Once More with the Cockroach Demon

Listening to Fear 

ep 509
 
 Aired November 28, 2000
 
 IMDB Summary 
 As Joyce's sickness makes her begin doing odd things, a demon emerges from a meteorite and begins killing the mentally ill.

 
 Directed by: David Solomon
 Written By:  Rebecca Kirshner 
 
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Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:50

Hello. This is Brett. I don't know why I said that like that. This is Brit. And I'm Sarah. And we are here with Listening to Fear.

SPEAKER_01 1:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:02

We are here with Listening to Fear.

SPEAKER_00 1:07

Don't know where we go with that, but okay.

SPEAKER_03 1:10

Yeah. Um, how are you doing?

SPEAKER_01 1:14

Good. Um, I'm trying to think of anything that's happened recently. Not really.

SPEAKER_03 1:24

Taxes. Taxes came back.

SPEAKER_01 1:26

Yeah, my Maryland taxes finally came back. And that was the reason why I was able to get all of her tickets the same time.

SPEAKER_03 1:33

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:34

Between that and then I sold a set of books for like over 400 bucks. Oh, nice. That all came at the same time.

SPEAKER_03 1:41

I don't know about you, but I feel like taxes were way better this year than ever before.

SPEAKER_01 1:45

Yeah, they were pretty decent. Um I also put the extra money into each of my paychecks, so towards taxes.

SPEAKER_02 1:53

Oh.

SPEAKER_01 1:54

Well, because I I for the longest time I would owe every year.

SPEAKER_03 1:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:59

So I got uh so now I have I think I take out three dollars out of each state and then an extra 60 at a federal every paycheck so that I get money back or at least or at least even myself out. Yeah. So I'm not owing anything.

SPEAKER_03 2:16

It's um I don't know how. Not to spread all of our, but we got like almost 12k back. And I'm like, kids. How did this happen? We've had kids and we've have never gotten back.

SPEAKER_01 2:32

Well, this is the first year after uh implementing all that stuff. Isn't that a big beautiful bill or something?

SPEAKER_03 2:41

Yeah, but like she doesn't really get overtime because she's salary. So she's well no, I mean there was other things.

SPEAKER_01 2:46

I think there was like a ta thing for kids specifically.

SPEAKER_03 2:49

Um for taxes. But I couldn't like a little bit, but nothing to hike. The only thing I can think of is like because I didn't have a high income this year, because it was my first year not working.

SPEAKER_01 3:01

So um did you uh put in and either of the kids as a dependents?

SPEAKER_03 3:06

Oh yeah, we both claim them. So well, I I mean, yeah, we put them in as our dependents, but I don't know. It's probably because you didn't work really.

SPEAKER_01 3:15

You worked just enough to get it. Because I mean, like again, like Yeah. You only need to work a little, but then you have a kid thrown in there, you get a lot of money back.

SPEAKER_03 3:24

Oh yeah. And we did get like the two working income credit thing as well. So like I was just the whole time I was doing the taxes, I put a sticky note on it so I don't see the money just like going down as I do the tax. Always stresses me out and makes me angry. And I peeked and I was like, what? I was like the little post that were like, like, what are we at? How angry am I gonna be? And I was like, this is the most I've ever gotten in my life, but it does help because like we're only one income and you know, we've got bills, so I'm like, okay, cool. That's why I was like, let's book the tickets now.

SPEAKER_01 4:05

I know, Bray. I was thinking the same thing. I'm like, are we all ready for these tickets to Harry Potter?

SPEAKER_00 4:09

Because I was like, um, this is the best time for me to get tickets right now. I know.

SPEAKER_03 4:14

Um but it was, you know, this was the first tax year I was ever excited. So, but and then we went and got the kids uh or ourselves as well. We got um Y memberships because they offer like daycare there, so like we can work out together at the gym, and then the kids can go to like the little daycare, and they've got a pool, so we can like go swimming with the kids at the pool and do like classes, and they have pickleball, and I'm thinking about learning pickleball. So pickleball. Um so we're doing that now. It's like our fun update as a family. So um I love it.

SPEAKER_01 4:57

Uh I love that. Um, I might be going to an oddities and curiosities expo, which I am excited about. So um I think we're gonna do like this class for to put this moth on these things, this little frame, whatever. You know what I'm talking about? Oh, I wanted to do like there was a one with like a little like octopus you put in this like little p ball, like crystal ball-like thing. Like a real octopus? Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 5:26

Oh.

SPEAKER_01 5:27

Like, so they have taxidermy classes.

SPEAKER_03 5:29

Oh.

SPEAKER_01 5:29

I didn't want to do the whole possum thing because I thought that was too much for me. But I was like, oh, let me do the little thing, but they're only doing the the octopus one on the day that I'm not going. So I decided to do the little moth thing.

SPEAKER_03 5:42

I'm gonna have to look more at this because I did see it and I put interested on Facebook, but I don't know anything else about it.

SPEAKER_01 5:50

It's so weird, and I want to go there and buy the the most random weird shit ever.

