buffy

"Lessons" is the season premiere of the seventh season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the 123rd episode in the series. Written by Joss Whedon and directed by David Solomon, it was originally broadcast on September 24, 2002, on the UPN network.

Synopsis

WELCOME BACK TO THE HELLMOUTH — Dawn starts school at the newly rebuilt Sunnydale High, while Buffy patrols the new campus on the look out for anything out of the ordinary — and for good reason. Dead people hunt Dawn and Buffy, Spike reappears, and there's a new principal at school. In England, Giles helps Willow to learn to control her power and begin to forgive herself for her actions in Sunnydale.[1]

Summary

In Istanbul, a dark-haired girl is running, looking over her shoulder in fear. She's being chased by men in hooded cloaks. After a heated chase and a near escape they catch her. Two hooded figures hold her down, while a third figure raises an arched, shiny, silver dagger and stabs her.

Buffy is in Sunnydale training her sister on how to fight vampires. She instructs Dawn that fighting (and slaying) are about power. They discuss the fact that Sunnydale High has just reopened.

Meanwhile, Willow has spent the last few months studying with Giles in Westbury, England. She studies magic and meditation with a coven of Wiccans that Giles knows. They discuss Willow's powers, and how witchcraft is no longer a hobby or an addiction she can quit as the magic is now a part of her. She is learning control, but feels frightened and distraught because she "killed people." Giles reassures her that she can be helped and become "Willow" again.

Xander is working construction at the new high school which Dawn is to attend. He shows Buffy his discovery that the Principal's office is right over the Hellmouth, where the library used to sit. Buffy follows Dawn into the school where she meets Principal Wood. She wanders into a bathroom, where she finds a talisman. A dead girl appears and threatens her, saying that Buffy was unable to protect her, and that she will not be able to protect Dawn either.

Anya is still in the vengeance business and is drinking coffee with fellow vengeance demon and friend Halfrek. Hallie tells Anya that the other demons are noticing a lack of quality in her work, and that "something big is coming."

Buffy tries to warn Dawn, but winds up only embarrassing her. Dawn then sees another dead student. She hurries to the bathroom where she meets Kit Holburn, who has also been seeing things. They are about to leave the bathroom when the floor caves in and they wind up in the high school basement. Willow, back in England, has had a vision. She saw "the earth's teeth" — the Hellmouth. She tells Giles, who has taught her that everything is connected, that not everything that is connected to the earth is good.

Dawn and Kit run into another student in the basement, Carlos Trejo, who says he saw a dead janitor. They are soon confronted by the three dead people. The dead people tell them that everyone dies at Sunnydale, and they will be no different. Dawn calls Buffy on her new cell phone. Buffy descends into the basement to help Dawn, but cannot find her. Instead, she finds a disheveled Spike standing before her in a small room.

Shocked, Buffy initially wonders if Spike is real. As he rambles incoherently, Buffy sees scratches around his heart, which Spike explains as attempts to "cut it out." He does manage to tell Buffy that the dead students are not zombies or ghosts, but "manifest spirits" raised by a talisman. Buffy decides to leave Spike where is he for now, and she calls Xander, telling him to find and destroy the talisman. She then hears Dawn screaming, and runs to her rescue. Buffy fights the spirits off as Xander wrestles with one. He breaks the talisman and the spirits disappear.

Buffy then sends Dawn, Kit, and Carlos off to class. Principal Wood is impressed that Buffy was able to convince Kit and Carlos to socialize and go to class, and says that they are the only two students with school records as large as Buffy's had been. He offers her a job working as a counselor at the school, and she gladly accepts. She wants to be able to keep an eye on her sister, the school, the Hellmouth, and the new principal.

Spike is now huddled in a corner in his basement room. He says that he had a speech to Buffy prepared, but she would not understand. A figure that appears to be Warren paces around him. He begins to give a speech about how great he is. He turns into Glory, then Adam, followed by Mayor Wilkins, Drusilla, and the Master. Each of them continues the speech, but each in their own particular voice and using their individual personalities and manner of speaking. The Master says: "It's not about right. It's not about wrong." He then transforms into Buffy and says: "It's about power."

Continuity

Appearances

Individuals

Organizations and titles

Species

Locations

Objects

Death count

Behind the scenes

Production

Broadcast

Deleted scenes

Pop culture references

Goofs

Music

International titles

Adaptations

Gallery

Promotional stills

Behind the scenes

Quotes

Dawn: "Yeah, but he's new. He doesn't know his strength. He might not know all the fancy martial arts they inevitably seem to pick up."
Xander: "How exactly do you make cereal?"
Buffy: "Ah, you put the box near the milk. I saw it on the food channel."
Willow: "Is there anything you don't know everything about?"
Giles: "Synchronized swimming. Complete mystery to me."
Willow: "I deserve a lot worse. I killed people, Giles."
Giles: "I've not forgotten."
Willow: "When you brought me here, I thought it was to kill me or to lock me in some mystical dungeon for all eternity or — with the torture. Instead, you go all Dumbledore on me. I'm learning about magic. All about energy and Gaia and root systems."
Giles: "Do you want to be punished?"
Willow: "I wanna be Willow."
Giles: "You are. In the end, we all are who we are, no matter how much we may appear to have changed."
Spike: "The thing is... I had a speech. I learned it all. Oh, God. She won't understand, she won't understand."
The First (as Warren): "Of course she won't understand, Sparky. I'm beyond her understanding. She's a girl. Sugar and spice and everything...useless unless you're baking. I'm more than that. More than flesh..."
The First (as Glory): "... more than blood. I'm... you know, I honestly don't think there's a human word fabulous enough for me. Oh, my name will be on everyone's lips, assuming their lips haven't been torn off. But not just yet. That's all right, though..."
The First (as Adam): "... I can be patient. Everything is well within parameters. She's exactly where I want her to be. And so are you, Number 17. You're right where you belong."
The First (as the Mayor): "So what'd you think? You'd get your soul back and everything'd be Jim Dandy? Soul's slipperier than a greased weasel. Why do you think I sold mine? Well, you probably thought that you'd be your own man, and I respect that, but..."
The First (as Drusilla): "... you never will. You'll always be mine. You'll always be in the dark with me, singing our little songs. You like our little songs, don't you? You've always liked them, right from the beginning. And that's where we're going..."
The First (as the Master): "... right back to the beginning. Not the Bang... not the Word... the true beginning. The next few months are going to be quite a ride. And I think we're all going to learn something about ourselves in the process. You'll learn you're a pathetic schmuck, if it hasn't sunk in already. Look at you. Trying to do what's right, just like her. You still don't get it. It's not about right, not about wrong..."
The First (as Buffy): "It's about power."

References

  1. ↑ "Season 7." Craig's BuffyVERSE 4ever. Retrieved on July 27, 2021.
  2. ↑ Tilley Farm, "Posts." Facebook, January 1, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Nielsen Ratings for Buffy's Seventh Season." Nielsen Ratings for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, & Firefly. Archived from the original on July 19, 2008.
  4. ↑ "Buffy - Lessons." BuffyWorld. Archived from the original on August 14, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Britney Cancels 'Buffy' Appearance." ABC News, January 6, 2006.