Episode Trivia
A world without Buffy
details | 8 comments | suggested by Jess
Willow and Xander are the Master’s favourite vampire lackeys in 3.09 The Wish. This shows that they would be more powerful (yet evil) without Buffy, but both live in the Slayer’s shadow in real-life. Conversely, we see how Buffy could have been without the support of her friends. She is hardened and cynical like Faith.
Angel the puppy
details | 32 comments | suggested by Jess
Angel is referred to as a ‘puppy’ on a couple of occasions:
- In 3.09 The Wish, vampire Willow keeps Angel locked in a cage as her plaything, and refers to him as “Puppy”.
- In 4.03 The Harsh Light Of Day, when Parker asks Buffy about the scars on her neck, she replies that they they were caused by an “angry puppy”. They were actually from when Angel bit her in Graduation Day, Part Two.
Puppies are a recurring theme in Buffy and Angel:
- In 2.16 Bewitched, Bothered And Bewildered, Giles tells Buffy that one Valentine’s Day, Angel nailed a puppy to something (we don’t find out as Buffy stops him before he can finish).
- In 4.15 Orpheus, we see that Angel saved a puppy from being killed in early 1920s Chicago.
- In Enemies, Faith says that as a child she suffered because her mother didn’t let her have a dog before she kisses Angel.
- In 1.06 The Pack Willow regrets that Xander is not possessed by a puppy instead of a hyena
- In 7.02 Beneath You the puppy’s death is the only thing that seems to move Anya (and also Spike later on).
Any better?
details | 2 comments | suggested by Jess
In 3.11 Gingerbread, Buffy asks, “Is Sunnydale any better than when I first came here?” We know it definitely IS a better place after the events of the episode, 3.09 The Wish, in which Sunnydale is ruled by vampires.
Anyanka - what does she look like?
details | 5 comments | suggested by Mrsxanderharris
Anyanka’s look as a vengeance demon changed over time between the episodes 3.09 The Wish and 7.05 Selfless. Over time, does the face of a vengeance demon get deeper groves in her face? Or does it correlate to how much vengeance has been done by said demon?
Anyanka’s origins
details | 3 comments | suggested by Jess
The exposition about Anyanka was changed in the episode 3.09 The Wish. Giles’s original story of her ran as follows:
“Anyanka raised a demon to ruin her unfaithful lover. The demon did her bidding - but then cursed her and turned her into a sort of patron saint for scorned women. Apparently the cry of a wronged woman is like a siren’s call to Anyanka.”
Anyanka’s power centre
details | 5 comments | suggested by slightlyembarrased
In 3.09 The Wish’s alternate reality Giles states that:
“In order to defeat Anyanka, one must destroy her power centre. This should reverse all the wishes she’s granted, rendering her mortal and powerless again.”
However, that turns out not to be the case. While, indeed, Cordelia’s wish is revoked and Sunnydale returns to its former condition, we later learn of at least one of Anyanka’s prior wishes that was not revoked, i.e., the demon who appears on Anya and Xander’s wedding day and shows Xander the bogus vision of his life with Anya. Presumably, if Giles was correct, that vengenge spell/wish she used to turn that philanderer into a demon would have been revoked, and the demon would have returned to a human and never have arrived to disrupt their wedding.
Brave New World
details | 1 comment | suggested by Jess
In 3.09 The Wish, Cordelia unwittingly made a wish to vengeance demon Anyanka. She wished that Buffy had never come to Sunnydale. Later, Anyanka, admiring her work, said:
“Brave New World. I hope she likes it.”
She’s referring to Aldous Huxley’s science fiction novel Brave New World.
The origin of the phrase “Brave New World” comes from Shakespeare’s play The Tempest. In Act 5, Scene 1, Miranda says, “How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world, that has such people in’t!”
Cleveland
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
Buffy lived in Cleveland, Ohio in the alternative universe in 3.09 The Wish. In 7.22 Chosen, Giles reveals that there is another Hellmouth in Cleveland.
Cordy’s room
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We see Cordelia’s bedroom in Sunnydale for the first and last time in the episode 3.09 The Wish.
Costume re-use
details | 4 comments | suggested by Mel
In the Bones episode (starring David Boreanaz) called ‘The Man With The Bone’, the Mayor’s wife is wearing what appears to be Vamp Willow’s leather top from 3.16 Doppelgangland and 3.09 The Wish. The only difference is there are some ruffles round the cuffs.
A screen capture of this can be found here.
Gingersol
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Gingersol’s “Never Noticed” plays at the end of the episode 3.09 The Wish, when Cordy is saying all the wishes.
