Killed by Death

Season 2, Episode 18, Aired
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Episode Summary

When Buffy is admitted to hospital with a raging fever she meets Ryan, a young boy who has the same flu virus and claims that the sick children in the hospital are being persecuted by a monster that may be death himself.
8.2
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Fan Episode Reviews (22)

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  • Curing illness Slayer style

    10
    "Perfect"
    By joxerlives, Jan 19, 2012 Report Abuse
    Killed by death

    The Good;
    Very creepily shot and the central concept is just terrifying. Love the scoobs at the end and the kids drawing. Cordy's funny scene with the security guard, Cordy 'helping' Giles with research. Best of all though is Xander's Dirty Harry style confrontation with Angelus.

    The Bad;
    Not much

    Best line;
    Angelus; If I chose to walk in there do you think for one moment you could stop me?
    Xander; Maybe I couldn't. Maybe those orderlies couldn't. Or that security guard. Or those cops. But I'm kinda curious to find out..." (the coolest Xander moment ever!)

    Wheldon cliches;
    Knocked out; yep, Buffy

    Questions and observations;
    Willie Garson is great as the security guard, he also plays Carrie's friend Stanford in Sex and the City (which SMG guest stars in). Love Cordy's high-heels and miniskirt. Buffy passes out. Willow's frog fear re-occurs. You wonder if Buffy had taken the concentrated flu virus would it have killed her, she's pretty tough? Or once again is Buffy saved by her friends and family where any other Slayer would have died. Slayer healing again.
    Obvious similarity to Nightmare on Elm Street although I also think the demon rather resembles Kid Rock? (anyone else read the fanfic where Freddy Kreuger kills Anya and Buffy only to wake up strapped to the bed in a mental hospital with Buffy as his nurse?)
    The first alternate Buffy played by Mimi Paley. She's ok but not as good as the little girl we'll see in season 5. Buffy's had a cousin called Celia, Aunt Arlene's daughter? Even as a kid Buffy played at being a superhero and attracted the supernatural. Again, isn't Joyce a bit suspicious about Giles' turning up at Buffy's bedside? Love the bit about the Scoobs playing doctor (anyone else share Cordy's sceptisim about Buffy's denials?).
    10/10 up to the standard of late Buffy season 2 and you can't give much higher praise than that
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  • Killed by Death

    8.5
    "Great"
    By TrueTvWatcher, Oct 14, 2010 Report Abuse
    Killed by Death was another great episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I enjoyed watching this episode though at times it seemed a bit too slow. This is not one of my favorite episodes and I'd go as far as to say you don't really need to watch it to continue in the series. However it is still entertaining and has a decent story. I thought the whole premise was good, and reminded me a little of Jeepers Creepers. I think there were some minor character developments in this episode, however not majorly essential to the overall feel and form of the show.moreless

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  • freaky

    9.6
    "Superb"
    By hawkinsgal, Sep 21, 2010 Report Abuse
    i'd say this is one of the scariest buffy episodes because the demon is just so god damn scary! they really made him horrific and the fact that only kids could see him as well was just brilliant and buffy even managed to fight it whilst she was sick so that was just plain awesome. yeah i loved this episode but it was kinda sad that some of the kids in it died before buffy came because they couldn't defend themselves :( yes that was really sad. I am just trying to fill up space in this review now,haha so i shall keep talking. woo woo woo woo woomoreless

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  • A big step back after "Passion".

    5.0
    "Mediocre"
    By ticktock24, Sep 21, 2010 Report Abuse
    Whereas the previous episode was a milestone for the series with an extremely daring move in the seasonal narrative, this one feels out of place. It is reminiscent of earlier "Buffy" episodes, back when they weren't quite sure what this series would be about. Since there are still four episodes left this season, perhaps these episodes serve to pad the season so they could have Buffy confront Angelus in the finale as would be dramatically appropriate.

    Considering what happened, it would make sense for Buffy to feel responsible and helpless over what happened to Jenny. So they explore that by detailing Buffy's hospital fear after helplessly watching her cousin die when she was younger. Apparently Buffy had no problem empowering herself long before she was called, but that impotence when faced with the loss of someone close has remained too.

    When children start to die at an alarming rate, Buffy puts the pieces together as a tangible foe, whereas her friends believe she's doing so to deal with her feelings after Jenny's death. She isn't comfortable in situations where she doesn't have control. Ultimately to confirm her beliefs that there is something beatable diminishes the impact of her character's story. Although they slipped into this throughout the series, they would get better at handling the situation.

    There are three separate threads to this episode: the past with Buffy and her cousin, der Kinderstod and Buffy's feelings of helplessness. Ultimately they don't come together, even if it's clear what they were trying for when they made this episode. Some things are glaringly tacked on, like Willie Garson's security guard character who had some admiration for the controversial doctor (luckily the actor would have more to work with as Carrie's gay best friend on "Sex and the City"). Another episode mourning Jenny might've been a better call.

    Making Buffy sick is a possible solution, but the way they go about it is too ridiculous to swallow. How exactly would Willow know the vial in Dr. Backer's cabinet would be poisonous in its pure form and would have to be diluted, not to mention how much water she would need to dilute it properly? By taking the point of Buffy making herself weak so she can confront her weakness down this avenue, it diminishes the point they were trying to make.

