Intervention: Buffy the Vampire Slayer 5x18 Reaction

[@UTU49]

Only the Buffyverse would introduce a story element as dumb as the Buffybot, and then use it so brilliantly. For the first time ever, Buffy is genuinely grateful to Spike for something.

[@AnatoleVGC]

I hate robots, I ADORE Buffybot

[@UTU49]

I love this episode. Lots of significant (and funny) things happen in this one.

[@robertmckenna3994]

I can never hear anyone say “the big bad” without thinking of this episode.🤣🤣🤣

[@zahrans]

You can never hate the Buffy Bot 😄

[@cerrobueno]

I've been waiting for so long for a reactor to not realise it was the real Buffy at the end there, and your reaction was so much better for it - brilliant!

[@frugalseverin2282]

The show creators knew we needed a humorous episode after the past 2 depressing ones. Just 4 left to this season.

[@joannewilkinson9268]

Ahh yes the gross, hilarious, creepy, sweet episode 😂 love this one

[@Itsjandz105]

I love the Buffy bot. Sarah does such a great job of being totally different as each.

[@AnatoleVGC]

Is it weird to say that she feels like plastic when doing the buffybot? Its so well done, its kinda of a barbie feeling

[@UTU49]

@@AnatoleVGC It's almost like Sarah did bad acting on purpose in order to make it feel like the Buffybot was played by a different actress entirely.

[@DmGray]

One of my favourite episodes. So silly, so much humour... and nestled within some EXTREMELY deep character exploration and serious themes. Buffy at its best, and a definite palate cleanser after the weight of recent events. Spike remains evil and selfish... but he is choosing to grow. As Dru recently opined, vampires can love deeply, if not always wisely.

[@feudist]

Spike is so gloriously creepy and the Buffybot so wonderfully cringe. That kiss at the end was powerful in a completely non sexual way. I don't think Spike had ever been kissed like that in all his long life. Buffy elevates everyone around her. Even if death is her gift.

[@Wannabe_Baby]

Nicholas Brendon's twin brother, Kelly Donovan, apparently plays Xander during parts of this episode because Nicholas was sick. We don't know exactly when but I think it's when they're attacking Glory's house at the end, since Xander has no lines there (and watching 5x03, "The Replacement", Nicholas got all the speaking lines unless both Xanders were speaking in the same shot).

[@BS-ne5cr]

The end scene is everything. She loves with her whole soul. This episode is proof. Ahe can see someone past their flaws. That can backfire on her but she keeps going.

[@procrastinator99]

After all the intense drama and grief, its always great to see SMG stretch her comedic legs. She's SO GOOD as Buffybot. I laugh every time.

[@treyokelly9662]

This ending always makes me tear up a bit, ngl

[@ernesthakey3396]

Gotta say, Warren outdid himself with the Buffybot programming... 😂

[@volourn9764]

S5 Warren has issues but there was some small shed of (weird) humanity in him... S6 Warren, on the other hand, just no....

[@jzchillin]

Great reaction to a great episode that was so well done and executed, introducing the Buffbot into the mix as a vehicle to show more of the sides there are to the mess that is Spike... lol and SMG's work in this ep as the serious Slayer trying to find answers and getting more confused and of course her work as the hilarious and naive Buffbot was soooooo good. I always get a kick at Buffy's annoyance that her closest friends couldn't tell her apart from a robot.... and then that scene at the end in Spike's crypt.... great stuff! Great stuff as always, D! A CTU for you today, and keep em coming!

[@caseyhart4999]

I just wanna say the Buffy bot is absolutely hilarious and one of my favorite side characters in the whole verse.

[@samanthas8340]

I like how Xander doesnt really judge Buffy too harshly here. Notice how he goes to Spike and says buffy has a lot of friends, and "we all care about her" and 'we all will do something' if spike hurts her. Like, to me its clear that he's moved on and is just looking out for her. I feel like his character has grown a lot. So many people disagree, so I just like to point it out when I see it.