SPEAKER_03 5:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:55

Um something that's gonna make my mom go, what the hell?

SPEAKER_03 5:59

Yeah. After you already gone to Well, it'll be a few months past the It was in August, and the the tickets to get in is only$15. Yeah, it's not bad. It's just uh Did did we talk about how we're going to meet Orlando Bloom and James? And um Colin O'Donohue.

SPEAKER_01 6:19

Yeah, Colin O'Donohue. Uh we're going to a convention where Orlando Bloom's gonna be there. Well, all the Hobbits, uh the actor who plays Gimli and Lord of the Rings, and um the actress who plays Ewen will be there as well. And then James Mercers for Spike's gonna be there. We're meeting him, and Colin O'Donohue, who plays uh Captain Hook and Once Upon a Time is gonna be there. Yeah. We're basically be a pedal on the floor. Yeah. I'm gonna be a pedal on the floor, just like oh it's gonna be a long so many things. So, and if we get the opportunity, I will feel blessed. If we get the opportunity to meet Tom Felton after the play when we go in uh to New York, uh, that'd be just that'll be.

SPEAKER_03 7:03

I'm gonna have to get like a hotel room. I'm not gonna feel like driving back that night.

SPEAKER_01 7:09

I think we should go for a hotel room and and we'll split it three ways.

SPEAKER_03 7:14

Yeah. There they've gotta have some that aren't super expensive.

SPEAKER_01 7:18

It depends on the the time of the year sometimes. Yeah. Christy goes and she says it's really cheap in February.

SPEAKER_03 7:25

Well, what what about April? Because we're going in April, so it doesn't help us, Christy.

SPEAKER_00 7:31

Sorry, I'm just telling you. We'll look, we'll look.

SPEAKER_03 7:33

Yeah, we'll look. Okay. Alright, well, let's get into this episode. Listening to fear.

SPEAKER_01 7:39

Alright, so we're in Joyce's hospital room. Um, attire-looking Joyce is propped up in a hospital bed wearing PJs. Buffy and Dawn are cuddled up on either side of her wearing their street clothes. Um, all three pick at the tray of food hospital food. They have a conversation about the food, and Joyce mentions how she doesn't trust uh anything that moves. Um, Jill O. Dawn goes on a rant about how gelatinate is made from cows' feet. Yes. A doctor enters and says that the blood work has come back um and everything is fine. Um they have scheduled the surgery. She he exit, and Joyce is upset that he uh she has to stay in the hospital a few more days. Don suggests they catch up on soaps and trashy magazines, and Joyce says Buffy should go and patrol. But Buffy insists that tonight is all about taking care of her, and mentions that the others are taking care of patrolling and have everything under control. Uh we cut over to the graveyard. Uh Willow, Xander, and Giles are in the middle of an intense fight with two women vampires. Uh Willow moves to stake one of them, but before she can deliver the fatal blow, the second vampire grabs her by the waist and flings her to the ground. Giles and Xander each take on a vampire, dodging blows, and Willow scrambles up to the ground and dusts Giles' vampire from behind. Then together they go help Xander just in time because Xander has been cornered up against a tomb. Uh Giles raises his uh stake and charges to the vampire. Um, it ducks out of the way, and Giles almost stakes Xander. This is a hot mess.

SPEAKER_03 9:18

This is what this is. Oh, I know.

SPEAKER_01 9:20

Will has lunged um after the vampire, and poof, she stakes her second one in the night, and it does. Will then is excited about having killed two, but then says she's dizzy. Giles and Xander take uh her by the arms, they start walking into the graveyard together. Xander mentions that while he didn't get to dust anyone, at least he showed up, unlike Riley. Xander has some beef with Riley in these past two episodes. A little bit, but I you know, if you like when it goes, he actually defends Riley more than anybody else. At the end of this, you know, relationship here. Giles agrees it was disappointing that things would have gone smoother if he came. We cut over to an abandoned home at night. Uh we're in a large, filthy room. Riley sits sprawled on a stained bare mattress. A strung out looking vampire chick wearing ratty pants and a bra has her fangs embedded in his arms, and a few dollar bills are shown on the table. Uh she drinks from him. I like how he went the very cliche route of this. It's drugs, but it's not.

SPEAKER_03 10:24

And then we hit the theme. Doo-doo-doo doo. Alright, so we're at Joyce's room, hospital room. She sits up in bed with a book. Willow comes in and crosses to Buffy and Dawn, who sit at a small table near the window. She's got brought a care package that holds a beer hat for Joyce and a spell book for Dawn. Interesting choices. Um Joyce puts her hand to her head and winces. She's got another headache. And Dawn gets excited by the book. Um Buffy questions Willow's choice in reading material, and Willow clarifies that it there's no actual spells, just history and antidotes. Anecdotes. What did I say? Antidotes. You know, like this episode wouldn't be complete without a flubbery mess from me. She then gives Buffy a textbook from her class with Willow. Buffy mentions she isn't worried about school right now and not even sure she is going to take the exam. Joyce blurts out, I'd rip it in half and put it in bed with me. I really want to know what she was talking about.

