Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Selfless

Episode Summary

Anya grants a young woman's wish, and the violent and deadly act of vengeance leaves everyone stunned. Buffy must put aside her feelings for her friend and take action before more people die.

9.1

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Cast & Crew

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Emma Caulfield

Anya
James Marsters

Spike
Sarah Michelle Gellar

Buffy Anne Summers

Fan Episode Reviews (25)

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Anya's story

10

"Perfect"

By joxerlives, Jan 20, 2012 Report Abuse

SELFLESS

The Good;
Lovely to see Anya singing in her gorgeous wedding dress again. Great scenes between Anya and Halfrek, wonderful Swedish scenes and a terrific ending. Also like Buffy's busy school day.

The Bad;
?

Best line;
Villager; "Pelt him with fruits and various meats!"

Women good/men bad;
D'Hoffryn kills Halfrek to spite Anya, almost like killing one of his daughters. What the Frat boys do to the girl is horrible but doesn't warrant having your heart torn out.

Jeez!;
Frat boys with their hearts ripped out! Not the ep for you if you're arachnaphobic (we know Willow is from 'Nightmares' but she appears to keep it in check)

Kinky dinky;
Love Will's miniskirt and booties, you forget what a hot momma-yomma she can be sometimes! Buffy comments that Anya 'boned a troll' whilst Anya refers to the 'sweaty' part of a relationship.

Captain Subtext;
Xander refers to himself as 'giddy' which even Willow comments isn't a very masculine term.

Guantanamo Bay;
Buffy is prepared to kill Anya for the greater good, Xander doesn't want to. Buffy makes a good point that Spike, Angelus, The Master etc never chose to be evil, Anya chose to become a vengence demon once again and poses an ongoing threat to humanity. Also do we doubt that Xander and certainly Giles would have killed Angelus in season 2 if they could have?

Missing scenes;
I would love to have seen the scene where D'Hoffryn looks at the slaughtered frat boys and says someone should phone Maxim and cancel 12 subscriptions, perhaps a comment on the Buffy/Angel girl's tendency to strip off and pose for that particular magazine seemingly at the drop of a hat (or a large cheque/free publicity for their upcoming projects?). Also interesting on the commentary is that they wanted Halfrek to appear to Anya in 'Conversations with Dead People'.

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

Scoobies knocked out: yep, Xander
Buffy: 19
Giles: 12
Cordy: 6
Xander: 15
Will: 8
Jenny: 2
Angel: 6
Oz: 3
Faith: 1
Joyce: 3
Wes: 1
Anya;5
Dawn; 4
Tara; 1

Kills: demon spider for Buffy
Buffy: 109 vamps, 61 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+1 human.
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 6 demons
Buffybot; 2 vamps
Tara; 1 demon
Dawn; 1 vamp + 1 demon

Scoobies go evil: Anya does although she's not technically a Scooby at this point
Giles: 1
Cordy: 1
Will: 3
Jenny: 1
Angel: 1
Oz: 1
Joyce: 1
Xander: 4
Anya; 1
Dawn; 1
Buffy; 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: Halfrek but she's evil so she doesn't count-12
Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh, Forrest, McNamara, Joyce, Katrina, Tara

Sunnydale deaths; 12 frat boys dead but alive again by the end of the ep
99

Total number of scoobies: 4,
Xander, Buffy, Dawn, Willow

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?
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; 2 Buffy and Anya
Anya; 2 Spike and Xander

Dawn in peril; 12

Dawn the bashful virgin; 9

What the fanficcers thought;
Read a bizarre one once called Web of Desire where Buffy and Xander are captured by the demon spider and Buffy get's impregnated by it (which is normally Cordy's job?). But in the follow up story they both escape after Buffy beguiles the spider with her feminine wiles and strangles it with it's own web because SHE's the Black Widow, she mates and then she kills (she certainly did with Angel!). You know what they say about the female of the species?
Also a much funnier one is where Anyanka's bunny fear stems from her cursing an unfaithful man to 'Go like a bunny forever' whereupon he is turned into a killer rabbit which goes on to attack Gabrielle in the Xena ep 'In sickness and in hell' and takes on the Monty Python's Knights of the Round table before being finished off by the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch!

