Prelude
What's happened previously:
(Season 6 of Buffy)
Willow, Xander, Anya and Tara perform a spell to raise Buffy from the dead, thinking that her soul has gone to any one of a number of hell dimensions. After Buffy comes back, she appears to be detached from the world, and she reveals to Spike (a vampire that can't hurt humans without a massive, instant headache due to a microchip in his brain) that she thinks that she was in heaven, not hell, and that she is now in hell (in the real world) because she was torn out of heaven. Buffy says that her friends can never know. Meanwhile, a trio of nerds (Warren, Jonathan and Andrew) team up to take over Sunnydale in their [twisted] way to get women and power. They know that the Slayer is a problem and set out to test her for weak spots. Willow and Tara's relationship comes under pressure as Tara starts to think that Willow is using too much magick. They have a fight about it, and both of them feel awful (as they hardly ever fight.) Willow uses magick and erases the memory of the fight from Tara's brain.
When a demon comes to town, he makes everyone in the town sing and dance. It is revealed through the characters involuntary singing that Buffy is 'going through the motions' of life. Tara finds out about the Spell that Willow cast on her, and Buffy's friends find out that they ripped her from heaven. Spike and Buffy kiss, in a twisted sense of something (I don't know what, but it's just not right).
Tara reveals that she knows that Willow cast the spell on her. Willow agrees to go one week without magick, but she does a spell to erase the memory's of everyone over the last week or so, so that Tara won't be mad at her, and Buffy won't remember she was in heaven. The spell goes awry and everyone forgets who they are, and they form weird ideas about who they were. The spell is ended, and Tara knows that Willow cast the spell. She leaves Willow. They both still love each other with all their souls, but Tara leaves knowing that Willow will have to stop using so much magick for there even to be a chance for Tara to return to her life. Giles says that he is returning back to England as Buffy needs to grow up and learn to be an adult and survive in the real world.
Willow, depressed about Tara's leaving, turns the Rat, Amy (A witch that was going to be burned at the stake from the parents of Sunnydale who went insane for a day, and who turned herself into a rat to escape). Willow 'de-rats' her, and they go out partying with magick. Amy introduces Willow to Rack, who is a very powerful warlock, and who makes his customers 'high' with magick (his price is to 'take a little tour' of the recipient's body with magick (Nothing to do with sex)). Willow is addicted to magick, and while out with Dawn and running away from a demon, crashes the car, almost killing Dawn. Buffy is extremely pissed, and Willow vows that she has to get over her magick addiction. Meanwhile, Buffy is sleeping with spike 'just to feel'. Spike is in love with Buffy, but Buffy hates spike. Xander and Anya announce that they are going to get married.
The nerds continue to experiment with their technology, and Warren 'accidentally' kills his ex girlfriend. They use their knowledge of technology and magicks to convince Buffy that she killed her. Willow is still suffering the effects of withdrawal from her magicks. It is revealed that Spike can hurt Buffy, and only Buffy without his chip hurting him. Buffy asks Tara to search and find if there is anything wrong with Buffy after coming back from the dead. Tara reveals that Buffy's molecular structure has been modified, but there is nothing wrong with her, but Buffy insists that there has to be something wrong with her because she is sleeping with Spike. Up until that point, Buffy had blamed the whole 'sleeping with Spike' deal to her being wrong from coming back from the dead.
Buffy has a birthday, and Dawn (Buffy's sister) is feeling that she is being left out, and that Buffy would rather be dead than alive, with her. Unknowingly, she wishes that everyone would be around her and not rather be somewhere else, and a vengeance demon called Halfreck grants the wish, and at Buffy's birthday party, no one can leave the house. Tara and Willow talk, and things are starting to look up for them. They have no magickal supplies in the house, after getting rid of them all for Willow to get out of her magick addiction. It is revealed that Willow kept some basic things, just in case a situation happened at the house and they needed magick to survive. She gives these supplies to Tara, and Tara tries a spell to get them to be able to leave the house, but fails. Anya insists that Willow must do the spell to get them out, as Willow is much more powerful, but Willow refuses. Tara reveals that she is proud of Willow for refusing! They end up finding out about everything, and leave the house.
Buffy's ex boyfriend (Riley) turns up in town, with his wife! They are a part of a commando unit that is hunting a demon that breeds and that has come to Sunnydale. After working together, they find out that the person harbouring the demon's eggs is Spike. Riley's wife says to Willow that she knew a couple of shamans that got addicted to magick, and that it is a proud achievement to come down from it. Buffy stops sleeping with Spike after Riley and his wife leave, saying that she doesn't love him, and that sleeping with him is 'killing' her, on the inside of course.
Xander and Anya's wedding comes around, and someone claiming to be Xander from the future reveals what their marriage 'could' be like. In this future, Xander has a bad back and can't work. He somehow got the bad back from protecting Buffy, who died again. Xander is just like his father (an alcoholic, and abusive, with words, to his wife). Anya says that she hates herself, and has slept with a demon. Anya and Xander have two kids, one of which is not Xander's, but a demons. Xander, shocked by the visions, decides that he can not hurt Anya that much, and leaves Anya at the altar. Anya is devastated. Willow and Tara are starting to get along more.
