After Life (Buffy episode)
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"After Life" is the third episode of season 6 of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. See also List of Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes.
Plot synopsis
Summary
Dawn takes the newly-resurrected (and extremely confused) Buffy home, before being joined by Willow, Xander, Anya, Tara and Spike. While the Scoobies are thrilled to see that Buffy is alive and well, a horrified Spike warns that the resurrection spell could have serious consequences.
Spike's assessment proves to be correct as members of the gang are possessed by an unseen force, which may have "hitched a ride" during Buffy's return to the land of the living. Luckily, Willow and Tara find a way to give the demon solid form so that Buffy is able to fight and kill it.
After speaking with Dawn, Buffy realises that her friends want her to be happy and thanks them for performing the resurrection spell, confirming their assumption that Buffy has spent time in a hell dimension. However, once alone with Spike, she informs him that she was in heaven; "I was torn out of there by my friends. They can never know."
Expanded overview
The Scooby Gang rush to find Buffy and figure she is at her house. The bikers are on the run now that Razor has been destroyed. At the house, Buffy is confused and acting weird as she surveys they changed scenery of her house and is told by Dawn that Giles has left. Spike arrives, angry and looking for Dawn, then when realizing the real Buffy is back he softens and helps clean up her wounded hands. They talk about how long she's been gone, then as the Scooby Gang arrives and focuses on the Slayer, Spike slips out.
Unable to stand all the concern, Buffy goes upstairs while Xander and Anya leave for food. Outside, the two find a hurt Spike who's mad that he wasn't told despite helping the gang all summer. He realises that his closeness with Buffy would make him an obstacle in the case that Buffy returned as something that would have to be destroyed. He warns Xander of the consequences they'll have to face because they always exist with magic.
After notifying Giles of Buffy's return, Willow and Tara go to bed and talk about the spell and changes in Buffy. In her room, Buffy looks at the pictures surrounding her and they briefly turn to pictures of skulls. Willow and Tara receive a visit from Buffy in their room as she yells at them and hints at what Willow did to the baby deer. When the girls get up to investigate, Buffy's asleep in her room and neither know the source of the incident. A moving lump appears in the ceiling and motivates Willow to call Xander. In the background while Xander talks, Anya enters the room with a knife and smokey eyes, slitting her cheek before collapsing as the lump travels across the floor.
The gang gather the next day for brainstorming, but no one is sure what this thing is and Buffy is still very closed off. At the Magic Box, Buffy still seems out of place and leaves for patrol...alone. With Buffy gone, the demon has taken over Dawn who shouts at her friends and breathes fire before collapsing. Buffy finds Spike at his crypt and the two talk, rather awkwardly at first. Spike opens up to her, expressing his guilt for not saving her or Dawn. He explains that every night afterwards, he thought up better ways to rescue her and he wishes so much to have been able to do it for real.
Led on by Spike's hinting that Willow knew her spell might do something bad, Xander questions whether either of the witches knew the dangers but is quickly quieted. Willow reveals that this creature was created by the spell but the demon is formless without possessing a body and it is tied to Buffy. If it is killed, the spell is canceled. After Dawn freaks out about that particular concept--of losing Buffy *again*--Willow discovers that it is only temporary and the demon can only survive if Buffy is killed. The demon, which had been housed in Xander's body while Willow shared information, heads for the Slayer.
Buffy is attacked by the formless demon which she can't hurt, but she can be hurt by it. Willow and Tara cast a spell to make the demon solid. Buffy kills the demon with an ax. Normality is somewhat resumed as Dawn heads to school the next day and Buffy sees her off. Buffy visits her friends at the shop and confesses to them that she was in Hell and she appreciates that they brought her back.
Later, out at the back of the shop, Buffy goes to be alone and finds Spike hiding in a patch of shade. He tries to talk to her and offers to help her if there is any way he can. She admits to him that although she wasn't sure, she wasn't in Hell...she thinks she was in Heaven and her friends took her away from that. Spike gapes as she tells him the reality she's a part of now is her Hell, and stresses that her friends can never know the truth.
Writing and acting
Cast
- Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris
- Emma Caulfield as Anya Jenkins
- Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers
- Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg
- James Marsters as Spike
- Michelle Trachtenberg as Dawn Summers
Production details
Quotes and trivia
- Anya:"Well, yeah. The jet-lag from hell has gotta be, you know, jet-lag from hell."
- In the scene after Buffy leaves to patrol alone, it is hinted that she was in Heaven when she passes by the statue of an angel and it is positioned to appear as though its wings are hers.
Continuity
Arc significance
This is not the only unseen force to "hitch a ride" with Buffy. In season 7 it is revealed that the resurrection spell is the key to the The First Evil being able to attempt an Apocolypse, which will put the entire world in danger and become Buffy's ultimate foe in Season 7.In this episode, Buffy reveals that her friends' decision to perform the resurrection spell has resulted in her being torn out of heaven. This makes the Slayer feel isolated, alone and depressed throughout most of Season 6.
Willow calls Giles to tell him that Buffy is alive, which results in his return to Sunnydale in the next episode.
Buffy is able to tell only Spike the truth about where she has really been. The pair grow closer in this season, leading to their secret love affair in episodes to come.
