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Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 7 Episode 12

Potential

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AIRED: 1/21/03

Buffy and Spike begin to train the Potential Slayers, while Willow's magick determines that there is another Potential right at home in Sunnydale. To narrow down the search, Willow casts a locator spell, and it points straight at Dawn.

Fan Episode Reviews (13)

Dawn' ep

10

By joxerlives, Jan 21, 2012

POTENTIAL

The Good;

Amanda, by far my favourite Potential, love her to bits, the way she talks is rather reminiscent of Dana Scully from the X-files. She comes just ahead of Vi who is also great (so nice to have Felicia on Dollhouse), they both remind of season 1 Willow. Great stuff from Dawn too, fun training scenes and the final scene with Xander is too wonderful for words.

The Bad;

How can Spike attack the Potentials? What about his chip? Equally he can kill the Bringers, are they not wholly human?

Best line;

Xander; (to Dawn) "You're not special. You're extraordinary" (how true!)

Women good/men bad;

Andrew refers back to the female legacy of Eve. Actually we'll soon see where the real legacy of the Slayer began and it's not too empowering for the girls in question.

Jeez!;

Amanda wants to unleash the vamp on the marching band?

Kinky dinky;

During the training session Buffy ends up straddling Spike and feeling him up beneath his shirt. The Potentials comment that 'That's hot' and ask if they're expected to make out with the vampires? They also wonder how Buffy knows that Spike's crypt is comfy and seem to be peeking at Xander whilst he's in the shower at the Summer's house. What a load of saucy minxes! Amanda thinks that a guy who picks on her is quite cute. A sadomasochistic fondness for bad boys who make her miserable? All the makings of a Slayer RIGHT THERE! She just needs to get tied up and knocked out a few times. Buffy obviously thinks the same as she draws a comparison between Amanda and her tormentor and her and Spike. Rhona says she likes the feel of wood in her hand (Joss gives 15 year old girls this kind of dialogue? Worse than Dawn's 'Meat party in my mouth' line). Andrew says he hate's his free will. Dawn may have injured 'something she'll need later in life' whilst climbing into the school. She considers Xander's army training sexy and get's a kiss from him at the end (awwwww!).

Captain Subtext;

The obvious subtext here is that Dawn finally has a house full of girls of her age but they're all special because they're Potentials and she's not, Buffy is spending all her time with them and giving them her attention and she's excluded even though she's already killed a vampire and a demon. So close but so far. Dawn admires a girl in her gym class as a 'glamazon', interesting phrasing! She also considers being a sailor as she likes the water, well you know what all the nice girls like? Vi says the demon bar is like a gay bar, has she been to many? Clem once again resembles Buffy's gay best friend whilst Xander is referred to as the one who sees which will have greater significance later in the season. Buffy and Spike getting closer and closer.

Guantanamo Bay;

Buffy and Spike lock the girls into a crypt with a vamp, awfully like the Cruciantenam? But 5 to one with weapons and Spike and her waiting just outside

Apocalypses; 7,

Scoobies in bondage:

Buffy: 8

Giles: 4

Cordy: 5

Will: 4

Jenny: 1

Angel: 4

Oz: 1

Faith: 3

Joyce: 1

Wes: 1

Xander; 2

Dawn; 4

Spike; 2

Scoobies knocked out:

Buffy: 20

Giles: 12

Cordy: 6

Xander: 15

Will: 9

Jenny: 2

Angel: 6

Oz: 3

Faith: 1

Joyce: 3

Wes: 1

Anya;7

Dawn; 4

Tara; 1

Spike; 1

Kills: Spike kills a Bringer as does Buffy. 1 vamp for Amanda and 1 vamp for Kennedy (although that's more of a group effort)

Buffy: 118 vamps, 60 demons, 6 monsters, 10 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot

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

Will: 6 vamps + 3 demons +1 fawn+1 human.

Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie

Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans

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

Anya: 1 vamp and 1 a demon

Riley; 18 vamps + 7 demons

Spike; 9 vamps and 6 demons+1 human

Buffybot; 2 vamps

Tara; 1 demon

Dawn; 1 vamp + 1 demon

Kennedy; 1 human+1 vampire

Amanda; 1 vampire

Scoobies go evil:

Giles: 1

Cordy: 1

Will: 3

Jenny: 1

Angel: 1

Oz: 1

Joyce: 1

Xander: 4

Anya; 1

Dawn; 1

Buffy; 1

Spike; 1

Alternate scoobies:

Buffy: 8

Giles: 4

Cordy: 1

Will: 5

Jenny: 2

Angel: 3

Oz: 2

Joyce: 2

Xander: 4

Tara; 1

Dawn;1

Spike; 1

Anya; 2

Recurring characters killed: 13

Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh, Forrest, McNamara, Joyce, Katrina, Tara, Quentin Travers.

Sunnydale deaths;

103

Total number of scoobies: Add Amanda so 13. HOWEVER where is Chloe this week? (doesn't look good for her) Or Molly?

Xander, Buffy, Dawn, Willow, Anya, Spike, Giles, Kennedy, Molly, Vi, Chloe, Rhona, Amanda

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

Buffy; 1

Tara; 1

Notches on Scooby bedpost:

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

Buffy: 4 confirmed; Angel, Parker, Riley, Spike. 2 possible, Dracula+RJ(?)

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; 2 Buffy and Anya

Anya; 2 Spike and Xander

Dawn in peril; 14

Dawn the bashful virgin; 9

What the fanficcers thought;

No shortage of Dawn the Vampire Slayer fics out there. Also Dawn and Amanda are a pretty popular slashfic couple, try The Circle

Questions and observations;

Bloody long teaser, almost a mini-ep in itself. Rhona comments that the 'black chick always gets it first'. Actually one of the points of the Scream series was that black people were very seldom the victims (possibly because most slasher flicks are set in small, middle-class rural towns with an overwhelmingly white population). Buffy once again shows her mettle as a general, her training of the Potentials is masterful. She makes first reference to the big dessert at the end of the meal, believing in heaven and telling the Potentials to expect their big reward, very Christian. Dawn warns the Potentials to be careful with their crossbows hinting at Miss Kitty's fate. Love Dawn's little smile when Amanda says that people say Buffy is a high-functioning schizophrenic, again the Slayer an open secret. Dawn seems very innovative fighting the vamp and the Bringers, she's a regular MacGyver. Dawn seems to remember Oz and gives another little smile when Xander mentions him. Adore Amanda, Sarah Hagan is wonderful (was so proud of myself when I spotted her as one of Ally McBeals childhood friends in a flashback). You should check her out on IMDB, she's really blossomed, looks like Katy Perry now.

Marks out of 10; controversial I'm sure but I love Amanda, I love Dawn, I love the final scene and I love this ep so 10/10 from me.

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"Most people in this world have no idea why they're here or what they want to do. You do. You're here because you are the chosen ones." - Buffy

8.5

By rachel_london, Apr 22, 2011

Buffy believes in Spike, but does she believe in Dawn?

We open with a traditional graveyard scene but for once Buffy is not fighting alone; using Spike as a sort of crash test dummy, she trains the Potentials as she was once trained by Giles, as she promised to train Dawn. If (the now absent) Giles made up for Buffy's absent father, it seems the Slayerettes are now lil' sister substitutes and Dawn feels her place in the world is negligible, a key to open a lock that is now redundant. TFE-as-Joyce was right, Buffy has chosen Rona, Kennedy and the excruciatingly accented Molly over Dawn.

When she was the key, Dawn resented being coddled and protected and special, but now she seems to miss it. She is starting to see herself as an Andrew type – useless and not allowed to join in the slayer training; she wants to be a Buffy, but, as we shall find out, she's a potential Xander, the heart of the group.

