Buffy - S4E12

A New Man
First Aired: Tuesday January 25, 2000

Giles has been out of the loop for awhile now, but when he finds out everyone has known about Riley and the Initiative, he gets more depressed. Then Ethan Rayne shows up and changes him into a demon.

During a surprise birthday party for Buffy's 19th birthday, Giles begins to look and feel out of place for the first time. He then later finds out that a demon prince is going to rise and he tries to find Buffy at Professor Walsh's office. After being discretely berated by Walsh, Giles just gets Willow and Xander to come help him. He turns out to be wrong in his prediction and the gang muses that perhaps the Initiative cleared it up. Giles is shocked to learn that Riley is part of the Initiative and that Professor Walsh runs it. As he is leaving, he hears Ethan Rayne trying to have a monologue and the two fight. Before it can go further, Ethan suggests that the two talk about this. They spend the night drinking away at the pub, where Ethan mentions the demons are all worried about the Initiative and something called "314". The next morning, Giles wakes up as a Feyarl demon and tries to get help from Xander, who can't understand his demon speaking. While the Scoobies assemble to find the demon, which they believe killed Giles, Giles enlists the help of Spike through money to find Ethan Rayne. Buffy has come to the same conclusion when she checks receipts at the Magic Box. Giles gets to the motel and confronts Ethan just before Buffy bursts in. She attacks and stabs Giles, but notices his eyes and realizes it is him. Ethan reversed the spell and was put into custody with the US government.

This was a very good episode because of the funny circumstances that it puts Giles in, including having to work with Spike. The funniest moment was when he told Spike to pull over so he could run after and scare Professor Walsh. It was also very sweet how Buffy finally realized it at the end and a bit sad about how Giles has been left out of the group. I could already tell that there was going to be much tension between Buffy and the Initiative, in particular with Riley and Walsh. Also, the ominous "314" first shows up that leads to ADAM. Overall, this was a fun episode.

Score: 8.4 / 10