Episode Trivia
Bianca Lawson
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Bianca Lawson played the vampire Slayer Kendra in season two. Bianca’s other TV credits include: Saved By the Bell: The New Class, Sister, Sister, Goode Behaviour, Dawson’s Creek, The Division and The Big House. Bianca starred in Fearless (as Harmony) alongside Eric Balfour, who played Jesse in season one. She has been in the movies Pledge This!, Breakin’ All the Rules and Dead & Breakfast.
Blackberry patch
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In the episodes 2.07 Lie To Me and 2.10 What’s My Line? (Part Two), Drusilla sings the rhyme:
“Run and catch, run and catch, the lamb is caught in the blackberry patch.”
She also sings this in the Angel episode 2.10 Reunion.
Buffy’s basement stairs
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When they first show Buffy’s basement in 2.10 What’s My Line? (Part Two), and everytime thereafter until season six’s 6.04 Flooded, the stairs leading down are solid concrete. But in 6.17 Normal Again they’re suddenly wooden, with spaces in between the stairs (as seen when Buffy reaches through and trips Tara). They remain wooden throughout season seven.
Buffy’s moving door
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The front door of Buffy’s house changes in different episodes. In the season one episode 1.07 Angel, when Buffy is trying to close her front door on The Three, you can see that the front door opens on Buffy’s right. In the season two episodes 2.04 Inca Mummy Girl and 2.06 Halloween, we see that Buffy’s door now opens on her left.
Later in season two, when Cordelia talks to Norman Pfister in Buffy’s hall in 2.10 What’s My Line? (Part Two), you can see that the door handle of Buffy’s front door is on the left. But when Xander let Cordelia in the house in the previous episode (2.09 What’s My Line? (Part One)) the handle was on the right!
Bugman
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The Bugman was a member of the Order of Taraka who posed as Norman Pfister, a cosmetics salesman from the company ‘Blush Beautiful Cosmetics’. He was actually a demon who could turn himself into thousands of maggot-type creatures at will. He attacked Cordelia and Xander, who later killed him by poring glue on him whilst in insect form in 2.10 What’s My Line? (Part Two).
Chevvy Chase
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In 2.10 What’s My Line? (Part Two), Buffy warns Kendra not to watch the in-flight movie if it’s got Chevvy Chase in it. This is a reference to Sarah Michelle Gellar’s 1988 uncredited cameo in the Chase film Funny Farm.
Demon magnet
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Xander’s relationship with the praying mantis in 1.04 Teacher’s Pet is joked about in several later episodes, such as 1.08 I Robot, You Jane, 2.04 Inca Mummy Girl, 3.01 Anne (in which Cordelia says of Xander, “He’s always been attracted to monsters” and later mentions Ampata from 2.04 Inca Mummy Girl, calling her “some hot little Inca mummy girl”), 2.10 What’s My Line? (Part Two) and 4.09 Something Blue, when Willow says,
“Let’s look at your bio: Insect Lady, Mummy Girl, Anya… you’re a demon magnet.”
In 7.14 First Date, Xander says, “Another demon woman was attracted to me” after his date Lyssa turned out to be evil.
Disneyland / World
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In 6.09 Smashed, Warren says to the security guard:
“Museums, libraries, Disney Hall of Presidents … not boring.”
The Disney Hall of Presidents is in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Florida. Disneyland is referenced in 2.10 What’s My Line? (Part Two):
Buffy: “No, Disneyland would get boring after a few months.”
Amy: “That was like a trip to Disneyland without the lines.”
Eligor
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The key to restoring Drusilla’s health in 2.10 What’s My Line? (Part Two) was the blood of her sire, Angel, and the invocation of Eligor - a demon who was the “bringer of war, poisoners, pariahs, grand obscenity” and also the “wretched master of decay.”
Filming What’s My Line?
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Juliet Landau told the crowd at a Buffy event (Starfury Fusion, Blackpool, England in 2004) about her experience filming scenes in 2.10 What’s My Line? (Part Two):
“When we were shooting the Buffy episode where David and I are tied together and there was a whole ceremony being performed. And I chose, for some reason, to play the scene in a deep backbend, which 8-hours later I was really sorry for. But what was funny, is that David and I didn’t know each other that well, and they roped us together really tightly, and we were smoothed right up against each other. So I was like, ‘Hi, it’s really nice to meet you, so tell me about yourself,’ And the other thing that kept happening was they would yell ‘cut’ and everybody would leave, and they kept leaving us completely joined together for the longest time and we just got the giggles because we didn’t know what else to do, and we sort of laughed, ‘Hello? Hello?’ and finally they came and undid us.”
