I Robot, You Jane
Season 1, Episode 8 This episode marks the first time Willow's affected by the "love-freaky-nature" of living on the Hellmouth. Also marks the first time that Buffy, Xander, and Giles must work without Willow. Also marks the first appearance of everyone's favorite technopagan, Miss Jenny Calendar! PLOT: Show opens with a scene that takes place in Cortona, Italy, in the 1400s. We see a large, horned demon -- Moloch the Corrupter -- promising a young man wealth, power, knowledge. All that Moloch asks for in return is the boy's love. Then he promptly breaks the young man's neck. Meanwhile, some monks have gathered to try to entrap Moloch -- they form the Circle of Kayless and begin an incantation which literally makes Moloch shatter into thousands of tiny pieces and land as ancient writing inside one of the monk's blank books. We learn that the demon will be trapped forever unless someone reads the words aloud. Cut to Buffy opening up a box in the library. Inside's a book, which she places in a pile near Willow. The gang, along with a few other students, is scanning books as part of Ms. Calendar's updating the library files and computerizing them. It's here that we learn that Giles is really against computers, and Jenny tries to explain to him the virtues of the cyberage. Everyone except Willow leaves -- she decides to finish up some books, and lo and behold, she begins scanning none other than the book in which Moloch is contained. After she finishes, the screen appears black. Then we see this: Where am I? The next day or a few days later, Buffy tells Willow she tried to call her last night but Will's line was busy. Then Willow says she was chatting with a boy she met online. We come to discover that his name is Malcolm and he's very nice, and soon Willow starts coming to school late because she's so wrapped up in her relationship. When Buffy tries to warn her that Malcolm could be a freak with "a hairy back", Willow gets upset. So Buffy's left to find out where Malcolm's e-mails are coming from, and she questions Dave, a computer whiz, about it. He can't help her too much, but when Buffy spills why she wants to know, Dave's tone turns harsh and he tells her to "leave Willow alone..that's none of your business!" Buffy thinks Malcolm is Dave, but Dave says he's not. Meanwhile, Fritz -- another computer student -- and Dave are also "logging a scary amount" of computer time, and Ms. Calendar questions Fritz about it. He tells her he's working on a special project and that she'll die when she sees it. Moloch can see that Buffy's too nosy to suit him, and he sets Fritz and Dave to take care of her. Basically, Buffy trails Dave to a place called CRD and later we find out from Xander that CRD closed down a few years ago, and that if it had reopened, it'd be big news... Later, Dave tells Buffy that Willow's in the locker room, and that she's looking for Buffy. Buffy hears the shower running and goes to the stalls only to find them empty. As she walks over to turn off the shower, there are two live wires that Fritz has dropped onto the floor of the shower, and Dave suddenly warns Buffy to look out. She gets a bit of a shock and is thrown backwards, shoes smoking. In the library with Giles and Xander, Buffy doesn't want to lay blame on Dave; the gang later discovers that Moloch is the demon in the Internet -- Ms. Calendar finds an old book that has nothing written in it and this, in connection with the rendering of the demon on the book's cover, clues Giles in to what's going on-- and they set about to get rid of it. Meanwhile, Dave's in the computer lab, saying he can't kill anyone and Moloch is saying he can. When Dave refuses, Moloch types up a suicide note that will look like Dave wrote it. Then we see Fritz standing in the room. Buffy goes looking for Willow in the computer lab because they still haven't been able to warn her that Malcolm is Moloch. She sees Dave hanging from the ceiling with the note pinned to his chest. She goes back to the library to spill the news, and they realize that since Willow's not around, they'll have to take care of the problem themselves. Buffy drags Willow's folder to the trash, but it pops back out and then the screen changes and we see Moloch's face. He tells Buffy to leave Willow alone and then disappears. When Willow goes home, her computer tells her she has mail, but she's a bit wigged out and doesn't want to read it, so she turns it off. It comes back on with the same message, "No more waiting -- I need you to see me." and then the doorbell rings. It's Fritz and he grabs Willow to take her to CRD. Buffy and Xander arrived too late at Willow's house, so they go to CRD. When they get there, Buffy calls Giles and suggests that he get Ms. Calendar to help him cast the demon out of the internet. Willow meets Malcolm/Moloch and sees him kill Fritz, and she's angry and freaked out. I would be, too. Anyhoo, so Xander and Buffy arrive, they do some fighting, Xander gets to hit someone, and we see Jenny and Giles working to get the demon out. They succeed, and it seems that now Moloch's trapped in the large robot body that was made for him. He tries to hit Buffy but she ducks, and he ends up smashing his arm into an electrical box, causing him to sizzle and explode. The next day, Giles goes to return a corkscrew earring to Ms. Calendar and they chat for a moment. And Buffy, Xander, and Willow are sitting by the fountain, bemoaning their romantic situations on the Hellmouth. What Got the Job Done: 1. Giles and Jenny used the computer to form the Circle of Kayless to cast Moloch out of the Internet. 2. Buffy ducked and purposely led Moloch to smash the electrical box and electrocute himself. What We Learn in This Episode: 1. Jenny Calendar is a technopagan. 2. Giles prefers books because they are tangible and make the getting of knowledge more real. An Amusing Quote: "...it's a puzzle. No, wait, I'm good at these. Does it involve a midget and a block of ice?" -- Buffy to Willow, on learning that Willow has no idea what Malcolm looks like. Settings Seen: 1. Sunnydale High School 2. Willow's house 3. CRD 4. A monastery in Cortona, Italy Characters Seen: 1. Buffy 2. Willow 3. Xander 4. Giles 5. Jenny Calendar 6. Fritz 7. Dave 8. Moloch the Corrupter Next Episode Back an Episode The Episodes The 411/Mythology The 511/Relationships The 611/Slayerships The ABCs of Sunnydale Dingo Action! Sunnydale Main Entrance E-mail the dingochick. Sound file courtesy of Tom's Buffy Page This page last updated on May 14, 1998.
