Throwback Thursday - Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Restless

Throwback Thursday, a weekly article in which we look back at our favorite TV episodes from over the years.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer is one of my favorite tv shows of all the time. Joss Whedon was simply a genius starting by the idea of overturning the stereotype about the stupid blonde female into a strong badass character. Every season of BTVS was connected to the other, and it left hints among the years that have led fans to speculate about the future of their favorite heroine and her friends.

Back on STV, we discussed about The Body, which was one of the masterpiece episodes of the show. This week, we're going to dig in Restless, the fourth season finale of BTVS.

The Opening scene

Unlike the previous seasons, ended with a 2 hours season finale, season 4 concluded its course with a different tone, since Joss Whedon wanted to take a break, after a "restless" year. The season finale starts without the classic 'previously on', while the scene cut on Buffy, Xander, Willow and Giles and their movie night. At least, they try to watch something because as the opening credits are on TV, the four fall asleep and the Buffy intro theme begins.

Willow's dream

First dream is Willow's. In a stable relationship with Tara, finally opened up with Buffy and her friends about her sexuality, Willow still has afraid they won't accept her for who she really is. She dreams of painting Tara's back with a brush - very sexy scene, I'd add - and she's writing a poem from the poet Sappho - who was indeed a lesbian - called Hymm to Aphrodite.

Next, she's at her old High School where everyone's getting ready to perform a modern version of Death of a salesman on stage. Suddenly Willow realizes she didn't learn her lines, then Buffy takes her in front of the class and unmasks her saying that she was indeed wearing a mask itself - her pretending to be someone else, when she's just the smartest girl in school. Her clothes are the ones she wore in the pilot of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Then, she starts reading in front of the classroom, when Xander mocks her. In her dream, Oz is present - remember even if Willow is gay, Oz still remains her first love - and is flirting with Tara, realizing maybe one of Willow's worst nightmare. Out of nowhere, Willow is attacked by a strange figure, known as the First Slayer.

Xander's dream

In his dream, Xander wakes up in Buffy's couch, just like in the opening scene of this episode. He apologizes with everyone and goes to the bathroom, but not before being stopped by Joyce, who flirts with him - he finds himself as an object of seduction. That reminds me how in season 2 episode 17, under a spell, Joyce hit on him. Soon, Xander realizes that the bathroom is being watched by some scientists dressed in white coats, who are observing his performance.

Next scene is pretty interesting. He finds in a park, where Buffy is playing in a sandbox like a little child. Xander says to her "Are you sure you wanna play here?" and she answers "I'm ok, she's not coming for me yet" - where she means the First Slayer. Then, there are Giles and Spike on the swings. The blonde vampire can stand at the sunlight and is dressed like the Watcher, telling Xander that Giles is going to teach him how to be a good one - Xander's worst nightmare maybe.

Then, he finds himself in an ice cream truck with Anya who claims she wants to go back be a Vengeance Demon - in fact, she will be back as demon late in season 6. Willow and Tara are in the back, dressed sexy and invite him to join them - ah, men's dreams look all the same in this part lol as Xander tries to reach them, he finds himself in a basement. First he met Giles and Anya who switch language and speak French, then he's stuck into an Apocalypse Now parody - the Scooby Gang had this movie playing while they fell asleep. In this scene, he meets with former Principal Snyder, but he comes back to his house, when the First Slayer attacks him and tears his heart out.

Giles's dream

Giles's dream begins with him swinging a watch in front of Buffy. The Slayer is showed as a kinda of daughter to Giles, which is also how their relationship looks like: a father\daughter one. Next, the two go to a fairground and there's also his girlfriend Olivia with them. Giles senses something is wrong but as he tries to talk with eveyone, he's interrupted. He first confronts Spike, who is posing for a photo-shoot in his crypt. Then, he meets with Anya at the Bronze, where she's performing a stand-up comic, and Willow and Xander (with a bloody chest wound), who warn him of their attacker. He breaks into song, giving suggestions on how to deal with what it's hunting them, but when the sound system breaks down, he crawls backstage to trace a wiring fault. He begins to realize his pursuer is the First Slayer, just as she scalps him.