Questions and observations;
Very little Dawn in this one (plenty of her next ep), she only has one scene but it's Anya's ep so that's ok. A wonderful tour de force showing us all how much we've learned to love and care about Anya who was introduced as a one-note character 4 years back but who is now a regular and so deserves to be! Especially love her little vengful stare when she first meets D'Hoffryn.
Buffy still doesn't know about Xander's lie in Becoming pt2, another point against Normal Again being true but you wonder will he ever really pay for what he did? Dawn's advice to Willow about fitting in is reminiscent to that given to Bart by Homer Simpson. It never occured to me until this ep but much like the end titles for season 6 having the Buffybot at the end this season actually has the First-as-Buffy.
Unfortunately the last we'll ever see of D'Hoffryn or Halfrek. Anya comments she's good with math which is weird as we heard that she was failing it in season 3 (maybe running the Magic Shop improved it?). Anya's invented surname is Jenkins, did we know that before? A vengence demon's 'soul' is referred to? The final scene is very reminiscent of the final bit 'The Harsh Light of Day'.
Marks out of 10; 10/10 first of the season

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The History of Aud

9.0

"Superb"

By lenzinoH20, Nov 26, 2011 Report Abuse

Selfless-Anya grants a young woman's wish, and the violent and deadly act of vengeance leaves everyone stunned. Buffy must put aside her feelings for her friend and take action before more people die.
Anya, at this point, has become one of the most beloved characters of the series. Since her debut in Season 3's "The Wish", we've seen Anya evolve from a one off demon of the week to a comic foil for Xander to anintegral part of the Scooby Gang to here, an woman who finally realizes that she needs to form her own identity and do what's right. Emma Caulfield is truly a gifted actress who we've seen deliver some of the series' funniest moments as well as some of it's most heart-breaking ("The Body"). In an episode that explores Anya's 1000+ year history as well as her internal struggle to find her true self, she gives possibly her best performance yet! You feel for Anya deeply, even after her latestvengeancespell caused the death over a dozen innocent people, Anya is guilt andsadnessover what she did reminds the audience that even being a demon again, she's still Anya. She got a taste of humanity and a part of that she remains inside of her. You just can't help but route for Anya to pull through and find the way out of her situation, especially when the others find out what she did.
One of my favorite scenes from the episode isBuffy, Xander and Willow. From the actors' performances to their point of views on the situation, the scene was exceptional. I also loved the reference back to "Becoming, Part II" and how Buffy was willing to sacrifice her own personal ties with Angel to save the world.Buffy's point was very understandable, Anya crossed the line and she has to do what a slayer is needed to do. Xander of course still loves Anya and wants to help her like he did with Willow, even though Willow is human and Anya is a demon, so there's really no point.Then you have the "Kick his a$$" moment being brought back up after all these years and Willow's reaction was priceless! It just shows how much the writers of Buffy really pay attention to their continuity, considering most shows in their genre (like Smallville, especially Charmed) almost forget or retconn previously established events. In fact, this episode was so full of continuity and references to the past events discussed, it made the episode even more enjoyable and fascinating. From Willow using the summoning talisman D'Hoffryn gave her in "Something Blue" to Olaf and how Anya turned him into a Troll, this was all brilliantly revisited and interwoven into the story. The flashbacks from the old fashion cinema style of Anya's 9th century humble beginnings to her early 20th century chaos ridden chat with Halfrek to her never before seen musical number from "Once More, With Feeling" were all masterfully done as well. We even find out how her infamous bunny phobia began!
One moment I also love and find so brilliantly edited was Buffy and Spike in the basement. What seems to be a very touching scene between Spike and Buffy, turns out to be the First as Buffy once again as the real Buffy confronts Spike soon after. It's a scene that literally gets me everytime and I forget it's not really Buffy at the start of that scene. Anyway, the final confrontation between Anya and Buffy is tense, with good fight choreography and quick flash editing that was really effective when you see Anya impaled by Buffy's sword. I also loved D'Hoffryn in this episode and how he pretty much owns everyone during the last few moments of the episode. Only seen in small doses in priorepisodes, he makes for amenacing,formidablevillain here and the fact he kills Halfrek to make Anya feel even more guilty and ashamed of herself is just plain cruel. With Anya once again human now, the episode ends with a touching scene between Xander and Anya. The beginning of their healing and rebuilding their relationship, Anya and Xander come to terms with Anya's identity, coming to terms with who she is now. It's a pivotal moment for Anya that will continue to evolve her character until her heroic demise in the series finale. All and All, "Selfless" is a superb look into all things Anya. Showing a deeply thought out and well developed character, who after 10 centuries of vengeance and humanity, is still growing and changing. Amazing!moreless

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"When our friends go all crazy and start killing people, we help them" - Xander

10

"Perfect"

By rachel_london, Apr 14, 2011 Report Abuse

Anya finally gets a flashback episode and like Becoming (I) and Fool for Love, we see the things and people that made her what and who she is, and what brought her to be washing blood off of her hands, Lady MacBeth style, in a frathouse bathroom.

