All the Way (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

"All the Way"
Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode
Episode no.	Season 6 Episode 6
Directed by	David Solomon
Written by	Steven S. DeKnight
Production code	6ABB06
Original air date	October 30, 2001
Guest stars
Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles Amber Benson as Tara Maclay Amber Tamblyn as Janice Penshaw Kavan Reece as Justin John O'Leary as 'Old Man' Kaltenbach Dave Power as Zack Charles Duckworth as Glenn Dawn Worrall as Christy Emily Kay as Maria Adam Gordon as Carl Steven Anthony Lawrence as Chunky Kid Sabrina Speer as Girl Chad Erikson as Guy Dominic Rambaran as Paramedic #1 Anthony Sago as Paramedic #2 Lorin Becker as Witch Woman Lily Jackson as Witchy Poo
Episode chronology
← Previous "Life Serial" Next → "Once More, with Feeling"
List of Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes

"All the Way" is the sixth episode of season 6 of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Plot synopsis

It's Halloween and The Magic Box is booming with business. Anya has set the gang to work in the shop. She sends Buffy to the basement to fetch some mandrake root. Buffy runs into Spike, who has come to steal some spices. At his suggestion, Buffy attempts to leave to go patrol with Spike, but Giles points out that Halloween is an inactive day for most evil creatures, and engages Buffy in helping with bagging products.

An elderly man, Kaltenbach, is seen walking down the street humming "Pop Goes the Weasel" while carrying a bag of what appears to be groceries. He enters his home, which is filled with antique children's toys, peers out of a window at the children in costumes walking by. He says he's going to give them something "special" this year and pulls a large knife out of his kitchen drawer.

The Magic Box has enjoyed its busiest day ever, to Anya's delight. Xander decides that the time is right to announce his engagement to Anya, and the group makes its way back to Buffy's house to celebrate.

Back at the Summers home, Willow conjures up decorations for the party, but Tara now shares Giles's concerns about Willow's frivolous use of magic. Willow brushes off such concerns, asking why Tara is always complaining about her using "magic that couldn't harm a fly."

Dawn tells Buffy that she is going to her friend Janice Penshaw's house, but really meets Janice and two older boys – Justin and Zack – for some Halloween "fun." Dawn becomes attracted to Justin.

Giles sits down for a talk with Xander about his and Anya's future plans. Xander becomes very nervous.

Dawn and her friends stop in front of "old man" Kaltenbach's house. Dawn walks up to the porch to smash a pumpkin on a dare, and is caught by Kaltenbach, who warns her not to mess with them because "they bite," then laughs and invites them all inside for a "special treat." They go inside and find out that Kaltenbach was a former toy designer who had been fired for a mistake in one of his toys.

Kaltenbach quickly changes topics and begins to focus more on the "treat" he has for them, inviting Dawn to come help him with the preparation. Justin jumps in and volunteers to help in Dawn's place.

Janice, Dawn and Zack wait in the living room. Zack plays with a jack-in-the-box, but when it pops there is no head on the clown.

In the other room, Kaltenbach is about to cut into a baked dish when Justin – a vampire – stealthily bites and drains him. Justin then returns to the others and announces that they need to flee because he stole the man's wallet. As they stroll, Zack and Justin discuss whether to merely eat the girls or make them vampires.

Anya chatters with Giles, Buffy and Xander about wedding plans and plans for children. Xander becomes even more nervous.

Buffy leaves to patrol and runs across an accident scene with a dead body that was left behind by Zack while he was stealing a car. Buffy leaves to find the culprit.

A call from Janice's mother reveals to Giles and the crew that Dawn has tricked them, and the group splits up to find her.

Dawn and her friends drive out into the forest in the stolen car and stop. Zack and Janice leave, leaving Justin and Dawn alone in the car. Justin kisses Dawn – her first kiss – and then reveals his vampire face.

At The Bronze, Tara stops Willow from using an extremely risky spell to locate Dawn, and an angry argument ensues.

Buffy seeks out Spike, who relays Giles' news about Dawn. Buffy goes to search for her sister.

Giles is searching in the graveyards when he hears a scream coming from a nearby forest. He runs to investigate, and finds Zack biting Janice. Giles fights and stakes him. He asks Janice where Dawn is, but Janice is unhelpful.

Dawn makes a run for it, but Justin catches her and attempts to seduce her into agreeing to let him turn her. Giles is quickly on the scene to help but vampires emerge from several cars, ready to fight. As they close in, Spike and Buffy show up to assist.

Dawn runs away from the fight, but Justin finds her. He again attempts to change her, but as he is leaning in to bite her neck, Dawn stakes him with a crossbow bolt, fired earlier in the melee, that she was holding on her chest.

The gang returns home, where Buffy is quick to leave the job of chastising Dawn to Giles, who is unhappy about how Buffy is relying on him so much. Meanwhile, Willow casts a spell on Tara to make her forget their quarrel.

Cultural references

• Anya is dressed up as a Charlie's Angel for Halloween.
• Star Wars: Upon seeing a couple dressed as Luke and Leia dancing in the Bronze, Willow asks, "Do they know they're brother and sister?"
• Xander references Henry V (a Shakespeare play) with the words "once more unto the breach," from one of the more famous speeches in the play.

Continuity

• While arguing with Giles about patrolling, Buffy references "Halloween" and "Fear, Itself", the two previous Halloween episodes.
• When asked to get more Mandrake Root from the basement, Buffy comments that it wouldn't be her fault if they have the same conversation over and over and over again, in reference to the time loop in the previous episode.
• This episode reveals the full extent of Spike's dislike for Halloween, when he takes personal offense to the vampire "rebels" hunting on Halloween. This would be further explored in the Angel episode "Life of the Party", wherein he constantly criticizes Wolfram & Hart's annual Halloween Bash.

Arc significance

• In this episode, Giles sees that Buffy is becoming too reliant on him; this leads to his decision to leave Sunnydale in the next episode.
• Willow erases Tara's memory in this episode, which will influence her decision to end her relationship with Willow over the next two episodes and is another example of Willow's escalating magic use.
• This episode also contains the first signs that Xander is unsure of his decision to marry Anya, something that later reaches its climax in the episode "Hell's Bells".
• At the start of the episode Dawn steals a gold coin from the magic shop which is a sign of her growing kleptomania.

External links

• "All the Way" at the Internet Movie Database
• "All the Way" at TV.com