Sleeper (Buffy episode)
Encyclopedia
"Sleeper" is the eighth episode of the seventh and final season of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
arrives at Revello Drive and finds the house a disaster and Dawn
in shock. Dawn tries to tell her what happened and how she saw Joyce
, but Willow explains that it was the big evil that's been threatening them messing with their minds.
At Xander
's apartment, Buffy
and Xander talk about the possibility of Spike killing a human in spite of his chip. Buffy doesn't want to believe it because she knows the chip still works, but she and Xander have to wonder if Spike's been acting all this time. Spike returns to Xander's apartment. In an attempt to get a reaction from him about Holden, Buffy mentions the encounter to Spike, but he regards it calmly and heads off to bed. Both having things to do, but not wanting to leave Spike alone, Xander gets a reluctant Anya
to come over and stay with Spike once the sun has risen. She doesn't like the idea of being stuck weaponless with Spike and his suspected revived ability to bite. Xander tells her to call if Spike decides to go anywhere and then leaves for work.
Buffy returns home and is shocked by the chaos left by Dawn's encounter with the threatening Big Bad. Willow explains to her that Dawn has already fallen asleep, calms Buffy down, and then tells her about the previous night's events. Buffy tells Willow about her encounter with Holden. Buffy wonders if she's also been the victim of lies and tricks, or if something else has been going on.
Armed with a stake, Anya quietly investigates Spike's room and clothes while he sleeps, but she ends up getting caught. She tries to lie about her intentions, claiming to want sex, but Spike doesn't really believe her and isn't interested in her offer. Later, after the sun sets, Spike leaves the apartment with an apology to Anya for any potentially hurt feelings. She quickly makes a phone call to Buffy about Spike's departure.
Spike walks the streets and passes by a man playing a harmonica; the man changes his tune to the one Spike was humming earlier. By this time, Buffy is following him, so she sees him pick up a woman. Spike and the woman disappear down an alleyway, losing Buffy along the way.
Later, Buffy barges in on a sleeping Spike, angrily demanding to know whether he killed the woman she saw him with. He reminds her that he can't kill because of his soul and suspects that she's jealous. He doesn't deny talking to other women, but swears they mean nothing to him and reminds her of the seriousness of his efforts to prove his love to her. Buffy gets confrontational about Spike killing people and although he doesn't remember everything, he's confident that she is mistaken.
At Buffy's house, the girls research in an attempt to find proof that Spike has or has not killed. They discuss the possibility of Spike killing and Willow discovers that although there haven't been a lot of dead bodies found, there are ten missing people in Sunnydale, mostly young women.
As he gets ready to leave, Spike finds a pack of cigarettes in his pocket and gets flashes of killing the blond woman we the viewer saw him bury at the beginning of the episode. He tries to leave the apartment, but Xander stands in the way. Spike knocks Xander out, setting off his chip for his efforts and then departs.
Spike arrives at the Bronze, where Aimee Mann
is performing onstage with her band. Spike asks around after the blond woman he'd envisioned, then moves upstairs to watch over the crowd. Meanwhile, Xander recovers from Spike's blow and calls Buffy's to let her know what happened. Back at the Bronze, a woman hits on Spike who warns her away from him. She reveals herself to be a vampire he sired a few nights before and the two break into a fight which Spike resolves by staking her and dropping her to the dance floor below where she turns to dust. Meanwhile Buffy talks to the doorman at the club she'd followed Spike to the night before, learning that Spike has left there with a different girl every night. At the Bronze, Aimee Mann is heading backstage, telling a bandmate that she 'hates playing vampire towns' as Spike payphones Buffy's cell telling her he's remembering the bad things he's done recently and asks for her help. She agrees to meet with him at a set location. As Spike tries to leave, the morphing version of Spike shows up and chides the real Spike that calling Buffy was not part of his plan, but that it can be fitted in.