In Anya's flashback, instead of Darla, Dru and Buffy, or Cecily, Dru and the Slayers, we have Olaf, D'Hoffryn and Xander. The latter may think that Anya re-vengeanced because "she was hurt and she just turned back to what she knew", but he doesn't realise how far back her vengeance went, how long it was her and what she gave up to be with Xander and to attempt to be human. Anya started off as Aud, a sweet girl who wanted nothing more to tend to her husband, played by Jerry the ER Receptionist, bringing him mead and giving out rabbits to the townsfolk "for goodwill and the sense of accomplishment that stems from selflessly giving of yourself to others." We learn where Anya's literal mode of speech comes from (Sweden), jealousy (her husband cheated on her with a bar-matron), and her fear of bunnies seems to stem from associating them with her husband's infidelity and perhaps even her transformation from Aud to Anyanka. We switch from scratchy sepia Bergman-esque life to Technicolor Hollywood (in English) as D'Hoffryn introduces her to the demon sorority. D'H thinks Anyanka is her true self but we know some part of her is still Aud: witness her attempts to persuade herself that the frat boys "got what they deserved" (one wonders what Anya was doing in the frathouse anyway; does she hang around there trying to catch one of them in a date-rape?).

Due to Xander's betrayal, Anya can no longer hang with the humans, so she has to fit back into the demon clan. Halfrek is congratulatory: "Anyanka is back to her old self again", but we remain unsure as to what Anya's true self is. In the third flashback, as St Petersburg burns, we discover that Hallie and Anya, sitting at a feast in their blood-stained gloves, were "somewhat responsible" for the failed Bolshevik uprising of 1905, that Anya has gone from "goodwill" to being a communist and that her identity is now tied up in her demon life: "Vengeance is what I do. I don't need anything else. Vengeance is what I am". Of course, by the final flashback we see that she has returned to her old Aud self, covering Xander with a blanket as she dreams of nothing more than being "his missus". "Who am I?" She asks. "I've found my guy". She lives through Xander, the man who has already got his name (even if one of them is Lavelle) which "he carries with pride". Naming is very important in this episode. Anya claims her maiden name was "lame-ass" and "made-up". By being Mrs Harris, she will finally have a name that she thinks of as her own, even though it is somebody else's. D'Hoffryn renames her Anyanka, but Anya (also what Xander claims she is called) is what she has become, neither fish nor flesh, human or demon. The parallels between Anya and Spike have been running for some time (and will continue to the series finale); they both were both hurt by love and both turned by a demon. They changed their names, their personalities, their lives. But now, both he and Anya want to repent, to redeem themselves; they are both now finding their way in the world, unsure in their own centuries-old skin. Willow too is linked with Anya. Whilst Xander wants to save Anya and Buffy wants to kill her, Willow uses magic and tries to get D'H to intervene; she has gone from disliking Anya to empathising with her, she too is struggling with the dark arts. She may be back to being the good college co-ed, but she still goes black and b*tchy when she has to cast a spell to quell (the very badly CGI-d) spider-demon. Buffy quickly kills the spider-demon, but it is not the real big bad of the episode.
There is no saving (or killing) of Anya, she will have to do that herself. The gang's arrogance in dealing with her (Xander believes he can save everyone by "talking with his mouth", Buffy with her strength, Willow with magicks) doesn't help her at all. She could easily transport herself away from the frathouse, but she chooses to stay and fight, knowing she is no match for the Slayer, it's a suicidal gesture. "Stop trying to save me, Xander", she tells him.

