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==Quotes==
 
==Quotes==
 
{{QuoteBlock
 
{{QuoteBlock
|Buffy|"Mazel tov!" ''(leads Mr Harris away)''
+
|Buffy|"Mazel tov!" ''(leads Mr. Harris away)''
 
|Mr. Harris|"Hey, what's this?"
 
|Mr. Harris|"Hey, what's this?"
 
|Buffy|''(super-cheerful)'' "You must be so happy for Xander on his very special, once-in-a-lifetime day, huh, Mr. Harris?"
 
|Buffy|''(super-cheerful)'' "You must be so happy for Xander on his very special, once-in-a-lifetime day, huh, Mr. Harris?"
|Mr. Harris|''(ogling her)'' Nice chassis, what’s under the hood? Rrowr!
+
|Mr. Harris|''(ogling her)'' "Nice chassis, what’s under the hood? Rrowr!"
 
|Buffy|"You know, I could use a strong cup of coffee. Hey, let’s get you one too, what do you say?"
 
|Buffy|"You know, I could use a strong cup of coffee. Hey, let’s get you one too, what do you say?"
 
|Mr. Harris|"Did you used to own a little square pinkish purse?"
 
|Mr. Harris|"Did you used to own a little square pinkish purse?"
|Buffy|''(less cheerful, sighs)'' I did.
+
|Buffy|''(less cheerful, sighs)'' "I did."
 
|Mr. Harris|"I thought so. Hey, what do you say we slip in the back room and I show you my—"
 
|Mr. Harris|"I thought so. Hey, what do you say we slip in the back room and I show you my—"
 
|Buffy|"You finish that sentence and I guarantee you won’t have '''anything''' to '''show'''." ''(Mr. Harris stares at Buffy; she yanks his arm, pulling him away.)''
 
|Buffy|"You finish that sentence and I guarantee you won’t have '''anything''' to '''show'''." ''(Mr. Harris stares at Buffy; she yanks his arm, pulling him away.)''

Revision as of 21:45, 11 August 2017

Template:Buffyepisode

"Hell's Bells" is the sixteenth episode of the sixth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and is the one hundred sixteenth episode altogether. It was written by Rebecca Rand Kirshner and directed by David Solomon. It originally broadcast on March 5, 2002.

Xander and Anya's wedding day finally arrives, but a surprise visitor makes Xander have second thoughts.

Synopsis

File:616 HellsBells1.jpg

Buffy: We must share equally in the cosmic joke that is bridesmaids-dom.

Buffy and Willow criticize their bright green dresses and talk about the rehearsal dinner from the night before. It was explained that Anya's friends are circus people, which explains their very odd appearances; surprisingly, the Harris family bought it. Willow has the honor of best man and Buffy, Dawn, and Tara are bridesmaids. Anya hugs both girls in excitement about their gowns, which she of course loves.

Xander tries to get dressed with his family and Anya's demon friends invading his apartment. Xander's parents arrive: Mrs. Harris rants about not being in the wedding pictures, and Mr. Harris expresses his distaste for the circus people on Anya's side. Xander's cousin Carol asks Xander if Anya's demon friend Krelvin would be interested in dating her. Outside on the streets of Sunnydale, an old man appears out of thin air and walks off purposefully.

616 HellsBells2

Anya: I, Anya, promise to... love you, to cherish you... to honor you, uh, but not to obey you, of course, because that's anachronistic and misogynistic and who do you think you are, like a sea captain or something?

Buffy forces Xander into his cummerbund and works on his bow tie while offering her happy wishes to Xander on his special day. Tara and Willow button Anya into her dress while the bride-to-be rehearses her vows, excitedly talking about how happy she is. Xander's uncle Rory shows off his "date" to Dawn, but his date is actually just one of the caterers. D'Hoffryn arrives along with Halfrek and Dawn greets them at the door. D'Hoffryn offers his very alive wedding gift in a box to Dawn.

Dawn continues to mingle through the crowd and encounters Spike with a goth date. Finally ready, Buffy and Xander proceed toward the crowd of mingling guests while reviewing the tasks necessary to keep Xander's parents out of trouble. Xander greets people and is suddenly assaulted by people complaining about problems. Xander's drunken father offers a toast to the waiting wedding attendees and insults the demons on Anya's side of the "family." Clem and another demon talk about how annoying the man is, but before a fight can break out between Mr. Harris and one of the demons, Buffy pulls the drunk man away.

File:616 HellsBells3.jpg

Xander's nightmare future.

The old man in a trench coat drags Xander away from the others and explains that he is Xander Harris from the future (despite the fact the old man has blue eyes and Nicholas Brendon has hazel-brown eyes, something Xander never seems to wonder about), and the wedding cannot take place. As proof, he shows the younger Xander a crystal ball that will show Xander his future. In a view of the future, Xander sits watching TV, yelling at Anya while their son runs around teasing Anya's part-demon daughter. Anya explains that she's going to make money while he sits around wounded and worthless. An argument breaks out as they talk about how he got injured helping Buffy, although that didn't save her life. Xander then sees himself with Anya and their two now-teenage kids eat at a restaurant while the teens fight and Anya bitterly notes Xander's drinking.