[@Junejane4]

9:18 this moment should be hilarious to film, it's just some detail for 5 seconds but they made sure that it was included 😄 Actually whole episode should be fun to make. So I believe they had a good time. That's why such episodes are cool. Besides interesting story they are fun for all, the audience and the actors. But they also managed to make it touching at the very end. One beautiful gesture. And I appreciate it. So I really like it.

[@user-knightoftherealms]

Buffys vision quest was nicely done. The first slyer revealing that she is full of love and brings death as a gift is somewhat confusing, until you think it through. The slayer loves to the point that she is willing to die to save others by bringing death to demons. The Buffybot was kind of weird, but very cool.

[@daphneglasurus7886]

It’s so interesting to analyze Buffy’s complicated feelings about demons. She knows she has a demon energy in her and that her powers come from darkness. She often feels isolated from the burden of being a slayer and her human friends care too much about her to be an objective sounding board for her sometimes. This causes her to feel disconnected to humans sometimes. This ability she has to see even the small amount of good in creatures is demonstrable. If they entertain her or are relatively harmless like Harmony and Spike, he can’t bring herself to cast ultimate judgement against them. She can’t help but feel something for demons because she recognizes she has some demon in her.

[@Zorak9595]

Such a fantastic twist ending. One of my absolute favorites.

[@thorstensteffen8422]

Love this episode ❤❤❤❤

[@sjbenson5618]

Hi Dakara Fun fact: Nicholas the guy who played Xander was sick that day so his twin brother played Xander on this episode

[@MrLorenzovanmatterho]

"Weird love is better than no love", which is the series in one sentence really, whether it's Buffy/Dawn or Spike/Buffybot?

[@mike777ok]

Great reaction, I was on the edge of my seat waiting for you to realize that it was the real Buffy that come in and kissed him. Really good.

[@peterd9698]

13:30 “I don’t know where this is going to go” 😎

[@metroplex7986]

There's a lot of emotions, logic, heart, and plot points to this episode for sure. Some women get upset when they're replaced, even though they have no feelings for the guy. Spike settled for a robot, and realistically should have taken Buffy-bot and left Sunnydale to go around the world. Glory is starting to come awfully close on finding out who the key is, after the previous 2 episodes, it was a much needed change of pace.

[@VEZ30]

I really like and agree with your comments re irl deepfakes. There were some really fun moments and touching moments but thy buffy bot was definitely creepy.

[@wolandbegemotazazello]

I once lived in Utah. I did research on Mormonism. One of my friends referred to it as a desert with snow. The Nevada desert gets quite cool too. Went to Quaker protests at the test site there. The Nevdas desert is perhaps not Cambridge or Cantab cool but...Shout back to the Replacement with Xander and the robot (or is it Toth?) stuff, of course...See the book What Would Buffy Do...Yes, one of the things that is brill about this "superhero" show is that our heros, our sometimes anti-heroes, even Spike, are real...

[@the_tone7167]

Yes the deserts in Southern California can be very cold in the winter. :)

[@colleenmarin8907]

"How's your money?"

[@ThePharaz]

I think the proper term for what Buffy was doing at the end was not prodding but pumping.

[@killianlpc]

The Buffybot in Intervention lends for some great comedy moments, but the serious side is Spike's obsession with Buffy reaching crazy and dangerous levels. Interesting that Spike did not tell Glory who the Key was, even though he is soulless he seems to be changing, his feelings seem genuine, of course because of the chip he cannot attack humans, but nevertheless things seems very different. The kiss from Buffy is so telling for future episodes. A pivotal moment in the show.