Healing ritual
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In 2.10 What’s My Line? (Part Two), Spike and his gang discovered a healing ritual for sick vampires hidden in the Du Lac Manuscripts. He used the ritual on Drusilla by tying her and Angel (her sire) together, and putting a dagger through their hands. The dagger was hidden within The Du Lac Cross. Angel’s blood flowed into Drusilla’s and she regained strength.
Holy Water
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Holy Water is water that has been blessed by a member of the clergy. Like other religious symbols (such as the crucifix) it burns vampires, and can even kill them if it touches them in large amounts. Holy water has been used as a weapon occasionally in the Buffyverse:
- In 1.02 The Harvest, Willow threw holy water on Darla.
- In 2.10 What’s My Line? (Part Two), Drusilla tortured Angel by dripping holy water on him.
- Buffy tricked Zachary Kralik into drinking holy water in 3.12 Helpless.
- In 3.08 Lover’s Walk, Buffy, Angel and Spike warded off attacking vampires by throwing holy water at them.
- Buffy gave Andrew a bottle of holy water as a weapon in 7.11 Showtime. Later, when the Scoobies and the Potentials hide while Buffy distracts the Turok-Han, Buffy takes the bottle from Andrew and then uses it against the Turok-Han, smashing it in the face.
Kelly Connell
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Kelly Connell, who played Mr. Norman Pfister/Bug Man in What’s My Line?, has worked with Alyson Hannigan before in an episode of Picket Fences called ‘To Forgive Is Divine’. Kelly has also been in Spider-Man 2, K-PAX, Cocktail and CSI.
Kendra’s accent
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In an interview with SFX magazine, Bianca Lawson explained just how unhappy she was with her character’s accent:
“I really hated that accent! I got the part, and I didn’t originally have an accent. Then, literally the night before, they said, “What about a Jamaican accent?” So it’s one of those things where, y’know, I just had to put it on tape, but I didn’t have a chance to get comfortable with it. And the thing is, certain things - if you say it properly [in Jamaican patois], people don’t really fully understand it, so they would change things. They’d say, “Well, say it like this” and it’s like, “Would that be accurate in that accent though?” “It doesn’t matter because no-one’s going to understand you!” So different people were giving their interpretations of it. I was like “But everyone’s going to think that I’m doing it wrong!” So personally, I wasn’t happy with the accent!”
Mary Kay Cosmetics
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In 6.16 Hell’s Bells, the future Anya says she’s doing a make-over party and Xander says:
“I hope you crash in your stupid pink car!”
These are references to Mary Kay Cosmetics, Inc., a company which was founded in 1963. Mary Kay began issuing pink Cadillacs to its top ‘Independent Beauty Consultants’ in 1969. More than 80,000 cars have been issued internationally.
When Xander and Cordelia met the Bugman (posing as Mr. Pfister from a cosmetics company) in 2.10 What’s My Line? (Part Two), Xander says:
“Okay, Mary Kay, time to…”
Molly Ringwald
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Buffy says in 2.10 What’s My Line? (Part Two):
“After all of this is over, I’m thinking pineapple pizza and teen video movie fest. Possibly something from the Ringwald oeuvre.”
This is a reference to Molly Ringwald, who starred in many 80s teen movies like Pretty in Pink and The Breakfast Club. When Alyson Hannigan left the London stage production of When Harry Met Sally in 2004, Molly took over her part.
Monkey Pants
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Seth Green said in an Ultimate TV chat that the line, “I mock you with my monkey pants” in 2.10 What’s My Line? (Part Two) was an idea of Alyson Hannigan’s. She had dreamt that Seth said that, and Joss Whedon decided to include it in the episode. In her commentary for the season four DVD, Marti Noxon claims that the part after Oz’s compliment about Willow’s smile was all ad-libbed by Seth and Alyson.
The story doesn’t end there - in the episode 2.13 Surprise, Buffy dreams that Willow says to her in French, “the hippo stole his pants”. Many fans think that this is a reference to Oz’s line to Willow about animal crackers. The full conversation between Oz and Willow runs as follows (Oz used a French accent for the monkey’s line):
Oz: “Oh look! Monkey. And he has a little hat…and little pants.”
Willow: “Yeah, I see.”
Oz: “The monkey’s the only cookie animal that gets to wears clothes. You know that? … You have the sweetest smile I’ve ever seen.”
