Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1996–2003): Season 4, Episode 14 - Goodbye Iowa - full transcript

- This is your objective.
- Previously on Buffy the vampire slayer.

Demon-class polgara species.

Bone skewers jut from the
creature's forearms during battle.

It's imperative
not to damage its arms.

Why exactly can't we damage
this poker thing's arms?

- She's an unnecessary risk.
- Two of our hostiles broke free and escaped into the tunnels.

- She's dead, Riley.
- I don't understand.

Professor Walsh, if you think that's enough
to kill me, you really don't know...

What a slayer is.

- She wants a fight, we'll give her one.
- It's not safe for any of us.

And when she least expects it...



Adam!

Mommy.

So Maggie sends me
down into the sewers

with one of
those blasto-guns,

and the next thing I know,
it's raining monsters.

Hallelujah.

And then this gate
slams down behind me,

and I try to use the gun,
but it goes pfft.

You're saying that
Maggie Walsh set you up?

That's exactly
what I'm saying.

She sent me
on a one-way recon.

Got to hand it to you,
Goldilocks.

You do have bleeding
tragic taste in men.

I got a cousin married to
a regurgitating frolopse's demon



that's got better
instincts than you.

What does my taste in men
have to do with this?

You think Riley was
out knitting booties

for your future offspring

while Maggie
was stringing you up?

You guys think Riley had
something to do with this?

Probably not, but, um...
We'd be remiss

if we didn't think
of all the possibilities.

Right.

Remiss...

No.

No. Maggie made sure that
he was nowhere around

when she sent me on this very special
"make Buffy dead" assignment.

Plus... Riley?

He seems like he wouldn't
tell a little white lie,

let alone a whole bunch
of big dirty ones.

That's why they call it
the secret forces, will...

'cause they kind of keep the
whole lying thing to themselves.

All I know is that
Maggie has it in for me,

which means the initiative
has it in for me.

I'm guessing the mad scientist
isn't too keen on the fact

that the entire Scooby gang knows
that the initiative is up to no good.

Which brings us back

to the "not safe
for any of us" concept.

What could have happened to make
professor Walsh want to kill you?

I don't know.

She wasn't keen on the fact that
I was asking a lot of questions,

that's for sure.

So you were getting too
close to something.

Clearly.

Although,
one can only imagine

what she'd be
so desperate to hide.

OK, everybody grab a weapon.
We've gotta move.

And storm the initiative?

Yeah. Let's take on
those suckers.

I was thinking more
that we'd hide.

Oh, thank god.

Buffy, I think perhaps
we should talk about this.

We need to relocate someplace
we're less likely to be found.

We need to come up
with a plan.

We could go to my place.

The initiative guys
know how close we are.

They'll automatically check
the places that you hang out.

Xander, what about
your basement?

The guys haven't seen us
together that much,

and there's enough room.

Ooh, plus, mirror ball.

Cool. Come on down and
boogie at Xander's hideaway.

Yes. Come boogie.

Absolutely not.

I will not squat
in that dank hole.

What, it was good enough for
me, but you're above it all?

Precisely.

Besides, I don't see why we
can't stay right where we are.

It's very unlikely
those initiative boys

are gonna come around
here to look for our...

Buffy.

God, Buffy, are you OK?

What happened?

You know?

I know something
went down.

Tell me.

Maggie tried to kill me.

It didn't work, but they're
all upset, anyway.

OK, listen.

I need you
to go over everything,

step by step.

There has to... has to be
some kind of mistake.

There was no mistake.

And how do you know
something happened?

I was on a mission,

but I came back and...

I'm not sure.

Look, let's just keep our
heads and not jump to any...

What?

That's hostile 17.

No. I'm just
a friend of Xander's.

Bugger it.
I'm your guy.

This is spike.
He's, um...

It's a really long story,

but he's not bad anymore.

Hey! What am I,
a bleeding broken record?

I'm bad. It's just...

I can't bite anymore...

Thanks to you wankers.

We've been looking all
over the place for him,

but you've known where
he's been all along?

It's not like that.

Then what is it like?
What's he doing here?

Leaving you swabs
to your dramatics, thanks.

I've got my stories on
the telly for that.

By the by, if you're
trying to kill her...

