Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1996–2003): Season 7, Episode 17 - Lies My Parents Told Me - full transcript

Previously on
Buffy the vampire slayer...

- Why didn't your chip go off?
- It was a choice.

Right. To either repair
the chip, or to remove it.

- You removed the chip?
- Yeah. Spike has a soul now.

That's what's gonna stop him
from hurting people.

- Buffy...
- he can be a good man, Giles. I feel it.

How do you know about slayers?

My mother was one.
She was killed when I was four.

- Something got her? A demon?
- A vampire.

- So, how do you two know each other?
- He works with me.

Uh, you know,
in the struggle against evil.



He's a vampire.
Nice coat. Where'd you get it?

New York.

Well, all right!
Got the moves, don't ya?

I'm gonna ride you hard
before I put you away, luv.

You sure about that?

You actually look a little
wet and limp to me.

And I ain't your "luv."

I spent a long time
tryin' to track you down.

You don't really want the dance
to end so soon, do you, Nikki?

The music's
just startin', isn't it?

By the way,

love the coat.

Mama?

You did a good job,
baby boy.



You stayed down,
just like mama told you.

Can we go home now?
Uh-uh.

It's not safe there anymore.

How about I leave you over
at Crowley's house?

And you can play with those
spooky doodads that you like.

No, I want to stay
with you.

Yeah, I know you do, baby.

But remember, Robin, honey,
what we talked about.

Always gotta work
the mission.

Look at me.

You know I love you.

But I got a job to do.

The mission is
what matters, right?

That's my boy.
Come on.

Robin?

Spike!

A little tip, mate.

The stake's your friend.
Don't be afraid to use it.

What?

Just waiting
for my moment.

Situation still normal.

Well, or as normal as this
school ever sees.

So it appears.

Well, no fires.
No one's head's going kablooey.

And the swing choir and the
marching band have gone back...

To their normal, healthy,
seething resentment.

Yeah, it's been pretty quiet around
here since you shut down that seal.

You just may have stopped
this thing, Buffy.

No, I-it can't be that easy.

You call that easy?

Hey, any apocalypse
I avert without dying?

Yeah, those are the easy ones.

You know, you're, uh, you're
something else, miss summers.

I've been watching you when we're
out patrolling, and you're, um...

You remind me of my, um...

Your mother?
Yeah.

Yeah, what I remember
of her anyway.

I gotta tell you, not a line
every girl likes to hear,

but in this case,
compliment taken.

Maybe you're right.
Maybe everything is fine.

Everything's terrible!
Total catastrophe!

Giles, what's wrong?

Have you seen the new library?
Th-Th-there's nothing but computers.

There's not a book to be seen. I... I
don't know where to begin, Buffy.

I... I mean, who do...
Who do we speak to?

Uh, Th-that would be me.
Hi. I'm Robin wood.

Oh, uh, sorry.
Yes, uh, Rupert Giles. Sorry.

Uh, b-Buffy tells me that you're
something of a freelance demon fighter.

Listen. Excuse me.
Oh, yes.

Um, I, um... I'm relieved. I...

We're running dangerously low
on allies.

So, we didn't
stop it then?

Um, no, the, uh,
seers of the coven...

Are certain the first is
continuing to gather its forces.

I'm afraid war
is inevitable.

- So, we should go before the school board.
- What?

Well, i... I can have my backup library
sent from home in the meantime.

- You know, it's not much, but...
- Giles.

Knowledge comes from crafted
bindings and pages, Buffy,

not ones and zeros.

So, did you bring back
any potentials?

Um, no, actually, my... my, uh, my
trip was about something else.

It's, um, regarding spike.
Spike. What about him?

I told you my concerns...

When you recklessly chose to
remove the chip from his head.

- Wait, sorry. Chip?
- Uh, it's a long story.

The military put a chip in spike's
head, so he couldn't hurt anyone.

And that would be
the abridged version.

But he wouldn't hurt anyone anymore
because he has a soul now.

- Unless the first triggers him again.
- Triggers the chip?

No, the trigger's a posthypnotic thing.
The first put it in his head.

It was...

Made him...
He was killing again.

So, he has a trigger,
a soul and a chip?

Not anymore.
It was killing him, Giles!

- The trigger?
- No, the chip. The trigger's not active anymore.

Because the military
gave him a soul?

Sorry.

We don't know
that the trigger is inactive.

