Blood Ties (Buffy episode)
Encyclopedia
"Blood Ties" is episode 13 of season 5 of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
's birthday and dealing with Glory
. Giles
reveals that Glory is the god of a demon dimension and in order to stay in human form, she needs to suck energy from humans, leaving them insane. The gang starts asking questions about the Key, and Buffy and Giles finally decide to tell them the truth about Dawn. Several of the Knights of Byzantium chant around a fire before they are interrupted by Jinx. Glory arrives and destroys all of the knights but one whom she later tortures for information.
At the magic shop, Dawn feels awkward because of the way everyone is treating her and notices when Giles hides a book in a hidden counter drawer. Buffy opens presents from her friends and everyone gets quiet when she receives a framed picture of herself and Dawn (from a vacation which is, like most of Dawn's life, a false memory) from her sister. Dawn finally gets upset and confronts everyone about their strange behavior around her, then storms to her room. After sneaking out of the house, Dawn runs into Spike
, who was keeping his nightly watch outside Buffy's house. After a brief conversation, Dawn tells Spike that she is on her way to the Magic Shop to steal a book. Spike notes the myriad dangers of roaming around alone at night, and then he accepts Dawn's offer to let him tag along. With Spike's assistance, Dawn breaks into the shop and finds the Book that she had seen Giles hide earlier. By candlelight, Dawn and Spike read about the truth of Dawn and the Key. Oddly, Spike treats this revelation with total equanimity; Dawn's reaction, of course, is far more vivid.
Dawn returns to the house, bleeding from a self-inflicted knife wound, tearfully questioning what she is. Joyce
and Buffy try to talk to Dawn, but everything has changed for her and she's scared, so she demands that they leave her alone. Buffy initially blames Spike for letting Dawn find out the truth the way she did. He turns the tables on her and blames her for not telling Dawn the truth in the first place. He also notes that Dawn was going with or without him, and that he only went along to protect her from harm, thinking that she would be safer with "Big Bad" looking over her shoulder. Buffy reflects on what he says. Jinx threatens Ben at the hospital, but Ben reveals that Glory can't hurt him, no matter what he does.
After overhearing Buffy and Joyce talking, Dawn rampages through her room, burns her diaries and runs away. The smoke alarm alerts Buffy and her mom to Dawn's little fire and departure. The whole gang gathers at the shop then split up to search for Dawn. Xander
is a little bit excited that a form of energy like Dawn could have a crush on him. Spike does what he can to comfort Buffy and tells her that they will find her sister before it's too late, and Buffy admits that Spike had been right about Dawn; Buffy should have been honest with her in the first place. Dawn passes through the park, reliving past memories only to be reminded of their falseness, then ends up at the hospital.
She searches for answers in the Psych ward, trying to persuade the mental patients to tell them what they see when they look at her, then runs into Ben. She confesses to Ben that she's the Key and he freaks out trying to make her leave before Glory can find her, but it's too late. Ben suddenly changes into Glory, but Glory remembers nothing about Ben's conversation with Dawn and the young girl pretends to know nothing. Dawn asks questions about the Key and Glory reveals that the Key is very old then realizes Dawn knows nothing and is wasting her time. Dawn doesn't seem to remember exactly how Glory got into the room.
Buffy shows up to stop Glory from draining the energy from Dawn. With some help from the rest of the gang, Buffy gets in a few good hits and takes a few as well before Willow
and Tara
perform a spell to teleport Glory somewhere else. Glory ends up high in the sky and falls straight to earth. Buffy shows Dawn that no matter what, they are sisters that are bound by blood.
Plot synopsis
The gang discusses plans for BuffyBuffy Summers
Buffy Summers is a fictional character from Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchise. She first appeared in the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer before going on to appear in the television series and subsequent comic book of the same name...
's birthday and dealing with Glory
Glorificus
Glory is a fictional character in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Also known as "Glorificus," "That Which Cannot Be Named," "The Abomination," and "The Beast," she appeared during the fifth season of the program and was portrayed by Clare Kramer.-History:Glorificus is a god from a...
. Giles
Rupert Giles
Rupert Giles is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The character is portrayed by Anthony Stewart Head. He serves as Buffy Summers' mentor and surrogate father figure...
reveals that Glory is the god of a demon dimension and in order to stay in human form, she needs to suck energy from humans, leaving them insane. The gang starts asking questions about the Key, and Buffy and Giles finally decide to tell them the truth about Dawn. Several of the Knights of Byzantium chant around a fire before they are interrupted by Jinx. Glory arrives and destroys all of the knights but one whom she later tortures for information.
At the magic shop, Dawn feels awkward because of the way everyone is treating her and notices when Giles hides a book in a hidden counter drawer. Buffy opens presents from her friends and everyone gets quiet when she receives a framed picture of herself and Dawn (from a vacation which is, like most of Dawn's life, a false memory) from her sister. Dawn finally gets upset and confronts everyone about their strange behavior around her, then storms to her room. After sneaking out of the house, Dawn runs into Spike
Spike (Buffyverse)
Spike, played by James Marsters, is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Spike is a vampire and played various roles on the shows, ranging from villain to anti-hero. For Marsters, the role as Spike began a career in science...
, who was keeping his nightly watch outside Buffy's house. After a brief conversation, Dawn tells Spike that she is on her way to the Magic Shop to steal a book. Spike notes the myriad dangers of roaming around alone at night, and then he accepts Dawn's offer to let him tag along. With Spike's assistance, Dawn breaks into the shop and finds the Book that she had seen Giles hide earlier. By candlelight, Dawn and Spike read about the truth of Dawn and the Key. Oddly, Spike treats this revelation with total equanimity; Dawn's reaction, of course, is far more vivid.