Spike leads Buffy into a dark basement and tries to show her what he remembers about his victims (several girls he's picked up, plus the owner of the house). The fake Spike is there as well, but Buffy can't see him. While the real Spike tries to show Buffy where he buried the bodies of those he killed, the fake Spike begins to sing the hypnotizing tune. Spike vamps and attacks Buffy, cutting into her arm with a broken piece of glass. As the two battle it out, the bodies of those Spike's recently killed start to rise from the ground beneath them as newly turned vampires. Buffy struggles with the fledglings while the real Spike gets a pep talk from his morphing version about tasting Buffy's blood. As two vampires hold Buffy still, Spike leans down and tastes Buffy's blood from the cut on her arm. It reawakens all of his memories of killing and he falls to the ground, horrified.
Buffy finishes off the rest of the vampires (including the apparent homeowner to whom she apologizes "Sorry ma'am, but it's my job," as she stakes her) then turns her attentions to Spike. Tearfully, Spike offers his heart for the staking. He's confused, scared, and hurting because of the lives he's taken. Buffy realizes that something has been messing with Spike's head as with Dawn and Willow and that he needs help. Back at her house, Buffy tells the gang about Spike and how she needs to keep Spike close if she intends to get answers they all need.
Meanwhile in London, Giles charges into the apartment that was the scene of the earlier attack. Robson, the man who was left for dead, warns Giles that "it" has started and that "they" need to be gathered. From behind, a cloaked figure raises an ax and swings it at Giles's neck.
Plot synopsis
Spike digs a grave for and buries the woman he just killed while he hums a tune. In London, a man with a briefcase finds a young woman he knows lying dead. When he investigates her body, a robed figure attacks the man with a dagger, but the man fights back. Another robed figure joins in and soon the two overcome the man and leave him for dead. Back in Sunnydale, WillowWillow 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...
arrives at Revello Drive and finds the house a disaster and Dawn
Dawn Summers
Dawn Summers is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon and introduced by Marti Noxon and David Fury on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, portrayed by Michelle Trachtenberg. She made her debut in the premiere episode of the show's fifth season, and subsequently appeared in every...
in shock. Dawn tries to tell her what happened and how she saw 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...
, but Willow explains that it was the big evil that's been threatening them messing with their minds.
At 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...
's apartment, Buffy
Buffy 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 Xander talk about the possibility of Spike killing a human in spite of his chip. Buffy doesn't want to believe it because she knows the chip still works, but she and Xander have to wonder if Spike's been acting all this time. Spike returns to Xander's apartment. In an attempt to get a reaction from him about Holden, Buffy mentions the encounter to Spike, but he regards it calmly and heads off to bed. Both having things to do, but not wanting to leave Spike alone, Xander gets a reluctant Anya
Anya Jenkins
Anya is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She also appears in the comic book series based on the television show. Portrayed by Emma Caulfield, the character appears as a guest star in the third and fourth seasons of the show before...
to come over and stay with Spike once the sun has risen. She doesn't like the idea of being stuck weaponless with Spike and his suspected revived ability to bite. Xander tells her to call if Spike decides to go anywhere and then leaves for work.
Buffy returns home and is shocked by the chaos left by Dawn's encounter with the threatening Big Bad. Willow explains to her that Dawn has already fallen asleep, calms Buffy down, and then tells her about the previous night's events. Buffy tells Willow about her encounter with Holden. Buffy wonders if she's also been the victim of lies and tricks, or if something else has been going on.
Armed with a stake, Anya quietly investigates Spike's room and clothes while he sleeps, but she ends up getting caught. She tries to lie about her intentions, claiming to want sex, but Spike doesn't really believe her and isn't interested in her offer. Later, after the sun sets, Spike leaves the apartment with an apology to Anya for any potentially hurt feelings. She quickly makes a phone call to Buffy about Spike's departure.
Spike walks the streets and passes by a man playing a harmonica; the man changes his tune to the one Spike was humming earlier. By this time, Buffy is following him, so she sees him pick up a woman. Spike and the woman disappear down an alleyway, losing Buffy along the way.
