View source for Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Recap/S3/E05 Homecoming

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[[File:buffy_homecoming_4411.jpg|frame]]
This is the final ''Buffy'' episode penned by David Greenwalt, as he shifted his attention to preparing ''[[Angel]]'' for the following season. Aww. Bye, David! As a parting gift, he left us a catfight episode which makes ''[[Dynasty]]'' look like ''[[Little House On the Prairie|Little House]]''.

The Scoobies decide to share a limo for their last Homecoming dance. Scott hasn't asked Buffy, but after some arm-twisting agrees to go. The next day, Scott breaks up with Buffy the next day because he finds her too distracted all the time now, which she admits is true. (Such as rehabilitating Angel in his mansion). She promises to do better, but Scott's fed up.

Buffy is bummed that her entire high school career will come down to one picture on 1/8th of a page, but Willow and Xander tell her that even that won't be there, since she missed getting her picture taken for the Yearbook. They tell her that Cordelia was supposed to give her the message. Buffy confronts Cordy, who couldn't care less, because it's not about herself. That does it. An enraged Buffy decides to run for Prom Queen against Cordy. Meanwhile, Mr. Trick has organised SlayerFest '98, a competition in which it's participants (for a modest fee) get to hunt the two slayers. The competitors include two German brothers working with an older man, Lyle Gorch (from "Bad Eggs"), and Lyle's new bride Candy.

When the limo arrives at Buffy's house, she gets in to discover not Faith, who was scheduled to be the first to be picked up, but rather Cordelia alone, holding a note from their friends saying that they want her and Cordelia to make up on the expensive ride, so they will be forced to spend some time alone together. When the driver stops at their destination, they are surprised to discover not Sunnydale High, but a shack and some woods. The pair fight off their adversaries and run to the school. Meanwhile, Trick is dragged away from his monitor room by two policemen.

Buffy and Cordelia make their way to the library, only to find Giles knocked out and the Gorchs waiting for them. During the fight, Candy is dusted thanks to a spatula that Cordelia acquired. Lyle is infuriated and is ready to kill the two, but Cordelia finally asserts herself and scares Lyle away when the chips are down. Buffy realizes the corsages they got in the limo were electronic tracking devices. She puts them on the German brothers, who target and kill each other with their high-tech equipment, each thinking they're targeting one of the Slayers.

The policemen bring Mr. Trick to the office of Mayor Wilkins, who tells Trick that he needs to control rebellious youth elements during this election year. Mr. Trick, knowing the Mayor means business, agrees to join his administraton.

A bedraggled Buffy and Cordelia arrive at the Homecoming dance just in time for the announcement of Homecoming Queen-- but it turns out the tie was between two other competitors. Buffy and Cordelia, united in their disgust, walk out.

=== Tropes: ===
* [[A-Team Firing]]: Buffy grabs a pair of antlers off the wall and starts sparring with Kulak as Cordy hilariously whacks away with the spatula. Buffy barks at Cordy to grab the gun. She does, but her aim is atrocious, and she can't handle the kick from it either. Buffy changes her mind.
{{quote|'''Buffy:''' [[Crowning Moment of Funny|Cordelia, the spatula.]]}}
* [[All Elections Are Serious Business]]: Buffy and Cordelia's spats over homecoming get simply caustic.
* [[All Your Base Are Belong to Us]] / [[I Have Your Wife|We Have Your Watcher]]: Buffy plans to escape to the library with Cordelia and assemble some weapons. Unfortunately, Lyle Gorch already has the book cage open and has found the weapons stash. Pan down to Giles, lying facedown on the floor (i.e. his natural habitat).
* [[Badass Boast]]: Gorch comes to his wife's rescue -- just in time to see the spatula handle firmly imbedded in her heart. Gorch cries, "Candy!" but she's dust. He roars that he's about to [[I'll Kill You!|kill both Buffy and Cordelia]], but Cordy -- aware that he's mistaken her for Faith -- gets in his face, giving him a speech that amounts to "[[Dirty Harry|Do you feel lucky, punk?]]" She manages to bluff well enough that even Gorch thinks better of taking her on.
