Line #72 Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E1Anne


1	[[quoteright:330:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/buffys3e1_3100.jpg]]
2	%%
3	->''"I'm Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, and you are?"''
4	-->-- '''Buffy Summers'''
5
6	Directed by Creator/JossWhedon
7
8	Written by Whedon, Creator/JaneEspenson, & Creator/DouglasPetrie
9
10	!!This Recap contains unmarked [[Administrivia/SpoilersOff spoilers]] for plot lines in ''Angel'', both series and comics. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned
11	Ah, a graveyard. It's good to be home. A newly-risen vampire struggles to climb out of his grave. As he's almost free, he looks up, and the camera pans back [[BetweenMyLegs through a pair of legs]] standing in front of him. ''Psych''. [[CloseupOnHead It's Willow]], sporting a new haircut and a sly smile.
12
13	->"That's right, big boy--come 'n get it."
14
15	Xander and Oz move in to assist. Oz, however, has a little trouble [[ItMakesSenseInContext getting the wood out of his pants]], and the vamp takes the opportunity to do a cool back-flip over Xander and escape. Oz suddenly recognizes the vamp as Andy Hoelich from the gymnastics team. Xander, fuming, chastises Willow for her cheesy line, but she defensively points out that Buffy always has a quip ready. Xander misses her punnage, and Willow admonishes him for breaking the "past-tense rule." Right, right; Buffy's due back any moment now.
16
17	Buffy from a dream of a sunny beach on which she meets Angel, she's glad to see him until he upsets her by telling her that even killing him won't make him leave. She walks to the window, and the camera pans out to reveal a street that's definitely on [[UsefulNotes/LosAngeles the wrong side of the tracks]].
18
19	In the morning, Buffy, in pigtails and a checkered uniform, waits on a young couple who are canoodling. The girl is ex-vampire groupie "Chantarelle" (from "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS2E7LieToMe Lie to Me]]"), only looking much more like a StreetUrchin. The lovers have matching tattoos that, when placed together, form a heart with their names on them: "Rickie" and "Lily." After reading Buffy's name tag, which says "[-ANNE-]," Lily wonders if they've met someplace before.
20
21	Meanwhile, Sunnydale High is rebooting for the new year. Oz was supposed to go to summer school but didn't, so he's repeating senior year (lucky us). Xander and Cordelia initially look happy to see each other again, but each is waiting for the other to make the first move. After some fumbled dialogue, they dart off in opposite directions. Giles continues his search to find Buffy. He gets off the phone and announces that he has a lead--a report of a young girl fighting vampires in Oakland. This is apparently not the first such lead they've had. Xander suspects they won't find Buffy unless she wants to be found.
22
23	Night. Buffy walks back from work. Lily calls to her, "Buffy?" She asks if Buffy recognizes her, and promises that she didn't tell anyone Buffy's identity. We learn for sure that Lily is homeless, and Buffy reveals that Anne is [[SueDonym her middle name]]. Inevitably, Lily asks Buffy for some cash, but an old man shambles in between them. He creepily says, "I'm no one," and wanders out into the street before freezing like a deer in the headlights. Since he's actually ''in'' the headlights, Buffy races out and pushes him to safety, and gets hit by an SUV. A crowd forms around Buffy, but she recovers and quickly runs off. Rounding a corner, she runs right into a missionary, knocking a bunch of flyers out of his hand. As they gather them up, he introduces himself as Ken, and gives Buffy a flyer for a halfway house called "Family Home."
24
25	Lily finds Buffy at the diner. She tells Buffy that Rickie has disappeared, and begs her for help. Cut to a blood bank, where Lily exposits that she and Rickie went there the day before to score money (and cookies). Buffy asks a large female doctor if Rickie has come around. No sirree, bob. As they leave, the ominous music of "I'm Not Telling The Whole Story" plays over the doc's face. Out in the street, Buffy finds the old man whose life she saved the previous night lying dead in the gutter, having drunk drain cleaner. She kneels and turns his arm over, and finds the "Lily" tattoo. She realizes that Rickie has somehow been "drained" of his youth.
26
27	Buffy breaks the news to Lily, who doesn't take it very well; she accuses Buffy of bringing a monster along with her. Lily runs out of Buffy's apartment--straight into the arms of Ken. He invites her to come to Family Home, telling her that Rickie ''has already joined them''. Meanwhile, at the blood bank, Buffy interrogates the doctor from earlier, who pleads that she just forwards "them" the names of the "healthy ones."
28
29	Cut to Ken preparing Lily, who's now wearing a smock, for a ceremony called a "Cleansing." Ken instructs Lily to kneel in front of an ink-black, rectangular pool. He explains that the pool is to "wash away the past." With motor oil? At the front door, Buffy's asking some goon if she can join up ("...I woke up, and I looked in the mirror and I thought, 'Hey! What's with all the sin?'"). When that doesn't work, she kicks the door open and finds Ken in the cleansing room...just in time for the tar to suck Lily into the pool.