Gotta have Faith?
details | 7 comments | suggested by Jess
When vampire Willow and Xander walk to the Bronze in 3.09 The Wish, a vampire is drinking from a girl who looks like Faith.
It’s a Wonderful Life
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The episode 3.09 The Wish is clearly influenced by the 1946 movie It’s a Wonderful Life, which tells the heart-warming story of a suicidal man who is shown how the world would have been different if he’d never been born. The film was directed by Frank Capra and starred James Stewart.
Jeeves and Wooster
details | 2 comments | suggested by Jess
Giles is called “Jeeves” by Buffy in 3.09 The Wish, and by Willow in 6.22 Grave. Jeeves was an intelligent English butler in P. G. Wodehouse’s series of Jeeves and Wooster novels.
JoJo the Dog-Faced Boy
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Cordelia references JoJo the Dog-Faced Boy in the episodes 2.06 Halloween and 3.09 The Wish. A real person, JoJo was amongst the human oddities exhibited in the 1880s by P T Barnum. He suffered from hypertrichosis, or abnormal hair growth, which caused him to grow long hair all over his face.
Jonathan dating
details | 1 comment | suggested by Jess
At the end of the episode 2.05 Reptile Boy, Cordelia has decided that “younger men are the way to go” by dating Jonathan. Later, in the season three episode 3.09 The Wish, Harmony bitchily suggests that Cordelia date Jonathan as he probably wouldn’t cheat on her.
Joss Whedon’s favourite episodes
details | 13 comments | suggested by Jess
Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon spoke to USA Today in May 2003 (after the final episode had aired) about his favourite Buffy episodes. They are as follows:
- 2.14 Innocence: “It’s a mission-statement show, and one of the ones where I first found out what we could do.”
- 6.07 Once More, With Feeling: “What am I going to say?”
- 4.10 Hush
- 5.16 The Body
- 3.16 Doppelgangland: “Because one Willow is certainly not enough.”
- 3.09 The Wish: “Very bleak, very fun. It went to a dark place, and that’s really exciting to me. That’s where I live.”
- 2.22 Becoming (Part Two): “Buffy loses everything. Also, it had a sword fight. I love sword fighting.”
- 4.22 Restless: “Most people sort of shake their heads at it. It was different, but not pointless.”
- 7.07 Conversations With Dead People: “I’m very fond of ‘Conversations with Dead People’. I just thought structurally and tonally it was very interesting and had a lot to say. And I got to write another song.”
- 1.12 Prophecy Girl: “Because that was my first time, besides telling directors what to do, that I actually got to direct. And it was the first time I got to kill Buffy, and the first season ender, and it was the first time I realized I could take everything we did in the season and tie it in a bow.”
Larry Bagby III
details | 8 comments | suggested by Jess
Larry played Sunnydale High bully turned gay activist Larry Blaisdale. Larry is a Mormon, but this didn’t stand in his way of playing a gay character (Mormons do not condone homosexuality). Larry was in an episode of Mr. Belvedere with Seth Green when the two were about 12 years old. The two also worked together on Airborne. Larry played another bully in Hocus Pocus, starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Bette Midler.
Mariah O’Brien
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Mariah O’Brien, who played White Hat Nancy in 3.09 The Wish, has also appeared in Being John Malkovich and Jam. She was briefly married to Giovanni Ribisi (Lost in Translation, Cold Mountain, Friends) with whom she has a child, but they divorced in 2001.
Mark Metcalf
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Mark Metcalf, who played the Master, was born in Findlay, Ohio, in 1946. He has had numerous roles in TV and film, most notably in National Lampoon’s Animal House as Niedermayer and as The Maestro in Seinfeld. Mark has also been in Teen Angel, Ally McBeal, Star Trek: Voyager, Melrose Place, Party of Five and Hill Street Blues. He played the father in Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It” video.
Master
details | 3 comments | suggested by Jess
The Master was an ancient vampire, who celebrated the Old Ones, a race of demons who walked the earth before humanity. These Old Ones were under the Hellmouth and it was the Master’s wish to free them and let them roam the Earth again. The Master sired Darla in the Virginia colony in 1609 and she joined his Order of Aurelius before leaving with Angel. The Master tried to open the Hellmouth in 1937, but a huge earthquake rocked the area, trapping most of the town, and the Master himself. He tried to get free several times and it wasn’t until Giles found a prophecy saying that Buffy would face the Master and die that he managed to free himself. Buffy confronted the Master, who drank her blood and threw her in a pool of water, killing her. The power the Master got from Buffy’s blood freed him and some tentacled monsters, and he headed into fresh air to cause some trouble. Luckily Buffy was given CPR by Xander and she managed to kill the Master by throwing him on some broken wood, staking him.
