Episode Trivia
Abercrombie and Fitch
details | 3 comments | suggested by Jess
The network was unhappy with D’Hoffryn’s Abercrombie and Fitch line in 7.05 Selfless (”It looks like someone slaughtered an Abercrombie and Fitch catalogue”), not because they may lose a sponsor, but because D’Hoffryn didn’t care about the deaths of the frat boys. Drew Goddard explained that D’Hoffryn is in fact evil but the network still didn’t get it. He wrote another line - “It looks like Maxim has just lost 15 subscriptions” - but the original line eventually was okayed by the network.
Abraham Benrubi
details | 1 comment | suggested by Jess
Abraham played Olaf the troll in 5.11 Triangle and 7.05 Selfless. Abraham is best known as Jerry Markovic in ER and he played Larry Kubiac in Parker Lewis Can’t Lose. He appeared in Twister, a movie which was script-doctored by Joss Whedon. Abraham played ‘Young Man’ in the Coen Brothers’ movie The Man Who Wasn’t There, and appeared in Sleepwalkers, Dark Angel, The X-Files, Wings, Grace Under Fire, Married…with Children, Roseanne (as Teenage Dan), and Blossom. Abraham Rubin Hercules Benrubi is 2.01 metres tall and is an avid collector of comic books and CDs.
All good things
details | 4 comments | suggested by Jess
D’Hoffryn predicted Anya’s death in 7.05 Selfless. After he killed Halfrek, Anya told him, “You should have killed me.” D’Hoffryn replied, “Be patient, all good things in time.”
Anya’s background
details | 4 comments | suggested by Jess
We learn in 7.05 Selfless that Anya’s name as a human was Aud. She came from Sjornjost, and became a vengeance demon in 880 A.D. after turning her cheating boyfriend Olaf into a troll. D’Hoffryn offered her the vengeance demon job and renamed her Anyanka.
Anya’s dress
details | 6 comments | suggested by Jess
Anya wears her wedding dress from 6.16 Hell’s Bells in her musical-based flashback in 7.05 Selfless, implying that she brought her wedding dress long before her wedding day in season six.
Anya’s made-up life
details | 2 comments | suggested by Jess
Anya tells the Watcher’s Council in 5.12 Checkpoint a made-up story about her life to cover up her ex-demonyness. She says that she grew up in South East Indiana, her full name is Anya Christina Emmanuella Jenkins, and her birthdate as July 4th, 1980. In 7.05 Selfless, whilst singing ‘Mrs’, Anya mentions her name again before singing “Anya Lame-Ass-Made-Up- Maiden-Name Harris.”
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?
Arashmaharr
details | 2 comments | suggested by Mel
Arashmaharr is a world or dimension in which D’Hoffryn, the head of the vengeance demons, resides. In 4.09 Something Blue, Anya attempted to summon D’Hoffryn using the spell, “Blessed be, the name of D’Hoffryn. Let this space be now a gateway to the world of Arashmaharr, where demons are spawned.”
In 7.05 Selfless, Willow uses D’Hoffryn’s talisman and the spell, “Beatum sit in nomine D’Hoffrynis. Fiat hoc spatium porta ad mundum Arashmaharris” to summon the demon. This is the latin translation of the original spell that Anya was trying to use in 4.09 Something Blue.
Aud
details | 4 comments | suggested by Jess
Anya’s name as a human, before she became a vengeance demon was Aud. This was seen in the episode 7.05 Selfless.
Aud and Olaf’s Swedish scene
details | 12 comments | suggested by Jess
Drew Goddard spoke in his DVD commentary for the episode 7.05 Selfless about the scene in which Anya and Olaf speak in Swedish. He said the scene was translated into Swedish and was originally supposed to be dubbed over with English. Emma Caulfield (Anya) and Abraham Benrubi (Olaf) were given the Swedish script so they could mime along to the language. But Emma and Abraham went one step further and learnt the entire Swedish script (which was written phonetically). Drew said the Swedish scene was much funnier that the dubbed version so they kept it.
I’ve had a whole ton of emails from people saying they’re not speaking Swedish at all - which isn’t odd considering Emma and Abraham aren’t natural Swedish speakers!