30
31	Buffy tries to follow, but Ken tangles her up and they both fall in, right through the black pool and into a hellish-looking forge. Young men and women, all dressed in the same style of smock as Lily, working as slaves. Some are being whipped by demon guards. Ken reveals himself as a demon of some sort with a human face glued on, and sends his guards after the girls. The two are quickly caught and told that they will be living there for as long as they can serve as useful slaves. Time moves much more quickly in their current reality, which is why Rickie aged so many years while no time had passed on Earth.
32
33	Buffy, Lily, and several other kids are brought before a demon guard for orientation. He barks at the kids, "YOU ARE NO ONE NOW." Right. Let's practice. Demon Guard asks a boy at one end of the line who he is. The boy stammers, "Aaron." Wrong answer. Guard clocks him with a club. Buffy seems to steel herself at that. Lily's next in line: she cheeps, "No one!" Ding ding ding! You've been voted Most Likely Not To Get Clocked On The Head By A Demon Guard! Then it's Buffy's turn:
34
35	->"[[TitleDrop I'm Buffy. The Vampire Slayer.]] And you are?"
36
37	He tries to wallop her, but Buffy makes short work of the guards, and instructs the kids to follow her. Lily shepherds the kids out; they reach a large iron gate, which Buffy lifts up with Slayer strength. The kids go under it, and Buffy starts to go herself when Ken tackles her from behind. He bowls her over, and the gate crashes down, impaling him through both legs. The kids escape upward through the portal, while Buffy gives Ken her "pissed-off Gandhi" impression, bringing the club down on his skull.
38
39	Buffy's apartment. She offers to give Lily the tour, but only take two steps before announcing, "This concludes our tour." Buffy says the rent is paid up for the next three weeks, and that Lily can take over her shifts at the diner. Lily regards Buffy's diner uniform, and [[TakingUpTheMantle asks for permission to be "Anne"]]. Aw.
40
41	Back at home, Joyce hesitantly answers the door again. She opens the door to find her daughter on the front steps. After a few moments, they hug.
42	----
43	!!Tropes present in the episode:
44
45	* AdventureDuo: PintSizedPowerhouse Buffy and lanky {{Cloudcuckoolander}} Lily.
46	* ArtEvolution: With better ratings came a bigger budget for the show; this episode was the first to be shot on larger-format 35mm film instead of the 16mm of the first two seasons, leading to a visible jump in image quality, particularly in nighttime scenes. Nerf Herder's theme tune has also been re-recorded in better quality and the logo in the opening credits is the iconic version used for the rest of the series (see EvolvingCredits below).
47	* AnotherDimension: The sweatshop ran by Ken and the rest of the demons is located in a Hell dimension accessible through a portal that appears as an oily pool.
48	* AnswerCut:
49	** Subverted when the Scoobies wonder where Buffy is. Cut to Buffy on a beautiful beach, but it's AllJustADream.
50	** Played straight when Buffy demands to know who the nurse gave the names of the 'candidates' to. Cut to Ken.
51	* AskAStupidQuestion: Nurse Wretched walks in on Buffy breaking into her office and going through her files.
52	-->'''Nurse:''' What are you doing?\
53	'''Buffy:''' Breaking into your office and going through your files.
54	* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: Xander and Cordy’s communication.
55	* BadassBoast: Having fled Sunnydale, Buffy's trying to abandon everything of her life as the Slayer, even to the point of going by her middle name, Anne. Then she gets tricked into falling into a hell dimension where demons are using humans kidnapped from Earth as slaves. To each slave, the slaver asks "Who are you?" then beats the captive until they reply "Nobody". Then he reaches Buffy:
56	-->'''Demon''': Who are you?\
57	''' Buffy''' I'm [[TitleDrop Buffy. The Vampire Slayer]]. [[PreAsskickingOneLiner And you are?]] ''[[[HesBack Cue Buffy single-handly bringing down the entire operation]]]''
58	* BadHabits: Ken the missionary.
59	* BadLiar: Buffy trying (and failing) to talk her way into Family House.
60	-->'''Buffy''': I'm-I'm dirty. I'm, I'm bad, with the sex, and the envy, and that loud music us kids listen to nowadays.
61	* BadSamaritan: Ken "helps" the homeless and runaway kids by sending them to a Hell dimension where time runs much faster than it does on Earth. There, they are worked as slaves until they die of old age.
62	* TheBait: In Buffy's absence, the Scoobies had to work without her, and the role of bait gets passed to Cordelia. {{Subverted}} when Xander and Cordelia are too busy arguing over this, they fail to notice the vampire is sneaking up on Willow.
63	* BaitAndSwitchComment: Buffy's romantic dream of Angel takes a dark turn.
64	-->'''Buffy:''' Stay with me.
