THE MATRIX. BtVS Intertext/Allusion.
In “Superstar," Buffy begins to doubt the reality of her memories as she questions Jonathan’s many accomplishments and abilities.
Buffy: I’m just saying it doesn’t make any sense. H – he starred in The Matrix, but he never left town. And how’d he graduate from med school? He’s only eighteen years old.
Xander: Effective time management?
The Matrix is the groundbreaking science fiction film by the Wachowski brothers that among other philosophical questions, explores the nature of reality and implicitly asks how one would know whether one was experiencing an altered world from inside that universe.
Like the hero of “The Matrix” Neo, Buffy doubts her perceptions of reality, not knowing that Jonathan has cast an augmentation spell that affects how others see him.