Meanwhile, another person waiting to be saved is visited by the first evil (in white!) who is everything Spike wants Buffy to be tender, forgiving, conciliatory, whereas when she does turn up (in black!), she is less than affectionate. Spike needed a soul to feel remorse, whereas Anya is already feeling it, demon or no demon. Xander is right when he points out that Buffy won't kill demons she's "boning". However, we see a little link between the demon and the demon-fighter Anya was judge, jury and executioner on the fratboys, Buffy states that: "I am the law". Both are wrong. Buffy's statement isn't the only reference to the past (Faith made a similar comment), we see a lovely fan-centred moment as Buffy reminds us that Xander failed to pass onto her that Willow was going to cast a spell to "cure" Angel. Her "the slayer is always cut off" speech foreshadows Buffy's alienation and overly wrought sense of responsibility towards the end of the series and I think there is a little omen re: Xander's future injury as the spider-demon strikes him across his eye. Later on, as D'Hoffryn repeats the catchphrase of the season: Beneath you it devours", he too has a hints to the future - that self-destructive Anya will find the peace-in-death that she desires.

In the flashback-to-Once-More-With-Feeling song, Anya states that she has "No need to cover up my heart", triply ironic as firstly, the spider demon ripped out the fratboys' hearts, secondly, everything she thought about men came true, and finally because as she and Buffy fight, she is stabbed through her heart (which is, as we know, no way to kill a vengeance demon). We have two unfinished statements; in the song as Anya, wedding-attired, throws open the balcony windows to proclaim her joy to the world, she sings: "I will be...." We immediately switch back to the present day and the silence as we see Anya pinned and pierced. What will she be? Whatever she intended to sing, it is irrelevant now. Everything that happened in Anya's life led to this moment. The other unfinished sentence also occurs in this scene as Anya rages at Buffy: "...or is this like one of your little pop-culture references I don't get, 'cos I'm a vengeance - " When she awakens from the stabbing, she is no longer a demon, just as when she cast the troll spell, she was no longer human, even though the actual transformation has and had yet to take place. In her desire to wash her hands clean, she begs D'H to undo the spell, willing to "selflessly give" of herself to save the fratboys, whom she earlier said "deserved it". This is not because Buffy has taught her a lesson, but because she knows what's right and wrong.

Unfortunately, D'H will "never go for the kill when [he] can go for the pain" and he murders Halfrek in place of Anya. We see that Anya's penalty is not death but more torment, and we see that it is not Buffy's place to hand out retribution, that comes from her father figure, the man who created her. The punishment fits the crime as Hallie immolates and Anya has to live with this as well as everything that she's done. We see the terrible power of taking wishes literally; Anya asks D'H why he did this and he replies: "Because you wished it". What people want in anger isn't what they want - the girl who had her heart metaphorically ripped out wanted to "take it back", just as Anya did.

Despite being over a thousand years old, Anya hasn't found her true path, she admits that "My whole life I've just clung to whatever came along". She is truly self-less. She has come full circle, but still doesn't know who she is. Eleven hundred years isn't enough to examine a life. At the end of the ep as Xander is still trying to save her, there is a brilliant BTVS moment as, echoing the scene in The Harsh Light of Day when she, Buffy and Harmony all walked away from their disappointing lovers, Anya and Xander stumble away from each other in opposite directions, she goes off alone, no rabbits, no men, no friends, no job, no socio-political creeds to sustain her, she is "just lately Anya".moreless

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The One with Aud

7.4

"Good"

By maxpower03, Apr 14, 2011 Report Abuse

Anya has always intrigued me. Even though she has been around since season three, there are a lot of things in her past which we had not yet discovered. How did she become a vengeance demon? How did she meet Olaf and D'Hoffryn? But most importantly... What's up with the bunny fear??!!!?

This episode reveals the answers to all of these questions. "Selfless" has Anya becoming deeply remorseful after killing an entire fraternity party. Wracked with guilt, she becomes depressed and we see her past through flashbacks. Meanwhile, Buffy wants to kill Anya for what she has done, despite Xander's objections, and goes to end Anya's killing spree once and for all.

Emma Caulfield IS this episode. Underused for most of her time on Buffy, she rarely gets the chance to show how brilliant an actress she really is. As Anya, she has managed to convey so many different character traits, successfully making her one of the best-loved characters in Buffy history.

Some other good points: the spider demons were extremely cool despite some dodgy CGI, it was nice seeing Olaf and D'Hoffryn return and Halfrek's death was very explosive. Plus, any episode which features a hilarious flashback to the events of "Once More, with Feeling" is good in my book. The bad points: I didn't like Buffy at all in this episode. She seemed extremely arrogant throughout and her sudden decision to kill Anya seemed pointless and cruel. She did everything she could to save Willow from the dark side last season but as soon as Anya slips up, she completely ignores the pleas of one of her best friends and goes off to kill her anyway. Thankfully, Anya can easily survive some measly stab wound.

