Buffy the Vampire Slayer

A demon unleashed by The Trio causes Buffy to drift between her life in Sunnydale and another world where she is locked up in a mental institution. In my opinion, 'Normal Again' is a very good episode that makes us question everything we've seen so far and whether or not the world as Buffy knows it exists. I don't have any major problems with this episode and I think it represents the moment where Buffy goes back to being the TV show we all love. The only thing I'd change is the fact that the storyline drags itself more than it should, but other than that I really like this and think that writer Diego Gutierrez did a great job. Things I really liked include Tara saving the day again (the first time being in Season 4's 'Who Are You?'); Spike telling Buffy some truths we all would like to tell her and seeing Joyce once more. The alternate world (or the real one, perhaps) was really clever and like I mentioned, made me question the Buffyverse. Sarah's acting was really good, as usual and I even liked the demon.

Thumbs up.

The Good;
Some great acting from SMG, lovely to see Kristine/Joyce again. Also I really like the idea of Tara to the rescue, so lovely that she get's to play the hero for once.

The Bad;
Nothing bad, just a depressing ep

Best line;
Spike; "You didn't say it was a Glarg gul cashmanik demon!"
Xander; "Because I can't pronounce Glarg gul..."

Jeez!;
Not the ep if you don't like needles, including Willow snapping the demons stinger off

Kinky dinky;
Xander queries what exactly Buffy means when she says 'Poked'.

Captain Subtext;
Will sees Tara smooching with another girl but it might be just platonic. Spike uses the term poof of Xander. Also see Missing Scenes. Buffy says that once you fall for Willow you stay fallen.

Guantanamo Bay;
Rather ruthless that Xander just wants to go down to the basement and execute the demon

Missing scenes;
(reputedly)
BUFFY: I could wrestle naked in oil for a living and still be cleaner than after a shift at the Doublemeat.
WILLOW: Plus I'd come to visit you every single day.

Apocalypses; 6

Scoobies in bondage: Xander, Willow and Dawn all tied up
Buffy: 8
Giles: 4
Cordy: 5
Will: 4
Jenny: 1
Angel: 4
Oz: 1
Faith: 3
Joyce: 1
Wes: 1
Xander; 2
Dawn; 4

Scoobies knocked out: Xander and Tara
Buffy: 17
Giles: 12
Cordy: 6
Xander: 12
Will: 8
Jenny: 2
Angel: 6
Oz: 3
Faith: 1
Joyce: 3
Wes: 1
Anya;3
Dawn; 2
Tara; 1

Kills: 1 demon for Buffy
Buffy: 104 vamps, 55 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 4 demons
Buffybot; 2 vamps
Tara; 1 demon
Dawn; 1 vamp

Scoobies go evil: the Buffster herself
Giles: 1
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 1
Angel: 1
Oz: 1
Joyce: 1
Xander: 4
Anya; 1
Dawn; 1
Buffy; 1

Alternate scoobies: insane Buffy
Buffy: 8
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: 11
Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh, Forrest, McNamara, Joyce, Katrina

Sunnydale deaths;
93

Total number of scoobies: no more Anya, we must assume she's out of the gang for the time being
Xander, Willow, Buffy, 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?
Spike helps save Buffy. He abuses Xander but for once he's justified, Xander seems to go out of his way to vent his anger by picking a fight with Spike who for once has a viable comeback to use against him.

Dawn in peril; 9 yes but in fairness the same as everyone else. She seems pretty resourceful both against evil-Buffy and the demon in the basement.

Dawn the bashful virgin; 7

What the fanficcers thought;
Obviously a lot of fic in this regard but I have 3 favourites. In one Buffy wakes up as an old woman in the asylum and promptly chucks herself out the window. The paramedics wonder why this dead old lady has such a smile on her face whilst back in the Buffyverse Dawn wakes Buffy up to join her friends for breakfast. Number 2 also has the same premise but in this one old Buffy turns her delusion into a series of bestselling novels/TV series and uses the money to start an orphanage called Sunnydale, naming all the kids after the Scoobies and her parents. Best of all though is 'No Place Like Home' which has Buffy awakening from her delusion just after the end of Chosen, still only 23 in the real world. She returns to her normal life with her old friends from Hemery High (who are all still alive as the deaths in the movie/Lie to Me never happened) but convinces a pregnant Joyce to call her new daughter Dawn.
Also plenty of fic focusing on a world where Buffy isn't the Slayer. Taboo Comics have a pornographic web-comic series where Buffy fantasises about a world where she isn't the Slayer. She and Willow end up slaves in a demon brothel but eventually get bored with it, poison their masters and go into business for themselves part-time whilst enjoying their normal lives into the bargain.

Questions and observations;
Actually for once it's Dawn who strokes Buffy's hair (and Joyce does the same thing to asylum Buffy). Buffy acknowledges for the first time that Dawn is taller. No Anya at all for the first time in 2 seasons. If you want to know how Buffy fared during her time in the asylum you can find it in the original Buffy comics (the fifty or so published whilst the show was still on air rather than the current post-Chosen/season 8 series). Although perhaps more fun is the story of Dawn and Hoopy Bear that occured whilst Buffy was away.
There are probably about a thousand reasons why the premise of Normal Again (that Sunnydale is the delusion of Buffy who's a mad girl in an asylum) can't be true but here are just a few that occur to me off the top of my head;
1. How does stuff happen in the Buffyverse that Buffy never knows about? Giles' questions about her killing Angel, Xander's 'Kick his ass' comment in Becoming pt2, all of Angel;TS but especially 'I will remember you'? And notice we only ever see the asylum from Buffy's point of view, she's in every scene.
2. How can Hank, Joyce and Ford exist in both Buffy's delusion and the 'real world'?
3. Why is Buffy's delusion in Sunnydale not happier than real life? Surely her delusion is supposed to be an escape?
4. The asylum can't be Buffy's ideal if it doesn't have Dawn in it
5. How can Buffy be aware of current events (Tom and Nicole, Gatorade's new flavour, Star Trek; Enterprise) if she's a mad girl in the asylum?
6. If Buffy had a momentary awakening when she was dead why doesn't she remember it? The asylum is far from heaven.
7. What about when Buffy runs away from her calling after the end of season 2? She's a normal girl in the real world and also in her delusion?
8. How can Buffy be in a fugue state in Weight of the World within her delusion? And how exactly can she be inside Faith's dreams in 'This Year's Girl'?
On the other hand...?
The final scene on Buffy has Sunnydale destroyed, the Hellmouth sealed forever, literally and figuratively defeating her demons and HERSELF in the shape of the First Evil, the Slayer's work done. Faith tells Buffy that from now on she's going to have to live as a normal person. Dawn wonders what Buffy is going to do now? Buffy smiles her enigmactic little smile...and wakes up in the asylum, her sanity restored. She resumes her normal life, all her friends who died in the film still alive as indeed is Joyce who is still together with Hank. She becomes a successful author of supernatural stories based on her delusion which are turned into movies and a TV series. And calls her children (and Joyce and Hanks beloved grandchildren) Dawn, Willow, Rupert, Faith and Alexander.
Third explanation of course, both are true, asylum Buffy and Sunnydale Buffy are both real and have some sort of subconscious link. Post-Chosen asylum Buffy regains her sanity and enjoys her normal life once more (because with thousands of Slayers to share the burden Sunnydale Buffy can also now lead a fairly ordinary life) but the season 8 comics are her dreams/successful literary creations which are the reality for Sunnydale Buffy.
Marks out of 10; 6/10 clever but not much fun