Mention of Amy
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
Willow mentions Amy Madison in 3.09 The Wish. Amy told Willow she saw Cordy in the mall. Amy was previously seen in 1.03 The Witch and Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered.
Merchant of Venice
details | 5 comments | suggested by anniec
In 1.11 Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight, Cordelia’s English class discuss Shakespeare�s Merchant of Venice:
Miss Miller: (Reading) “If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?” (Stops reading) “Okay. So talk to me, people. How does what Shylock says here about being a Jew relate to our discussion about the anger of the outcast in society?”
Cordelia: “Well, how about colour me totally self-involved?”
Miss Miller: “Care to elaborate?”
Cordelia: “Yeah. With Shylock it’s whine, whine, whine, like the whole world is about him. He acts like it’s justice, him getting a pound of Antonio’s flesh. It’s not justice, it’s yicky.”
In 3.09 The Wish, the Master asks Willow and Xander:
“What news on the Rialto?”
This is a line from Merchant of Venice. The Rialto is a bridge in Venice, and Salanio, who asks the question, is asking for the latest news on the local scene (gathered, in this case, from local gossips, who apparently hung out on the bridge).
In 2.19 I Only Have Eyes For You, Xander quips:
“The quality of mercy is not Buffy.”
This is a reference to the famous ‘Quality of Mercy’ speech delivered by Portia in Merchant of Venice.
Nicole Bilderback
details | 1 comment | suggested by Jess
Nicole Bilderback played Cordelia’s friend (the girl killed by the Master’s machine) in 3.09 The Wish. She also appeared in the Buffy pilot episode. Nicole appeared with Seth Green (Oz) in the 1998 film Can’t Hardly Wait as a girl with whom Seth’s character nearly has sex. Nicole also appeared in Bring It On with Eliza Dushku, who plays Faith, and Clare Kramer, who played Glory in season five. She played Heather in Dawson’s Creek and Brin in Dark Angel. Nicole has also appeared in Zoe, Duncan, Jack & Jane (which starred Azura Skye, who played Cassie Newton in season seven), ER, 7th Heaven, Clueless, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
Smokey Robinson and the Miracles
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Xander says of Cordy in 3.09 The Wish, “tears of a clown”. He’s quoting from the 1968 hit song by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles.
Snake bite
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In 3.09 The Wish, Cordelia references the time when she was bitten by a snake in 2.19 I Only Have Eyes For You.
Superman
details | 6 comments | suggested by Jess
Comicbook hero Superman has been epitomised in many comics (by DC Comics), movies, TV shows (eg. Lois and Clarke, Smallville - in which James Marsters played Brainiac), cartoons (eg. The Adventures of Superman) and even a musical. He and the world he lives in have been referenced many times in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel:
- 1.05 Never Kill A Boy On The First Date: Buffy says, “even Clark Kent has a job”, alluding to Superman’s alter-ego.
- 2.05 Reptile Boy: Xander’s chances of ever belonging to a fraternity of rich and powerful men are rubbished by Cordy as likely only “in the Bizarro world.” The Bizarro world is a weird, back-to-front version of the real world in Superman.
- 2.11 Ted: Cordelia says of Buffy, “But she’s like this Superman.”
- 3.09 The Wish: Cordelia says to vamps Willow and Xander:
“No. No! No way! I wish us into Bizarro Land, and you guys are still together?! I cannot win!”
- 3.12 Helpless: Oz and Xander discuss which colour Kryptonite hurts Superman. Writer David Fury said in his DVD commentary for the episode that he wasn’t sure which Kryptonite was which so wrote this scene as such.
- 3.13 The Zeppo: there are a few references to Superman: Xander’s line, which he acknowledges as a “Jimmy Olsen joke”:
“But, gee, Mr White, if Clark and Lois get all the good stories I’ll never be a good reporter”
He also name-checks the Daily Planet’s editor Perry White, Superman’s alter ego Clark Kent, and his colleague Lois Lane. Cordelia’s jibe “You must feel like Jimmy Olsen” is another reference to the Daily Planet’s youngest photographer.
- 4.11 Doomed: Forrest says to Riley,
“Granted they’re a little rarer than the one’s you grew up with on that little farm in Smallville.”
Smallville, Kansas, was the small town where Clark Kent (Superman) grew up.
- In 4.17 Superstar, Xander mentions Kryptonite again.
- 5.02 Real Me: Xander says, “She can turn this place into the fortress of solitude again”. Superman built the Fortress of Solitude in the North Pole as a place where he could relax and keep his souvenirs.
- 6.11 Gone: Andrew mentions Superman’s nemesis Lex Luthor. Buffy also mentions Bizarro World again.
