Homecoming (Buffy episode)
Encyclopedia
"Homecoming" is episode 5 of season 3 of the TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
After Scott breaks up with her, Buffy runs for homecoming queen. This puts her against Cordelia and the two fall out. Meanwhile Willow and Xander kiss and feeling guilty help Cordelia's run for homecoming instead of Buffy. Buffy and Cordelia are tricked into a limo to reconcile but end up in a deadly game of SlayerFest '98. Old enemies have returned to kill the slayers and Cordelia is mistaken for Faith and therefore has to help Buffy fight for their lives.
and Scott decide to go together. She takes an early leave to bring food to Angel, who is still very weak. She tells him others will not understand he is better — and about Scott.
Scott breaks up with Buffy the next day because he finds her distracted all the time now. As she watches him walk away, we find two men monitoring her from a van. They are connected via modem to Mr. Trick and some Boss, who have video monitors all set up.
Deputy Mayor Allan Finch enters the Mayor's office. He reports two German brothers who are major criminals arriving in Sunnydale
. The Mayor gently chides him for not cleaning his hands enough. Finch looks scared.
At school, the gang sends Cordelia
to tell Buffy to take her yearbook photos. Buffy is training with Faith
, who expresses again her views on guys. Cordelia is distracted at the library door by two guys whose votes she wants. She leaves without giving Buffy the message.
Buffy needs a recommendation from the class that changed her life, but is crushed when the teacher does not remember her. "At Hemery, I was Prom Princess, I was Fiesta Queen, I was on the cheerleading
squad. And the yearbook was, like, a story of me."
The day after the last chance to get her picture taken, Buffy finds out and confronts Cordy, who couldn't care less. An enraged Buffy decides to run against Cordy. Meanwhile, Mr. Trick and a group of evildoers are discussing a competition they each have put money in: SlayerFest '98.
Xander
and Willow
, trying on their Homecoming clothes in her room, cannot help admiring each other's elegance. They kiss. The next day, Buffy is analyzing the competition with Oz, Xander and Willow in the library. They look very uncomfortable. It turns out that all three had actually already committed to helping Cordelia. Xander is helping her as a boyfriend, Willow is constructing Cordelia's database, and Oz is going along with Willow as always.
As the evildoers are honing their skills for their upcoming hunt, the competition at Sunnydale High is heating up as well. Ethics give way to bribery. Buffy persuades Willow to give her 15 minutes with Cordelia's database, by way of a guilt trip. Xander and Willow cannot help feeling guilty about what they feel; they are helping Cordelia out of guilt.
When the limo arrives at Buffy's house, she gets a note from her friends, who want her and Cordelia to make up on the expensive ride. They do not get far; the driver runs away after stopping in the woods. A tape addresses them as Buffy and Faith and informs them of SlayerFest '98. Despite Cordelia's desperate attempts at getting someone to realize that she is not Faith, she and Buffy are both targeted by a diverse group of Slayerfest competitors: Hans & Fredrick Gruenstahler, "The Most Dangerous Game" hunter Frawley, Kulak, a demon of the Miquot Clan, and Lyle Gorch from "Bad Eggs" and his new wife Candy.
Xander and Willow are moping at the dance. Even Giles
' humor fails to cheer them up. Faith is livelier; she embarrasses Scott in front of his date. Meanwhile, Buffy catches one of her pursuers and forces details out of him. Cordelia tells Buffy she loves Xander. Buffy tells her she spent a year's allowance on the dress in an attempt to achieve one ideal moment in high school. For a moment, the two understand each other.
Trick is dragged away from his den by two policemen. Cordelia finally does something good with her taunting skills: she scares Lyle away when Buffy and Giles are down. Buffy realizes the corsages they got in the limo were electronic tracking devices. She puts them on the German brothers, who annihilate each other with their high-tech equipment.
The policemen bring Trick to the office of Mayor Wilkins, who tells Trick that he needs to control rebellious youth elements during this most important year.
Buffy and Cordelia arrive at the Homecoming dance just in time to hear the announcement that the vote for Queen was tied — and they both lost. The other two girls campaigning for Homecoming Queen were the winners.
After Scott breaks up with her, Buffy runs for homecoming queen. This puts her against Cordelia and the two fall out. Meanwhile Willow and Xander kiss and feeling guilty help Cordelia's run for homecoming instead of Buffy. Buffy and Cordelia are tricked into a limo to reconcile but end up in a deadly game of SlayerFest '98. Old enemies have returned to kill the slayers and Cordelia is mistaken for Faith and therefore has to help Buffy fight for their lives.
Plot synopsis
The young Scoobies decide to share a limo for their last Homecoming dance. 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...
and Scott decide to go together. She takes an early leave to bring food to Angel, who is still very weak. She tells him others will not understand he is better — and about Scott.
Scott breaks up with Buffy the next day because he finds her distracted all the time now. As she watches him walk away, we find two men monitoring her from a van. They are connected via modem to Mr. Trick and some Boss, who have video monitors all set up.
Deputy Mayor Allan Finch enters the Mayor's office. He reports two German brothers who are major criminals arriving in Sunnydale
Sunnydale
Sunnydale, California is the fictional setting for the U.S. television drama Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Series creator Joss Whedon conceived the town as a representation of a generic California city, as well as a narrative parody of the all-too-serene towns typical in traditional horror...
. The Mayor gently chides him for not cleaning his hands enough. Finch looks scared.