Spike tells Buffy that she's been dead for 147 days; that works out to be 4 months and 25 days, though according to Buffy it felt like much longer. If we use May 22, 2001 as her date of death, that would make Oct 16-17, 2001 the date of her resurrection by the Scoobies. Spike doesn't actually count the day she was brought back to life as that would make it 148 days instead.
Timing
- Stories that take place around the same time in the Buffyverse:
| Location, time (if known) | Buffyverse chronology: Fall 2001 - December 2001 (non-canon = italic) |
|---|---|
| L.A., 2001 | Buffy/Angel novel: Cursed (Buffy/Angel novel)>Cursed |
| L.A., 2001 | A3.01 Heartthrob (Angel episode)>Heartthrob |
| Sunnydale, 2001 | Buffy UPN promos: Buffy Season 6 UPN promos>Scooby Gang talk about Buffy |
| Sunnydale, 2001 | B6.01 Bargaining, Part One (Buffy episode)>Bargaining, I |
| Sunnydale, 2001 | B6.02 Bargaining, Part Two (Buffy episode)>Bargaining, II |
| L.A., 2001 | A3.02 That Vision Thing (Angel episode)>That Vision Thing |
| Sunnydale, 2001 | B6.03 After Life (Buffy episode)>After Life |
| L.A., 2001 | Angel book: Sanctuary (Angel novel)>Sanctuary |
| L.A., 2001 | A3.03 That Old Gang of Mine (Angel episode)>That Old Gang of Mine |
| Sunnydale, 2001 | B6.04 Flooded (Buffy episode)>Flooded |
| L.A., 2001 | A3.04 Carpe Noctem (Angel episode)>Carpe Noctem |
| Sunnydale, 2001 | Buffy comic: Reunion (Buffy comic)>Reunion |
| Sunnydale, 2001 | B6.05 Life Serial (Buffy episode)>Life Serial |
| L.A., 2001 | A3.05 Fredless (Angel episode)>Fredless |
| Sunnydale, 2001 | Buffy graphic novel |
| Sunnydale, 2001 | Buffy book: Blood and Fog (Buffy novel)>Blood and Fog |
| Sunnydale, 2001 | B6.06 All the Way (Buffy episode)>All the Way |
| Sunnydale, 2001 | Buffy graphic novel: Note from the Underground (Buffy comic)>Note from the Underground |
| L.A., 2001 | A3.06 Billy (Angel episode)>Billy |
| L.A., 2001 | Angel anthology book:The Longest Night (Angel novel)>The Longest Night |
| Sunnydale, L.A., Monster Island, 2001 | Buffy/Angel novel: Monster Island (Buffy/Angel novel)>Monster Island |
| L.A., 2001 | Angel book: Endangered Species (Angel novel)>Endangered Species |
| L.A., 2001 | Angel book: Impressions (Angel novel)>Impressions |
| Sunnydale, 2001 | B6.07 Once More, with Feeling (Buffy episode)>Once More, with Feeling |
| L.A., 2001 | A3.07 Offspring (Angel episode)>Offspring |
| Sunnydale, 2001 | B6.08 Tabula Rasa (Buffy episode)>Tabula Rasa |
| L.A., 2001 | A3.08 Quickening (Angel episode)>Quickening |
| Sunnydale, 2001 | B6.09 Smashed (Buffy episode)>Smashed |
| L.A., 2001 | A3.09 Lullaby (Angel episode)>Lullaby |
| Sunnydale, 2001 | B6.10 Wrecked (Buffy episode)>Wrecked |
| L.A., 2001 | A3.10 Dad (Angel episode)>Dad |
| Sunnydale, 2001 | B6.11 Gone (Buffy episode)>Gone |
| L.A., 2001 | A3.11 Birthday (Angel episode)>Birthday |
| Sunnydale, 2001 | Buffy graphic novel: Creatures of Habit (Buffy comic)>Creatures of Habit |
| Sunnydale, 2001 | Buffy graphic novel: |
| Sunnydale, 2001 | B6.12 Doublemeat Palace (Buffy episode)>Doublemeat Palace |
| L.A., 2001 | A3.12 Provider (Angel episode)>Provider |
External links
| Buffyverse | ||
| Main | Canon | Index Chronology: Ancient | Modern | BS1 | BS2 | BS3 | BS4/AS1 | BS5/AS2 | BS6/AS3 | BS7/AS4 | AS5 | Future | Flashbacks | |
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| People | Adam | Amy | Andrew | Angel | Anya | Buffy | Caleb | Connor | Cordelia | Dawn | Darla | Doyle | Dru | Eve | Faith | Fred | Giles | Glory | Gunn | Harmony | Holtz | Illyria | Jasmine | Jenny | Joyce | Jonathan | Kate | Kennedy | Lilah | Lindsey | Lorne | The Master | Mayor Wilkins | Oz | Professor Walsh | Riley | Spike | Tara | Warren | Wesley | Willow | Xander | |
| Places | L.A. | Sunnydale Bronze | Caritas | Hellmouth | Hyperion | Library | Magic Box | Pylea | Sunnydale High | |
| Music | Complete Tracklist | Use of Music in Buffy & Angel | Dingoes Ate My Baby | Film | | | Once More, With Feeling | |
| Key Terminology | "Demon" | "Slayer" | "Vampire" | "Watcher" | "Werewolf" | "Witch" "Child of Senior Partners" | Shanshu | Sunnydale Syndrome | Tro-Clon | |
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