The Replacement

Season 5, Episode 3, Aired
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Episode Summary

The demon Toth fires a strange weapon at the Slayer, but Xander jumps in front of Buffy at the last moment. The blast sends him sprawling into a mound of debris, but after chasing off the demon the Scoobies collect Xander who seems to be dazed but alright, and walk him home.

A few hours later, a second, very confused Xander crawls out of the debris and makes his way towards home.moreless
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Fan Episode Reviews (17)

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  • Double the Xander, double the fun

    8.0
    "Great"
    By joxerlives, Jan 20, 2012 Report Abuse
    The Good;
    Great performance from NB in both roles, you wish you'd had more Xander eps in later seasons but instead he get's squeezed out by the girls. Worth it for the snoopy-dance alone.

    The Bad;
    Anya says she wants a car, puppy, child and boat. But didn't she refer to her car in
    Graduation Day pt2?

    Best line;
    "Kill us both Spock"

    Women good/men bad;
    None but Giles fends off the demon using a fertility statue, the power of the female.

    Kinky dinky;
    Buffy and Riley can't keep their hands off each other, nipping to the bedroom for a quick smooch even when house-hunting. The estate agent quite shamelessly throws herself at cool Xander. Interesting that she assumes Riley is 'Mr Harris' at first, he is the guy you'd want as a tennant. Anya wants to take both Xander's back to her place and have a threesome with them, maybe it's not just men who fantasise about group sex with twins/triplets/sisters/mother and daughter(s)? As indeed Dopplegangland suggests, thinking about it. Dawn is quite the voyeur and seems to enjoy spying on Buffy and Riley smooching. The Xanders checked out some stuff in the car but one Xander quickly qualifies this as fingerprints. Anya refers to herself as Xander's slave.

    Captain Subtext;
    Spike's mannequin speaks of his Buffy obsession. Xander has been a soldier, clad in leather (The Wish) and now a construction worker. Half way to being his own Village People tribute band. When Xander refers to his love for Anya Willow replies 'Really?'. Riley and Buffy's car conversation is loaded with not-so hidden meaning. Riley tells Buffy he loves her unconditionally and she doesn't say the same back. The final revelation between Riley and Xander in the basement probably stems from this.

    Guantanamo Bay;
    Riley lapses back into scary goverment mode by saying he wants to lock both Xander's up and perform experiments on them (although as a psychology student I know what he means)

    Scoobies to the ER;
    No but Anya still licking her wounds

    Apocalypses; 5,

    Scoobies in bondage:
    Buffy: 8
    Giles: 4
    Cordy: 5
    Will: 3
    Jenny: 1
    Angel: 4
    Oz: 1
    Faith: 3
    Joyce: 1
    Wes: 1
    Xander; 1

    Scoobies knocked out: Xanderx2. Giles comments on his constantly being knocked out
    Buffy: 15
    Giles: 10
    Cordy: 6
    Xander: 10
    Will: 5
    Jenny: 2
    Angel: 6
    Oz: 3
    Faith: 1
    Joyce: 2
    Wes: 1
    Anya;1

    Kills:
    Buffy: one demon so 85 vamps, 29 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot
    Giles: 5 vamps, 1 demon
    Cordy: 3 vamps, a demon
    Will: 4 vamps
    Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human
    Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie
    Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans
    Xander: 5 vamps, 2 zombies, a demon, a demon
    Anya: a demon
    Riley; 12 vamps + 7 demons

    Scoobies go evil:
    Giles: 1
    Cordy: 1
    Will: 2
    Jenny: 1
    Angel: 1
    Oz: 1
    Joyce: 1
    Xander: 3

    Alternate scoobies: cool Xander. Willow also refers to her own evil double, VampWillow and claims she handled it fine (by shooting her with a tranquiliser gun and sending her back to another dimension to get staked?)
    Buffy: 6
    Giles: 3
    Cordy: 1
    Will: 2
    Jenny: 2
    Angel: 3
    Oz: 2
    Joyce: 2
    Xander: 4

    Recurring characters killed: 9
    Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh, Forrest, McNamara

    Sunnydale deaths;
    83;

    Total number of scoobies: 7
    Giles, Xander, Willow, Buffy, Anya, Tara, Riley

    Xander demon magnet: 5(6?)
    Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?), Dracula?

