Episode 5: Life Serial
Written by Jane Espenson and David Fury

Buffy has decided to go back to college with Willow and Tara to audit courses. She sits in on a sociology class with Willow. The class discussion is about the Social Construction of Reality. Buffy is very intimidated by the discussion. She goes to an art appreciation class with Tara. There, she notices time is speeding up and jumping around.

Later, she goes to the construction site to work with Xander. The men she works with are intimidated by her gender and strength, and they harass her subtly. Later, some demons attack them, and Buffy saves everyone. The men refuse to admit that Buffy saved them.

Buffy goes to work at the Magic Box with Anya and Giles. A time loop akin to Groundhog Day happens, and she experiences the same bit of time again and again as she helps a customer buy a Mummy Hand.

That night, she talks with Spike about her experiences, and they drink from his flask. He tells her she is a creature of darkness, as he is, and she should "try on" his world. She goes with him to a demon bar to get some information about the demon who is trying to kill her. While she gets drunk, Spike plays cards with some demons (using kittens instead of chips). He gets into a fight and expects Buffy to back him up, but she leaves. She denigrates his life and his thinking that this is a date. She runs out, only to see a van that has been following her all day. Jonathan, Warren, and Andrew are in that van. A demon (with Jonathan's voice) confronts her. They fight, rather clumsily. Buffy "kills" it, but really it disappears behind a cloud of smoke. We find out that the demon was in fact Jonathan. Buffy is proud of herself for killing the demon, but then she feels really sick.