65	-->'''Angel:''' Forever. That's the whole point. I'll never leave. (''whispering into her ear'') [[TheLostLenore Not even if you kill me.]]
66	** Joyce gets one later with Giles.
67	--->'''Giles:''' You mustn't blame yourself for Buffy leaving.\
68	'''Joyce:''' I don't. [{{Beat}}] I blame you.
69	* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Ken's TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to Buffy. He ridiculing her for running away from Sunnydale and her old identity trying to disappear. "Congratulations. You got your wish." Of course, Ken doesn't actually ''know'' who Buffy is, but the message is still effective nonetheless.
70	* BenevolentArchitecture:
71	** In the foundry, Buffy climbs hand-over-hands up a rope chain to escape the mob of guards.
72	** The giant spiked gate which closes on Ken. Yeeowch.
73	* BetweenMyLegs: [[AdrenalineMakeover Willow the Vampire Slayer.]]
74	* TheBigDamnKiss: The gag from "What's My Line" of swelling music when Cordelia and Xander kiss is repeated.
75	* BondOneLiner:
76	** [[LampshadeHanging Brought to the attention of the audience]] when Willow tries to do a OneLiner and when it doesn't work out, she explains that Buffy always says something clever, and she thinks it throws the bad guys off their guard.
77	** "Hey Ken, wanna see my impression of Gandhi?" (SPLAT)
78	--->'''Lily:''' Gandhi? \
79	'''Buffy:''' ''({{beat}})'' Well, you know, if he was really pissed off.
80	* BreadEggsMilkSquick: Larry getting psyched up for the new football season.
81	-->'''Larry:''' If we can focus, keep discipline, and not have quite as many mysterious deaths, Sunnydale is gonna ''rule!''
82	* BreakThemByTalking: As Buffy and Lily are stewing in a cell, Ken drops by to gloat through the prison bars. He taunts Lily about her boyfriend's suffering, then turns his attention to Buffy, ridiculing her for running away from her old identity--to disappear. "Congratulations. [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor You got your wish.]]"
83	* BrutalHonesty: As Buffy is rifling through some files at the blood bank, the nefarious doctor enters and demands to know what she's doing. Buffy: "Breaking into your office and going through your private files." Hee.
84	* BuffySpeak: Xander ordering Cordelia to go act "baity."
85	* BullSeeingRed: When Xander first has the idea of using Cordy as bait, she's wearing red. However, on the night Cordelia is wearing blue, and the vampire sneaks up on redheaded Willow instead. This fits with the statement made in the upcoming episode "The Wish" that vampires are attracted to bright colors.
86	* CallBack:
87	** Lily is none other than Chanterelle, one of the {{Vampire Vannabe}}s from "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS2E7LieToMe Lie to Me]]". Specifically, the one that Spike bites right after crashing the Sunset Club.
88	** Cordelia suggesting that Xander might have got together with an "[[{{Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS2E4IncaMummyGirl}} Inca Mummy Girl]]" while she was away.
89	* TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive: Lily (AKA Chanterelle) shows up at the Diner where Buffy works, recognizes her, and begs her for help.
90	* CannotSpitItOut: Xander and Cordelia in the hall.
91	* ChekhovsGunman: On her way to work, Buffy passes a guy handing out leaflets to a homeless kid. Then we hear a plaintive "I'm no one," and Buffy sees a decrepit homeless woman lying in a doorway. Buffy looks perturbed, but thinks nothing of it.
92	* TheCityNarrows: Buffy finally tracks down Rickie, long since keeled over, in an abandoned warehouse full of {{hobos}}.
93	* PreAsskickingOneLiner: Parodied with Willow, and her less-than-successful attempt at trying this on the newly risen vampire;
94	-->'''Willow:''' Well, the Slayer always says a pun, or a witty play on words, and I think it throws the vampires off and makes them frightened because I'm wisecracking. Okay, I didn't exactly have a chance to work on that one, but you try it all the time!
95	* ComicallyMissingThePoint: At the blood bank, Buffy thinks it would be best if she and Lily split up. Lily nods in agreement, then blankly asks, "Can I come with you?"
96	** "Okay, where did I lose you on the whole 'splitting up' thing?"
97	* CrashIntoHello: Old!Rickie and Lily, unbeknownst to her. Her empty glare at the "rude" old man is definitely a case of [[invoked]]HarsherInHindsight.
98	** Buffy running headlong into Ken. He inquires after her well-being, and PSAs about kids on the street.
99	* CrapsackWorld: SmashCut from Buffy's dream of [[OneTrueLove her and Angel]] on a [[HappyPlace beautiful beach]] ([[BecomeARealBoy in daylight]]) to Buffy alone in a rundown apartment with police cars screaming by outside.
100	* CutPhoneLines: Joan, the blood bank doctor, threatens to call the police, but Buffy, barely looking up, rips the phone out of the wall. Slayer strength!