A demon hits Buffy, and her mind is pulled from one reality to the other. In another reality, she is just a girl in a mental institution, who has been there for the last six years after creating this world (the actual world the tv show is in), and creating an intricate network of friends (Willow, Xander etc. Basically, the world is everything that's happened over the last 6 years of the TV show). In this other world, her mother is still alive, and still married to her father. Her mother, father, and the doctor convince Buffy that to stop being sick, and to be able to go home with her family, she needs to sever her links with the other world (Her friends). Saying to herself 'what's more believable, a girl in a mental institution, or some kind of supergirl that fights monsters', Buffy, ties her friends up, and almost lets a demon kill them. In the mental institution world, Buffy says goodbye to her mum and dad, and she slips into her own little world, never to return again. Back in the Sunnydale world, Buffy's friends are saved by Tara! The episode actually doesn't give a definite answer on what the real world is, and the episode is done so well, that you are left wondering wether the show's past six years is just a crazy dream by some girl in a mental institution.
Willow and Tara agree to go out for coffee! Xander is still looking for Anya, who has disappeared, but she comes back, a vengeance demon again. (She looks for women hurt by men, and grants them wishes on what they could do to the men). She tries to wish her will upon Xander, but Halfreck (the other demon like her) reveals that she must get someone else to wish bad for Xander, as she can't do it herself. She sets out, trying to get the Scooby gang to do this, but with no success. It is revealed that the Trio of nerds are up to something big, and that Jonathan might get left out (although he doesn't know it yet). In a moment of pain and drunkenness, Anya and Xander sleep together. While Willow is trying to track the Trio's signals of a camera, she finds a camera that the Trio have put in the Magic Box (shop), and the images are displayed on screen. Xander, Buffy, Willow and Dawn see Anya and Spike practically 'doing it' on the camera. Xander goes off and tries to kill Spike. It is revealed to Xander and Anya that Spike was sleeping with Buffy. Meanwhile, Tara turns up in Willow's room saying something along the lines of....
"We can't just have coffee. There's trust to be rebuilt. We don't even know if we're the same people any more. It's going to take a long time... can we just skip it. Can you just be kissing me now" Right at the end, Willow and Tara make up!
The next episode, shows Willow and Tara in bed, naked (Sheets covering nakedness), and it can be seen that they've officially made up. Meanwhile, the trio executes a part of their plan. They steal two orbs, which make one of them invulnerable and have super human strength. This is Warren. After spending most of the day in bed, Willow and Tara help out Buffy track the trio down. It is revealed that Willow and Tara are extremely happy to be back together again! Buffy stops Warren's plans, but he gets away with a jetpack? Andrew (another one of the trio) also has a jetpack, but Jonathan doesn't, revealing that they were planning on betraying him. Both of them go to jail while Warren is still at large. Xander forgives Buffy for sleeping with Spike (he is totally disgusted at the whole idea). As they are hugging, Warren turns up with a gun and shoots at Buffy and Xander. Buffy pushes Xander out of the way and gets shot herself. While running away, Warren lets off a couple more shots. (somewhere in there, Spike tries to Rape Buffy, saying that she wants to feel, but doesn't want to admit it)
In Willow and Tara's bedroom, Willow and Tara have just gotten dressed. Then, all of a sudden, a red mark appears on Tara's chest, and blood is sprayed all over Willow's shirt. Tara says in confusion "Your shirt?" and collapses onto the floor. Willow is crying while calling Tara's name while holding her head on the floor.
All hell breaks loose from here. After being weeks without magick, Willow invokes Osiris, and tries to make him bring Tara back. But because Tara was killed by human hands, it can not be done. (I think Willow looses it and actually hurts the god. A stream of energy is seen exiting her mouth as she shouts "no" and it hit's the image of Osiris, and he disappears screaming).
Out in the backyard, the paramedics take Buffy away. As Xander is accompyaning them out to the ambulance, a cold Willow emerges from the front of the house. She coldly asks what's happened, and Xander replies, distraught, that Warren came with a gun. Willow just mutters 'Warren' and storms off into the distance.
At the Magic Box, Willow appears. Her pupils have expanded to the size of her eyes (indicating in the show, heavy use of magick) when she opens the door, all the lights burst. Anya, because she's a vengeance demon senses Willow's pain, and tries to stop her, but Willow 'freezes' her in place. She drags all the 'black arts' books off the shelves and onto the table, and literally sucks them dry (text can be seen scrolling up her body). As she does this, her hair turns jet black.
Dawn returns home and breaks down after finding Tara's body. (Next to Buffy, Tara was the only one who 'acted' as her 'mother')
Xander is watching the surgery on Buffy. The lights start to flicker, and Willow turns up in the surgery room. She demands that the doctors leave. (somehow, Willow managed to clothe herself in black leather now) Xander notices this, but doesn't say anything, more distraught that Willow will kill Buffy by demanding that the doctors leave. Using magick, Willow levitates the bullet out of Buffy, and heals her wound. Buffy immediately notices Willow's change, but Willow demands that they go and find Warren.
Warren finds out that he didn't kill Buffy, just only wounded her. He goes to Rack's place and pays him, and asks for protection from the Slayer. Rack says that the Slayer is the least of his problems, and that he should be more afraid of Willow. Warren asks for protection and cover.
In the car, Xander isn't driving fast enough, and Willow uses magick to make the car go faster. They are in the desert now. Willow magickally drives the car through the desert to another highway, where she stops a bus right in front of her. Buffy and Xander can't understand her outrage, thinking that Buffy should be more pissed off than Willow as Buffy was on the receiving end of the Bullet. Warren gets out of the bus, and Willow immediately crushes his windpipe with her hands, but it is revealed that it was an android (That rack must have put magick on as Willow could sense Warren's essence on the robot). The conversation that takes place between Xander, Willow and Buffy goes something along these lines...