At school, the gang sends Cordelia
Cordelia Chase
Cordelia Chase is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer; she also appeared on Buffy's spin-off series Angel...
to tell Buffy to take her yearbook photos. Buffy is training with Faith
Faith Lehane
Faith is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Played by actress Eliza Dushku in the TV series and by Whitney Thompson in the motion comic series, Faith was introduced in the third season of Buffy and was a focus of that season's...
, who expresses again her views on guys. Cordelia is distracted at the library door by two guys whose votes she wants. She leaves without giving Buffy the message.
Buffy needs a recommendation from the class that changed her life, but is crushed when the teacher does not remember her. "At Hemery, I was Prom Princess, I was Fiesta Queen, I was on the cheerleading
Cheerleading
Cheerleading is a physical activity, sometimes a competitive sport, based on organized routines, usually ranging from one to three minutes, which contain the components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games or to participate...
squad. And the yearbook was, like, a story of me."
The day after the last chance to get her picture taken, Buffy finds out and confronts Cordy, who couldn't care less. An enraged Buffy decides to run against Cordy. Meanwhile, Mr. Trick and a group of evildoers are discussing a competition they each have put money in: SlayerFest '98.
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...
and 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...
, trying on their Homecoming clothes in her room, cannot help admiring each other's elegance. They kiss. The next day, Buffy is analyzing the competition with Oz, Xander and Willow in the library. They look very uncomfortable. It turns out that all three had actually already committed to helping Cordelia. Xander is helping her as a boyfriend, Willow is constructing Cordelia's database, and Oz is going along with Willow as always.
As the evildoers are honing their skills for their upcoming hunt, the competition at Sunnydale High is heating up as well. Ethics give way to bribery. Buffy persuades Willow to give her 15 minutes with Cordelia's database, by way of a guilt trip. Xander and Willow cannot help feeling guilty about what they feel; they are helping Cordelia out of guilt.
When the limo arrives at Buffy's house, she gets a note from her friends, who want her and Cordelia to make up on the expensive ride. They do not get far; the driver runs away after stopping in the woods. A tape addresses them as Buffy and Faith and informs them of SlayerFest '98. Despite Cordelia's desperate attempts at getting someone to realize that she is not Faith, she and Buffy are both targeted by a diverse group of Slayerfest competitors: Hans & Fredrick Gruenstahler, "The Most Dangerous Game" hunter Frawley, Kulak, a demon of the Miquot Clan, and Lyle Gorch from "Bad Eggs" and his new wife Candy.
Xander and Willow are moping at the dance. Even 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...
' humor fails to cheer them up. Faith is livelier; she embarrasses Scott in front of his date. Meanwhile, Buffy catches one of her pursuers and forces details out of him. Cordelia tells Buffy she loves Xander. Buffy tells her she spent a year's allowance on the dress in an attempt to achieve one ideal moment in high school. For a moment, the two understand each other.
Trick is dragged away from his den by two policemen. Cordelia finally does something good with her taunting skills: she scares Lyle away when Buffy and Giles are down. Buffy realizes the corsages they got in the limo were electronic tracking devices. She puts them on the German brothers, who annihilate each other with their high-tech equipment.
The policemen bring Trick to the office of Mayor Wilkins, who tells Trick that he needs to control rebellious youth elements during this most important year.
Buffy and Cordelia arrive at the Homecoming dance just in time to hear the announcement that the vote for Queen was tied — and they both lost. The other two girls campaigning for Homecoming Queen were the winners.
Arc significance
- Mayor Richard Wilkins III appears for the first time, and displays what will be his trademark: a disturbing attention to cleanliness.
- Xander and Willow begin to explore their mutual attraction.
- Buffy's wish for a perfect moment in high school will be granted in "The PromThe Prom (Buffy episode)"The Prom" is episode 20 in season three of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer.-Plot synopsis:Buffy wakes up in Angel's bed at the mansion after the two fell asleep after patrol. Buffy talks a bit about bringing some of her stuff over so every once in a while she could spend the night and...
". - This episode marks the second and final appearance of Lyle Gorch.
- Buffy's favorite class in high school was "Contemporary American Heroes from Amelia EarhartAmelia EarhartAmelia Mary Earhart was a noted American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first woman to receive the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean...
to Maya AngelouMaya AngelouMaya Angelou is an American author and poet who has been called "America's most visible black female autobiographer" by scholar Joanne M. Braxton. She is best known for her series of six autobiographical volumes, which focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. The first and most highly...
". - Kulak identifies himself as a Miquot demon. This is the first Buffyverse instance of a demon being identified as a member of a particular subspecies; in previous episodes, demons were known only by individual names (EyghonThe Dark Age (Buffy episode)"The Dark Age" is episode eight of season two of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The episode was written by Executive Story Editors Rob Des Hotel & Dean Batali and was directed by Bruce Seth Green...
, der KindestodKilled by Death (Buffy episode)"Killed by Death" is episode 18 of season two of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.After flu lands Buffy in the hospital, she rescues fevered children from Der Kindestod, a demon that turns out to have killed her cousin when she was younger and which gave her a phobia of hospitals.- Plot synopsis :Weak with...
, Machida, MolochI, Robot... You, Jane"I, Robot...You, Jane" is the eighth episode of season 1 of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The episode was written by staff writers Ashley Gable and Thomas A. Swyden, and directed by Stephen Posey....
, etc.) -- and, on a single occasion, a name for a group of demons (the Brotherhood of Seven) -- implying that each demon was unique. Identification of Buffyverse demon subspecies became far more common with the spinoff series Angel. - This is a rare episode in which Buffy deliberately (albeit indirectly) kills "normal" humans (e.g. humans without magical powers), as she manipulates the Gruenstahler brothers into shooting each other.