Normal Again-After being poisoned by a demon, Buffy comes to believe that she is confined to a mental hospital, her mother is alive, her parents are still together, and that her life as a Slayer has all been an hallucination for the past six years. Deciding that she prefers this "normal" life with her parents, Buffy attempts to destroy the things that tether her to the "fantasy" life of the Slayer: her friends.

Sci-Fi, like many other genres of entertainment, developed avarietyof stories that have become a cliche in their respected genres. The idea that "the hero was never really a hero and has just been some crazy person in an mentalinstitution" has been done many times from over dozen other series including Smallville and Star Trek. During that 2001-2002, Charmed did an episode earlier that year to where one of the Charmed Ones was trapped in an aslyum and forced to believe that their real life was a fantasy world. Mixed with some dark drama and witty humor, it turned out to be one of the best episodes of that series. When it comes to "Normal Again", it goes far beyond that simply concept (as Buffy tends to do). This is truly one of the mostmesmerizingand heartbreaking psychological dramas I've ever seen. This concept works the best on Buffy, especially during this season because honestly, why wouldn't Buffy want to believe her life is all some twisted fantasy in her mind? After all she's been through since she's been brought back from the dead, from her suicidal thoughts to her abusive relationship with Spike, Buffy's view on life is anything but good. The asylum reality shows her a world where her mom is not only alive, but her parents never split up. Sarah Michelle Gellar once again shows that she was truly one of the finest actresses on the small screen at the time. The best moment of the episode is without a doubt when Buffy reveals to Willow she was in fact in an mental institution after she first saw a vampire. It's a brilliant twist on the storyline and adds so much depth to the episode. Sarah delivers that scene so well to the point where I was almost in tears.

Other really heartbreaking moments is when Dawn finds out she doesn't exist in her reality. While Dawn's reaction can be seen as a bit selfish, it's not out of character and you can't blame her for being upset for not being apart of her sister's life in an alternate reality. Another twist on this storyline is the fact that when Buffy gives in, she begins brutally attacking her friends. Sarah really shows how much range she's capable of in this episode going from disorientated to sadness to pure madness, it's really astounding work, especially when Buffy attacks Dawn. I also have to give Sutherland for herterrificwork during the final sequence where Buffy is fading in and out of both realities. You really feel bad for Joyce watching her daughter suffer and ultimately seeing her say goodbye. I also thought the rest of the cast was great with Xander returning home and facing therepercussionsof his actions, Willow struggling with the fact that Tara might have moved on etc. It's nice to see the other characters' arc continuing to move forward at a believable pace. I also liked Spike's coldultimatumto Buffy that finally pushed Buffy over the edge and want to stay in her alternate reality. I also liked the hilarious irony that the writers play with with Xander and especially Buffy realize how ridiculous Buffy's life is when one really thinks about it. Not to mention, theincrediblyhaunting ending gets meevery-timeand once caused questions among the fanbase of the possibility of the entire series all being in Buffy's head. A truly masterful hour from the writers and cast who take a cliched plot and put a new spin on it better than any other attempt at the story.

So we have a break from Xander's post-wedding misery ("a painful hole inside") and Willow's relationship misery (she thinks Tara is seeing a new girl) back into – Buffy misery! and the crescendoing nerd storyline. The trio's latest and perhaps cruellest trick yet is to employ a demon to inject the Slayer with alternate reality schizophrenia poison. This is the one and only episode written by Joss's assistant, Diego Gutierrez, which is a pity because first and foremost it is a good story, fitting neatly into this season's theme of Buffy wanting to escape her life and secondly and interestingly, the episode was written by an inexperienced scriptwriter writing about storytelling. The fourth wall becomes a little transparent as the asylum doctor questions the series' storyline – Buffy used to fight "gods and monsters", now the series presumptive big bad is "just three pathetic little men who like playing with toys". The doctor claims Buffy that rewrote "the whole history" of Sunnydale to include Dawn as she needed a "a familial bond", just as the writers did. The "reality" of the hospital is a metaphor for Buffy's life, just as the series' vampires, demons etc. are a metaphor for high school, college, young adulthood and so on. Life in the asylum matches life in Sunnydale as the doctor talks about a period of lucidity in the summer (when Buffy was dead) and how her hallucination has been breaking down recently.



Even the inconsistencies fit into the story – if Buffy had been incarcerated by her parents before moving to Sunnydale, then wouldn't Joyce have mentioned it back at the end of S2 when Buffy revealed her calling? But this contradiction plays into the story – does Buffy have a false memory of this period because her drugged mind tries to work out why her subconscious would place her in a mental institution? Perhaps Buffy feels that being the Slayer is akin to being crazy, that the "grand overblown conflicts" she revels in are as mad as being in an asylum.