{{quote|'''Cordelia:''' See, in the end, Buffy's just the runner-up; [[Meaningful Echo|I'm the Queen]]. You get me mad, what do you think '''I'm''' gonna do to you?<br />
'''Gorch''' [beat] [[Villain Exit Stage Left|Later.]]  }}
* [[Bait and Switch Comment]]: The [[Locked in a Room]] ploy appears to have forced Buffy and Cordelia to discuss their rivalry, but it turns out they're still griping over the corsages.
* [[Bear Trap]]: Buffy, at a warning from Cordy, narrowly avoids getting her foot caught in a bear trap laid by Frawley (the poacher). He moves to shoot them, but Buffy throws the trap at him, causing him to lose his balance and step into another trap.
{{quote|'''Buffy:''' ''That's'' gotta smart.}}
* [[The Big Board]]: Buffy gives a Patton speech to the Scoobies wherein she says that the Homecoming crown will be "won or lost in the trenches." We see that she's standing in front of a huge whiteboard on which she's listed the strengths and weaknesses of the other three candidates, which include "wears polyester," "dandruff," "too much make-up.".
* [[Bounty Hunter]]: Each of Trick's contestants puts up an entry fee to enter the game. The winner gets the whole stash.
* [[Blade Below the Shoulder]]: Kulak's forearms produce bone blades which he employs and throwing weapons.
* [[Bland-Name Product]]: Buffy's "APPLE" brand juice.
** [[Brand X]]: Cordelia's attempt to bond with some nerds by mentioning the "[[Star Trek|Vulcian]] [[Pressure Point|Death Grip]]"
* [[Bribing Your Way to Victory]]: Buffy's list of Cordelia's strengths includes, "[[Screw the Rules, I Have Money|Has Money To Buy Votes]]."
{{quote|'''Cordelia:''' Buffy! You look ''so'' cute in that outfit.
'''Buffy:''' I'm not voting for you.
'''Cordelia:''' [curtly] Then make it snappy. }}
* [[Buffy-Speak]]: Cordy and Willow want to order a limo for the dance. Xander's worried about the cost. "You wanna talk fun? ''Public bus.'' You meet the funnest people."
** Xander and Willow rationalizing their sudden kiss as being the fault of the formal wear. "It's a clothes fluke, that's what it is! And there'll be ''no more'' fluking!"
* [[Call Back]]: Buffy concedes that she's not popular. But she's not exactly '''[[Damned By Faint Praise|un]]'''popular!
{{quote|'''Buffy:''' A ''lot'' of people came to my Welcome Home party.
'''Willow:''' But they were eaten by zombies. }}
** Mrs. Gorch says she wants to kill Buffy as a "wedding present for what happened to your poor brother."
* [[Carnival of Killers]]
* [[Chekhov's Gun]]: Backstage at SlayerFest, Frawley is testing a bear trap. He sticks a mannequin leg into it, and the jaws instantly snap shut, shattering the leg.
** Buffy and Cordelia's corsages.
** Once inside the shack, Buffy begins running around and closing the window shutters. Those will be useful in a minute, though not in the way that she intended.
** The spatula of doom.
* [[Comically Small Bribe]]: Buffy tries to get Jonathan's vote, but he replies that Cordelia gave him six bucks.
** Maybe if she [[Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Recap/S3/E19 Earshot|saved his life]] he'd vote for her.
* [[Creepy Twins]]: The Gruenstalher Twins.
* [[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass]]
* [[Cut His Heart Out with a Spoon]]: Lampshaded by Cordelia while she's int he midst of ruining all of Gorch's ultimatums.
{{quote|'''Lyle:''' [furious] I'm gonna--!!
'''Cordelia:''' Rip out my innards, play with my eyeballs, boil my brain and eat it for brunch? }}
* [[Cut Phone Lines]]: Buffy tries to phone Giles from the shack, but the Old Man zeroes in on her call.
* [[Cute Clumsy Girl]]: To gather more votes, Buffy cunningly [[Exploited Trope|adopts this persona]] ('accidentally' dropping a folder in front of boys) to chat them up.
* [[Dance of Romance]] / [[I Can't Dance]]: Xander teaching Willow how to slow dance.
* [[Death by Irony]] / [[Friend or Foe]]: As the Gruenstahlers approach the library, the Old Man tracks the girls' movements. Buffy rises from a hiding spot in the corner. She throws a wad of wet toilet paper with the transmitters onto his back, where it sticks. The Old Man gives them new coordinates. The twin in the hall starts firing, and the one in the classroom returns the favor. They both riddle each other with bullets.
