Something Blue

Infobox Television episode
Title=Something Blue


Series=Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Season=4
Episode=9
Airdate=November 30 1999
Production=4ABB09
Writer=Tracey Forbes
Director=Nick Marck
Episode list=List of Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes
Prev=Pangs
Next=Hush

"Something Blue" is the 9th episode of season 4 of the television show "Buffy the Vampire Slayer".

Plot synopsis

ummary

A spell by Willow goes awry, blinding Giles, making Xander even more of a demon magnet, and causing Buffy and Spike to fall in love and get engaged.

Expanded overview

Buffy talks to Riley and he invites her out on a picnic. Willow and Buffy talk about a possible relationship with Riley, and the consequences that may result from any relationship. Buffy wonders if the passion of her relationships comes from the pain and fighting. Spike is chained up and kept in the bathtub at Giles' apartment. Buffy tries to get information from him, and feeds him pig's blood, but he doesn't give up much. Willow suggests a truth spell to make Spike talk.

Going to Oz's place, she finds his things missing and learns that he had his things shipped to him, crushing her last hopes of his return. Annoyed by Spike, Giles calls Willow and arranges for them to perform the truth spell. That night at The Bronze, Willow opts to drown her sorrows in alcohol. After she insults Xander, Buffy takes her back to their dorm. Later, in the bathroom, Willow performs a spell to let her will be granted in order to make her pain go away.

Willow tries to see if her spell worked, but her commands don't work. Giles drops by to find out why she didn't show to help him perform the spell. She feels like there's too much pressure on her that she can't live up to. Angry, she says that he can't see anything, and then Giles leaves. Giles tries to perform the spell on Spike alone, but is having difficulty reading. After Giles drops the key to the chains keeping Spike captive, Spike is able to break free and run away.

While Willow and Buffy talk, one of Willow's casual comments results in Amy turning into a human for a brief second, before turning back into a rat. After Giles calls, Buffy goes to find Spike and once he's caught (once more due to a sarcastic comment from Willow), she brings him back to Giles's apartment. While talking to Xander, Willow sarcastically mentions Buffy and Spike getting married, and then at Giles' place, Spike proposes to Buffy and she accepts.

Xander continues to try to console Willow until she states the fact that he is a demon magnet. While Buffy and Spike cuddle and kiss and make plans for the wedding, Giles calls Willow for help and moments later reaches the conclusion that he is totally blind. Buffy visits the magic shop for supplies to undo the spell that caused Giles to become blind. She then runs into Riley outside of a bridal shop and tells him about the wedding, which confuses and upsets him.

Xander and Anya's romantic time is interrupted by various demons that attack them. They rush to Giles' place where Xander realizes that everything Willow has said is coming true. D'Hoffryn, the demon responsible for making Anya a vengeance demon, comes forth and takes Willow through a portal into his demon world to make the same offer. When the gang goes to look for her, Anya recognizes the remains of a portal left by D'Hoffryn.

Buffy and the rest of the group go to a crypt where they hope to stop D'Hoffryn from turning Willow into a demon. En route to the crypt, several demons attack, still drawn to Xander because of Willow's spell. In the meantime, Willow turns down D'Hoffryn's offer and he sends her back. Willow breaks the spell and Buffy and Spike find themselves in the middle of a kiss. Willow apologizes and tries to make up for her messed up spell with cookies. Buffy finds herself over the whole "bad boy" thing. The next day, Buffy confronts Riley and manages to convince him that she's not getting married.

Acting

tarring

*Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers
*Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris
*Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg
*James Marsters as Spike
*Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles

Guest starring

*Marc Blucas as Riley Finn
*Emma Caulfield as Anya
*Elizabeth Anne Allen as Amy Madison

Co-starring

*Andy Umberger as D'Hoffryn

Production details

Music

*Bette Midler - "Wind Beneath My Wings"
*blink-182 - "All the Small Things"
*Joe 90 - "Truth"
*Sue Willett - "Night Time Company"

Quotes and trivia

:Buffy: Spike and I are getting married!:Xander: How?... What?... How?:Giles: Three excellent questions.

:Buffy: Spike lips! Lips of Spike! "Exclaimed after Willow broke the spell in the middle of a Buffy-Spike makeout session."

:Spike: Don't I get a cookie?:Buffy: No!:Spike: Well, I gotta have something. I still have Buffy taste in my mouth.:Buffy: You're a pig, Spike.:Spike: Yeah, well I'm not the one who wanted "Wind Beneath my Wings" for the first dance.

* The plot of this episode is similar to the "Angel" season 5 episode "Life of the Party".

Translations

* Italian title: "Qualcosa di blu" ("Something blue"), though in Italian "blu" means just the color, not "sad", and in Italy there is not the wedding tradition of wearing something particularly colored.
* German title: "Mein Wille Geschehe" ("My Will be Done")
* French title: "Le mariage de Buffy" ("Buffy's Wedding")
* Spanish title: "Algo Triste" ("Something Sad")

Continuity

Arc significance

* This episode foreshadows two major plotlines of season 6 - Willow's abuse of magic for her own ends, and Buffy and Spike in a relationship.

* This episode also marks the first time Willow does a large, complex spell that goes awry. This happens again in future episodes.

* In this episode, D'Hoffryn gives Willow a talisman so that she can summon him if she changes her mind about becoming a vengeance demon. Willow will later use this talisman in the Season 7 episode "Selfless" in order to talk to D'Hoffryn about Anya.

* The "Lesbian Alliance" banner that Buffy sees Riley hanging in the beginning of the episode is a foreshadowing of Willow's upcoming lesbian relationship, beginning in the next episode.

External links

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Reviews

* [http://www.soulfulspike.com/spikecentricity/SomethingBlueReview.htm Soulful Spike Society analysis of "Something Blue"]
* [http://www3.sympatico.ca/jenoff/btvs409.htm Peripheral Visions Review]
* [http://www.section31.com/guideextras.php?id=216 Section 31 Review]
* [http://tv.swingthesickle.com/ststv/Buffy_the_Vampire_Slayer/Season_4/09.review Swing the Sickle Review]