101	* DinerBrawl: At the diner, Buffy waits on two trucker types. She instructs Trucker #1 to pay at the counter, and he offers to pay in trade, [[LampshadedDoubleEntendre if you know what I mean]]. Trucker #2 slaps her behind as she walks away. She glares over her shoulder, and [[TheDayTheMusicLied from the music we're meant to think an ass-kicking is imminent]], but instead [[AvertedTrope she keeps walking]].
102	* DisposableVagrant: Ken and his cronies prey on them.
103	* {{Dissimile}}: It seems Buffy has confused Gandhi with Teddy Roosevelt.
104	* DivingSave: Buffy pushing Old!Rickie out of a vehicle's path. Subverted in that [[GoodThingYouCanHeal Buffy is hit by the car instead]].
105	* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Social issues covered by this episode include teenage runaways and sweatshops. There's also the presence of sexual harassment.
106	** Ken drops the anvil with this line: "This is not a good place for a kid to be. [[{{Foreshadowing}} You get old fast]] out here."
107	** At one point in the battle with Ken's henchmen, Buffy wields both [[HammerAndSickle a hammer and a hunga munga, which kind of looks like a sickle]]. The factory setting, hard labor and symbols from the old Soviet Union may be a visual play on the spirit of workers rising up against their oppressors.
108	** When Buffy tells Lily that Rickie is dead, she mentions that it seemed like something "sucked the life out of him", that it was probably something in his blood, and that something like that could happen to anyone, even "good" people. The scene right before shows an HIV poster.
109	*** Narrativewise: Buffy talking about something in his blood and how anything can happen to good people and how you just have to deal very much applies to her and Angel.
110	* {{The Drifter}}s: Lily, Rickie, and "Anne" herself.
111	* TheDoorSlamsYou: When the people at Family Home try to shut the door in Undercover!Buffy's face, she kicks the door into him.
112	* DrivenToSuicide: The used-up slaves who get spit back into our world. Rickie steps out in front of a car, then after Buffy saves him drinks a can of drain cleaner.
113	* DualWielding: Buffy, hammer and sickle axe in hand.
114	* DullEyesOfUnhappiness: The homeless, the runaways, the slave workers -- but most noticeably Buffy. When she has her ShesBack moment, it's amazing how much her eyes light up.
115	* EverybodyWasKungFuFighting: {{Lampshaded}} when the Scooby Gang are hunting vampires while Buffy's out of town and encounter a newborn vampire who hands them their asses in this fashion. When Xander, pissed-off, demands to know how the hell he learnt that stuff, Oz recognizes him as a former classmate who used to be captain of the gymnastics team.
116	* EvolvingCredits: The iconic [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/it/2/21/Buffy_-_logo.jpg logo]] debuts here.
117	* EvolvingMusic: A re-recorded version of the opening theme replaces the one from the first two seasons.
118	* FailedASpotCheck: Cordy and Xander bickering at each other, unaware that the vamp has singled out Willow. [[SarcasmMode Like a well-oiled machine]], these Scoobies.
119	* FamilyUnfriendlyViolence: Ken getting his legs nailed to the ground by the collapsing gate. [[AssholeVictim But he did deserve it.]]
120	* FatalAttractor: Xander's habit of falling for monsters is lampshaded by Cordelia.
121	* FlirtatiousSmackOnTheAss: One of the diner customers slaps Buffy on the ass as she walks past. When Larry tried something similar in "Phases" she flipped him on his ass, so her lack of reaction here is a sign of just how depressed she's become.
122	* FluffyTheTerrible: Ken in human guise.
123	* {{Foreshadowing}}:
124	** At one point, Lily mentions that for a while, she was following this "loser preacher" around. Now, who is the secondary antagonist of the seventh season?
125	** For the ''Series/{{Angel}}'' spin-off, the nightmares that wait in LA for Angel to fight against.
126	** Lily says she's not great at taking care of herself, then she asks "Can I be Anne?"... someone who's great at taking care of other people. Which is what she does as a [[AllLovingHero selfless social worker, helping lost teens]].
127	* FreezeFrameBonus: When Buffy walks out of Helen's Kitchen, Ken is already there handling flyers to the Family Home.
128	* FriendsRentControl: Even in the mid-90s, Buffy living by herself in a not-absolute-shithole apartment in LA on a waitress's income is pretty unbelievable.
129	* GenuineHumanHide: The demon who asks the slaves "Who are you?" is [[MalevolentMaskedMen wearing a mask made of skin, presumably human]].
130	* GoodLipsEvilJaws: Look how the same demon has no lips, thus leaving his teeth bare.
131	* GoryDiscretionShot: Buffy splattering Ken's head.
132	* GreasySpoon: [[PunnyName Helen's Kitchen.]]