Oz: “So I’m wondering, do the other cookie animals feel sorta ripped? Like is the hippo going, “Hey, man. Where are my pants? I have my hippo dignity.” And you know the monkey’s just, “I mock you with my monkey pants!” And then there’s a big coup in the zoo.”
Willow: “The monkey is French?”
Oz: “All monkeys are French. You didn’t know that?”
Willow: “No.”
Nobody messes with…
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In 6.02 Bargaining (Part Two), Tara says of Willow:
“Nobody messes with my girl”.
This could be a reference to season two’s 2.10 What’s My Line? (Part Two), in which Buffy says of Angel:
“Spike is going down. You can attack me, you can send assassins after me, that’s fine. But nobody messes with my boyfriend.”
Additionally, Xander says in 1.06 The Pack:
“Hey! Nobody messes with my Willow.”
Oz’s ambition
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All Oz wants out of life is to play an E flat diminished ninth chord. He mentioned to Willow in 2.10 What’s My Line? (Part Two).
Patrice
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Patrice was a red-haired member of the Order of Taraka. She posed as a police woman at the Career Fair at Buffy’s school. She attacked Buffy there, and briefly held Jonathan hostage. Patrice shot Oz whilst aiming for Buffy in 2.10 What’s My Line? (Part Two).
Power Rangers
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Buffy says to Kendra in 2.10 What’s My Line? (Part Two):
“Back off, Pink Ranger!”
This is an in-joke, as Sarah Michelle Gellar’s stunt double, Sophia Crawford, used to be the stunt double for the Pink Power Ranger on the kid’s TV show Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers.
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
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Spike calls Buffy, “Rebecca of Sunnyhell Farm” in 2.10 What’s My Line? (Part Two), which is a reference to a 1903 children’s book Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm about a farmgirl called Rebecca. It was made into a movie starring Shirley Temple in 1938.
Sam Tsebuto
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Sam Tsebuto was Kendra’s Watcher. He had been training her for years in Jamaica. Sam was well respected within The Watchers Council. He sent Kendra to Sunnydale in 2.09 What’s My Line? (Part One) while he went on the Watcher’s Retreat.
Saverio Guerra
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Saverio Guerra, who played Willy the Snitch, appeared in five episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He is best known as Bob in Becker, and has also appeared in EZ Streets (as Sammy), Mad About You, Bad Boys, and Summer of Sam. Saverio was the voice of Pontrelli in Shark Tale.
Seen It All?
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The following line from the original script of 2.10 What’s My Line? (Part Two) was cut for length from the broadcast:
Xander: “You know, just when you think you’ve seen it all, along comes a worm guy.”
Slayer Handbook
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The Slayer Handbook was a rule book for Slayers, which also suggested study material. Giles decided not to bother with one for Buffy as soon as he met her (which explains why he told Buffy he had no “rule book” for her in 1.05 Never Kill A Boy On The First Date), as he realised it would be useless in her case. He told this to Buffy in 2.10 What’s My Line? (Part Two).
In 4.15 This Year’s Girl, Buffy said to Giles:
“Why? Because ray guns aren’t in the Slayer handbook?”
Spice Williams
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Spice Williams played Patrice the demon assassin policewoman in 2.10 What’s My Line? (Part Two) and Debbie in the Angel episode 4.13 Salvage (the woman who tries to kill Faith in prison). She played a vampire in From Dusk Till Dawn. Spice is a stuntwoman who has done stunts for Spider-Man, Galaxy Quest, For the Love of the Game, Spawn, Batman and Robin, Natural Born Killers, Liar, Liar and The Lost Boys. Spice is married to Gregory Crosby, who is a screenwriter and the oldest grandson of Bing Crosby.
She was not credited for her role in Buffy as (in her words in an email to the Buffy and Angel Trivia Guide):
“I wasn’t credited for this part because I was brought into casting by the stunt coordinator, Jeff Pruitt, and not by casting. Casting wouldn’t give me credit because of this.”
Spice also appeared in the episode 3.13 The Zeppo as a member of the Sisterhood of Jhe. She says:
“I also played 3 different demons where I fought with Faith and was hit by a car driven by Xander stunt double (Mark Aaron Wagner), stabbed to death by Buffy and thrown over a bar by Angel and Faith…all in the same episode, directed by James Whitmore, I believe.”
Talking crazy
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This exchange between Buffy and Kendra was deleted from the episode 2.10 What’s My Line? (Part Two):
Kendra: “Your English is very odd, you know.”
Buffy: “Yeah – it’s something about being woken by an axe. Makes me talk all crazy.”
