Beneath You

Infobox Television episode
Title=Beneath You


Series=Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Season=7
Episode=2
Airdate=1 October 2002
Production=7ABB02
Writer=Douglas Petrie
Director=Nick Marck
Guests=Anthony Stewart Head
(Giles)
Kaarina Aufranc
(Nancy)
D.B. Woodside
(Principal Wood)
Episode list=List of Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes
Prev=Lessons
Next=Same Time, Same Place

""Beneath You" is the second episode of the seventh and final season of the television show "Buffy the Vampire Slayer".

Plot synopsis

ummary

The Scoobies find that Anya has cursed a woman's ex-boyfriend to be a worm-demon. Anya is forced to turn the boyfriend back, and Buffy finds that Spike got his soul back.

Expanded overview

Frankfurt, Germany: A young, terrified-looking punk girl races frantically down the deserted corridors above a bustling nightclub. She was clearly easy for her attackers to find, with her hot pink hair and black bangs, nose ring and metal collar. She jumps down to the next level. Two of many hooded figures pursue after her. They look suspiciously like the robed men from the previous episode. She dashes through an exterior door, proceeding to scale down the building. Finally, she appears to be safe, back outside with some of the other club patrons. But suddenly, more of her robed pursuers appear, push her back inside and shut the door, sealing her off from the safety of the crowd. She fights back, but there are too many. Then, one of the robed figures pulls a long curved dagger. She blocks his swing. But she misses the other one. She cries out in pain as her life slowly slips away. The assassins re-sheath their daggers and depart. She appears to be dead, but opens through vacant, deadened eyes and says in a deep, inhuman voice, "From beneath you, it devours."

Dawn awakens Buffy from her nightmare where she saw the German girl's murder and Buffy questions the meaning of her dream. Elsewhere in Sunnydale, something large tears through the ground. Spike sneaks around in the school basement he calls home, seemingly headed for a rat while he speaks aloud. Everything around him begins to shake and he falls to the ground, screaming. Xander drives Buffy and Dawn to school and they talk about high school and Xander's relationship problems.

Principal Wood introduces Buffy to her new job and cubicle where she'll be working. Buffy sneaks down to the basement in search of Spike, but doesn't find him. In England, Willow struggles with the need to return to Sunnydale where she'll be forced to face her friends and the trouble she caused. A taxi awaits her as Giles listens to her verbalize her fears and he convinces her that even if her friends don't want her back, her presence on the Hellmouth will be important. Back in Sunnydale, a woman walks her small dog along the sidewalk, but while her back is turned, something sucks the dog through the pavement and into the ground. She runs away and right into Xander, who takes her to the safety of Buffy's house.

The remaining Scooby Gang console the woman, Nancy, and promise to deal with this unusual creature. Much to everyone's surprise, a cleaned up version of Spike joins them in the living room and offers his assistance in the battle. Spike wants to talk with Buffy, but Dawn and Xander are not happy to see him or with the fact that Buffy didn't inform them that she saw Spike earlier. Buffy goes to talk with Spike privately and he offers to help deal with this underground monster. Buffy eventually agrees to let him help, then explains the game plan to the rest of the group. As Spike leaves with Buffy for patrol, Dawn leaves him with a parting threat that if he ever again harms or touches Buffy, Dawn will set him on fire the next time he goes to sleep. Spike is somewhat unnerved by this which is surprising since Spike is not usually the type who gets easily afraid.

While examining the scene where the dog was eaten, Spike explains that the manifest spirits from the school were the cause of his craziness. Buffy is uncomfortable around him in wake of his attempted rape and he doesn't bother apologizing for what he did, just admits to changing. Meanwhile, Xander takes Nancy home and she asks if they can go out sometime. The ground rumbles and a giant worm chases them down a hallway and emerges from the ground with a roar. Once the worm goes away and the two are safe, Nancy starts to talk about her abusive ex-boyfriend and Xander quickly concludes that she made a wish to a vengeance demon.