[@Buffy8Fan]

Spike can be in love soullessly, but even with William's memories, it will be obsessive, selfish, and unwise. Drusilla states this in _Crush._ Not all soulless creatures act like Angelus. The Mayor was a family man, but he was still using Faith. Spike may love Buffy, but he is still obsessive, selfish, and it is unwise for him to do so. The last scene in this episode doesn't mean Spike really learned anything. It means he hopes helping Buffy and Dawn will earn him points. He loves them. There is no doubt in that. But it will always be twinged in soullessness. It isn't a coincidence that he is willing for a tumble with who he thinks is the Buffybot once bones are "mended," or asks Buffy about the robot after she kissed him, or that he isn't still obsessing and hoping he still now has a chance after the kiss, despite the fact that Buffy was doing so as a thank you. I love the character of Spike and am even a Spuffy shipper, but I also don't kid myself. This is what allows the character to work and have Spike be the enigma he is. I like the fact that Buffy is genuinely grateful to Spike, but stays in the chastisment area when he tries to mention the robot. Anything else is meant for fanfic.

[@AnatoleVGC]

Yep, he is even a stalker. He cant distinguish love from obsession. He does think its genuine love, and it does make him act "good", but he is just on a leash really

[@samanthas8340]

I might even consider that it's not just about winning points, but maybe even about the fact he doesn't like to upset the people he loves. He doesn't like to see 'summers women take it hard on the chin' which ultimately is still about him and controlling others to preserve them they way he wants them. He brought flowers for Joyce without expecting points. He helped Dawn more then once without wanting Buffy to find out. He obviously did a lot of things for Dru too and I just have this feeling it's he does those things with more motive than just points. He's still however soulless and therefore I don't think truly able to empathize. Intellectually yes, but at the end of the day still doesn't understand morality.

[@polyanna6068]

Spike has changed because of the flea in his head or because of Buffy’s love he began to feel for her, no matter why the fact is that he has changed, he has become a good person and Buffy should have more confidence in him, She should be more grateful to him than she has him and treat him with a little more respect Spike the merit that he has done so many things for Buffy and for Dawn, but Buffy refuses to see him, she is ungrateful and heartless towards Spike, she is really very mean to him Poor Spike🥺🥺🥺😢😢😢😢😭😭 ♥️♥️

[@hardybryan]

And Anya. How is your money?

[@warrengday]

❤Great reaction, especially at the end when realising it was Buffy pretending to be BuffyBot. ❤I love your name BuffBot, I like it even better than the BuffyBot in the script. Interesting how many reactors keep using the name SexBot not LoveBot as the maker Warren specifically calls them in a previous episode. ❤❤My favourite epiisode. Such a great episode, especially the emotional payoff at the end.

[@UTU49]

I think Xander uses the term "sexbot"... so both terms are used in universe.

[@warrengday]

@@UTU49 The meaning is very different though. A part of Aprils flaw is that she loves.

[@rebeccarodger2636]

Love your necklace I have the same one 😊

[@TenebrousFilms]

You didn't realise until he said it, your face, hah...

[@ace360]

3:20😂 Facepalm Yes! Great ending right The OG Renegade Rebel got he's Win and Not giving up on Dawn 🤘 That's all I got lol Stay awesome Dakara

[@robertdarger9773]

I did not know you started with Supernatural(I'm on Season 11), glad Mark is okay, my fave character is Castiel, he just makes me laugh so hard, do you have a fave character.. hope you enjoy the rest of Buffy.

[@DakaraJayne]

Yup. Reacted to every episode as well as a bunch of extras. Hope you enjoy :)

[@TheInfamousRPGGroup-on-Rumble]

SPUFFY BEGINS!

[@Girl4Music]

