Graduation Day, Part One

"Graduation Day, Part One" is the twenty-first episode of the third season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and is the fifty-fifth episode altogether. It was written and directed by Joss Whedon. It originally broadcast on May 18, 1999.

While the Mayor prepares for his Ascension, Buffy battles Faith to save Angel's life, needing her Slayer blood as an antidote.

Synopsis


As Graduation Day approaches, Sunnydale High School enjoys a mellow love-fest as former enemies exchange pleasantries. Buffy has not caught the spirit, however, and others have their own concerns, too. Cordelia is worried about the color of the gown, while Xander fears for his life. The Scooby gang then learns that the Mayor will be the Commencement speaker, meaning that he is not only going to ascend on Graduation Day, but at the ceremony itself. Meanwhile, Faith visits Professor Worth and he thinks she's there to discuss his work, however it emerges she has been sent by the Mayor to kill him. When he asks why, Faith simply tells him she never asked before murdering the Professor.

Buffy, Giles and Wesley read about Professor Worth's murder in the newspaper and realize Faith was behind it. Given the fact that he ordered a murder when he was planning to destroy the town anyway, the gang conclude that the Mayor seems to be cleaning up loose ends, meaning Professor Worth must have something the Mayor doesn't want them to find. In class, Anya tries to entice Xander into another date, but is stunned when she finds out about the upcoming Ascension. Xander brings her to the library, where she tells of an Ascension she witnessed 800 years before in the Koskov Valley above the Urals. A sorcerer became the embodiment of the demon Lohesh a four-winged soul killer, and decimated an entire village within hours; only a few people escaped. Anya explains that an Ascension means that a human being becomes pure demon. She tells them that all the demons that walk the earth are tainted&mdash;human hybrids like vampires, but that a pure demon is different. She doesn't think this sounds like Lohesh, though, because the rituals are all different.



Just as she says this, the Mayor strolls into the library, putting everyone on edge. He taunts the gang, and threatens to "eat" Buffy. Giles plunges a fencing saber into his chest, but Wilkins (who is, of course, unharmed) simply chides him for showing violence in front of children before departing, promising "one heck of a speech".

Anya, who has seen what an Ascension is like, plans to skip town, though Xander tries to get her to stay and help. She proposes to him that he could leave with her, and tries to persuade him to come, but he's committed to staying to help his friends, and declines. Buffy is also anxious, and tries to convince her mom to leave town, saying she won't be able to concentrate on stopping the Mayor if she has to worry about her mom. She doesn't want to leave, but Buffy tells her that she can't worry about her mother while fighting the Mayor at the same time. Convinced that remaining in Sunnydale could get Buffy killed, Joyce agrees to leave.



Willow, who is researching in the hopes of finding a spell to stop the Ascension, is nervous, too. To help her relax some, Oz plants a passionate kiss on her and the two make love for the first time. As they lie together afterward, they both agree that everything feels different now.

Searching Professor Worth's apartment, Buffy runs into Angel. They gather a box of documents, and prepare to take it to Giles. Outside the professor's apartment, Buffy and Angel talk about their relationship and end up arguing. Faith shoots Angel in the back with an arrow, deliberately missing the heart. Angel tries to get up, but collapses into Buffy's arms.

Wesley tells Giles that the professor found a large demon carcass buried in a lava bed. Professor Worth believed that the carcass might be some heretofore-undiscovered dinosaur. Giles thinks that perhaps it could have actually been a demon, which would explain why the Mayor would want to keep this kind of information secret since this means that Mayor is only impervious to harm until the Ascension; once he's in demon form, he can be killed.



Buffy brings Angel to the library, where Giles helps remove the arrow. Despite the fact that such an injury shouldn't cause much harm to a vampire, Angel starts to get weaker. Everyone realizes that the arrow was poisoned, and Wesley offers to ask the Watchers Council for help. Buffy thanks him, and Willow's afterglow is cut short by Buffy's call for help. Later, Wesley returns and tells Buffy that there's no help coming from the Council... however, it's not that they can't help but won't, as they refuse to help a vampire. He explains that the laws are older than civilization, and the Council's orders are to concentrate on the Ascension, but now Buffy has had enough of the Council and tells Wesley that she won't be taking any more orders from him or them. Wesley tells her that this is mutiny, she responds that she thinks of it as graduating and tells her now-former Watcher to "get a job".

