The Killer in Me

"The Killer in Me" is the thirteenth episode of the seventh season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and is the one hundred thirty-fifth episode altogether. It was written by Drew Z. Greenberg and directed by David Solomon. It originally broadcast on February 4, 2003.

Willow must face her own demons after her first kiss with Kennedy has an unexpected, magical result. Buffy gets in touch with the government about Spike's chip, which is malfunctioning.

Synopsis
Giles prepares to take the Potential Slayers on a trip to the desert to meet the First Slayer. Kennedy, who's sick with the flu, stays home and after hearing about all the bickering and problems with the Potentials and their driving trip, Giles wishes he was staying home too. Buffy goes to check on Spike, who's chained up in the basement. They chat about the girls being gone and Spike's decision to stay chained up until they know the First Evil is through with him. While they talk about dealing with that problem, Spike's starts to writhe in pain as unexpectedly, the chip starts frying his brain.



Buffy talks with Willow in the kitchen about Spike's chip and what little they actually know about it. Willow goes upstairs and finds Kennedy is not sick and she's getting dressed for a "mission" which requires Willow's assistance. The mission turns out to be drinks at The Bronze and the sneakiness of it doesn't impress Willow much. Kennedy does manage to get Willow to stay long enough to finish her drink and she starts up conversation about Willow's sexuality. Eventually, Willow opens up and talks about being gay and her relationship with Tara. Back in the basement, Buffy checks on Spike again and after they talk about the potential causes of the chip's glitches, Buffy realizes she's going to have to contact the people who helped put the chip in his head in the first place. Buffy tries to reach Riley on the phone while Spike's chip continues to cause him terrible pain.

Willow and Kennedy finish their drinks as they continue to chat about why Kennedy is interested in Willow. Back at the house, Willow returns to her room and Kennedy follows. Kennedy moves in and kisses Willow, but the kiss has a surprising effect: it makes Willow take on the appearance of Warren. Willow panics and rushes downstairs and scares the rest of the gang with her appearance and potential First Evil quality. It takes some convincing, but once Buffy actually hits Warren and Willow reminds Xander of some other kindergarten stories she knows, they realize it's not The First. Willow goes off to handle her glamour problem, but she finds unwanted company in Kennedy tagging along.

After yet another attack of Spike's chip, Buffy and Spike return to the site of the Initiative in hopes of getting some of the drugs Spike was supposedly given to subdue him whenever his chip went crazy. They climb back inside the buried building through a trap door in the ground.

The Watcher Robson calls the Summers' residence and informs the gang about Giles's seemingly fatal encounter with the Bringers and an ax (as seen in the ending of "Sleeper".) The gang start to question whether Giles survived that encounter or not and worry when none of them can remember a time when Giles actually touched someone. Xander, Anya, Dawn, and Andrew realise that, if Giles is dead and they've actually been dealing with the First all along, then it has successfully isolated all of the Potentials. The four quickly rush to the desert to find them.



Willow takes Kennedy to meet with the Wiccan group at UC-Sunnydale. She's surprised to see that Amy is a part of the group and claims to have changed her magical ways. Amy attempts to help Willow rid herself of the glamor, but the spell Amy tries brings forth another surprise: A burst of Warren from inside of Willow. Willow tries to run away as she realizes she's not just looking like Warren, she's becoming him. Kennedy tries to follow, but Willow puts up a magical barrier to keep her away.



Buffy and Spike wander through the remains of the Initiative and pass by the many dead bodies of the human and demon sort that were sealed inside. Meanwhile, Willow runs outside in tears but Warren begins to take more control and he heads off on a mission. Inside the Initiative, Spike and Buffy hear noises and then are attacked by a demon. Buffy is knocked down by the demon while Spike's chip misfires again. The demon grabs Spike and drags him off into the darkness.

Kennedy returns to the school and finds Amy packing up supplies and the rest of the group gone. Amy comments on Kennedy's concern for Willow, but Kennedy gets suspicious when she realizes Amy knows she's a Potential and that fact was never mentioned to her.

Guided by Warren, Willow goes to the gun shop where he bought his last deadly weapon and Willow buys the same one. Giles is tackled to the ground by Xander and the others and they're all pleased to find that he has a solid form and is not the First Evil.