Later, Buffy barges in on a sleeping Spike, angrily demanding to know whether he killed the woman she saw him with. He reminds her that he can't kill because of his soul and suspects that she's jealous. He doesn't deny talking to other women, but swears they mean nothing to him and reminds her of the seriousness of his efforts to prove his love to her. Buffy gets confrontational about Spike killing people and although he doesn't remember everything, he's confident that she is mistaken.
At Buffy's house, the girls research in an attempt to find proof that Spike has or has not killed. They discuss the possibility of Spike killing and Willow discovers that although there haven't been a lot of dead bodies found, there are ten missing people in Sunnydale, mostly young women.
As he gets ready to leave, Spike finds a pack of cigarettes in his pocket and gets flashes of killing the blond woman we the viewer saw him bury at the beginning of the episode. He tries to leave the apartment, but Xander stands in the way. Spike knocks Xander out, setting off his chip for his efforts and then departs.
Spike arrives at the Bronze, where Aimee Mann
Aimee Mann
Aimee Mann is an American rock singer-songwriter, guitarist and bassist.-Early life:Aimee Mann grew up in Bon Air, Virginia, graduated from Open High School in 1978 and attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, but dropped out to sing with her first punk rock band, the Young Snakes...
is performing onstage with her band. Spike asks around after the blond woman he'd envisioned, then moves upstairs to watch over the crowd. Meanwhile, Xander recovers from Spike's blow and calls Buffy's to let her know what happened. Back at the Bronze, a woman hits on Spike who warns her away from him. She reveals herself to be a vampire he sired a few nights before and the two break into a fight which Spike resolves by staking her and dropping her to the dance floor below where she turns to dust. Meanwhile Buffy talks to the doorman at the club she'd followed Spike to the night before, learning that Spike has left there with a different girl every night. At the Bronze, Aimee Mann is heading backstage, telling a bandmate that she 'hates playing vampire towns' as Spike payphones Buffy's cell telling her he's remembering the bad things he's done recently and asks for her help. She agrees to meet with him at a set location. As Spike tries to leave, the morphing version of Spike shows up and chides the real Spike that calling Buffy was not part of his plan, but that it can be fitted in.
Spike leads Buffy into a dark basement and tries to show her what he remembers about his victims (several girls he's picked up, plus the owner of the house). The fake Spike is there as well, but Buffy can't see him. While the real Spike tries to show Buffy where he buried the bodies of those he killed, the fake Spike begins to sing the hypnotizing tune. Spike vamps and attacks Buffy, cutting into her arm with a broken piece of glass. As the two battle it out, the bodies of those Spike's recently killed start to rise from the ground beneath them as newly turned vampires. Buffy struggles with the fledglings while the real Spike gets a pep talk from his morphing version about tasting Buffy's blood. As two vampires hold Buffy still, Spike leans down and tastes Buffy's blood from the cut on her arm. It reawakens all of his memories of killing and he falls to the ground, horrified.
Buffy finishes off the rest of the vampires (including the apparent homeowner to whom she apologizes "Sorry ma'am, but it's my job," as she stakes her) then turns her attentions to Spike. Tearfully, Spike offers his heart for the staking. He's confused, scared, and hurting because of the lives he's taken. Buffy realizes that something has been messing with Spike's head as with Dawn and Willow and that he needs help. Back at her house, Buffy tells the gang about Spike and how she needs to keep Spike close if she intends to get answers they all need.
Meanwhile in London, Giles charges into the apartment that was the scene of the earlier attack. Robson, the man who was left for dead, warns Giles that "it" has started and that "they" need to be gathered. From behind, a cloaked figure raises an ax and swings it at Giles's neck.
Quotes and trivia
- The title of the episode refers to a sleeper agentSleeper agentA sleeper agent is a spy who is placed in a target country or organization, not to undertake an immediate mission, but rather to act as a potential asset if activated...