133	* HammerAndSickle: During the final fight in Ken's factory Buffy ends up wielding a hammer and a bladed weapon called a hunga-munga which ''looks'' enough like a sickle to complete the imagery, and this is of course a worker revolt against an oppressive ruling class, so the symbolism definitely works.
134	* HoldingHands: When running from Ken and his guards, Buffy pulls Lily by the hand like a classic DamselInDistress.
135	* HypocriticalHumor: When Buffy asks for their order, Rickie dumps some change on the table and asks what they can afford with that much.
136	-->'''Lily:''' Can we get cake?\
137	'''Rickie:''' Don't be stupid. We gotta eat healthy. [to Buffy] You got any pie?
138	* ICantBelieveImSayingThis: Xander: "I can't wait to see Cordelia. [horrified realization] I can't believe I can't wait to see Cordelia."
139	* IHaveManyNames: Lily says that she's always changing her name; Chanterelle was part of her "exotic phase." Buffy informs her that chanterelle is a mushroom. [[EmbarrassingNickname Lily looks alarmed]], and [[VerbalBackspace Buffy backpedals]] by telling her that it's an "exotic" mushroom. A less badass and more tragic version of this trope as it signifies Lily not finding an acceptable permanent identity.
140	* IWillPunishYourFriendForYourFailure: Ken holding a knife to Lily's throat and threatening to kill all the slaves if even ''one'' rebels.
141	* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: Ken.
142	* ImportantHaircut: Buffy goes incognito as a strawberry blonde. Willow has cut her hair shorter, and now emulates the Slayer in hairstyle as well as dress.
143	* IncrediblyLameFun: Willow wonders with excitement what their first homework assignment will be. In response to Xander's DoubleTake, she points out that he's excited over [[AlphaBitch Cordelia]]. "We've all got issues."
144	* InstitutionalApparel: The government-issue smocks given to those kids who are about to be "Cleansed."
145	* ItGetsEasier: Buffy to Anne in the epilogue.
146	* ItsPersonal: Willow stubbornly defends her [[YouFightLikeACow quips]], but admits her choice of words was lame. Oz suggests this trope instead. "There's a reason why it's a classic."
147	* JustYouAndMeAndMyGUARDS
148	* KarmaHoudini: Joan, the hospital worker who was “just giving the names” of the healthy runaways.
149	* KneelBeforeZod: Played with; Lily is told to kneel before the pond, and Buffy (still suffering from head trauma) is thrown to the floor in front of the demon guard overseer.
150	* LampshadeHanging: Willow, Oz and Xander hilariously subvert and discuss two main tropes: PreAsskickingOneLiner and ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks. For more hilarity, Buffy successfully pulls off both later on. It's probably because she's the Slayer.
151	* LatexPerfection: Ken's skin mask. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to glue that thing on?!"
152	* LeaveMeAlone: "Anne" doesn't want anyone to remind her of her role as the Slayer.
153	* LinkedListClueMethodology: Buffy discovers that the runaways have all been stamped "[-CANDIDATE-]" by the blood bank.
154	* LintValue: Buffy is working as a waitress when two young runaways who spent all their money on matching tattoos deposit a handful of change on the table and ask if it will get them anything.
155	* LoadBearingBoss: Ken. After Buffy returns with all the others, the black pool solidifies.
156	* TheLostLenore: Angel to Buffy; even the sight of Lily and Rickie smooching makes her envious.
157	* MadeASlave: The Family Home's true purpose.
158	* MadnessMantra: "I'm no one."
159	* MagneticHero: Buffy made an impression on Lily/Chanterelle by saving her from Spike's crew last season. Here she continues the trend by not only finding her kidnapped boyfriend, but by rescuing Lily, herself, and every other slave from a demon hell dimension and ending their slave trade for good. The result is that Lily rechristens herself as Anne (Buffy's middle name/alias in LA) in her honor and carries on her good works in LA, becoming a social worker dedicated to saving lost teens like herself, showing up a few times in the spinoff ''Series/{{Angel}}''.
160	* {{Malaproper}}: Xander. "Look, I don't mean to poop the party here..."
161	* MaleGaze: We have a lingering shot of our heroine in a dress with her hair down, before we cut to Buffy in a candy-stripe waitress outfit and DullEyesOfUnhappiness.
162	* MeaningfulEcho: ''I'm no one.''
163	** At hearing news of Rickie's death, Lily says despairingly, "But -- he takes care of me." We can surmise that she's has spent years drifting from one 'protector' to the next. At the end, Lily (now "Anne") is resigned to standing on her own feet, but laments, "I'm not very good at taking care of myself."
164	*** [[CharacterizationMarchesOn We'll see.]] When she appears in season 2 of ''Series/{{Angel}}'', she's is an administrator at a shelter for homeless teenagers, so by then she has a lot of people to help take care of. [[labelnote:Angel comics…]]In the ''Angel'' comics she becomes a mother of a HalfHumanHybrid.[[/labelnote]]
165	* MetaphoricallyTrue: Xander whines over how weak and uncoordinated the gang is without a Slayer.