- 6.21 Two To Go: Andrew says:
“Lex Luthor had a false epidermis escape kit in Superman Versus the Amazing Spider-Man Treasury edition”.
- 7.10 Bring On The Night: Andrew says, “An evil name should be something like Lex” He’s referring to Superman’s nemesis Lex Luthor.
- 1.19 Sanctuary: While Faith flips through the channels, we briefly see a Superman cartoon.
- 1.21 Blind Date:
Wesley: “The human eye is only capable of registering a small portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. But if Brewer were somehow equipped to see outside that range…”
Cordelia: “She’d be Superman.” - 4.02 Ground State: Gwen says “what are you, Lex Luthor?” to Elliott when she finds out he’s double-crossed her.
- 5.10 Soul Purpose: Lindsay references Superman when he’s talking about Spike:
“I mean, he hasn’t sewn a big red S on his chest yet, but he’s getting there.”
- 5.12 You’re Welcome: Cordelia ends her seeming obsession with the Bizarro world when she says:
“What Bizarro-world did I wake up in?”
The Spies
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
In 3.09 The Wish, “Tired of Being Alone” by The Spies (from the album Toy 2.13 Surprise Inside) plays at the Bronze when Xander and Cordy are trying to show each other they are okay.
Todd’s favourite episode
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Todd McIntosh, Buffy’s make-up supervisor, said in the October 1999 issue of Entertainment Weekly that his favourite episode was 3.09 The Wish.
Vamps and colours
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In the episode 3.09 The Wish, it is revealed that vampires are attracted to bright colours.
Vampy Aly
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Alyson Hannigan got the Buffy make-up team to dress her as a vampire again one Halloween.
Vengeance demons
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Anyanka was the first vengeance demon we met (3.09 The Wish). She was the patron saint of scorned women, though we discovered in 6.14 Older And Far Away that other vengeance demons specialise in different areas, such as mistreated children. A vengeance demon is either summoned or appears in human form. Each demon has a necklace that is their power centre. D’Hoffryn was the leader and father-figure of the vengeance demons, with the ability to turn humans into demons if he felt they were talented enough (learnt in 4.09 Something Blue).
Walking by the Sun Cinema
details | add a comment | suggested by Bakatulip
The Sunnydale street in front of the Sun Cinema is clearly a place of confusion, seeing as whenever a character is completely bewildered they walk down that road.
- Cordelia walked past the movie theatre when she landed in the alternate Sunnydale in 3.09 The Wish.
- Buffy and Angel walked down that street when it was snowing in 3.10 Amends.
- Vampire Willow walked down that street when she first landed in the real Sunnydale in 3.16 Doppelgangland.
- Faith walked the same road when she woke up from her coma in 4.15 This Year’s Girl.
Oddly though, Buffy didn’t make the trek down that road when she came back from the grave in 6.02 Bargaining (Part Two).
White Hats
details | 2 comments | suggested by Jess
The White Hats are the good guys in the episode 3.09 The Wish. They consist of Giles, Oz, Larry and Nancy. The name comes from classic Westerns in which the ‘good guys’ always wore a white hat.
Wooden cage
details | 1 comment | suggested by Jess
Why did the vamps construct a wooden cage to hold their prisoners in 3.09 The Wish? Wood is hardly vampire-friendly.
[Goof] Anya’s necklace
details | 6 comments | suggested by Jess
We know Anya’s necklace is her demon power centre. So why would she give it to Cordelia in 3.09 The Wish? In future episodes where she makes wishes reality (such as 7.05 Selfless), she never gives the necklace away.
[Goof] Anya’s necklace
details | 4 comments | suggested by Jess
How did Anyanka get her necklace back? She gives it to Cordelia to make her wish. Giles then takes the pendant off Cordelia’s neck and uses it to identify Anyanka the vengeance demon, whom he summons. Anyanka appears wearing the necklace. How did she get it back?
[Goof] Clueless extra
details | add a comment | suggested by Crypto
In 3.09 The Wish, when Anya and Cordelia are talking, there is an extra in the background between the two. She obviously does not know she is in shot as she hesitates before deciding to walk.
[Goof] Extra extra
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
If you look behind Oz as he talks to Willow near his locker in 3.09 The Wish, you can see a student in a white shirt, khaki pants, and black bag emerge around the exact same corner twice.
[Goof] Hellmouth
details | 1 comment | suggested by Jess
If the Master is free, then the Hellmouth should be open as it was Buffy’s presence in previous episodes, such as 1.01 Welcome To The Hellmouth and 1.12 Prophecy Girl, which stopped him rising before. Yet Giles and the White Hats are working in the library in 3.09 The Wish.