"" is episode 6 of season 2 of ''
Buffy The Vampire Slayer ''.
Buffy and
Angel finally agree to a date, but Buffy is delayed at Pop's Pumpkin Patch by a vampire. Another vampire films it in from hiding. While Angel waits at
The Bronze ,
Cordelia shows up. When Buffy finally arrives, she is turned away by Cordelia's sharp tongue. Cordelia continues to hit on Angel, unaware of his history.
and
The next day,
Principal Snyder forces Buffy and her friends into chaperoning small children while they trick-or-treat. Buffy would rather take a break during the only slow night for vampires. Later, Larry the school bully threatens Xander while asking him about Buffy, who smashes Larry into a soda machine. Xander is angry by the damage that does to his reputation.
The gang has to dress up for Halloween. They head to Ethan's Costume Shoppe, where Willow gets a ghost costume and Xander buys a toy gun to go with his army fatigues from home. Buffy and Xander make up, but then she spies the most beautiful 18th-century pink dress -- one that matches what she has spied from Giles's
Watcher files on Angel. Ethan Rayne appears and makes her an offer she cannot refuse.
Spike is reviewing Buffy's fight.
Drusilla comes to tell him that someone will make Buffy weak on Halloween night. Meanwhile, Ethan is chanting to a statue in the back room of his shop.
On Halloween night, Buffy manages to convince Willow to wear a black mini-skirt and a long-sleeved crop shirt. Willow is very shy and tries to hide it with her ghost costume. The doorbell rings and Willow takes the opportunity to cover her skimpy outfit. Later that night, Ethan's spell takes effect and everyone wearing a costume from his store turns into the respective persona. Willow becomes a real ghost, Xander a soldier and Buffy an 18th-century English noblewoman.
Willow convinces Xander to stop shooting at people. They find a disoriented Buffy, who is frightened and confused by the modern world. Willow rushes them to Buffy's house, where her mother is conveniently not home. Outside, Cordelia screams and Xander rushes out to save her. They find that Cordelia has not changed into what she is wearing -- a cat -- because she bought her costume from another store. Willow goes to Giles for help. While Cordelia searches the house, Angel shows up and takes Buffy into the kitchen. As Angel tries to kill a vampire that has snuck into the house, he reveals his vampire face. Buffy is horrified and runs from the house.
At the library, Willow tells Giles about Ethan's costumes. They head to the shop, where Giles reveals that he knows Ethan. He orders Willow to leave and physically persuades Ethan to reverse the spell.
Spike is looking for Buffy, who enters an alley and meets Larry, now a pirate. Xander arrives to beat up on Larry while Willow shows up to warn them of Spike. The gang tries to barricade themselves inside a warehouse, but Spike's gang breaks in. Just as Spike is about to kill Buffy, Giles breaks the spell by breaking the statue. Buffy recovers to defeat Spike and he flees.
Buffy admits to Angel that she was trying to impress him. He tells her that he hated those people back then. The women were dull. He wanted someone exciting. They kiss. The next day, Giles returns to the store to find a note. Ethan has promised to return soon.
Xander's bout as a soldier becomes a cornerstone of his character, as he will always retain all the skills expected of military personnel. Though these skills do atrophy, as he is not using them constantly, he will display knowledge of military protocol, weapons handling, and bomb construction. This episode is referenced many times throughout the rest of the series. Episodes include "
Innocence " (Season 2), "
Graduation Day, Part Two " (Season 3), "
Restless " (Season 4) and "
Sleeper " (Season 7).
Willow and Buffy shortly debate whether Angel could ever fall for Cordelia. Willow thinks "she's not his type", Buffy is not that sure of it. Actually, Angel and Cordelia are attracted to each other during the third season of ''
Angel ''.
- French title: "Halloween"
- Italian title: "Halloween"
- German title: "Die Nacht der Verwandlung" ("The night of metamorphosis")
- Japanese title: "ハロウィーン" ("Harowīn" - "Halloween")
- Stories that take place around the same time in the Buffyverse:
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- [http://www.soulfulspike.com/spikecentricity/halloween.htm Soulful Spike Society analysis of "Halloween"]