The doctor tells her parents that Buffy believes "she's some kind of hero" - because Buffy believes that she isn't? We've seen time and time again the Slayer's desire for a normal life, now that her actual life is taking several turns for the worse, her only imagining of normality is being mentally disturbed. But crucially, in this alternate reality of insanity, Buffy doesn't have the responsibility of Dawn or being the chosen one, and her parents didn't divorce, abscond or die, their only concern is for her, they just want to "take you home and take care of you". This fits into another theme of this season - not being able to move into adulthood. Buffy craves the security of childhood, the only way to get it is by believing that she is mentally unstable.



Neither does Buffy want the moral grey area and the responsibility of her relationship with Spike. She covers lamely for him when Xander, in a self-loathing bullying mood, picks on him but doesn't pick up on Spike's less than subtle hinting about the true nature of his relationship with the Slayer. The covering up is becoming more translucent; Buffy even rhetorically asks Dawn: "A girl who sleeps with a vampire she hates – yeah, that makes sense." This is every twenty-something's angsty questioning of Life, of Reality, why am I doing these things? This isn't how my life is supposed to go. Buffy's life doesn't make sense, so it is easy for her to to accept that it is unreal.



The doctor point out that the things that keep bringing Buffy back, her friends, are becoming "less comforting" than they once were. Everyone's feeling the pull of adulthood. Willow is still in recovery, talking about needing items from the magic shop "for medicinal purposes" in order to cure Buffy of her delusions; unfortunately Spike's berating of Buffy has made her want to stay delusional, to escape to a simpler world. If she can't be in heaven, she can be in a delusional hell. "What's more real? A sick girl in an institution or some kind of supergirl, chosen to fight demons to save the world?" she asks. The best review I read of Buffy was that it held more reality in its metaphors than a socio-realist drama. Fiction can give more truth than fact.



Buffy's refusal to take her meds leads to a schizophrenic episode in which the voices in her head tell her to kill her friends, the thing that keep bringing her back (from the dead, from the brink, from rejection of her role). It seems that Buffy is going bad at long last, stalking the house like Jack Nicholson, confirming Dawn's worst fears as she tells her sister that Dawn is a) not real and b) "just a trap for my mind". Still, she can't kill her friends, she tries to get the demon to do it for her, although Tara, in her new role as earth-toned rescuer, tries to intervene. But it's not Tara who saves the gang, it's Buffy and the 'ghost' of Joyce as she tells her daughter: "I know the world feels like a hard place sometimes, but you've got people who love you". Buffy's tough subconscious comes through for her it gets her 'mom' to says what she needs to hear, what Joyce may have said had she been alive., so that Buffy can Choose Life. "You've got a world of strength in your heart. You've just got to find it". Buffy needs to restore her faith in reality. When you live in fantastical realm and death means nothing, it's hard to connect, but through a c connection with a memory, Buffy manages to snap back to reality.



The final scene features a catatonic Buffy and a resigned doctor saying that they have lost her. The whole series is just the sick imaginings of a mad girl! Or rather, the fevered imagination of one Joss Whedon.

This is an interesting episode, cause it makes you think, "Is this world of Sunnydale Buffy's actual reality, or is her world really a mental hospital?" Which one's the correct one? I guess we'll never know, but it really makes you think if the world of Buffy really IS a world Buffy made up in her head.

I've read all that this site (actually, TVTome) says about Buffy when I've watched it the first time. Now I wanted to watch the ending (the last season complete) again, so I've started in this episode with my DVDs and I'm going to write my first review for this great show.



I'm a huge Buffy fan, I really love the show, and I know that it sometimes has plots that are really stupid or things that don't make any sense (like for example, Willow reconstructing a full robot humanoid with IA in a matter of days) but there story line is so carefuly well written that everything adds up perfectly. No matter how stupid a situation was, they never pretend that didn't happen, they go back to these everytime and construct the main storyline, I don't know many shows that are written that well (in that sense).



Like there are stupid things sometimes, for the most part there are great things and some of them are over the top, this episode is one of them, algo Hush and Once More... With Feeling. These three episodes show that Buffy is much more than a great show.



I think this episode is great, even if is not the first time that we see this idea (like is stated in the allusions part). The things that happen in "the real life", I mean, the parts in Sunnydale, are not that important for the show. These parts show mainly how confused Buffy is with her coming back to life (something that is the main theme of the season) and how he finally embraces his destiny and choses to remain in Sunnydale with the Scoobies, the demons and all that. We also get to see a little development in the Tara/Willow, Xander/Anya storylines, but mostly is a setup for things to come.



The parts in the hallucinations are the best thing in this episode. In there, everything makes sense, the writers makes fun of themselves a lot in these parts, and of course, we can laugh of ourselves an think "damn it's true, this story doesn't make any sense, how do i like this show so much anyway?".



Along the history of the show many references to the shot plot are thrown, the characters make fun of it all the time. This little resource of the writers is also used in the season 3 episode The Zeppo, when all the scoobies avoid the end of the world again, but we don't get a chance to know what happen, since we're watching Xander's side of the story.



They use in this episode a lot of things that I think every viewer must've said... how come Buffy died twice? What is that amazingly weird thing with the sister?? What the hell is happening in this town????? We all know that all of this isn't real, but we like it anyway, a lot. And I think that this is part of it, the viewers and the writers both laugh at the plot and that makes the show great, if they approached all of this seriously it will be to hard to swallow.



The doctor says something very true that has bothered me along the whole season... how is it possible that the last season they've defeated a true Goddess and now they are outbested by 3 annoying nerds?? Maybe because Buffy isn't the same after dying or maybe because of the network change, I don't know. The show is great anyway, don't get me wrong... but I appreciate it more when there's a true villain to defeat, like in all of the oder seasons. They correct it in the end with Dark Willow and do a perfect job at the very end of the series with the first evil.



A really special moment is when Joyce (great to see her again) talks to Buffy and tells her that she must accept his life as it is. It backfires on her, since Buffy decides to go back to Sunnydale, but it show how much she cares for all of her friends, her sister and ever for the Spike. This marks the beginning of Buffy's recovery for the shock of the death experience.