Willow: It's a robot... I could feel his essence... he tricked me...I'll find him another way
Buffy: And then what?
Willow: (Coldly) and then we'll kill him.
Buffy: Alright, you need to calm down!
Willow: Calm down?
Buffy: look, you're angry. I-I am too. There's no excuse for what Warren did...
Willow: He shot Tara. When he shot you, he hit her too... upstairs in my bedroom... Guess the last shot was the charm.
Xander: She's dead?
Willow: She's dead, and now he's dead too
Buffy: Oh my god... (whisper) Tara
Xander: Christ Will. why didn't you say anything.
Willow: I'm busy.
They talk about them not killing Humans, and that it isn't the way. Willow says that she's not doing things Buffy's way and she uses magick to push Buffy and Xander to the ground. When they look up, she's gone.
Chaos ensures. Buffy and Xander go to the Magic Box to try and find a locater spell to find Willow. It is revealed that Anya is a vengeance demon again, and that she can sense Willow's presence. They go off after Willow.
In the woods at night time, Warren runs from Willow. He tries everything he's got. From sticking an axe into her back, to using a flying exploding robot bird. Nothing stops Willow. She uses magick to make vines tie him up. It is revealed that even though Warren is desperate for a date, he hates women. Willow gets the bullet that was in Buffy, and using magick, slowly moves it around the insides of Warren's body. She magickally stitches his mouth together. After having her fun, and after hearing that Buffy, Xander and Anya are coming, she utters two words "Bored Now" (These words were said by her vampire alter ego in Season 3). Xander, Buffy and Anya just arrive in time to see Willow quickly peel Warren's skin off with magick and fling it away. (It was done so fast, that I firstly thought that Willow had ripped his shirt off with magick, but then after looking back down at the body, realised that it was his skin). Buffy says "What did you do?" Willow says "One down," and disappears in a magickal cloud of mist and lightning.
Anya reveals that the method Willow used to move around looks fancy, and is slower than teleporting and she teleports to the Jail where Andrew and Jonathan are. Buffy tells Xander to meet him at the jail, and runs off dodging things that only a slayer could. Xander is pissed off because he is the only one with a strong bond with Willow, but he doesn't have super powers so he can't do anything. Willow turns up outside the jail, and uses magick to start taking the bricks out of the wall that is in between her and Jonathan and Andrew. Buffy turns up, sneaks inside the jail and frees them both. Xander shows up in a police car and drives them off. Willow flies through the hole she made, and sees the bent bars, realising that Buffy freed them.
Xander, Buffy, Jonathan and Andrew are driving in the police car, and Jonathan says that he didn't believe that that was Willow, and that he had known Willow almost as long as Buffy had, and that she was the smart, straight A student who packed her own lunches, and that he doesn't get why Willow doesn't just wave her arms and make them dead. Buffy reveals that Willow doesn't want them dead, but that she wants to kill them. Then, they are rammed from behind by a Mack truck, which Willow is controlling from the top of it. She runs out of power, and Buffy, Xander, Jonathan and Andrew escape.
Willow turns up at Racks, and Rack treats her like she was a child and has just blossomed into a woman. He doesn't know the extent of her power. He asks her what she wants, and Willow responds 'Just want to take a little tour' and she drains Rack of his power, making her more powerful and, according to Anya, the most powerful Witch in the Western World.
Meanwhile, Dawn decides to go to Rack's to see if he knows where Willow is, but she turns up there finding an insane Willow (from the power flowing through her now, and as well as from grief and pain over Tara's death). Willow voices her opinion to dawn that everyone will be glad that she's gone because of the constant whining. Willow starts to turn Dawn back into the key (A mystical ball of energy (Have to see season 5 to understand)). Buffy turns up, and one of the best speeches of the season occurs (in my opinion. It emphasises how much Willow and Tara loved each other)...
Willow: Let me tell you something about Willow. She's a looser. People picked on her in Junior High, right through high school, up until college, with her stupid mousey ways. And now.... Willow's a junkie....... The only thing that I had going for me were the moments... just moments.. when Tara would look at me and I was wonderful.... And now that will never happen again!"
Buffy tries to convince Willow to stop, and tries to tell Willow that the world is a place worth living in. But Willow sees through the lies and says to Buffy that she knows Buffy hates it there as much as Willow does. As this is occurring, the background is shifting and spinning. It is done so subtly, that I didn't notice until the camera zoomed out. They are now in the Magic Box with everyone else, and Willow says that the trip can be rough if they weren't, well, her. Buffy and Dawn collapse onto the ground. She sees Jonathan and Andrew, and tries to kill them with Magick, but there is a spell protecting them (which is being done by Anya) She says that although she can't hurt them with Magick, she can still cast spells on herself, and she makes herself extremely strong! She moves to beat them to death, but Buffy gets in the way and Willow hits her across the room. Buffy gets back up, and Hits Willow back. By this time, it is clear that it is not 'Willow' that they are dealing with. Willow makes a big speech on how she's been the 'sideman' for six years, and now she gets to be the Slayer, and how Buffy really needs to 'have every square inch of her butt kicked'. Buffy and Willow fight, in what can only be one of the best fights in the season, but Willow wins. While this was happening, Dawn, Xander, Andrew and Jonathan escape. She starts to say 'Well now there's no one in the world powerful enough to stop me,' When she is flung across the room with an 'energy ball' and Giles appears saying "I'd like to test that theory"! Willow sits up and says 'Oh, look, Daddy's home' and by the way she says it is absolutely clear that it is not 'Willow' She tries to get up, but Giles sends her to the floor again. She gets up, and this time block's Giles attempt to get her to stay on the floor. Giles binds Willow and her powers in a binding field.
