| “Family” | |||||||
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| Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode | |||||||
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| Episode no. | Season 5 Episode 6 |
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| Written by | Joss Whedon | ||||||
| Directed by | Joss Whedon | ||||||
| Production no. | 5ABB06 | ||||||
| Original airdate | November 7 2000 | ||||||
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| List of Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes | |||||||
"Family" is the sixth episode of season 5 of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Contents |
Plot synopsis
Summary
Tara’s family, the Maclays, make a surprise visit to Sunnydale, and she does not seem eager to see them.
Expanded overview
Buffy tells Giles that Dawn is the key that Glory is hell-bent on finding. They decide to protect Dawn without telling others about it. Buffy moves back to her house with the help of her friends, whom Willow reminds about Tara's birthday party. At the hospital, Ben enters the locker room. A moment later, Glory is there and captures a Lei-Ach demon, who tells her that Buffy is the Slayer. Glory sends it and its friends to kill her. While researching Glory in the magic shop, Buffy and Xander admit that they do not really know Tara, though they both agree that she is definitely "very nice." They wonder what kind of a present to get for Tara. Meanwhile, in his crypt Spike fantasizes about fighting with Buffy while having sex with Harmony (assuring her that he was only thinking of her). Xander explains that he doesn't really know Tara; the only thing he knows that she likes is Willow, and "she already has one of those." Giles enters their conversation, asking how they could sit in a magic shop and not have a clue what to get a witch for her birthday, finally concluding that they are "profoundly stupid." A young man comes into the Magic Box and disparages magic. He reveals himself as Tara's big brother, who has come to town with Tara's father and a cousin for Tara's birthday. While Tara is clearly not thrilled at their presence, she agrees to have dinner with her family that evening. Tara returns to her room to find her father there. He expresses disappointment that she has not quit magic and berates her for being out of reach for months. He tells her she is going home before her friends find out about her evil self. After he leaves, Willow returns and wants to repeat the demon location spell that Tara had secretly sabotaged before. Tara fakes fatigue, so Willow returns to the magic shop. Tara follows her and casts a spell to prevent her friends from seeing manifestations of evil. Meanwhile, Riley is drinking heavily in Willy's old demon bar after another argument with Buffy. Sandy hits on him, but he recognizes her as a vampire. Harmony returns to the crypt and tells Spike that the Lei-Ach demons have been summoned to kill Buffy. Spike leaves, saying he wants to catch a decent seat. Tara's cousin finds her on campus. When Tara refuses to go home, her cousin derides her for being selfish, leaving her father and brother to "do for themselves", and realizes that Tara has cast a spell on her friends. She tells Tara to tell her friends before she does. Thanks to Tara's magic, the Lei-Ash enter the Magic Shop unseen. They search for the Slayer and attack everyone in their path. Giles hides Dawn under a desk. Only Buffy manages to put up a decent fight. Spike gets there and defends her, too. Since he was not present when the spell was cast, he was unaffected and can see all the demons. Tara reaches the shop and quickly ends the spell. Now visible, the demons are quickly beaten. Tara tries to explain her mistake when her family arrives to claim her. They tell the Scoobies that the females in the family turn evil when they become adults. Willow, hurt that Tara had not told her about this situation, asks Tara if her love has been deceitful the whole time, but Tara emphatically denies it. Tara's father insists on taking her away. Buffy says that he can — but he'll have to go through her. Dawn steps up and says that he will have to go through her, too. Tara's father says that he will not be stopped by two little girls, at which Giles and Xander let him know that it's not just the girls, it's all of them. Spike is quick to clarify that this does not include him, but he is the first to see through Tara's father's deceptive actions. He taps Tara on the shoulder and, when she turns to face him, he hits Tara in the nose. The punch hurts them both, proving that there is no demon in her (the chip in his head only hurts him if he attacks a pure human). Spike correctly accuses Tara's relatives of making up the story in order to control the powerful women in the family. Tara, clearly relieved by the revelation that she is not part demon and empowered by the strength and support she has just experienced, stays with her new "family." Tara's father and brother leave, and her cousin looks at her scornfully and ask her if she's happy now. Tara's only response is a smile that slowly spreads across her face. Riley arrives at the birthday party and kisses Buffy. Willow saves Tara from Anya by asking her to dance. They embrace on the dance floor and begin to levitate.