The last scene of this episode is really well done, since this is not narrated from Buffy's point of view and all of this is supposed to take place in his head we're lead to believe that everything was true, that all the series is the product of her illness. Of course, is not so easy... we cannot be sure that is an hallucination, it may be a parallel universe or something even weirder (hey, it's buffy, anything can happen) so we are left with the doubt "is it real, or not?". Of course, nobody cares... Buffy and the Scoobies, the writers or us, the viewers... Buffy is very real for all of us and we all love it, so what if it is an hallucination or not? It doesn't matter.

I technically shouldn't even review this episode, as I never even finished watching it. But I think it's noteworthy that it's the only episode I turned off halfway through in disgust.



A terrific alternate-universe concept--what if Buffy just imagined all her adventures in Sunnydale?--is ruined by this season's typical lack of a sense of humor about its subject. Granted, it would be a dark storyline anyway, but Buffy's suffering in this episode grows so painful and uncomfortable to watch that I finally couldn't take it anymore.



For an excellent take on this same concept--mysterious, exciting and touching--I highly recommend the Batman Animated Series episode, "Perchance to Dream."

It was an amazing episode, with amazing acting.



I was truly stunned at how brilliant Sarah Michelle Gellar's acting was in this episode, especially when she was in the asylum, as you really felt for her.



Another character you felt for in this episode is Dawn, and I think Michelle Trachtenburg did wonderful in it. It was nice to see Kristine Sutherland again, because she's a brilliant actress, and she's been sorely missed, even if she was only back for an episode. Alyson was a good actress too, but I feel that Sarah and Michelle were definietly two of the strongest. The ending with Buffy in the asylum made me cry.



From a personal view, this episode gave me brilliant ideas for stories and fanfictions I would like to write in the future.

This is by far my favourite Buffy episode, being the only episode that actually scares me a bit. The notion of not being able to distinct between reality and delusion is frightening.

Whereas Buffy herself wants a regular life with a mum and a dad and no vampires, all we want is the opposite - a supergirl in a superworld for us to endulge in on a regular basis. We all have something invested, which makes this episode... kinda personal.



What I think? I think she chooses the delusion.

i remember the first time i saw this episode, i was blown away. especially by the ending. this is probably the best written episode of the entire series. and i think that it showed that even in the sixth season, when most shows run out of ideas, that the writers could still be creative.

This is swo great 1st it makes you ask the question is the Buffy world all of it including the Angel show all fake and it is all being made up by a pyscho chick. It was really kool to see Buffy chose her friends and sister over mom and dad and I think they should do something with this ep. like show how it would have played out if she would have let her friends die like would we find out that it is all a dream or would she kill them then the demon what ever gave to her wear off and now shes in jail that would be a good ideal for like a mini season like one season of that ir like four five eps.

It is amazing, how it makes you think, wonder, and question not only if the series you have been following is a false reality in her imagination, if the Slayer is the Slayer, but also, if you are somehow making up your own reality. It's a truly wonderful episode if it makes you think that much, if it makes you question everything that you know. I know there have been times when I have felt like the reality I have been living in was false, but still knowing it was real, but on some basic level, knowing the other may very well be true, not knowing what way to turn. I find it heroic how Buffy has to make the decision, even with both parts of her mind telling her differently, pulling her toward it's own reality. Joss continues to make you think even to the last scene, where Buffy is in the corner, non-responsive, and the doctor says “We've lost” It makes you wonder, is that really reality? A sick girl in a hospital, or a superhero who has died twice?

Buffy gets injected by a demon and starts flashing between the reality we know and love, and an alternate one, where Buffy has only imagined Sunnydale, her friends, and being the Slayer. Okay, most people seem to love this episode. "It's so original!" "It makes you think!" But what does it make you think? It makes you think that the series that you and millions of other fans have followed faithfully for nearly six years isn't even real in it's own fictional universe! To me, it seems to cheapen the series to think that none of the characters are real, even fictionally speaking. Now, I know it's just a show and none of the characters are real anyway, I'm not stupid, but you'd at least want the characters to be real in their own stinkin' show, right? But according to this epsiode, they may very well not be, and none of the plots we saw play out beautifully even happened on the show. Some people think it's just so darn great that it opens up a new possibility. Are more possibilities really a good thing? If you give a normally great couple an extra oppurtunity to fight, is good? Brilliantly done though, and you could really feel Buffy's pain through Sarah's great acting. The episode was done very well, the concept is interesting, but overall I choose to have it on in the background when I re-watch the series, as it makes the whole idea of the show seem worthless. Many may love it, but for fans that want to see the characters as brilliant, plausible personalities (and not meaningless delusions), I'd avoid this epsiode.

Buffy: 'Cause what's more real? A sick girl in an institution, or some kind of supergirl, chosen to fight demons and save the world? That's ridiculous. A girl who sleeps with the vampire she hates?!? Yeah, that makes sense.



Main character in asylum usully spells rubbish, but this isn't bad. Instead it simply makes you think. Buffy goes pyscho and nearly kills her friends - pretty entertaining. Kristine Sutherland makes a good guest appearance too.

buffy was affected by the demon she fought made responsible by the trio that caused her to hallucinate in this alternate world. she perceived it to be the real one. she's in a mental ward and demons don't exist coz she just made them all up. and the treatment would be to forget all about her being the slayer in sunnydale together w/ her friends. she almost made the gang and even her sister to be killed by the demon so as to end her confusion on where reality really is but in the end she came to her senses and the implied ending that what's almost real, the normal standards of being sane is when she's crazy.

