Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Season 6 Episode 12

Doublemeat Palace

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Starved for cash, Buffy gets a job in a fast food restaurant where the weird manager and high turnover of employees has her more than a little suspicious. When co-workers start ending up in pieces, the mystery behind the "secret ingredient" comes into question. Willow works on staying clear of magick, but she is forced to make a big decision when Amy gives her an unwanted gift. A vengeance demon friend of Anya's visits and questions her relationship with Xander, leaving Anya worried about their soon-to-be-married life together.moreless

Fan Episode Reviews (19)

SUBMIT REVIEW

  • Lowpoint of the season

    3.0
    By joxerlives, Jan 20, 2012
    DOUBLEMEAT PALACE



    The Good;

    Very little, a very weak episode. Actually our first introduction to Halfyrek and the scene between her and Anya is wonderful. Also like Xander's advice to Dawn that if Buffy can't ever have a proper career outside Slaying Dawn can do it for her. Some nice comedy too with Xander eating the burger and the 'Hi, I'm Troy McClure' style corporate training video.



    The Bad;

    The list goes on. I think if Xander had been working in the DMP everyone would have loved this but we don't like seeing Buffy humiliated (in a non sexual sense)



    Best line;

    Buffy; "The double meat medely is people. Well, probably not the chicken part but who knows! Who knows!"



    Women good/men bad;

    Actually it's pretty disturbing that Halfyrek comments most of the time she's not even sure she's cursing the right guy. Love the way that every good point Anya states about Xander is twisted into a negative by Hally. Amy also shows her true colours implying that she's bitter at not having been deratted earlier.



    Jeez!;

    The severed finger and Manny's severed foot. Note how Buffy is now quite happy to include Dawn in the emergency meeting and show her some of the nastier sights of life.



    Kinky dinky;

    Actually I think Buffy and Spike against the trash trailer must rate as the most unerotic sex scene in the history of TV, even the most avid Spuffers must admit it's positively depressing. Now as we've all wondered before during 'Anne' surely a girl as beautiful as Buffy can get a better job? (or as Xander put it hasn't she ever met 'any nice pimps'?). 'Pretty Woman' or at very least doesn't Sunnydale have a Hooters or Spearmint Rhino? (or did Mayor Wilkins not allow them as not in keeping with his vision of the place? Even he with all his power couldn't stop streetwalkers to judge by 'Innocence' despite what the Gorch's say in Bad Eggs). Ok, I'm not entirely serious but I can never get over the Hollywood cliche of a girl as beautiful as Buffy working in fast-food. Still after Belle du Jour not as unthinkable as it once might have been. Of course after watching Dollhouse or Morena Bacahra's character in Firefly you get the idea that Joss is actually quite keen on the idea of prostitution? Everyone seen the Eliza Dushku as a dominatrix scene? Then again she's thin, petite, beautiful, flexible, she'd be an awesome magician's assistant. Even got her own identical twin with the Buffybot which you need for many of the classic illusions. The Geeks (and Xander) also like the Vulcan woman from Enterprise, what a suprise. Nowadays it would be Summer Glau as The Big Bang Theory proves. Anya and Halfrek both comment on Xander's large upper arms which makes sense if you're a construction worker (Nic Brendon bulks up noticeably in the final 2 season but I prefer slimmer Xander from the earlier seasons)



    Captain Subtext;

    As is commeted upon in a later ep the worm thing that emerges from the old lady's head is just one giant penis. It spits it's goo at the straight (or bi girl to judge by the comics) making her helpless but the lesbian sees it, screams and runs away before decapitating it with a vagina shaped cooking instrument. And Buffy's new boss is called Lorena (Bobbit?)



    Apocalypses; 6



    Scoobies in bondage:

    Buffy: 8

    Giles: 4

    Cordy: 5

    Will: 3

    Jenny: 1

    Angel: 4

    Oz: 1

    Faith: 3

    Joyce: 1

    Wes: 1

    Xander; 1

    Dawn; 3



    Scoobies knocked out:

    Buffy: 17

    Giles: 12

    Cordy: 6

    Xander: 11

    Will: 8

    Jenny: 2

    Angel: 6

    Oz: 3

    Faith: 1

    Joyce: 3

    Wes: 1

    Anya;3

    Dawn; 2



    Kills: one demon for Willow

    Buffy: 103 vamps, 41 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot

    Giles: 8 vamps, 2 demon, 1 human, 1 god.

    Cordy: 3 vamps, a demon

    Will: 6 vamps + 3 demons +1 fawn.

    Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human

    Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie

    Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans

    Xander: 6 vamps, 2 zombies, 1 a demon,

    Anya: 1 vamp and 1 a demon

    Riley; 18 vamps + 7 demons

    Spike; 8 vamps and 2 demon

    Buffybot; 2 vamps

    Tara; 1 demon

    Dawn; 1 vamp



    Scoobies go evil:

    Giles: 1

    Cordy: 1

    Will: 2

    Jenny: 1

    Angel: 1

    Oz: 1

    Joyce: 1

    Xander: 4

    Anya; 1

    Dawn; 1



    Alternate scoobies:

    Buffy: 7

    Giles: 4

    Cordy: 1

    Will: 3

    Jenny: 2

    Angel: 3

    Oz: 2

    Joyce: 2

    Xander: 4

    Tara; 1

    Dawn;1

    Spike; 1



    Recurring characters killed: 10

    Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh, Forrest, McNamara, Joyce



    Sunnydale deaths; 2 guys from the DMP

    95



    Total number of scoobies:

    Xander, Willow, Buffy, Anya, Spike,



    Xander demon magnet: 5(6?)

    Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?), Dracula?



    Scoobies shot:

    Giles: 2

    Angel: 3

    Oz: 4

    Riley; 1



    Notches on Scooby bedpost:

    Giles: 2; Joyce & Olivia, possibly Jenny and 3xDraccy babes?

    Cordy: 1?

    Buffy: 4 confirmed; Angel, Parker, Riley, Spike. 1 possible, Dracula(?)

    Angel: 1;Buffy

    Joyce: 1;Giles, 2 possible, Ted and Dracula(?)

    Oz: 3; Groupie, Willow & Verucca

    Faith:2 ;Xander, Riley

    Xander: 2; Faith, Anya

    Willow: 2;Oz and Tara

    Riley; 3; Buffy, Sandy and unnamed vampwhore

    Spike; 1 Buffy



    Spike; good or bad?



    Dawn in peril; 8



    Dawn the bashful virgin; 6



    What the fanficcers thought;

    Cash strapped Buffy (and indeed any and all of the female characters) turning to prostitution is a staple of a lot of adult fic both before and during DMP and indeed afterwards. My favorite has Buffy eventually recruiting the rest of the Scoobygirls into her new profession turning Revello Drive into a high class bordello with Joyce as the madam then trasforming her post-Chosen Army of Slayers into an Army of Slayer/Hookers to fund the new Slayer academy.



    Questions and observations;

    Surely the authorities must inspect the DMP's produce, don't they have a problem with false advertising? Considering how nicely the Geeks tricked out their headquarters with all the money they stole couldn't Buffy and co sell it to raise some cash? Doesn't Amy remember that she turned HERSELF into a rat and indeed left Buffy and Willow to burn at the stake to do so? Love Dawn's kitten t-shirt. Dawn says she's eaten a lot at the DMP, it doesn't show. I reckon Dawn should be a Doctor, that way she can patch up the other scoobs as necessary. Also note that the Yanus head from Halloween is still in the Magic Box.

    Would Buffy have survived without Willow's arrival? I think so, Slayer headling was obviously dealing with the paralysing agent when she arrived. Anyone else think that Lorena reminds them a lot of Ellen Degenerees with a little of Lynette from Desperate Housewives?

    Marks out of 10; 3/10, pretty damn terrible compared to what Buffy can achieve

    moreless

  • Doublemeat Failure

    3.0
    By lenzinoH20, Oct 20, 2011
    Doublemeat Palace-Starved for cash, Buffy gets a job in a fast food restaurant where the weird manager and high turnover of employees has her more than a little suspicious. When co-workers start ending up in pieces, the mystery behind the "secret ingredient" comes into question. Willow works on staying clear of magick, but she is forced to make a big decision when Amy gives her an unwanted gift. A vengeance demon friend of Anya's visits and questions her relationship with Xander, leaving Anya worried about their soon-to-be-married life together.

    Sigh. A part of me hates to say this, but I just....can't stand this episode! I've tried, I really have, but even after repeated viewings, I just can't see anything good about this episode. I know that this episode is focused on establishing Buffy in the working world and showing how much energy it takes out of you. Since the last time I watched this episode, I've worked at Dunkin Donuts for 3 years. You'd think that I would have liked this episode considering how I too know the burden of customer service that Buffy faces in this episode, but I actually hate it even more. The writers fail to truly exploring how jarring and lonely a minimum wage job can be. The rude customers, the long hours, the low payments, the struggle of getting along with co-workers, theembarrassment, etc. Sure, some of this is touched upon throughout the episode butmost of the Doublemeat Palace scenes come of either mind-numbing boring or utterly bizarre. The wacky manager, the the co-workers that zone out etc. all plays out like some hokey gimmick. Maybe the writers were going from something campy yet creepy, trying to set up thepossibilitythat something is supernaturally strange with them all but it turns all...their all just plain weird. Not to mention, most the comedy comes off over the top and a bit much. Like there might be a possiblity of people being the secretingredient in the burgers. Buffy runs around stopping people from eating their burgers as her co-workers pull her away. Then an old lady runs up asking, "What about the cherry pie?"...Hhhhmmm...yeahh... Then you have the scene where Xander may have eaten someone by eating one of the burgers and no matter how many jokes flew around that scene, the idea od Xander eating someone was too disturbing to laugh at. I also, hated the infamous reveal of the penis-like monster old lady. Another reason why I hate this episode is this creature has to be one of themostrepulsive and disgusting looking monsters the writers have ever created. Just watching Buffy getting eaten by that thing as well as after Willow kills it and we see the pieces of it coming out of the grinder. *vomits* The collectively "ehws" from Buffy and Willow just don't say enough!