Bunnies
details | 8 comments | suggested by Jess
Anya has a fear of bunnies, first referenced in 4.04 Fear, Itself when she wore a bunny costume to a Halloween party, with the simple explanation: “bunnies frighten me”. This fear is shown in:
- 4.04 Fear, Itself: Anya’s bunny suit became so popular that model makers Clayburn Moore created a figure of the character.
- 5.08 Shadow:
Xander: “Just once I would like to run into a cult of bunny worshippers.”
Anya: “Great! Thank you very much for those nightmares!” - 5.22 The Gift: Anya finds a stuffed bunny in the Magic Box and says:
“God, who would put something like that there? Is this supposed to be some sort of sick joke?”
- 6.02 Bargaining (Part Two): Razor asks Willow what she’s going to do - “pull a rabbit out of a hat?” Anya turns to Tara to be reassured that she won’t.
- 6.07 Once More, With Feeling: Anya theorises through song that bunnies must be the cause of the musical:
“I’ve got a theory,
It could be bunnies…
Bunnies aren’t just cute Like everybody supposes!
They got them hoppy legs
And twitchy little noses!
And what’s with all the carrots?
What do they need Such good eyesight for anyway?
Bunnies! Bunnies! It must be bunnies!” - 6.08 Tabula Rasa: Anya accidentally conjures up hundreds of bunnies in the Magic Box
- 6.09 Smashed: Willow describes Anya to Amy as a “thousand-year-old capitalist ex-demon with rabbit phobia”.
- 7.05 Selfless: Anya shows she wasn’t afraid of bunnies before she became a demon: “The rapid reproductive rate of our rabbits has given me an idea. I can give the excess out to the townspeople, exchanging them not for goods or services but for goodwill and the sense of accomplishment that stems from selflessly giving of yourself to others.”
- 7.22 Chosen: Anya’s final words on the show are about bunnies. She thinks of them whilst preparing for the huge battle:
“Bunnies. Floppy, hoppy, bunnies.”
Change of time
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
The 1905 scene set in St. Petersburg in 7.05 Selfless was originally supposed to be set during the Renaissance but it was changed as the time frame clashed with the fact that Halfrek was supposed to be Spike’s first crush Cecily at that time (seen in 5.07 Fool For Love).
D’Hoffryn
details | 8 comments | suggested by Jess
D’Hoffryn was head of the vengeance demons, with the power to make humans into demons, if they show enough talent. He monitors events on Earth from a demon dimension called Arashmaha. D’Hoffryn was responsible for making Anyanka and Halfrek vengeance demons, and offered to do so for Willow in 4.09 Something Blue, but she declined. He became a type of father figure for many of his demons, even attending Anya’s wedding in 6.16 Hell’s Bells, though he quickly became angry when they went against his wishes. When Anya decided to become human again, D’Hoffryn killed Halfrek to spite her, in 7.05 Selfless.
Devouring evil
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
Both D’Hoffryn and Spike say, “From beneath you it devours” in 7.05 Selfless, a reference to the coming evil first mentioned in 7.02 Beneath You.
Drew Goddard
details | 3 comments | suggested by Jess
Drew has written five Buffy episodes: 7.05 Selfless, 7.07 Conversations With Dead People, 7.09 Never Leave Me, 7.17 Lies My Parents Told Me and 7.18 Dirty Girls. He has also written for Angel (5.07 Lineage, 5.11 Damage, 5.13 Why We Fight, 5.18 Origin and 5.20 The Girl In Question) and appeared in Firefly (as ‘Guy on Planet’ in the episode ‘The Train Job’). Drew was a co-producer and writer on Alias.
Drew said at the Bronze Beta that he’s been a Buffy fanatic since the early days. This is obvious from his references to early Buffy storylines. Drew’s first Buffy script (7.05 Selfless) was also his first TV script.
Drew is dating Jenny Mollen, who played Nina Ash in Angel.