The Beatles
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In 1.08 I Robot, You Jane, Xander refers to the Beatles song “With a Little Help from My Friends” when Buffy says that Dave’s death looked like suicide. The song is from the 1967 album Sgt. Pepper’s 1.02 Lonely Hearts Club Band Band.
In 1.11 Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight, most of Marcie’s text book at her new school is not actually about ‘Infiltration and Assassination’, as the chapter suggests. Most of it is either nonsense or devoted to the Beatles’ “Happiness is a Warm Gun”.
In 2.10 What’s My Line? (Part Two), Xander says:
“I am the bug man, goo goo g’joob.”
This is a reference to The Beatles’ psychedelic song “I Am The Walrus” (1967) which contains the line, “I am the eggman, they are the eggmen, I am the walrus, goo goo g’joob.”
The episode 4.20 The Yoko Factor is named after John Lennon’s wife Yoko Ono, who was widely believed to have been the catalyst for breaking up The Beatles. In that episode, Spike explains this to Adam, who replies, “I like Helter Skelter” (a Beatles song).
The Wizard of Oz
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The movie The Wizard of Oz, made in 1939, in mentioned several times in Buffy the Vampire Slayer:
- Buffy refers to the hyena-possessed bullies in 1.06 The Pack as the “winged monkeys”. The phrase comes from the scene in The Wizard of Oz in which the Wicked Witch of the West sends her loyal winged monkeys to collect Dorothy and the ruby slippers.
- In 6.04 Flooded, Andrew says he trained flying demon monkeys to disrupt the school play.
- In 1.10 Nightmares, Billy Palmer awakens from his coma and, seeing the Scoobies around his bed, says, “I had the strangest dream. And you were in it, and you”. This is a reference to when Dorothy wakes in her bed and sees her friends around her.
- In 2.10 What’s My Line? (Part Two), Xander says, “Welcome my little pretties”. In The Wizard of Oz, the Wicked Witch of the West called Dorothy her “pretty”.
- Dorothy kills the Wicked Witch of the West by throwing water on her. The following dialog is from 1.17 Eternity:
- In 4.20 The Yoko Factor, Willow says, “If ever a whiz there was.” This is a line from the song in the film ‘Follow the Yellow Brick Road’ / ‘We’re Off To See the Wizard’.
- The episode 5.05 No Place Like Home takes it’s name from Dorothy clicking her heels together and repeating the phrase, “There’s no place like home” in order to get back to her Kansas home.
- A similar reference to this phrase is in the Angel episode 2.22 There’s No Place Like Plrtz Glrb. In that episode, Lorne also sings the song ‘Over the Rainbow’.
- In 6.22 Grave, Willow says, “Fly my pretty…fly!” when she sends her ball of fire to find Andrew and Jonathan. This is what the wicked witch says to her flying monkeys when she sends them off.
- In 7.19 Empty Places, Rona says, “Ding, dong, the witch is dead.” This is from a song in The Wizard of Oz.
- A similar reference to this phrase is in the Angel episode 4.13 Salvage. Lorne says, “Well, ding-dong, the Beast is dead!”
- The title of the Angel episode 2.20 Over The Rainbow is another reference to The Wizard of Oz, in which the land of Oz is said to be ‘over the rainbow’. In that episode, Cordelia clicks her heels three times (as Dorothy does in the film) and says, “Worth a shot.”
- In 4.15 Orpheus, Cordelia says, “You want to go, Glinda?” This is a reference to Glinda, the Good Witch of the South.
- In 5.02 Just Rewards, Angel says, “To see the wizard”, is a reference to The Wizard of Oz song called “We’re Off to See the Wizard”.
- In 5.21 Power Play, Lorne says, “And what if he’s skipped too far down that evil brick road?” This is a reference to the yellow brick road which Dorothy and the others follow to Oz.
(Cordy pulls off the top of a water container.)
Cordy: “Back off!”
Angel: “What are you going to do? Melt me?”
Cordy: “One more step and you’ll find out. You think this is just water?”
They’re back
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Spike and Drusilla appear in 2.13 Surprise for the first time since 2.10 What’s My Line? (Part Two). Spike was damaged badly in that episode and is now in a wheelchair.
Vamp duster
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2.10 What’s My Line? (Part Two) marks the first time that Willow stakes a vampire, and it’s also the first time we actually see Giles dust one.
Vampires and sunlight
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We first learn that vampires can be killed by direct sunlight in 1.02 The Harvest, when Buffy says:
Xander: “So, what else?”
