Buffy fears that being the Slayer may be making her too hard so Giles takes her to the desert to perform an ancient Slayer ritual. Meanwhile, Warren has completed the robot version of Buffy for Spike. Xander and Anya see Spike and the Buffybot having sex in a graveyard and, believing it to be Buffy, are concerned for the Slayer’s mental well-being. Knowing the Key is human, Glory sends her minions out to find someone new and important in the Slayer’s life. After seeing the robot protect Spike from a vampire attack, Glory’s minions kidnap Spike, thinking him to be the Key. The real Buffy returns to help to rescue/kill Spike before he can tell Glory that Dawn is the Key; but Spike withstands torture and refuses to tell Glory what she wants to know. After a battle with Glory’s minions, the real Buffy impersonates the robot to find out for sure if Spike revealed Dawn’s secret to Glory. Spike admits he wouldn’t ever do anything to hurt Dawn or Buffy, and in fact would die to protect them. Buffy is impressed and rewards him with a kiss.
| Airdate: | 24 April 2001 |
| Writer: | Jane Espenson |
| Director: | Michael Gershman |
| Cast: |
Buffybot: "Vampires of the world, beware!"
Behind the Scenes Trivia
Gills
In Intervention, the Buffybot pronounces “Giles” with a soft g (as in “gills”). Joss Whedon and Marti Noxon have said on several occassions that they get annoyed with so-called fans of the show when they pronouce “Giles” in this way. This is the writers’ way of making fun of those “fans”.
Kelly Donovan
Nicholas Brendon has an identical twin brother called Kelly, who is often mistaken for Nick by fans. Kelly has done stunt work on Alias and played Jacob in MTV’s Undressed. Kelly doubled for Nick in the episode The Replacement, when Xander was split in two. Nicholas mostly played both characters but Kelly was used as a double, and had a bit of dialogue when the two were in the same frame.
In some scenes in Intervention, Xander was played by Kelly Donovan because Nicholas was sick.
Here’s what Nick said on the message boards at his official site:
“Truth be told, I played both characters [in The Replacement]. It was very challenging and rewarding and I must’ve done an OK job if you couldn’t tell it was me. … I had a blast working with Kelly and he really deserves kudos for his work. He was never promised on-screen dialogue but they did end up using some and I think he did a stand-up job. In fact there was even one point where Kelly, Tressa and I had to rewind and freeze the tape to decipher who was who, (standing side by side, Kelly as “Cool Xander” did a stellar job of imitating my signature blinky eyes).”
Cast and Crew Trivia
Sharon Ferguson
Sharon Ferguson, who played the First Slayer in Restless, Intervention and Get It Done, appeared as a skater in Austin Powers in Goldmember (alongside Seth Green, who played Buffy’s Oz) and as a hooker/dancer in Malcolm X.
Character Trivia
Buffybot
The Buffybot was a life-like, cheerful, robot version of Buffy, made by Warren Meers as a sex toy for Spike in Intervention. Buffy was disgusted when she discovered what Spike had done but kept the robot in the basement at the Magic Box and later used it to defeat Glory in The Gift. Buffybot carried out Buffy’s duties when the Slayer died but was later torn apart by demon bikers in Bargaining (Part 2).
Buffybot’s robot-vision includes the files Locate Spike, Make Spike Happy, kissing01, kissing02, position01-position05. Her information on her friends includes:
Xander: friend; carpenter; dates Anya.
Anya: dates Xander; likes money; ex-demon.
Willow: best friend; gay (1999-present); witch; good with computers.
First Slayer
The First Slayer was a primal Aboriginal woman who was made into a Slayer by the Shadowmen. Her purpose was to defend man from demons. In Restless, the First Slayer’s spirit tried to kill Xander, Willow, Giles and Buffy in their sleep, because the enjoining spell that they performed in Primeval was an affront to her. In Intervention she became Buffy’s guide during her Vision Quest and told her death was her gift. The First Slayer came to Buffy in a dream in Get It Done and told her, “It’s not enough”.
