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This Year's Girl (1) is the fifteenth episode of the fourth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and the seventy-first episode overall.

Starring: Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy Summers), Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris), Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg), Marc Blucas (Riley Finn), James Marsters (Spike)

And: Anthony Stewart Head (Giles)

Guest Starring: Kristine Sutherland (Joyce Summers), Amber Benson (Tara Maclay), Leonard Roberts (Forrest Gates), Bailey Chase (Graham Miller), Chet Grissom (Detective), Alastair Duncan (Collins), Harry Groener (Mayor Richard Wilkins III)

And: Eliza Dushku (Faith)

Co-Starring: Jeff Ricketts (Weatherby), Kevin Owers (Smith), Mark Gantt (Demon), Kimberly McRae (Visitor), Sara Van Horn (Older Nurse), Brian Hawley (Orderly), Jack Esformes (Doctor)

Contents 1 Plot Overview 2 Notes 2.1 Monster of the Week 2.2 Body Count 3 Arc Advancement 3.1 Happenings 3.2 Characters 3.3 Referbacks 4 Trivia 4.1 The Show 4.2 Behind the Scenes 4.3 Allusions and References 4.4 Memorable Moments 5 Quotes

Plot Overview

Notes

Monster of the Week

There is no monster of the week, aside from a flayed demon who briefly appears and messenger on behalf of the Mayor with the tape for Faith. Instead, the episode deals with Faith waking from her coma and attacking Buffy with a device which switches their bodies.

Body Count

#	Whom	By Whom	How	Where
1	Demon	Adam	Gutted	Woods
2	Demon	Faith	Neck Snapped	Alleyway

Arc Advancement

Happenings

• Foreshadowing: Faith has another prophetic dream involving Buffy, with the last one being in the season three finale. In the dream, Buffy and Faith are making the bed in Buffy's house. Buffy tells faith that she has to go because there's much work to do, which Faith acknowledges, saying that "little sis" is coming.

• Watchers Council: Collins, Weatherby and Smith (although their names aren't given except in the credits) arrive in Sunnydale after Faith awakens from her coma and escapes. What exactly they're doing is unknown, but it is made clear that they are agents of the Watchers Council.

Characters

Referbacks

• 3x22 - Graduation Day (2): Faith was put into a coma by Buffy after suffering head trauma and a series of other injuries during their fight. Buffy attacked her in hopes of using her blood to cure Angel, who had been poisoned with a substance that could only be cured with the blood of a Slayer. Later that day, the Mayor ascended into demonhood and blown up inside the school after he ate Principal Snyder, broke Larry's back and employed a horde of vampires to keep the students at bay.

• 3x13 - The Zeppo: Faith and Xander had sex one night after Xander aided her escape from a demon member of an apocalypse cult. Their history was very brief and, when Xander last tried to use their "connection" to help her, she nearly strangled him to death.

Xander: You see, Faith and I have a little thing between us called "history."

Trivia

The Show

• Chronology: The first day depicted in this episode takes place on February 25, 2000.

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:
  • French: "Une Revenante, Première Partie" ("A Ghost, Part 1")
  • Italian: "La Ragazza dell'Anno" ("The Girl of the Year")
  • German: "Böses Erwachen" ("Bad Awakening")
  • Spanish: "La Chica del Año" ("The Girl of the Year")

Allusions and References

Memorable Moments

Quotes