As You Were (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Last updated
"As You Were"
Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode
Episode no.Season 6
Episode 15
Directed by Doug Petrie
Written byDoug Petrie
Production code6ABB15
Original air dateFebruary 26, 2002 (2002-02-26)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Older and Far Away"		Next →
"Hell's Bells"
Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 6
List of episodes

"As You Were" is the fifteenth episode of season 6 of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer . The episode aired on February 26, 2002 on UPN. The storyline concerns Riley's return to Sunnydale with his wife Sam and their search for a creature called a Suvolte Demon. Reviewers commended the episode for its emotional impact and character development.

Contents

Plot

Buffy and Riley fight a Suvolte demon on the streets of Sunnydale, but it escapes and they pursue him to a dam in his car. Riley's wife, Sam, arrives and jumps into the fight. Buffy recovers from the shock of Riley being married and Riley tells her about his life since he left. Buffy snaps the demon's neck, shocking Sam and Riley, who had hoped to take it alive.

At the house, Sam explains that the Suvolte demon has come to the Hellmouth to lay a nest full of its offspring. A demonic dealer in Sunnydale by the name of "The Doctor" is suspected of holding the eggs for a fee.

Buffy questions Spike about "The Doctor", but he has no immediate answers. After the two have sex, Riley walks in on them and accuses Spike of being The Doctor. Riley finds the Suvolte eggs on the floor of Spike's crypt. Spike explains that he is holding them for a friend. When they hatch, Buffy destroys them using Riley's grenades. Buffy admits to Riley that she and Spike are involved and that she hates her life. She apologizes to Riley for hiding her feelings before he left; he forgives her. The next day, Buffy finds Spike at his crypt and ends their relationship, telling him that she cannot keep using him to avoid her problems as it is killing her to do so if she does not love him.

Critical reaction

The A.V. Club called this "one of the most entertaining—and unexpectedly emotional—Buffy episodes in a good long while," noting that Riley appears "as a stark reminder of what Buffy's missing in her life at this moment, and as a catalyst for change." [1] TheTVCritic.org noted that it succeeded to hit the emotional points it was aiming for, and particularly praised Riley's speech about how great Buffy is. [2]

The website Critically Touched awards a rating of 73 out of 100 (C+), arguing that the episode is "unbelievably hokey and silly" because of the "apparent marriage/military bliss" of Riley and Sam, but concludes that "this is an episode that has a few irritating missteps, but, despite itself, manages to pull itself into a really worthwhile episode containing some fabulous, character-altering moments. This entire season has struggled with its plots, but the character material still shines through brightly." [3]

Critically Touched and the website The Buffy Phenomenon see this episode as a turning point in Buffy's life:

[w]e see a Buffy who has sadly turned into the very thing she found so strange about the Doublemeat Palace at first: the near-emotionless worker who stares blankly around and does her job on autopilot. What does Riley provide? He provides a sense of urgent necessity and a reason to jump into action. When Buffy spends a moment to consider whether to help Riley or not, I think it causes some immediate self-reflection. Buffy's been called into action again and it allows her, for the first time since her resurrection, to feel like herself again -- like she has a purpose; like the person she used to be. This is what the title of episode is in reference to. [3]

The Buffy Phenomenon said more bluntly, "Now that the worst episode of the sixth season has aired, it is all uphill from here." [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buffy Summers</span> Lead character of Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Buffy Anne Summers is the title character of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchise. She first appeared in the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer before going on to appear in The WB/UPN 1997–2003 television series and subsequent 1998–2018 Dark Horse and 2019–present Boom! Studios comic series of the same name. The character has also appeared in the spin-off series Angel, as well as numerous expanded universe materials such as novels and video games. Buffy was portrayed by Kristy Swanson in the film and by Sarah Michelle Gellar in the television series. Giselle Loren has lent her voice to the character in both the Buffy video games and an unproduced animated series, while Kelly Albanese lent her voice to the character in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight motion comics.

Spike (<i>Buffy the Vampire Slayer</i>) Character in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel

