Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1996–2003): Season 6, Episode 17 - Normal Again - full transcript

After Buffy is stung by a demon, she begins to have vivid day-dreams about a mental asylum. She gradually begins to believe that she is a crazy girl back in L.A and that Sunnydale and all her friends are just a figment of her imagination.

Previously on
Buffy the vampire slayer.

- Hey, dawnie.
- So, uh, anything new about Warren and the nerd herd?

- No.
- Man, a nerd goes into hiding, and he really goes into hiding.

Big wedding coming up.
Lots of date possibilities.

You and Tara are
speaking again.

- You want to call her?
- No.

But if I did call,
she wouldn't hang up on me.

You can't even stand
to be around me.

That is not true.

You didn't want to come back.

- It's over.
- I've memorized this tune, love.



I'm using you,
and it's killing me.

I'm sorry, William.

This is it.

Are you ready to go?

- He's gone.
- Xander's gone? Xander's missing?

What do you mean,
Xander's missing?

Oh, man. Your face
is priceless.

Yeah, real funny.

It serves you right for taking
z's on the lookout again.

What do you expect? I haven't had
a decent night's sleep since...

I mean, I'm going Jack
Torrance in here, you know?

Stuck in this basement
for weeks.

We rented the whole house. Can't
we at least sleep upstairs?

We're on the lam. We have to lay low.
Underground.



That's figurative, doofus. Did
you even read legion of doom?

Okay, enough! Midgetor,
get back to the monitors.

The last thing we need
is to be surprised by the...

Holy geez Louise.
That... that...

- Called a friggin' slayer.
- She's right there.

All right. Don't panic. Andrew,
deploy your little friend.

♪♪

Oh, hi.

You didn't by chance happen to just
eat a couple of nerds, did you?

You're gonna hurt yourself.

She's gonna break the needle. We're
gonna have to strap her down.

Hi, uh, Tara.
How are you?

I was wondering, maybe
you wanna go out sometime?

For coffee, food,

kisses and gay love?

Hi, Tara.

Guess what? Magic-free now for...
insert number... days now.

Hi.
Hello.

Buffy, Buffy.

Come on. It's time
for your drugs.

- What?
- If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were on drugs.

Okay. Good.

What you doing? I'm on line,
checking to see if Xander e-mailed.

Any luck?
No such.

Well, maybe Anya found him and
they're trying to work it out.

How come you're all home,
hearth and d.S.L. Anyway?

I thought you were gonna go see Tara.
Saw her.

Saw her completely.

Ouch. Just got a scratch
from all that brittle.

It's when I was seeing her,
she was seeing someone else.

A girl.

You mean? I mean, not "seeing" seeing.
Well, maybe.

I don't know.
It was inconclusive.

And I didn't
stick around to find out.

I might have magicked my fist
through a wall or something.

Wil, I'm sorry.

They're probably just friends.

I press my lips against
my friends all the time.

I'm sure they're
just friends.

Once you fall for Willow,
you stay fallen.

Thanks, Buffy.

Hi. I'm back.
Xander?

Xander, you're here.

We missed you.
Where were you?

I know. I tried calling,
but I couldn't without...

Hey, you don't need
to explain to us.

Right. Is she here?

Oh, no. You wanna find her?
I need to.

Her suitcase is gone
and some of her stuff.

And there's a closed sign on the magic
box, which, like, chills me to the bone.

- She left a couple days ago.
- Was she looking for me?

Before she left, did she say anything?
You mean between sobs?

There was mostly just wheezing.
She was a little...

She was kind of broken.

I don't know how stuff
got so mixed-up.

I blew it.

No. Well, maybe it wasn't the best
time to break up with her, but...

No. It wasn't
about breaking up.

I love her,
and god, I miss her so much.

- So you left her at the altar, but you still wanna...
- you still wanna date?

I guess. I know that I'm a better
person with her in my life.

But things got so complicated with
the wedding, and with my family...

And with her demons, and what
if it all goes to hell...

And forever?

But then I left.

And ever since, I've had
this painful hole inside.

And I'm the idiot
that dug it out.

- I screwed up real bad.
- Hey, we all screw up.

Looking for me?

Really not.

Oh. Right, then.
Off you go.

Did you cry?
What?

The wedding.

Two hearts,
joined for eternity,

great pelting showers
of rice and so forth.

You didn't hear.

What, the families
get out of hand,

tear the place apart?
No.

Well, yes, absolutely.

But Xander left.

The wedding didn't happen.

Wow, gotta say,
I didn't see that coming.

It was awful.

Anya was devastated.

Is that right?

And Xander thinks maybe they
can still get back together,

but... he hurt her a lot.

Yeah, well. Some people can't see
a good thing when they've got it.

Spike. I should have known
you'd be tagging along.

Hey, guys.
I, uh...