Buffy, what is this,
you're hiding an hst?

Why don't you
just back off

and let her ask
the questions, Jack?

Your boss just tried to make
monster food out of her.

I... I didn't see much.
I wasn't there.

All I know is professor Walsh
told me you were dead.

Then I saw you
on the monitors...

Look, this isn't
professor Walsh.

There must be something
making her act this way,

something... i don't know,
controlling her.

We think Buffy may have been
becoming too inquisitive,

that she was getting
close to something

that professor Walsh
was trying to hide.

Any idea what that might be?

What about 314?
Maybe that's it.

Maybe she was
trying to test you.

What if it was
only a drill?

Then why did she tell you
I was dead?

Riley, it wasn't a test.

See, I've heard rumors

that the initiative isn't
all that we've been told.

That, um, secretly,

they're working towards
some darker purpose,

something that
might harm us all.

No! That's... that's not
what happens there.

Riley.
I would know.

No one is sure of anything.
We're trying to sort it out.

I can't be here. I'll
sort it out on my own.

Riley.
No!

Just...

I'm sorry.

What am I?

You're a monster.

I thought so.

What are you?

Me? I'm a boy.

A boy?

How do you work?

I don't know. I just do.

What's that for?

Dr. Walsh?

Adam?

Oh, god.

Beep beep!

Beep beep!

Beep!

That would never happen.

Well, no, buff. That's why
they call them cartoons,

not documentaries.

Must we have the noise?
My head is splitting.

Well, look who's cranky bear
in the morning.

Yes. I can't imagine

why I didn't sleep well
in my beach ball.

Every time you moved,
it made squeaky noises.

It was irritating.

Really? I'm surprised you could hear
it over your Wagnerian snoring.

OK, you guys.
Could we not, please?

Everything's screwed up
enough without you two

doing scenes from
my parent's marriage.

Sorry.

Sorry.

Thank you.

It'll be OK, Buffy.

Riley's just confused,
that's all.

I don't know.

Just seems like things
could get heavier.

His whole world's
falling apart.

And after everything you've
been through with angel.

You know, you really should get
yourself a boring boyfriend,

like Xander.

You can't have Xander.

That was the idea.

Riley was supposed
to be Mr. Joe guy.

We were gonna
do dumb things

like hold hands through
the daisies, going...

♪ Tra-la-la ♪

Poor Buffy.

Your life resists
all things average.

So dump him.

But you can't have Xander.

I'll try
and remember that.

It's too late,
anyway.

I'm already at the
"I hurt when he hurts,

"I smile when
he smiles" stage.

I hate that part.

I'll just have
to make it work.

Turn on the TV. Now!

Sunnydale is still reeling
from news of the crime.

A source in the coroner's
office tells us

that the boy was stabbed
with what looks like

some kind of large skewer,

and his body
was then mutilated.

Police have not
named a suspect,

and the killer
is still at large.

The polgara demon
had a skewer in its arm.

That's the one that Maggie
insisted we bring back alive.

She must have
sent it after you.

And it got distracted.

God.

Buffy,
it's not your fault.

How could you know?

She's right. You mustn't
blame yourself.

I'm not going to.

I'm going to the crime scene
to see what I can find out.

You guys research the polgara demon.
I wanna know where it is.

When I find it, I'm going to make
him pay for taking that kid's life.

I'll make him die in ways
he can't even imagine.

That probably would have
sounded more commanding

if I wasn't wearing
my yummy Sushi pajamas.

Hey, where you
been all night?

Well, congratulations.

I see you and Buffy have finally
gotten past the shy phase.

I wasn't with Buffy.

I needed to be alone,

think some things
through.

What things?

This is mighty ominous.

What's up, man?

Professor Walsh
tried to have Buffy killed.

What? Did Buffy
tell you that?

I mean, do you
have any proof?

I saw enough
to know it's true.

I don't get it.
Why?

I don't know.

Buffy thinks that...

She's getting
too close to something...

That professor Walsh
has some secret.

I wouldn't put it past Buffy to get
on professor Walsh's bad side.

She tends to put her nose
where it doesn't belong.

What?
She's a pain.

Always wanting to know
why this and why that.

You're saying she should
die because of that?

I don't know.
Maybe professor Walsh

found out that Buffy
was up to something bad.