The Mayor sends Faith home and prepares for the Ascension by performing the Ritual of Gavrok, which requires eating the giant spiders in the Box of Gavrok. Willow, meanwhile, has figured out what the poison is&mdash;its Latin name translates to "killer of the dead." Oz tells the gang that vampires can only survive the poison by draining the blood of a Slayer. Buffy is fine with that, and intends to allow Angel to drain Faith. When Willow points out that doing so would kill her, Buffy tells her that it won't, "... if she's already dead." Xander later tries to talk Buffy out of it, but it's clear that Buffy isn't fooling around and fully intends to kill her former friend and now sworn enemy, and takes the knife that Faith had left behind in the school before.

Willow and Oz, still reveling in the new stage of their relationship, locate Faith's apartment. Buffy arrives at Faith's apartment, where Faith gloats over the poisoning of Angel. Buffy responds that Faith's blood is a cure, and when Faith responds that she'll never get taken alive, Buffy tells her that isn't a problem. Soon, the two engage in a huge brawl. The furious fight leads them crashing through the window of Faith's apartment and out onto a rooftop. When they land, Buffy slaps a handcuff onto Faith's wrist; the other cuff is already attached to her own wrist. The fight continues between the two handcuffed Slayers until Faith breaks the cuffs apart. Buffy staggers back, and grabs Faith's dagger. They tangle some more, and the fight moves toward the edge of the roof. In the library, Giles makes a breakthrough with Professor Worth's notes in regards to what type of demon the Mayor will transform into and can even get a picture of it from one of the library's books. As Xander notes how convenient it is that no-one ever checks out the books that they need, Giles finds the picture of the demon... and it's so big the picture is across four sheets of paper.

Back on the rooftop, Buffy finally gets the upper hand, and stabs Faith with her own dagger. Faith says "you killed me," then, stumbling, steps onto the ledge, leans back and says goodbye, falling back into a passing truck. Buffy rushes to the ledge, but she's too late. The truck drives away with Faith... as well as the blood Buffy needs to cure Angel.

Continuity

 * Buffy vows Angel will be her "last office romance," but instead, she will go on to establish relationships with Riley and Spike.


 * This is the first time since "Ted" that Buffy has intentionally attempted to kill another human&mdash;she previously cut off Gwendolyn Post's arm&mdash;and the first instance where it could be considered consciously premeditated. Despite Faith's obviously evil actions, Buffy's reaction after mortally wounding Faith is reminiscent of the reaction she had when she thought she'd killed Ted.


 * When Anya returns to the school to ask Xander to run away with her she tells him that her car is just outside and they can take turns driving. However in season five during the episode "Triangle" it is revealed that Anya is unclear about driving. She still demonstrates her ability to drive in the episode and it may be perceived that she is still new to the concept in this episode.


 * Buffy tries to convince Wesley to help her by telling him that "this is about watching my lover die". Wesley would later watch his own lover die in his arms.


 * When Buffy and Faith are fighting in Faith's apartment, we see Faith kick Buffy into the big screen television. At that point there is nothing on the floor. In the next shot, there is debris scattered on the floor in front of the television.

Body Count

 * Lester Worth, stabbed by Faith

Broadcast

 * During the original airing of this episode, the very first trailer for Angel was shown. It lasted only four seconds with David Boreanaz turning towards the camera and the words "Angel. This Fall" appearing.

Pop Culture References

 * On seeing an illustration of the mayor's eventual demon form, Xander quoted the famous line from Jaws, "We're going to need a bigger boat".


 * Faith's line "Look at you, all dressed up in big sister's clothes" is a reference to the Elvis Costello song "Big Sister's Clothes" on the album Trust. Since Joss was said to have planned much of the show out early on, this could be a subtle reference to Buffy becoming a big sister later on.

Music

 * Spectator Pump - "Sunday Mail" (played when Faith is relaxing on her bed)
 * Christophe Beck - "Faith's End"
 * Christophe Beck - "Poison Arrow"