I found spike and was
trying to figure out...

What kind of dangerous
contraband he had.

I'll tell you what, slayer. Let me get
out of your way and stop bothering you.

Yeah, maybe you should do that,
spike. Just run along.

You know, I guess you know all about that,
don't you? The king of the big exit.

I heard it brought
the house down.

I don't need
this crap from you.

Right.
Let's not listen to spike.

Might get a bit
of truth on you.

Okay, okay.
Calm now.

Let's, uh, turn around and release
this very manly thing the other way.

I forgot.
Willy wannabite can't hurt me.

Dumb to pick a fight, I guess.
Xander.

More than happy to beat you right
through the pain, you pathetic poof.

You guys, don't.

Buffy, can you hear me?

What is this? Do you know
where you are, Buffy?

Sunnydale. No, none of that's real.
None of it.

You're in a mental
institution.

You've been with us now for six years.
Do you remember?

- Buffy, are you okay?
- What happened?

It's okay, Buffy.
Buffy, it's okay.

Look. Look who's here.

Buffy.

Welcome home, sweetie.

- Mom?
- Oh, baby. You're really here.

- Dad?
- She's lucid. Keep talking.

Maybe the sound
of your voice will ground her.

Sweetheart,

we've missed you very much.

Honey, can you hear me?

Oh, Buffy,
stay with us, please.

Here. Let's get her back to my crypt.
Spike, just go, okay?

She's our friend.
We'll take care of her.

No, guys.
I'm okay. I'm okay.

Come on, Xander.
Help me get her home.

Put a little ice
on the back of her neck.

She likes that.

I've been having
these flashes.

Hallucinations, I guess.

Since when?
Uh, night before last.

I was checking houses
on that list you gave me...

And looking for
Warren and his pals.

And then, bam...

Some kind of gross, waxy
demon thing poked me.

And when you say "poke"...

In the arm.
It stung me or something.

And then it was like...

No. It wasn't like.

I was in an institution.

There were doctors and...

Nurses and other patients.

They told me that I was sick...

I guess crazy.

And that, uh, sunnydale
and all of this,

none of it was real.

Aw, come on, that's ridiculous.

What, you think
this isn't real

just because of all the
vampires and demons...

And ex-vengeance demons,

and the sister that used to be a big
ball of universe-destroying energy?

I know how this must sound,
but it felt so real.

- Mom was there.
- She was?

Dad too.

They were together.

Like they used to be...
Before sunnydale.

Okay.
All in favor of research?

Motion passed. All right, Xander.
You hit the demon bars.

Dig up any info on a new
player in town.

Dawnie, you can help me research.
We'll hop online, check all the...

Possibilities for a full recovery,
but we have to proceed cautiously.

- If we're not careful...
- Wait.

Are you saying that Buffy could be like
she was before any of this happened?

Mrs. summers,
you have to understand...

The severity of what's happened
to your daughter.

For the last six years, she's been in an
undifferentiated type of schizophrenia.

We know what her condition is.
That's not what we're asking.

Buffy's delusion
is multilayered.

She even believes
she's some type of hero.

The slayer? The slayer, right.
But that's only one level.

She's also created
an intricate latticework

to support her
primary delusion.

In her mind, she's the central figure in
a fantastic world beyond imagination.

She's surrounded herself with friends,
most with their own superpowers...

Who are as real to her
as you and me.

More so, unfortunately.

Together they face grand, overblown conflicts
against an assortment of monsters,

both imaginary
and rooted in actual myth.

Every time we think
we're getting through to her,

more fanciful enemies magically
appear and she's... enemies.

Warren and Jonathan.
They did this to me.

Buffy. Buffy, it's all right.
They can't hurt you here.

You're with your family.

- Dawn.
- That's the sister, right?

The magical key.

Buffy inserted dawn
into her delusion,

actually rewriting
the entire history of it...

To accommodate a need
for a familial bond.

Buffy, but that created
inconsistencies, didn't it?

Your sister, your friends, all of those
people you created in sunnydale,

they aren't as comforting
as they once were, are they?

They're coming apart.

Buffy, listen to what the doctor is saying.
It's important.

Buffy, you used to create these
grand villains to battle against.

And now what is it? Just ordinary
students you went to high school with.

No gods or monsters.

Just three
pathetic little men...

Who like playing with toys.

Dude, that poison has got her
drooling, like some kind of...

Where have you guys been?

Uh, picking up some stuff.

And checking out Buffy on
the Van's remote surveillance.

Andrew's demon pet has done
some number on the slayer.

Got her trippin' like a Ken Russell
film festival. What kind of stuff?

- What?
- The packages, what's in them?

What do you think, spanky? Do you
think we're plotting against you?

Better not be.

It's just stuff, big man.

You'll be in the know, just as soon
as you stop being all freakazoid.