That ever
cross your mind?

Why's it bug you so much
that I'm hanging with her?

Is it because she's
a better soldier than you?

It bugs me that she's using you
to infiltrate our operation.

So you're saying
she's a spy? You're crazy.

Riley, think about it.

The professor's
not stupid.

If she tried to kill Buffy,
maybe Buffy needed killing.

Guys.

Not now, private.

What is it?

Professor Walsh is dead.

Look at that wound.

She's been staked,
wouldn't you say, brother?

Wh-what?

Only one person
I can think of

who could do
something like that.

You better not be saying
what I think you're saying.

We... we don't know
a person did this.

A polgara demon has
a skewer that comes...

No way, man. That's
your girlfriend's m.O.

Hey, that's a serious
accusation.

You better be ready to deal
with the consequences.

Bring 'em on.

Supernatural freak is blinding
you, and I'm sick of it.

That's enough!
Stand back, man!

Show some respect.

Listen, everybody's upset,

but arguing isn't
gonna help anything,

and it's certainly not what
professor Walsh would want.

No, sir.

All right. Good.

Now, Washington
is sending in a team

to do an internal
investigation.

I've been told we have
to wait for their word.

What do you mean wait?

This has to be the work of the
polgara demon we captured last week.

Probably.
Looks like last night

the polgara escaped
through tunnel 72.

It's out loose somewhere?

I'm afraid so.

Then we have to go after it.

My orders from Washington
are for a total lockdown

until they arrive.
I'm sorry.

Now return to your quarters.

There's nothing
you can do here.

Listen, angleman
can talk all he wants,

but I'm still in charge
until the brass gets here

and tells me otherwise.

I say we've got
a demon to hunt.

Now suit up
for armed patrol,

and by that I mean
loaded guns, men.

Target practice is over.

We're going for blood.

Let's move!

Take the West Side!

Establish a perimeter.

Somebody's been
staying here.

What do you think,
a homeless guy?

Could be.

Or a squatter
of the demon variety.

But not the polgara?

Who cares?

I see a demon, it dies.

It's warm.

Damn.

Animals.

Buffy.

Hey.

Hey.

Look, I'm sorry
about earlier.

I know that everyone
came on pretty strong.

And the spike thing isn't
as tweaked as it looked.

OK. Maybe it is, but...

There's an explanation
that almost makes sense.

Hello?

I'm apologizing here.

And I think that's
pretty big of me

considering I'm the one who was
almost made a demon sandwich.

This is the part where
you throw me a bone.

Maggie's dead.

Happy now?

How can you ask me that?

Of course I'm not happy.

What happened?

That's classified.

Classified...

The polgara.

It got her and escaped,
didn't it?

I'm gonna find it.

I'm gonna find it
and destroy it.

And then you can
stop asking me

how happy all this
death makes me.

Howdy.

I just got your message
a minute ago.

I was in class,

but I was about to call you.

I had so much fun
the other night...

Those spells.

Yeah, that was nice.

I hope you don't think

that I just come over for
the spells and everything.

I mean, I really like
just talking and...

And hanging out
with you and stuff.

I know that...

But you wanna do a spell.

Yeah, but only because
it's really important.

There's this...

No, you don't
have to explain.

I don't mind, really.

I've been, um, thinking about
that last spell we did all day.

You have?

Hmm.

Well, this one should
be really fun, too.

We conjure the goddess
Thespia to help us

locate demonic energy
in the area.

Shouldn't be too tricky.

The goddess Thespia?

Are you sure
we're ready for that?

You and me?
This is beneath us.

OK. If you say so.

You're killing me here.

Oh, missed you, too.

Joint's jumping.

Yeah. You know.

I'm making some changes
with my life.

I'm getting away
from my old image.

You mean as
a double-dealing snitch?

Uh-huh. I know you're gonna
think I'm blowing smoke,

but after those apocalypse
demons nearly did me in,

I had an experience of
the spiritual variety.

That's swell, really,

but I need to know
if you've heard anything

about a polgara demon doing some
killings in the last few days.

See, that's the thing.

I don't talk behind
people's backs no more.

And I'm bringing some class
to the joint, you know?

It's Willy's place now, see?

Brings in
a better clientele.