As the gang grow up, other people slip into the same roles. Buffy is the new authority figure (Giles), Vi the kooky redhead (Willow), Andrew too has the potential to be a Xander and it seems natural that Dawn could be a Slayer, the new Buffy. She is the same age as her sister when Buffy was called, she sneaks out of her room at night to hang around a dark, deserted school and she takes the initiative and the protective role when classmate Amanda needs help. But this being BTVS, there is a twist and the girl she wanted to defend ends up looking after her.

Of course, we've already had hints that Amanda is no ordinary schoolgirl. In Help, we discovered that despite being pretty scrawny, she was in trouble for beating up a boy and in this episode she tells Buffy that she fancies a guy who picks on her and she on him, which Buffy immediately relates to herself and Spike. Spike also features in a clue – in the earlier training fight in the graveyard, Buffy ducked a lunge by Spike and he fell and knocked his head. Amanda, reporting on the vamp that she trapped, says that she "kinda dodged it and it kinda hit its head." Dawn may not be the next Slayer, but we see her sister's influence as the two fights – Buffy and the Potentials vs a vamp nest and Dawn and Amanda vs random vampire – take place in tandem. Buffy notes that a slayer should know her environment as Dawn uses equipment in the school lab to attack the vamp. Buffy tells the Slayerettes that "Every blow has got to be part of your plan" as Dawn stabs the vamp with a broken flagpole. But we also see the double edged life of the Slayer as the Bringers attack Amanda and not Dawn, she is not a Chosen One, she doesn't have a divine purpose in life but at the same time, she will live a life, she won't be attacked or killed by supernatural beings and her life will not be all about death.

It's no coincidence that this episode is similar to The Zeppo. The Potentials congratulate Amanda on having taken out a vamp solo, yet we know that she would have never done it without Dawn's help and inspiration and selfless desire for Amanda to fulfil her potential. She literally handed over the baton (the broken flagpole) to Amanda as she told her "This is your battle".

Xander too remained quiet after he saved the world and he gives a beautiful speech to Dawn about how difficult it is to remain under the radar, "to live so near to the spotlight and never step in it". In a series about power (and, specifically female power – Xander, the traditional man, is the one who is powerless whereas even Andrew sees the essential femaleness of the power: "It's almost like this metaphor for womanhood, isn't it? The sort of flowering that happens when a girl realizes that she's part of a fertile heritage..." Amanda too sees the menstrual metaphor, talking about being "dizzy and discombobulated" and wondering what the hell is going on), to be powerless is to be in danger, yet Dawn sees Xander's secret power - "seeing and knowing" and realises he could be her hero just as much as Buffy is to the Potentials. We see that Dawn is growing up; instead of sulking or being resentful of her lost opportunity or Buffy not paying her enough attention, she hits the books to research The First. "You're not special, you're extraordinary", Xander tells her.

We also see Buffy being a little too cavalier with her power, telling the Potentials that her death could make any one of them the next Slayer. Forgetting anybody, Buffy?moreless
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Dawn the almost slayer, that was sorta sad!!!

9.9

By BuffyvsDracula, Apr 22, 2011

This episode is one of those rare "growing-up and learning" episodes that make the show sooo Unique!!! Dawn almost a future slayer, then finds out it wasn't her, no thats a reallllllll teary moment!! Buffy training them, that too was amazing!!! Vi and Rona, "these two are dead!" !!! The comical part really gave me a laugh!! But the best part was the Xander speach!!!! I can realate to that toooo much!!! Just how he said it and the moment, it was ALL perfect!!!! Dawn really grows up, especaily when she helps Amanda. Even when she thinks she a potential slayer. This episode had some great clasic talking!!!! LOVED IT!!!moreless
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The scooby gang discovers a potential slayer is right there in Sunnydale but they don't know who it is. Willow casts a locator spell and it points to Dawn.