Years later, in their kitchen, Anya yells at Xander for ruining her life and blames him for her misery. He yells back, raising a frying pan - but the vision of the future abruptly ends as he hurls the pan at her. Xander, shocked by the visions, is warned by the old man not to marry Anya.

Buffy finds Spike alone and the two talk about the wedding and Spike's attempt to make her jealous with his date. After he finds that his efforts worked, Spike realizes it's best to just leave and takes his date away.

Willow runs into Xander in the kitchen and offers the final "best man" talk then leaves him to practice his vows. Anya continues to go over her vows in front of Tara, who advises against using the word "sex poodle". As the music begins, Buffy arrives to get Anya, but Willow pulls her out of the room and breaks the news that Xander is gone. Stalling while Willow looks for Xander, Buffy uses the excuse that the minister is also a doctor and the ceremony will be delayed while he performs an emergency c-section.

Weddingmembers

D'Hoffryn and Halfrek at the Wedding

Anya tries her vows one more time while elsewhere, Xander walks away in the rain. Mr. Harris and Mrs. Harris head back to the bar, complaining about Anya ruining the wedding. Buffy tries to stall the crowd with charades and juggling as Dawn chats outside with a teenage demon and both compare their embarrassing family and friends. Impatient, Anya heads out towards the wedding crowd, determined to get on with the wedding. The news that Xander is gone is accidentally spilled to Anya as Dawn talks to the demon teen and Anya freaks out.

File:616 HellsBells4.jpg

Anya brokenhearted.

Mr. Harris and other demons begin to argue and then a huge fight breaks out between the two sides of the wedding guests. Tara gets caught up in the battle, but Willow rescues her. Cousin Carol directs Anya to the man in the trench coat and Anya talks to him about what he did to scare Xander off. She finds that the man is really a demon she cursed many years ago who seeks revenge against her. He showed Xander false images about his future to ruin Anya's wedding.

She begins to cry and the demon strikes out at her, prompting Buffy to get involved. Buffy starts to attack the demon and Xander arrives to help save Anya. Anya explains to Xander that he saw only lies in those visions, but Xander isn't exactly relieved. Buffy and Xander finish the demon off and the crowd cheers. Fighting continues, but Anya breaks it up and everyone returns to his or her seats. Xander and Anya talk privately before the ceremony and Xander explains that he can't marry her. Motivated by the fear of turning into an abusive drunk like his father, Xander refuses to allow himself the opportunity to marry Anya and ever hurt her in that way. Anya tries to convince him otherwise, but fails and Xander leaves her, forcing Anya to broken-heartedly walk down the aisle alone.

Buffy, Willow, and Dawn sit around at the house and talk about what happened with Xander and Anya. They feel sorry for both of them and wonder where Xander is. Meanwhile, Xander checks into a motel by himself. Sad and depressed, Anya sits alone until D'Hoffryn offers her sympathy, comfort, and her job as a vengeance demon back. Template:Clear

Continuity

  • When Xander kills the demon, Willow asks "Is anyone else waiting for it to go poof?" This echos her exact words from the opening of "The Wish", which was Anya's first appearance on the show. This served as a tribute to her first episode.
  • In the wedding, the demon Clem is sitting among Xander's family and friends.
  • After Willow and Xander see each other in formal wear, she jokes that it's a good thing she realized she was gay. This refers to a previous occasion where she and Xander couldn't resist each other in formal wear and shared an illicit kiss ("Homecoming").
  • Xander's uncle, Rory, scares a woman at the wedding by informing her that a moose head on the wall is stuffed incorrectly. In "The Dark Age", Xander mentions that his Uncle Rory is a taxidermist.
  • Playing charades, Buffy mimes horns with her fingers and, amongst other guesses, someone shouts "Deathwok Clan!". That's a reference to the demon family of Lorne from Angel.
  • Anya becomes a vengeance demon again, wreaking havoc and nearly being slain by Buffy later in the series.
  • Buffy appears oddly fond and protective of Anya and Xander's relationship, stating that "it's like a light at the end of her long, dark, nasty tunnel". Its likely that Buffy's fond of it because it shows that two people from completely different worlds can be together and happy, giving her hope that she might have that someday. This might be a reference to her relationship with Angel, which would explain why she was so upset when Xander left Anya.
  • When fighting with the demon Stewart, Buffy rips her dress to enable her to kick. Buffy encountered the same problem in "Flooded" when fighting the M'Fashnik Demon while wearing a long skirt, which she ripped with a letter opener.
  • In her final scene in this episode, Buffy wears a t-shirt saying 'I survived' with a picture of a dragon on it. This could be a reference to the dragon we see in "The Gift".
  • Willow considers wearing the traditionally burlap with blood larva for a bridesmaid's dress. Anya first mentioned this in "Wrecked".
  • Third and last time we see a Buffy girl in her wedding dress. We have previously seen Buffy in hers during Angel's dream sequence in The Prom and Dawn in her child bride outfit for Sweet in Once More, with Feeling.
  • On his previous appearance in the Buffyverse in the Angel episode I Fall to Pieces Andy Umberger had played ultra controlling surgeon Ronald Meltzer. In this episode as D'Hoffryn he tells Anya her problem was that he let Xander control her.