SPEAKER_01 11:25

She's having one of her episodes.

SPEAKER_03 11:26

I know, but like what is she ripping in half and putting in bed with her? The textbook. Oh, the textbook? Yeah, they're talking about. Oh, I thought she was just randomly picking an object.

SPEAKER_00 11:35

No, they were talking about a textbook, and then she says I'll rip it in half.

SPEAKER_03 11:39

Oh, God.

SPEAKER_00 11:39

It still doesn't make any sense, but why would she put it in bed with her? Is beyond me.

SPEAKER_03 11:44

Yeah, so like everyone's looking at her in concern. Oh.

SPEAKER_01 11:50

You're not excused.

SPEAKER_03 11:52

Yeah, she seems oblivious to what she just said. Dawn and Buffy exchange worried looks. In the hospital corridor, corridor. Buffy, Dawn, and Willow walk down the hallway. Buffy mentions the doctor warned her that something like this could happen, that's the tumor pressing on a part of her brain, making her say weird things. Dawn asks if Joyce knows she is saying it, and Buffy confirms she does not. Willow says that it should stop after the surgery. They pass a family walking in the opposite direction, and there's a middle-aged mental patient and his wife and two daughters. The patient is swerving a bit as he walks, and he nearly crashes into Buffy, and she says, excuse me, and pass by. The patient is the older night watchman whose brain was sucked by glory in episode five. Um he tries to get a better look at the girls and then he stops and suddenly charges after the girls, waving his pointed finger at them. He is shouting, What is this thing? There's no facts, no pictures on this one. Um Buffy, Willow, and Dawn turn around. The night watchman confronts them, pointing his finger in Dawn's face. He keeps saying there's no data. Dawn looks scared. Buffy puts an arm around her, shielding her a bit. Um the night man just whimpers and his wife catches up with him. She puts her hand on her husband's shoulder, steers her away. This the night watchman this is So the Night Watchman that um The the bigger guy inside the building.

SPEAKER_01 13:23

He was he was outside of the building when Buffy meets Glory for the first time. Remember, she gets they Glory punches her out and the other side. Oh yeah, when they were in the building with the monk. So outside of that building was the night watchman in the beginning.

SPEAKER_03 13:39

Oh, like the first one. I thought this I thought this guy was the one that was chained up. I thought that was that one. I thought it was that guy. Um anyway, I digress. The wife like hustles him off and their two worried daughters trailing behind. I think what threw me off is because he was like, I have a wife and two daughters. Um Buffy and Willow move Don farther away. Don asks what was wrong with him. An intern Ben approaches and asks if that guy was bothering them. Buffy introduces Willow and tells him the guy seemed crazy and asks if they are really sending him home. Ben looks just as upset, says that the mental ward is booked past capacity and there's nowhere to put them. So they're sending the ones with families home. I don't think that's how that would actually happen in real life, though.

SPEAKER_01 14:35

Probably not. Um, but this is also a unique thing where random people are becoming mental patients all of a sudden. So I don't know. Yeah. I guess in a small town, I can see it being somewhat possible. It's not like it's a big city with a whole lot of resources.

SPEAKER_03 14:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:51

Though I think I would think that the first thing they would do is send them to a different hospital, probably in a different town or something, more than they would send them home. Yeah. Alright, so we're on the rooftop of the dorm. It's a clear night sky and it's lit with stars. Willow and Tara are lying down on a uh blanket, staring up at the night sky. Uh Willow seems a little sad. She tells Tara that some of the stars don't even exist anymore. That by the time the light got to Earth, they died. Um, Tara changes the subject, asking how it went on the hosp in the hospital. Willow shrugs before going back uh to talking about the stars, saying that she uses to look uh she used to look up to them when she was young, and it made her feel like she was in space. She then points out some constellations. Tara joins in, pointing out a constellation she made up called the Big Pineapple. There's a red um hot streak slashing across the sky, a meteor of some kind passing awfully close to Willow and Tara. There's a sound of an explosion as a meteor lands nearby, and Willow and Tara scramble to their feet. Uh we cut to the meteor area. Um the scene is kind of done in the creature's point of view, so we don't really see it at first. It breaks out of the shell and crawls out, staying low to the ground, and it skitters away. Um so we're in the woods uh from the giant hole the me where the meteor struck. The this is like smoke's coming out, and the creature is creeping out, moving slowly, and then it scrambles up a tree. It sees a human walking, and we see that it's the recently released Night Watchman. I'm not sure why he's by himself, by the way. Um I'm not sure why he'sn't with his family, but uh he ends up walking beneath a tree the creature lay in and it drops on top of him. Uh we skip over to the hospital entrance. Uh we see the hospital doors open and something scurry on the ceiling into the building. In Joyce's hospital room, um, she's in bed looking agitated. Um she's the one hit uh she's hitting the button that calls to the nurse, and Buffy sits by her side. Dawn sits in a nearby chair holding a book, looking at her nervous her mother nervously. She's angry that the button isn't working. Buffy gently pulls Joyce's hand away as Joyce rants about how it probably is not even hooked to anything. The door opens and the doctor enters. Joyce insists, uh Buffy telling him uh that they want to go home. And the doctor says that her and Don can leave, but he doesn't recommend Joyce leaving. Joyce is tired and frustrated, um, fusses with her hospital bracelet half-heartedly, uh, trying to rip it off. She says that she can't stay there and wait for two days for the surgery, that it hurts her to her head to be there. The doctor tries to calm her down, but that makes Joyce's Joyce even more upset. Buffy decides to get Dawn out of the room, telling her to go and get a soda. Dawn eagerly takes the out and leaves. Joyce moves, uh Joyce now looks sad, telling Buffy she was sorry. Buffy talks to the doctor, saying she doesn't know why they can't uh just take her h her mom home until the surgery, that it would be better for her to rest somewhere she feels comfortable and safe. The doctor considers the request before telling Buffy that it would mean she would have to take care of her. Joyce seems relieved that she can leave.