Grimslaw demon
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
In 7.05 Selfless, Anyanka summoned a Grimslaw demon to kill a group of frat boys, in revenge for a cruel trick they had played on a female student. The demon is massive, speedy and spider-like, with a mouth in its abdomen. It uses the mouth to attack and rip out the hearts of its victims. Willow first encountered the spider on UC Sunnydale campus, and Buffy and Xander tracked it down to a wood, where they found it’s dark, sticky webbing. Buffy killed the Grimslaw demon by throwing an axe into a tree in which it was hiding.
Halfrek
details | 3 comments | suggested by Jess
Halfrek was a vengeance demon who specialised in vengeance for abandoned children. Halfrek was both a friend and rival of Anya. She was cynical of Anya’s relationship with Xander. Halfrek tricked Dawn into making a wish which locked the Scoobies in Buffy’s house during a party, as she realised Dawn was very lonely. Halfrek was killed by D’Hoffryn as revenge for Anya’s decision to become human.
Halfrek’s season 7 scenes
details | 2 comments | suggested by Jess
Kali Rocha (Halfrek) was performing in the play ‘Noises Off’ when season seven was shooting. She was flown in for one day and filmed all her season seven scenes in that day, including those in 7.01 Lessons and 7.05 Selfless. Kali filmed her ‘death scene’ on green screen which was super-imposed onto the images featuring the other actors.
Here’s my talisman
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
Willow met D’Hoffryn in 4.09 Something Blue, when a spell she did impressed him and he offered her a job as a vengeance demon. She refused, but he left a talisman with her so that she could contact him if she changed her mind. She uses this to summon D’Hoffryn in 7.05 Selfless.
Jennifer Shon
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
Jennifer Shon played the student Rachel in 6.05 Life Serial and 7.05 Selfless. She has also appeared in No Prom for Cindy, Malcolm in the Middle, NYPD Blue, Strong Medicine and Boston Public.
Joss writes Mrs
details | 6 comments | suggested by Jess
Joss Whedon wrote Anya’s song ‘Mrs’ for the episode 7.05 Selfless overnight. Drew Goddard said the following:
“Joss wrote the song (it’s called ‘Mrs’). I can’t take any credit for it whatsoever. We were on the set of Firefly when he was directing ‘The Train Job’ and we were talking and he said something like, ‘What if we flash back to the musical…’ And then the very next morning he walked in and said, ‘I’ve got the song.’ Sometimes I think you can start car batteries with his brain.”
The lyrics to ‘Mrs’ are:
Mr. Xander Harris. That’s what he is to the world outside.
That’s the name he carries with pride.
I’m just lately Anya.
Not very much to the world, I know.
All these years with nothing to show.
I’ve boned a troll, I’ve wreaked some wrath,
But on the whole, I’ve had no path.
I like to bowl, I’m good with math.
But who am I? Now I reply that.
I’m the Missus. I will be his Missus. Mrs. Anya Christina Emanuella Jenkins Harris.
What’s the point of loving… (I mean except for the sweaty part.)
What’s the point of losing your heart?
Maybe if you’re lucky
Being a pair makes you twice as tall.
Maybe you’re not losing at all.
No need to cover up my heart,
Plus see above, re: sweaty part.
So maybe love is pretty smart
And so am I!
I found my guy!
And I’ll be Missus. I will be his Missus. Mrs. Anya Lame-Ass-Made-Up-Maiden-Name Harris.
We’ll never part,
Not if we can.
And if we start
Then here’s my plan.
I’ll show him what bliss is,
Welcome him with kisses
‘Cause this is a Missus who misses her man.
He’s my Xander and he’s awfully swell.
It makes financial sense as well.
Although he can be I’ll never tell.
Just stand aside
Here comes the bride.
I’ll be Missus. I will be his Missus. I will be…
Joyce Guy
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
Joyce Guy, who played Willow’s Professor in 7.05 Selfless, played Mrs. Moreau in Sunset Beach, and Nurse Virginia Pine in Chicago Hope and has also been in The Santa Clause, Friends, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Beverly Hills, 90210 and Roseanne.
Kali Rocha
details | 6 comments | suggested by Jess
Kali Rocha played Spike’s crush Cecily when he was a human, and later went on to play vengeance demon Halfrek. Kali has appeared in Gods and Generals, White Oleander, Meet the Parents, The Object of My Affection, The Crucible, Will & Grace and Becker.
