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"Band Candy" is the sixth episode of the third season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the fortieth episode in the series. Written by Jane Espenson and directed by Michael Lange, it was originally broadcast on November 10, 1998, on The WB network.

Synopsis[]

CHILDREN UNLEASHED — Buffy is forced to grow up even faster when Mr. Trick executes a devious plot to render the town defenseless by causing Sunnydale's adult population to inexplicably behave as irresponsible adolescents. Meanwhile, Buffy struggles to keep Angel's return and recovery a secret while her mom and Giles conspire to schedule her 24 hours a day.[1]

Summary[]

Buffy combines her slaying with studying for the SAT in the cemetery with Giles. At school the next day, Buffy tells Willow and Oz of a test-related nightmare. Oz offers to help her study and Willow brags about how smart Oz is. Buffy tells them Giles and her Mom have her scheduled 24/7 to keep her out of trouble. They find Principal Snyder in the cafeteria handing out boxes of Milkbar chocolates, which they are forced to sell to pay for band uniforms.

Meanwhile, at Sunnydale City Hall, Mayor Wilkins speaks to Mr. Trick about a tribute he needs to make to a demon. Trick assures his boss that the matter is well in hand, as he has hired an outside contractor who has caused trouble in Sunnydale before.

Buffy sells half of her candy to her mom, and Buffy tries to convince her mom to let her get her driver's license. Joyce refuses, at least in part because she is worried that if Buffy has a license, she might leave again and not come back. Buffy then leaves for the library, telling her mother that Giles is making her practice all night. She sells the other half of her candy quota to Giles, and leaves, telling Giles her mother is making her go home. Instead, Buffy visits Angel, bringing him blood. He is quickly getting better and is practicing Tai Ch'i. He asks her about Scott, but she doesn't tell him they've broken up. When she arrives home, Buffy finds her mother and Giles waiting, angry at her lies. They send her to bed and proceed to munch on the chocolate bars.

The next day, Giles fails to show up for study hall, and Xander and Willow secretly play footsie under the table. Worried, Buffy goes to Giles's place and finds her mom sitting on the couch. Giles explains that they are rescheduling her activities to lessen her burden, and Joyce gives Buffy her car keys and tells her to drive herself home. After a surprised Buffy leaves, they conspiratorially hope she's not noticed anything amiss, and then Giles lights up a cigarette and Joyce pulls out a bottle of Kahlua she had quickly hidden when Buffy arrived.

Giles, now "Ripper," offers to take Joyce out for some fun while Buffy decides to go with Willow to the Bronze, despite the SAT exam being the next day. Buffy frightens Willow with her crazy driving. At the Bronze, Buffy and Willow discover the place now packed with adults who are acting like teenagers, including Principal Snyder, Mrs. Bartrum, and Willow's shirtless, stage-diving doctor. Snyder starts following Buffy and Willow, who take off, along with Oz, to find out what's going on — they've noticed the manic eating of band candy, and suspect that it is causing adults to act like teenagers, with all the attendant irresponsibility, lust, and emotionality. Oz initially isn't too worried, assuming that even as a teenager Giles would still be responsible. Buffy and Willow, however, know better and tell him that rather than being responsible Giles was an out-of-control dark magic user.

Trick checks up on Ethan Rayne, the "outside contractor," and the production of the chocolate bars, then leaves to perform the "tribute."

Meanwhile, Joyce notices a coat in the window of a vintage store, and Ripper shatters it to steal the coat. The ensuing alarm attracts a cop, who Giles beats unconscious. They steal his gun, cuffs, and cruiser. He and Joyce start making out on the hood of the police car.

Buffy gets into a car accident and damages her mom's car. Snyder knows the factory where the candy came from, so Buffy sends her friends to the library to do research just before finding her mother and Giles kissing in the middle of the street. Buffy tries to reason with her mother, with no luck. She enters the factory, taking Joyce along; Giles and Snyder follow. Inside, Buffy finds Ethan and catches him. Her fist persuades Ethan to give up all that he knows. Trick needs to dull Sunnydale adults in order to take the tribute for Lurconis.

Meanwhile, four vampires enter an unguarded hospital to remove four newborn babies. The Scoobies' research reveals that the demon Lurconis eats babies, and Giles remembers that the demon may be found in the sewers.

Buffy, Giles and Joyce crash the party in the sewer, and the Mayor flees unnoticed. Buffy defeats the vampires while Giles and Joyce rescue the babies. Trick escapes and the demon appears. Buffy pulls down a gas pipe, igniting it, forming a jet of fire with which she attacks and kills Lurconis.

Later, the Mayor and Mr. Trick discuss the debacle. Although the Mayor isn't happy, he is placated when Trick points out that now there's one less demon he needs to pay tribute to. Despite this, the Mayor warns Trick not to do him any more favors.

The next day, the adults have returned to their senses. Snyder promptly chooses Willow, Oz, Xander, and Cordelia as "volunteers" to clean up the mess in the hall. Buffy complains to Giles about the SATs. They meet Joyce, but Buffy fails to notice their awkwardness upon seeing each other.