SPEAKER_03 18:19

What? I hit the button by accident and I thought I was editing it while you were reading.

SPEAKER_01 18:26

Um Buffy quickly assures the doctor that she can take care of everything. He goes on about medications, checking vitals and watching her closely. Buffy agrees, and Joyce asks if they can leave now. Joyce tells her to wait. They still need the medication and everything.

SPEAKER_03 18:42

Um at the hospital at nighttime, Dawn plunks herself down on the floor outside her mom's door. She sips from her soda and pages through her book, trying not to get upset. Um, over her head, that little creature creeps by and she remains oblivious as it passes continue down the hall. Um, the clearing in the woods at night, Willow and Tara leading Riley, Giles, Xander, and Anya out of the woods into the clearing. Riley and Xander walk side by side. Riley thanks Xander for including him, and Xander thanks him for showing up. Sheepish, Riley apologized for not coming last time. Then he spots something. There at the edge of the clearing is the meteorite. The ground around it is charred and its impact has left it half buried, and they just stare at it all. Riley moves in for a closer look, and Xander follows him. Anya asks if it's hot. Worried about radiation, Xander backs away slowly. Riley confirms it's not hot, that it's broken. Willow leans over his shoulder, saying, It is hollow. She then theorizes something evil crashed on earth and it slithered away. Everyone agrees with this theory, and they decide to look around and try to figure out where it went. Willow stumbles on the corpse of the watchman, and Riley kneels beside the body and puts his finger to its throat, confirming no pulse. They notice no marks on him, and Willow then remembers him from the hospital as the mental patient that was released. Riley has taken out a pen and he's prodding it into the corpse's mouth and says there's something there, and then he pulls the pen out and like thick ropes of clear goop are like hanging off of it like molasses, and apparently it smells really bad. They try to figure out what to do, but no, they can't call Buffy, and they decide to handle this on their own so Buffy can take care of her mom. Giles suggests exploring more, and when everyone pauses to look into the deep dark woods, Xander suggests they research instead, and everyone agrees. Riley says he'll stay and examine the body and look around, and Giles tells him to call if he needs help. Riley says they will hear him if anything jumps out of the dark. Um they leave and Riley pulls out his cell and dials someone, and he speaks into the phone, telling someone he needs to speak to the man at the desk. That they have um that they have an agent, Graham Miller.

SPEAKER_01 21:09

So we're at the mental word. Five mental patients are lying in single beds lined across either side of this mid-sized room. A nurse um finishes tucking them in. Most of the patients are asleep, but the um one patient starts whimpering slightly um saying it's cold. The nurse adjusts his blanket and pulls it closer to his face. We see now why he couldn't do it himself. The patients are restrained with the canvas straps that connect to the bed frames. The nurse goes to the door and turns off the lights. She closes the door, leaving the mental patients alone. The whimpering increases as another patient joins in. Um, a few of them start to mutter to themselves in their sleep. Suddenly, the creature emerges from the air duct and slithers across a roll behind the patients. In a flash, it pounces on the face of one of them, pinning them. The victims uh Um the patient opens his mouth in horror and the creature begins to vomit right onto its face. This thick clear bile. Um we can see the patient's uh distorted face through the goo. The pain uh patient gags and thrashes and struggles for oxygen oxygen. He pulls out of his restraints, bucking in the bed, and but they do not give. Another patient watches, too terrified to call for help, just uh closing his eyes and repeating, I can't see you. In the uh nurse's um with a nurse, uh she's sipping on a cup of tea, completing some paperwork. There's a banging in the ward next door, um, but it's like a normal part of the night, and she ignores it and continues on. Um in the corridor, the doctor stands at the nurse's station. He's filling out some forms attached to the clipboard, um, holding three bottles of perc uh prescription medicines. Uh Joyce wearing her street clothes is standing with Buffy and Dawn. He hands Buffy their prescriptions and goes over everything again. Buffy looks unsure, and the doctor stresses that if she can't handle it, that they can keep Joyce and make her more comfortable. During this, the creature skitters out from the mental ward, darting along the floor and then back up onto the wall. Buffy insists she's okay, and she's got this. Joyce randomly tells her that she looks like her father when he cries. And Buffy blinks, wounded, despite recognizes recognizing this as a flash of dementia. We focus on the creature, we see it stop moving, pivot its head towards Joyce, suddenly interested in her. The doctor turns to Joyce and gets her attention, telling her that they are done and her girls can take her home now. She thanks him and smiles at Buffy and Dawn. They leave. The creature continues to stare at Joyce, fixated, and as she exit with her daughters, it watches until they're um through the door and on their way.

