Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Recap/S4 E17 Superstar

"Xander: So we're saying he made a spell just to make us think he was cool?

Giles: Yes.

Xander: That is so cool!"

The Scoobies are having trouble with a demon so they turn to...Jonathan?!

"Buffy: Jonathan, you can't keep trying to make everything work out with some big gesture all at once. Things are complicated. They take time and work."
 * Alone with the Psycho: Buffy goes off alone with Jonathan to hunt the demon. Then the Scoobies discover that if Buffy kills the demon, Jonathan's alternate universe will collapse.
 * An Aesop

"Jonathan: Spike, you're the worst type of scum. The second you're back to your old tricks, well; let's just say before you even sniff out your first victim you'll be pretty indistinguishable from, oh what should we say (smirks) instant soup mix?"
 * Badass Boast

"Hey! You're not supposed to do that!"
 * Badass in a Nice Suit
 * Bait and Switch:
 * Black Comedy: Jonathan dusts a vampire and the quarrel he fires sets off the mobile phone in its jacket pocket.
 * Damsel in Distress: Tara, showing how she's taken over the role from Willow.
 * Betty and Veronica: When Riley wonders why Buffy is avoiding him intimately, Jonathan points out that Faith was sexually experienced and Buffy is worried he'll be comparing.
 * Black Hole Sue: Used for humorous effect when Jonathan uses a wish spell to fold reality around himself and turns himself into an invincible, charismatic hero, admired by everyone. Unfortunately he forgot to read the fine print.
 * Brick Joke
 * The Alternate Universe without shrimp, which carries on over to Angel.
 * Xander gripes that Anya said Jonathan's name during sex. When Buffy and Riley are kissing at the end, Buffy let's slip an "Mmmm, Jonathan!"
 * Chair Reveal
 * Chekhov's Gun: Adam's uranium core, which becomes relevant in the final confrontation with the cyborg Big Bad.
 * The Chick: Spike is shocked when 'Betty' suddenly slams him against the side of a crypt.

"Jonathan: I don't think this about you being angry with Faith; I think you're angry with Riley. I mean you have this amazing connection with him, and then at the one moment when it matters the most, he looks into your eyes and he doesn't even see that it's not you looking back at him.
 * Circling Monologue: Spike and Jonathan do this to each other.
 * Convenient Slow Dance: Jonathan creates this so Buffy and Riley can make up. What a guy!
 * Cranial Processing Unit: Averted with Adam; even cutting off his head won't kill him.
 * Credits Gag: The spell even spilled over into the Title Sequence, with scenes of Jonathan defusing an Incredibly Obvious Bomb and doing a Power Walk.
 * Dark Messiah: A vampire jokingly calls Adam "the evil messiah guy".
 * Dogged Nice Guy: Jonathan is unfailingly polite to all his rabid fans (he even lets a chipped Spike know he's still dangerous), and gives Buffy and Riley advice to help patch up their relationship. Part of this is because that's how a superhero is supposed to act, but he also enjoys being friends with the Scoobies and clearly still appreciates Buffy saving his life in "Earshot".
 * Dramatic Shattering: Jonathan crashes into the vampire crypt through a stained glass window.
 * Egopolis: Jonathan's face is everywhere in Sunnydale; from billboards to baseball cards.
 * Equivalent Exchange: By turning himself into a paragon of all that is good, Jonathan also creates a demon that is totally evil.
 * Even the Guys Want Him: Giles has Jonathan's swimsuit calender. It Was a Gift.
 * Inverted sexually with lesbians Willow and Tara creating a Jonathan collage.
 * Eyes Never Lie: Lampshaded re Faith's Grand Theft Me.

Buffy: There's no way he could know. I mean you don't just look at someone and say 'Hey that's not your body, get out of that body with your hands up!'

Jonathan: I know you know that. But you have to believe it."

"Buffy: Jonathan you get why everyone is angry though, right? It's not just the monster. People didn't like being the little actors in your sock puppet theater.
 * Fan Disservice: Jonathan's swimsuit calender.
 * Foreshadowing: Jonathan's desire to use magic as a shortcut to the good life causes him to become one of the villainous Trio in Season 6.
 * Hands-On Approach: Riley tries to show Buffy how to throw a ball through the mini-basketball hoop in his room. However Buffy is still upset that Riley slept with Faith, so she just walks out the door the moment the sexual tension gets too high.
 * Heroic Sacrifice:
 * I Have You Now, My Pretty: Spike caresses a frightened Buffy's hair in a very suggestive manner.
 * I Just Want to Be Special
 * I Just Want to Have Friends

Jonathan: You weren't! You weren't socks! We were friends."

"Jonathan: Vampires only form nests to make hunting easier. They're not big on the cooperation. They mostly like to hang out all creepy and alone in the shadows. Don't you agree... [turning head] SPIKE?
 * I Resemble That Remark

Sinister guitar music as Spike steps out from behind a bush."

"Spike: Yeah, back off Betty.
 * Lame Comeback: Buffy's Deadpan Snarker skills have been affected too.

Buffy: It's Buffy, you big bleached...stupid guy."

"Giles: Xander, don't speak Latin in front of the books."
 * The Last of These Is Not Like the Others: Jonathan crushed the bones of the Master, blew up a big snake made out of Mayor and coached the U.S. Women's Soccer Team to a stunning World Cup victory.
 * Language of Magic: "You can't just say 'librum incendere' and-" PHWOOSH!

"Riley: Did anyone else feel way too tall? I felt way too tall."
 * Marty Stu
 * The Minnesota Fats: Subverted
 * Moral Event Horizon:
 * One Head Taller: Hilariously averted during the Initiative's Mission Briefing.

"Quick draw's about more than speed. It's also about pointing a stake the right way. And there can be splinter issues."
 * Quick Draw: Xander is shown practising this with a stake.

"Anya: Xander, let's go have sex now."
 * Reality Warper: Adam is the only one not affected by Jonathan's spell.
 * Reset Button: The death of the demon reverts reality back to normal, and memories of the events fade away over the next few days.
 * The Scoobies Who Say Squee
 * Sexophone: Anya and Xander stare at Jonathan playing the trombone.

"Buffy (smiling): I remember this. This good."
 * She's Back: Living in a world where the Slayer is overshadowed by Jonathan has dramatically effected Buffy's self-confidence and fighting skills. But as she beats on the demon and Jonathan's power wanes, Buffy starts to enjoy herself.

"Twang! Poof!" [Tara looks confused] That was the sound -- the crossbow, vampire dusting..."
 * Shout-Out: The James Bond tux and music.
 * Smart People Play Chess: During the Scooby Mission Briefing, Jonathan takes time out to checkmate Giles.
 * Smoke Out: Tara does this with magic.
 * Stalker with a Crush / Squee: Karen
 * Throw It In: As it was raining buckets in Los Angeles at the time, the coffee scene was filmed inside the Expresso Pump (extras can be seen holding umbrellas out on the street) and Karen's encounter with the demon takes place in the pouring rain.
 * Twin Threesome Fantasy: Jonathan has a couple of Swedish twins in his Big Fancy House.
 * Vocal Dissonance: Jonathan crooning a forties pop song. Pro athlete, military genius, star of The Matrix, and now he's Sinatra.
 * William Telling: Jonathan is shown preparing to shoot apples from the heads of several Initiative soldiers while blindfolded.
 * Written Sound Effect: Homaged in Willow's description of her fight with the vampire nest.


 * You Get Me Coffee: Buffy makes a cup of coffee for Jonathan.