Andrew holds a sword to Xander's neck, saying that he isn't going to take orders from him. Jonathan holds a sword to Andrew's neck, saying that after this was over they were going to go back to jail and serve their sentence.
Buffy and Giles are in the back room of the Magic box, talking about things that have happened. Giles says that an extremely powerful coven in Devon sensed a great magickal power rising in Sunnydale powered by grief, and the see-er in the coven saw Tara's death. The coven imbued their powers on Giles, and he came. After Buffy tells Giles exactly what's happened while he was gone, he bursts out in a fit of laughter [not believing that things could have gotten that bad, and at the possibility of Buffy sleeping with Spike]. Willow had made Anya (with aggressive telepathy) release her from the binding field, and she strikes out at Giles. Giles sends her through the wall. Giles enters back into the shop, where Willow is just getting up. The following speech goes somewhere along these lines.
Willow: You don't get it do ya Geeves. You aren't going to defeat me. I could stand to go another ten rounds... While you can hardly stand at all.
She waves her hand across her face and all her injuries disappear. Buffy saves Giles from falling debris that Willow made fall. Willow picks up fire and makes it into a ball of fire (How a network television program can afford to do all these special effects, I have no idea) and throws it up into the sky. She tells them that it's going to seek out Andrew and Jonathan and it will kill whoever's with them. Buffy runs after it, trying to save Xander and Dawn.
They see the ball coming, and narrowly escape. Buffy falls into a tunnel that was under where the ball of fire hit, and then just later, Dawn does too. Xander is unconscious and Andrew and Jonathan run off.
Back in the Magic Box, Willow is giving a big speech to Giles. The camera moves up to see Giles beaten, but 'lying' on the ceiling. Willow lets him fall to the ground before flinging him back up. Giles makes green energy come out of his mouth and it hits Willow (I think it was meant to be powerful) Willow stumbles and Giles falls to the floor. Willow says "That was...... rude!" Willow absorbs Giles's power and she falls onto the floor from the extremity of it. She says that no mortal person has ever had so much power, and she says that she can 'feel' everyone's pain. She gets up and says that she must make the pain stop.
Xander regains consciousness, but he can't help Buffy or Dawn out of the pit. Anya teleports into the pit and tells them of what happened in the Magic Box. She says that Giles says that no natural or supernatural force can stop Willow and that she's gone to King Man's bluff to a temple to end the world. There is no temple on King Man's bluff, but Willow is raising it from the under the ground. Anya teleports back to the Magic Box to be with Giles as she thinks he doesn't have much time left. Giles reveals that Willow is going to drain the power of the earth and send it to the image of a satanic god, which will melt the earth's crust!
On King man's bluff, Willow senses Buffy trying to get out to go and stop her. She says to Buffy through telepathy that she doesn't have the time to fight Buffy, but she deserves to go out Fighting, and Willow makes animated corpses out of the Earth around Buffy and Dawn. Buffy says to Dawn that she can't fight them all alone, and gives Dawn the sword (finally trusting Dawn to be at least a bit 'grown up')
Willow starts draining the earth's energy, and she is sending it towards the temple, when Xander stands in the way of the energy and the temple (the effects, I don't know). Willow demands that he gets out of the way, and Xander says that Willow is his best friend (they've known each other since kindergarten). He says that if he is going to die, he wants it to be with her. He reveals a story about their first day of preschool when Willow broke the yellow crayon and cried because she was afraid to tell anyone. Xander says that he loves the 'crayon breaking willow' and the 'scary-end-of the world Willow. Willow demands that he gets out of the way, and strikes him down with magick. Xander gets up again, and Willow makes three cuts across his chest. Xander approaches Willow. Willow, still full of rage tries to strike out at him with Magick again, but it doesn't work . Xander tells Willow that he still loves her, and Willow tries to Strike him down again. Xander gets close and puts his hands on Willow's shoulders, and Willow starts hitting his chest, but to no avail. She is crying, but still with Rage in her voice. She collapses onto the ground, crying, with Xander holding her. Slowly, her hair turns back to red, and Xander and Willow are on the top of the hill, Xander still holding her, Willow still crying.
Meanwhile, it is revealed that Dawn has some moves of her own. She says 'you think I've never watched you' to Buffy. They fight, side by side, and the demons disappear. Buffy breaks down crying, and Dawn thinks it's because Buffy didn't die (That she wanted to go back to heaven more than be with her) but Buffy reveals that she wants to stick around and see the person that dawn is to become, and that she's been trying to hide Dawn from the world, instead of show it to her. Giles is alright, and he says to Anya that Xander 'saved the world'
Meanwhile, in all that confusion, Spike leaves Sunnydale and makes his way to Africa, to see a demon that will get his chip out. He says 'give me what I want. Give me what I want so I can give the Slayer what she deserves. The demon doesn't take spike's chip out, but instead gives him his soul (which will make him able to tell the difference from Right and wrong, and actually care about things)
(Please note, that from when Warren, Andrew and Jonathan got their orbs that made Warren powerful, to the end, is only 4 episodes)
What's happened previously:
(Season 6 of Buffy)
Willow, Xander, Anya and Tara perform a spell to raise Buffy from the dead, thinking that her soul has gone to any one of a number of hell dimensions. After Buffy comes back, she appears to be detached from the world, and she reveals to Spike (a vampire that can't hurt humans without a massive, instant headache due to a microchip in his brain) that she thinks that she was in heaven, not hell, and that she is now in hell (in the real world) because she was torn out of heaven. Buffy says that her friends can never know. Meanwhile, a trio of nerds (Warren, Jonathan and Andrew) team up to take over Sunnydale in their [twisted] way to get women and power. They know that the Slayer is a problem and set out to test her for weak spots. Willow and Tara's relationship comes under pressure as Tara starts to think that Willow is using too much magick. They have a fight about it, and both of them feel awful (as they hardly ever fight.) Willow uses magick and erases the memory of the fight from Tara's brain.
