Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Recap/S5 E2 Real Me

""Nobody knows who I am. Not the real me.""

Harmony decides to become the new Big Bad by killing the Slayer. No-one takes her seriously until Dawn accidentally invites Harmony into the house.

"Cyrus: When are we gonna do it?
 * Accidental Innuendo (In-Universe)

Harmony: Eww! That's rude! I barely know you! (Cyrus looks confused) Ugh, and you're a minion!

Mort: He means the plan! When are we gonna do the plan?"

"Harmony: Look who's fallen into my-- (Buffy massacres her minions) ...trap?"
 * All According to Plan

"I know who he is. He kills our kind."
 * Ape Shall Never Kill Ape: Mort on Spike.

"Buffy: Harmony, when you tried to be head cheerleader, you were bad. When you tried to chair the homecoming committee, you were really bad. But when you try to be bad... you suck."
 * Attention Deficit Ooh Shiny: Giles in the Magic Box.
 * Badass Adorable: Harmony, according to Spike. It's not a compliment.
 * Big Bad Wannabe: Harmony -- she's not very good at it.

"Harmony: I trust you made our guest comfortable?
 * Blatant Lies: Xander was working 'undercover' to stop Dracula. Right.
 * Bond Villain Stupidity: Lampshaded by Harmony's gang, who point out that they've no reason to keep Dawn alive; it only matters that the Slayer thinks she's still alive.
 * Brainwash Residue: Xander starts to refer to Dracula as "The Master" before he stops himself.
 * Call Back: Xander says he doesn't want another "hair-pulling contest" with Harmony, referring to their comical Wimp Fight in "The Initiative".
 * Chained to a Rock: Dawn in Harmony's lair.
 * Circling Monologue: Giles hypnotizing Buffy.
 * Comically Missing the Point: Anya playing The Game of Life
 * Mort is not very Genre Savvy.

Mort: You told me to chain her to a wall.

Harmony: Yeah I know, I was being...sarcastic or whatever..."

"Stop them talking! (Dawn screams) I know you...curds and whey...I know what you are. You-don't-belong-here.""
 * Continuity Nod: The "curds and whey" comment by the crazy homeless guy is a reference to the prophetic dream in "Graduation Day, Part 2" where Faith says, "Little Miss Muffet counting down from 7-3-0". Giles uses crystals to hypnotize Buffy, as in "Helpless".
 * Crazy Homeless People / Mad Oracle

"Harmony: I'm not going to make the same mistakes you did. I've been studying, reading books and stuff.
 * Dangerously Genre Savvy: Harmony likes to think she is.

Spike: What -- Evil for Dummies?"

"Spike: You look good.
 * Damsel in Distress: Dawn's debut. Must be Tuesday.
 * A Day in the Limelight / Remember the New Guy?: Dawn
 * Description Cut: "What kind of an unholy creature fancies cheap tasteless statuary?" Cut to Harmony cooing over her new unicorn.
 * Diary: Used to give Dawn the role of The Narrator.
 * Double Entendre

Harmony: I feel good.

Spike: (leering) I remember."

"I know it's always been this way. She's the baby. But for some reason lately, it's just really getting to me."
 * Evil Plan: Harmony plans to kill the Slayer and then everyone in Sunnydale who was ever mean to her. Mort's plan is a lot more simple. "We're gonna feed on the girl [Dawn] and kill you [Harmony]. Maybe not in that order."
 * Failed Attempt At Drama: Harmony's note saying "Buffy, come out and die." The "I" is dotted with a smiley face.
 * Foreshadowing
 * Tara's expression when Willow tells her "You're one of the good guys"
 * Buffy finding Dawn's presence more aggravating recently

"Spike: I was telling you the truth!
 * "She just thinks I'm her dumb little sister. Boy is she in for a surprise."
 * Gene Hunt Interrogation Technique: Buffy strides into Spike's crypt and immediately starts beating him for information on the location of Harmony's lair. After Spike tells her she punches him one more time.

Buffy: (cheerfully) I know."

"Dawn: She [Tara] and Willow are both witches. They do spells and stuff, which is so much cooler than slaying. I told Mom one time I wished they'd teach me some of the things they do together. A-and then she got really quiet and made me go upstairs."
 * Getting Crap Past the Radar

"Xander: Buffy is not going to be happy about this.
 * Giant Mook / The Starscream: Mort the Minionator
 * Gilligan Cut

Cut to laughing Buffy: Har-Har-Harmony has minions?"