Continuity[]

  • After Joyce's funeral ("Forever"), Giles drinks alone and listens to the song he played for her in this episode.
  • In "Earshot," Buffy learns that Giles and Joyce actually did have sex during the band candy mayhem — twice.
  • Due to the events under the candy's influence, Joyce and Giles avoid each other for the next few episodes. In "Gingerbread," he rashly asks her if a rumor was about them.
  • Ethan escapes for the third time, after "Halloween" and "The Dark Age." Although it'll be his last, as he's imprisoned in "A New Man" until his death (The Long Way Home, Part Four).
  • When they were young, Joyce was somewhat of an outsider at school, Snyder was the uncool kid who thought he fit in, and Giles exhibited his rebel "Ripper" personality. Giles's actions confirm his confessions from "The Dark Age," while Joyce had previously admitted to being on the Yearbook committee in "Witch." Snyder's awkwardness towards Joyce gives Buffy's words towards him in "Becoming, Part Two" more validity ("You never ever got a single date in high school, did you?").
  • Snyder tells Buffy she drives "like a spaz," something she will hear again in Time of Your Life, Part Three while attempting do drive a flying car.
  • Xander has Cordelia's flyer for Homecoming Queen ("Homecoming") on his locker door.
  • According to the Sunnydale High Yearbook novel, the chocolate sale earned $600,000 for the band. 

Appearances[]

Individuals[]

Organizations and titles[]

Species[]

Locations[]

Objects[]

Death count[]

  • Three vampires, dusted by Buffy.
  • A factory worker, killed by Mr. Trick.
  • A vampire, eaten by Lurconis.
  • Lurconis, burned with a gas pipe and torch by Buffy.

Behind the scenes[]

Production[]

  • This is the first episode to be written by Jane Espenson.

Broadcast[]

  • "Band Candy" had an audience of 4.1 million households upon its original airing.[2]

Deleted scenes[]

  • This comment was cut for length:[3]
    Buffy: "I love that you guys love torches."
  • A chant by the Lurconis summoners was also cut:[4]
    Robed figures: (in Latin) "Lucronis adventet. Lucronis satietur. Lucronis vetustate miliorum daemonum, novus alitus carne novorum, potens alitus precibus potentium. Lucronis hodie epuletur et clemens nobis utatur. Lucronis exsistat ut dona nostra edat illaque in carnem suam vertat. Lucronis adventet."

Pop culture references[]

Goofs[]

  • The book Exploring Demon Dimensions has its cover spelling "dimentions" instead.

Music[]

International titles[]

  • Armenian: "Քաղցրավենիքներ դեպի դպրոցական նվագախմբի ֆոնդը" (Sweets to the School Band Fund)
  • Czech: "Zakázané ovoce" (Forbidden Fruit)
  • Finnish: "Makeaa mahan täydeltä" (Stomach Full of Sweet)
  • French: "Effet chocolat" (Chocolate Effect)
  • German: "Außer Rand und Band" (Going Wild)
  • Hungarian: "Csokit, vagy csalunk" (Chocolate or Treat)
  • Italian: "I Dolci della Banda" (The Sweets of the Band)
  • Japanese: "バンドのためのチョコバー" (Chocolate Bar for the Band)
  • Polish: "Batoniki, cukiereczki, ciasteczka" (Bars, Candies, Cookies)
  • Portuguese (Brazil): "A Banda do Chocolate" (The Chocolate Band)
  • Romanian: "Dulciuri rele" (Bad Sweets)
  • Russian: "Сладости в фонд школьного оркестра" (Sweets to the School Band Fund)
  • Spanish (Latin America): "Los chocolates Embrujados" (The Bewitched Chocolates)
  • Spanish (Spain): "Dulces para la Banda" (Sweets to the Band)
  • Swedish: "Bandgodis" (Band Candy)

Adaptations[]

Gallery[]

Promotional stills[]

Behind the scenes[]

[]

Quotes[]

Giles: "'And on that tragic day, an era came to its inevitable end.' That's all there is. Are you ready?"
Buffy: "Hit me."
Giles: "Which of the following best expresses the theme of the passage? A) Violence breeds violence, B) All things must end, C)..."
Buffy: "'B'. I'm going with 'B'. We haven't had 'B' in forever."
Giles: "This is the SATs, Buffy, not connect-the-dots. Please pay attention. A low score could seriously harm your chances of getting into college."
Buffy: "Gee, thanks. That takes the pressure right off."
Oz: "They're teenagers. It's a sobering mirror to look into, huh?"
Willow: "It'll be okay when we get to Giles."
Oz: "Of course. I mean, even if he's sixteen, he's still Giles, right? He's probably a pretty together guy."
Willow: "Yeah, well..."
Oz: "What?"
Buffy: "Giles at sixteen. Less 'together guy', more 'bad magic, hates the world, ticking time bomb guy'."
Xander: "I don't get this. The candy's supposed to make you all immature and stuff, but I ate a ton and I don't feel any dif— never mind."
Willow: "'Kiss Rocks'? Why would anyone want to kiss... Oh wait, I get it."

References[]

  1. "The Mortuary." Buffy.com. Archived from the original on February 15, 2001.
  2. "Nielsen Ratings for Buffy's Third Season." Nielsen Ratings for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, & Firefly. Archived from the original on July 5, 2008.
  3. Nancy Holder, The Watcher's Guide, Volume 2. Pocket Books, 2000.
  4. Jane Espenson et al., The Script Book: Season Three, Volume 1. Simon & Schuster, July 2003.
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