Posting my BUFFY REWATCH recap for ‘Intervention’. May contain spoilers. A few questions I have with this little conversation between Willow and what she believes is Buffy but is actually Buffybot because I am a little confused by it: First of all, being a whiz kid with computer technology and AI herself,... how in the world did Willow not recognize that she was talking to a robot? I mean with her past experience with Malcolm as well as how observant she is with figuring out stuff that doesn’t seem quite right. Noticing how out of context it is etc... Second, with Buffybot referring to her being Buffy’s best friend and recently gay, how did she not recognize that that wasn’t Buffy? Buffy doesn’t talk like that. Third, why is Willow so disturbed over the thought of Buffy sleeping with Spike? She thought it was flattering when Spike found her attractive enough to want to bite her in her dorm room. She also seems to think grief would drive Buffy to it. She brings up how Buffy had first been with Angel but that that was different because he had a soul - even though the whole event caused him to lose it. Perhaps I’m overthinking it too much and they just wrote Willow responding like this just to further aid in the drama surrounding the situation of Buffybot. But maybe you guys could help me out in answering these questions. I know when the real Buffy does start being physically intimate with Spike and Tara tells Willow about it that she is very concerned by it. But unless it’s a jealousy thing - I really don’t get why she in particular is so disturbed by it. Concerned, sure - because Buffy is her best friend and she doesn’t want to see her get hurt. Disturbed, no. I get it with Xander because he originally had a crush on Buffy and is discriminatory towards Spike. But not Willow. I don’t think she had a crush, nor do I think she’s discriminatory towards Spike. It doesn’t make sense.

[@AnatoleVGC]

Yay, new buffy reaction 💜 I missed you buffy reactions but soooo understand the weeks break. I love that the show now it needed a lighter episode too.

[@theprodigal]

I think it's bizarre that Spike's dangerous sexual obsession is played again for laughs, and just because he didn't tell glory who the key was, it certainly shouldn't give him a pass. Nor should Xander feel sorry for him. Worst of all his behaviour doesn't deserve a kiss from Buffy. Also would buffy put that buffybot outfit on after she knows what spikes did with it? so creepy.

[@xxSydneyFox]

I always thought that death is your gift means that only in death will she find peace because her life is violent and she can't escape her destiny so she has to keep fighting the fight

[@rayharley597]

The writing for Tara in this episode is so bad; half of what she says seems to have been written for Anya. My theory about Xander & Anya at the time is clearly wrong; they would instantly have recognised Buffybot's lines from 90s pr0n flicks :-) kerk

[@trufamilybromontqc]

Buffybot is so gross honestly

[@theprodigal]

its actually disgusting.

[@trufamilybromontqc]

@@theprodigal yes it is

[@Talisguy]

Important thing to note about Spike's refusal to tell Glory about the Key - there was no guarantee that she would have let him go if he'd told her. She's unstable, petty, thinks Spike is important to Buffy (and thus might kill him to send a message) and kills very casual. Refusing to talk could also have been self-preservation. I'm sure Spike didn't want to see Buffy sad, but we also shouldn't take his implication that he nobly endured torture just to avoid breaking his fair maiden's heart entirely at face value.

[@Silver-rx1mh]

Oh I would, considering where Spikes arc takes us....

[@Dunybrook]

He also really likes torture so it's probably nothing he hasn't endured before with Drusilla.

[@Junejane4]

@@Dunybrook Dru likes torture. Because she is crazy. And he loved her. And she told him that he is too soft for her when they broke up. And he was crying because of it. Not much of a torture type guy. So please. What he was really interested in were slayers. That's why he was slayer of slayers. That's his thing. Maybe when people mention torture over and over again they'll actually start paying attention to these facts.

[@Junejane4]

What we should all do is look what the story shows us. And not some people who just want to make it look like smth that no character even mentioned and the plot didn't show. They made the message pretty clear. The rest is what you want to see here.

[@Talisguy]

​@@Junejane4 What the show shows us is that a creature without a soul is not capable of genuine altruism, and (this isn't a spoiler, she's very ahead on patreon) this is a very important plot point in season six. Spike attempts to be a good person to impress Buffy, but without a soul, the best he can do is to mimic that behaviour. He genuinely does not seem to understand that sexually assaulting Buffy is not going to make her want him more. If Spike was just being altruistic here, then this causes serious problems for his later arc. So it's worth pointing out that his moments of what appear to be altruism might be partly motivated by more selfish desires. Remember, we're less than half a season away from Spike thinking that demanding credit for not feeding off bleeding disaster victims was heroic and would impress Buffy - he's not coming at this from a human moral perspective.

[@GeneBateman1970]

are you a SPUFFY shipper yet?

[@DakaraJayne]

Have to wait and see haha