Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Recap/S4/E11 Doomed

"Giles: It's the end of the world.

Buffy, Willow, Xander: Again?"

An earthquake hits Sunnydale, signifying yet another Apocalypse. The gang must return to the remains of Sunnydale High to stop it. Buffy and Riley struggle with each other's secrets.

"Willow: There was so much blood. And there was a symbol (carved into his chest). And Percy said I was a nerd!
 * Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking

Buffy: Percy said you were a nerd!?"

"Riley: I don’t know what’s happened in your past...
 * Bedmate Reveal: Willow turns on the lights in her dorm to find a corpse in bed next to her.
 * Blood Knight / Join the Army They Said: Riley Finn (apparently a Special Forces soldier) says, referring to demon-hunting, "It's not just a job--" Buffy interrupted: "Right, it's an adventure." (That's actually the Navy's slogan, but I doubt Buffy bothers to discriminate.) Riley doesn't deny that he thinks that way.
 * Broken Bird

Buffy: Pain. Death. Apocalypse. None of it fun."

"I mean, am I even remotely scary any more?"
 * Buffy-Speak: Even covert ops soldiers use it, with Riley impressed with the "flippy-thing" Buffy did.
 * Call Back: Angel and Faith are both referred to -- though not by name -- when Buffy is trying to explain why she doesn't want a relationship with someone in the demon-hunting business. Percy mentions how Willow used to tutor him in Sunnydale High. The Scoobies visit the ruins of Sunnydale High library and find themselves stepping on "Mayor meat" -- the remains of last year's Ascended Big Bad.
 * Classified Information: Riley says he can't tell Buffy anything more than she already knows about him. Buffy then lists all the information she's found out about the Initiative so far, leaving a rather disturbed Riley.
 * Crush! Kill! Destroy!: Not recognizing the Signs of the End Times, Riley briefs his team that the demon appears to be "on a basic crush-kill-destroy" pattern.
 * Despair Event Horizon: Spike's Badass clothes shrink from a leaky pipe and he can't threaten anyone, even Xander.

"Spike: I don't want pity from geeks even more useless than I am."
 * Don't You Dare Pity Me!

"Good bye, Dru. See You in Hell."
 * Driven to Suicide: Spike tries to spike himself. He misses.

"Willow: We help people. We fight the forces of evil.
 * The End of the World As We Know It
 * Fake American: Played by a Fake Brit; Spike puts on an unconvincing American accent when he thinks Riley might know who he is.
 * Funny Background Event: Spike trying to Wrench Whack Xander -- he keels over in pain without Xander even noticing.
 * Hannibal Lecture: Spike gives one to Willow and Xander.

Spike: Buffy fights the forces of evil. You're her groupies. She'd do just as well without you -- better, I'd wager, since she wouldn't have to go around saving your hides all the time.

Xander: That is so not true! We're part of the team. She needs us.

Spike: Or you're the same tenth-grade losers you've always been, and she's too soft to cut you loose. (smirks evilly the moment his back is turned)"

"I hate to break it to you, oh Impotent One, but you’re not the Big Bad anymore. You're not even kinda naughty. You're nothing but a big waste of space."
 * No doubt revenge for an earlier one Xander gave to Spike

"Spike: That's right! I'm back, and I'm a BLOODY ANIMAL!"
 * He's Back: Spike's sudden outburst of enthusiasm for "fighting the good fight" after he realized that the implanted behavioral modification chip didn't punish him for killing demons.

"Buffy: (reading) Limbs with talons, eyes like knives, bane to the blameless, thief of lives.
 * Human Sacrifice: Subverted;
 * Ironic Juxtaposition: The Contrast Montage between the Scoobies' poetic description of the demon to Riley's Spock Speak Mission Briefing.

Cut to Riley debriefing his patrol team: Three meters tall, approximately 100–120 kilograms, based on my visual analysis."

"Buffy: I told you. I-I said end of the world and you’re like ‘poo-poo southern California, poo-poo!
 * I Warned You vs. the Deadpan Snarker of Doom

Giles: I am so sorry. My contrition completely dwarfs the impending apocalypse."

"Spike: Don't turn around. (Scare Chord)
 * Let's Dance: Spike smirks at Xander's "Let's rock and roll" comment.
 * Nice Job Breaking It Anti-Hero: Spike throws one of the demon sacrifices into the Hellmouth.
 * Not So Dire

Xander: Spike, what is it? What happened?

Spike: Don't look at me.

Xander turns around to see "

"Giles: Oh (as usual) dear."
 * Oh Crap

"What's this? Sittin' around watching the telly while there's evil still afoot? It's not very industrious of you. I say we go out there and kick a little demon ass! What? Can't go without your Buffy, is that it? Too chicken? Let's find her. She is the Chosen One, after all. Come on! Vampires! Grrr! Nasty! Let's annihilate them, for justice, and for... the safety of puppies... and Christmas, right? Let's fight that evil! Let's kill something! [Credits start running.] Oh, come on!"
 * Oh No Not Again
 * Paper-Thin Disguise: Riley trying to excuse his combat greens as a paintball outfit. He moans about how stupid that was later on.
 * Rock Bottom: William the Waste of Space.
 * Rousing Speech For Great Justice: Spoofed with helpless silent protestation from Xander and Willow that, and after a long exhausting night of monster-slaying, Spike was blocking their view of the TV box. The irony of course lies in the fact that Spike is a vampire, and used to be Buffy's enemy until that point.

"Riley: I should have just given them my security code and rank!
 * Saying Too Much: Riley is bemoaning his big mouth with the Scoobies.

Buffy: You have a security code and rank?

Riley: No. Did I just say...? (Sinks down on the end of his bed) This is so not good. Everybody knows about me. I’m finished. It’s the end of the world."

"It's just doomed. And I can't do doomed again just now."
 * Slashed Throat: The frat party victim is killed for his Blood Magic.
 * Spy Speak: Buffy is bemused to find that Riley's callsign is Lilac One.
 * Title Drop: Buffy to Riley on their relationship.

"Buffy: I’m the Slayer. (Riley just looks at her) Slay-er? - Chosen One. (Riley is still lost) She who hangs out a lot in cemeteries? - You’re kidding. Ask around. Look it up: Slayer comma The.”"
 * To Make a Long Story Short

"Forrest: They’re just animals, man, plain and simple. Granted they’re a little rarer than the ones you grew up with on that little farm in Smallville..."
 * Unusual Euphemism / Did Not Do the Bloody Research: Spike tells Xander to "fag off!"
 * What the Hell Are You?: The first question Riley asks on finding Buffy's Secret Identity is "What (not Who) are you?" Buffy is not amused.
 * What Measure Is a Non-Human?: Hostile Subterrestrials


 * Variable Terminal Velocity: A particularly egregious example where Buffy jumps into the Hellmouth after a demon and catches up to it while falling, even though she took the time to run over to Riley, grab a rope from his Utility Belt, and run back before jumping in.