What I brought back
may help us to disarm it...

Ascertain exactly what it is
that causes spike's behavior.

It was that song, Giles. I-I'm telling you.
It was that song that spike was singing.

But he has no memory of it. Is there
any part of it that you can remember?

It wasn't like it had a
catchy hook or anything,

you know, like, "I'm comin' up, so
you better get this party started."

Uh, boring, old and English.

Hmm. Just like
you... Yull Brynner.

Yul Brynner.

But a...
A British yul Brynner.

This thing you brought to keep
spike from killing again...

How's it work?

It will require
a bit of magic.

Well, we couldn't have put these
chains back up a week ago.

No. We gotta work
on spike now, of all times.

What?

Nothin'.

What are you doin' here?
You came to see the show?

I thought you might
need support.

Uh-huh. Right.
Let's get this over with.

What are you gonna do? Some
hypno-beam, a disarming spell?

Not exactly.

The first has
brainwashed you.

There's something in your
subconscious that it's using...

To provoke
a violent reaction.

So,

we have to put this
in your brain.

Bugger that.

The prokaryote stone
will move within your mind...

To reveal the root
of the trigger's power.

It can unleash ideas,
images, memories.

Hopefully, once you understand
what it is...

That's setting you off,
you can break its hold on you.

"Hopefully"?
So, it might not work?

W-well, the stone's just a catalyst for
the process. The rest is up to spike.

And how do you expect to get that
hunk of rubble into my cranium?

- Willow?
- Okay.

Just hope my pronunciation
is in the ballpark.

Oh, you have
got to be joking.

What now? It shall access
the cerebral cortex...

Via the optic nerve.

Oh, bollocks!

With all the rubbish people
keep stickin' in my head,

it's a wonder there's
any room for my brain.

I don't think it takes up
that much space, do you?

Ow! Ow, ow!

Spike!

Spike, listen to me.
Yeah.

Are you all right?

How am I supposed to know
if this bug ugly's doin' his j...

"yet her smell,
it doth linger,"

painting pictures
in my mind.

"Her eyes, bowls of honey.

"Angels' harps her laugh.

"Oh, lark, Grant a sign...

"If crooked be cupid's shaft.

"Hark, the lark?

"Her name it hath spake.

"'Cecily, ' it discharges...

From twixt its wee beak."

- Tsk. Oh, William.
- It's just scribbling.

Nonsense.
It's magnificent.

I wonder, though. This Cecily
of whom you write so often...

Oh...

Would that be
the underwoods' eldest girl?

Uh, no. No.
Uh, I do not presume.

She's lovely.

You shouldn't be alone.
You need a woman in your life.

I have a woman
in my life.

But you Ne...

Oh.

Well, do not mistake me.

I still have hopes that one day there
will be an addition to this household.

But I will always
look after you, mother.

This I promise.

Should I send the coach
for Dr. gull?

I'll be all right.

Oh, it's passed.

Just sit with me a while,
will you?

Of course.

♪ Early one morning ♪

♪ Just as the sun was shining ♪

♪ I heard a maid sing ♪

♪ In the valley below ♪

♪ "Oh, don't deceive me ♪

♪ "Oh, never leave me ♪

♪ "How could you use a ♪

♪ Poor maiden so" ♪

Dawn!

Get these soddin' things
off me. I'm fine.

Don't you think you should
take a little time, calm down?

I am calm.

This stone of yours is... is out, right?
It did its job?

So, I'm detriggered, right?

Spike, what do you remember
about the song?

Oh, yeah, the song.

It's called "early one
morning." Old folk ditty.

- What's it mean to you?
- Mean?

Nothing.
It's just, uh, my mum.

It was her favorite.
She used to sing it to me...

When I was a baby.

- And?
- No "and." That's it.

Look, shouldn't you check on dawnie?
I clocked the niblet pretty fierce.

She'll be okay.
She's tough.

O-ow!
I'm sorry.

Doesn't look like
anything's broken.

Did you use some sort
of a magic x ray?

Oh, that's just
what people usually say.

So spike's trigger's been
active this entire time.

How can Buffy
take this for granted?

I mean, he... he lives in our house.
We train with him.

Don't waste your time
down that road.

Spike's got some sort of
"get out of jail free" card...

That doesn't apply
to the rest of us.

I mean, he could slaughter
a hundred frat boys and...

Forgiveness makes us human.
Blah-Di, blah, blah, blah.