When a demon comes to town, he makes everyone in the town sing and dance. It is revealed through the characters involuntary singing that Buffy is 'going through the motions' of life. Tara finds out about the Spell that Willow cast on her, and Buffy's friends find out that they ripped her from heaven. Spike and Buffy kiss, in a twisted sense of something (I don't know what, but it's just not right).
Tara reveals that she knows that Willow cast the spell on her. Willow agrees to go one week without magick, but she does a spell to erase the memory's of everyone over the last week or so, so that Tara won't be mad at her, and Buffy won't remember she was in heaven. The spell goes awry and everyone forgets who they are, and they form weird ideas about who they were. The spell is ended, and Tara knows that Willow cast the spell. She leaves Willow. They both still love each other with all their souls, but Tara leaves knowing that Willow will have to stop using so much magick for there even to be a chance for Tara to return to her life. Giles says that he is returning back to England as Buffy needs to grow up and learn to be an adult and survive in the real world.
Willow, depressed about Tara's leaving, turns the Rat, Amy (A witch that was going to be burned at the stake from the parents of Sunnydale who went insane for a day, and who turned herself into a rat to escape). Willow 'de-rats' her, and they go out partying with magick. Amy introduces Willow to Rack, who is a very powerful warlock, and who makes his customers 'high' with magick (his price is to 'take a little tour' of the recipient's body with magick (Nothing to do with sex)). Willow is addicted to magick, and while out with Dawn and running away from a demon, crashes the car, almost killing Dawn. Buffy is extremely pissed, and Willow vows that she has to get over her magick addiction. Meanwhile, Buffy is sleeping with spike 'just to feel'. Spike is in love with Buffy, but Buffy hates spike. Xander and Anya announce that they are going to get married.
The nerds continue to experiment with their technology, and Warren 'accidentally' kills his ex girlfriend. They use their knowledge of technology and magicks to convince Buffy that she killed her. Willow is still suffering the effects of withdrawal from her magicks. It is revealed that Spike can hurt Buffy, and only Buffy without his chip hurting him. Buffy asks Tara to search and find if there is anything wrong with Buffy after coming back from the dead. Tara reveals that Buffy's molecular structure has been modified, but there is nothing wrong with her, but Buffy insists that there has to be something wrong with her because she is sleeping with Spike. Up until that point, Buffy had blamed the whole 'sleeping with Spike' deal to her being wrong from coming back from the dead.
Buffy has a birthday, and Dawn (Buffy's sister) is feeling that she is being left out, and that Buffy would rather be dead than alive, with her. Unknowingly, she wishes that everyone would be around her and not rather be somewhere else, and a vengeance demon called Halfreck grants the wish, and at Buffy's birthday party, no one can leave the house. Tara and Willow talk, and things are starting to look up for them. They have no magickal supplies in the house, after getting rid of them all for Willow to get out of her magick addiction. It is revealed that Willow kept some basic things, just in case a situation happened at the house and they needed magick to survive. She gives these supplies to Tara, and Tara tries a spell to get them to be able to leave the house, but fails. Anya insists that Willow must do the spell to get them out, as Willow is much more powerful, but Willow refuses. Tara reveals that she is proud of Willow for refusing! They end up finding out about everything, and leave the house.
Buffy's ex boyfriend (Riley) turns up in town, with his wife! They are a part of a commando unit that is hunting a demon that breeds and that has come to Sunnydale. After working together, they find out that the person harbouring the demon's eggs is Spike. Riley's wife says to Willow that she knew a couple of shamans that got addicted to magick, and that it is a proud achievement to come down from it. Buffy stops sleeping with Spike after Riley and his wife leave, saying that she doesn't love him, and that sleeping with him is 'killing' her, on the inside of course.
Xander and Anya's wedding comes around, and someone claiming to be Xander from the future reveals what their marriage 'could' be like. In this future, Xander has a bad back and can't work. He somehow got the bad back from protecting Buffy, who died again. Xander is just like his father (an alcoholic, and abusive, with words, to his wife). Anya says that she hates herself, and has slept with a demon. Anya and Xander have two kids, one of which is not Xander's, but a demons. Xander, shocked by the visions, decides that he can not hurt Anya that much, and leaves Anya at the altar. Anya is devastated. Willow and Tara are starting to get along more.
