Gingerbread
Gingerbread
Season 3, Episode 11 (Episode 45 of entire series)
Once upon a time? This episode marks the introduction of Willow's mom, and the return of Amy Madison. Also it's the first time Cordy has aided the gang since Lovers Walk. Basically, the ep. connects the "I gotta be me" thing with the parental interest and/or disapproval thing. And oh yeah..the Nazi Germany bookburning thing came up. Now that was wiggy.
Show opens with Buffy on patrol..she's surprised by her mom, who's come to check out her daughter's slaying activities. Buffy's distracted, but it's Joyce who gets a big shock when she spies two dead kids, a boy and a girl, on the little merry-go-round thingie. Yeesh. Why is that apparatus always gruesome in this show? Never mind, I know why. Innocence, death, yada yada.
Anyhoo, Joyce is way wigged and Buffy tells her that she'll find out what did it and take care of it. Unfortunately, Giles tells her that it looks like a cult may have done it. The symbol on the kids' hands clued him in. Anyhoo..more shockage for Buffy when her mom shows up at school. Joyce tells Buffy that she's not going to let the evil go unpunished...she's called the Mayor for a town meeting. Yikes!
Buffy and Willow go to the meeting, and they run into Willow's mom (yeah you know she's just goin' by Sheila now). Okay, I'd just like to say that Will's mom is SO not what I expected. Okay so I do partly mean the hair color, but I also mean..lack of interest in Will's life. I mean, sheesh...didn't notice Willow's haircut? All I can say is that I hope Ira (her dad) isn't like that!
Anyhoo, Sheila keeps calling Buffy Bunny, and tells Giles and Joyce that she's heard rumors...that witches are responsible for the latest heinous acts.
Basically the meeting is like a Sunday-come-to-Jesus meeting. No, I'm not sure what that means exactly but I heard it somewhere and felt inclined to use it. Joyce tells the crowd that she's not going to be silent about this, and she wants to know how many others join her in feeling outraged about the whole Sunnydale-is-overrun-with-monsters-and-witches-and-slayers thing. Nice yammering, Joyce.
It just gets freakier from here on in. Joyce starts MOO (mothers opposed to the occult), there's a locker search at school, and anyone having witchy-materials has to see Snyder, and then there's your basic book-banning. YOW. That was freaksome.
Buffy learns from Willow that the symbol on the kids' hands was a harmless symbol, so Buffy and Giles are back to square boned.
Basically what happens is..Will's mom freaks out and grounds her, Buffy and the gang communicate with Willow via computer. They do some digging about the kids, who were as yet unidentified, and start finding a bunch of stories dating back to the 1600s. The two kids were always found dead, and it always incited a righteous mob to do away with the supposed killers.
Willow, Amy, and Buffy get dragged to City Hall and are tied to stakes, surrounded by burning books. Giles is on Buffy's floor, unconscious, until Cordy slaps him to come to. Xander and Oz go looking for Willow and end up at City Hall. Everyone's at City Hall. Well it is an election year for some, after all...
Anyhoo, Joyce sets the books/stakes aflame, and Amy turns herself into a rodent to escape. Giles has Cordy make up the "veil" potion which will unveil the mob's eyes so they can see the evil that really is, 'cause up to now, Joyce has been seeing the two dead kids speak to her..telling her to kill the bad girls.
Yada yada yada...see below for what got rid of the evil. What I wonder is...is Amy gonna be back? At the end of the 'sode, Buffy and Willow weren't successful in reversing her spell...Wow. I kept this short and I didn't even try. Maybe I will add more later....Nah.
1. Cordelia hosed down the fires that were burning Buffy & Willow at the stake. (also saving the books!)
2. Giles threw down a mixture and recited an incantation in order to "unveil the evil" to the "righteous mob."
3. Buffy bent over and snapped the stake she was tied to -- it pierced the big honkin' evil and killed it.
1. Willow's mom isn't very much aware of what Will's up to. Hm. This explains those library all-nighters a little better.
2. Cordy uses imported hairspray.
3. Angel's still dealing with his personal stuff, but he reminds Buffy that they gotta keep fighting. Gee. He was quite the supportive guy.
4. Willow's mom didn't know she was dating Oz..but if she really didn't keep close tabs on Willow..what's up with the "no boys in her room" rule we heard about in Lie to Me?
5. Giles has come a long way on the computer...wonder if Jenny Calendar had something to do with this.
6. Joyce and Giles are still reeling from their liaison in Band Candy.
7. That when Joyce is possessed, she's downright scary. First with that axe in Bad Eggs, and now she chloroforms her own daughter and burns her at the stake. Jeepers.
8. Xander keeps a Playboy stash in his locker.
9. Xander's in guilt-overdrive about the Willow thing.
10. That Eyghon was one revered monster prototype...check out this week's big honkin' evil for similarities.
11. Apparently, students' rights don't mean that much to Principal Snyder. Oh wait. We learned that a long time ago.
Buffy: "It was uh..Mrs Plum. In the library, with a ratchet. I really don't know what else I can tell you....The dead children? No, they didn't speak. Okay, well, enjoy your doughnuts." -- at the playground, to the cops.
1. Sunnydale High School
2. The park
3. Buffy's house
4. Willow's house
5. City Hall
6. Amy's place (possibly. wherever the 3 witches did their stuff)
1. Buffy
2. Willow
3. Xander
4. Giles
5. Cordelia
6. Angel
7. Oz
8. Joyce Summers
9. Amy Madison
10. Richard Wilkins III (The Mayor)
11. Sheila Rosenberg
12. Michael
13. "The Big Honkin' Evil" (kids, etc.) Yeah, I'll post the name later..
14. Principal Snyder
15. Mr. Sanderson (Banker Vamp Guy)
16. Random Jerk Kid
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