Ah. There's the vault.

I still say we're gonna need eight
other guys to pull this off.

I never should have
let you see that movie.

- Where you going?
- Out.

Getting stuff I need. I don't really
think that's such a good idea.

Why not?

Well, it's...

It's just not safe
out there alone.

You saw how close
the slayer got.

We're a team.

Something happens to you,
it happens to all of us, right?

I know you're antsy.

We all are. But you see, things,
they're about to pick up...

Big, big time.

We just gotta be careful right
now, all right? Stick together.

Okay?

Look, Buffy.
I found the demon.

It fits your description
and symptoms perfectly.

Look. Is this it?

See, it's gonna be okay. It's pokey stinger
carries an antidote to its own poison.

I feel so lost.

I know.

You're confused. It's that
crazy juice inside you.

It's more than that.

Even before the demon.

I've been so detached.

We've all been
kind of slumming.

Every day I try
to snap out of it...

- Figure out why I'm like that.
- Buffy, look at me.

You are not
in an institution.

You have never been
in an institution.

Yes, I have.

What?

Back when I saw
my first vampires.

I got so scared.

I told my parents, and they
completely freaked out.

They thought there was something
seriously wrong with me.

So they sent me to a clinic.

Y-you never said anything.

I was only there
a couple of weeks.

I stopped talking about it,

and they let me go.

Eventually,

my parents just forgot.

God.

That's horrible.

What if I'm still there?

What if I never
left that clinic?

Buffy.

Buffy, you're not.

I'm so sorry
you had to go through that.

But it's the past.

You've gotta trust me. We're
gonna get you that antidote.

Xander's hunting
the demon right now.

Alone? Willow, he can't.
It's too strong.

It's okay. We got help.

So she's having
the Wiggins, is she?

Thinks none of us are real.

Bloody self-centered,
if you ask me.

Spike, we need muscle,
not color commentary.

On the other hand,
it might explain some things.

This all being in that
twisted brain of hers.

Yeah. Fix up some
chip in my head.

Make me soft,
fall in love with her.

Then turn me
into her sodding sex slave.

What?

Nothing.
Alternative realities.

Well, we're all little figments
of Buffy's funny farm delusion.

You know, in a different reality, you might
not have left your bride at the altar.

You might have gone through with it like
a man. One more syllable about Anya...

Oh, balls. You didn't say he was
a glarghk guhl kashmas'Nik.

'Cause I can't say glarba...

I altered his reality.

Get it? I...
Never mind.

I made you some tea.

Thanks.

I'm okay, dawn.

The thousand-yard stare
really helps sell that.

You're burning up.

I should be taller than you.

Maybe you're not done growing.

Coming apart.

What's coming apart?
We have to try harder.

Make things better.
I'm trying.

Your grades. Stealing.

Willow's been doing
your chores, hasn't she?

What? No, it's... it's the fever.
It's cooking your brain.

We have to deal
with these things, dawn.

You don't have
a sister, Buffy.

Dawn.
No, honey.

Say it. It will
help you believe it.

I d-don't have a sister.

I know.

I didn't grow up with her.
These monks, they made her.

It's your mind just
playing tricks on you.

You're our little girl, Buffy,
our one and only.

We've missed you so much.

Mom and dad just want to take
you home and take care of you.

I'm not even there, am I?

What?

You said it a second ago.

You don't have a sister.

It's your ideal reality,
and I'm not even a part of it.

Dawn, i...
I didn't mean...

I have to go
finish my chores.

Hold it.

Hold it.
I'll need its arm.

Oh, please.
I'd like both my arms too.

Thanks, spike. I'll help when
the blistering pain subsides.

Ready?

Xander,
go to the magic shop.

I'll need Alkanet root
and a handful of nettle leaf.

Just for medicinal properties, no magic. When
you've got them, meet me at the campus lab.

I'll see if I can brew up an
antidote the old-fashioned way.

I'll hold here,
keep an eye on the wax job.

Make sure that's all you're ogling.
Xander.

Buffy, wake up.

Got yummy antidote
goodness for you.

- What happened?
- It took a little longer than I had hoped.

No magic and all. It went boom
twice, but then I got it.

Just, when it's cooled, drink it all down
and everything should go back to normal.

You never stop coming through.

Thank you, Willow.

How is she?

Make sure she drinks all that.

I'm gonna let dawn know that
everything's gonna be okay.

You all right?

You need to leave me alone.
You're not a part of my life.

Fine then.

You know, but I hope
you don't think this an...

I hope you don't think this antidote's
gonna rid you of that nasty martyrdom.

See, I've figured it out, love.

You can't help yourself.

You're not drawn
to the dark like I thought.

You're addicted to the misery.

That's why you won't
tell your pals about us.

You might actually
have to be happy if you did.

