Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Recap/S7/E09 Never Leave Me

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

I believe in you, Spike.

Willow discovers Andrew's return.

  • After-Action Patchup: After chaining Spike in the basement, Buffy washes the blood from his lips.
  • Analogy Backfire: Xander tries to frighten Andrew by pointing out that Anya is a vengeance demon. All Andrew knows is that he saw her having sex with Spike. Xander quickly changes the subject by saying Anya's killed more people than smallpox. Andrew points out that people don't die of smallpox now. Xander then tells how a man who once hurt her had his heart replaced with darkness, but he had to carry on his life like that without his friends knowing any different. Seeing Andrew is underwhelmed by this metaphor for his own condition, Xander adds that Anya then tore out the man's intestines, rubbed his face in them and took pictures. That gets Andrew's attention.
  • Badass Boast: Andrew vs. Willow (Willow wins).

Andrew: I'm protected by powerful forces. Forces you can't even begin to imagine... little girl. If you harm me, you shall know the wrath of He That Is Darkness And Terror. Your blood will boil, and you will know true suffering. Stand down, she-witch! Your defeat is at hand!
Willow: Shut your mouth! I am a she-witch, a very powerful she-witch, or witch, as is more accurate. I'm not to be trifled with.

Andrew: But I--

Willow: I'm talking! Don't interrupt me, insignificant man. I am Willow. I am Death. If you dare defy me, I will call down my fury, exact fresh vengeance, and make your worst fears come true... Okay?

  • Bait and Switch: Andrew apparently going to sacrifice a girl; it's actually a pig, which he fails to catch anyway. More seriously Travis rallies the Watcher's Council, saying they're going to the Hellmouth only for everyone to die in a massive bomb explosion.
  • Barrier-Busting Blow: Andrew is in the midst of spilling the beans when hands smash through the wall and yank him back through it so Spike can chomp on his neck.
  • Bastard Boyfriend: Spike suggests this is the real reason Buffy hasn't staked him. "You like men who hurt you. You need the pain we cause you. You need the hate. You need it to do your job, to be the Slayer." Buffy denies she feels this way...anymore.
  • Big Blackout / Super Window Jump / There Was a Door / Simple Staff: The Harbringers attacking Buffy's house.
  • The Big Board: In the Watcher's Council meeting, showing the world-wide scope of the battle against the First.
  • Blatant Lies: Travers telling Buffy they're not interesting in finding Giles.
  • Blood Magic: Jonathan's blood wasn't sufficient to open the Seal because he was anemic. The First then tries to get Andrew to sacrifice a pig, then buy some blood; finally cutting open Spike does the deed.
  • Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick: Andrew goes to the butcher shop and orders steak, some pork chops, eight quarts of pigs' blood (which he needed for an evil magical ritual), and toothpaste. The butcher responds with a scowl. "This is a butcher shop. We don't sell toothpaste."
  • Breaking the Bonds / Bench Breaker: When Buffy is tying him to a chair, Spike tells her to tighten the bonds as he can break free. When Spike's trigger is activated, he breaks the chair enabling himself to slip free.
  • Butt Monkey: Andrew
  • Continuity Nod
    • Xander repairs the damage from "Conversations With Dead People".
    • Anya asks if they shouldn't stab Spike in the chest for killing all those people, a snarky comment re Buffy doing the same to her in "Selfless".
    • When Buffy says she Spike heard singing, Anya suggests they might be in another musical.
    • Xander's 'days in the army' refer to how he gained military knowledge after a spell turned him into a soldier in "Halloween". The knowledge faded midway through Season 4, which is why Xander admits to watching movies instead.
    • Anya having sex with Spike happened in "Entropy" -- their lovemaking was witnessed via the Trio's hidden cameras. On that occasion Andrew exclaimed "Spike is so cool!", explaining why he's trying to copy his manner of dress.
    • Buffy told Spike she was just using him during her break-up speech in "As You Were".
    • Dawn flips a Harbringer with the same martial arts move that she used against the vampire in "Lessons".
  • Crash Into Hello: Andrew turns to leave the butcher shop and bumps into Willow, sending his blood bags tumbling out onto the floor. Busted!
  • Crucified Hero Shot: Spike is strapped to a wheel-like construction and hoisted up to the ceiling, so his blood can drip down onto the Seal of Danthazar.
  • Dual-Wielding / Knife Nut: The Harbringers trying to kill Andrew.
  • Due to the Dead: Wood removes Jonathan's body from the Seal and buries him out in the desert.
  • Failed Attempt At Drama: Andrew's constant attempts to be Badass.
  • Feet First Introduction / Badass Longcoat: Anya says that regardless of what Buffy thinks, it could be that William the Bloody is back. Description Cut to a striding pair of black combat boots, black leather duster and black shirt...worn by Andrew.