This is one of the best episodes of Buffy I've ever seen. It was so real, so intense, and it felt like it wasn't fiction. Buffy trying to figure out which reality is real, it made me want to cry. I didn't want Buffy to go to the reality where her mom was alive. I wanted her to stay in the Sunnydale reality. I wanted to cry so many times during this episode. If those three geeks pulled this one off, I hope they die. That was horrible for Buffy to go through. Killing her friends? That's insane. I can't believe she thought for even a second that killing her friends would have been a good plan. If this show turns out to be an alternate reality and the real Buffy is in that mental institution I will cry. I hope the antidote works. Buffy was foolish the first time and didn't drink it. I still can't believe it. This episode had so many emotions. It gave me goosebumps because I was so shocked and peeved at Buffy. Thank God for Tara or they could have died! Just another awesome reason to love Tara. Buffy finally snapped out of it and that was one of the best moments in the episode. She beat that demon and now she has to work out the problems and thoughts that the institution reality gave her. Long live Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Rating - A+

The sixth season of Buffy has abandoned the (well-working) pattern of a big, invincible bad appearing every third or forth episode, leading up to the Big Bang in the series finale, in favour of a another route that is simply.. inexcusable. The main villain of this season is the horrible nerd trio Warren, Jonathan and Andrew, who use wildly unrealistic (even in the Buffyverse) tools to finish off the Slayer, whom they for some reason have their minds set on killing. They are by far the worst 'great villain' ever to appear on Buffy, even worse than the Mayor in season three, and I can't imagine what Joss Whedon was thinking, presenting us with this right after the frightening, powerful and just borderline perfect villain that was Glory. Normal Again sees the three nerds attacking Buffy with a poisonous demon that gives her hallucinations about being institutionalised, and has her think that everything Slayer-related is but a sick fantasy world. This mental storyline has been seen before, most notably on Charmed, where it worked much, much better than here. In Charmed it had a purpose, the Source wanting to strip the Charmed Ones of their powers, whereas here it is nothing but a side-effect of a desperate attempt to keep Buffy away from nerd central. Despite obvious efforts from Sarah Michelle Gellar, the episode just doesn't work. The big bad of season six might be Buffy's mind, and I see the writers' reason to show us this weakened, fragile and reality-confused Buffy, who has struggled all season to get a sense of life again, but too much psychological pain quickly gets plain boring. Xander and Willow are back as the two main supporters of Buffy, Xander having returned after some never expounded upon soul-searching, and Willow being her plain old pre-witchcraft self. Spike continues his tedious passive-aggressive attacks on Buffy's behaviour towards him, and Dawn is still on her teenage-the-world-has-abandoned-me-craze.



A tedious story with a study of Buffy's mind that hardly leaves me spellbound. Come on, Joss, step it up.

Normal Again was a pretty great episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I enjoyed watching this psychological thriller which was beautifully put together. The story in this episode was brilliant and fascinating. Buffy was faced with a tough dilema inside her own mind and it was interesting to watch how that played out. The ending of the episode was a bit disturbing, but classically Buffy. There was a lot of character development in this episode for a few characters, and I think this whole experience will help Buffy move forward and get back to being normal! I look forward to watching the next episode to see what happens next!!!!!

Due to a demon's influence, Buffy enters a mental state where she seems to be "normal" and can choose to stay that way.



Whedon and the gang got this one right in a lot of ways. Say what you like about the fantastic adventures and the good and bad episodes (the series is not nearly as good as its fanatics think, IMO), this one takes what the main character is and examines it in an effective manner.



Some people might say similar things were done before, examples would include numerous TV episodes of alternative lives where the protagonist wants noting more than to return, "The Inner Light" on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" - "Smallville" even ripped it off wholesale in 2007. Where this episode shines is in its execution. The idea that a "hero" can imagine a world where she is not and be convincingly shown how a normal life could be much happier is very-well done here. The appearance of her dead mother is particularly striking. This story exceeds the Star Trek episode (the best of that series) in that she realizes it and chooses her burdened life anyway. The "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode has advantages in having more time to set up the "alternative" life of the protagonist, but doesn't deal with the conflict of choice. "Normal Again" is nicely done, realistic (life is always how you imagine it in your own mind, isn't it?), and has deliberately spare production values. The "monsters" of Buffy's life can be taken literally or figuratively and this episode still works.

A good Ep. What Happens is that Buffy is walking around looking for houses (I think) and she fights this demon thing (but it gets away, after stabbing her) so yeah it stabs her and after that she thinks that she is in a Asylum (mental Institution) and at first she thinks that the asylum is fake but in the end thinks that being "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" is fake. what I really didn't understand about this episode is that in the end , after she has the antidote it goes back to her in the asylum but she is in Catatonic state (her brain has shut down) and if her brain only shut down then is she imagining all this vampire slayer stuff?..? i dunno but before that... She locked up, Willow, Xander and Dawn in the basement and tries the kill them really.. In the end she gets up and helps them... i thought that it was really sad when she said good-bye to her mum in the asylum... but then again i liked the fact that she was back to normal...



I luved this episode... it was well written and well played Sarah Michelle Gellar played Buffy Awsomely in this Ep.!!!

Having seen episodes of other shows like it, and knowing what happens, I was pleasantly surprised to find how much I enjoyed this episode.



"Normal Again" really shows another side of Buffy. She's usually portraid as the strong one, the one that just keeps going, no matter how bad it gets. Joss has touched on the subject of Buffy being emotionally weak, but this episode really revealed that whole side of her. I was surprised to find that when Dawn claimed not to be in her "ideal reality" Buffy didn't say that it wasn't her ideal reality. From what we saw of it, it actually looked quite unpleasant for Buffy. Was it her ideal reality? Was it reality? Questions that will haunt our thoughts forever.



I was happy to see Willow and Tara around each other again. But Spike was what really bothered me. He couldn't have picked a worse time to hassle Buffy. She's delusional, in emotional shock, and was just starting to get over Spike (in a less literal sense of course). If he really cared about her, he would realize that she doesn't need the stress that he might tell in her life right then. Overall I was quite happy with this episode. We got to see Buffy in a different light, Tara and Willow communicate, Xander is back, and... is any of that real?

I love this episode! To this day, I still wonder in Buffy is in an asylum and Sunnydale and the events that take place in LA with the fang gang and Angel are just her imagination. But, I think that even if Sunnydale is fake, Buffy is still that slayer. Buffy in the Sunnydale reality says that Joyce and Hank brought Buffy to an institution after she burned down the gym. Before she burned down the gym, before she became the Slayer, she was an ordinary girl, why would she burn down the gym, only to save the school from the vampires. Now if the vampires were real or not, that’s not for us to say, but Buffy in the asylum reality (pre-Sunnydale) believed that she was the slayer. Why would a normal girl burn down the gym to save the world from vampires if it weren’t real?