I got one
of those deep fryers.

These demons just go crazy
for chicken fingers.

Look, if they see me
dealing with you,

then I'm just
the same old Willy,

working both sides
of the street.

I'm gonna have to
punch you, aren't I?

Just once, and it don't have to hurt.
Just make it look good.

Ow! Oh!

Not yet.
I haven't touched you.

Oh, sorry. Right.

Right. Go...
Go ahead.

Wait. No!
I can't talk to you!

Oh! Oh!

What have you heard
about the polgara?

I heard there was one around
a week or two back.

Word was you got him.

You and those army guys.

And that was
the last you heard?

Yeah. As far as I know,
he's off the streets.

What about those army guys?
What do you know?

You heard anything
about 314?

What are you doing here,

following me?

You told me you were
tracking the polgara demon.

I thought I'd help.

But now I see
you're not hunting demons,

you're socializing
with them... again.

Thought you were supposed
to be killing these things,

not buying them drinks.

Oh, that's smooth,
officer Riley.

They teach you those undercover
moves in special forces?

I'm serious, Buffy.

What are you doing here?

Just cooling her dogs
like the rest of us.

Why don't you sit down,
relax?

I want you to tell me.

Who are you?

No kidding.
How about I get you

some chicken fingers
on the house?

Hey, think you
could shut up?

Look, I'm just saying...

I said shut up,

or maybe you'd like to
go back to the lab with me?

I'm sure the coats would love to
classify a... whatever you are.

Leave him alone,
Riley. He's human.

So he's human.

You're shaking.

He just harbors demons,

which makes him
a good guy like you?

The truth, Buffy, now.

You have the truth.

You are just
too screwed up

because of what happened
to professor Walsh to see it.

Now let go of me.

Hold it! You.

No leaving
till I say so.

Got it?

Hey. We got new rules here.
No killing.

Right. Except the rules don't seem
to apply much these days, do they?

Like if I shot you
right now.

I don't know if I'd have
a corpse on my hands

or one
pissed-off vampire.

Riley.

I mean,
who do you believe?

First it sounds like lies,

then it sounds like truth.

Riley.

Oh, what's
happening to me?

Riley.

Why don't you
lie down?

You'll be
more comfortable.

Stop it.

I can't.

It's like...

Something's crawling inside.

No. You're
hurting yourself.

Come here.

I thought I knew...

But I don't.

I don't know anything.

Shh. You're sick.

Once you get some rest...

No. Buffy.

I don't know anything.

I don't know...

Which team I'm on,

who the bad guys are.

Maybe I'm the bad guy.

Maybe I'm the thing
you should kill.

No.

Don't you
even think that.

OK. Listen to me.

You're sick.

You just need
to get some sleep.

Please.

Lie down for me.

Come on.

You're gonna be OK.

How is he?

This isn't just grief
making him act this way.

Something's affecting him
physically,

and it's getting worse.

Think professor Walsh
did something to him?

I don't know, but
I'm ready to find out.

That's gonna be tough,

what with Maggie's
deadness and all.

She must have
kept records somewhere...

About Riley, about 314,
about all of it.

And I'm sure she wasn't
the only person

that knew
what she was up to.

So what's the plan?

Giles, Anya,
keep researching.

Xander, you and I
are going undercover.

Hey.

Remember before...
No Xander,

not in a boyfriend way

or a "lead him
to certain death" way.

He's the only one
with military experience.

It's not like
he was in the 'Nam.

He was g.I. Joe
for one night.

It's OK, Anya.
I've backed up Buffy before.

Can't you do something
else to help them, like...

Xerox handouts
or something?

I'll be careful.

Promise.

It's a minor point,

but how do you plan to
get into the initiative?

I'm sure their security
system's almost impenetrable.

I have my clearance.

I'm hoping she didn't
have time to revoke it.

OK. As for the whereabouts
of this polgara demon,

I'm afraid we've
not turned up much.

There have been no reports
since its original capture.

Then we'll just
have to keep looking.

So the square is sunnydale.

Right. It's like a map.

We both take different
parts of the potion,

and when we
do the incantation,

we both blow it
onto the square

at the exact same time.

But how does it work?

Well,
that's the cool part.

