Writer: Drew Z. Greenberg
Director: James A. Contner

Cast : Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers, Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris, Emma Caulfield as Anya, Michelle Trachtenberg as Dawn Summers, James Marsters as Spike, Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg.

Main guest stars : Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles, Eliza Dushku as Faith, Tom Lenk as Andrew, Iyari Limon as Kennedy, Indigo as Rona, Sarah Hagan as Amanda, DB Woodside as Robin Wood, Nathan Fillion as Caleb, James C. Leary as Clem.
Original broadcast date : April 29, 2003

My one-line description: Buffy gets a new address after a failed address to the troops.

Afternoon in a very busy Sunnydale – a shopkeeper is putting up a “closed” sign, and the street is crowded with cars leaving town. Buffy walks amidst the mayhem, and suddenly gets a “Hey, you!” from a red VW Beetle… it’s Clem, also leaving town. He tells Buffy that with the Hellmouth acting up, he feels it’s better to get out, since he doesn’t think anyone can stop it. He then corrects himself – if anyone can stop it, it’s her. But then he tells her she should get out of town too. Buffy just bids him goodbye, and he drives off (not far, since there’s a traffic jam).

Elsewhere, Giles is questioning a police officer on Caleb’s pre-Sunnydale activities. Willow, standing nearby, is influencing the cop into thinking that Giles is really an inspector, but her control is slipping – the guy keeps asking who they are. After a bit, Giles and Willow hurriedly leave, and some other police officers join the cop, and inform him they’ve got some more info on a wanted fugitive, who happens to be right here in town (my money’s not on Caleb).

Buffy goes to the hospital to visit Xander; she tries to remain upbeat, as does Willow, but it’s clear that it’s hard – it’s the first time a Scoobie has received a permanent injury. Willow fills Buffy in on the info about Caleb, and the Slayer soon leaves, saying she has a lot to do. After she’s gone, Xander starts to joke about getting a parrot to go with the eye patch, and Willow jokes back, saying that the hospital could surely provide him with a peg leg. However, she soon begins to break down. “Willow… don’t” Xander pleads. She nods and fights back her tears.

In the Summers basement, Anya is handling a SIT briefing, while Andrew takes notes on a whiteboard. She tells them that she’s been talking to some old contacts of hers, and she has some good news on the Ubervamps – apparently, they can be staked, although their sternums are hard as steel. She comments that it shouldn’t be a problem, since the SITs are all super-strong. “No we’re not!” comments one of them. Anyway, it seems they’re over the Ubervamps, and now terrified of the “scary preacher guy” – about who Anya has no information. She does, however, try to give them an uplifting speech a la Buffy – which involves telling them about the breakup sex she and Xander had on the cot. A few SITs move away in disgust from the spot where the cot was, while Andrew writes “breakup sex” on the whiteboard.

Kennedy and Amanda, quite bored, sneak upstairs and into the kitchen, where Faith is sitting on the counter eating potato chips. After Kennedy leans on the counter and steals some chips, Faith asks why they aren’t downstairs at “Hogwarts” with the rest of the girls. Kennedy comments that it’s getting somewhat unproductive, what with nobody knowing anything about Caleb… Buffy arrives (as if on cue) with the police files on the preacher. Dawn joins them, and Buffy shares the wealth, asking her to look at some of the papers and do research. Dawn asks some awkward questions about Xander’s state, obviously making Buffy feel guilty. Faith comes to the rescue by ordering Dawn off to her task. Buffy sends Amanda and Kennedy back down to the SIT briefing, asks Faith to make sure everybody has work to do, and goes off to the school to clean out her desk.

Buffy walks through the hallway of the now-empty Sunnydale High, and arrives at her office. She sits down at her desk, and picks up a picture of her, Xander and Willow. It’s an emotional moment... ruined by Caleb, who is suddenly standing in front of her. Buffy snaps into defence mode, ordering him to leave, but he asks her to mind her manners (actually, he reminds me of the Mayor). He starts to ramble about how they’re part of something big, how history will remember the roles they both played during these times. After a while, Buffy punches him – only causing him to laugh. He beats her around pretty good, telling her that he’s looking forward to taming her. He sends her crashing through the glass window, out in the hallway where she falls unconscious.

At the house, Giles and Dawn are looking at some close-up pictures of a crime scene related to Caleb. Andrew comes up and complains to Giles about someone stealing his Hot Pockets – but he’s utterly ignored by Giles, who’s found something and asks Dawn to take a close look. It’s Caleb’s mark, left on the wall at one of the crime scenes… As they move into the living room, Andrew follows… and spots Faith eating his Hot Pockets. He complains again, only to get a “Shut up. Pay attention.” from Giles. The Watcher commissions a reluctant Spike – who’s wondering if Ripper wants him to come back alive – to go check out the place where the mark was found. He asks Spike to take Andrew with him.

As Spike and Andrew leaves, Faith comments that the girls are stuck here, freaked out and with nothing to do. She suggests taking them out to blow off some steam…

… familiar scene at the Bronze – Faith is dancing, surrounded by guys. The girls are having fun, and Kennedy and Dawn, dancing nearby, wonder at the fact that the Bronze is doing so well with the town closing down.