166	-->'''Oz''': ''(defensively)'' I dunno, I think we're getting a rhythm down.\
167	'''Xander:''' We're losing half the vamps.\
168	'''Oz:''' Yeah, but...rhythmically.
169	* MiddleNameBasis: Buffy goes by her middle name "Anne" while living in L.A.
170	* MythologyGag:
171	** "Lily" and her boyfriend attempting to buy lunch at a diner by dumping a bunch of change onto the table. David Arquette and Luke Perry did the exact same thing in the ''Buffy'' [[Film/BuffyTheVampireSlayer feature film]].
172	** Buffy working as a waitress is a nod to Whedon's original concept: Rhonda the Immortal Waitress.
173	* NeutralFemale: Subverted. Lily spends most of the episode completely useless, and during her and Buffy's daring escape from the demon world, she gets captured by the villain and threatened in order to stop Buffy from fighting. Then, in the middle of his villainous monologue, she pushes him off the balcony they're standing on.
174	* NeverMyFault: Despite being the one who kicked Buffy out of the house at the end of Season 2, Joyce instead blames Giles for her daughter's disappearance.
175	* NiceJobFixingItVillain: Buffy's struggling to both hold up and move under the portcullis leading to the portal exit. Then "Ken" tackles her from behind, freeing her from the burden and crippling himself.
176	* NotAllowedToGrowUp: Oz, doomed to repeat his Senior year of high school. Oh well, his loss is our gain.
177	* NoOSHACompliance: The original "fire and smoke factory". Justified as it is in a hell dimension, so de rigueur.
178	* NotSoWeak: Lily. Just in time, too; she has no one but herself to rely on now. She later goes on to become a tough independent lady on ''Angel''.
179	* NegatedMomentOfAwesome: Oz's stake whistles through the air for a short distance, then lands with a pitiful thunk.
180	* NoOntologicalInertia: Unlike every other time, when Xander accidentally stakes a vampire with Cordy's help, the stake disappears. Good thing, too, because Cordy, lying on top of the vampire lying on top of Xander, then falls onto Xander. If he'd stabbed her in the heart, they couldn't have started [[RescueSex making out with wild abandon]].
181	* OOCIsSeriousBusiness:
182	** Buffy refusing her calling and even a chance for gratuitous violence on the truck drivers.
183	** Oz with ''books''? Something is horribly wrong.
184	* TheOner: During the first act, there's a 3:24 sequence of Sunnydale High humming with activity. It starts with Giles and Willow coming down the stairs in the library and ends with Xander and Cordelia's encounter in the lounge with nothing to say to each other. SmashCut to Buffy sitting on her bed on in Los Angeles, contrasting all of the mayhem at school with Buffy's solitude. This long shot has been broken up in the syndicated versions, dampening the effect.
185	* OpenSaysMe: We see the inside of the blood bank in dim light. A shadow appears outside the glass pane of the door. The doorknob rattles, then is ripped out of the frame. Slayer strength again!
186	* ParentalSubstitute: Giles tells Joyce that she shouldn't blame herself for Buffy's departure, but Joyce turns it around: "I blame you." Ooph.
187	-->'''Joyce:''' You've been this huge influence on her, guiding her. You had this whole relationship with her behind my back. I feel like you've taken her away from me.
188	* PartingWordsRegret: Joyce regrets her harsh words to Buffy in "Becoming".
189	* PathOfInspiration: "Ken" runs a blood bank and food kitchen, posing as religious good works, in order to find desperate homeless teens with no one to miss them, to kidnap them to a hell dimension where time runs much, much faster than here.
190	* PercussiveTherapy: Buffy feels a lot better once she starts kicking ass again.
191	-->'''Ken:''' [[PunctuatedForEmphasis That . . . was not . . . permitted!]]
192	-->'''Buffy:''' Yeah, but it was fun.
193	* PerpSweating: Buffy and the doc.
194	* PoorlyDisguisedPilot: This episode has the dark-fantasy-LA setting, and much of the atmosphere and thematic content, of ''Series/{{Angel}}''. Notably a shot of a distraught woman standing by a roadside from this episode would be prominently featured in the title sequence of most seasons of ''Angel''.
195	* PortalPool: Ken's "cleansing" pool.
196	* PreMortemOneLiner: "Hey, Ken, wanna see my impression of Gandhi?" Buffy rains the club down on his head. Lily is still trying to figure out the joke.
197	-->'''Buffy:''' ...Well, you know, [[InsaneTrollLogic if he was really pissed off]].
198	* PromotionToOpeningTitles: Seth Green is now part of the opening credits.
199	* PunchClockVillain: Ken's stooge at the blood bank, Joan.