* [[Department of Redundancy Department]]: Buffy accosting the traitorous Willow, who's jumpier than usual. "Hi! How are you? You good? You look good. Anything new? Hey, did I mention you look good?"
** Cordelia denouncing the bounty hunters. "Those animals! Hunting us down like poor defenseless-- well, animals!"
* [[Description Cut]]: Buffy breaks the news to Angel the news that she's seeing someone. "He's a nice, solid guy. He makes me happy. And that's what I need right now. Someone I can count on." I smell irony coming. We cut to Scott: "I don't think we should see each other anymore."
** Xander glumly noting that Buffy and Cordy have been gone for a while. "They must really be [[Cat Fight|getting into it]]." Cut to the girls barricading themselves inside a run-down shack.
* [[Development Gag]]: SMG originally auditioned to be Cordelia and Charisma Carpenter originally auditioned to be the title Slayer before they were made to switch roles. In this episode, we are reminded that Buffy was the [[Alpha Bitch|Cordelia]] of her old school [[Continuity Nod|(first mentioned in 1x11 Out of Sight, Out of Mind and 3x12 Helpless)]], and  {{spoiler|Cordelia has to impersonate the second Slayer to scare of one of the Big Bads}}
* [[Doomed New Clothes]]: With Homecoming nearly over and Buffy and Cordelia nowhere in sight, Xander asks "what's keeping them?" The pair finally emerge, covered in bruises and their dresses ruined.
{{quote|'''Oz:''' I'm gonna go with mud wrestling.}}
* [[Double Entendre]] / [[Girl-On-Girl Is Hot]]: When asked where Buffy is, Xander reports she and Faith are in the library "gettin' all sweateh." They're training, Cordy corrects him. "I stand by my phrase."
* [[Dramatic Gun Cock]]: Buffy with Frawley's pump-action rifle (twice -- no wonder she ran out of bullets).
* [[Dramatic Irony]]: Buffy seems to have a renewed respect for Cordy by the end of the episode. "Tell you one thing, though. You don't want to mess with Cordelia." Xander laughs nervously as he pictures Cordy [[Creepshow|wearing his balls for earrings]].
* [[Establishing Character Moment]]: A female voice tells the Deputy Mayor, Allan, that the Mayor will see him now, and with all the build-up the audience is probably expecting Hannibal Lecter. Instead, what we get is closer to Burl Ives; nevertheless, Allan is practically [[Nothing Is Scarier|wetting his pants]] in Wilkins' presence. Wilkins is also really gabby about cleanliness and germs.
* [[Et Tu, Brute?]]: [[Played for Laughs]] when a smug Buffy aligns the Scoobies against Cordelia, only for all three to defect to Cordy's camp in an instant.
{{quote|'''Xander:''' She's my girlfriend. [leaves]
'''Willow''' It's just that she needs it so much more than you do! [follows Xander]
'''Oz:''' As Willow goes, so goes my nation. [follows Willow] }}
* [[Evil Brit]] / [[Evil Cripple]] / [[Evil Old Folks]]: The Old Man runs the gamut.
* [[Eviler Than Thou]]: just as SlayerFest is heating up, Trick is dragged out of his lair by policemen. The cops bring Trick to the office of Mayor Wilkins, who tells Trick that he needs to control "rebellious" elements during this important year.
* [[Failed a Spot Check]]: Cordelia has been raiding the shack for weapons, but all she's found is a spatula. And a telephone, but Cordy ditzes that a spatula would make a much better weapon. Buffy gives her a "get a clue, you dolt" look.
* [[Fantastic Racism]]: Invoked by Mr Trick.
{{quote|'''Trick:''' If this is the part where you tell me that I don't fit in here in your quiet little neighborhood, you can just skip it 'cause, see, [[Angry Black Man|that all got old long before I became a vampire]]. Do you know what I'm saying? }}
* [[Foreshadowing]]: On the subject of clean nails, Wilkins reminisces, "My dear mother said cleanliness is next to [[A God Am I|godliness]], and I believed her. She never caught a cold." Wise words, which - if you've seen the entire season - Wilkins seem to have took a bit too literally.
