Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Halloween

Halloween
Season 2, Episode 6
Airdate	October 27, 1997
Production Number	5V06
Written by	Carl Ellsworth
Directed by	Bruce Seth Green
← 2x05 Reptile Boy	2x07 → Lie to Me
Buffy the Vampire Slayer — Season Two

Halloween is the sixth episode of the second season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and the eighteenth episode overall. A night that typically represents a vacation for the supernatural descends into chaos when people take on the characteristics of their costumes.

Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy Summers), Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris), Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg), Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia Chase), David Boreanaz (Angel)

and Anthony Stewart Head (Giles)

Guest Starring: Seth Green (Oz), James Marsters (Spike), Robin Sachs (Ethan Rayne), Juliet Landau (Drusilla)

and Armin Shimerman (Principal Snyder)

Co-Starring: Larry Bagby III (Larry), Abigail Gershman (Girl)

Plot Overview

The Scooby Gang are volunteered by Principal Snyder to provide supervision for some of Sunnydale's children as they go door to door asking for Halloween candies. Unfortunately, Ethan Rayne, the new costume shop owner has other plans for this year's Halloween customers, as residents turn into the costumes that they're wearing.

Notes

Monster of the Week

The "monster" in this episode is technically everyone in Sunnydale who was wearing one of the costumes from Ethan's. Although, at the root of the evil is Ethan Rayne, an old friend of Giles as well as a powerful sorcerer who casts the spell in the first place. Rayne used the head of Janus to transform everyone into manifestations of the costumes they bought from him.

Spike and Drusilla also play a role during the chaos, although it's largely an ineffectual one.

Body Count

#	Whom	By Whom	How	Where
1	Vampire	Buffy	Staked	Pumpkin Patch

Music

• Epperley - "Shy"

• Treble Charger - "How She Died"

Arc Advancement

Happenings

• Holiday: Traditionally, paranormal activity is quiet on Halloween. An explanation for why exactly this happens is never really given, but it's something that both normal people and demons like Spike accept. The only reason why Spike goes on a rampage during Halloween is because Ethan Rayne gives him an opening.

Characters

• Angel: Buffy and Willow steal a dossier of Angel which contains, among other things, a journal he kept in 1775 when he was still human. A woman is pictured, drawn by him, who Willow posits to be a noblewoman. This implies that when he was human, Angel was in a position of some class.

• Willow & Oz: Willow and Oz interact for the first time, although they don't quite realize it because Willow is wearing her ghost costume.

• Giles: A side of Giles which has not previously been seen surfaces in this episode when he beats information out of Ethan Rayne. A bit of his back story is revealed as well when Ethan calls Giles "Ripper" and indicates that they're old friends. Ethan speaks vaguely about their collective past, but one can assume that they were both up to no good when they were younger.

Trivia

The Show

• Moral High Ground: This episode is one of the few where the instance of a gun being fired doesn't result in some kind of backlash against the character. It's possible that this is because Joss Whedon didn't write this episode or because of the unusual circumstances of the night.

• First Halloween themed episode of the series. The WB advertised it as "A Buffy Halloween Spectacular".

Behind the Scenes

• International: Buffy the Vampire Slayer has been dubbed into many different languages and the title translated for each different international version. Some international translations of this episode's title are:
  • German: "Die Nacht der Verwandlung" ("The Night of Metamorphosis")
  • Japanese: "ハロウィーン" ("Harowīn" - "Halloween")

• Oz's Van: In the scene where Oz sees Willow from afar in his van, they use a different van from all of the later appearances. Whedon approved the purchase of the van based on the exterior, but no one informed him that it was a right drive, European-style car. As a result, Seth Green had to learn how to drive a stick shift using his left hand.

Allusions and References

• Xena: Warrior Princess: Xena: Warrior Princess is a syndicated action series starring Lucy Lawless as a ruthless warlord who becomes reformed and attempts to redeem her past sins. During the series, Xena uses her nearly superhuman fighting abilities to do good for others instead of conquering them.

Willow: She couldn't have dressed up like Xena?

Goofs

• Willow is a ghost and therefore incorporeal. Yet, when she leaves Giles in Ethan's shop, the curtain moves as she walks past. Additionally, we can hear the door close.

Quotes

• Cordelia: Buffy. Love the hair. It just screams street urchin.

• Larry: You and Buffy, you're just friends, right?

Xander: I like to think of it less as a friendship and more as a solid foundation for future bliss.

• Willow: It's too bad we can't sneak a look at the Watcher diaries and read up on Angel. I'm sure it's full of fun facts to know and tell.

Buffy: Yeah. It's too bad. That stuff is private.

Willow: Also Giles keeps them in his office. In his personal files.

Buffy: Most importantly, it would be wrong.

• Buffy: (to Giles) Do you stuff your own shirts, or do you send them out?

• Cordelia: Oh, he's a vampire. Of course. But the cuddly kind. Like a Care Bear with fangs?

• Drusilla: Do you know what I miss? Leeches.

• Xander: Private Harris reporting for... Buffy! Lady of Buffdom, Duchess of Buffonia, I am in awe! I completely renounce spandex!

• Cordelia: Is Mr I'm-the-lead-singer-I'm-so-great-I-don't-have-to-show-up-for-my-date-or-even-call gonna be there?

Oz: Yeah, y'know, he's just going by "Devon" now.

• Willow: She couldn't have dressed up like Xena?

• Cordelia: That's nice, Willow. And you went mental when?

• Oz: (seeing Willow) Who is that girl?