SPEAKER_03 23:56

I don't know how nobody noticed this little creepy thing. Because I mean it seems a lot bigger later on in the episode. It does. Um at Buffy's foyer, Joyce comes in, supported by Buffy and Dawn. Buffy closes and locks the front door. Joyce rests with her arm around Dawn's shoulder as Buffy turns on the foyer light. Joyce starts to freak out about the light, saying it hurts, and then Buffy turns it off. Um she tells Dawn to turn the lights off while she takes Joyce upstairs. And Joyce has seen has like calmed down as they go up. In the clearing in the woods, there's a sound of the helicopter's blades slicing through the air and it hovers closer to the ground. Um Riley's standing there, bracing himself against the bright light. Um the chopper settles, and its blades still spinning. Three men dressed in black um field uniforms sleep on the ground. And Graham is there, armed with flashlights. They cross to Riley. There's another one named Major Ellis, the oldest and most impressive looking of the lot. And um he comes and gives a thumbs-up signal to the pilot. And as the helicopter lifts off, Ellis approaches Riley. He extends his hand, Riley shakes it, he tells Riley who he is, that he's in charge, and asks what the situation is. Um Riley starts to lead them to the scene, and Graham um comes up next to him and asks Riley why he called them and not his girlfriend. Riley shoots him a sideways glance, and as they come to the nightman's body or night watchman's body, Ellis kneels by it and reaches towards the guard's mouth. Riley suggests that they don't touch the stuff in the mouth, and he asks if it's toxic. Riley says, no, just messy. Riley produces a corked vial containing some of the strange jelly-like substance and tosses it to him, who shines his light on it, studying it. And Graham moves off to scope the area. He the theorizes that it's some kind of protein alkaloid. He mentions that whatever did this came out of the meteor and points to the giant crater. Graham and the other black ops are examining it as Riley and Ellis arrive. He tells Graham to set trackers for the protein signature, and Riley says it's what did I just hit? Why do I keep hitting buttons? I don't know how I created that. Uh so he suggests that since it came from space It came to me all of a sudden. Yeah. Um, that maybe it has traces of radiation, and they decide to break out the Geiger counters. Geiger? Jeeker? Geiger counters. I don't know. In Buffy's living room, the creature's on the ceiling, moving through the doorway into the living room. He creeps in the the room, it's dark, um, except for the TV. Buffy and Dawn sit on the couch watching a sitcom, and this the creature skitters across the ceiling without them noticing, and then it watches them before continuing. Joyce appears on the stairs, coming down in a robe, heading to the kitchen. We go back to Buffy and Dawn when there is a bang, and the girls jump up. Buffy calls for our mom. They go in the kitchen. We see Joyce looking into the fridge. The kitchen is like dirty, there's orange juice on the counter and a frying pan and smoking on the stove. Buffy asks what's happening, and Joyce spins around to face girls, and her face is like masked in a cold disdain, telling them that she is making breakfast. But she, Buffy, shouldn't eat anymore because she is fat with a pee.

SPEAKER_00 27:29

Um Buffy sure he she went with an F. Okay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 27:34

Um Buffy blinks, absorbing that, but recovers and approaches her slowly and touches her arm. Joyce looks at her, then at the mess around her, and she suddenly softens, appearing as bewildered as the girls. She tells Buffy she doesn't know what she is doing. Buffy assures her it's okay, and Dawn turns the stove off and moves the pan off the burner. Joyce starts to panic, apologizes, and says she doesn't know what's happening to her, and Buffy tells her that she needs to rest and they need to get her back to bed. Joyce nods, and Buffy takes Joyce's arm and leads her out, with Dawn following. They pass the basement door, which we see is now slightly ajar, and the basement light is on and it casts a strange shadow that stretches across the ceiling.