Buffy comes home, alive but a bit banged up, and is startled to find the house empty. Giles fills her in on the mission he sent Spike and Andrew on, and she has the same reaction the vampire did – she wonders about Giles motives. She accuses him of sending away the only person who’s been watching her back; Giles angrily retorts that they’ve all been watching her back, but she doesn’t see it that way. Changing gears, she asks where the girls went, and Giles tells her about Faith’s plan to let them blow off some steam by taking them to the Bronze.

At the vineyard, The First-Buffy appears to Caleb, and they discuss how well their plans are going. Buffy is almost right where they want her. “All she needs is a little push”, Caleb comments, putting his hand through The First’s immaterial form.

At the Bronze, Faith is taking care of the girls – even taking a drink away from a slightly tipsy Amanda. Just then, things turn bad when four or five cops show up, and forcibly remove her from the premises.

Outside, Faith tells the cops that there’s no way she’s going back to jail. But they tell her that’s not what they had in mind – they want to kill her. One of the cops, still inside, closes the door so the girls can’t get out, and the others gang up on Faith. She does a good job of fighting them off, but they’re too much for her and they quickly get her to the ground, kicking the crap out of her.

Inside, the girls try to convince the cop guarding the door to let them go outside, but quickly discover he’s going to kill anyone who tries something cute – he actually pulls out his gun and shoots something. Remarkably unfazed, Dawn leads the SITs in rushing the guy and flooring him. They open the door and help Faith rally and take care of the other cops.

But just as they’re finishing the job, Buffy arrives, already angry and even more appalled at the scene before her. She orders the girls back to the house, then chews Faith’s head off for getting the SITs drunk and recklessly putting them in danger. Faith earnestly asks whether the girls were safer with Buffy at the vineyard – say, Molly, or Rona? Thoroughly pissed, Buffy turns around and punches Faith before storming off.

Spike is driving down the road on his motorcycle (leftover from “Bargaining”) with Andrew on the back seat. Amazingly, the two share small talk about… food, with Spike sharing the recipe for the blooming onion (put it in the freezer for an hour before frying it so it keeps its shape). However, Spike warns Andrew not to reveal to anyone they had this conversation, or he’ll bite him. (har har)

Faith is sitting on the porch outside Buffy’s house having a smoke, looking pensive, when Robin Wood arrives for a meeting Buffy’s called. He figures out who Faith is, and the two get along pretty well – he notices she’s pretty banged up, and Faith explains about the incident with the cops… and Buffy. Robin figures out she’s angry at Buffy, even worried about her… He admits he reads people pretty well. A bit unnerved by this, Faith reciprocates by guessing that Robin has something simmering under that ‘tude of his. They’re interrupted by a car pulling up the driveway – it’s Xander coming back home.

Spike and Andrew are investigating the seemingly abandoned mission when something clad in robes lunges at them – a Bringer? No, just a monk… with Caleb’s mark burned on his cheek.

Willow and Anya help Xander into the living room, where the gang is congregated around a sober and hastily drawn “Welcome home Xander” banner. They ask him to pretend there’s a big party going on. Dawn pretty much speaks for everyone when she rushes into Xander’s arms and hugs him hard.

Buffy then announces that she’s been doing some thinking, and she’s finally figured out what they have to do – they’re going back to the vineyard.

The terrified monk tells Spike and Andrew that Caleb came here and was offered asylum. He killed all the monks except humbly yours, who got Caleb’s mark. He offers to lead Spike and Andrew to a secret room Caleb discovered in the mission. In it, there’s an inscription in Latin on the far wall, one that apparently sent Caleb into a fury. Spike translates it – “It is not for thee. It is for her alone to wield”.

At the house, the gang listens incredulously as Buffy explains that no one is guarding the Hellmouth or the Seal, therefore Caleb and the Bringers must be guarding the vineyard because there’s something precious there, possibly their power centre.

But the reaction isn’t what Buffy expected – Rona is violently opposed to the idea, and so is Kennedy… and even Willow. Faith thinks that they need proof, and Buffy argues that they have to trust her. Giles reminds her, however, that earlier she was saying that she couldn’t trust them… Even Xander says he can’t see Buffy’s point. The discussion quickly becomes a debate on Buffy’s leadership; Anya says that she’s not better than the rest of them, she was just luckier to be born with powers. And if they have to be led by a Slayer, why couldn’t Faith take a turn? The younger Slayer quickly denies she has any desire to lead; an angry Buffy turns on her and accuses her of coming here and trying to take everything away from her, just like the last time. Faith protests that she’s here to fight, but she has to know what she’s fighting. Buffy argues to the girls that she didn’t get this job by winning any popularity contests, or taking the SITs out for a drink.

“So we vote”, Wood concludes. Buffy says that she can’t watch them throw away everything… Dawn comes up to Buffy and, her voice trembling, tells her that in that case, she has to leave. They need to be together on this, and she can’t be with them. After a beat, Buffy heads for the door, takes her coat and exits the house. “Woohoo, the witch is dead!” Rona rejoices. “Shut your mouth!” Dawn angrily replies.

Outside, Buffy pauses for a moment, a tear rolling down her face. Faith joins her, trying to explain that she didn’t want this. “Don’t… be afraid to lead them”, Buffy tells her. “Whether you wanted it or not… their lives are yours. And it’s only going to get harder”. Faith nods soberly and goes back inside, leaving Buffy alone outside her own house.

Special thanks to Loey.