Buffy's dream

Last dream involves Buffy. She's woken by Anya in her dorm room. She then finds herself in her room at home, where Tara speaks cryptically about the future. At the university, Buffy talks to her mother, who lives in the walls, then meets Riley at the Initiative. He has been promoted to Surgeon General and is drawing up plans with Adam (now as a human being) for world domination. The three of them are interrupted by a demon attack, and Riley and Adam start to make a pillow fort. When Buffy finds her weapons bag, the only thing in it is mud, which she smears on her face.

She is then transported to the desert and finally confronts the First Slayer; Tara is presented to speak for her. Through Tara, the First Slayer tells Buffy that she cannot have friends and must work alone, which Buffy rejects. "I have no speech, no name. I live in the action of death. The blood cry, the penetrating wound. I am destruction, absolute, alone." The Slayers then fight in the desert and then in Buffy's living room next to her dying friends until Buffy realizes that she can stop the fight mentally by simply ignoring the First Slayer. She refuses to fight and walks away from the First Slayer. As the First Slayer vanishes, everybody wakes up.

Final analysis

Restless is one of the most complicated episode of the Buffyuniverse. Full of hints about past and future, we all get to know everyone's fate.
Willow's dream means her fear of being judged for her homosexuality, also the fact that everyone will always see her as the nerdy girl in school and nothing more.
"Your costume is perfect. Nobody's gonna know the truth. You know, about you."

Xander's dream reflects his relationship with all the girls in his life. Anya as his girlfriend, he sees Tara and Willow as the hot couple of witches, and he's a big brother to Buffy - considering his past feelings for her, now he's finally come to term with them.
Giles's dream is pretty understandable: he considers Buffy as a daugher, also his love for the music is expressed as he steps into the stage and sing. Spike's been considered just as 'the star' and not a friend.
Buffy's dream is complicated. Joyce living in a wall anticipates her tumour in season 5; she's an heroine even in her dream, when she managed to save her friends from the First Slayer.

The cheese man

The cheese man who appears swing some pieces, has no meaning. Joss Whedon explains his appereance as someone or something in dreams you cannot explain. He's that element.

The First Slayer

This is the first appearence of the First Slayer, whose history will be told better in Get It Done, season 7. She attacks the Scooby Gang in the same order of the spell for killing Adam (episode 4.21) has been done: Willow (her spirit), Xander (his heart), Giles (his mind), Buffy (her strenght).

Tara speaks for the First Slayer. That's some interesting quotes to Buffy:

- Tara helps Buffy to make the bed. Buffy's surprised telling her she's already made it with Faith - season 3, during Faith's dream, because "Little Miss Muffet counting down to 7-3-0". Also, Buffy notices the clock is wrong because the time is 7.30 AM (as it was one season ago), and it should be  at least 3:45-65AM (the counting down till Buffy's death in The Gift).
- "Be back before dawn", she's anticipated Dawn's arrival as the Key in human form as Buffy's sister in season 5.
- "You think you know what's to come, what you are. You haven't even begun." That's the hint of what Buffy's future will be in season 5 and beyond. In fact, in season 5, Buffy will ask Giles to understand what does it mean to be a Slayer and what's the weigh of the world - she will sacrifice herself in order to save the world.

I hope my writing was good enough to write this beautiful episode. If I forgot something, please let me know below. Have a nice Thursday everyone!

About the Author - diana mack

Diana (diana mack) is a tv shows addicted. She's from Italy, she dreams to be a real journalist someday - meanwhile she speaks english even in her dreams. But tv series are not the only passions she has: she's a football supporter, cinema lover and a traveller. She studied languages (english, french, spanish, arabic and a bit of portuguese) and journalism in Rome.