SPEAKER_01 28:19

So we're in Joyce's bedroom. It's dark. Joyce is on on the bed as Buffy hands her a glass of water and then twists open a bottle of uh prescription medicine and pours out two pills and hands them to her. She tells her that it will help her get to sleep. She swallows the pills with water and lies back, and um together Dawn and Buffy help uh tuck their mother into bed. Dawn sits on the edge of the bed stroking her hair, and Joyce turns to look at her and then out of the blue says, Don't touch me, you thing. Dawn draws back as if stung by a bee. Joyce yells at her to get away from her, that she is nothing, a shadow, and Dawn uh runs out of the room, upset to um to her own room. Joyce, suddenly incoherent, calls out for Dawn, asking what's wrong. Buffy gently tells Joyce that Buffy's that Dawn is tired and they all need some rest. She exits into Dawn's room and closes the door behind her. Um Dawn is uh sitting on the bed hugging her pillow when Buffy enters. Uh the pink lamp is uh on the side table's on, and Dawn is severe uh looking freaked out essentially, on the verge of tears. Buffy sits down next to her and tells um Dawn tells Buffy that Joyce hates her. Buffy assures her that she loves her, that she's just not herself, that it's a tumor. And Dawn says that it's not just mom who says that she's nothing, that people keep telling her. The man in the hospital and this weird guy from outside the magic shop. Buffy reassures her that that she's not nothing, that when people have things wrong with their brains, it makes them feel like nothing is real. Dawn then points out that even she said it. Um Dawn tells her that she was upset about mom and was tired. It was not about her. She then shouldn't listen to anyone who is saying she is nothing, including their mom. Dawn eyes her for a moment skeptically, and then uh with a resign um says, I hate it. Buffy hugs her and holds her tight. Um at the UC Sunnydale library, Willow is on the computer, uh typing away and concentrating. Uh we see Giles sitting beside uh behind her at a long table, looking through astronomy books, and Xander is looking at a model of a solar system that hangs from the ceiling. Um he then joins Giles at the table, picking up a slim book and paging through it. Giles mentions that the creature came from outer space, but demons approach our world in different ways. Tara and Anya approach the table, telling them they scoured the international periodicals for any other meteorites landing, but found nothing. Willow grabs your attention, finding something online. She says that the most reading recent meteoritic ah meteoric uh anomaly was the Tunguska blast in Russia, 1917. That the witnesses claim the meteor was hollow. There are more anomalies going back to the Queller impact in the 12th century. The name Queller gets standard to remember something he read in another book. He picks up the book and says that the primitive people used to believe that the moon was a cause of insanity, and that they would sometimes pray for the moon to send them a special meteor to fix the problem. The meteors were expected to quell the madmen. Tara points out that the man they found dead was a mental patient, and Willow types on the computer looking into the history and finds that in the Middle Ages there were these plagues of madness, people losing their minds everywhere, but then it would subside and the dates were pretty close to each other, each of the meteor events. Tara says the book made it sound like someone summoned the Queller. She asks, Who would have summoned it this time? Xander guesses Glory. Willow wants to contact Buffy now, but Giles disagrees, saying that they will call Riley instead.

SPEAKER_03 32:24

Riley interrupts, finishing her sentence, and Willow asks how he knew. We pull back to see Riley is in the mental ward with the black ops, and all of the mental patients are dead, and the weird ooze dripping from their mouth. He tells Willow about all the corpses. Willow is concerned that the demon was at the hospital, mentioning Joyce was there and acting wacky. Riley assures her that Joyce was released earlier and her and the girls are at home. She asks if the demon is still there, and Riley mentions he thinks they have it cornered in the air ducts. He um he tells them to keep researching and to call if they find anything out. And Willow agrees, but says they can come help, but doesn't get to finish when Riley hangs up. In Joyce's bedroom, she's laying there in the sheets, and she's twisting and turning and moating and muttering to herself. Her eyes are fixed on the ceiling, and she's muttering that something with eyes is staring at her, and she babbles louder and louder. In Dawn's room, she lies in bed hearing her mom, and she puts her pillar over her head, clutching it to her ears, blocking out the sound. In the kitchen, Buffy is cleaning up a mess, and she turns the radio on to some random Spanish station, and she's like scrubbing pans, and then she just starts crying, and it's sad, and she turns up the radio so no one will hear. Um, and then just she just lets it go with the tears. Poor girl. Um back in Joyce's bedroom, Joyce is starting to panic. The sheets are now snarled around her, and her babbling is much louder, and her eyes are wide with panic, still fixed on the ceiling directly above her. She continues moaning and muttering, and we see directly above her is the Queller demon. Um at the hospital, Riley and the Black Ops charge down the hallway, following the creature's invisible radiation trail along the ceilings, the walls, using the clicking Geiger counter. The radiation trail leads them to the hospital entrance, and Graham steps outside and uses the counter. He calls back to the others to tell them that the trail ends, that it must have hitched a ride in a car, probably underneath. When Riley hears this, he is worried, tells the general he knows where it went. And back in Joyce's bedroom, the creature lands on Joyce and the ooze dripping from its mouth like drool. Joyce is now hyperventilating and tears spilling from the corners corners of her eyes. She screams as loud as she can and screams and screams. In John's room, she hears this and she decides to get out of bed and goes to her mom's room. She gets there and sees the creature start to vomit, the goop all over Joyce's face. Dawn hesitates for a moment before grabbing a coat rack and charges at the uh creature. Um, Dawn jabs the coat rack and hits it squarely, knocking it off the bed. And Dawn looks to her mother, who's desperate desperately trying to pull the sticky bile off her face so she can breathe. The creature suddenly jumps back onto the bed and springs at Dawn. Dawn runs back into her room, racing out of the hall, and she gets to the stairs when the creature bounds from Joyce's bedroom and blocks her path. Dawn's only recourse is to head for the bathroom, which she does. Um and Dawn tries to shut the door, but the creature has gotten a claw in, and Dawn struggles to close it, throwing all of her weight against the door, but the creature doesn't uh relent. Dawn tries to call for help and she pushes at the door, trying to keep the creature at bay.