My theory. Buffy is the slayer, Marick came and she fought the vampires in LA, because she had to. But after that, she couldn’t handle Marick’s death and went into the reclusive world of Sunnydale. Where she was able to play out her destiny, as Slayer. The only that doesn’t fit in, is why Buffy would kill her Mom and have her Dad be such a dead beat? Wouldn’t the crazy Buffy still want her family together? Sunnydale Buffy always talked about wanting her Dad to come back.



In this season of ups and downs, this episode gives the downs purpose!

while watching this episode,and buffy fan CAN NOT remain idle.

this is one of the show's most unique episodes,and in my mind rivals even HUSH and OMWF...



though it is slightly out of touch with the rest of the show,it fits perfectly into the moody/depressive season 6 aspect,and,like a few other actions over the course of the season,raises serious questions over buffy's mental well being and the grind of being a slayer...



a MUST WATCH for all fans

Normal Again



wauw. if there is a perfect episode than this is it. the best written episode of the entire show. its not my favorite but it's definitely the best made. amazingly acted. very well written and done. it's one of the shows best. and what makes it so good is that both worlds can be possible. it leaves you with a shock behind. it's such an amazing episode that didn't get the fame it deserved.



cut to Buffy finding the geeks and they see her on the monitors and Andrew sends a demon after her and it sticks some sort of needle in her and she suddenly is in a crazy home and some guys stuck a needle in her.



the credits start



cut to Buffy in the normal place again and it’s weird and she goes away. cut to Willow going to find Tara and when she's going over she sees her kissing another girl and gets upset and walks away and Tara sees her. cut to Buffy and her boss calls her and she's again in that hospital and then back. cut to Buffy going to Willow and she tells about Tara and that she would have get to mad if she stayed and Buffy says they were just friends cause once you fall for Willow you stay fallen. then someone enters the house. it's Xander and he asks if Anya is there. they say that he left a while ago and he's very worried and wants her in his life. he says he's a better person with her and that he screw it up.



cut to Buffy going to the cemetery and Spike is there and she tells him about the wedding and he didn’t expect it. Xander and Willow tag along and Xander has a fight with Spike and Buffy goes back to that place. a man says she’s in a mental institution for six years now and that non of the other things are real. then she has visitors. it's her mom and dad. but she's very confused and they ask her to stay but she goes back and her friends take her home. She tells them there about what she's been having and that it looked really real and they wanna find but what it is. cut to Buffy there again. the doctor is explaining things and that she could get better. her world is falling apart. all the friends she made up are making mistakes. and her big enemies are some geeks. it's not as comforting as it used to be.



cut to the geeks. Jonathan sees that Andrew and Warren are gaining up and he feels left out. cut to Buffy looking at some pictures of when she was little. Willow comes to her and she found the demon. Buffy feels lost. she says she's been detached from things a long time before and that she was once in a clinic when she saw her first vampires and that after a couple of weeks they let her go but what if she never went away and what if she's still there. Willow says she's not and that Xander and Spike are haunting for the antidote. cut to Xander and Spike haunting it but they have a fight but the demon attacks them and they fight together and Xander puts it to sleep and Spike brakes its neck. cut to Dawn going to Buffy and she tells Dawn to do better and then she sees Joyce who tells her that she doesn’t have a sister and that she made her up and she tells Buffy to say it and she does and Buffy wants to touch her but goes back and Dawn heard it and she's sad cause she doesn't exist in her ideal reality.



cut to the guys taking the demon into the house and they put it and Willow brakes his needle and will make antidote for Buffy. cut to Willow bringing it to Buffy and Buffy is thankful for her. then comes Spike and she doesn't want him near and he says that if she doesn’t tell anyone he will and leaves and that makes Buffy worse and she throws the antidote away. cut to Buffy in the clinic and she says she wanna be healthy again and asks what she has to do. they tell her that she has to get rid of her friend and that they were the ones who pulled her back last time. cut to Buffy and Willow and she wants Buffy to feel better again and she still has the demon in the basement. she goes with Buffy. then comes Xander in the house. he sees Buffy in the kitchen and she says she's better and then she grabs a pan and hits him on the head and then she knocks him down and throws him in the basement next to Willow.



cut to Buffy going to Dawn and she noticed she's acting weird and wanted to go over to Janice. Buffy starts to go after her and Dawn runs away and says she's hallucinating and that she's real and that she loves her and needs her but Buffy says she's a trap in her mind and that a girl who fights vampires and screws one she hates is ridiculous. then she grabbed Dawn and throws her with the other whole bunch. cut to the institution and they tell her to take her time. she goes back and she makes the demon loose but it's to hard for her to watch. cut to Tara coming in the house and she sees what's happening and she unties everyone but Buffy grabs her legs and makes her trip. Buffy cant stand it seeing all her friends getting hurt.



cut to the institution. Joyce tells her to be strong and believe in herself. she has many people who believe and love her and Buffy looks at her and says she's right and thanks. and then goodbye. (teary) cut to Buffy back and now she's gonna save her friends. she fights the demon and she kills it. she says she needs the antidote and they tell her that everything is going to be okay. cut to the institution and the man can't find reaction and he says they lost her.



Black Out

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Best episode quotes:



Willow: Hi, um, Tara, how are you? W-well, I-I was wondering, maybe, you would wanna go out sometime? For coffee ... food ... kisses and gay love? Hi Tara. Guess what? Magic-free now for, insert number, days now.



Female Doctor: Come on, it's time for your drugs.

Buffy: What?

Lorraine: I said, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you were on drugs.

Buffy: Okay. Good.



Willow: I'm online, checking to see if Xander emailed.

Buffy: Any luck?

Willow: No such.

Buffy: Well, maybe Anya found him and they're trying to work it out. How come you're all, home, hearth, and DSL anyway? I thought you were gonna go see Tara.

Willow: Saw her. Saw her completely.

