now empty except for Buffy and Riley, who are so wrapped up in what they are doing that they notice nothing outside their room. The vines are stirring and the ghostly cries are heard in the house.

Back at Giles' apartment, Willow's research reveals that the Lowell House was a home for disturbed adolescents from 1949 to 1960. They find and visit the woman, Genevieve Holt, who ran the children's home. She explains that she rewarded the children when they were good and punished them when they displayed any interest in sex. She would cut off the girls' hair when they seemed vain about their appearance. She would "baptize" the most unclean by holding them under water in a bathtub. After leaving Mrs. Holt's place, Giles says he thinks that a group of poltergeists is now releasing their pent up sexual feelings, while drawing energy from Buffy and Riley. When Buffy and Riley are drained of all their strength, they will die.

Willow, Tara, and Giles perform a spell to stop the spirits. Xander and Anya hack their way through the vines and try to reach Buffy and Riley. Anya is knocked across the house while Xander is dragged into the bathroom and held underwater. Anya makes her way upstairs to save Xander and they fight against the vines and finally open Riley's door, where the lovers, still oblivious of all that has been happening around them, complain that they should have knocked. The next day, the gang talks about Giles's "mid-life crisis" and the consequences of Buffy and Riley's endless sex. Unconvincingly, Buffy and Riley say how horrible the experience was.

Starring

 * Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers
 * Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris
 * Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg
 * Marc Blucas as Riley Finn
 * James Marsters as Spike
 * Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles

Guest Starring

 * Amber Benson as Tara Maclay
 * Leonard Roberts as Forrest Gates
 * Bailey Chase as Graham Miller
 * Kathryn Joosten as Mrs. Genevive Holt
 * Emma Caulfield as Anya

Co Starring

 * Casey McCarthy as Julie
 * Neil Daly as Mason
 * Jeff Wilson as Evan
 * Bryan Cupprill as Roy
 * Jeffrey Sharmay as Drowning Boy
 * Jeri Austin as Running Girl
 * Danielle Pessis as Christie
 * David Engler as Initiative Guy
 * James Michael Connor as Scientist

Production

 * This episode's title has a triple meaning, referring both to the episode's main setting (a house that is haunted by ghosts, the titular "wild things") and the phrase "doing the wild thing", a metaphor for sex, as the episode features heavy sexual themes and content. It also refers to a popular children's book with the same title.

Deleted Scenes
 * In the original script Willow added something after she talked about Martin Luther King:
 * Willow: "But probably a lot less eloquent...and with the...evil...so, different that Martin Luther King. Let's move on."

Goofs, Bloopers & Continuity Errors

 * When Xander and Anya are trying to escape the vines in Lowell, an arm is seen moving one of the vines attacking Anya.

Quotes
Willow - "We have to go back in there." Anya - "Why?" Xander - "Because Buffy and Riley are trapped." Anya - "So? She's the Slayer, he's a big soldier boy, what do they need you for?" Xander - "Anya, look around! There's ghosts and shaking, and people are going all Felicity with their hair... We're fresh out of superpeople, and somebody's gotta go back in there. Now who's with me?" Spike - "I am. I know I'm not the first choice for heroics... and Buffy's tried to kill me more than once. And, I don't fancy a single one of you at all. But... Actually, all that sounds pretty convincing. I wonder if Asian House is open."

Buffy - "Okay, you get Fangs, I'll get Horny. I mean..."

Anya - "Oh." Willow - "Wow." Xander - "Um, could we go back to the haunted house? Cause, this is creeping me out." Tara - "Does he do this a lot?" Xander - "Sure. Every day the earth rotates backward and the skies turn orange." Willow - "Now I remember why I used to have such a crush on him." Tara - "Well, he is pretty good." Anya - "His voice is... pleasant." Xander - "What?!?" Willow - "Oh, come on, he is kinda sexy." Xander - "I'm fighting total mental breakdown here, Will. No more fueling the fire, please."

Xander - "So with Buffy and Riley having... you know, acts of nakedness 'round the clock lately, maybe they set something free, like a big, bursting poltergasm."

Anya - "A year and a half ago, I could have eviscerated him with my thoughts. Now, I can barely hurt his feelings. Things used to be so much simpler." Spike - "You know, you take the killing for granted, and then it's gone, and you're like, I wish I'd appreciated it more. Stop and smell the corpses, you know."

Continuity

 * This episode marks the first time in the series that Anthony Stewart Head displays his singing talents. Giles will sing on screen again in three more episodes: In his apartment in "The Yoko Factor", during his dream sequence in "Restless", and in the musical episode "Once More, With Feeling".


 * Roy, the boy who first touched the enchanted wall, played by Bryan Cupprill, was also one of the students who turned into a caveman in the episode "Beer Bad".


 * Anya and Spike first bond in this episode. This becomes important in Season 6's episode "Entropy" where they found physical comfort in each other after being rejected by their lovers.

Music

 * Caviar - "I Thought I Was Found"
 * Crooner - "Parker Posey"
 * Face to Face - "The Devil You Know (God is a Man)"
 * Fonda - "One Of A Kind"
 * Lumirova - "Philo"
 * Anthony Stewart Head - "Behind Blue Eyes"
 * The Who - "Behind Blue Eyes"