    What is decent about this episode is Buffy's continuing to feel isolated and inferior about everything going on around her. The scene where Buffy has a break and has sex with Spike in an alley is one again, pretty graphic but you can't help but feel for Buffy. Also, if you notice, she's starting to become bored by her hook-ups with Spike. Sure she still wants him, but now it's more wanting him to escape from responsibilities, instead of the pain. I did like that scene between Dawn's reflecting on how limited Buffy's life is in terms of career. It's very insightful coming from her and shows being the slayer for Buffy means never really be anything more than a burger flipper for most of her life. It's also great seeing Willow continuing to fight her addiction and standing up to Amy when she forces magic on her. That scene at the doorway was a commanding moment for Willow, showing how committed she is in her decision and how Amy is no longer the girl from the early years we once knew. All and All, "Doublemeat Palace" is considered one of the worst (at times, THE worst) episode of the series and I have a hard time disagreeing with that. It's a pretty messed up episode and not in a good way. I've tried to see as much good beneath the ugly surface, but just wanna cringe.moreless

  • Even though I am a big Buffy fan, it was hard to see this episode. I get that they were trying to put Buffy to work in a real job, but the scenes in the work place were too slow, not adding much to the episode plot.moreless

    6.0
    By LydiaDiaz2, Aug 03, 2011
    Even though I am a big Buffy fan, it was hard to see this episode. I get that they were trying to put Buffy to work in a real job, but the scenes in the work place were too slow, not adding much to the episode plot.



    The wig lady did come as a surprise but i thought it was a bit lame and didnt care much for it. I thought there were some obvious mistakes in the episode as well, for instance, Willow trying to get in at the end but the door was closed, so she started talking through the outside mic and the next thing we know is that shes inside? how did she get in?



    Anyway, so far season 6 is not favorite (with the exception of 2 earlier episodes). Hope it gets better as I have become addicted to the show.moreless

  • Buffy gets a job... sorta.

    8.0
    By Vital_Shot, May 11, 2011
    This episode was really weird and pretty much had nothing to do with the plot. I still was curious to see how Buffy was going to do as a fast food joint and it turned out not so well. That video must have been horrible. I don't even want to know how the cow and the chicken are made. "Special Ingredient" Disgusting. PEOPLE!? I'm so glad that theory was proved wrong and it was just vegetables. I'm really proud of Willow. This was a great episode to watch Willow develop as a character because she's not doing any magic(that we know of) and is actually getting along pretty well. Manny, the manager, was freaky and thought he was going to be the bad guy, but know they're all just brainwashed. I was surprised that the cherry pie woman was the villain. That icky little thing coming out of her head was disgusting. Willow saved the day though. I'm sorry to hear that Anya is having doubts about marrying Xander after her little demon friend came. I'm with Xander on that one, those demons are really ugly. Anya is a pretty hot ex-demon if I do say so myself. Nothing really happened in this episode, but sorta suspenseful.



    Rating = Cmoreless

  • Just silly enough to work.

    7.9
    By crashingdoors, May 11, 2011
    "But what about the cherry pie!?!?"



    Anya's demon buddy... why couldn't she have changed her appearance? That gave me the creeps. She was annoying too..



    Other than that though, this light-hearted episode was pretty fun. Having worked at a fast-food restaurant (in a Six Flags) I know what it feels like in that environment. I know that a couple people were annoyed by the fact that Buffy got a job at a fast-food place instead of law-enforcement. She has the talent for law-enforcement, but that's not a realistic job for her, being a police officer or security guard. They need dependable people, on Buffy can't afford the luxury of being 100% dependable when she has to fight off demons and vampires.