Buffy: Ouch. Just got a scratch from all that brittle.

Willow: It's... when I was seeing her, she was seeing someone else. A girl.

Buffy: You mean-

Willow: I mean ... not "seeing" seeing. Well, maybe. I don't know, it was inconclusive, and I didn't stick around to find out. Might have magicked my fist through a wall or something,

Buffy: Will, I'm sorry.

Willow: I mean, they're probably just friends. I press my lips against my friends' all the time.

Buffy: I'm sure they're just friends. Once you fall for Willow, you stay fallen.

Willow: Thanks, Buffy.

Xander: Hi.

Willow: Xander?

Xander: I'm back.

Buffy: Xander?

Willow: Xander, you're here! We missed you, where were you?

Xander: I know, I tried calling, but I couldn't without...

Buffy: Hey. You don't need to explain to us.

Xander: Right. Is she here?

Willow: Oh ... n-no, you ... wanna find her?

Xander: I need to. Her suitcase is gone and some of her stuff. There's a Closed sign on the Magic Box, which, like, chills me to the bone.

Willow: She left a couple days ago.

Xander: Was she looking for me? Before she left, did she say anything?

Willow: You mean, between sobs? There was mostly just wheezing.

Buffy: She was a little ... she was ... kinda broken.

Xander: I don't know how stuff got so mixed up! I blew it.

Buffy: No. Well ... maybe it wasn't the best time to break up with her, but...

Xander: No. It wasn't about breaking up. I love her, and god, I miss her so much.

Willow: So, you left her at the altar, but you still wanna-

Buffy: You still wanna date?

Xander: I guess. I know that I'm a better person with her in my life. But things got so complicated with the wedding, and with my family, and with her ... demons, and ... what if it all goes to hell, a-and forever? But then I left ... and ever since ... I've had this painful hole inside. And I'm the idiot that dug it out. I screwed up real bad.

Buffy: Hey. We all screw up.



Spike: You lookin' for me?

Buffy: Really not.

Spike: Oh. Right then. Off you go. Did you cry?

Buffy: What?

Spike: The wedding. Two hearts joined for eternity, great pelting showers of rice and so forth.

Buffy: You didn't hear.

Spike: What? Families get out of hand? Tear the place apart?

Buffy: No. Well, yes, absolutely. But ... Xander left. The wedding didn't happen.

Spike: Well. Gotta say ... I didn't see that coming.

Buffy: It was awful. Anya was devastated.

Spike: Is that right.

Buffy: And, Xander ... thinks maybe they can still get back together, but ... he hurt her a lot.

Spike: Yeah, well ... some people can't see a good thing when they've got it.



Buffy: What is this?

Doctor: Do you know where you are, Buffy?

Buffy: Sunnydale.

Doctor: No, none of that's real, none of it. You're in a mental institution. You've been with us now for six years. Do you remember?



Doctor: -possibilities for a full recovery, but we have to proceed cautiously. If we're not careful--

Joyce: Wait. Are you saying that Buffy could be like she was before any of this happened?

Doctor: Mrs. Summers, you have to understand the severity of what's happened to your daughter. For the last six years, she's been in an undifferentiated type of schizophrenia.

Hank: We know what her condition is. That's not what we're asking.

Doctor: Buffy's delusions are multi-layered. She believes she's some type of hero.

Joyce: The Slayer.

Doctor: The Slayer, right, but that's only one level. She's also created an intricate latticework to support her primary delusion. In her mind, she's the central figure in a fantastic world beyond imagination. She's surrounded herself with friends, most with their own superpowers ... who are as real to her as you or me. More so, unfortunately. Together they face ... grand overblown conflicts against an assortment of monsters both imaginary and rooted in actual myth. Every time we think we're getting through to her, more fanciful enemies magically appear-

Buffy: How did I miss-

Doctor: and she's-

Buffy: Warren and Jonathan, they did this to me!

Doctor: Buffy, it's all right. They can't hurt you here. You're with your family.

Buffy: Dawn?

Hank: That's the sister, right?

Doctor: A magical key. Buffy inserted Dawn into her delusion, actually rewriting the entire history of it to accommodate a need for a familial bond. Buffy, but that created inconsistencies, didn't it? Your sister, your friends, all of those people you created in Sunnydale, they aren't as comforting as they once were. Are they? They're coming apart.

Joyce: Buffy, listen to what the doctor's saying, it's important.

Doctor: Buffy, you used to create these grand villains to battle against, and now what is it? Just ordinary students you went to high school with. No gods or monsters ... just three pathetic little men ... who like playing with toys.



Willow: Look, Buffy, I found the demon. Fits your description and symptoms perfectly. Look, is this it? See, it's gonna be okay. Its pokey stinger carries an antidote to its own poison.

Buffy: I feel so lost.

Willow: I know. You're confused. It's, it's that crazy juice inside you.

Buffy: It's more than that. Even before the demon ... I've been so detached.

Willow: We've ... all been kind of slumming.

Buffy: Every day I try to ... snap out of it. Figure out why I'm like that.

Willow: Buffy, look at me. You are not in an institution. You have never been in an institution.

Buffy: Yes, I have.

Willow: What?

Buffy: Back when I saw my first vampires... I got so scared. I told my parents ... and they completely freaked out. They thought there was something seriously wrong with me. So they sent me to a clinic.

Willow: You never said anything.

Buffy: I was only there a couple of weeks. I stopped talking about it, and they let me go. Eventually ... my parents just ... forgot.

Willow: God. That's horrible.

Buffy: What if I'm still there? What if I never left that clinic?

Willow: Buffy ... Buffy, you're not. I'm ... so sorry you had to go through that. But, i-it's the past. You've got to trust me. We're gonna get you that antidote. Xander's hunting the demon right now.

Buffy: Alone? Will, he can't. It's too strong.

Willow: Oh, it's okay. We got help.



Dawn: I made you some tea.

Buffy: Thanks. I'm okay, Dawn.

Dawn: The, uh, thousand-yard stare really helps sell that. You're burning up.

Buffy: I should be taller than you.

Dawn: Maybe you're not done growing.

Buffy: Coming apart.