Andrew: I have to do work right now? Can't I just walk around for a while in my coat?

'Cause it's not worth it if they don't cry [snip] You wanna know what I've done to girls Dawn's age? This is me Buffy. You've got to kill me before I get out.

Andrew: Warren killed Tara. I didn't do it. [[[Death Glare]] from Willow] And he was aiming for Buffy anyway.
Willow: Not making it better...

  • Not Himself: Buffy steps out of the room to investigate the racket Anya and Xander are making with Andrew. When Buffy returns she hears Spike singing and talking to someone, but no-one's in the room and Spike seems unusually calm -- until he vamps out, breaks his restraints and tries to kill Andrew.
  • Oh Crap: Andrew being Andrew, a possibly literal example when Willow spots him.
  • Red Herring: Buffy saying, "I need to know exactly what we're dealing with." Then a Description Cut to Principal Wood going down to the basement, to the Seal of Danthazar.
  • Reveal Shot: Buffy on the phone to Quentin Travers, who's saying that he's not particularly interested in finding Giles. A wide shot reveals that the entire Watcher's Council is listening in on the conversation. Also Andrew wielding a knife for a blood sacrifice...of a pig.
  • Rousing Speech / This Means War: Quentin Travers to the Watcher's Council.

Ladies and gentlemen, our fears have been confirmed. The First Evil has declared all-out war on this institution. Their first volleys proved most effective. I, for one, think it's time we struck back. (paces) Give me confirmations on all remaining operatives. Visuals and tacticals. Highest alert. Get them here as soon as possible. Begin preparations for mobilization. Once we're accounted for, I want to be ready to move. We'll be paying a visit to the Hellmouth. My friends, these are the times that define us. Proverbs 24:6. O, by wise council, you shall make your war.

  • Running Gag: Andrew is identified as "Tucker's brother" and "whatshisname", carrying on the Breaking the Fourth Wall joke from Season 6 that no-one remembered who Andrew was because (unlike his brother) he hadn't appeared on the series before.
  • Ship Tease: Xander/Anya get some genuine enjoyment out of working together, and without any snarking. And there's loads of Spuffy subtext as the former lovers pick over the rubble of their Destructive Romance.
  • Shirtless Scene: Lampshaded by the First Evil (using Buffy's appearance) when she uses Spike's blood to open the Seal. "She" mentions that the original plan was to use Andrew, "but you look better with your shirt off."
  • Shut UP, Hannibal

Buffy: You think you have insight now because your soul's drenched in blood? You don't know me. You don't even know you.

  • Sickening Crunch: After Spike tries to kill Andrew, Buffy looks at him like he has to die. From a grounded perspective we are treated to a first person view of Buffy delivering a skull-crushing boot to the head, putting him down.
  • Staking the Loved One: Although Spike questions whether 'love' is involved.
  • The Reveal: The Big Bad is identified when Buffy recognises the Bringers as the servants of the First. We also get confirmation that Principal Wood is more than he appears.
  • That Came Out Wrong: Xander's attempt at Cowboy Cop!Speak.

"He's primed. I'll be pumping him in no time."

  • This Is the Part Where: Principal Wood threatens two delinquent kids with expulsion and a note on their permanent record. They tell him to go ahead. Wood admits that he was bluffing; it's too much paperwork and no future employer is going to look past their SAT scores anyway. Or he could just let the police handle it, giving them a criminal record. "This is the part where I'm not bluffing."
  • Titled After the Song: "Never Leave Me" is from the lyrics to Spike's Trigger Phrase, the folk song "Early One Morning" about a girl who has been used and then abandoned by her lover, just as Buffy did to Spike in Season 6.

Oh, don't deceive me,
Oh, never leave me,
How could you use
A poor maiden so?

  • Too Much Information: Dawn tells Wood that Buffy is sick, claiming her exact words are, "she has both ends going." Wood dryly thanks her, wanting to be sick himself from the mental image.
  • To the Pain: After Willow catches Andrew he starts begging for his life, before trying to convince her a powerful demon is protecting him. Willow's bored at this point and describes in detail what she'll do to him, before hauling him off to be interrogated.
  • The Un-Reveal: What happened to Giles?
  • Wham! Episode: The Watcher's Council is destroyed and a new, more powerful vampire is introduced.
  • You Know Too Much: The First tries to have Andrew killed by Spike, and then his Harbringers.
  • You Are Better Than You Think You Are

Buffy: You faced the monster inside of you and you fought back. You risked everything to be a better man. And you can be. You are. You may not see it, but I do. I do. I believe in you, Spike.

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