A demon hits Buffy, and her mind is pulled from one reality to the other. In another reality, she is just a girl in a mental institution, who has been there for the last six years after creating this world (the actual world the tv show is in), and creating an intricate network of friends (Willow, Xander etc. Basically, the world is everything that's happened over the last 6 years of the TV show). In this other world, her mother is still alive, and still married to her father. Her mother, father, and the doctor convince Buffy that to stop being sick, and to be able to go home with her family, she needs to sever her links with the other world (Her friends). Saying to herself 'what's more believable, a girl in a mental institution, or some kind of supergirl that fights monsters', Buffy, ties her friends up, and almost lets a demon kill them. In the mental institution world, Buffy says goodbye to her mum and dad, and she slips into her own little world, never to return again. Back in the Sunnydale world, Buffy's friends are saved by Tara! The episode actually doesn't give a definite answer on what the real world is, and the episode is done so well, that you are left wondering wether the show's past six years is just a crazy dream by some girl in a mental institution.
Willow and Tara agree to go out for coffee! Xander is still looking for Anya, who has disappeared, but she comes back, a vengeance demon again. (She looks for women hurt by men, and grants them wishes on what they could do to the men). She tries to wish her will upon Xander, but Halfreck (the other demon like her) reveals that she must get someone else to wish bad for Xander, as she can't do it herself. She sets out, trying to get the Scooby gang to do this, but with no success. It is revealed that the Trio of nerds are up to something big, and that Jonathan might get left out (although he doesn't know it yet). In a moment of pain and drunkenness, Anya and Xander sleep together. While Willow is trying to track the Trio's signals of a camera, she finds a camera that the Trio have put in the Magic Box (shop), and the images are displayed on screen. Xander, Buffy, Willow and Dawn see Anya and Spike practically 'doing it' on the camera. Xander goes off and tries to kill Spike. It is revealed to Xander and Anya that Spike was sleeping with Buffy. Meanwhile, Tara turns up in Willow's room saying something along the lines of....
"We can't just have coffee. There's trust to be rebuilt. We don't even know if we're the same people any more. It's going to take a long time... can we just skip it. Can you just be kissing me now" Right at the end, Willow and Tara make up!
The next episode, shows Willow and Tara in bed, naked (Sheets covering nakedness), and it can be seen that they've officially made up. Meanwhile, the trio executes a part of their plan. They steal two orbs, which make one of them invulnerable and have super human strength. This is Warren. After spending most of the day in bed, Willow and Tara help out Buffy track the trio down. It is revealed that Willow and Tara are extremely happy to be back together again! Buffy stops Warren's plans, but he gets away with a jetpack? Andrew (another one of the trio) also has a jetpack, but Jonathan doesn't, revealing that they were planning on betraying him. Both of them go to jail while Warren is still at large. Xander forgives Buffy for sleeping with Spike (he is totally disgusted at the whole idea). As they are hugging, Warren turns up with a gun and shoots at Buffy and Xander. Buffy pushes Xander out of the way and gets shot herself. While running away, Warren lets off a couple more shots. (somewhere in there, Spike tries to Rape Buffy, saying that she wants to feel, but doesn't want to admit it)
In Willow and Tara's bedroom, Willow and Tara have just gotten dressed. Then, all of a sudden, a red mark appears on Tara's chest, and blood is sprayed all over Willow's shirt. Tara says in confusion "Your shirt?" and collapses onto the floor. Willow is crying while calling Tara's name while holding her head on the floor.
All hell breaks loose from here. After being weeks without magick, Willow invokes Osiris, and tries to make him bring Tara back. But because Tara was killed by human hands, it can not be done. (I think Willow looses it and actually hurts the god. A stream of energy is seen exiting her mouth as she shouts "no" and it hit's the image of Osiris, and he disappears screaming).
Out in the backyard, the paramedics take Buffy away. As Xander is accompyaning them out to the ambulance, a cold Willow emerges from the front of the house. She coldly asks what's happened, and Xander replies, distraught, that Warren came with a gun. Willow just mutters 'Warren' and storms off into the distance.
At the Magic Box, Willow appears. Her pupils have expanded to the size of her eyes (indicating in the show, heavy use of magick) when she opens the door, all the lights burst. Anya, because she's a vengeance demon senses Willow's pain, and tries to stop her, but Willow 'freezes' her in place. She drags all the 'black arts' books off the shelves and onto the table, and literally sucks them dry (text can be seen scrolling up her body). As she does this, her hair turns jet black.
Dawn returns home and breaks down after finding Tara's body. (Next to Buffy, Tara was the only one who 'acted' as her 'mother')
Xander is watching the surgery on Buffy. The lights start to flicker, and Willow turns up in the surgery room. She demands that the doctors leave. (somehow, Willow managed to clothe herself in black leather now) Xander notices this, but doesn't say anything, more distraught that Willow will kill Buffy by demanding that the doctors leave. Using magick, Willow levitates the bullet out of Buffy, and heals her wound. Buffy immediately notices Willow's change, but Willow demands that they go and find Warren.
Warren finds out that he didn't kill Buffy, just only wounded her. He goes to Rack's place and pays him, and asks for protection from the Slayer. Rack says that the Slayer is the least of his problems, and that he should be more afraid of Willow. Warren asks for protection and cover.
In the car, Xander isn't driving fast enough, and Willow uses magick to make the car go faster. They are in the desert now. Willow magickally drives the car through the desert to another highway, where she stops a bus right in front of her. Buffy and Xander can't understand her outrage, thinking that Buffy should be more pissed off than Willow as Buffy was on the receiving end of the Bullet. Warren gets out of the bus, and Willow immediately crushes his windpipe with her hands, but it is revealed that it was an android (That rack must have put magick on as Willow could sense Warren's essence on the robot). The conversation that takes place between Xander, Willow and Buffy goes something along these lines...