When the potion mixes
and Thespia's called,

it creates this mist

over the parts
where the demons are.

It even makes
different colors

for different breeds.

Wow.

You ready?

Let's do it.

Thespia,
we walk in shadow,

walk in blindness.

You are the protector
of the night.

Thespia, goddess,
ruler of all darkness.

We implore you...

Open a window...

To the world
of the underbeing.

With your knowledge,
may we go in safety.

With your grace,

may we speak
of your benevolence.

Or not.

Seems pretty quiet.

It usually is
this time of...

Buff, maybe you should
check the look later.

Shh.

Ow. What'd you
do that for?

Sorry.

I'm the only one that
can pass the retinal scan.

The... ew!

I don't want
to see that.

Retinal scan, Xander.

Well, we'll know
in a few seconds

if my clearance
is still good.

Or if we're
about to die

at the hands of 50
grief-fueled military goons.

Retinal scan recorded.
Summers, Buffy.

Why am I not
entirely comforted

by the arrival of
the man-size microwave?

Holy moley.

I know.

I totally get it now.

Can I have sex
with Riley, too?

Quick! Pretend
to make out with me.

What? What are you
talking about?

Well, I, uh...

You know,
in the movies,

the guy and the girl
have to hide.

Please.

Could you possibly draw
more attention to us?

This is the initiative,
Xander.

Military guys
and scientists

do not make out
with each other.

Well, maybe that's
what's wrong with the world.

Ever think about that?

I totally failed.

It wasn't even like
the spell went wrong.

It just wouldn't.

If it's any consolation,

we haven't fared
much better here.

Really? Is Riley OK?

Well, he's asleep, finally.

He doesn't look good.

And the, uh, research
is troubling as well.

I mean, this...
This demon we're after

seems highly atypical
for a polgara.

This child that it killed
was mutilated.

There's no recorded cases

of a polgara ever having
done such a thing.

Also, the polgara have
to eat every 2 hours.

Factor in the low IQ,
and you have a demon

who's not exactly
low profile.

So how has he been
hiding out in sunnydale

for the last 2 days
without anyone seeing him?

Exactly.

Riley.

Where's Buffy?

Uh, she went out.

Can... can I
get you something?

Just tell me
where she is.

You're not well, Riley.
You need to rest.

Did she find the polgara?

Huh? Is that it?

No. We're still
looking, but...

But what?

She went to find out
what's making you sick.

I'm not sick.

Are you telling me
she went to the initiative?

Riley, she's just
trying to help you.

She doesn't belong there.

Riley, listen.

Stand away from the stairs.

No. You're gonna
get Buffy killed!

Hey!

Are you all right?

How many of the men
are still out?

The longer they go
without their meds...

Everyone's off
their schedules

because of
the professor's death.

That's dangerous.

I don't want to think about
the damage our guys could do

under the stress
of withdrawal.

Especially since
they won't understand

what's happening
to them.

These guys don't know they've been
getting meds through their food.

So, we'd better
get them in here, stat.

We've located
all but a few.

The last ones were
in pretty bad shape,

but we stabilized them. But
Finn wasn't one of them, right?

No.

Find him. He's the one
I care about.

He's too important
to the work to lose now.

Indeed.

Double shot of o-neg,
keep.

Make it the good stuff.

I don't want
no freakin' orangutan.

Got ya.

Been a pisser of a day,
isn't it?

Those army blokes
are on the tear.

They ran me out
of my place

and all over town.

Yeah, what's that?

Keep me posted.
I'll be in records.

Now I don't generally
like to kill humans,

but I've learned that it
pays to be flexible in life.

I was wondering
when you'd turn up.

Oh, darn. So this
isn't a surprise?

Now, you can tell me
what you did to Riley,

and after that we can
take a tour of room 314.

Somebody's coming,
you know.

I'm sure they've already seen
you on the security monitors.

Monitors are non-functional
at this time, sir.

Went down about
10 minutes ago.

What? I didn't do that.

Thank god for small favors,

and we'll worry about
details later, huh, buff?

Finn, take this girl to
the stockade immediately.

Riley, he can tell us
what we need to know.

Maggie wanted me dead,
didn't she?

She did.

But understand,
the initiative

has no interest in
eliminating the slayer.

It was her own vendetta.