9.5

By Beecharm3r7, Apr 22, 2011

Originally I didn't like Dawn. I found her to be a spoiled brat. But over the years, she became one of my favourites.

In this episode, I'm reminded why I like Dawn. She's strong willed, selfless, and smart. Yet, she's got no superpowers, which is rare on the show.

Dawn constantly is ignored by Buffy and Buffy never quite takes the hint. WHen the new potentials started arriving, it was as though Dawn was a nuisance once again to the slayer, even though she was all grown up. When Dawn thinks she's a potential slayer, we see her inner turmoil. She likes to feel special and knows that Buffy will pay more attention to her; yet, she isn't sure she wants the life her sister has.

As soon as Dawn realizes that she isn't the slayer, she doesn't stop to take a breath. She tells Amanda, the real potential slayer, what her purpose is. Dawn so-to-speak, hands over the crown. She doesn't complain or even tell Buffy what she was going through. She deals with everything with grace. I love how Buffy seems to be the only one on the show who doesn't have that kind of grace...and I love how this episode shows that grace could be just as important as superpowers.

Common to the show, only Xander sees this. He truly sees everyone as they are and he's the only one to acknowledge Dawn as she is "extraordinary". Likewise, Dawn mentions how insightful he is and we understand how Xander truly feels, being an outsider in his own group of friends. He too shows grace, and for that, this episode is a favourite.moreless
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Potential

9.0

By TrueTvWatcher, Apr 22, 2011

Potential was a perfect episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and really connects with viewers because we all have the hidden untapped potential. This episode was very entertaining because we got to learn a little more about the new potential slayers, but also because this episode had a lot of character growth for Dawn. She has been through a lot since arriving in Sunnydale, and being a Potential meant a lot to her, though it turned out she wasn't. I think this episode showcased a great range of character and emotion while telling a great story. I can't wait to watch what happens in the next episode!!!!!!!moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

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Emma Caulfield	Anya
James Marsters	Spike
Sarah Michelle Gellar	Buffy Anne Summers
Nicholas Brendon	Alexander 'Xander' Harris
Alyson Hannigan	Willow Rosenberg
Michelle Trachtenberg	Dawn Summers

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Derek Anthony	Demon	Guest Star
Felicia Day	Vi	Recurring Role
Tom Lenk	Andrew	Recurring Role
Iyari Limon	Kennedy	Recurring Role