Kick his ass
details | 20 comments | suggested by Jess
In 2.22 Becoming (Part Two), Xander failed to tell Buffy that Willow was going to perform the spell to re-cast Angel’s curse (instead he told her to “kick his ass”). This was never discussed until season seven’s 7.05 Selfless, when Buffy finally revealed to Xander she knew this was not Willow’s true message. Buffy also reminds Xander in 7.05 Selfless that she killed Angel in 2.22 Becoming (Part Two).
Killing Buffy’s friends
details | 31 comments | suggested by Jess
In 7.05 Selfless, Anya says to Buffy,
“Are there any of your friends you haven’t tried to kill?”
Buffy tried to kill Xander, Tara, Willow and Dawn in 6.17 Normal Again; Spike on several occasions; Willow in Grave; Faith in Graduation Day, Part One; Angel in Becoming… Need I go on?
Naming the stars
details | 9 comments | suggested by Jess
In 7.05 Selfless, Spike says that Drusilla liked to look at the stars. We saw her doing this in 2.14 Innocence:
Drusilla: “I’m naming all the stars.”
Spike: “You can’t see the stars, love. That’s the ceiling. Also, it’s day.”
Drusilla: “I can see them. But I’ve named them all the same name. And there’s terrible confusion.”
In 2.10 Reunion, Angel of Drusilla:
“Soil. - Soil near the stars. She said she wanted to be near the stars. She used to - talk to the stars. She spent *hours* in my garden in Sunnydale, communing with the night sky.”
Olaf and Aud
details | 1 comment | suggested by Jess
Olaf and Aud (seen in 7.05 Selfless) are a legendary Viking couple. Olaf the White was a warrior king (the son of King Ingjald) who married Aud the Deep-Minded (the daughter of Ketil Flat-Nose).
Olaf the Troll
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
Olaf was an ex-boyfriend of Anya, whom she turned into a troll, bagging herself a job as a vengeance demon at the same time. This was seen via flashback in 7.05 Selfless. He was accidentally released by Willow and Anya in a spell in 5.11 Triangle and wreaked havoc on Sunnydale before being magicked away again by Willow.
Spider-Man
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
Spider-Man is a popular Marvel comic starring Peter Parker, who leads a double life as superhero Spider-Man. Made into two successful movies starring Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst. There are many similarities between Peter and Buffy, as she too is trying to lead a normal life, and (occasionally) make a living, whilst saving the world. Spider-Man has been mentioned in numerous Buffy and Angel episodes, including:
- 1.07 Angel - The Master says, “With power comes responsibility”, which is the motto of the Spider-Man comics and movie.
- 1.08 I Robot, You Jane - Buffy says, “My spider-sense is tingling”.
- 4.12 A New Man - Riley says to Buffy, “You’re strong. Like Spider-Man strong”.
- 5.05 No Place Like Home - Ben suggests Buffy’s strength comes from a “Radioactive spider bite”.
- 6.04 Flooded - Anya and Dawn argue over if Spider-Man charges for helping people - Xander reminds them that “Action is his reward”.
- 6.21 Two To Go - Andrew says, “Lex Luthor had a false epidermis escape kit in Superman Versus the Amazing Spider-Man Treasury edition”
- 7.05 Selfless - Xander says, “This isn’t springy high-flying fun!”
- 7.10 Bring On The Night - Andrew says “My spider-sense is tingling”.
- 4.17 Inside Out - Cordy says “That’s it? I get away with bringing the world down around you and two eensy words tingle your spider sense?”
- Additionally, Buffy stuntman Erik Betts was director Sam Raimi’s choice for doubling actor Tobey Maquire for the movie Spider-Man, but was told by the costume designer that his shoulders were too large. Nicholas Brendon auditioned for the role of Spider-Man in the movie.
Sword through the chest
details | 1 comment | suggested by Jess
In 7.05 Selfless, Anya says that Buffy should know better than to think a sword through the chest would kill a vengeance demon. Buffy witnessed a demon shove a sword through vengeance demon Halfrek with no serious effect in Older and Far Away.