Dawn returns to the house, bleeding from a self-inflicted knife wound, tearfully questioning what she is. Joyce
Joyce Summers
Joyce Summers is a fictional character in the fantasy television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer . Played by Kristine Sutherland, Joyce is the mother of the main character, Buffy Summers . Joyce appears regularly from the first episode until the character's death in the fifth season episode "The...
and Buffy try to talk to Dawn, but everything has changed for her and she's scared, so she demands that they leave her alone. Buffy initially blames Spike for letting Dawn find out the truth the way she did. He turns the tables on her and blames her for not telling Dawn the truth in the first place. He also notes that Dawn was going with or without him, and that he only went along to protect her from harm, thinking that she would be safer with "Big Bad" looking over her shoulder. Buffy reflects on what he says. Jinx threatens Ben at the hospital, but Ben reveals that Glory can't hurt him, no matter what he does.
After overhearing Buffy and Joyce talking, Dawn rampages through her room, burns her diaries and runs away. The smoke alarm alerts Buffy and her mom to Dawn's little fire and departure. The whole gang gathers at the shop then split up to search for Dawn. Xander
Xander Harris
Alexander LaVelle "Xander" Harris is a fictional character in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as well as in numerous items in the series Expanded Universe, such as comic books, tie-in novels and video games...
is a little bit excited that a form of energy like Dawn could have a crush on him. Spike does what he can to comfort Buffy and tells her that they will find her sister before it's too late, and Buffy admits that Spike had been right about Dawn; Buffy should have been honest with her in the first place. Dawn passes through the park, reliving past memories only to be reminded of their falseness, then ends up at the hospital.
She searches for answers in the Psych ward, trying to persuade the mental patients to tell them what they see when they look at her, then runs into Ben. She confesses to Ben that she's the Key and he freaks out trying to make her leave before Glory can find her, but it's too late. Ben suddenly changes into Glory, but Glory remembers nothing about Ben's conversation with Dawn and the young girl pretends to know nothing. Dawn asks questions about the Key and Glory reveals that the Key is very old then realizes Dawn knows nothing and is wasting her time. Dawn doesn't seem to remember exactly how Glory got into the room.
Buffy shows up to stop Glory from draining the energy from Dawn. With some help from the rest of the gang, Buffy gets in a few good hits and takes a few as well before Willow
Willow Rosenberg
Willow Rosenberg is a fictional character created for the fantasy television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer . She was developed by Joss Whedon and portrayed throughout the TV series by Alyson Hannigan...
and Tara
Tara Maclay
Tara Maclay is a fictional character created for the fantasy television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer . She was developed by Joss Whedon and portrayed by Amber Benson from the fourth to the sixth season until the character's death. Tara is a shy young woman with magical talents who falls in love...
perform a spell to teleport Glory somewhere else. Glory ends up high in the sky and falls straight to earth. Buffy shows Dawn that no matter what, they are sisters that are bound by blood.
Arc significance
- The 12th, 13th or 14th episode of each season is traditionally when Buffy celebrates her birthday; her birthday takes place in episode 13 of Season Two ("Surprise"), episode 12 of Season Three ("Helpless"), episode 12 of Season Four ("A New Man") and episode 14 of Season Six ("Older and Far Away"). Buffy's birthday is not shown celebrated in Season One (it presumably occurred before the beginning of the half-long season) or in Season Seven.
- The rest of the Scooby Gang, as well as Dawn herself, learn that Dawn is the Key.
- Buffy stresses to Dawn that their blood is the same, that they share "Summers blood." This becomes crucial in the season finaleThe Gift (Buffy episode)"The Gift" is the fifth season finale, and the 100th episode, of the fantasy television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer . It was the last episode to air on The WB Television Network and was labeled as the "series finale", though the show was immediately picked up by rival network UPN for an...
. - Dawn is revealed to have arrived six months ago, according to Buffy. It is very probable that Dawn arrived in the moment that Buffy entered her room, at the end of "Buffy vs. Dracula"Buffy vs. Dracula (Buffy episode)"Buffy vs. Dracula" is the fifth season premiere of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Buffy faces the infamous Count Dracula, who has come to Sunnydale to make her one of his concubines. In the process, he turns Xander into a Renfield of sorts, and Giles becomes enthralled with the...
asking her what she was doing there. - Although a link between Ben and Glory had been referenced previously (in "Listening to Fear" Ben told Dreg that he had summoned the Queller Demon to clean up Glory's mess, like he had done his whole life), this is the first time it is shown that Ben and Glory share a body, although neither retains memories of the other's activities.
- Dawn (after a brief interval) does not remember witnessing Ben change into Glory; this memory glitch, courtesy of Glory, will be a recurring phenomenon throughout this season, affecting everyone who witnesses the shift (except Spike).
- This episode marks the beginning of the bond between Dawn and Spike.
- After performing the teleportation spell Willow collapses and suffers extreme headaches. This is one of the first signs of Willow using magic that is outside her control. This isn't incredibly important to Season 5, but it continues the escalation of a problem that will become more dramatic for Willow in Season 6.
- Spike and Buffy's future relationship is foreshadowed when Spike steps in to help in the final fight and Glory refers to him as Buffy's boyfriend
External links
- "Blood Ties" at BuffyGuide.com