Acting
Starring
- Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers
- Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris
- Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg
- Marc Blucas as Riley Finn
- Emma Caulfield as Anya Jenkins
- Michelle Trachtenberg as Dawn Summers
- James Marsters as Spike
- and Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles
Guest Starring
- Mercedes McNab as Harmony Kendall
- Clare Kramer as Glory
- Charlie Weber as Ben
- Amy Adams as Cousin Beth
- Steve Rankin as Mr. Maclay
- Amber Benson as Tara
Co-Starring
- Ezra Buzzington as Bartender
- Peggy Goss as Crazy Person
- Teddy Pendergrass as Demon
- Megan Gray as Sandy
- Kevin Rankin as Donny
- Brian Tee as Intern
References
Buffy kills a Lai-Ash demon in exactly the way Derek Vinyard (played by Edward Norton) killed an Afro-American burglar in the movie American History X: making him fall with his mouth about the edge of a step and then trampling down his neck. That's called "curb stomping".
Production details
Music
- Melanie Doane - "I Can't Keep My Eyes Off You". - Plays whilst Tara and Willow dance at the end of the episode.
- Motor Ace - "American Shoes"
- My Vitriol - "Cemented Shoes"
- Yo La Tengo - "Tears Are In Your Eyes"
Quotes and trivia
 |
Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- Dawn brings Tara a new broom as a present, an obvious witch joke.
Translations
- Italian title: "La famiglia" ("The family")
- German title: "Familienbande" ("Family ties")
- French title: "Les liens du sang" ("Blood Ties")
- Spanish title: "La familia" ("The family")
Continuity
Arc significance
- Buffy continues her habit of keeping secrets from the others. Giles goes along with it.
- It becomes clear why Tara botched the attempted "detection spell" in season 4.
- Tara is accepted as a true Scooby; by the end of the episode, she has mostly lost her stutter.
- Spike's crush for Buffy intensifies, as does Riley's despair about being kept at a distance. We find out that Riley has a dark secret.
- Glory now knows who Buffy is, another step towards finding the Key.
- Sandy, the vampire Riley was talking to in Willy's Place, was the girl Vampire Willow bit in Season Three's "Doppelgängland".
Errors
Dawn complains that she has to wear a "stupid stamp on her hand," which Xander explains is to keep her from "boozing it up." She comments that "alcohol is for losers," not noticing that the rest of the Scoobies, including Buffy, are drinking. At the time this episode airs, Buffy is only nineteen years old. [1])
Timing
- Stories that take place around the same time in the Buffyverse:
| Location, time (if known) |
Buffyverse chronology: Fall 2000 - December 2000 (non-canon = italic) |
|---|---|
| Sunnydale, 2000 | B5.01 Buffy vs. Dracula |
| L.A., 2000 | A2.01 Judgment |
| Sunnydale, 2000 | Buffy graphic novel: Haunted (by Jane Espenson) |
| Sunnydale, 2000 | B5.02 Real Me |
| L.A., 2000 | A2.02 Are You Now or Have You Ever Been |
| L.A., 2000 | Angel novel: Image |
| L.A., 2000 | Angel novel: Stranger to the Sun |
| Sunnydale, 2000 | B5.03 The Replacement |
| Sunnydale, 2000 | Buffy graphic novel: False Memories |
| Sunnydale, 2000 | Buffy Graphic novel story: Willow & Tara: Wannablessedbe |
| L.A., 2000 | A2.03 First Impressions |
| L.A., 2000 | Angel graphic novel: Long Night's Journey |
| Sunnydale, 2000 | B5.04 Out of My Mind |
| L.A., 2000 | A2.04 Untouched |
| Sunnydale, 2000 | B5.05 No Place Like Home |
| L.A., 2000 | A2.05 Dear Boy |
| Sunnydale, 2000 | B5.06 Family |
| Sunnydale, 2000 | Buffy graphic novel: Autumnal |
| L.A., 2000 | Angel graphic novel: Autumnal |
| L.A., 2000 | A2.06 Guise Will Be Guise |
| Sunnydale, 2000 | B5.07 Fool for Love |
| L.A., 2000 | A2.07 Darla |
| Sunnydale, 2000 | B5.08 Shadow |
| L.A., 2000 | A2.08 The Shroud of Rahmon |
| Sunnydale, 2000 | B5.09 Listening to Fear |
| L.A., 2000 | A2.09 The Trial |
| Sunnydale, 2000 | B5.10 Into the Woods |
| L.A., 2000 | A2.10 Reunion |
| Sunnydale, 2000 | B5.11 Triangle |
| L.A., 2000 | A2.11 Redefinition |
External links
- "Family" at the Internet Movie Database
- "Family" at TV.com
- BBC episode guide to "Family"
- BuffyGuide.com on "Family"
- Buffy Body Count synopsis of "Family"
