Overall Rating: 7.0 Matt: 6.2 Eric: 7.8 Written by: Dean Batali & Rob Des Hotel Directed by: Ellen S. Pressman Cast : Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers, Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris, Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg, Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia Chase, Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles. Guest stars : Kristine Sutherland as Joyce Summers, Armin Shimerman as Principal Snyder, Richard Werner as Morgan, Burke Roberts as Marc, Tom Wyner as Sid¹s voice, Krissy Carlson as Emily. Original broadcast date : May 5, 1997 Giles is sitting in the auditorium, unwillingly directing a rehearsal of the talent show that the new school principal, Mr. Snyder, has imposed on him. Buffy, Xander and Willow have fun teasing him about it, until Principal Snyder orders them to be in the show. The smiles quickly fall. The rehearsals turn to tragedy when a participant, Emily, is found dead with her heart removed. The gang suspects a serial killer at work, but Giles mentions to Buffy the existence of a group of demons called the Brotherhood of Seven In order to remain in their human form, these demons must take a young human¹s heart and brain every seven years. As the Scoobies try to quickly find the murderer before there are other victims, everyone suspects Morgan the ventriloquist, a weird student who seems to possessively guard his wooden dummy andŠ talks to it, and with it, even in class. When Buffy questions him about the murder, he gets a splitting headache, which rises more suspicion. That night, Buffy is jolted awake by a visit in her roomŠ by Sid, the dummy. But when she turns on the light, he¹s gone. The next day, Morgan is found dead at school, with his brain ripped out. Buffy suspects Morgan's dummy Sid, and goes to look for him. But he attacks her and traps her, having mistaken her for a demon. Sid explains that he¹s a demon hunter, imprisoned in the dummy¹s body while he was hunting down the Brotherhood of Seven. As they team up, they find Morgan¹s brain on a catwalk: it¹s been discarded by the demon. Willow finds out in Morgan¹s record that he had brain cancer, which means that the demon still needs a healthy brain. Meanwhile, an unsuspecting Giles is helping another student, Marc, with his latest talent show trick: a guillotine. Marc straps Giles into it, obviously trying to obtain a brain the hard way. Buffy arrives and saves Giles, while Sid kills Marc. Just at that moment the curtain opens, revealing the gang the scene. " I don't get it," says a confused Principal Synder. Which doesn¹t mean that Buffy, Willow, and Xander are off the hook. The next scene shows them badly acting out Oedipus Rex, quite nervous and stiff. When Willow buckles under the pressure and runs off, Buffy and Xander skittle closer together to fill the gap and continue as if nothing had happened. Summary by OttsFiveByFive.