    Scoobies shot: no but Anya owns a gun, a snub nosed revolver.
    Giles: 2
    Angel: 3
    Oz: 4

    Notches on Scooby bedpost:
    Giles: 2; Joyce & Olivia, possibly Jenny and 3xDraccy babes?
    Cordy: 1?
    Buffy: 3 confirmed; Angel, Parker,Riley, 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

    Questions and observations;
    I guess if one of your lead actors has an identical twin it seems a tremendous shame not to include them in an episode at some stage? (Terminator star Linda Hamilton is the only other actor who I can think off in this regard however, can anyone name any more?). Terrific performance from NB on all counts.
    Now I heard that the original idea for this ep was a version where Buffy and Xander get zapped and he get's her powers (very similar to an old ep of Superman; Lois and Clark). She has to adjust to being normal once more and he revels in being a superhero and has sex with the entire female cast including Joyce (but except Dawn obviously!), even lesbian Tara unable to resist the ultimate alpha-male. But the power starts to drive him gradually insane which is why the Slayer always has to be a female. Now you can see where they went with this, it has elements of The Replacement in it plus Helpless, Superstar and Him. Some nice moments between Buffy and Riley too and the final scene between Riley and Xander is probably the most touching they'll ever have, Xander seems to be the confidant for all the Scoobies. Riley comments on Buffy's ice-skating film obsession, wonder what she made of MT in Ice Princess? Joyce refers to her headaches but blames them on living with 2 teenage girls rather than anything more. We get to see the Snoopydance, yay! Xander thinks his double is a robot (Ted, I was made to Love you, Intervention). Anyone intrigued to see what pure Buffy and pure Slayer might be like? (Superbimbo and a blonde version of the first Slayer?) Why do both Xanders change into the same clothes prior to the spell? Anya anticiaptes many years before her death, not that many.
    Marks out of 10; 8/10
    moreless

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  • The Replacement

    10
    "Perfect"
    By TrueTvWatcher, Oct 26, 2010 Report Abuse
    The Replacement was a perfectly character driven episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I really enjoyed watching this episode and seeing a different side of Zander. This episode was focused on his character and it was nice to see him grow into the man he becomes. I thought that the end was particularly touching when Zander and Riley have a male heart to heart and Zander realizes the truth about Riley and Buffy's relationship. I thought the story of this episode was exceptional, and a great way to tell the story. There was plenty of action, drama, and humor as usual!!!!!moreless

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  • More Xander is never a bad thing.

    8.5
    "Great"
    By ggoblin31, Oct 05, 2010 Report Abuse
    Ah, the first semi-goofy episode of Season Five. And the best part... it's all about my main man Xander!

    Not nearly as good as 'The Zeppo' from Season Three, but Xander-centric epsiodes are always welcome. Feeling the pangs of not having a college education and a steady income, Xander starts to assess his seemingly unimportant station in life. It doesn't help that his girlfriend, Anya, is pressuring him to buy a swank apartment in Sunnydale he can't really afford. Meanwhile, a pissed-off blacklight demon bushwhacks Giles at the Magic Shop looking to put the hurt on Buffy. After hunting the demon down in the Sunnydale junkyard, Xander gets split into TWO Xanders when the blacklight demon hits him with a mystical blast from his mystical staff-weapon-thing.

    Fun coming-of-age episode. It's a hoot to watch Xander helplessly follow his "twin" around town and watch him do everything Xander does... but better. There's some great moments between Xander and Willow that reminds you how deep of a friendship the two share. Also, Anya has some classic lines as she ponders the idea of having sex with TWO Xanders. Amid all the fun, there's a serious undertone concerning Riley and Buffy's relationship as well. A real punch-to-the-gut ending to a light filler-episode. Good times.moreless

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  • Something To Toth About

    7.9
    "Good"
    By lenzinoH20, Oct 05, 2010 Report Abuse
    The Replacement-The demon Toth fires a strange weapon at the Slayer, but Xander jumps in front of Buffy at the last moment. The blast sends him sprawling into a mound of debris, but after chasing off the demon the Scoobies collect Xander who seems to be dazed but alright, and walk him home.

    A few hours later, a second, very confused Xander crawls out of the debris and makes his way towards home.

    While "The Replacement" doesn't compare to other great Xander centric episodes like "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered" or "The Zeppo", it was still a while since we got another Xander episode and atleast "The Replacement" gives Nicholas Brendon another chance to do what he does best, which is acting like big goof and it pays off in this episode. Nicholas is entertaining throughout as usual when Xander is literally split in two. He also does a fine job of playing both Xanders, where one is a paranoid, negative Xander and the other is a smooth talking, confident Xander. Also, some scenes are just hilarious with Xander doing the Snoopy dance for Willow and Xander being scared of a smushed nickle. Then there's Anya's "I was thinking, I can take them home and we can all have sex together", lol.