Season 1, Episode 8
This episode marks the first time Willow's affected by the "love-freaky-nature" of living on the Hellmouth. Also marks the first time that Buffy, Xander, and Giles must work without Willow. Also marks the first appearance of everyone's favorite technopagan, Miss Jenny Calendar!
Cut to Buffy opening up a box in the library. Inside's a book, which she places in a pile near Willow. The gang, along with a few other students, is scanning books as part of Ms. Calendar's updating the library files and computerizing them. It's here that we learn that Giles is really against computers, and Jenny tries to explain to him the virtues of the cyberage. Everyone except Willow leaves -- she decides to finish up some books, and lo and behold, she begins scanning none other than the book in which Moloch is contained. After she finishes, the screen appears black. Then we see this: Where am I?
The next day or a few days later, Buffy tells Willow she tried to call her last night but Will's line was busy. Then Willow says she was chatting with a boy she met online. We come to discover that his name is Malcolm and he's very nice, and soon Willow starts coming to school late because she's so wrapped up in her relationship. When Buffy tries to warn her that Malcolm could be a freak with "a hairy back", Willow gets upset. So Buffy's left to find out where Malcolm's e-mails are coming from, and she questions Dave, a computer whiz, about it. He can't help her too much, but when Buffy spills why she wants to know, Dave's tone turns harsh and he tells her to "leave Willow alone..that's none of your business!" Buffy thinks Malcolm is Dave, but Dave says he's not.
Meanwhile, Fritz -- another computer student -- and Dave are also "logging a scary amount" of computer time, and Ms. Calendar questions Fritz about it. He tells her he's working on a special project and that she'll die when she sees it. Moloch can see that Buffy's too nosy to suit him, and he sets Fritz and Dave to take care of her.
Basically, Buffy trails Dave to a place called CRD and later we find out from Xander that CRD closed down a few years ago, and that if it had reopened, it'd be big news...
Later, Dave tells Buffy that Willow's in the locker room, and that she's looking for Buffy. Buffy hears the shower running and goes to the stalls only to find them empty. As she walks over to turn off the shower, there are two live wires that Fritz has dropped onto the floor of the shower, and Dave suddenly warns Buffy to look out. She gets a bit of a shock and is thrown backwards, shoes smoking. In the library with Giles and Xander, Buffy doesn't want to lay blame on Dave; the gang later discovers that Moloch is the demon in the Internet -- Ms. Calendar finds an old book that has nothing written in it and this, in connection with the rendering of the demon on the book's cover, clues Giles in to what's going on-- and they set about to get rid of it.
Meanwhile, Dave's in the computer lab, saying he can't kill anyone and Moloch is saying he can. When Dave refuses, Moloch types up a suicide note that will look like Dave wrote it. Then we see Fritz standing in the room. Buffy goes looking for Willow in the computer lab because they still haven't been able to warn her that Malcolm is Moloch. She sees Dave hanging from the ceiling with the note pinned to his chest. She goes back to the library to spill the news, and they realize that since Willow's not around, they'll have to take care of the problem themselves. Buffy drags Willow's folder to the trash, but it pops back out and then the screen changes and we see Moloch's face. He tells Buffy to leave Willow alone and then disappears.
When Willow goes home, her computer tells her she has mail, but she's a bit wigged out and doesn't want to read it, so she turns it off. It comes back on with the same message, "No more waiting -- I need you to see me." and then the doorbell rings. It's Fritz and he grabs Willow to take her to CRD. Buffy and Xander arrived too late at Willow's house, so they go to CRD. When they get there, Buffy calls Giles and suggests that he get Ms. Calendar to help him cast the demon out of the internet. Willow meets Malcolm/Moloch and sees him kill Fritz, and she's angry and freaked out. I would be, too. Anyhoo, so Xander and Buffy arrive, they do some fighting, Xander gets to hit someone, and we see Jenny and Giles working to get the demon out. They succeed, and it seems that now Moloch's trapped in the large robot body that was made for him. He tries to hit Buffy but she ducks, and he ends up smashing his arm into an electrical box, causing him to sizzle and explode.
The next day, Giles goes to return a corkscrew earring to Ms. Calendar and they chat for a moment. And Buffy, Xander, and Willow are sitting by the fountain, bemoaning their romantic situations on the Hellmouth.
1. Giles and Jenny used the computer to form the Circle of Kayless to cast Moloch out of the Internet. 2. Buffy ducked and purposely led Moloch to smash the electrical box and electrocute himself.
1. Jenny Calendar is a technopagan. 2. Giles prefers books because they are tangible and make the getting of knowledge more real.
1. Sunnydale High School 2. Willow's house 3. CRD 4. A monastery in Cortona, Italy
1. Buffy 2. Willow 3. Xander 4. Giles 5. Jenny Calendar 6. Fritz 7. Dave 8. Moloch the Corrupter
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I Robot, You Jane