Nightmares

"Nightmares" is the tenth episode of the first season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the tenth episode in the series. Written by Joss Whedon with David Greenwalt and directed by Bruce Seth Green, it was originally broadcast on May 12, 1997, on The WB network.

Synopsis[]

NIGHTMARE AT SUNNYDALE HIGH — The world of nightmares and reality become one when everyone in Sunnydale is living out their worst fears. While Xander comes to school in his underwear and Giles is unable to read, Buffy must unravel the mystery before reality folds completely into the world of nightmares.^[1]

Summary[]

Buffy has a nightmare about being choked by the Master in his underground lair. When her mother shakes her awake, Buffy expresses excitement about spending the upcoming weekend with her father.

At school, Buffy confides to Willow that she suspects she might have something to do with her parents' divorce. During class, a teacher asks Wendell to read from the textbook. Tarantulas crawl out when he opens it, causing panic around the classroom. Buffy notices Billy standing in the doorway, saying that he is sorry. Underground, the Master tells Collin that fear is wonderful. Although it is the most powerful force in the world, it can be controlled.

The next morning, Buffy is nervous about her father picking her up after school, but Joyce reassures her. The Scoobies head to the library to ask Giles about the spiders. Giles appears confused as he rushes out of the back room and tells them he got lost in the stacks of books. He has no information and suggests they talk to Wendell.

Wendell admits that he loves spiders, but they hate him. After Wendell's brother killed his pet spiders while he was away at camp, he's been having recurring nightmares about them crawling out of his textbook during class. However, this was the first time it actually happened.

Meanwhile, Cordelia mentions a history test that Buffy has not studied for. Buffy has trouble finding the classroom and doesn't know any of the answers to the test. It appears that time moves rapidly, and she hasn't even finished writing her name when the bell rings. Once again, she sees Billy outside the classroom. Billy watches Laura sneak down to the basement for a smoke break, where she is assaulted by an ugly man saying, "Lucky nineteen."

Buffy and Giles interview Laura in the Bowers hospital and are surprised when the doctor informs them about Billy, who has been in a coma as a result of a similar attack.

Back at school, Xander discovers he is only wearing his underwear in front of the class and runs out. As Buffy goes into the library to consult with Giles, he says that he has forgotten how to read. However, he was able to find a newspaper with a photo of Billy. The article says that Billy has been in a coma for a week, which contradicts Buffy having seen him. Giles theorizes she might have been seeing Billy's astral projection.

Buffy's father arrives and asks to talk to her. Outside school, he tells Buffy that she is at fault for her parents' divorce because she is such a difficult child and he can't stand being around her. He scolds Buffy when she begins to cry and tells her that he never wants to see her again. When he gets up to leave, Buffy notices Billy watching her.

Xander and Willow meet in the library and quickly realize their actual nightmares are becoming a reality. Giles suspects that Billy has crossed over from the nightmare world he was trapped in, bringing it along with him.

In the gym, Billy tells Buffy that something bad happened to him after his baseball game, but he doesn't remember. Suddenly, the ugly man appears and attacks Buffy. As they run away, Billy explains that he was responsible for his baseball team losing and that it is "bad" to lose at games. Suddenly, Buffy and Billy find themselves at the cemetery at night.

Meanwhile, the living nightmares continue around school. Cordelia, now with frizzy hair and nerdy clothes, is dragged away and forced to join the chess club. Xander walks down a hallway lined with chocolate bars, eating happily, until he is attacked by a knife-wielding clown from his sixth birthday party. Willow finds herself starring in the Madame Butterfly opera and panics because she doesn't know her lines. Overcome by stage fright, she runs away.

Back in the cemetery, Buffy and Billy examine a freshly dug grave. Suddenly, the Master appears and comments that Buffy is prettier than the previous Slayer. Buffy tries to convince herself that she is dreaming, but the Master throws her into a coffin and buries her alive.

Still chased by the clown, Xander teams up with Willow and Giles. He decides to confront the clown and punches him. When they find Buffy's grave, Giles explains that Buffy's death is his worst nightmare. Buffy then crawls out of the grave as a vampire. The Scoobies decide they must wake Billy up from his coma to stop the nightmares.

At the hospital, they find Billy's astral body watching over his comatose body. When the ugly man arrives, Buffy confronts him. After knocking him unconscious, she encourages Billy to face him. Billy wakes up, and everything returns to normal. Billy's Kiddy League coach shows up and refers to Billy as his "lucky nineteen." Buffy realizes he must be the "ugly man" who put Billy into a coma after they lost the game. Buffy confronts the coach, and he tries to run but is stopped by Giles and Xander and eventually arrested.

When Buffy's father comes to pick her up for their weekend together, Willow asks Xander if he was still attracted to Buffy as a vampire. He initially denies it before admitting, "I'm sick. "I need help." Willow agrees.

Continuity[]

• In this episode are confirmed fears discussed in "The Puppet Show": Willow's being afraid of the audience and Xander's fear of clowns.
• Willow's fear of appearing onstage returns once more in a dream in the episode "Restless."
• Giles' fear is revealed to be Buffy dying, causing him to consequently fail in his duty of being a Watcher. Giles will later be forced to deal with this fear when Buffy dies more permanently in "The Gift."
• It is revealed that Willow doesn't like spiders, and she says of them: "What do they need all those legs for anyway?" Anya will sing something similar about bunnies, which frighten her — "What do they need such good eyesight for anyway?" — in "Once More, with Feeling."
• Although only in a nightmare, this is the first time the Master and Buffy meet face-to-face. They will meet again in their final battle, in "Prophecy Girl," then years later in Last Gleaming, Part Two.
• The Master buries Buffy alive; she'll soon die at his hands in "Prophecy Girl."
• Buffy's fear of being buried alive comes to pass in "Bargaining, Part Two," when she is resurrected and awakens in her coffin, having to claw herself out.
• Buffy is the first of the core Scoobies to appear as a vampire; Willow and Xander have alternative timeline counterparts as vampires in episode "The Wish."

