Buffy 5.3: "The Replacement"

Written by Jane Espenson
Directed by James A. Contner

In which an encounter with a demon bent on destroying the Slayer leaves Xander split into two different people, each with opposing personality traits, and hilarity ensues…


Status Report

Much like the previous seasons, after introducing the thematic elements for the season, nearly all of the characters get in on the action. In this particular case, the theme continues to be self-discovery. The fourth season was about stripping away one’s illusions and self-recognition. The fifth season is a little more complicated: it’s as much about the perception of others in light of self-recognition. So the characters are wondering, once the demands and expectations of others are removed, who they are in the world.

This episode continues to expand on the theme and reveal it in interesting ways. Unfortunately, the pacing is off just enough to keep it from being a knock out of the park. Part of the problem is that the plot arc is still nowhere to be found, so most of the events take place out of a larger context. One could point to the theme, but it’s such a subtle animal that it’s hard to pin an entire episode on it.

Xander was always a character in drastic need for exploration and growth, and he seldom received that kind of attention. This is largely because Xander needed to retain some of the awkward sense of inferiority that made him the perfect character to toss out the funny. A lack of self-confidence often exhibits itself through inappropriate humor, especially in tense or unnerving situations.

One thing the writers did well was establish Xander’s lack of family support. In a lot of ways, Willow is in the same situation, since her choices don’t particularly mesh with her parents’ expectations. But Willow has the benefit of being away at college, making decisions on her own and discovering her own strengths. Xander is still at home, and it’s crushing to his psyche and confidence. (Something firmly established in “Restless”.)

Of course, there’s a reason why Xander isn’t out of the basement, and it’s all about fear. Xander has never been given a reason to believe in his own potential, and so he doesn’t recognize his own strengths. He’s always in fear of being left behind, yet the others recognize and value his loyalty and insight, when he’s willing to provide it. Similarly, it’s hard for him to realize that he’s doing well at his job, since he lacks the ability to recognize how others see him outside of his own internal doubts.

While it seems a bit overwrought, the idea of “two Xanders” is not particularly wrong. There’s one side of Xander that is quite competent and capable, as seen in earlier seasons. But there’s also the part that lacks confidence and self-sabotages. Xander is the synthesis of those two elements, but in the past, the incapable Xander was the one running the show. The capable Xander sees how to deal with a situation and simply does what needs to be done. For Xander to grow, the more capable side needs to come out.

This is communicated by the writers when they focus almost entirely upon the incapable side of Xander, which for most of the episode seems an awful lot like the normal, everyday Xander. In fact, it’s so difficult to believe in the capable Xander that it’s easy to believe he’s some demonic creation of Toth or Toth himself. It’s not until later that the truth becomes clear.

At the same time, the fact that the writers switch from the initial presentation of two Xanders to Buffy and Dawn fighting each other is an indirect reminder that Dawn is, in fact, a representation of Buffy as she might have been. Dawn is all the non-Slayer elements of Buffy rolled into one package and given a distinct existence. In essence, Buffy struggles with her own humanity ever time she fights with Dawn.

Toth’s original intention was to separate Human!Buffy from Slayer!Buffy, which resonates with what would later be revealed about Buffy and Dawn. Buffy is trying to understand the depths of her Chosen legacy, which requires a better understand of who she is when she’s not the Slayer. Buffy’s entire journey from the end of the third season to the end of the series is a matter of realizing what Xander effectively comes to understand by the end of this episode: Buffy is who she is, and she cannot try to be fully human or fully Slayer.

As a student of psychology, Riley understands that all too well. He knows that on some level, there’s an incompatibility. When he was more than human himself, thanks to the Initiative, they were dealing with the same issues. Riley’s moved past that now, and he’s just himself. If Buffy were completely human, he might be enough for her. But the part of her that is the Chosen line feels discontent, despite all his efforts. Buffy’s lack of self-awareness is a large part of why she can’t see the growing disparity between Riley’s feelings and her own.

Several elements are introduced in this episode: some in passing, some in more substantial fashion. Robots in the likeness of major characters would become important by the end of the season, so it’s interesting that Xander tosses that out as a possibility to his current predicament. Similarly, Spike’s obsession with the Slayer is turning into a perverse kind of attraction, a process which began in “Becoming” and has progressed quite nicely over time. There’s also Anya’s concerns over her mortality, which factors into the eventual degradation of the relationship later in the series.

Unlike many other episodes that deal with “doubles”, the producers had an opportunity to take advantage of Kelly Donovan, Nicholas Brendon’s twin brother. The plot serves to smooth over any particular physical differences based on weight, since the split doesn’t necessarily have to be perfect. But it must have been a lot cheaper and less demanding from a production point of view to have two actors in scenes that normally would require the same scene to be filmed twice.


Memorable Quotes

XANDER: “Yeah, maybe it’s definitely time to start looking for a new place. Something a little nicer. Buffy, you’ve been to Hell. They have one-bedrooms, right?”

XANDER: “Guys, you can’t save it for the bedroom? OK, good point…”

GILES: “Well, I’m not dead or unconscious, so I say bravo for me!”

XANDER: “It’s a robot. It’s an evil robot constructed from evil parts that look like me designed to do evil!”
WILLOW: “Uh huh. Or it’s Toth.”
XANDER: “Or it’s Toth!”

WILLOW: “Xander, you sound a little…you have to help me figure this out, you know.”
XANDER: “But I never help. I get in trouble and Buffy saves me.”
WILLOW: “That’s not true! Sometimes we all helped save you!”

BUFFY: “You’ve been split in two. But you’re both Xander. And you can’t kill each other. Um, well…you could…but it would be really bad!”

RILEY: “Psychologically, this is fascinating. Doesn’t it make everyone wanna lock them in separate rooms and do experiments on them? Just me, then…”

ANYA: “Yes, I’m feeling better. And I anticipate many years before my death. Excepting disease or airbag failure.”
BUFFY: “That sounds nice…”


Final Analysis

Overall, this episode is a solid enough episode for the early fifth season, focusing on the main theme of self-realization. While the plot of the episode itself is a bit thin and some elements quickly get tiresome, there are some interesting examples of foreshadowing and some nice hints of character advancement. Still, this is not one of the more memorable episodes of the series.

Writing: 1/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4

Final Rating: 6/10