Buffy battles with and finally kills the demon inside the Initiative. As she crouches down by Spike, lights turn on and a flood of military men reveal themselves. The commanding officer explains that Buffy's attempted contact with Riley was successful and that they're there to help her and Spike. Buffy talks with the commanding officer and he reveals that Spike's chip is a danger to him now. She is given the choice to decide whether the chip is fixed or removed.

Kennedy confronts Amy about the fact that Amy is responsible for Willow's current "Warren" problem. Amy reveals that she put a hex on Willow for fun because Willow was able to do so much evil and still get the love of her friends back. Kennedy is determined to save Willow and stop Amy, but Amy's not threatened. Armed with a gun, Willow charges into Buffy's backyard where Kennedy is waiting after being transported by Amy. Willow starts to relive the moment of Tara's death from Warren's perspective, but Kennedy talks her down. Willow feels that, by kissing Kennedy, she truly let Tara die, and worries that she's going to lose the battle with Warren for her body. Kennedy convinces her otherwise and brings Willow back by kissing her.

Production

 * Anthony Stewart Head was not allowed to touch anything while onscreen for several episodes prior to this one, in order to set up the suspicion that Giles might actually be the First. According to the DVD commentary for this episode, this was apparently quite a pain for all involved. When asked why he set up this misdirection, Joss Whedon says it was "to make people wonder. Just to have a little fun in the sense of pulling a mystery... an exercise, something to spice things up." Whedon wanted to play off the "creepy" idea that "we don't know where the bad guy is, we don't know where he's coming from. Our trusted mentor could be the bad guy." Early on in the episode, before anyone actually figured he wasn't the First, Giles could be seen sitting on a chair.


 * Each scene with Willow/Warren was filmed twice - once with Alyson Hannigan playing Willow and again with Adam Busch as Willow. Which actor performed the scene first depended upon how "Willow" Warren was supposed to be. That is, when Willow first changes into Warren she acts more or less like Willow; in these early scenes Hannigan would act first so that Busch could somewhat mimic her performance. In later scenes when Warren's personality is more prominent Busch would act first. Because of this decision to use both actors, filming the Willow scenes took much longer than usual. In an interview with the BBC, Elizabeth Anne Allen says, "everything had to be so exact." She explains that if Alyson or Adam "gestured or moved their head differently from the other person, they had to do the take over again. So that one scene took us a day and a half to shoot."


 * In the DVD commentary, director David Solomon notes that Iyari Limon had to do a lot of kissing in this episode. He says she joked that her lips hurt after having to do long kisses with both Alyson Hannigan and Adam Busch.

Deleted Scenes

 * An exchange between Giles and Dawn was cut due to length:
 * Giles: "Well, thank goodness I needn't worry myself with the idea of bad things happening in my absence. You getting shot, for example. Or throwing everybody in the basement and trying to kill them. Or Willow turning evil..."
 * Dawn: "Oooh, don't forget, Anya turned evil too."


 * Willow's line was cut due to length:
 * Willow: "The chip operates on intent, and Spike didn't intend to hurt..."

Other

 * While this episode is predominantly Willow-centric, it also focuses a great deal on Spike.

Continuity

 * This episode marks the eighth and final on-screen appearance of Elizabeth Anne Allen as Amy. Amy would next appear in the comic "The Long Way Home".


 * Later, in Season Eight's "The Long Way Home, Part 4", it is revealed that Amy and Warren (who had survived through Amy) concocted this plan in revenge together.


 * Season Eight's "Anywhere But Here" revealed that Willow's guilt about Tara's death caused her to distance Kennedy and herself from Buffy and her inner circle.


 * What Willow says when she first enters Buffy's backyard with the gun is similar to, though not exactly what Warren says before he shoots Buffy in "Seeing Red". Willow says, "You think you could just do that to me? That I'd let you get away with it?" while Warren says, "You think you could just do that to me? You think I'd let you get away with that?"


 * The largely unseen vision quest is implied to be the same as Buffy underwent in "Intervention".
 * After Kennedy and Willow kiss they go to see The Daughters of Gaea, which was also where Willow and Tara first met in "Hush"

Music

 * Aberdeen - "Cities and Buses"
 * Aberdeen - "Sink or Float"
 * Robert Duncan - "Kissed to Life"