** The officers show Mr. Trick into the Mayor's office. The Mayor makes it clear that he knows all about Mr. Trick, SlayerFest, and so on. He tells Mr. Trick that he likes things to run smoothly, and that it's an important year for him. "Election year?" quips Mr. Trick. The Mayor: "Something like that."
** "The children are our future. We need them. '''I''' need them."
* [[Full Name Ultimatum]]: Used teasingly by Willow when Xander asks her how far she and Oz have gotten.
* [[Fur and Loathing]]: Frawley.
** Lyle Gorch's wife, Candy, wears a [[Pink Means Feminine|pink]] fur trim.
* [[Good Adultery, Bad Adultery]]
* [[Glory Days]]: [[Invoked Trope|Invoked]] by Cordelia, who questions whether Buffy's need to relive her past gives her the right to "splinter [Cordy's] vote."
* [[Grenade Launcher]]: The twins fire a grenade at the shack, which only accomplishes to blow Kulak to bits.
* [[Grenade Tag]]: Played with in the case of the toilet paper.
* [[Hands-On Approach]]: Willow worries about her dancing ability, so Xander proceeds to take her hands, ballroom-style. It's now a foregone conclusion that they'll kiss, which they do. They then jerk away and start spazzing out, agreeing that the kiss was a "clothes fluke," right before almost kissing again. Xander says [[Accidental Innuendo|they have to get out of their clothes]]. Realizing the innuendo, they spaz yet again and run away from each other.
* [[Hard Work Montage]] / [[Lock and Load Montage]]: As Fastball's "Fire Escape" plays in the background, we see Buffy and Cordelia getting out the vote as Mr. Trick's contestants assemble their weapons.
* [[Hoist by His Own Petard]]: Buffy, moments after hurling Frawley's trap back at him, threatens him with his own rifle.
** Frawley gets trapped by his own bear trap.
* [[Hunting the Most Dangerous Game]]: SlayerFest '98!
* [[Hypocrisy Nod]]: Cordy checking out her "competition" for Homecoming Queen. There's Holly ("Nice girl, [[Brainless Beauty|brain-dead]]. Doesn't have a prayer.") and Michelle. ("[[Really Gets Around|Open to all mankind]], especially those with a letterman's jacket and a car.") She turns worriedly to Xander: "''She'' could give me a run."
* [[Hypocritical Humor]]: As the Scoobies follow Cordy out of the library, Giles emerges to comment on what a fuss everyone's making of this. Buffy [[Stepford Smiler|grins a toothy smile]] and assures him "it's not like anyone takes it ''that'' seriously." Right before she [[A Glass in the Hand|crushes a glass bottle in her hand]].
** Buffy and Cordy's final lines of the episode.
{{quote|'''Cordelia''': After all that we've been through tonight, this whole who-gets-to-be-queen-'capade seems pretty--
'''Buffy''': '''Damn important'''?
'''Cordelia''': Oh yeah. }}
* [[I Am X, Son of Y]]: I am Kulak, of the Miquot Clan!
{{quote|'''Mr. Trick:''' [[Deadpan Snarker|Isn't that nice.]]}}
* [[Improvised Weapon]]: The spatula finally comes in handy when Candy lunges at Buffy. Cordelia cluelessly tosses her the spatula, which Buffy uses to impale Candy through the heart (the handle was made of wood).
** Buffy playing matador with a pair of deer antlers.
** Wet toilet paper.
{{quote|'''Cordelia:''' [[Sarcasm Mode|Yeah, THAT'LL help]].}}
* [[Incredibly Lame Pun]]: Buffy, waving a pointer stick her rival's pictures, warns her captive audience (the Scoobies) that all three have a big head start. And ''speaking'' of big heads, "if I had a watermelon as big as Cordelia's, I'd be rich! [The Scoobies stare blankly] ...[[Cringe Comedy|Waits for laugh]]."
* [[Incredibly Obvious Bug]] / [[Tracking Device]]: Later that evening, Giles is awake again. Buffy apologizes for dragging Cordelia into this whole ordeal. Cordy takes solace in that fact that they at least got free corsages. Giles says they weren't included with the limo. Uh oh. Buffy quickly realizes that the Gruenstahlers are tacking them through the corsages.
* [[Inherently Funny Words]]: Spatula.
