Shadow (21 Nov. 2000)

Glory transforms a snake into a terrifying monster in her quest to find the Key; Joyce is hospitalized after being diagnosed with an illness.

Director:

Daniel Attias

Writers:

Joss Whedon (creator), David Fury

Stars:

Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon, Alyson Hannigan

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Sarah Michelle Gellar	...	Buffy Summers
Nicholas Brendon	...	Xander Harris
Alyson Hannigan	...	Willow Rosenberg
Marc Blucas	...	Riley Finn
Emma Caulfield	...	Anya
Michelle Trachtenberg	...	Dawn Summers
James Marsters	...	Spike
Anthony Head	...	Rupert Giles (as Anthony Stewart Head)
Clare Kramer	...	Glory
Charlie Weber	...	Ben
Kevin Weisman	...	Dreg
William Forward	...	Doctor
Amber Benson	...	Tara Maclay
Kristine Sutherland	...	Joyce Summers
Megan Gray	...	Sandy

Storyline

Joyce goes to the hospital for a CAT scan, the doctor finds a shadow and she is immediately submitted to a surgery. The doctor discloses that she has a low grade glioma (i.e. a brain tumor). Buffy wants to use magic to heal her mother, but Giles, Willow and Tara advise her that it would be of high risky for humans. Meanwhile, Glory goes to the Magic Box, and the naive Giles sells two powerful components for an ancient Sobekite spell. Anya discloses it later through the receipts, while Glory conjures a snake demon to track the Key. When the snake demon finds Dawn in the Magic Box, Buffy and Giles follow the demon trying to kill it before getting to Glory.

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Plot Keywords:

lesbian | sister sister relationship | female protagonist | heroine

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Fantasy

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 November 2000 (USA)

Filming Locations:

1800 Stewart St., Santa Monica, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mutant Enemy, Kuzui Enterprises, Sandollar Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

When Buffy takes off after the big snake she chases it east on Main Street from the Magic Box, but when Giles picks her up in his car she is suddenly *west* of the Magic Box, running *west* on Main Street. They turn south at the end of the street, then the view cuts to them again heading west up Main Street from the Magic Box past the exact spot where Giles picked Buffy up moments ago.

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Quotes

Anya: Are you stupid or something?
Rupert Giles: Allow me to answer that question with a firing.
Xander Harris: She's kidding.
[to Anya]
Xander Harris: An, we talked about the employee/employer vocabulary no-nos. That was number five.

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Connections

References Destroy All Monsters (1968)

User Reviews

Anaconda and Glioma

Joyce goes to the hospital for a CAT scam, the doctor finds a shadow and she is immediately submitted to a surgery. The doctor discloses that she has a low grade glioma, i.e., a brain tumor. Buffy wants to use magic to heal her mother, but Giles, Willow and Tara advise her that it would be of high risky for humans. Meanwhile, Glory goes to the Magic Box, and the naive Giles sells two powerful components for an ancient Sobekite spell. Anya discloses it later through the receipts, while Glory conjures a snake demon to track The Key. When the snake demon finds Dawn in the Magic Box, Buffy and Giles follow the demon trying to kill it before getting to Glory.

In this episode, in addition to Joyce's illness and the fight between Buffy and the demon snake, there is another important scene: Riley feels rejected by Buffy and dates a vampire hooker, let her bite him and them he kills her. The funniest part is when Spike sneaks in Buffy's room to sniff her clothes and Riley catches him. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Sombra" ("The Shadow")