Appearances[]

Individuals[]

• Cordelia Chase
• Collin
• Laura Egler
• Aldo Gianfranco
• Rupert Giles
• Alexander Harris
• Master
• Billy Palmer
• Ira Rosenberg (Only mentioned)
• Sheila Rosenberg (Only mentioned)
• Willow Rosenberg
• Sean (Only mentioned)
• Wendell Sears
• Buffy Summers
• Hank Summers
• Joyce Summers
• Tishler
• Ugly Man
• Kiddy League Coach
• Killer Clown
• Unidentified doctor (Nightmares)
• Unidentified stage manager
• Unidentified teacher (Nightmares)
• Way Cool Guy
• Way Cool Guy's Mom

Organizations and titles[]

• Nerf Herder (Only mentioned)
• Order of Aurelius
• Scooby Gang
• Slayer
  • Slaypire
• Sunnydale Razorbacks (Only mentioned)
• Watcher

Species[]

• Human
• Vampire

Locations[]

• Sunnydale
  • Bowers
  • Church (Order of Aurelius)
  • Hellmouth (Only mentioned)
  • Revello Drive
    • 1630 Revello Drive
  • Sunnydale High School
  • Sunnydale High School library

Objects[]

• 3HUJ259
• Chocolate Hurricane
• Cross
  • Buffy Summers' cross necklace
• Mister Gordo
• Stake
• Sunnydale Press

Death count[]

• Buffy Summers, sired by the Master (reversed).

Behind the scenes[]

Production[]

• Sarah Michelle Gellar has a similar phobia as her character, which made filming this episode specially difficult for her. She described: "I have an irrational fear of cemeteries and being buried alive. I told the producer, 'Look, I can't do it, I'm sorry.' Through miscommunication, the message never got relayed, and it was four in the morning, and they basically made me do it, and I was hysterical. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done for my job, ever. Some people find cemeteries a turn-on. Some people like sex in cemeteries. Not me. I cried the whole way home. It was horrible. It's really hard to be a vampire slayer if you're scared of cemeteries."^[2]

Broadcast[]

• "Nightmares" pulled in an audience of 2.4 million households.^[3]

Deleted scenes[]

• A line of Xander's was cut from the original script due to length:^[4]

  Xander: "Okay, despite the rat-like chill that just crawled up my spine, I'm going to say this very calmly: Helllppp…"

• An exchange between Giles and Buffy was also cut from the original script due to length:^[4]

  Giles: "Are you all right? You look a bit piqued."

  Buffy: "Hospital lighting. It does nothing for my fabulous complexion."

  Giles: "Are you… sleeping all right?"

  Buffy: "I'll sleep better when we find this guy. Nothing like kicking the crap out of a bad guy to perk up my day."

Pop culture references[]

• Willow says Cordelia is "Evita-like," a reference to Eva Peron, whose life the musical and later film Evita is based on.
• Nerf Herder can be seen written inside Willow's locker. Nerf Herder is the band that composed the theme song for Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
• One of the chocolate bars Xander finds is of the brand Hershey's.
• Willow is dressed to play the title character Cio-Cio-San from the opera Madame Butterfly (1904), while Aldo sings "Bimba Dagli Occhi Pieni di Malia" as her husband Pinkerton.
• Before burying Buffy alive, the Master quotes the song "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes" (1950).
• Billy's statement, "I had the strangest dream, and you were in it, and you" is a reference to Dorothy Gale's awakening in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.

Goofs[]

• The establishing shot of Sunnydale High is from the episode "Teacher's Pet," with Willow visible on one of the benches wearing the same clothing as in that episode. This shot was also used in "The Pack."

Music[]

• Walter Murphy — original score

International titles[]

• Armenian: "Գիշերային մղձավանջներ" (Nightmares)
• Czech: "Nocní mury" (Nightmares)
• Finnish: "Painajaisia" (Nightmares)
• French: "Billy"
• German: "Die Macht der Träume" (The Power of Dreams)
• Hungarian: "Rémálom" (Nightmare)
• Italian: "Incubi" (Nightmares)
• Japanese: "悪夢" (Nightmare)
• Polish: "Koszmary" (Nightmares)
• Portuguese (Brazil): "Pesadelos" (Nightmares)
• Romanian: "Coșmaruri" (Nightmares)
• Russian: "Ночные кошмары" (Nightmares)
• Spanish (Latin America): "Pesadillas" (Nightmares)
• Spanish (Spain): "Pesadillas" (Nightmares)
• Swedish: "Mardrömmar" (Nightmares)

Adaptations[]

• This episode's script is collected in The Script Book: Season One, Volume 2.
• A Buffy the Vampire Slayer action figure, a 12 Inch Figure, a Titans vinyl figure, and a Funko Pop! were produced based on Buffy as a vampire in this episode.

Gallery[]

Promotional pictures[]

Behind the scenes[]

Advertisement[]

"Nightmares" promo

"Her darkest fantasies… Her deepest fears… Tonight, her worst nightmares are coming true."

"Special Sunday episode! This summer's most spellbinding thrill ride."

Quotes[]

References[]