Buffy and the gang confront Anya at the Bronze and get her to admit to making Nancy's ex-boyfriend Ronnie into a Sluggoth monster. Anya suddenly realizes that Spike has a soul, but Spike tries to stop her from spilling the news to the rest of the group. He starts to attack Anya and she turns on him, with her vengeance demon powers of strength. Buffy steps in and beats up on Spike while he instead hits her back with a verbal assault taunting her about trying to rape her. The fight sends Nancy on the run alone, but her wormy ex-boyfriend is hot on her trail. Meanwhile, Xander tries to convince Anya to reverse the curse on Ronnie, but it's not something she can do easily.

Buffy arrives in time to rescue Nancy from certain death and before Buffy can begin to battle with the giant worm, Spike intervenes. After a few hits with a metal pole, he goes to stab the worm only to have it turn back into Ronnie's human form before Spike makes contact. Both guys scream in pain as Spike stabs Ronnie in the shoulder. Spike starts to freak out and act crazy again while Buffy calls the paramedics to help Ronnie. Anya and Xander arrive on the scene and Anya knows she will pay a steep price for reversing the spell.

Buffy chases after Spike and finds him in a church. He's confused and speaks metaphors of what he really is to Buffy. One really important line he says is that "he tried wearing a costume", his blue tight shirt. He tried to act like his usual mean, heartless, badass self but now with a soul he cannot anymore. He concludes that she's there to use him like she did before, but Buffy is quick to correct him. He unbuckles his belt telling her that its time to service her. She chokes him and she then throws him across the room. He tries to explain what he did to get the missing piece that would allow him to become what she wanted. Buffy realizes that he got his soul back and is completely shocked by the revelation. Spike continues to speak of all the voices that are in his head, those from his past and new ones alike. Spike turns to a large cross at the front of the church and drapes himself onto it, letting it burn him. Tears flow down Buffy's cheeks as she looks on.

Acting

Starring

* Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers
* Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris
* Michelle Trachtenberg as Dawn Summers
* Emma Caulfield as Anya Jenkins
* James Marsters as Spike
* Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg

pecial guest star

*Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles

Guest starring

*D.B. Woodside as Robin Wood
*Kaarina Aufranc as Nancy

Co-starring

*Tess Hall as Punk Girl
*Benita Krista Nall as Young Woman
*Jack Sundmacher as Ronnie

Production details

Music

*Gus Gus - "David"
*Joey Ramone - "Stop Thinking About It"
*Stillste Stund - "Von der Tiefe (inoff. Remix)"
*The Von Bondies - "It Came From Japan"

Translations

*Spanish title: "Bajo Usted" ("Under You")
*French title: "Démons intérieurs" ("Inner Demons")
*German title: „Das Monster aus der Tiefe“ ("The monster from the deep")
*Italian title: "In profondità" ("In Deep")
*Dutch title: "Onder U" ("Under You")
*Norwegian title: "Under De" ("Beneath You")
*Russian title: "Ниже Вас" ("Below you")

Trivia

*The lyrics of the techno music that plays in the opening sequence are sung by Birgit Strunz of the German darkwave band, Stillste Stund. They are: "Von der Tiefe verschlingt es." That is the rough translation of the phrase: "From the depth it devours." The exact translation would be: "Aus der Tiefe verschlingt es."

*The pink-haired girl who runs in the opening scene bears a resemblance to Lola in the German film "Lola rennt"--who, as the title would suggest, runs.

*Buffy asks Principal Wood if she can issue detention, this is the same as when Willow, in the Season Two episode "Passion", asks Jenny Calender if she can issue detention while looking after the class.

Continuity

Arc significance

*Buffy learns Spike has a soul which will play a major part in the show's series finale.

* The phrase "From beneath you, it devours" is heard for the first time. It will recur throughout Season 7.

* Buffy dreams about the Potential being killed, and mentions that there are more like her out there. This is the first hint anyone in Sunnydale has about the larger mission of the First against the Potentials.

* Anya's friction with the rest of the demon world is made known to the rest of the group.

Timing

*Stories that take place around the same time in the Buffyverse:

External links

*
*