The Cask of Amontillado
details | add a comment | suggested by Red
In 7.05 Selfless, Spike says:
“Scream Montresor all you like, Pet.”
This is from Edgar Allan Poe’s story The Cask of Amontillado in which Montresor bricks his enemy, Fortunato, up in his cellar, while still alive. Fortunato calls out to Montresor while he bricks him in, but Montresor carries on regardless.
The day the songs started
details | 5 comments | suggested by Jess
In 7.05 Selfless, we see a flashback to a night that obviously is intended to have taken place during the musical 6.07 Once More, With Feeling, on the first night that everyone began singing. Anya asks Xander if the coconut thing was weird. In the musical she told the gang:
“We were arguing and, and then everything rhymed and there were harmonies and the dance with coconuts.”
Outside Xander and Anya’s apartment we hear the neighbours singing: a man sings that he has mustard on his favourite shirt, and a woman suggests that he have it dry cleaned. The next morning in the musical, David Fury sang a brief song that he was pleased that the dry cleaners had got the mustard out. Marti Noxon and David Fury reprise their roles in 7.05 Selfless. In the scene where Anya sings ‘Mrs’, Xander is holding the amulet that was used to summon Sweet in 6.07 Once More, With Feeling.
Tom Lenk’s favourites
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
Tom Lenk mentioned in an interview which his favourite Buffy episodes were:
“I’d have to say, out of respect for my character, 7.16 Storyteller. I just got to make such an ass out of myself. It was so much fun. Dancing in a toga on a hillside singing with unicorns was pretty embarrassing. I don’t do that sort of thing ever in my down time. So, I just had so much fun doing it, but I loved Emma’s history episode this year [7.05 Selfless]. It was really funny. And I’m a huge fan of 5.16 The Body. The most devastating hour of television I’ve ever seen and I loved that.”
Troll logic
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
In 5.11 Triangle, Xander said to Olaf the troll:
“You are one crazy troll. I’m not choosing between my girlfriend and my best friend. That’s insane troll logic!”
Olaf said to Anya in 7.05 Selfless:
“Your logic is insane and happenstance, like that of a troll. It is no wonder the bar matrons talk of you.”
In 7.07 Conversations With Dead People, Buffy said to Holden:
“OK, you know, this is beyond evil. This is insane troll logic.”
We are the law
details | 2 comments | suggested by Jess
In 7.05 Selfless, Buffy stands up to Xander when she thinks she must kill Anya. She says:
“I am the law”.
In 3.15 Consequences, she didn’t agree with Faith’s argument that, as Slayers:
“We don’t need the law - we are the law”.
It’s a symbol of Buffy’s changing attitude to her work.
Wedding belle
details | 4 comments | suggested by Jess
Sarah Michelle Gellar was only available for three days to film the episode 7.05 Selfless as she was getting married to Freddie Prinze Jr. that week. Drew Goddard said in his commentary for the episode that Sarah’s hair in the show (the little braid at the side of her head) was her “wedding hair”.
Woodlow Transmogriphic spell
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
In 7.05 Selfless, D’Hoffryn asks Aud if she used a Woodlow Transmogriphic spell to turn Olaf into a troll. She says she actually used Thornton’s Hope, with a touch of eelsbane.
[Goof] Anya’s hair
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
Anya’s hair in the musical flashback in 7.05 Selfless is far lighter than it actually was in that episode.
[Goof] Anya’s hands
details | 3 comments | suggested by Jess
Anya washes her hands vigorously before leaving the frat house in 7.05 Selfless, but when Willow sees Anya she still has a lot of blood on her hands. It doesn’t seem possible that she missed that amount of blood.
[Goof] Chair tracks
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
When Anya is singing and spinning round on Xander’s lap in 7.05 Selfless, you can see a circle around the chair which seem to be the tracks where the chair is spun.
[Goof] Musical flashback
details | 1 comment | suggested by Jess
Anya overhears the couple singing about a mustard stain in 7.05 Selfless, but the next day (seen in the episode 6.07 Once More, With Feeling), she was the first to ask if the singing was affecting just the Scoobies.