Continuity
A key-sniffing snake
In Intervention, Buffy says, “Glory’s Key-sniffing snake was about here when I killed it. It was headed back to her.” This is a reference to the snake-demon Sobek in Shadow, which was raised by Glory to hunt out the Key. Buffy killed Sobek before it had a chance to return to Glory with the information it had on Dawn.
Beware, vamps
When the Buffybot is injured in Bargaining (Part 1), it says, “Vampires - beware”. In Intervention, the Buffybot said, “Vampires of the world beware.”
Bloody stupid
Spike’s jealousy over his fellow vampire Angel is shown again in Intervention as he has asked Warren to programme the Buffybot to say, “Angel’s lame. His hair grows straight up and he’s bloody stupid.” This jealousy was first explored in season two when Angelus flirted with Spike’s girlfriend, Drusilla.
Boffed a robot
In the Angel episode Lineage, Spike says, “So you’re not ruling out that a human being could’ve boffed a robot. Sex with robots is more common than most people think”. This is an obvious reference to Spike’s Buffybot from Intervention.
Both Buffy
Xander says of Buffy and the Buffybot in Intervention, “They’re both Buffy”. This is a reference to his experience of his personality being split in two in The Replacement.
Buffy’s t-shirt
Buffy has a brown t-shirt with split sleeves, which she wears in the episodes Checkpoint and Intervention.
Desert Slayer
The desert in which the mountain lion leads Buffy on the vision quest in Intervention is the same desert which Buffy dreamed about in Restless. She says she remembers it. It’s also the first place she saw the First Slayer in Restless.
Love. Give. Forgive
The First Slayer says to Buffy in Intervention, “Love. Give. Forgive”. This is a foreshadowing for upcoming events: Buffy loves Dawn and tries to protect her, she then gives her life for her and finally, Buffy forgives her friends for resurrecting her. The First Slayer also tells Buffy that death is her gift, leading Buffy to offer her life to save the world in The Gift.
Magic gourd
Giles uses a magic gourd in Primeval, and on the vision quest in Intervention.
Robot Buffy
Spike ordered Warren to make the Buffybot in I Was Made to Love You and we saw her for the first time in Intervention.
Music Trivia
Mythology Trivia
No sucking
We learn in Intervention that Glory can’t brain-suck vampires.
Vision Quest
Giles took Buffy on a sacred ‘Vision Quest’ after the death of her mother, in order for the Slayer to find the answers to some of her many questions about herself (Intervention). Giles drove Buffy to the desert, where he performed a traditional dance using a magic gourd to transfer his power over Buffy to a guide, who led the Slayer away on her own. Buffy encountered the First Slayer who told her that death was her gift, a piece of information that led to Buffy sacrificing herself in The Gift.
Giles took the potential Slayers on a vision quest in the episode The Killer in Me, which was less of a sacred quest and more of a camping trip. There are references to the first vision quest in that episode, including Giles’s line, “apparently, someone told them that the vision quest consists of me driving them to the desert, doing the hokey pokey until a spooky Rasta-mama Slayer arrives and speaks to them in riddles”.
References
Bob Barker
In Intervention, Spike told Glory that the Key was Bob Barker to which Murk replied, “We will bring you the limp and beaten body of Bob Barker”. Barker is the host of the American TV gameshow The Price is Right. He has won 15 Emmy awards - 12 as TV host, two as Executive Producer of The Price Is Right and the Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award for Daytime Television in 1999.
Hokey-Pokey / Hokey-Cokey
In Intervention, Giles helped Buffy find out what’s more to being a slayer by taking her to the desert to meet a spiritual guide. He first had to do a ritual to temporarily transfer his guardianship of her to the guide. Giles said of his ritual, “I jump out of the circle and then jump back in it, and then, um … I shake my gourd.” Buffy replied, “I know this ritual! The ancient shamans were next called upon to do the hokey-pokey and turn themselves around.” The Hokey-Pokey (or Hokey-Cokey as it is known in Britain) is a children’s song with a corresponding dance.
