All the Way (''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'')

"All the Way"
Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode
Episode no. Season 6
Episode 6
Directed by David Solomon
Written by Steven S. DeKnight
Production code 6ABB06
Original air date October 30, 2001
Guest appearance(s)

"All the Way" is the sixth episode of season 6 of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Plot synopsis

It is Halloween and Anya has set the gang to work in the magic shop. She sends Buffy to the basement, where she runs into Spike. At his suggestion, Buffy attempts to leave to go patrol with Spike, but Giles points out that Halloween is an inactive day for most evil creatures, and engages Buffy in helping with bagging products.

An elderly man, Kaltenbach, is seen walking down the street humming "Pop Goes the Weasel" while carrying a bag of what appears to be groceries. He enters his home, peers out of a window at the children in costumes walking by, and says he's going to give them something "special" this year. He then pulls a large knife out of his kitchen drawer.

The Magic Box has enjoyed its busiest day ever, to Anya's delight. Xander decides that the time is right to announce his engagement to Anya, and the group makes its way back to Buffy's house to celebrate. Back at the Summers home, Willow conjures up decorations for the party, but Tara now shares Giles's concerns about Willow's frivolous use of magic. Willow brushes off these concerns.

Dawn tells Buffy that she is going to her friend Janice Penshaw's house, but really meets Janice and two older boys: Justin and Zack. Dawn becomes attracted to Justin. When the foursome stops in front of "old man" Kaltenbach's house, Dawn, on a dare, walks up to the porch to smash a pumpkin. She is caught by Kaltenbach, who warns her not to mess with them, then laughs and invites them all inside for a "special treat". Inside, Justin volunteers to help Kaltenbach with his preparations in the kitchen. The old man is about to cut into a baked dish when Justin, now revealed as a vampire, bites and drains him. Justin then returns to the others and announces that they need to flee because he stole the man's wallet.

Meanwhile, at the Summers home, Xander, who was already nervous in response to Giles's serious talk with him about his and Anya's future plans, becomes even more nervous when Anya chatters with Giles, Buffy and Xander about the wedding and plans for children.

On patrol, Buffy runs across an accident scene with a corpse that was left behind by Zack while he was stealing a car. While she is tracking the culprit, she encounters Spike, who passes on a message from Giles: Dawn has misled the adults regarding her plans for the night. Now the whole gang is on the case. At The Bronze, Willow wants to use an extremely risky spell to locate Dawn, but Tara stops her, and an angry argument ensues.

In the stolen car, Justin drives Dawn and the others out into the forest and stops. Zack and Janice depart, leaving Justin and Dawn alone in the car. Justin kisses Dawn – her first kiss – and then reveals his vampire face. Dawn attempts to escape from Justin, but he catches her. Giles is quickly on the scene to help, but vampires emerge from several cars, ready to fight. As they close in, Spike and Buffy show up to assist. Dawn runs away from the fight, but Justin finds her. He attempts to change her, but as he is leaning in to bite her neck, Dawn stakes him with a crossbow bolt, fired earlier in the melee.

The gang returns home, where Buffy is quick to leave the job of chastising Dawn to Giles, who is unhappy about how Buffy is relying on him so much. Meanwhile, Willow casts a spell on Tara to make her forget their quarrel.

Cultural references

  • Anya is dressed up as a Charlie's Angel for Halloween.
  • Star Wars: Upon seeing a couple dressed as Luke and Leia dancing in the Bronze, Willow asks, "Do they know they're brother and sister?"
  • Xander references Henry V (a Shakespearean play) with the words "once more unto the breach," from one of the more famous speeches in the play.
  • In one scene Dawn is wearing a letterman's jacket and being hunted in the woods, a visual reference to Michael Jackson's Thriller video.
  • Zack references a scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark with the line "Pumpkins. Very dangerous. You go first." - a play on Sallah's line about asps in the Indiana Jones movie.
  • In the bronze Willow silences the crowd using a spell word and ends it using another; the words Willow uses are "silence" and "talk" in Arabic.
  • While talking to Buffy in the basement Spike says, "It's okay The Great Pumpkin is on in 20," referring to the peanuts Halloween movie The Great Pumpkin
  • Willow offers to "whip up a jaunty, self-cleaning incantation," referencing the segment "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" from Fantasia. Giles replies "we all know how splendidly that turned out for Mickey", who featured in the segment.

Continuity

  • While arguing with Giles about patrolling, Buffy references "Halloween" and "Fear, Itself", the two previous Halloween episodes.
  • When asked to get more Mandrake Root from the basement, Buffy comments that it wouldn't be her fault if they have the same conversation over and over and over again, in reference to the time loop in the previous episode.
  • While talking to Justin, after leaving 'Old Man' Kaltenbach's house, Dawn mentions that she is a Freshman in High school.
  • This episode reveals the full extent of Spike's dislike for Halloween, when he takes personal offense to the vampire "rebels" hunting on Halloween. This was further explored in the Angel episode "Life of the Party", wherein he constantly criticizes Wolfram & Hart's annual Halloween Bash.
  • When Xander tells Buffy "I'm gonna marry that girl", Buffy misunderstands him, thinking he's talking about Dawn before realizing that he's talking about Anya. In the comic continuation Xander and Dawn do in fact end up together.

Arc significance

  • In this episode, Giles sees that Buffy is becoming too reliant on him; this leads to his decision to leave Sunnydale in the next episode.
  • Willow erases Tara's memory in this episode, which will influence her decision to end her relationship with Willow over the next two episodes and is another example of Willow's escalating magic use.
  • While talking in the basement Spike says to Buffy "do you like a bit of the rough and tumble?" Buffy thinking Spike is talking about sex she doesn't answer and seems nervous but in fact Spike is talking about patrolling. This could be a foreshadowing of their physical relationship that will climax in the next few episodes.
  • This episode also contains the first signs that Xander is unsure of his decision to marry Anya, something that later reaches its climax in the episode "Hell's Bells".
  • At the start of the episode, Dawn steals a gold coin from the magic shop which is a sign of her growing kleptomania. Also she tells Justin that she has stolen lots of things.
  • Xander is shown dressed as a pirate with an eye-patch; this possibly foreshadows what happens to him in the next season.
  • Dawn stakes a vampire for the first time. It will also play as a factor for Dawn being trained by Buffy at the beginning of Lessons.

Reception

At IMDb, "All the Way" was given a rating of 7.2 out of 10.[1] TV.com scored the episode 7.9 out of 10.[2]

References

  1. ↑ "'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' All the Way (TV episode 2001) - IMDb". Internet Movie Database. Imdb.com.
  2. ↑ "Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Season 6, Episode 6: All the Way - TV.com". CBS.
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