All-in-all, "Selfless" is a phenomenal episode with plenty of fun action scenes and some brilliant flashbacks. Perfect.moreless

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This one was all about Anya, played by the supremely talented Emma Caufield. It gave great insight into Anya's past as well as how she got into the vengeance demon business in the first place.moreless

7.5

"Good"

By knixfan316, Apr 14, 2011 Report Abuse

Upon watching this years after the original airing on the SEASON 7 DVD set, it seemed to hold up better the second time around.

My biggest gripe in retrospect, based on the way she was used the rest of the season was this should have been Anya's swan song.

It would have been a perfect way to end this character's arc. Sad and tragic, Emma always played Anya for laughs but this time out it is pure emotion and drama.

The "supporting " character centric episodes throughout the series run were always some of their best, in terms of entertainment value and insight into how fully fleshed out and complete these characters were. "Dopplegangland /Willow" and "The Zeppo/ Xander" come to mind as great examples of when even when the focus was off Buffy how terrific and entertaining the episodes were.

Anya's run which started with "The Wish" could have ended right here, and if it had, the episode would have packed an even stronger emotional impact. But if your an Anya/Emma fan, you'll love this one.

BTVS is so good as a show though that what is great for most television shows is just the normal fare for our Slayer and her friends.

Good episode.

I usually rank with stars and this one gets 3 out of 4.

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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Trivia
ADD TRIVIA
- The Dragonfly tattoo on Sarah's lower back can be seen as Buffy stands back up after D'Hoffryn's arrival. Edit
- Buffy holds her sword over her head as Anya is lying on the floor. As the scene changes to Xander tackling Buffy suddenly she is holding the sword straight down pointing at Anya. Edit
- In the St. Petersburg scene Halfrek's glass is on the table as Anya is talking. The shot changes as Halfrek asks Anya what she wants to do with the rest of the evening and suddenly Halfrek's glass is being held above the table. Edit
Notes
ADD NOTES
- Joss Whedon wanted the first "Anya" scene in 880 to be shot like a really bad movie. The director was able to throw all the rules out the window. Edit
- The name "Aud" was found during research. There was a viking king who was named "Olaf" and he had a wife named "Aud". Apparently she was known for her sense of humor and ability to manage money well. Edit
- The first scene after the credits, that is spoken in swedish, was originally going to be dubbed over in english so that the actors wouldn't have to learn everything word for word. However, the two actors, Emma Caulfield and Abraham Benrubi, went ahead and learned 5 pages of Swedish. The director thought that it was so funny listening to them speak that they no longer wanted it to be dubbed over. Edit
Quotes
ADD QUOTES
- Rachel: We were going to a party, everybody was going to be there. But it was a game, he broke up with me in front of everyone. They started laughing at me, and I said "Just once, I wish you all could feel what it's like to have your hearts ripped out!" Edit
- (Willow casts a spell to protect herself from a spider demon while the girl behind her is sobbing in fear, she turns around with her eyes black) Willow: Oh for God's sake, stop your whimpering now! Edit
- Aud: What would I have to do? D'Hoffryn: What you do best: help wronged women punish evil men. Aud: (Intrigued) Vengeance... D'Hoffryn: But only to those who deserve it. Aud: (Grimly) They all deserve it! D'Hoffryn: That's where I was going with that, yeah. Edit
Allusions
ADD ALLUSIONS
- Buffy: Willow said it was a spider demon. Maybe it's its webbing.
  Xander: This isn't springy high-flying fun!
  He finds some stringy sticky black webs in the tree. These are references to Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man and the webbing that he uses to swing around New York. The webbing even looks reminiscent of the webs in the comics, albeit black as opposed to more of a grey. Edit
- Anya: The worker will overthrow absolutism and lead the proletariat to a victorious communist revolution, which will result in socio-economic paradise on earth. Its common sense, really".
  This reference is to the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. The text stated that the working class will overthrow the exploitative upper class that built the society on the workers' back. Marx proposes that the overthrow of the bourgeoisie by the proletariat is inevitable. Edit
- Spike: Scream Montressor all you like, Pet.
  From Edgar Allan Poe's story The Cask of Amontillado in which the character Montressor walls up his rival, fortunato, in a deep basement and leaves him to die. Fortunato is left screaming Montressor's name in vain. Edit