200	* PunnyName: The appropriately named ''Bellylove'' band singing at the Bronze, whose members exposed their midriffs.
201	* RedShirt: Rickie. Though his death was ultimately self-inflicted, the real cause was Family Home.
202	* RescueSex: G-rated version. Xander comes at Andy Hoelich, stake ready, but is easily overpowered. Upon seeing Xander in distress, Cordelia's scorn immediately turns to concern, and she dogpiles on Andrew from behind. They end up with Andrew sandwiched between Xander on the bottom and Cordelia on the top. With Cordelia's weight on top of him, Andrew can't hold back the stake any longer, and he explodes into ashes. Cordelia falls down on top of Xander. The two of them look at each other for an instant, then grab each other and start kissing passionately.
203	* TheReveal:
204	** Ken assuring Lily that her boyfriend is safe and sound at his halfway house.
205	** Ken realizes who she is because he recognized the name from Ricky's tattoo.
206	* RiseFromYourGrave: The opening shot is of the late lamented Andy Hoelich clambering out of his grave as a vampire.
207	* RuleOfSymbolism: Buffy leads the trapped young people forced to work for a demon in an extradimensional factory in a revolt, she does so armed first with a hammer, then gets attacked by a demon guard with a sickle like weapon. She ends up DualWielding a hammer and a sickle - a long-standing Communist symbol, of the workers uniting and rising up against those exploiting them.
208	* TheRunaway: Buffy, of course. Also implied to be the case with Lily. When Buffy asks what they call Lily "at home", Lily looks away with an expression that clearly says, "Home is where the sexual abuse is."
209	* SelectiveObliviousness: Willow's "past-tense rule." She daydreams that Buffy will suddenly show up when school starts. Xander brings her back to reality: "She can't just show up; she got ''kicked out''."
210	* ShesBack: A brief trip to hell reminds Buffy of her purpose, and she returns to Sunnydale. This after getting kicked out of her house and killing her boyfriend, at the start of the episode she is hiding out in LA waiting tables.
211	* ShadowArchetype: Lily for Buffy -- she was into vampires, she ran away from home and changed her name, she lost her lover in hell and now feels lost without him.
212	* ShapedLikeItself: Cordelia seems to have a feeble grasp on what being "bait" entails.
213	-->'''Cordelia:''' What's the plan?
214	-->'''Xander:''' The vampire attacks you.
215	-->'''Cordelia:''' And then what?
216	-->'''Xander:''' [[AskAStupidQuestion The vampire kills you.]] [[AndThereWasMuchRejoicing We watch. We rejoice.]]
217	* ShoutOut:
218	** Lily wears a white t-shirt that says, "Dent" and has a red heart with the words "Home of" visible inside the heart. This is most likely a nod to ''Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow'', in which a billboard depicts a large red heart with the word "Denton" above it (Denton is the name of the town in which the film takes place) and the phrase "The Home of Happiness" inside it.
219	** "Ken" says that, of course Buffy and Lily are in hell, for what is hell if not the complete absence of hope? Hight the inscription above the gates of hell in ''Literature/TheDivineComedy'', "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here".
220	* ShutUpHannibal: Ken momentarily [[BondVillainStupidity releases Lily]] and steps to the platform's edge to lecture everyone on "the price of "rebel--!!". One assumes he was going to say "rebellion," but we'll never know for sure, because Lily takes this opportunity to shove him off the platform. Thud.
221	* SpannerInTheWorks: Ken thought he'd just grabbed one more runaway that nobody will miss or look for, who he planned on working to death with the rest of his slaves. He actually grabbed Buffy, and she brings his whole wretched world down around him.
222	* SpiritualPredecessor: The episode's [[UrbanFantasy Urban-Los Angeles setting]] and theme of a dark big city full of danger and evil wearing the mask of benevolence while preying on the weak, poor and lonely will be further explored in the spin-off ''Series/{{Angel}}''. A shot from this episode is even used in the TitleSequence of the aforementioned series.
223	* StarCrossedLovers: It goes without saying, Lily and Rickie.
224	-->'''Ken''': [to Lily] He forgot you. Took him a long time. He remembered your name years after he'd forgotten his own. But, in the end...
225	* StockFootage: The montage depicting the teen runaways will be used again in the ''Angel'' pitch tape. The image of the teenage girl with the large skirt alone in the street will be used in the credits of ''Angel''.
226	* SueDonym: Buffy ''Anne'' Summers.
227	* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome:
228	** With Buffy gone, the Scoobies manage to slay some vampires, but in the most awkward, realistic way possible. When one runs away, Oz hurls a stake at it... and it bounces off a gravestone and lands pathetically on the ground a few feet away.
229	** Ken knocks Lily down and does a speech about how his realm is inescapable. Then she gets up and pushes him off the edge.
230	** Buffy doesn't manage to save very many human slaves: some seem too scared or beat-down to join in her attempt, others may just be too far away. All are left with a gang of normally cruel and violent demons who may be presumed to be in ''very'' bad moods….