Body Count

  • Anya Jenkins Harris, smashed with a pan by Xander (in a false future).
  • Stewart Burns, smashed with a pillar by Xander.

Appearances

Locations

Behind the Scenes

Production

  • Rebecca Rand Kirshner reveals in her DVD commentary of this episode that Anya's reference to herself as a "sex poodle" was a reference to colleague Jane Espenson, who had been using the name herself.
  • Amber Benson said in an interview to Buffy magazine that "I'm the biggest klutz on the set. Remember Emma in that wedding dress? I got that dress off of her at least four times, because I'd be following her and I'd step on the dress and she'd be pulling it back up. But she looked gorgeous in that dress."
  • Sarah Michelle Gellar displays her real-life talent for juggling in this episode.

Deleted Scenes

  • The Watcher's Guide 3 reveals cut dialogue that explains Giles' absence:
Dawn: "I thought Xander and Anya couldn't afford flowers."
Willow: "Giles sent 'em. Aren't they gorgeous?"
Dawn: "Yeah. I wish Giles was here."
Willow: "Me too. And I'm sure he'd much rather be here than fighting that nasty demon—"
Dawn: "Da-e-mon. In England it's daemon."
Willow: "Daemon, too right. But Giles's got responsibilities. And so Anya and Xander have flowers. And flowers. And more flowers. Ooh, it's going to be so pretty."

Pop Culture References

  • While expressing their distaste for their bridesmaid dresses, Willow says, "Shouldn't I be all Marlene Dietrich-y in a dashing tuxedo number?" This is a reference to the 1930 film Morocco in which Marlene Dietrich performs a song dressed in a man's tuxedo and kisses another woman.
  • The title, Hell's Bells, is also an AC/DC song from their album Back in Black.
  • Xander's dad mockingly says to one of the guests, "I'm sure you come from a long line of geeks." This is a reference to the older definition of geek, that of a circus freak, particularly one who would bite the heads off of live chickens.
  • When D'Hoffryn enters the wedding and greets Dawn, he refers to Hymen, the Greek god of marriage ceremonies, inspiring feasts and songs.

Music

International Titles

  • German: Höllische Hochzeit (Hellish Wedding)
  • French: La corde au cou (The noose around the neck)

Awards

  • This episode was nominated for three Emmy Awards, the most in the show's history:
    • Outstanding Hairstyling for a Series
    • Outstanding Makeup Series (Prosthetic)
    • Outstanding Makeup for a Series (Non-prosthetic)

Other

Quotes

Buffy: "Mazel tov!" (leads Mr. Harris away)
Mr. Harris: "Hey, what's this?"
Buffy: (super-cheerful) "You must be so happy for Xander on his very special, once-in-a-lifetime day, huh, Mr. Harris?"
Mr. Harris: (ogling her) "Nice chassis, what’s under the hood? Rrowr!"
Buffy: "You know, I could use a strong cup of coffee. Hey, let’s get you one too, what do you say?"
Mr. Harris: "Did you used to own a little square pinkish purse?"
Buffy: (less cheerful, sighs) "I did."
Mr. Harris: "I thought so. Hey, what do you say we slip in the back room and I show you my—"
Buffy: "You finish that sentence and I guarantee you won’t have anything to show." (Mr. Harris stares at Buffy; she yanks his arm, pulling him away.)
D'Hoffryn: "Ah. Hymen's greetings."
Dawn: "Hy—what?"
D'Hoffryn: "Hymen, the God of Matrimony. His salutations upon you. May the love we celebrate today avoid an almost inevitable decline."
Dawn: "Cool."
Anya: "What's wrong?"
Buffy: "Nothing. Nothing's wrong. It's just, um, the... The minister! He had to go perform an emergency... C-section."
Anya: "A C-section?"
Buffy: "Yeah. You know, he's not just a minister, he's a doctor. He's like, half-minister, half-doctor. A minitor. Not, of course, to be confused with a minotaur! Because he's all, you know, man, this doctor-minister-man. No bull parts, whatsoever."
Old Xander: "I'm you from the future."
Xander: "Oh, from the future! For a minute, I thought you were a nut ball, but now that you're from the future..."
Xander: "It's dead."
Buffy: "Yep."
Willow: "Is anyone else waiting for it to go poof? Maybe we can cover it with flowers."
Anya: "I, Anya, want to marry you, Xander, because I love you and I'll always love you. Before I knew you, I was, like a completely different person. Not even a person, really. And I had seen what love could do to people. And it was hurt and sadness. Alone was better. And then suddenly there was you, and you knew me, you saw me, and it was this... thing. You make me feel safe and warm. So I get it now. I finally get love, Xander. I really do."

References