They'd either understand and help
you, god forbid, or drive you out...

Where you could finally be
at peace in the dark with me.

Either way,
you'd be better off for it.

But you're too
twisted for that.

Let yourself live, already.

And stop with the bloody
hero trip for a sec.

We'd all be the better for it.

You either
tell your friends about us,

or I will.

Buffy.

I don't wanna go back there.

I wanna be healthy again.

What do I have to do?

Oh, please help me.

I wanna go home
with you and dad.

I know, Buffy.

But first you've gotta get better.
It's not gonna be easy, Buffy.

You have to take it
one step at a time.

You have to start ridding your mind of those
things that support your hallucinations.

You understand? There are things
in that world that you cling to.

For your delusion,
they're safe-holds.

But for your mind,
they're traps.

We have to break those down.

Slaying?
Yes.

I'm talking about
those things you want there.

What keeps you going back.
My friends?

That's right.

Last summer when you had
a momentary awakening,

it was them that
pulled you back in.

They're not really
your friends, Buffy.

They're just tricks keeping you
from getting healthy.

You have to do whatever it takes to
convince yourself of that, Buffy.

Whatever it takes.

Buffy, I didn't see you. I was
just coming to check on you.

You feeling better?
Did the antidote work?

I'm still pretty dazed,
but, uh, better.

No more cuckoo's nest?

Well, we still have the big bad all
"tranqed" out down in the basement...

In case it didn't work
and we need more parts.

It will be nice
to see you all better.

- Thanks.
- I can make you some food,

something big with energy,
help you clear your noggin.

Come on.

Hello, I'm back. Clean
and with a better smell now.

Friends, Romans.

Anyone?

Hey.

Hey there, sane girl. So did Willow
get that antidote to you all right?

Yeah. I'm better now.

Great. So it's settled.

We're real, right?

I guess we should finish off that demon
and drag it out of the basement.

And tell me
you're up for that.

I so don't wanna
see spike right now.

I mean,
talk about losing touch.

I hate to say it, but I almost
feel sorry for the guy, almost.

The things
that poor guy was saying.

I mean, I get it, you know. I've
been a part of the Buffy obsession.

Buffy.

Willow, w-what...

Dawn?

Don't you knock?

I called for you.

Buffy, are you okay?

Where are you going?

I'm going over to Janice's where
they actually like having me around.

You're not going anywhere.

Why not? You want me gone anyway.
What do you care?

I care.

You're going downstairs
with the others.

It's the only way
I can get healthy.

What are you talking about?

Buffy, you look sick.

What are you doing?
What's wrong with you?

Stay away from me!
Willow, help!

Buffy, please!

You can't hide, dawn.

Talk to me.
You're hallucinating.

I know. You're just
a trap for my mind.

Buffy, please listen to me.

That asylum and those people,
they're not real.

Buffy, look at me.

I'm right here.

You're my sister.
I need you and love you.

Somewhere inside,
you must know that's real.

Sure it is.

'Cause what's more real?

A sick girl
in an institution...

Don't.
Please listen to me.

Or some kind of supergirl...

Chosen to fight demons
and save the world?

That's ridiculous.

A girl who sleeps
with a vampire she hates?

Yeah, that makes sense.

No! Buffy, stop!

I'm real!

Buffy, stop it.
I'll be good.

I promise.
You're not thinking.

- It's okay, Buffy. Don't stress yourself.
- Honey, take your time.

Make it as easy
on yourself as possible.

There's nothing wrong with that.

Buffy, what are you doing?

Oh, my god.

Buffy, help me!

I need my hands!

Hello?

Anybody home?

Buffy?

I-it's gonna be okay,
sweetheart.

Whatever it is,
it's not real, remember?

Just keep concentrating.
I'm right here, sweetie.

Buffy, help me!

Buffy, help!

Willow?

No, Tara!

- I don't know.
- Buffy.

Look at me.
I don't know.

I believe in you.

You're a survivor.
You can do this.

Xander.

- Willow!
- Buffy.

Buffy.
Buffy, fight it.

You're too good to give in.
You can beat this thing.

Be strong, baby.
Okay?

I know you're afraid.

I know the world feels
like a hard place sometimes,

but you've got
people who love you.

Your dad and I, we have all the
faith in the world in you.

We'll always be with you.

You've got a world of strength
in your heart. I know you do.

You just have to
find it again.

Believe in yourself.

You're right.

Thank you.

Good-bye.

Buffy.

I'm so sorry.

- Buffy?
- We're okay. It's all okay.

- Buffy, sit down. You'll fall over.
- No.

I can't. Not until I
have the antidote. Okay.

We'll make more.
We'll take care of it.

Everything's
gonna be okay, Buffy.

I'm sorry.
There's no reaction at all.

I'm afraid we lost her.

Grr! Arrgh!