231	* {{Symbolism}}: While leading her workers' rebellion in hell, Buffy ends up fighting with [[WhyWereBummedCommunismFell a sickle in one hand and a hammer in the other]]. Beneath a huge Series/{{angel}} statue.
232	* TapOnTheHead: As Buffy and Lily gawk at the demon factory, Ken cheerfully reappears behind them and conks Buffy out with his club.
233	* ThemedTattoos: Lily and Rickie have tattoos that form the shape of a heart with their names on the halves when put together. This becomes a plot point later on in the episode when a dead old man is revealed to have Rickie's part of the tattoo.
234	* ThisCannotBe: "Humans don't fight back. Humans DON'T FIGHT BACK! That's '''HOW IT WORKS'''!!"
235	* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks: Subverted with gusto. Dramatic music swells as Oz narrows his eyes and readies himself for a long-distance staking -- but his arm is like a wet noodle, and the stake bounces harmlessly off a gravestone. ("That really never works.")
236	** Buffy later throws an ax-thing and nails a demon in the back. Justified as this is something called a hungamunga, which actually originated as a throwing weapon.
237	* TitleDrop: Both the episode title and the ''show'' title made it in.
238	* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: David Boreanaz still appears in the credits despite his character being killed the previous season. This gives away the fact that he will be brought back back from Hell. Until then, however, he only appears in Buffy's dreams.
239	* TranquilFury: Joyce's speech to Giles.
240	* TraumaCongaLine: Lily reveals this has been her life. An abusive home, an abusive dude, a cult, the vampire cult, now a clueless boyfriend who was kidnapped and worked to death by old age in a few days... Through it all, she's found a way to stay ThePollyanna... if only through denial.
241	* TheTriple: The doctor warns Buffy that she's in a whole lot of trouble. Lady, don't argue with a grouchy Slayer at 3am.
242	-->"[[TheDrifter I don't want any trouble]]. I just want to be alone and quiet in a room with a chair and a fireplace and a tea cozy. I don't even know what a tea cozy is, [[RuleOfCool but I want one]]."
243	* ATruceWhileWeGawk: The guards holding Buffy freeze in place when Ken shouts his ultimatums. Lily pushes him from behind, and he falls screaming to the floor below. The guards holding Buffy just watch as he hits bottom with a loud thud.
244	* TryNotToDie: Willow thinks the gang's not doing so hot on patrol, but Giles is just happy they're all safe. Willow assures Giles that it's "part of our whole mission statement. 'Don't get killed.'"
245	* UnderestimatingBadassery: "Ken" learns, to the mifortune of the hell dimension he serves, that not every depressed, runaway, teenager is a helpless VictimOfTheWeek. And then Lily steps up to hammer the lesson home.
246	* VampireVannabe: Giles returns from his false lead in Oakland ("Bunch of school kids in heavy mascara").
247	* VeryFalseAdvertising: Rickie ordering some peach pie. Buffy grouchily scribbles down the order, then snarks, "Can't guarantee there's a peach in it."
248	* WeirdnessCensor: Larry has at least ''noticed'' the "mysterious deaths", even if he hasn't quite realized how abnormal they are.
249	* WeirdnessMagnet
250	-->'''Cordelia:''' [Xander] didn't meet anybody over the summer, did he? No, who's he gonna meet in Sunnydale, but monsters and stuff? But then again he's always been [[FatalAttractor attracted to monsters]]...
251	** Lily accuses Buffy of having brought whatever killed Rickie from Sunnydale. Buffy does not react well.
252	** Also lampshaded when Buffy is PerpSweating the blood bank nurse.
253	--->'''Buffy:''' I don't want any trouble. [snip] Instead, I keep getting trouble, [[ImpliedDeathThreat which I am more than willing to share]].
254	* WeNeedADistraction: The escaped kids hide under the stairs while Buffy and Lily hatch a plan: Buffy=diversion, Lily=get the kids to safety.
255	* WelcomeToHell: Ken warmly welcoming Buffy and her sidekick to his dimension.
256	** Later, when Lily wonders if they're in Hell, Ken waxes philosophic about Hell being "the total absence of hope."
257	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Did they somehow destroy the pool or just left it there hoping that [[NeverRecycleYourSchemes it will never reopen again on its own]]?
258	* YearInsideHourOutside: Time passing differently in alternate dimensions is introduced here; a hundred years in the hell dimension is only a day on Earth.
259	** Slightly inverted when Lily falls into the "cleansing pool." Buffy falls through ten seconds later but Lily is still sitting there, holding her head. She should have been there a few days.
260	* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: Buffy insists that Lily can lead their fellow would-be slaves to safety.
261	-->'''Buffy:''' Lily, you can handle this. Because I say so.

Context Recap / BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E1Anne