Uh, Willow, a call for you
from L.A. somebody named Fred.

The guy sounds
kind of effeminate.

Look, spike, listen to me.

What... wh-what is it
about your mother?

I don't know. I got along fine with her.
She was a nice lady.

- Well, there has to be more than that.
- There bloody well isn't!

What are you doing? I'm
going to unchain him.

Buffy, just...
This is pointless, Giles.

He doesn't know anything. Your
prophylactic stone didn't work.

Because he's not cooperating.
This process takes time.

He's blocking whatever's
flooding his consciousness,

and what he does...
He's endangered us all.

So the trigger's
still working?

Much as ever.

Ooh, such a pretty house
you have, sweet Willie.

It smells of daffodils,
and viscera.

Don't get too attached now.

We won't be here
for long, luv.

Well, then,

shall we give it
a proper good-bye?

You're a saucy one,
aren't you?

Dru, we'll bring this world
to its knees.

It's ripe and ready,
my darling,

waiting for us
to devour its fruit.

We'll ravage
the city together, my pet,

lay waste to all of Europe.

The three of us will teach
those snobs and elitists...

With their folderol
just what...

Three?
You, me and mother.

We'll open up their veins
and bathe in their blood...

As they scream
our names across...

What? You... you want to
bring your mum with us?

Well, yeah.

You'll like her.

To eat, you mean?

- William?
- Ah, mother.

Where have you been?

I've been beside myself
for days.

You needn't
have worried, mother.

You'll never have to worry
about anything again.

Something has happened.

- I've changed.
- I... I don't... who is this woman?

I'm the other that gave
birth to your son.

- I beg your pardon?
- It's true, mother.

Drusilla...

She... she has made me
what I am.

I am no longer bound
to this mortal coil.

I have become
a creature of the night.

A vampire.

Are you drunk?

A little bit.

Think of it.

No more sickness.

No more dying.

You'll never age
another day.

Let me do this for you.
What are you talking about?

And wh-why are you
acting so strangely?

It's all right, mother.

It's only me.

We'll be together forever.

William...

It only hurts...

For a moment.

Buffy?

Hey, I, uh,
just got a phone call.

I'm gonna have to take off for
a while, maybe a day or two.

What's wrong? Nothing you
need to worry about.

I'll give you
the full scoop later.

Maybe I'll even
bring back some good news.

Could use a little of that.

Okay. Then I guess now is as good a time
as we're likely to see for a while.

Just hurry back.
Will do.

Think about
what you're doing.

I have.

Buffy...
Don't.

Mr. Giles?

You got a moment?

- What's on your mind?
- The same thing that's on yours.

We got ourselves a problem.

Spike.
Yeah.

If that trigger's
still working,

then the first must be waiting
for just the right time...

To use it against us.

It does seem doubtful the first simply
forgot it had such a powerful weapon.

Now, a while back,
it slipped up,

told Andrew it wasn't
time yet for spike.

So, whatever the first's
ultimate plan is,

it's obvious that spike must
play an integral part in that.

Something needs to be done.

Buffy would never allow it.

Buffy would listen to her
watcher, wouldn't she?

Oh, yes.

I don't think you have much of an
idea of the watcher-slayer dynamic.

As a matter of fact,
I was raised by a watcher.

You were?
Bernard Crowley.

Took me in when I was
a young kid, trained me.

Crowley?

I remember the name. Yeah.
New York-based watcher.

Resigned shortly after
his slayer wa...

You're Nikki wood's son.

Yes.

Spike killed your mother.

Yes.

Does Buffy know this?

She knows my mother
was a slayer.

She doesn't
know about spike.

And this has nothing to do
with personal vengeance?

Does it matter?

He's an instrument of evil.

Now, he's gonna prove to be our undoing
in this fight, Buffy's undoing.

And she will never,
never see it coming!

Now, I'm talking about
what needs to be done.

For the greater good, Giles.

You know I'm right.

What exactly
do you propose?

I just need you to keep
Buffy away for a few hours.

I don't know, Giles.

Is this really a primo time
for a training session?

I'm still
your teacher, Buffy.

As adept as you are
as a slayer,

there are always
new things to learn.

Now, more than ever,

it's crucial to maintain
focus on your calling.

In case you haven't noticed, our
plates are kind of full right now.

Plus, I'm not really sure how
I feel about leaving spike...