* [[Ironic Echo]]: Buffy starts to give campaigning assignments to the Scoobies when (speak of the devil) Cordelia strides in. Buffy notes the awkwardness of the situation but, since they're all driving to the dance together, says they should try to get along. Cordy snaps her fingers and summons Xander, Willow, and Oz to her side, and they meekly obey. Cordelia [[Badass Arm-Fold|folds her arms in triumph]] as Buffy seethes. "I think we're getting along ''great'', don't you?"
* [[It's a Long Story]]: The Scoobies express horror when Buffy and Cordelia return from their 'intervention'. "Oh, God! What did you two do to each other?!"
{{quote|'''Buffy:''' Long story.
'''Cordelia:''' Got hunted.
'''Buffy:''' Apparently not that long. }}
* [[Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique]]: Buffy holds the gun on Frawley and quickly extracts information from him on who the other players in the game are.
* [[Ladies and Germs]]: "Ladies, gentlemen, spiny-headed-lookin' creatures..."
* [[Last-Second Word Swap]]: Willow thinks a limo would be fun, and that they could all split the cost. Buffy's not sure if she's going. "Why wouldn't you go?", blurts Willow, "You already have your tickets! I mean, unless you don't have a da" -- Scott enters the frame -- "ay or two to think about it."
* [[The Last of These Is Not Like the Others]]: Back to the shack, the girls snit at each other until, finally, Cordy asks why she cares so much about being Homecoming Queen. What follows is a moving soliloquy by Buffy about she spent a year's allowance on the dress in an attempt to achieve one ideal moment in high school. She ends the speech by saying, "Besides, I look cute in a tiara."
* [[Law of Chromatic Superiority]]: Buffy wears a red evening gown, while Cordelia is wearing green. Guess who's more useful in a fight?
* [[Life or Limb Decision]]: Kulak comes across Frawley, still struggling in the bear trap, and offers to cut off his leg. Bob declines.
* [[Locked in a Room]]: Buffy gets into the limo and finds only Cordelia sitting inside. When Buffy asks where Faith is, Cordy merely hands her a letter. It's from their friends, saying that they're not riding with them because their group dynamic is more important than who wins Homecoming Queen. It ends with, "The limo was not cheap -- work it out." Things aren't off to a good start, as Buffy notices there's two corsages, and Cordy snits, "I took the orchid."
* [[Lonely Piano Piece]]: Scott dumping Buffy in the middle of the hallway and then walking off, leaving her flapping in the wind.
* [[Made From Real Girl Scouts]]: Giles complaining that the finger food tastes as if it "contains actual fingers."
* [[Manipulative Bitch]]: Buffy playing on Willow's guilt (and all those times she's saved her life) to get access to Cordelia's database.
* [[Mercy Lead]]: The limo stops, and Buffy and Faith finds themselves stranded in the woods. A TV and VCR are set up nearby, with a sign that says, "Press Play." Well, why not? Mr. Trick appears on the screen, welcoming Buffy and "Faith" to SlayerFest '98. He explains that they have "exactly 30 seconds--[checks his watch] no, that's 17 now--to run for your lives."
* [[Metaphorgotten]]: Willow expressing her guilt about kissing Xander.
{{quote|'''Willow:''' We were so guilty about "the fluke" that we overcompensated helping Cordelia and spun the group dynamic out of orbit. Now we're just this meteor shower headed for Earth...!}}
* [[Minor Flaw, Major Breakup]]: Scott explains that before they were going out, Buffy seemed "so full of life" but that now she just seems distracted all the time. Buffy promises a "drastic distraction reduction," but Scott isn't having it. Relationship over.
** Subverted when he turns out to be [[Blatant Lies|interested in someone else]].
** Doubly subverted in Season 7, when he turns out to {{spoiler|be gay}}.
* [[Mission Control]]: The old man communicates to the twins via [[Earpiece Conversation|earpiece]].
* [[Mistaken Identity]]: Trick hasn't gotten a positive ID on Faith yet, seeing as she's "elusive." Everyone simply assumes that the brunette riding in the limo with Buffy is the genuine article because the limo was originally supposed to pick Faith and Buffy first.
* [[Moment Killer]]: Faith noticing Scott -- newly single and ready to mingle -- dancing with some new girl. She saunters up to the couple and coos, "Scott? There you are, honey! Good news -- the doctor says the itching and the swelling and the burning should clear up, but we gotta keep using the ointment." She turns to his date and says, "Hi!" with a bright smile. Then she walks away.
