The Dark Age (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

This article is about an episode in the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. For the Astro City maxi-series, see Astro City. For other uses, see Dark Ages (disambiguation).

"The Dark Age (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)"

"The Dark Age" is episode 8 of season 2 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The episode was written by Executive Story Editors Rob Des Hotel & Dean Batali and was directed by Bruce Seth Green. The narrative follows Giles, in which one of his friends has died, prompting the Scooby Gang to unravel his mysterious past; meanwhile, Buffy crashes into Ethan Rayne again.

Plot

A man tries to get into the library to see Giles, but a demon woman shows up and strangles him to death. He falls to the floor, and she turns into a puddle of green slime.

At school, Buffy and Willow are seen playing 'Anywhere But Here' in which they recount their fantasies: Buffy is on a beach before sunset having her feet rubbed by Gavin Rossdale, Willow is in Florence at a restaurant eating ziti when she is joined by John Cusack. Giles tells Buffy to meet him later at the hospital where there will be a blood delivery, which attracts vampires. When Giles gets back to the library, a detective is waiting for him; the dead man had Giles' address on him. Giles identifies the body as an old friend from London. The body has a tattoo, which Giles says he does not recognize.

Shaken, Giles doesn't meet Buffy at the hospital, and she battles the doctor-dressed vampires alone until Angel shows up. She asks Angel to see to it that the blood gets to the hospital and goes to check on Giles. When Buffy goes to Giles' house to see what happened, he looks terribly drunk and sends her away. He calls another friend in London and finds out that she's dead, too. As he rolls up his sleeves, we see he has the same tattoo as his friend. Meanwhile, the dead friend, Phillip, comes back to life in the morgue, his eyes flashing, and escapes.

On Saturday, Willow, Xander, and Cordelia meet with Jenny Calendar – Giles' girlfriend – for a computer class. Buffy shows up to express her concern about Giles' behavior. Cordelia mentions the police visit to the library, which had slipped her Cordelia-centered mind. In the library, Buffy finds Giles' former friend Ethan, the costume shop owner who had caused chaos on Halloween. As she calls Giles, Ethan mentions the "Mark of Eyghon". Giles says she's in danger, and the dead Phillip enters.

A panicked Giles shows up and, after a scuffle which leaves Jenny unconscious, Phillip turns into the green goo. The puddle touches Jenny; when she comes to, she seems normal but we see her eyes flash. Willow discovers the "Mark of Eyghon" in a book: Eyghon possesses the body of a dead or unconscious host. They figure out that the demon has jumped from Phillip's body to Jenny's. Possessed Jenny, looking and sounding increasingly like a demon, tries to seduce Giles at his apartment. When Buffy comes to the rescue, Jenny jumps out the window. Giles explains to Buffy that he ran with a bad crowd when he was young, and they used Eyghon as a temporary high – directing him in and out of each others' bodies.

But one friend died, then later the woman who killed Phillip, and now it seems the rest of the group will die, too. Buffy goes to the deserted costume shop to try to defend Ethan against Eyghon/Jenny, but he knocks her out, ties her up and puts the mark of Eyghon on her. He then pours acid on his own tattoo so that Eyghon will take Buffy instead of him. Jenny enters, completely demonic, and Buffy breaks free. Angel enters suddenly and chokes Jenny until she loses consciousness, whereupon Eyghon moves to the nearest dead body: that of Angel, a vampire – as Willow had planned. Two demons fight for control in Angel's body, and Eyghon is destroyed. Jenny returns to normal, but Ethan escapes.

Reception

“The Dark Age” had an audience of 3.7 million households on its original airing.

Continuity

Arc significance

• This is the first episode to establish details about Giles' more "wild" youth, parts of which will occasionally return to haunt him throughout the series. This is also the first time Giles' apartment is seen, which will become the Scoobie's headquarters in Season 4
• Buffy and Willow play their game again in the Season Eight comic "Anywhere but Here": their fantasies have Buffy approached by Daniel Craig while lying on the beach, and Willow trapped with Tina Fey in a cabin during a snowstorm.
• Due to the events of this episode, Giles' and Jenny's relationship will remain strained.
• Angel's selfless act to save Jenny's life is somewhat ironic, as she will be killed by Angelus later in the same season.
• Second appearance of Ethan Rayne, who was introduced in "Halloween" and will next appear in "Band Candy".

Translations

• French title: "La face cachée" ("The Hidden Side")
• Italian title: "Oscurità" ("Darkness")
• German title: "Das Mal des Eyghon" ("The Mark of Eyghon")
• Japanese title: "過去の秘密" ("Kako no Himitsu" - "Secret of the Past")
• Spanish title: "La Edad Oscura" ("The Dark Age")