    This episode reminded me of the earlier seasons too... this kind of comedy/gore (bloody foot stump, anyone?) happened quite a bit in the first couple seasons. It's a nice break in the season, with all of the heavy Buffy-dead, Willow-cold-turkey action that was going on. Xander's burp of disgust? Can't go wrong.moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

Emma Caulfield

Emma Caulfield

Anya
James Marsters

James Marsters

Spike
Sarah Michelle Gellar

Sarah Michelle Gellar

Buffy Anne Summers
Nicholas Brendon

Nicholas Brendon

Alexander 'Xander' Harris
Alyson Hannigan

Alyson Hannigan

Willow Rosenberg
Michelle Trachtenberg

Michelle Trachtenberg

Dawn Summers
See All Cast & Crew

Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

Pat Crawford Brown

Pat Crawford Brown

Wig Lady

Guest Star

Brent Hinkley

Brent Hinkley

Manny

Guest Star

Kirsten Nelson

Kirsten Nelson

Lorraine Ross

Guest Star

Elizabeth Anne Allen

Elizabeth Anne Allen

Amy Madison

Recurring Role

Kali Rocha

Kali Rocha

Halfrek

Recurring Role

See All Cast & Crew

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • TRIVIA (2)

    • "There's a high turnover rate" is the comical explanation Jane Espenson has given us for the Doublemeat's high mortality rate going unnoticed. The managers might not be bothered by employee turnover, but it seems strange that the police have not detected a pattern of actual missing people, not just employee turnover, based around this franchise.

    • It's odd that the drive-thru was still lit up when Willow goes to find Buffy at the end, even though the restaurant was closed.

  • QUOTES (4)

    • Xander: (about Halfrek's demon face) So, An, the way she looked, with the face... That wasn't what you used to look like, was it?
      Anya: Something wrong with that? I mean, did you think she was unattractive?
      Xander: Okay, is there any answer to that question that won't make you nuts?

    • Manny: You don't need to be in there.
      Buffy: Sorry. Was just curious.
      Manny: Curiosity killed the cat.
      Buffy: Theory #5: Cat-burgers.

    • Anya: Okay, see, this is why demons are better than people.
      Willow: Interesting turn.
      Anya: When I was a vengeance demon, I caused pain and mayhem, certainly. But I put in a full day's work doing it, and I got compensated appropriately.
      Xander: Welcome to today's episode of "Go, money, go!" I hear it daily.
      Willow: Yup, for the rest of your life.
      Anya: But supervillains want reward without labor, to make things come easy. It's wrong. Without labor there can be no payment, and vice versa. The country cannot progress. The workers are the tools that shape America.
      Buffy: Good to know. I was kinda feeling like a tool. And now I know why.

    • Willow: Amy... if you're really my friend, you'd better stay away from me. And if you're really not... you'd better stay away from me.

  • NOTES (4)

    • The Season 6 DVD includes a featurette entitled "Buffy Goes To Work." It contains interviews with writers, directors, and cast members commenting on the episode as well as their own job experiences.

    • The Doublemeat Palace building is the same building used in season 3's 'Faith, Hope, and Trick' where Mr. Trick drives through and kills the window guy.

    • Ridiculing fast food doesn't pay the bills. Joss Whedon has said in interviews that this episode was wildly unpopular with sponsors. He also states (in the disc three special feature Academy Of Television Arts And Science Panel Discussion) that the Network Producers found this episode the most controversial episode of the season- even more so than the last three episodes (Smashed, Wrecked and Gone) which featured much nudity and many sexual references.

    • This is the first time since her character's introduction that Amber Benson has been absent for two episodes in a row.

  • ALLUSIONS (4)

    • Buffy: Variety is the spice of bad.
      This is a nod to English poet William Cowper. The original line is: Variety's the very spice of life that gives it all its flavour (_The Task_ Book ii, "The Timepiece", lines 606 and 607). Cowper was deeply troubled, and modern interpretation would dictate that Buffy's paraphrase is actually truer to what he intended (that variety leads to desire which leads to frustration, and so on), despite that the line is often (mis)used to mean the opposite (that variety is the secret ingredient to happiness).

    • Buffy: You hit so many buttons, it was, like, Buttonpalooza.
      The slang affix "palooza" likely has its origins in the 1960s America, and is/was used to impart a sense of grand-scale importance. However, the reference is almost certainly to Lollapalooza, the alternative concert series that defined summer music festivals for Generation Xers. Joss, et al, have borrowed from it many times over the course of the show.

    • Buffy: Don't eat it! It's people!
      This is a reference to the 1973 movie Soylent Green. In the year 2022, the starving masses depend upon the government manufactured food item Soylent Green to exist. But in the midst of a murder investigation, a cop named Thorn (Charlton Heston) uncovers the chilling source of the product. It is made from corpses. When he makes this discovery, Thorn screams "It's people! Soylent Green is made from people"

    • Willow: ... and pictures of that Vulcan woman on Enterprise.
      Willow is referring to Enterprise, the latest Star Trek series which also airs on UPN. The Vulcan woman in question is T'Pol, played by Jolene Blalock.

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