The Zeppo

First televised January 26, 1999; Première diffusion française le 8 janvier 2000

Guest Starring: SaverioGuerra(Willy), Channon Roe (Jack 0Toole), MichaelCudlitz, andElizaDushku (Faith); WrittenbyDan Vebber,.DirectedbyJames Whirmore Jr.; Edited by Regis 8. Kimble

Intro: Buffy, Faith, Giles, Willow, and Xander defeat three monsters-though Xander is less than heroic.

Act 1: At school the next day, another student, Jack O'Toole, threatens Xander. Cordelia says Xander is the useless part of the group, the Zeppo. Xander tries to figure out how to be cool. He needs a "thing" that nobody else has. Giles finds the monsters are part of an apocalypse cult who intends to open the Hellmouth. Oz gets into his cage and soon becomes a werewolf. Xander borrows a'57 Chevy Belaire convertible f rom his uncle; he decides he will be "car guy." He buys donuts for the group; Cordelia mocks him. He offers an attractive blonde a ride. That night, they go to the Bronze; she bores him with stories of former clates'cars. Angel arrives looking for Buffy; he says there's trouble. Upon leaving, Xander accidentally hits Jack's car.

Act 2: Buffy, Willow, and Giles study at the library; Oz is restless. Giles will try to contact spirit guides. Buffy doesn't want Xander included in the upcoming fight. Jack threatens Xander with a large knife. Turns out the car isn't Jack's, anyway. Xander, Jack, and the girl go for a drive. At the cemetery, Jack resurrects friend Bob. The girl flees. Jack resurrects more friends. Giles summons the spirit guides, but they don't tell him anything. Xander runs into Giles, who doesn't need any help right now. Willytells Buffythatthe Hell mouth opens tonight. He was attacked; the demons were looking for Angel and Buffy. Xander drops Jack and the guys off at a hardware store, where they break in. He runs into Willow; she hugs him, says she loves him, and leaves.

Act 3: To be in Jack's gang, Xander needs to die first. Xander escapes by driving away. Faith fights a demon; Xander rescues her and drives to her apartment. She's wound up-a fight, but no kill. She throws him on the bed and has sex with him. Then shetosses him out. Oz is rowdy in his cage. Willow shoots him twice with tranquilizers. Xander finds Jack's supplies in his back seat-apparently they're making a bomb. Angel tells Buffy he can face the danger and buy her some time. Xander interrupts but realizes it's a bad time and leaves when they say they don't need any help. Gilesworksona binding spell in the library. In the school boiler room in the basement, Jack and the boys build their bomb.

Act 4: While driving around, Xander finds Jack's friends and learns the location of the bomb. While Buffy and the gang watch the Hellmouth monster appear in the library, Jack and friends chase Xander through the school. Buffy battles the Hellmouth monster. Xander finds the bomb. Jack finds him, and they fight. Jack disables the bomb. Xander leaves; Oz attacks Jack. The next day, Buffy, Willow, Oz, and Giles talk about their victory over the Hellmouth monster. Xander drops by-he doesn't know what they did, and vice versa. Cordelia mocks him, but it doesn't affect him. He just smiles; she doesn't understand.

COMMENTS: Like "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered" last season, this is the "Xander episode," and both revolve around similar themes-his insecurity and lack of popularity. "B, B, and B created a scenario in which every woman (except Cordelia) lusts afterXander. In "The Zeppo," Xander's accomplishments are more substantive-he takes an active role in averting a tragedy for the school. Even though his heroism isn't acknowledged by others, he knows what he did, and as such Cordelia's barbs at the end can't harm him. (Here's an important truth for a nation obsessed with "self esteem," particularly in building it in children: true self esteem comes from real accomplishments, not from learning how to have self esteem or being told that you have it.)

Buffy's battle with the Hellmouth monsters is never particularly engrossing. The audience is being told that the world is on the edge of apocalypse, and the characters are certainIv running around as if everything's on the brink of disaster, but because the main storvIine involves Xander, the other plot just seems like another monster- of- the -week ho-hurn crisis. Perhaps that was the writer's intent: the world may be in danger, but because Xander has been cut out of the battle, the important issue at hand is his perception of himself, his identity. This keeps the story focused: an engrossing subplot would have diverted the viewer's attention away from the real emphasis of the episode.

One dramatic event in "The Zeppo," which will come back to haunt Xander, is his sexual encounter with Faith. Though a bit of a surprise, it is completely in keeping with both characters. Xander has often been rather "sexually pathetic" (in Nicholas Brendon's words, from his interview in Spectrum 17) and as such is easily manipulatable by Faith. As for her, way back in "Faith, Hope and Mr. Trick,- her first episode, she said that slaying makes her "hungry and horny," and she's told Buffv about her propensity to use guys and then ditch them. Xander 'I rescued" her from her fight with the demon. but the battle simply got her wound up without the climax of a kill.

"The Zeppo," by the way is a reference to Zeppo Marx, the "non-essential" member of the Marx Brothers who performed with them on Broadway and appeared in only their first five films.