"Dawn: Shut up!
 * Hey, It's That Guy!: Andrew was Harmony's minion before he became Warren's minion in Season 6.
 * Hey, That's My Line!: Harmony is taunting Xander over his recent brainwashing by Dracula.

Xander: Dawn, I'm handling this. Shut up, Harmony!"

"Giles: You can't allow personal concerns to distract you...Dawn will you stop fiddling with the radio and sit down!"
 * Hypocritical Humor

"Giles: There's going to be far less time for the sort of flighty, frivolous...
 * Giles is talking about his Midlife Crisis Car.

Dawn: Hey, there's Willow and Tara.

Giles: Oh! They haven't seen my new car."

"Riley: So you want your mother to give you space to be a Slayer, and shield you from it at the same time.
 * I Have Your Little Sister: Harmony claims to have the perfect plan to defeat Buffy, but when Spike outlines this cliched plan as a guess, she steals the idea.
 * Improvised Weapon: Buffy kills Mort with a merry-go-round unicorn.
 * Insane Troll Logic

Buffy: Thank you, Logic Boy. Did I mention this is a rant? Sense really has no place in it."

""I know you're in there!" (Cut to her talking to Xander) "What do you mean she's not in there?""
 * Ironic Echo Cut: Harmony demanding Buffy come out and die.

"Buffy: How bored were you last year?
 * Jedi Mind Trick: Buffy using hypnosis so she can stand on one hand. Until Dawn interrupts.
 * Living in a Furniture Store: While desperately searching for something to hit Harmony with, Anya demands to know why there aren't any weapons lying around in a Slayer's house.
 * Let Us Never Speak of This Again

Giles: I watched Passions with Spike. Let us never speak of it again."

"Buffy: Giles, are you breaking up with your car?
 * The Load: Tara and Dawn feel this way.
 * Midlife Crisis Car: Giles has replaced The Alleged Car with a red BMW M3 convertible.

Giles: Well, it did seduce me, all red and sporty!

Buffy: Little two-door tramp.

(Giles gives her a sour look)

Giles: I-I-I don't know, I just - I was so at loose ends, I-I found myself searching for ... some way of feeling more...

Buffy: Shallow?"

"Dawn: Touch me and my sister's gonna kill you!
 * Mooks: Harmony's 'minions'
 * Precocious Crush: Dawn on Xander.
 * Punctuated Pounding: Buffy lists Dawn's transgressions while hacking at her chains with an axe.
 * Ransacked Room: The Magic Box
 * Sibling Rivalry
 * Tempting Fate

Vampire sneers and pokes Dawn with a finger. His Evil Laugh is interrupted by a stake protruding from his chest.

Buffy: Can't say she didn't warn him."

"Buffy: She gets to be a kid, and she acts like it's the biggest burden in the world. Sometimes I would like to just curl up in Mom's lap and not worry about the fate of the world. I'd like to be the one who's protected, who's waited on--
 * Title Drop: "The real me" is said by both Dawn and Harmony.
 * Twisted Echo Cut: Buffy and Dawn griping about each other.

(Cut to Joyce's house)

Dawn: --hand and foot, getting her own way. Always the favorite."

"I have to make all the hard decisions around here, and it's hard!"
 * Scare Chord: While patrolling in the graveyard, Buffy suddenly catches sight of...a trash can.
 * Shaped Like Itself: Harmony's Chains of Commanding.

"Dawn: Oh yeah? Come inside and say that! (Oh Crap)"
 * Vampire Invitation: Fortunately Dawn was only addressing Harmony.

"Harmony: So, Slayer. At last we meet.
 * Fridge Brilliance:
 * Villain Exit Stage Left: The only smart thing Harmony does is run away while Buffy is distracted by Mort.
 * Walk in Chime In / Attack Hello: Happens with Spike punching Minion Brad, Dawn being kidnapped by Mort, and Buffy dusting the vampire who pokes Dawn.
 * We Meet Again

Buffy: We've met, Harmony; you half-wit!"


 * Window Pain