Overall Rating: 4.3 Matt: 4.0 Eric: 4.6 Written by: Elin Hampton Directed by: David Semel Cast : Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers, Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris, Alyson Hannigan>as Willow Rosenberg, Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia Chase, David Boreanaz as Angel, Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles. Main guest stars : Armin Shimerman as Principal Snyder, Charles Cyphers as Coach Marin, Jeremy Garrett as Cameron Walker, Wentworth Miller as Gage Petronzi, Conchata Ferrel as Nurse Greenleigh, Danny Strong as Jonathan, Shane West as Sean, Jake Patellis as Dodd McAlvy. Original broadcast date : May 5, 1998 My one-line description: Sorry CharlieÉ no more swim team. On the beach, students are having a victory party for the swim team. Xander, walking across the crowd, comments on how chilly it is. They come across Dodd McAlvy, one of the heroes of the swim team. Further away, Buffy sits in the sand, looking sadly at the rolling waves. Another guy from the swim team, Cameron Walker, joins her, and they make small talk. ItÕs obvious Cameron and Buffy like each otherÉ but theyÕre interrupted by sounds of mean laughter: Dodd is picking cruelly on Jonathan. Buffy grabs DoddÕs arm, twists it behind his back, and then sweeps his feet from under him. Cameron tells Dodd he had it coming, and another swim team member, Gage Petronzi, defuses the situation by suggesting Dodd join him for a swim in the sea. As they walk to the beach, Gage smells something foul. Suddenly, a piercing scream is heard, along with the sound of something ripping. A silhouette wades off to sea, leaving a smoking stack of clothes and skin Ð whatÕs left of Dodd. The next day, Principal Snyder visits Willow in computer class after the students have filed out. He tells her the board is having problems finding a new teacher, and offers her the position for the rest of the year. Willow is happy Ð until Snyder asks her to give swim team member Gage Petronzi a passing grade, even though he doesnÕt do his homework and doesnÕt show up for his tests. As Willow tells Xander and Cordelia about what Snyder asked of her, Cameron WalkerÕs Mustang swings into his parking lot at school. Inside, Cam is sweet-talking Buffy, who stays polite but clearly shows she thinks heÕs going too fast. As she says goodbye and prepares to exit the car, Cameron locks the door and moves in to grope her. Buffy punches him in the noseÉ just in time for Principal Snyder to see what she did through the windshield. In the infirmary, Nurse Greenleigh hands Cameron an ice pack, as Buffy tries to defend herself against SnyderÕs accusations. Cameron tells him she was the attacker Ð worse, she led him on, what with the way she dressesÉ Coach Marin enters, and reassures Snyder Ð CamÕs nose isnÕt broken. Snyder wants to make sure they still have a chance of winning the State Championship, and the coach tells him that Cam is his best swimmer now that DoddÉ The coach tells Cam to hit the steam room when heÕs done here; then, he tells Buffy to dress more appropriately Ð this isnÕt a dance club. BuffyÕs jaw drops as the coach leaves. At the library, Willow, Xander and Giles are doing research. Buffy enters Ð still angry at being blamed for CamÕs misfortune. They tell her that human remains were found on the beach Ð DoddÕs remains, nothing left but skin and cartilage. Buffy concludes theyÕre looking for a demon that eats bodies but not the skin. As Cameron enjoys the steam room alone, Coach Marin arrives discreetly Ð frightening the wiggins out of his swimmer Ð and tells him to hit the showers. On his cafeteria, Cameron bumps into Xander, who is counting his change for the soda machine. Xander drops his money, but Cameron blames him and tells him to Òwatch itÓ. Xander taunts him about his nose and Buffy, and Cam considers beating him up Ð but heÕs hungry. The cafeteria is closed, but he doesnÕt care. Xander is trying to determine what drink flavour he wants when a blood-curling scream is heard in the cafeteria, along with a ripping sound and tables crashing. Xander runs to investigateÉ and finds CameronÕs fuming remains in a pile. As he turns, he faces a horrible, stinking fish creature. It howls at him, and he screams. In the library, Xander stands over Cordelia as she draws a picture of the monster. From the computer, Willow reports that according to statistics, Dodd and Cam were the best swimmers on the team. The third in line is Gage Petronzi. The gang wonder who wanted revenge on the swim team so bad as to send a demon after them. Jonathan, Willow ventures Ð the diminutive student was bullied by Dodd. She agrees to go question him, while Buffy volunteers to protect Gage. A bit later, Buffy shadows Gage in the lounge, not doing a very good job of acting as though sheÕs not watching himÉ Meanwhile, Willow confronts Jonathan in her classroom Ð detective-style, with the spot-lamp and all. He finally cracks, and confessesÉ that he peed in the pool to get revenge. Elsewhere, Snyder and Coach Marin discuss what happened to Cameron. The coach isnÕt sure they can win the championships without a full team, but Snyder comments that all Marin needs is to find someone who can wear a bathing suit. Unseen, Xander listens intentlyÉ At the Bronze, Buffy continues shadowing Gage while he plays pool. Finally growing tired of it, he confronts her, and she admits that sheÕs trying to protect him from what happened to the other swimmers. Gage doesnÕt believe her Ð actually, he thinks sheÕs insane. Telling her to find someone else to harass, he leaves. Outside, he runs into Angelus. Gage rants about Buffy, convincing Angelus to make him into a vampire. Buffy exits the Bronze just in time to hear Gage scream, and runs