* [[More Dakka]]: Hans and Frederick prowling the school with [[Night Vision Goggles]] and M16-A1s.
* [[Nameless Narrative]]: The old gentleman in the wheelchair is credited as just that -- Old Man. (In the original script, he is listed as "Boss")
* [[Not Cheating Unless You Get Caught]]: Buffy pasting one of her campaign posters over Cordelia's.
* [[Not My Driver]]: The limo driver is none other than one of the Gruenstahlers. Whoops.
* [[Oh Crap]]: Kulak landing back beside the grenade. BOOM.
** Buffy and Cordelia realizing that they're wearing tracking devices on their wrists.
* [[Ominous Multiple Screens]] / [[Spies in a Van]]: Buffy just watches Scott walk away sadly go as the camera pulls back from her. Cut to a view of her through a pair of binoculars. The watchers are in a van with dark-tinted windows that contains a lot of high-tech surveillance equipment.
* [[Oral Fixation Fixation]]: Mr. Trick sucks on a lollipop.
* [[Outrun the Fireball]]: Buffy and Cordelia running like mad as the shack explodes into a fireball.
* [[Percussive Therapy]]: After being dumped by Scott Hope, Buffy is shown making Faith wince by pounding on the training pads she's holding, leading her to suggest that Buffy would make a better Slayer if she got dumped more often.
* [[Picture Day]]: The Scoobies' Yearbook photographs. Cordelia puts on her best rictus grin; Xander smarms; Oz is characteristically deadpan. Willow initially has a winning smile but switches to a confused expression when the photographer takes too long--this is the face he captures.
* [[Playing Both Sides]]: Gorch, having familiarized himself with the school's layout ("Bad Eggs"), opts to [[Dangerously Genre Savvy|lie in wait]] while the Slayers thin out his competition.
* [[Rage Breaking Point]]: Buffy, upon learning that Cordy was supposed to tell her picture day, but forgot, marches over to her and proceeds to rain down fiery brimstone. Their spat escalates until Buffy vows to steal the Homecoming crown.
* [[Rock Bottom]]: Buffy complaining that all she'll have to remember from high school is being a "crappy picture on one-eighth of a crappy page." Actually, Xander and Oz nervously point out, she's not even that; Buffy missed picture day.
* [[Secret Keeper]]: When Buffy drops by the mansion to see how Angel's feeling, she reveals that she's been keeping mum about his reappearance to Giles and the others.
* [[Self-Parody]]: The Scoobies are lingering at the dance, blisfully unaware that Bufy and Cordy have been kidnapped. Suddenly, Giles rushes up behind them. "We have to find Buffy. Something terrible's happened." [[Hope Spot|Just kidding!]] He chuckles and then heads off to grab some finger sandwiches.
* [[Sex for Solace]]: Faith suggests she help Buffy get over Scott by finding a couple of studs they can use and discard. Buffy is not entirely adverse to the idea.
* [[Shaggy Dog Story]]: The winner of homecoming queen is a tie between the two candidates who ''aren't'' Buffy and Cordelia.
* [[She Cleans Up Nicely]]: In the clothes-changing scene, Willow and Xander are equally stunned by the other's appearance.
** Not to mention Faith, who's almost unrecognisable with her hair up and minus her trademark leather pants.
* [[Sinister Surveillance]]: The old man and his cohorts, Hans and Frederick.
* [[Sniper Rifle]]: Frawley's hunting rifle.
* [[Soft Glass]]: Averted.
* [[Staring Down Cthulhu]]: Cordelia and Lyle.
* [[Status Quo Game Show]]: One of the Dingoes is about to announce the winner for Homecoming Queen when Buffy and Cordy show up, still dirty and disheveled. Devon announces that they have a tie as the camera zooms in on Cordy and Buffy. The winners are -- Holly and Michelle! Cordy and Buffy look at each other in disgust and walk out together as one of the winners chokes, "[[Trying Not to Cry|I promised myself I wasn't gonna cry!]]"
* [[Suspiciously Specific Denial]]: Willow and Xander stand awkwardly at the dance, watching the Dingoes play. Faith approaches them, and wonders why they're so mopey.
