Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Recap/S2/E04 Inca Mummy Girl

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

Ampata: "They told her that she was the only one. That only she could defend her people from the nether world. Out of all the girls in her generation... she was the only one... chosen. Do you know the story?"
Buffy: "It's fairly familiar."

The mummy of an Incan princess comes back to life and pretends to be a Foreign Exchange Student.

Marks the first appearance of Oz, Devon and Jonathan.

Buffy: Come on! Can't you put your foot down?
Giles: It is down.
Buffy: One of these days you're gonna have to get a grownup car.

Giles grinds the gears. Buffy shakes her head.

What kind of girl travels with a mummified corpse and doesn't even pack lipstick?

Oz: That girl. Who is she?
Devon: She's an exchange student. I think she's from South America.
Oz: No, not her. The Eskimo! (Willow)

Buffy: Oh, I know this one! 'Slaying entails certain sacrifices, blah blah bliddy blah', I'm so stuffy, give me a scone.

  • Clothing Reflects Personality: Buffy wears the Dungarees of Depression when she has to go slaying instead of dancing. Willow wraps herself up in a bulky Eskimo costume instead of something sexy.
  • Cry Into Chest
  • Dance of Romance / Almost Kiss
  • Did Not Do the Research: Mild case because the references, elements and names fit Peru but are not quite accurate: Nobody in Peru would actually by named "Ampata," specially someone with access to Foreign Exchange. "Ampato" was the name of the mountain in which the "Momia Juanita," in which the Inca Princess is based, was sacrificed. "Sebancaya" was not a mountain god, but a volcano, which also isn't located in "eastern Peru" (which is actually part of the Amazonic region) but on the upper area of Southern Peruvian Andes). The typical costume worn by Xander is actually Chilean, not Andean (which would fall under Truth in Television via Fridge Brilliance considering Xander is from a small town in the U.S.)
  • Exact Eavesdropping: Willow enters the room just in time to hear Buffy raise a subject close to her heart.

Buffy: Oh, come on. In all the years you've know Willow, you've never thought about her lips?
Xander: Buffy, I love Willow. (Willow smiles) And she's my best friend. Which makes her not the kind of girl who I think about her lips that much. She's the kind of girl that... I'm best friends with.

Sven: I thought this exchange student thing would be a great deal. But look what I got stuck with! 'Momento!' 'Punchy fruity drinky!' Is Cordelia even from this country?

Ampata: They told her that she was the only one. That only she could defend her people from the nether world. Out of all the girls in her generation she was the only one...
Buffy: ...chosen.
Ampata: Do you know the story?
Buffy: It's fairly familiar.
Ampata: She was sixteen, like us. She was offered as a sacrifice and went to her death. Who knows what she had to give up to fulfill her duty to others? What chance at love?

  • I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Willow tells Xander to take Ampata to the dance without her tagging along.
  • Latin Lover: Xander is worried that some handsome South American guy is going to spend a couple of weeks living with Buffy. The exchange student who turns up is indeed male and good-looking, but Ampala life-sucks him before he meets the Scoobies and takes his place. Suddenly Xander has no objection to the whole exchange program at all.
  • Mirror Scare
  • Monster of the Week
  • Necessarily Evil: Ampata just wants to live a normal life. Unfortunately to live she's got to drain Life Energy from others.
  • Percussive Therapy: Buffy beats on a pad-wielding Giles in frustration at him not allowing her to go to the dance. Eventually Giles realises it's less painful to agree.
  • She Cleans Up Nicely: Inverted; Willow wears a dowdy and unsexy Eskimo costume to a cultural party and remarks that maybe she should have worn something sexy. However Oz ends up noticing her because of the costume.
  • Remember the New Guy?: Averted; Oz doesn't know any of the Scoobies and doesn't even speak to any of them, gradually meeting them over the course of the next few episodes.
  • Saying Sound Effects Out Loud

Xander: Have you seen Ampata?
Willow: * makes indistinct movement while wearing thick fur coat*
Xander: What was that?
Willow: I shrugged.
Xander: Next time you should probably say "shrug." * leaves*
Willow: "Sigh."

Xander: Okay, no shirts with ruffles, no hats with feathers and definitely no lederhosen. They make my calves look fat.
Willow: Why are you suddenly so worried about looking like an idiot? That came out wrong.

Xander: You're not a Praying Mantis, are you?

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