into the alleyÉ where Angelus is spitting GageÕs blood as though he just tasted something foul. She kicks him and threatens him with some stakes, and he runs off. Gage asks Buffy to walk him home. The next day, as they watch the swimmers practice in the pool, Willow, Buffy and Cordelia discuss Angelus not liking the taste of GageÕs blood. Buffy thinks it may be steroids, which would explain the swimmersÕ attitude change. Suddenly, the locker room door opens, and a muscular figure in a Speedo appearsÉ Xander. When they recognize him, he tries to hide, but then explains that heÕs undercover Ð he tried out for the team, and he made it. That way he can best keep an eye on Gage. Coach Marin appears and tells him to chat with the girls on his own time. Later, Xander is in the steam room with the other swimmers. He tries to engage them in conversation, but fails. He exits the locker room, where Buffy is waiting for him, and tells him that Gage is still in there, putting on his sneakers. Indeed, Gage is alone, putting his sneakers onÉ He takes a whiff and smells something foul. Looking for the source of the stink, he opens some lockersÉ Out in the hallway, Buffy hears Gage scream. She enters and sees Gage facing one of the fish monsters. She tells him to get behind her, but then something else happens Ð GageÕs hands go to his chest, which rips open to reveal a brand-new fish monsterÉ The two fish monsters attack Buffy, and she manages to keep them at bay until Coach Marin yanks her away to safety. The two monsters disappear into a hole in the shower room, leading to the sewers. At the infirmary, Nurse Greenleigh patches Buffy as she, Coach Marin and Giles discuss the swimmers-gone-monsters. The coach claims he doesnÕt know how this could have happened. Later, Willow goes through DoddÕs, CameronÕs and GageÕs medical files, and finds symptoms of steroid abuse. Buffy asks Xander to try to find out what the boys are taking; meanwhile, she and Giles will go fishingÉ Buffy and Giles make their way through the sewers with a tranquilizer gun. They encounter some of the fish-guys, but the monsters slosh away. The next day in the steam room, Xander asks the other swimmers when theyÕre getting their next dose. One of them, Sean, tells him heÕs soaking in it Ð aromatherapy. He breathes deeply to show Xander what he means. Elsewhere, Nurse Greenleigh is telling Coach Marin this has got to stop. HeÕs not worried, however Ð he tells her they just need to perfect the mix. She follows him into the pump room, asking him to stop exposing the boys Ð heÕs already lost three. Marin replies that he hasnÕt lost them Ð he shoves the nurse into the hole leading to the sewers, telling her that heÕs still looking after his boys Ð after all, a teamÕs gotta eatÉ Nurse Greenleigh is suddenly pulled under water. At the library, the gang discusses the ÒaromatherapyÓ. Xander paces nervously, worried heÕll turn into a fish; Buffy comments they need to find the swim team members and Òlock them up before they get in touch with their inner halibutÓ. Willow volunteers to go see Nurse Greenleigh to find out what goes into the steroids; Buffy leaves to go have a chat with Coach Marin. In the pump room, Coach Marin starts by denying BuffyÕs allegation, but then confesses to feeding his swimmers fish DNA, based on an experiment the Soviets had tried with their Olympic swimmersÉ Buffy tells him there wonÕt be any swim team this year, but the Coach raises a gun and orders her to get into the holeÉ Buffy slowly obeys, and drops in the hole. She sees Nurse GreenleighÕs corpse, floating face down, chunks bitten out of it. Xander and Cordelia arrive at the pool, looking for members of the swim team but finding it empty. Xander, still worried that heÕll turn into a fish, tells Cordy he needs to go look in the mirror. He goes to the locker room, and Cordy walks by the pool, waiting. Suddenly, she hears a splash, and turns to see a fish monster swimming in the poolÉ Thinking itÕs Xander, she talks to it as it swims, expressing regret at what happened to him. As she talks, Xander steps up behind herÉ He tells her thatÕs not him, and right then the monster lunges out of the water at Cordelia. She and Xander take off in a hurry. At the library, Giles locks four swim team members in the book cage; Willow reports that everyone is accounted for, except Sean. Xander and Cordy, just arriving, reply that Sean is in the pool, skinless-dipping (har har). Xander asks where Buffy is, and Willow replies that she hasnÕt come back yet. In the sewer hole, two fish monsters rise out of the water right behind BuffyÉ As above her, Xander enters the pump room and confronts the coach, Buffy reacts as the fish monster start popping out of the water, obviously looking forward to having sex with herÉ Coach Marin lunges for his gun, but Xander wrestles it out of his grasp. He then goes to the hole to help Buffy, and she springs up to grab his extended hand just in time Ð a fish monster leaps out at her, but misses. As the two friends crawl away from the hole, Coach Marin appears and clobbers Xander with a wrench. Buffy kicks the coach, and he falls into the hole. She tries to rescue him, but itÕs too lateÉ The boys really love their coach. In the student lounge, Xander tells the gang that he has to meet the other swimmers for plasma transfusions. Cordelia tells him that heÕs proven himself to her, and that he doesnÕt need to join the new team next year Ð sheÕs be just as happy if he played football (uh huhÉ). Giles arrives and tells the Scoobies that the animal control people werenÕt able to find the fish monsters. Buffy doesnÕt think theyÕll see them again Ð theyÕre going home. Out at sea, the former swim team guys are swimming through the wavesÉ Summary by OttsFiveByFive.