Willow: It's a robot... I could feel his essence... he tricked me...I'll find him another way
Buffy: And then what?
Willow: (Coldly) and then we'll kill him.
Buffy: Alright, you need to calm down!
Willow: Calm down?
Buffy: look, you're angry. I-I am too. There's no excuse for what Warren did...
Willow: He shot Tara. When he shot you, he hit her too... upstairs in my bedroom... Guess the last shot was the charm.
Xander: She's dead?
Willow: She's dead, and now he's dead too
Buffy: Oh my god... (whisper) Tara
Xander: Christ Will. why didn't you say anything.
Willow: I'm busy.
They talk about them not killing Humans, and that it isn't the way. Willow says that she's not doing things Buffy's way and she uses magick to push Buffy and Xander to the ground. When they look up, she's gone.
Chaos ensures. Buffy and Xander go to the Magic Box to try and find a locater spell to find Willow. It is revealed that Anya is a vengeance demon again, and that she can sense Willow's presence. They go off after Willow.
In the woods at night time, Warren runs from Willow. He tries everything he's got. From sticking an axe into her back, to using a flying exploding robot bird. Nothing stops Willow. She uses magick to make vines tie him up. It is revealed that even though Warren is desperate for a date, he hates women. Willow gets the bullet that was in Buffy, and using magick, slowly moves it around the insides of Warren's body. She magickally stitches his mouth together. After having her fun, and after hearing that Buffy, Xander and Anya are coming, she utters two words "Bored Now" (These words were said by her vampire alter ego in Season 3). Xander, Buffy and Anya just arrive in time to see Willow quickly peel Warren's skin off with magick and fling it away. (It was done so fast, that I firstly thought that Willow had ripped his shirt off with magick, but then after looking back down at the body, realised that it was his skin). Buffy says "What did you do?" Willow says "One down," and disappears in a magickal cloud of mist and lightning.
Anya reveals that the method Willow used to move around looks fancy, and is slower than teleporting and she teleports to the Jail where Andrew and Jonathan are. Buffy tells Xander to meet him at the jail, and runs off dodging things that only a slayer could. Xander is pissed off because he is the only one with a strong bond with Willow, but he doesn't have super powers so he can't do anything. Willow turns up outside the jail, and uses magick to start taking the bricks out of the wall that is in between her and Jonathan and Andrew. Buffy turns up, sneaks inside the jail and frees them both. Xander shows up in a police car and drives them off. Willow flies through the hole she made, and sees the bent bars, realising that Buffy freed them.
Xander, Buffy, Jonathan and Andrew are driving in the police car, and Jonathan says that he didn't believe that that was Willow, and that he had known Willow almost as long as Buffy had, and that she was the smart, straight A student who packed her own lunches, and that he doesn't get why Willow doesn't just wave her arms and make them dead. Buffy reveals that Willow doesn't want them dead, but that she wants to kill them. Then, they are rammed from behind by a Mack truck, which Willow is controlling from the top of it. She runs out of power, and Buffy, Xander, Jonathan and Andrew escape.
Willow turns up at Racks, and Rack treats her like she was a child and has just blossomed into a woman. He doesn't know the extent of her power. He asks her what she wants, and Willow responds 'Just want to take a little tour' and she drains Rack of his power, making her more powerful and, according to Anya, the most powerful Witch in the Western World.
Meanwhile, Dawn decides to go to Rack's to see if he knows where Willow is, but she turns up there finding an insane Willow (from the power flowing through her now, and as well as from grief and pain over Tara's death). Willow voices her opinion to dawn that everyone will be glad that she's gone because of the constant whining. Willow starts to turn Dawn back into the key (A mystical ball of energy (Have to see season 5 to understand)). Buffy turns up, and one of the best speeches of the season occurs (in my opinion. It emphasises how much Willow and Tara loved each other)...
Willow: Let me tell you something about Willow. She's a looser. People picked on her in Junior High, right through high school, up until college, with her stupid mousey ways. And now.... Willow's a junkie....... The only thing that I had going for me were the moments... just moments.. when Tara would look at me and I was wonderful.... And now that will never happen again!"
Buffy tries to convince Willow to stop, and tries to tell Willow that the world is a place worth living in. But Willow sees through the lies and says to Buffy that she knows Buffy hates it there as much as Willow does. As this is occurring, the background is shifting and spinning. It is done so subtly, that I didn't notice until the camera zoomed out. They are now in the Magic Box with everyone else, and Willow says that the trip can be rough if they weren't, well, her. Buffy and Dawn collapse onto the ground. She sees Jonathan and Andrew, and tries to kill them with Magick, but there is a spell protecting them (which is being done by Anya) She says that although she can't hurt them with Magick, she can still cast spells on herself, and she makes herself extremely strong! She moves to beat them to death, but Buffy gets in the way and Willow hits her across the room. Buffy gets back up, and Hits Willow back. By this time, it is clear that it is not 'Willow' that they are dealing with. Willow makes a big speech on how she's been the 'sideman' for six years, and now she gets to be the Slayer, and how Buffy really needs to 'have every square inch of her butt kicked'. Buffy and Willow fight, in what can only be one of the best fights in the season, but Willow wins. While this was happening, Dawn, Xander, Andrew and Jonathan escape. She starts to say 'Well now there's no one in the world powerful enough to stop me,' When she is flung across the room with an 'energy ball' and Giles appears saying "I'd like to test that theory"! Willow sits up and says 'Oh, look, Daddy's home' and by the way she says it is absolutely clear that it is not 'Willow' She tries to get up, but Giles sends her to the floor again. She gets up, and this time block's Giles attempt to get her to stay on the floor. Giles binds Willow and her powers in a binding field.