    I liked the demon Toth, the make-up crew did a great job on his look and the character also provided a priceless moment where Buffy thinks Toth's name is a british term for really annoying person. It's alson a great development that Xander finally gets his own place as the basement setting was getting tedious for viewers as much as Xander. My only real problem in the episode is Riley telling Xander at the end that Buffy doesn't love him...what? I never got this development and it truly hurt Riley as character since it came out of no where, who really cares? All and All, "The Replacement" is a fun little episode for Xander fans, but not one of the best for the character.moreless

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    2 0

  • A good episode; two Xanders isn't an original concept but it works well here.

    8.0
    "Great"
    By TwistedConverse, Oct 05, 2010 Report Abuse
    The Replacement is a good episode that has a lot of good jokes, an interesting foe and some nice plot development. The lookalike thing was done in "Doppelgangland" and while this episode is good, it is nowhere near the masterpiece that "Doppelgangland" was. The main reason I'm not a big fan of this episode is probably because I'm not a Xander fan- I find him funny in small doses but besides that he tends to annoy me. Still, a good episode definitely worth watching.

    Toth was a really good demon of the week- he looked very convincing, actually had a good plan besides "Kill Slayer" and had some funny lines. The whole confrontation between him and Giles in the Magic Box was very funny- "That is a fertility god. Feeble man", always gets me. He's not the greatest enemy but he works well here.

    The whole Xander-split-in-two may be great for Xander fans but since I'm not one, it doesn't do a whole lot for me. It contains some good jokes (the whole threesome thing was hilarious) but overall falls flat for me. The whole idea of the Ferula Gemini was good though and Nicholas Brendon was great all episode.

    The Buffy/Riley drama is something that is really stale by this stage. Their relationship doesn't interest me in any way whatsoever and the bit at the end with his speech is one of the most cringey things I've ever witnessed on the show. Why would anyone ever say that horrible, overdramatic, "poetic" speech? It really is one of those moments where you have to look away from the screen. Marc Blucas was so-so here also- he's not bad but he just doesn't add anything to Riley- anyone could play Riley the way he does.

    The Replacement is a decent episode; funny, good plot and good development. It's not a favourite of mine but it is enjoyable and has some nice Xander/Anya scenes.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

    ADD TRIVIA
    • When the two Xanders are joined, the combined Xander is standing where the self-conscious Xander was standing. This could imply that normally, Xander tends to be more like the non-confident Xander, especially since the confident Xander was more noticeably different—"pushy"—to the gang than the nervous Xander who went unnoticed was. Edit
    • Xander and Anya discuss that she has never been hurt really bad before since she became human, but she was impaled (in her hand) by a mystical tree in season 4's 'Where The Wild Things Are'. Edit
    • Since when does an answering machine only play back the part of the message that you want to hear? Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • Anthony Stewart Head (Giles) does the "Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer" narration. Edit
    • Willow makes a reference to her encounter with the Vampire Willow in the season three episode, Doppelgangland (3x16). Edit
    • The producers had a luxury during the filming of this episode as they were able to use Nicholas Brendon's real life twin, actor Kelly Donovan, to play Xander's confident half. Nicholas played both roles separately, but Kelly appeared when the two were together at the end. Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • (After Xander returns to normal) Anya: I liked him better the other way... put him back! Edit
    • Lame Xander: (giggling at the flattened coin) It is kinda cool. Washington's all flattened... and it could be Jefferson. Edit
    • Xander: Wait till you have have an evil twin and see how you handle it! Willow: I handled it just fine. Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • Buffy: (about Giles' BMW) Can't this thing go any faster? 'Ultimate driving machine' my ass. "The Ultimate Driving Machine" is an advertising slogan for BMW (Bavarian Motor Works), a german automoble manufacturing company. Edit
    • Suave Xander: There comes a point when you either have to move on or just buy yourself a Klingon costume and go with it. Klingon is a race of humanoid aliens from Gene Rodenberry's fictional Star Trek universe. It is a popular costume for people to wear to Star Trek conventions. Edit
    • Xander: I do have SpaghettiO's. SpaghettiO's are a brand of canned food consisting of ring shaped pasta in cheese and tomato sause. SpaghettiO's are made by Franco-American and were introduced in 1965. Edit

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