    There are some more glaring plot holes as well. For a doctor to go missing with a bunch of children dying, wouldn't it make sense for someone to connect the two and surmise they are related? Kinderstod's murder of Dr. Backer isn't clear either: instead of keeping a low profile, going after a healthy doctor is going to raise eyebrows, even if the demon can't be seen from a healthy person's perspective. Also, why isn't security airtight?

    The most satisfying point of the episode is Xander playing Buffy's "white knight" when Angelus tries to mockingly leave some flowers for her. While Xander is a character frequently bogged down by his own insecurities, he'll still able to pull through with moments like these. Standing up to one of the greatest monsters of all time, not to mention one who is going for the emotional jugular, is a major victory.

    His defense and allegiance to Buffy continues to strain his relationship with Cordelia. The fact that they can never have a happy romantic relationship because of Xander's attachment to Buffy becomes increasingly clear. While they made up after Xander's love spell debacle, it was hardly a smooth reunion. She was flattered that he went to such lengths!

    Another brief moment is Joyce's words of consolation to Giles. Considering his death wish at the end of the last episode, it's unfortunate not enough was done in this episode. It does add a little to the connection between Joyce and Giles that has been brewing this season.

    Overall, this episode was completely unnecessary, throwing the series back a few steps after the landmark "Passion" episode. Things don't add up when they should. It's an unfortunate place to put such an episode as things with Angelus were driven to new heights (or lows), but perhaps this episode is another example of them filling out the 22-episode order.moreless

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  • Season 2, Episode 18.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By Wanted23, Apr 19, 2009 Report Abuse
    Buffy is admitted into the hospital with the flu. There, a boy named Ryan informs her that Death himself tries to kill the child patients every night.

    I haven't seen this episode in a while, but I liked it when I did. I enjoyed rewatching it a lot. I'm a little confused by Angel. Does he like Buffy, or is he just messing with her? I kinda like it. Anyway, I liked the whole Death thing, and how Buffy drugged herself or something so she can see the monster. I like how she was able to kill him by simply snapping his neck. That was probably the simplest kill in the whole series. Good episode.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

    ADD TRIVIA

    • When Willow reads the doctor's papers, she says that he was trying to inoculate the kids. But inoculation is the introduction of a small amount of virus in the body to build immunity in the hopes that larger exposure will have no effect. It is pointless to attempt to inoculate someone who already has the virus, it only makes them sicker. So either the doctor was applying it wrongly (not farfetched considering his reputation), or he was using some other method and referring to it by the wrong name.

      Edit
    • When Der Kindestod attempts to feed on Buffy the tendrils protrude from his eyes several inches. The camera angle changes as Buffy snaps his neck and the tendrils are gone. Edit
    • Angelus is whistling Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" in the hospital in this episode. This may be an in-character joke, since it was the one moment of joy that made Angelus evil once again. Angelus would undoubtedly celebrate that fact. Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • Willow's "frog fear" (which was first mentioned in the "What's My Line" episode) appears again in this episode. Edit
    • Buffy's cousin Celia, who died in a hospital when Buffy was eight, is the first relative of Buffy's other than her mother and father to be mentioned in the series. Edit
    • Killed By Death was originally written as a first season episode where Buffy gets sick and Angel takes her to the hospital. Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Xander: Visiting hours are over. Angelus: Well, I'm pretty much family. Xander: Yeah. Why don't you come back during the day? Oh, gee, no, I guess you can't. Angelus: If I decide to walk into Buffy's room, do you think for one microsecond that you could stop me? Xander: Maybe not. Maybe that security guard couldn't either. Or those cops... or the orderlies... But I'm kinda curious to find out. You game? Angelus: Buffy's White Knight. You still love her. It must just eat you up that I got there first. Xander: You're gonna die. And I'm gonna be there. Angelus: Tell her I stopped by. Edit
    • Angelus: (to Buffy) You know, you being off your game is kinda taking the fun out of all this. (He punches her in the face, and she stumbles backward) Nope, still fun! Edit
    • Xander: Hey, Buffy, we're all here. Buffy: Hey... here we are. It's... all of we. Are we taking me home? Doctor: No, Buffy, you need to lie down, honey. Buffy: Yeah? Lie at home. My bed is better than any bed that's not my bed. Doctor: She's still a little out of it. Buffy: Shhh! Hospital zone - no singing. Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • Buffy: Power Girl to the rescue! Power Girl is a DC Comics superheroine. Created in 1976, she stood out among many other female heroines (a common cliché among female superheroes, is that they take names and sometimes costumes of pre-existing male superheroes), as while she was a cousin of Superman, she chose to create her own name, identity and costume, to keep herself seperate from her famous cousin, not wanting to be seen as his carbon copy (even refusing to wear anything remotely similar to his symbol). In her civilian life, she's Karen Starr, founder and CEO of her own multi-million dollar corporation, Starrware Industries. Edit
    • Xander: Yeah, but if I see a floating pipe and a smoking jacket, he's dropped.
      Xander's line is in reference to the classic movie, "The Invisible Man", in which the invisible man from the title wears a smoking jacket, sunglasses, and carries around a pipe. Edit
    • Visual: Der Kindestod's appearance and reference to first victim Buffy knows of
      Der Kindestod is certainly reminscent--in both appearance and modus operandi--of Freddy Kruger, the monsterous spectre who hunts kids and teenagers in their dreams in the Nightmare on Elm Street series of films. Further, the child Der Kindestod killed the first night Buffy was in hospital was named Tina; Freddy's first victim was also Tina. Edit

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