Dawn: What's coming apart?

Buffy: We have to try harder, make things better.

Dawn: I'm trying.

Buffy: Your grades ... stealing. Willow's been doing your chores, hasn't she?

Dawn: What? No, i-it's ... it's the fever. It's cooking your brain.

Buffy: We have to deal with these things, Dawn, we-

Joyce: You don't have a sister, Buffy.

Buffy: Dawn?

Joyce: No, honey. Say it. It'll help you believe it.

Buffy: I ... don't ... have a sister. I know I, I didn't grow up with her. These monks, they-they made her.

Hank: It's your mind, just playing tricks on you.

Joyce: You're our little girl, Buffy. Our one and only. We've missed you so much. Mom and Dad just want to take you home and take care of you.

Dawn: I'm not even there, am I?

Buffy: What?

Dawn: You said it a second ago. You don't have a sister. It's your ideal reality, and I'm not even a part of it.

Buffy: Dawn, I ... I didn't mean-

Dawn: I have to go finish my chores.



Willow: Buffy? Wake up. Got yummy antidote goodness for you.

Buffy: What happened?

Willow: It took a little longer than I'd hoped. No magic and all. Went boom twice, but then I got it. Just ... when it's cool, drink it all down, and ... everything should go back to normal.

Buffy: You never stop coming through. Thank you, Willow.

Spike: How is she?

Willow: Make sure she drinks all that. I'm gonna let Dawn know that everything's gonna be okay.

Spike: You all right?

Buffy: You need to leave me alone. You're not part of my life.

Spike: Fine, then. You know, but I hope you don't think this an- I hope you don't think this antidote's gonna rid you of that nasty martyrdom. See, I figured it out, luv. You can't help yourself. You're not drawn to the dark like I thought. You're addicted to the misery. It's why you won't tell your pals about us. Might actually have to be happy if you did. They'd either understand and help you, god forbid ... or drive you out ... where you can finally be at peace, in the dark. With me. Either way, you'd be better off for it, but you're too twisted for that. Let yourself live, already. And stop with the bloody hero trip for a sec. We'd all be the better for it. You either tell your friends about us ... or I will.



Buffy: Oh ... please, help me. I-I wanna go home, with you and dad.

Joyce: I know, Buffy. But first you've gotta get better.

Doctor: It's not gonna be easy, Buffy. You have to take it one step at a time. You have to start ridding your mind of those things that support your hallucinations. You understand? There are things in that world that you cling to. For your delusion, they're safe-holds, but for your mind they're traps. We have to break those down.

Buffy: Slaying?

Doctor: Yes ... but I'm talking about those things you want there. What keeps you going back.

Buffy: My friends.

Doctor: That's right. Last summer, when you had a momentary awakening, it was them that pulled you back in.

Joyce: They're not really your friends, Buffy. They're just ... tricks keeping you from getting healthy.

Doctor: You have to do whatever it takes to convince yourself of that, Buffy. Whatever it takes.



Buffy: Dawn?

Dawn: Don't you knock?

Buffy: I called for you.

Dawn: Buffy, are you okay?

Buffy: Where are you going?

Dawn: I'm going over to Janice's, where they actually like having me around.

Buffy: You're not going anywhere.

Dawn: Why not? You want me gone anyway. What do you care?

Buffy: I care. You're going downstairs with the others. It's the only way I can get healthy.

Dawn: What are you talking about?

Buffy: Buffy, you look sick. What are you doing? What's wrong with you?

Dawn: Stay away from me! Willow, help! Buffy, please!

Buffy: You can't hide, Dawn.

Dawn: Talk to me. You're hallucinating.

Buffy: I know. You're just a trap for my mind.

Dawn: Buffy, please, listen to me. That asylum and those people, they're not real! Buffy ... look at me. I'm right here. You're my sister. I need you and love you. Somewhere inside you must know that's real.

Buffy: Sure it is. 'Cause what's more real? A sick girl in an institution...

Dawn: Don't. Please. Listen to me.

Buffy: Or some kind of supergirl ... chosen to ... fight demons and... save the world. That's ridiculous. A girl who sleeps with the vampire she hates?! Yeah, that makes sense.



Buffy: I don't know...

Joyce: Buffy, look at me.

Buffy: I don't know. I don't know.

Joyce: I believe in you. You're a survivor, you can do this.

Buffy: Xander. No. Willow!

Joyce: Buffy? Buffy! Buffy, fight it. You're too good to give in, you can beat this thing. Be strong, baby, ok? I know you're afraid. I know the world feels like a hard place sometimes, but you've got people who love you. Your dad and I, we have all the faith in the world in you. We'll always be with you. You've got ... a world of strength in your heart. I know you do. You just have to find it again. Believe in yourself.

Buffy: You're right. Thank you. Good-bye.



Doctor: I'm sorry, there's no reaction at all. I'm afraid we lost her.



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Story: 10

Acting: 10

Writing: 10

Picture: 10

Gripping: 10

My Rank: 10

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Total: 10

In this episode buffy is stabbed by a poisonos creature. the poison makes her hulosonate and she starts to see another side of her life, one half is the regular sunnydale life, the other half is her in a mentel hospital being visited by a doctor and her two parents. after telling her her other half isin't real and her friends are the cause to her mental problem, buffy goes back into her other life and captures dawn, zander and willow and locks them in the basement with the poisonos demon atacking them. Tara comes in the door and magically unties the three hostigas and half way down the stairs buffy grabs her foot and tara plunges down to the floor. Soon after her fourth victim, buffy starts to find it hard to let her friends die, and soon gives up on her other side and kills the deamon.



in my opinion this is a truely special episode and it shows buffy is at least a small bit glad to live her confusing life.

This episode was a very interesting one.

It makes you think what if the world of sunnydale is really a fragment of Buffy\'s mind & it is all made up. This episode was \"VERY\" well written. In a rather odd way this episode would of been good as a season finale or \"THE\" season finale... although many fans would have been very disappointed with it... i know because i would of been one of them... lol... i just believe that this episode was so well done it could have been a finale. but thank god it wasn\'t... lol. Truly one of my favorites.