Why?
Spell it out for me.

I feel an attack
of dumb blonde coming on.

I don't know.

Well, think harder.

It was...

The project.

Project? 314.

It...

It escaped.

That's enough.

You're making her sound
like some psychopath.

She wasn't like that.

She was
a brilliant woman.

She was. It's not...

All she was doing was
trying to help people.

And this is the way you
want them to remember her?

Angleman said Walsh
was feeding you drugs.

You're doing this to me,
aren't you?

This all started
because of you.

Look, if you will
just listen to me.

I am trying to help you
get to the truth.

You want truth?

Then tell me, what did
you do to her, Buffy?

Stop it.
I didn't do anything.

Riley, stop!

This isn't about us.

Everything we need
to know is here.

We just need to find out
what was in 314.

Me.

I've been thinking
about the world.

I wanted to see it,

learn it.

I saw the inside
of that boy,

and it was beautiful,

but it didn't tell me
about the world.

It just made me feel.

So now... I want
to learn about me.

Why I feel.

What I am.

So I came home.

I am a kinematically
redundant,

biomechanical demonoid

designed by Maggie Walsh.

She called me Adam,

and I called her mother.

Adam, Maggie would
want you to stand down.

Yes, but I seem
to have a design flaw.

In addition to
organic material,

I'm equipped with gp2d-11
infrared detectors,

a harmonic decelerator,
plus D.C. servo.

She pieced you together
from parts of other demons.

And man...

And machine.

Which tells me what I am,

but not who I am.

Mother wrote things down.

Hard data,
but also her feelings.

That's how I learned
that I have a job here

and that she loved me.

She wasn't your mother,

and she didn't love you.

Is that
really the issue?

She made you because
she was a scientist.

Riley.

Riley Finn.

Stop. Those files...

Oh, mother created you, too.

Maggie is not my mother.

I have a mother,
a real...

A birth mother, yes.

But after you met Maggie,

she was the one who shaped
your basic operating system.

She taught you how to think,

how to feel.

She fed you chemicals
to make you stronger...

Your mind and body.

She said that you and I were
her favorite children, her art.

That makes us
brothers... Family.

No, I'm not
like you.

That's pain,
isn't it?

Why?

Because your
feeding schedule,

the chemicals,
have been interrupted?

Or do you miss her?

Tell me.

I'll kill you.

You won't.

You haven't
been programmed to.

I cannot be programmed.
I'm a man.

It's here.

The plan
she had for us.

What happens.

How it ends.

No.

Do you want
to hear?

No.

Doctor.

Thank you.

This has been...

Very interesting.

Back away
from the door!

Riley...

Are you OK?

You got
a demon in here.

It escaped
through that vent.

It's not
the polgara.

It looks
sort of half-man.

Right, and you just happened
to be in the neighborhood.

She's telling the truth.
I saw it.

It killed angleman. Go. Now.

He needs to go
to a hospital.

We'll take it
from here.

I'm going
with him.

It's a military
hospital.

No.
Back off.

We take care of our own
around here, understand?

Buffy.

Escort them out.

Buffy.

What did you
expect, spike,

a welcome party?

Word's out.

You've been making war
on the demon world.

War?

With the slayer.

You kill
other demons,

and the rest of us
don't hold with that.

Still... if I see you
around here again,

I'll be inclined
to break that code.

Do you understand?

No word
from Riley?

Nothing.

The initiative probably has him
locked in some medical ward.

There's no way
I can get near him

until I come up
with a better plan

than just storming in
and getting us all shot.

Yeah, you might want to work
the kinks out of that one.

What am I gonna do?

He needs me, and I can't
get near him.

You'll find a way.

It's not like I can
spend all my energy

going after
the initiative.

Not while Adam's
out there.

He's really that
big of a threat?

I could barely
fight him.

It was like Maggie designed him
to be the ultimate warrior.

He's smart and fast.

He gave the commando guys
the slip with no problem.

There's got
to be a flaw.

I think the part where he's
pure evil and kills randomly

was an oversight.

I never should have
let them take Riley.

I need to be
with him.

I'm sure he's OK.

There's no way
he can be.

Everything he's ever believed
in has been taken away or...

He's alone.

He has nothing
to hold on to.

Grr! Arrgh!