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (4)
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- Public buildings (like schools) are built to ensure nobody can be trapped inside a room or the building as a whole. A classroom locked from the outside can be unlocked from the inside just by turning the knob, so there is no way that the vampire could have been locked inside the room. Exit doors, likewise, can always be opened from the inside, so the girls should not have been stopped by a locked door when trying to escape the vamp. Of course, the contractors who built the new Sunnydale High School may not have followed all building and fire codes properly.
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- Oz is mentioned for the first time since season 5, and is never mentioned again.
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- When Willow finishes doing the spell, that smell goes into the room and Dawn says that she will open the door to get rid of the smell or something like that. Dawn then walks away. However, when Willow says "Dawn!", Dawn is very close to the group. Now, if the smell was that bad, she would of rushed towards the door, and even if she was walking, she would of been at the door by the time Willow called her name. Yet she was quite close to the group still, so it looks like she was told to just wait in that spot until Willow called for her.
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- It's already been established that when Buffy dies no new slayer will be called. Why do they keep saying a new slayer will be called when she dies though? Buffy said it for emphasis, but Dawn said she would become the new slayer when "she" dies meaning Buffy, but no slayer will be called after Buffy, only Faith!
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QUOTES (8)
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- Andrew: Not begging!
  Buffy: You're like a small dog dancing for Snausages.
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- Anya: It's like one second you were this klutzy teenager with fake memories and a history of kleptomania. Then suddenly you're a hero, a hero with a much abbreviated life-span.
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- Anya: So you messed up a spell again. At least it smells otherworldly. (Sees the look on Willow's face) No, look. Pretty.
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- Kennedy: But he was dead a minute ago.
  Buffy: That was a minute ago. Now, he's the enemy.
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- Rona: I've gotta go with the stake. It's a classic. I love the feel of wood in my hands.
  Kennedy: You lost me.
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- Vi: This is like a gay bar. Only with demons.
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- Xander: They're special, no doubt. The amazing thing is, not one of them will ever know, not even Buffy.
  Dawn: Know what?
  Xander: How much harder it is for the rest of us.
  Dawn: No way. They've got--
  Xander: Seven years, Dawn. Working with the slayer. Seeing my friends get more and more powerful. A witch. A demon. Hell, I could fit Oz in my shaving kit, but come a full moon, he had a wolfy mojo not to be messed with. Powerful. All of them.
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- Xander: They'll never know how tough it is, Dawnie, to be the one who isn't chosen. To live so near to the spotlight and never step in it. But I know. I see more than anybody realizes because nobody's watching me. I saw you last night. I see you working here today. You're not special. You're extraordinary.
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NOTES (4)
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- Andrew asks if they are going to get the microwave fixed, a reference to 'Conversations With Dead People' where Dawn smashed the microwave that was going all wonky.
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- Clem's face apparently has the ability to morph into something incredibly hideous.
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- Andrew mentions that it is hard to kill a pig, a reference to Never Leave Me.
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- Chloe, one of the potential slayers, did not appear in this episode.
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ALLUSIONS (6)
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- Xander: Say "Skywalker" and I'll smack you.
  The Skywalker family are the heroes in the George Lucas' Star Wars movies. Luke is the main character in the original trilogy (IV: A New Hope, V: The Empire Strikes Back, VI: The Return of the Jedi), while father Anakin/Darth Vader appears in all six.
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- Clem: I was going to record it for you, but then my TiVO went all flooey.
  TiVO is a digital video recorder. It can record up to 80 hours of television. You do not need tapes because it has a hard disk, and you get much better quality than video tapes. You can pause, rewind, and fast forward with TiVO.
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- Buffy: Ok, here is the half empty.
  Optimism and pessimism is oftentimes jokingly referred to as "the glass is half full" and "the glass is half empty". When Buffy said "Here is the half empty", she was referring to the negative view on the current situation.
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- Andrew: At your sssserviccce Missss Rosenberg, Sssssir.
  In the book and film Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry is able to speak to a snake, who hisses his "s". Andrew spoke to Willow as if he was the snake.
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- Andrew: I'm like Vegeta in Dragon Ball Z.
  Dragon Ball Z was a long-running Japanese anime TV series featuring super-powered battles so far out they make Buffy's exploits look like child's play; the show is long over in Japan, but between Kids WB and Cartoon Network, American audiences got to see a horribly-butchered dubbed version over the last few years. Andrew's analogy is quite accurate. Because the Saiyan race stood for destruction and pretty much evil, but Vegeta changed his original ways and joined the side of Good, and in a way renounced the evil ways of the Saiyans. It actually works on more levels than people realize. Andrew was part of an evil Trio, so was Vegeta. The two other members of Andew's Trio died, so did Vegeta's. Andrew killed one of the members of his Trio and the other was killed by Willow, Vegeta killed one of his Trio and the other was killed by Piccolo (Goku's sidekick and hence like Willow). When Andrew returned from Mexico he was on a quest to become a Demi-God and hence immortal, Vegeta was searching for the Dragon Balls to make him immortal between the time when his 2 partners died and the point where he became good. At one point in a later episode Andrew breaks down in tears, and this is really the turning point when he becomes good, Vegeta also breaks down in tears when fighting Frieza which is also his turning point.
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- Visual: Clem's scary face
  This scene was clearly inspired by the Tim Burton movie Beetlejuice, starring Michael Keaton.
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