, or spies that blend into their surroundings and don't do any missions until their superiors call on them, returning to their innocuous "sleeping" state after the mission is completed. This is explained in the following episode by Xander. - The song that The FirstFirst EvilThe First Evil is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The First Evil first appeared in the third season episode "Amends", and became the main antagonist of the 7th and final season.A being manifested from all evil in existence, the First is an...
uses to trigger Spike's killing sprees is the English folk song "Early One MorningEarly One Morning"Early One Morning" is an English folk song. The lyrics are first found in publications as far back as 1787. A broadside in the Bodleian Library, Oxford dates from about 1803...
". - The title of the song "Pavlov's Bell" performed by Aimee MannAimee MannAimee Mann is an American rock singer-songwriter, guitarist and bassist.-Early life:Aimee Mann grew up in Bon Air, Virginia, graduated from Open High School in 1978 and attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, but dropped out to sing with her first punk rock band, the Young Snakes...
refers to the classical conditioningClassical conditioningClassical conditioning is a form of conditioning that was first demonstrated by Ivan Pavlov...
experiments performed by early 20th Century physiologist Ivan PavlovIvan PavlovIvan Petrovich Pavlov was a famous Russian physiologist. Although he made significant contributions to psychology, he was not in fact a psychologist himself but was a mathematician and actually had strong distaste for the field....
. Spike's conditioning is a complex, fictitious form of conditioning which Xander says is "left over from every army movie I've ever seen". The Manchurian CandidateThe Manchurian CandidateThe Manchurian Candidate , by Richard Condon, is a political thriller novel about the son of a prominent US political family who is brainwashed into being an unwitting assassin for the Communist Party....
(1962) could be seen as an example. - Aimee MannAimee MannAimee Mann is an American rock singer-songwriter, guitarist and bassist.-Early life:Aimee Mann grew up in Bon Air, Virginia, graduated from Open High School in 1978 and attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, but dropped out to sing with her first punk rock band, the Young Snakes...
is the only musical guest on Buffy to have any speaking lines. - This is the final episode of the series not to guest star Tom LenkTom LenkThomas Loren "Tom" Lenk is an American stage and television actor best known for his recurring role as Andrew Wells in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off Angel.-Early life:...
.
Cultural references
- Xander references CSI: Crime Scene InvestigationCSI: Crime Scene InvestigationCSI: Crime Scene Investigation is an American crime drama television series, which premiered on CBS on October 6, 2000. The show was created by Anthony E. Zuiker and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...
. - The scene where Buffy searches for Spike in the crowded square is similar to the scene in Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo. Jimmy Stewart's character follows Kim Novak's character who also appears to be in a trance (under the spell of a dead woman Carlotta Valdez.) The music of the scene is dramatic and very similar to that used for the scene in Vertigo. The FirstFirst EvilThe First Evil is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The First Evil first appeared in the third season episode "Amends", and became the main antagonist of the 7th and final season.A being manifested from all evil in existence, the First is an...
appears to Spike as Buffy while in Vertigo, Kim Novak is impersonating the wife of Jimmy Stewart's friend who hired him to follow her. In Buffy, Spike is directed to kill others while in Vertigo, the intent is to convince Stewart that the wife is being directed to kill herself.
Continuity
This episode begins immediately after the end of the previous episode.- In one scene, the bouncer refers to Spike as "a Billy Idol wannabe," and Buffy starts to say that Billy Idol actually stole the look from him (implying Spike had told her this in conversation at some point). In Season Five's Fool for LoveFool for Love (Buffy episode)"Fool for Love" is episode 7 of season 5 of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It is a companion to the Angel episode "Darla", which first aired later the same night on The WB network; both episodes include multiple flashbacks to the history of Spike and Darla, shown from their...
, Spike's resemblance to Billy Idol was depicted (though not acknowledged in dialogue) during his flashback fight with the Slayer Nikki Wood in 1977, at which time Spike's attire and hair mimicked Idol almost perfectly, several years before Idol's fame.
Arc significance
- Buffy realizes that something is controlling Spike and takes him to her house. It would not be revealed as The FirstFirst EvilThe First Evil is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The First Evil first appeared in the third season episode "Amends", and became the main antagonist of the 7th and final season.A being manifested from all evil in existence, the First is an...
until the next episode.