At Robin's house
to watch over him.

For what it's worth,
everyone at your house seemed...

Quite relieved
at the arrangement.

Um, Buffy, uh,

while I'm not technically
your watcher anymore...

The fact that your life is
such chaos, only underscores...

The importance of... of the
lessons I can impart to you.

Fine. Impart away.

We're on the verge
of war.

It's time you looked
at the big picture.

Hello? All I do is look
at the big picture.

The other day, I gave an inspirational
speech to the telephone repairman.

It takes more than rousing
speeches to lead, Buffy.

If you're gonna be
a general,

you need to be able to make difficult
decisions, regardless of cost.

Have you seen me
with those girls?

I mean, the way I-I've treated
my... my friends and my family?

A-and Andrew?

Believe me, I know how
to make hard decisions.

Well, that's what
we're here to find out.

While we work
on the basics.

You live in a garage?

It's just a workroom.
Kind of my, uh, sanctuary.

A little place
to unwind, eh?

A hard day's principaling
got you down,

you need a place to cut loose,
let your hair down.

So to speak.

What the bloody hell
is this?

I told you.
It's my, um, sanctuary.

It's the hellmouth, spike.
You can never be too careful.

Just, um, stay away
from the walls,

you'll be all right.

It's a bit much,
isn't it?

What's your story, wood?

No story, really.

Just tryin' to do
what's right,

make a difference.

How about you? What kind
of man are you, spike?

Sorry. Not much
for self-reflection.

Yeah, makes sense.

See, you strike me
as the kind of guy...

Who just
careens through life...

Completely oblivious of the damage
he's doing to everyone around him.

- Is that right?
- Oh, I know more about you than you think, spike.

See, I've been
searching for you for a...

A very, very long time.

Ever since
you killed my mother.

Killed a lot
of people's mothers.

Yeah.

You'd remember mine.

She was a slayer.

So, that's it, isn't it?

You brought me here
to kill me?

No, I don't want
to kill you, spike.

I want to kill the monster who
took my mother away from me.

♪ Early one morning ♪

♪ Just as the sun was rising ♪

♪ I heard a young maid sing
in the valley below ♪

♪ "Oh, don't deceive me... ♪

♪ "How could you use ♪

"♪ A poor maiden so" ♪
there he is.

Mother?

Hello, William.

Look at you.

Mmm, yes.
All better.

- You're glowing.
- Am I?

Yeah.

Well, I suppose I have you
to thank for that, don't I?

- However will I repay you?
- Seeing you like this is payment enough.

Oh, William.

You're so...

Tender.

Well, this is
as it should be, mother.

You and I together, all of
London laid out before us.

Ah, yes. "Us."

First, we'll feast.
Then the night is yours.

Theater perhaps?
Dancing?

Tell me, what's your pleasure?
Pleasure?

To take my leave of you,
of course.

"The lark has spake
from twixt its wee beak."

You honestly thought
I could bear an eternity...

Listening to
that twaddle?

That's right, dog! Fight back!

I feel extraordinary.

It's as though
I've been given new eyes.

I see everything.

Understand...

Everything.

Mother...
I hate to be cruel.

No, I don't. I used to
hate to be cruel in life.

I find it rather freeing.

Nothing less will pry
your greedy little fingers...

Off my apron strings,
will it?

Stop, please.

Ever since the day you first
slithered from me like a parasite.

What are you s...
Had I known better,

I could've spared myself
a lifetime of tedium...

And just...

Dashed your brains out
when I first saw you.

God! I prayed you'd
find a woman to release me.

But you scarcely
showed an interest.

Who could compare to your
doddering, housebound mum?

A captive audience
for your witless prattle.

Whatever I was,
that's not who I am anymore.

Darling,

it's who
you'll always be.

A limp,
sentimental fool.

Hurts, don't it?

This what it felt like...

When you beat
the life out of her,

toyed with her...

When you snapped her neck!

- Don't kill him yet.
- What?

Why not? Because I'm
asking you not to.

Would you let this vampire live
if it meant saving the world?

Sure.

- Seems like a nice enough guy.
- Thanks.

No problem.
My name's Richard.

Hi, rich.

Giles, we had
this conversation...

When I told you that I
wouldn't sacrifice dawn...

To stop glory
from destroying the world.

Ah, yes, but things are
different now, aren't they?

After what you've been through,
faced with the same choice now,

you'd let her die.