Andrew holds a sword to Xander's neck, saying that he isn't going to take orders from him. Jonathan holds a sword to Andrew's neck, saying that after this was over they were going to go back to jail and serve their sentence.
Buffy and Giles are in the back room of the Magic box, talking about things that have happened. Giles says that an extremely powerful coven in Devon sensed a great magickal power rising in Sunnydale powered by grief, and the see-er in the coven saw Tara's death. The coven imbued their powers on Giles, and he came. After Buffy tells Giles exactly what's happened while he was gone, he bursts out in a fit of laughter [not believing that things could have gotten that bad, and at the possibility of Buffy sleeping with Spike]. Willow had made Anya (with aggressive telepathy) release her from the binding field, and she strikes out at Giles. Giles sends her through the wall. Giles enters back into the shop, where Willow is just getting up. The following speech goes somewhere along these lines.
Willow: You don't get it do ya Geeves. You aren't going to defeat me. I could stand to go another ten rounds... While you can hardly stand at all.
She waves her hand across her face and all her injuries disappear. Buffy saves Giles from falling debris that Willow made fall. Willow picks up fire and makes it into a ball of fire (How a network television program can afford to do all these special effects, I have no idea) and throws it up into the sky. She tells them that it's going to seek out Andrew and Jonathan and it will kill whoever's with them. Buffy runs after it, trying to save Xander and Dawn.
They see the ball coming, and narrowly escape. Buffy falls into a tunnel that was under where the ball of fire hit, and then just later, Dawn does too. Xander is unconscious and Andrew and Jonathan run off.
Back in the Magic Box, Willow is giving a big speech to Giles. The camera moves up to see Giles beaten, but 'lying' on the ceiling. Willow lets him fall to the ground before flinging him back up. Giles makes green energy come out of his mouth and it hits Willow (I think it was meant to be powerful) Willow stumbles and Giles falls to the floor. Willow says "That was...... rude!" Willow absorbs Giles's power and she falls onto the floor from the extremity of it. She says that no mortal person has ever had so much power, and she says that she can 'feel' everyone's pain. She gets up and says that she must make the pain stop.
Xander regains consciousness, but he can't help Buffy or Dawn out of the pit. Anya teleports into the pit and tells them of what happened in the Magic Box. She says that Giles says that no natural or supernatural force can stop Willow and that she's gone to King Man's bluff to a temple to end the world. There is no temple on King Man's bluff, but Willow is raising it from the under the ground. Anya teleports back to the Magic Box to be with Giles as she thinks he doesn't have much time left. Giles reveals that Willow is going to drain the power of the earth and send it to the image of a satanic god, which will melt the earth's crust!
On King man's bluff, Willow senses Buffy trying to get out to go and stop her. She says to Buffy through telepathy that she doesn't have the time to fight Buffy, but she deserves to go out Fighting, and Willow makes animated corpses out of the Earth around Buffy and Dawn. Buffy says to Dawn that she can't fight them all alone, and gives Dawn the sword (finally trusting Dawn to be at least a bit 'grown up')
Willow starts draining the earth's energy, and she is sending it towards the temple, when Xander stands in the way of the energy and the temple (the effects, I don't know). Willow demands that he gets out of the way, and Xander says that Willow is his best friend (they've known each other since kindergarten). He says that if he is going to die, he wants it to be with her. He reveals a story about their first day of preschool when Willow broke the yellow crayon and cried because she was afraid to tell anyone. Xander says that he loves the 'crayon breaking willow' and the 'scary-end-of the world Willow. Willow demands that he gets out of the way, and strikes him down with magick. Xander gets up again, and Willow makes three cuts across his chest. Xander approaches Willow. Willow, still full of rage tries to strike out at him with Magick again, but it doesn't work . Xander tells Willow that he still loves her, and Willow tries to Strike him down again. Xander gets close and puts his hands on Willow's shoulders, and Willow starts hitting his chest, but to no avail. She is crying, but still with Rage in her voice. She collapses onto the ground, crying, with Xander holding her. Slowly, her hair turns back to red, and Xander and Willow are on the top of the hill, Xander still holding her, Willow still crying.
Meanwhile, it is revealed that Dawn has some moves of her own. She says 'you think I've never watched you' to Buffy. They fight, side by side, and the demons disappear. Buffy breaks down crying, and Dawn thinks it's because Buffy didn't die (That she wanted to go back to heaven more than be with her) but Buffy reveals that she wants to stick around and see the person that dawn is to become, and that she's been trying to hide Dawn from the world, instead of show it to her. Giles is alright, and he says to Anya that Xander 'saved the world'
Meanwhile, in all that confusion, Spike leaves Sunnydale and makes his way to Africa, to see a demon that will get his chip out. He says 'give me what I want. Give me what I want so I can give the Slayer what she deserves. The demon doesn't take spike's chip out, but instead gives him his soul (which will make him able to tell the difference from Right and wrong, and actually care about things)
(Please note, that from when Warren, Andrew and Jonathan got their orbs that made Warren powerful, to the end, is only 4 episodes)