{{quote|'''Xander:''' [guilt-ridden] Oh, we're not mopey. We're grooving on Oz's band. He's a great guy, Oz.
'''Willow:''' [close to tears] He wrote this song for me. }}
* [[Swapped Roles]]: Cordelia accuses Buffy of this. Ironically, Cordy ends up getting a taste of a Slayer's work enviornment.
* [[Super Window Jump]]: The old man orders the twins to open fire on the shack as Buffy and Kulak continue to fight. They're wrestling for the gun when a grenade flies in and rolls onto the floor. Buffy grabs Cordy, and the pair leap through a window. Kulak follows suit, but his window is shuttered tight, so [[Deconstructed Trope|he bounces back into the room]] and lands beside the grenade again. BOOM.
* [[Teach Him Anger]]: Buffy and Cordelia hole up in a deserted shack. Buffy, gun in hand, shutters some of the windows. Cordy's panicking about all the things she'll never get to do, including finding out "if it's real" between her and Xander. Cordy's really falling to pieces, but Buffy declares that they're going to find a way out of there, get back to the school and kill their attackers in time for Buffy's "sweeping victory" at the Homecoming Dance. As intended, Cordelia's fear evaporates into white-hot rage.
{{quote|'''Cordelia''': I ''know'' what you're up to! You think [[Necessary Weasel|if you get me mad enough I won't be so scared]]! ...And hey, it's working! WHERE'S A DAMN WEAPON?!"}}
* [[Terrorists Without a Cause]]: The Deputy Mayor reports that the Gruenshtahler twins are wanted in Germany for acts of terrorism, including the bombing of a commercial airplane.
* [[That Didn't Happen]]: Xander/Willow kissage
{{quote|'''Xander:''' (points at her) That didn't just happen!
'''Willow:''' No! (gestures nervously) I mean, it did, but it didn't! }}
* [[This Page Will Self-Destruct]]: Played with. As soon as Mr. Trick's video greeting concludes, a shot rings out from Jungle Bob's rifle, causing the video monitor to explode.
* [[The Triple]]: The Mayor thinks Allan's nails could be cleaner. Allan says that he washed them, but the Mayor admonishes him, "After every meal and under your fingernails. Dirt gets trapped there. And germs. And mayonnaise."
** Mr. Trick lecturing his contestants on the competitive spirit.
{{quote|"We all have a desire to win. [gestures to Germans] Whether we're human... [a nod at Lyle Gorch] vampire... [stops beside a yellow demon with spines on his head] ...and whatever the hell you are, my brother, you got them spiny-head lookin' things. I ain't never seen that before." }}
* [[Twisted Echo Cut]]: Buffy's ultimatum to Cordelia that she's entering the Homecoming race. Cut to Mr. Trick at Slayerfest '98, giving a speech on the beauty of competition.
* [[Unperson]]: Buffy laments that she's turned into one these. Even Buffy's favorite teacher hasn't got a clue who she is.
* [[Villain Team-Up]]: Mr. Trick, realizing the Mayor means business, agrees to [[Demoted to Dragon|work for him]] willingly.
* [[What Happened to the Mouse?]]: The old man is left behind thinking he'd won Slayer Fest. Then again there's the money left by the Gorches.
* [[Who Wears Short Shorts?]]: In the library, Buffy is throwing punches at Faith's focus pads. She's got her typical workout outfit on, while Faith is noticeably wearing daisy dukes.
* [[Written-In Infirmity]]: When Buffy is standing in front of the white board in the library, you can see a bandage on her left hand. Sarah Michelle Gellar cracked a bone while filming an earlier scene, and had to take it easy with that hand for much of the episode.
* [[You Got Spunk]]: Trick seems delighted when he learns that Buffy and Cordelia have escaped back into town. "Give it up for the Slayers! They got character."
* [[You Have No Idea Who You're Dealing With]]: Stung by Cordelia's airy dismissal of her ("Just because you were Guacamole Queen when you were 3..."), Buffy lays down the gauntlet.
{{quote|"You've awakened the prom queen within." }}
** The noise you are now hearing is the claws coming out.
* [[Your Cheating Heart]]: Willow and Xander. And Scott, as it turns out.

{{reflist}}
[[Category:Recap]]
[[Category:Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]
[[Category:Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Recap]]