William "Spike" Pratt, played by James Marsters, is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Spike is a vampire and played various roles on the shows, including villain, anti-hero, trickster and romantic interest. For Marsters, the role as Spike began a career in science fiction television, becoming "the obvious go-to guy for US cult [television]." For creator Whedon, Spike is the "most fully developed" of his characters. The character was intended to be a brief villain, with Whedon originally adamant to not have another major "romantic vampire" character like Angel. Marsters says "Spike was supposed to be dirty and evil, punk rock, and then dead." However, the character ended up staying through the second season, and then returning in the fourth to replace Cordelia as "the character who told Buffy she was stupid and about to die."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rupert Giles</span> Character in Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Rupert Giles is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The character is portrayed by Anthony Stewart Head. He serves as Buffy Summers' mentor and surrogate father figure. The character proved popular with viewers, and Head's performance in the role was well received. Following Buffy's run, Whedon intended to launch a television spin-off focused on the character, but rights issues prevented the project from developing. Outside of the television series, the character has appeared substantially in Expanded Universe material such as novels, comic books, and short stories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunnydale</span> Fictional city from the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Sunnydale is the fictional setting for the U.S. television drama Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003). Series creator Joss Whedon conceived the town as a representation of a generic Californian city, as well as a narrative parody of the all-too-serene towns typical in traditional horror films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riley Finn</span> Character in Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Riley Finn is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Portrayed by Marc Blucas, Riley was introduced in the 1999 season four premiere episode, "The Freshman", and Blucas was part of the series credited cast for the second part of season four and the first part of season five. Most notably, Riley is one of three long-term romantic interests for series' heroine Buffy Summers.

Adam (<i>Buffy the Vampire Slayer</i>) Fictional character in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Adam is a fictional character in the fourth season of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Portrayed by George Hertzberg, he is a monster created from a man and the collected parts of demons, vampires, and technology: the product of a perverse experiment carried out by military scientists. The series' main character, Buffy Summers, encounters and ultimately defeats him in the fourth season. Adam is the creation of Dr. Maggie Walsh, the head of a military-like organization called The Initiative that studies how to alter the harmful behavior inherent to demons. Adam and the Initiative are the fourth season's primary antagonists, or Big Bad.

"Tabula Rasa" is the eighth episode of season 6 of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The episode aired on November 13, 2001 on UPN. It explores the characters not as they are, but as they could be, after they lose their memory to a spell gone awry.

Restless (<i>Buffy the Vampire Slayer</i>) 22nd episode of the 4th season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer

"Restless" is the 22nd episode and season finale of season four of the supernatural drama television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003), and the 78th episode of the series overall. The episode was written and directed by the show's creator Joss Whedon and originally aired on The WB in the United States on May 23, 2000.

Robin Wood (<i>Buffy the Vampire Slayer</i>) Fictional character from Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Robin Wood is a recurring character on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The character, present for most of Season Seven, is played by D. B. Woodside.

"The Initiative" is the seventh episode of season 4 of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Written by Doug Petrie and directed by James A. Contner, it originally aired on November 16, 1999 on the WB network.

"Beneath You" is the second episode of the seventh and final season of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The episode aired on October 1, 2002 on UPN.

"Becoming" is the season finale of the second season of the drama television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, consisting of the twenty-first and twenty-second episodes. The episode aired on The WB was split into two parts which were broadcast separately; "Part 1" first aired on May 12, 1998 and "Part 2" first aired on May 19, 1998. Both episodes were written and directed by series creator Joss Whedon.

"The Killer in Me" is the 13th episode of the seventh and final season of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The episode aired on February 4, 2003 on UPN.

"Potential" is the twelfth episode of the seventh and final season of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The episode aired on January 21, 2003 on UPN.

"Something Blue" is the 9th episode of season 4 of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Written by Tracey Forbes and directed by Nick Marck, it originally aired on November 30, 1999 on The WB. In "Something Blue", a spell by Willow goes awry, blinding Giles, making Xander a literal demon magnet, and causing Buffy and Spike to fall in love and get engaged.

"The I in Team" is the 13th episode of season 4 of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The episode aired on The WB on February 8, 2000.

"Checkpoint" is episode 12 of season 5 of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The episode aired on January 23, 2001 on The WB. The episode shows the Council testing Buffy's skills, while Glory plans to go through Buffy to get the Key. At the end of the episode, it is revealed that Glory is a god, not a demon.

"The Yoko Factor" is the 20th episode of season 4 of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The episode aired on May 9, 2000 on The WB.

<i>Buffy the Vampire Slayer</i> season 4 Season of television series

The fourth season of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer premiered on October 5, 1999, on The WB and concluded its 22-episode season on May 23, 2000. It maintained its previous timeslot, airing Tuesdays at 8:00 pm ET. Beginning with this season, the character of Angel was given his own series, which aired on The WB following Buffy. Various Buffy characters made appearances in Angel, including Buffy herself; Cordelia Chase, formerly a regular in Buffy, and Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, who appeared in Buffy season three.

References

  1. ↑ Murray, Noel (February 18, 2011). "Buffy / Angel: "As You Were"/"Loyalty"". The A.V. Club . Retrieved November 14, 2015.
  2. ↑ "As You Were". TheTvCritic.org. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  3. 1 2 Marinaro, Mikelangelo (June 1, 2008). "6x15: "As You Were"". Critically Touched. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
  4. ↑ "AS YOU WERE (ep #6.15)". www.phi-phenomenon.org/buffy. December 5, 2012. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.