Lies My Parents Told Me
Written by David Fury and Drew Goddard & Directed by David Fury
New York City, 1977, Spike fights with the Slayer, Nikki in the rain while her young son watches from behind a park bench. Nikki throws a stake at Spike, but he catches it and then leaves, not ready for their battle to end. After Spike leaves, Nikki goes to check on her son, Robin, and she tells him how important the mission is and how, despite her love for him, the mission must come first. In the present, Robin, Spike and Buffy battle with a group of vampires. Spike stakes his, then at Buffy's prompting, helps Robin by staking the one the principal was struggling with. Spike makes a passing comment about actually using the stake to which Robin responds silently by squeezing the stake in his hand until he bleeds.
At the high school, Buffy checks in with Robin at his office and they talk about how things have quieted down and the mild chance that closing the seal has ended the serious trouble. An infuriated Giles barges into the office and proclaims his anger at the newly computerized library. He's introduced to Robin and then the three converse about the impending danger they're still facing. Giles explains that he's in town again because something needs to be done about Spike now that his chip has been removed. Buffy disagrees, still confident that she made the right decision, and Robin finds himself completely lost in the discussion since he knew nothing about Spike's chip or the First's trigger. Buffy thinks it was the song Spike was singing that is his trigger, but neither she nor Spike can identify the tune and Giles realizes they're going to need to use magic to find out.
Xander chains Spike to the wall in the basement with the rest of the gang and Robin stand by. Giles explains that they need to put a rock in Spike's brain that will identify the trigger and reveal it to Spike. Spike's anything but excited about the idea, but he doesn't do anything to stop the proceedings as Willow begins a spell that will allow the rock to be liquefied. The liquefied stone makes its way through Spike's eye and into his brain, then after a moment, it begins to work and Spike begins to witness a scene from his past. A human William, reads one of his poems to his mother and discusses his need for a woman in his life. His mother, Anne, begins to cough blood, indicating her state of illness, but instead of going to a doctor, she suggests he sit with her as she begins to sing an old song to him.
In the present, Spike's demon comes to the fore and he rages against the chains, attacking Buffy and tossing his cot across the room and into Dawn. After he calms down and the rock falls from his brain, Spike asks that the chains be removed, but Buffy and the others suggest he wait a bit. Giles questions Spike about the song and Spike reveals that it was "Early One Morning," a song his mother used to sing to him. Willow cares for Dawn's head injury as the Slayers in Training question Buffy's loyalty to Spike in spite of the trigger. Anya begins to explain that Spike can basically get away with anything, but cuts herself short. Willow then gets a call from Fred in L.A. Buffy and Giles argue about how to deal with Spike and whether he should be unchained on account of the fact that the trigger wasn't removed.
Spike looks at his hand then drifts into his memories again. Newly vamped, William and Drusilla dance and kiss in his mother's home. He points out that he plans to include his mother in their future, an idea that Drusilla isn't quite keen on. Anne comes into the living room, wondering what's going on. Spike introduces Drusilla and the idea of an illness-free and eternal future to his mother. Anne is frightened and can only stand still as Spike promises quick pain and then sinks his fangs into his mother's neck. Back at Buffy's house, Willow announces to Buffy that she needs to go away for a couple of days to help with an important problem.
Despite Giles's objections, Buffy frees Spike from the chains and then goes upstairs with him. Robin stops Giles from following the two and he raises the issue of dealing with Spike, in spite of Buffy's disapproval. They talk about the danger of Spike's trigger still working and how Spike could be an important part of the First's plans if they don't do something. When Robin explains his understanding of Watchers and Slayers, Giles concludes that Robin is Nikki's son. Giles questions Robin's motivation to destroy Spike, but they both seem to agree that regardless of the reasons, Spike needs to be dealt with. Robin asks for a few hours alone with Spike.
Giles and Buffy walk through a cemetery together, on a training mission. Giles wants to continue to teach her what he can and make sure she's understands role as leader, but Buffy thinks she's already got that under control and worries about Spike being left with Robin. Robin leads Spike into a garage room he uses for training. The walls of the room are lined with crosses and Spike starts to feel uncomfortable. Robin works briefly at a computer, while Spike asks about Robin's story. As Robin puts on steel-enforced gloves, he explains that he's been looking for Spike and that Spike killed his mother, the Slayer, Nikki. With a click of the mouse, the computer begins to play the song, "Early One Morning," which triggers Spike's demon into action.
Again in the past, Spike returns to his mother's house to find that she's risen and is waiting for him. Anne is nice to him at first, but then her tone switches as she begins to verbally tear into her son, telling him she wants to be far away from him. Meanwhile, in the present, Robin knocks Spike around, hitting him with physical violence as Spike's mother did with words in his past. In the cemetery, Buffy fights with a nice fledgling and nearly stakes him but stops at Giles's request. He questions her standing on letting those close to her die for the greater good, and Buffy reveals that she'd now sacrifice those close to her if it meant the rest of the world would be saved. Giles wonders then why Spike is still around.
Robin strips Spike of the leather trench coat and rips a cross from the wall as he looms over the vampire. Again in the past, Anne approaches William with determination and taunting suggestions of incest. Horrified, William can't take anymore and stakes his mother, turning her to dust. As William stakes his mother, the present Spike comes alert again and stops a cross before Robin can stake him with it. Spike begins to fight back against Robin, reminding the man that by killing Nikki, he was only doing what he as a vampire was supposed to do and Nikki was only doing what a Slayer was supposed to do. Spike taunts Robin with the fact that Nikki held the mission higher on her priorities than her love for her own son and points out that all Slayers are independent fighters by nature.
Spike tells Robin the story about his mother and how he turned her, but adds that, unlike Nikki, his mother actually loved him as much as he loved her and that it was only the demon speaking when she turned on him as a vampire. Rejuvenated by his own personal confrontation with his past, Spike is able to play the song on the computer again and not have the trigger go off. Free of manipulating powers, Spike vamps and leans in to kill Robin. Buffy continues to knock around the fledgling while Giles talks to her about her focus and making the right decisions, until Buffy realizes that he's stalling her to keep her away from Robin and Spike. She runs off to hopefully save Spike before it's too late.
With his jacket retrieved, Spike leaves the garage just as Buffy arrives. She worriedly questions what happened, but Spike shows her that he didn't kill Robin. Promising to kill the man if he makes one wrong move, Spike leaves and Buffy goes to check on Robin. She tells him that he needs to get over his personal issues with Spike because his next attempt will get him killed by Spike and with Buffy's approval. She has a mission to be focused on and it comes first. After Buffy tucks Dawn into bed, Giles confronts her about what he and Wood tried to do with Spike. Buffy lets him know that Spike is still very much undead and that she's had enough of his lessons, then she shuts the door to her bedroom in his face.
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Last Updated: 3-25-03