The Witch (Buffy episode)
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| "The Witch" (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) | |
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| Season 1, Episode 3 | |
| Air Date (US): | March 17 1997 |
| Production No.: | 4V03 |
| Written by: | Dana Reston |
| Directed by: | Stephen Cragg |
| Guest Star(s): | Kristine Sutherland (Joyce Summers) |
| Previous: The Harvest | Next: Teacher's Pet |
"The Witch" is episode 3 from season 1 of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer that deals with mother-daughter relationships and pompoms.
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Plot Outline
Despite Giles's misgivings, Buffy decides to try out for the cheerleading team. During trials, a girl named Amber spontaneously combusts. Amy seems to be under strong pressure from her winning mother, a star cheerleader in her day, and is crushed when she only makes the substitute list after Cordelia and Buffy. We see a brief glimpse of somebody bewitching Barbie dolls over a kettle. Next thing, Cordelia can't see, which she proves the hard way during driving instruction, and is just saved in the nick of time by Buffy.
To prove that Amy is a witch, Buffy, Xander and Willow collect eye of newt and some of Amy's hair during science class, and prove that she has cast a spell. Amy comes home and tells her mother to get with her homework — while she goes upstairs with Buffy's bracelet that she stole while Buffy was collecting her hair.
The next morning, a slightly manic Buffy blows her chance at the cheerleading squad when she tosses another girl through the room, ceding her slot to none other than Amy. Buffy turns out to have something more than just a mood disorder: A bloodstone vengeance spell has destroyed her immune system, giving her only about three hours to live. The only way to cure her and break the other spells is to get the witch's spell book. The ailing Buffy and Giles go confront the mother, only to realize that the real Amy is stuck in her mother's middle-aged body while mother is reliving her glory days. Giles finds the witch's book and takes Amy and Buffy back to school to break the spells. Buffy is fading fast.
Amy's mother is cheering Sunnydale's school basketball team when she starts getting flashes of what Giles is trying to do. Xander and Willow are unable to stop her from storming into the science lab with an axe, but buy enough time for Giles to break the spells: Amy and her mother switch bodies again and Buffy feels good enough to fight. However, Amy's mother's power is too great, and it is only by kicking down a steel vent cowling and reflecting her last spell can Buffy win the day; the mother vanishes.
When Amy and Buffy talk in the school hall the next day, they pass by the school's trophy collection where the statue to "Catherine the Great" stands. While both girls wonder where Amy's mother ended up, the camera pulls close to the statue's face, revealing the mother's eyes and a muffled voice pleading for help.
Importance
Buffy starts "The Witch" by disobeying her Watcher, the story of their relationship. Other relationships are fleshed out: Buffy and her mother as well as Cordelia and the rest of the group. Xander claims to be just friends with Willow and Buffy only wants to be best friends with Xander, and neither Xander nor Willow seem to be too happy about that.
Willow has her first stab at witchcraft when she puts newt eyes in the solution that will prove that Amy is a witch, but there is no indication that one day she will be more powerful than Amy and her mother put together.
Writing and Acting
A feint within a feint: Amy's mother is not only not the witch, but not even really Amy's mother. The rest of the plot is rather predictable. The cat jumping out of the chest is something of a cliché, as are the standard Hollywood witchcraft props like the kettle, the pentagram, the voodoo dolls and the book of magic. The series will have to wait for Willow to get serious about spells before we see a more sophisticated approach.
Quotes and Trivia
"She's our Sabrina" — Buffy about Amy, referencing the series Sabrina, the Teenage Witch
During the line-up, Buffy is the only one not with white Adidas shoes. This not only makes it easier for the viewer to follow her feet, but also makes the point that Summers have to watch their finances.
Giles claims that the spell to break the witch's magic was his first "casting", which might explain why he recites every line in English before saying it in Latin, wasting valuable time. It seems that he is lying here: As Ripper, he casted quite a few spells.
This is not the last time we see the statue. In a later episode, Oz will stand in front of the glass case and admire the craftsmanship of the statue: It looks like the eyes are following you. Presumably, Amy's mother died during the destruction of the school at the end of season 3, still locked in her own trophy.
Cast
- Elizabeth Anne Allen as Amy Madison
- Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris
- Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia Chase
- Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers
- Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg
- Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles
- Robin Riker as Catherine Madison
Other Languages
The German language version of "The Witch" has been censored to remove the Nazi-references in a dialog between Buffy and Willow. The original English exchange (DVD edition):
- Willow: "Her mom's kinda…"
- Buffy: "Nazi-like?"
- Willow: "Heil"
is translated as:
- Willow: "Ihre Mom ist eine echte…"
- Buffy: "Superfrau?"
- Willow: "So in der Art."
which translated back to English would roughly be:
- Willow: "Her mom is a real…"
- Buffy: "Superwoman?"
- Willow: "Something like that."
References to Hitler, Nazis, and the Shoah in U.S. films and TV series are routinely cut out by German translators. Another example of this is "Phases".
External links
- BBC episode guide to "The Witch" (http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/buffy/indetail/witch/index.shtml)
- BuffyGuide.com episode guide to "The Witch" (http://www.buffyguide.com/episodes/witch.shtml)