If I had to.

To save the world. Yes.

Can I kill this guy yet?

No.

So, you really do understand the
difficult decisions you'll have to make?

That any one of us
is expendable in this war?

Have you heard
my speeches?

That we cannot allow any threat that
might jeopardize our chances of winning.

Yes, I get it!

And yet there is spike.

An animal like you never cared
for anyone but yourself.

No one else mattered.

Just... all about the hunt.

Yeah.

You want to run, don't you?

Scamper off and cry
to your new little trollop.

Do you think you'll
be able to love her?

Think you'll be able to touch
her without feeling me? Hmm?

All you've ever wanted
was to be back inside.

And you finally got
your wish, didn't you?

Sank your teeth into me,
an eternal kiss.

No. I only wanted
to make you well.

You wanted
your hands on me.

Perhaps you'd like a chance to
finish off what you started?

I loved you.
I did.

Not like this.
Just like this.

This is what
you've always wanted.

Where's my dark
little prince?

No!

Get out! Get out!

There, there, precious.

It will only hurt
for a moment.

I'm sorry.

What?

I'm sorry.

Sorry?

You think sorry's
gonna make everything right?

I wasn't talking to you.

I don't give a piss
about your mum.

She was a slayer.
I was a vampire.

- That's the way the game is played.
- Game?

She knew what she was
signin' up for.

- Well, I didn't sign up for it!
- Well, that's the rub, isn't it?

You didn't sign up for it,
and somehow it's my fault.

You took my childhood.

You took her away!

She was all I had.
She was my world!

And you weren't hers.
Doesn't that piss you off?

Shut up.
You didn't know her!

I know slayers.

No matter how many people they've
got around them, they fight alone.

Life of the chosen one.

The rest of us be damned.

Your mother was no different.

No. Sh...

She loved me.

But not enough
to quit though, was it?

Not enough to walk away.

For you.

I'll tell you a story...

About a mother and son.

See, like you,
I loved my mother.

So much so
I turned her into a vampire.

Huh? So we could be
together forever.

She said some nasty bits to me
after I did that.

Been weighin' on me
for quite some time.

But you helped me
figure somethin' out.

You see, unlike you, I had a
mother who loved me back.

When I sired her,
I set loose a demon,

and it tore into me.

But it was the demon talking,

not her.

I realize that now.

My mother loved me...

With all her heart.

I was her world.

♪ Early one morning ♪

♪ Just as the sun was rising ♪

♪ I heard a young maid sing ♪

♪ In the valley below ♪ that's a
nice little song you got there.

Thanks, doc.
You cured me after all.

I got my own
free will now.

I'm not under the first's
or anyone else's influences now.

I just wanted you
to know that...

Before I kill you.

Spike's a liability, Buffy.

He refuses to see it.
So do you.

Angel left here
because he realized...

How harmful your relationship
with him was.

Spike, on the other hand,
lacks such self-awareness.

Spike is here because I want him here.
We need him.

I'm in the fight of my life!
Really?

Not you, Richard.

You want spike here, even after
what he's done to you in the past?

It's different now.
He has a soul.

And the first is exploiting
that to his advantage.

Oh, my god.

You're stalling me.

You're keeping me away...
It's time to stop...

Playing the role of general,
and to start being one.

This is the way
wars are won!

Spike.

What happened?

Oh, my god.
I gave him a pass.

Let him live, on account of
the fact I killed his mother.

But that's all he gets.

He even so much as looks at me
funny again, I'll kill him.

I lost my mom
a couple years ago.

I came home, and I found
her dead on the couch.

I'm sorry.

I understand
what you tried to do.

But she's dead.
Because he murdered her.

I'm preparing
to fight a war,

and you're looking for revenge on
a man that doesn't exist anymore.

Buffy,
don't delude yourself.

That man still exists.

Spike is the strongest
warrior we have.

And we are gonna need him if we're
gonna come out of this thing alive.

If you try anything again,
he'll kill you.

More importantly,

I'll let him.

I have a mission...

To win this war.

To save the world.

I don't have time
for vendettas.

The mission
is what matters.

Buffy.

I...

I... I understand your anger.

Please believe me,
we d... we did what we...

He's alive.
Spike's alive.

Wood failed.

Well, that doesn't
change anything.

What I told you
is still true.

You need to learn...
No.

I think you've taught me
everything I need to know.

Grr! Arrgh!