Buffy: “What else what?”
Xander: “For vampire slayage.”
Buffy: “Oh, fire, beheading, sunlight, holy water, the usual.”
Of course, this doesn’t mean that the actors who play vampires can be destructed using sun beams. There are several occasions when direct sunlight lays on vampires in the show without them being destroyed.
- When Angel is sitting on Buffy’s bed in 3.18 Earshot, sun is shining in but he doesn’t burst into flame.
- In 4.19 New Moon Rising Adam confronts Spike in his crypt during the daytime. There’s lots of sunlight around, yet Spike doesn’t dust.
- In 5.18 Intervention, Spike’s face is in direct sunlight when Glory pulls him up by his lip. She then throws Spike on the bed, and his left arm is also in direct sunlight - he doesn’t burn on both these occasions.
- In the scene with Spike and the mannequin in 5.03 The Replacement, Spike has a tan line on his arms, where his t-shirt has been, though it may be possible to tan in indirect sunlight.
- During the Angel episode 1.03 In The Dark, there are quite a few incidents where sunlight is laying directly on vampires without them burning. This can be seen in particular during the warehouse torture scenes, and when Angel is in the van, about to attack Marcus.
- When the demon attacks Angel in his office in 1.08 I Will Remember You, Angel is clearly standing in direct sunlight.
As Harfang says in the comments section of this trivia - vampires’ resistance to sunlight appears to be directly dependent on their importance to the story.
Another point to note is that only direct sunlight harms vampires - and it just kills them. In 2.10 What’s My Line? (Part Two), Angel is seen being weakened by sunlight which is actually nowhere near him.
Victim Johnny
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Jonathan, played by Danny Strong, appears in 2.10 What’s My Line? (Part Two), billed as ‘Hostage Kid’, though his name was established in 2.05 Reptile Boy.
What happened to the Order of Taraka?
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At the beginning of the episode 2.11 Ted, Buffy, Xander and Willow refer to the events of 2.10 What’s My Line? (Part Two). The Order of Taraka has apparently been called off, and Angel is still recuperating from the injuries he got from Spike and Drusilla.
Willow: “So we’re pretty sure that there’re not more Tarakan assassins coming our way?”
Buffy: “Angel’s sources say the contract’s off.”
Writings of Drameus
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In 2.10 What’s My Line? (Part Two), Kendra tells Giles she has studied the writings of Drameus - in particular Volume 6, which contains information on the Order of Taraka. Kendra says the writings are the required reading for Slayers according to The Slayer Handbook.
[Goof] Angel’s hand
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There’s no hole in Angel’s hand when Buffy and Kendra carry him out of the church in 2.10 What’s My Line? (Part Two) - even though he had a knife stuck in it by Spike earlier.
[Goof] Buffy’s knife
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In the scene where Kendra and Buffy talk in Giles’ office in 2.10 What’s My Line? (Part Two), Buffy is sitting sharpening a curved knife. She puts the knife down, picks up stake, and begins to whittle the stake with the sharpener. In the next shot, the sharpener is replaced by the knife.
[Goof] Bug book
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Xander slams a book on a bug in 2.10 What’s My Line? (Part Two). The book is a white biology textbook. However when the camera cuts to a shot of all of them standing around the table the book is gone, replaced by an old book with a red cover.
[Goof] Kendra’s arms
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In the library in 2.10 What’s My Line? (Part Two), Cordy picks a worm from her hair then runs from the room. In one shot Kendra’s arms are behind her back, but in the next they’re folded in front of her.
[Goof] Kendra’s hair
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In the shots when Kendra is leaving in 2.10 What’s My Line? (Part Two), there are two different angles of Kendra and Buffy talking. Kendra’s hair changes in each shot - sometimes her braid is in front of her shoulder and sometimes it’s behind.
[Goof] Oz’s bullet wound
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When Patrice shoots Oz in 2.10 What’s My Line? (Part Two), the bullet should have gone right into his arm (from the angle at which she was shooting and the hole that appears on his arm) but he just gets scratched.
[Goof] Patrice’s gun
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In 2.10 What’s My Line? (Part Two), Patrice (the assassin disguised as a policewoman) pulls a gun from her holster, which Buffy knocks out of her hand. Then she pulls another gun from the same holster to fire the shot that hits Oz. Two guns in one holster?
[Goof] Spike’s blue stuntman
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Spike’s stunt double can clearly be seen when he fights Buffy in 2.10 What’s My Line? (Part Two) - and for some reason his face is very blue.