SPEAKER_01 35:57

So in the kitchen, at the same time, Buffy has cried herself out. She turns the water cold and splashes on her face. Um she tries to calm herself down, then she turns the faucet off, begins scrubbing the dishes with a new vigor, and um with dawn, she's able to race out of the bathroom, back into Joyce's room. She comes through the bathroom, slamming it shut. She pushes up um the nearby um ex exercycle, one of those exercise bicycle things, stays. Barricading the uh door. She runs around her brother's bed and slams the door beh um to the bedroom. She does quickly yell through the door in the hallway to Buffy before slamming it shut. Buffy hears immediately runs out of the kitchen and charges up the stairs. She goes to the Joyce's bedroom bedroom, opening it, asking what happened. Dawn says there's something there, that it's after mom. She tells him to stay there, and suddenly the creature drops on Buffy from above, knocking her back. She wrestles with it. They get to the edge of the staircase and then begin to tumble down, still fighting, entwined in each other's arms. Buffy and the creature become tumbling down. They land hard. Buffy loses her grips on the creature and it scrambles away quick as lightning. Um, she gets to her feet, pauses, and listens hard. Back in Joyce's room, Joyce and Dawn hold each other tight, terrified. Dawn grips an African sculpt uh sculpture, ready to use it as a weapon if necessary. Joyce, lucid for the f for a moment, tries the best to comfort her. In the dining room, Buffy enters, silent and coiled. Um she her eyes scan the room, darting from shadow to shadow. Um she enters the kitchen. She uh continues to scan the room um and pulls a carving knife from the knife block. She cocks her arm back ready. She walks towards the stove, her eyes missing nothing, and suddenly something springs out of the basement from behind her. She whirls around only to find Spike, who's holding something in one of his hands. Buffy glares at him. Spike caught tries to play it cool, as if she heard a noise. Buffy asks what he was doing there, and Spike says she caught him in her um she caught him. Her basement is full of junk and he needs junk. Buffy asks what he's steal uh asks if he's stealing, and he's like, Yeah, well, can't exactly work at Burger Barn, can I? At this point, Buffy isn't listening. Um, but then she does notice him slipping something in his jacket. They kind of look like kind of photos. When um she uh is asking um what they were, she's interrupted by the creature dropping on Spike, knocking him to the ground. Spike lets out a scream and he wiggles from under the creature, kicking it with his arms and legs. Buffy readdies her knife, um, waiting uh to get a clear shot of the creature. Before she gets her chance, one of Spike's thrashing legs uh kicks the knife out of her hand. It goes scittering across the kitchen floor. Without a weapon, Buffy has no choice but to tackle it. She and the creature tumble out of the kitchen and into the dining room. Meanwhile, Spike goes after the knife, grabs it, and follows Buffy. Buffy and the creature fight, um, crashing into dining room furniture, making a lot of mayhem. Spike tosses Buffy the carby knife, she catches it, and just as the creature pounces on her, she lies on her back and the creature uh with with the creature atop of her. She holds the knife with two hands, pointing the blade inward and thrusts it towards her own chest. The blade impales the creature, it stops moving. Buffy lies there, the creature heavy on her chest, goop oozing from his body. Spike extends his hand to Buffy, offering to help her up. She accepts and stands up, covered in filth, exhausted. There's some banging at the door before it's kicked in, and uh Riley and the black ops charge in, weapons drawn. Riley takes it all in. Spike, Buffy, and the um wrecked room with the dead creature on the floor. He asks if she's okay, and she doesn't answer, just rushes up the stairs to see her mom and sister. Spike looks at Riley and tells him he missed a really good time.

SPEAKER_03 40:10

In Joyce's room, Buffy goes in and runs to Joyce and Dawn. She climbs onto the bed with them, and the three embrace, holding each other tightly. She tells them that she killed the creature, and the three continue to rock and hold each other. In the hospital parking lot, Ben walks briskly across the shadowy parking lot. He looks a little messed up and with sweat on his forehead. As he walks, he reaches into his coat pocket and removes a prescription bottle, and he opens and pops a few pills. He approaches his car and fumbles in his pants pockets for the keys, looking to see if anyone's and then he looks over his shoulder to see if anyone's behind him. Um Ben finds his keys and hurriedly unlocks the car door. In his car, a voice asks what he thought he was doing, and Ben spins around, and there in the back seat is a molting creature in a hooded um garment. So I guess that's Dreg. I thought she had more.