Lord of the Rings
The demon Gnarl in the episode Same Time, Same Place, is very similar to the Lord of the Rings character Gollum. Jane Espenson confirmed that this was intentional in a post at the Bronze Beta: “Collect the money on the bet. There was some Gollum in the history of Gnarl.”
In Intervention, Xander says that Buffy called Glory’s minions “hobbits with leprosy”. He’s referring to J.R.R. Tolkien’s creatures from his book The Hobbit and the trilogy the Lord of the Rings. Hobbits are like men, but are much smaller, with large hairy feet. They are home-loving and enjoy food, parties and smoking pipes. Glory later calls Spike “Precious”, which is fitting as the Lord of the Rings character Gollum refers to the One Ring as “my precious”.
In Gone, Warren says to Jonathan, “Oh, cheer up, Frodo”. Frodo Baggins is a character from Lord of the Rings. In Chosen, the scenes of the thousands of CGI Turok-Han in the Hellmouth was clearly influenced by the scenes in the Mines of Moria in the Lord of the Rings movie The Fellowship of the Ring.
In Damage, Andrew reacts to Spike’s reappearance by comparing it to Gandalf’s resurrection in The Fellowship of the Ring (“more beautiful than ever”} before weeping on Spike’s shoulder and whispering “Frodo, he’s alive.”
In Power Play, Gunn calls Drogyn “Aragorn.” Aragorn is the name of a long-haired character in The Lord of the Rings, played in the movie version by actor Viggo Mortensen.
Salem
In Gingerbread, Giles says that the events of Salem were similar to those in Sunnydale. He’s referring to the Salem Witch Trials in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, where mass hysteria led to many people being tried on the charge of witchcraft and hanged. In Intervention, Tara says, “Willow wants to see this thing on the History channel tonight. Salem Witch Trial stuff, which is just gonna get her all upset.”
Twist
Dawn reads teen magazine Twist at Xander’s apartment in Intervention.
Goofs
Seen at 11.02 minutes:
When Spike and the Buffybot are first alone in his crypt, Spike puts the robot in a neck hold. The Buffybot’s hair moves from over to under his arm in different shots.
Seen at 13.05 minutes:
A lot of people have sent me this goof. I’ve never been able to see it but so many people have sent it I’ve decided to add it to the site. I can’t remember all of you who sent me the goof, so sorry for not crediting people with this properly. Anyway, onto the goof…
When Buffy is following the big cat across the desert, you can see someone’s foot and leg (in jeans) come into the shot in the top right corner.
Seen at 22.12 minutes:
Spike’s stunt double is clearly seen when he first fights Glory’s minions.
Seen at 22.34 minutes:
Glory’s minions kidnap Spike at night but it’s daytime by the time they arrive at Glory’s place with the vampire.
Seen at 28.25 minutes:
Glory punches Spike while his hands are tied behind his back. You can see his hands are untied when he is knocked back, but in the next shot when he hits the wall, his hands are tied again.
Seen at 28.36 minutes:
Spike’s face is in direct sunlight when Glory pulls him up by his lip. She then throws Spike on the bed, and his left arm is also in direct sunlight - he doesn’t burn on both these occasions.
Seen at 28.50 minutes:
In Intervention, Glory pokes her finger into Spike’s chest. The next time we see Spike, when he’s tied up in the apartment (at 32.21) the wound is higher than where Glory put her finger.
Seen at 35.17 minutes:
When Spike insults Glory, his lips are out of synch with the sound of his voice during the shot of Glory turning to check herself out.
Seen at 36.27 minutes:
Buffy’s stunt double can be seen during the big fight at Glory’s place.
Quotes
Buffybot: "Vampires of the world, beware!"
Buffybot: "I can't resist the sinister attraction of your cold and muscular body."
Glory on Spike: "What the hell is that, and why is its hair that colour?"
Buffybot: "Anya! How is your money?"
Xander: "Vampires are monsters. They make monster movies about them."
Buffybot: "You're my best friend. You're recently gay!"