SPEAKER_01 41:05

She does have more. I think we're just focusing on one, but you'll see more as you go.

SPEAKER_03 41:10

He asks what all this was meant to accomplish, and Ben stares at Dreg and tells him to get out. Before leaving, Dreg asks why he summoned the Queller demon, and Ben says he is cleaning up Glory's mess like he has done his whole life. With that, he pushes Dreg out onto the pavement and Yanks shut the passenger side door. He twists the key in the ignition and tears off into the night, entire screeching. In Joyce's hospital room the next morning, she's back in her hospital bed. Buffy sits at her side holding her mom's hand, and a nurse swabs Joyce's arm with alcohol and puts in a needle. Um Joyce winces, keeping her focus on Buffy. She asked her to tell her when she's acting crazy, and Buffy says she will. Joyce says everything is modeled together, but she has this knowledge, this truth that came to her. She then asked Buffy about Dawn. She's not mine, is she? And Buffy takes us in for a long minute and then says, No. Joyce takes a moment and then says, She does belong to us though, and Buffy confirms. Joyce continues, says Dawn is important and precious, like Buffy. Buffy nods, and Joyce says they need to take care of Dawn. She then makes Buffy promise to keep Dawn safe, especially if something happens to her. Buffy fights tears and promises, and Joyce seems to relax a bit. Um, she lays back and pulls her daughter to her and holds her tenderly. In the hospital corridor, Buffy, Dawn, Buffy and Dawn stand in the foreground holding hands, watching as Joyce is wheeled away towards the OR. Joyce smiles at them and they return her brave smile. Um, Riley, Xander, Anya, Willow, Tara, and Giles wait and watch. That's a lot of friends. So many. Yeah. And that was the end.

SPEAKER_01 43:00

Alright. I mean, it's not one of my rewatch episodes, but it's not bad.

SPEAKER_03 43:05

It's not my favorite.

SPEAKER_01 43:07

No, it's a lot of sad joys and the creature's weird. Yeah. And I honestly think that everyone's a preferred little vision when they're like is gone because how even just from like if you're not like staring at the ceiling, how from like the corner of your eyes do you not see this big black thing like because I mean when it's fighting Buffy's the same size as Buffy. So it's like it's a pretty big thing.

SPEAKER_03 43:30

It's not like a small little pretty, it's like a cockroach.

SPEAKER_01 43:32

And it's all black, so on a white ceiling or something like that, it should be very noticeable. Yeah. It's not like it's like blends in with anything.

SPEAKER_03 43:42

No, unless they have really big cockroaches and sunny day. No, that's what it was.

SPEAKER_01 43:47

What do you think what was scurrying past you in the ceiling was? Because you have to at least see it in your proverbial vision.

SPEAKER_03 43:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 43:54

Um, I would at least like glance. You know, my first instinct would be to look if I saw something like that. That um so that everyone's blind. I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 44:06

But yeah, it was it the cheese factor, I would give it a five because it does have a lot of serious like moments. But the the only reason why it's cheesy is because of that monster, honestly.

SPEAKER_01 44:19

Yeah, I could have given it a four or five. Um, it's like kind of heavy in the tonal department, but yeah, the creature's kind of silly.

SPEAKER_02 44:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 44:28

Um and creepy at the same time. Um so yeah, I mean it does push the story forward. Um obviously now we know that Ben has is more involved with Glory than we ever knew before, that he is you know, not just a random intern.

SPEAKER_03 44:49

Yeah. And Joyce now knows Dawn isn't actually hers.

SPEAKER_01 44:54

Yes. I honestly so there is a theory going around that Joyce's tumor is because of them bringing Dawn into existence that when they mess with everyone's mind, it gave her a tumor. Maybe. And it's a it's a good theory. Obviously, nothing's proven and nothing's ever been said in the show. It's just something that's been going around for a while.

SPEAKER_03 45:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 45:16

That you know, she probably wouldn't have gotten that tumor if they didn't bring Dawn in.

SPEAKER_03 45:21

It is very possible.

SPEAKER_01 45:23

So but I also know the actress had been money to leave the show for a while. Uh like I think she talked about it in season three leaving. So the fact that she lasted till season five.

SPEAKER_03 45:33

Yeah, but she's barely like even in the show.

SPEAKER_01 45:35

No, I know. I think it's probably why she was okay with staying as long as she did, probably. I think if she had a more of a active role in every episode, she probably left sooner. I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 45:47

So um, alright. Well, that's all I have for that one. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 45:54

So yeah, that was that was it. Alright. Next couple episodes are gonna be just uh I I like triangle. I enjoyed that one. I'll have to see. Next one episode. The next episode of the one after this one, I can't remember. That was okay.

SPEAKER_03 46:12

Oh yeah. Well, I guess I'll watch it and I won't remember it, but I'll watch it and see. So, alright. Well, until next time. Alright, bye.