atheneum

In Xander's basement, Riley, Anya and Xander watch some dubbed Kung Fu, while Buffy reads from a book about the crusades. Riley remarks that she's been studying a lot lately. They all hear sounds from upstairs, and Xander says his parents must be home. As the sounds escalate into fighting, Xander embarrassed says it must instead be incompetent burglars. He says he's gonna start looking for a new place. Riley rubs Buffy's shoulders, and Xander taking the cue tries to rub Anya's shoulders but she's still got a dislocated shoulder from last week. Buffy says the movie they're watching is all wrong; that real fighting doesn't look like that. Riley tells her to "leave the slaying" behind for a while, but she defends herself saying that if it were a war movie and the armies did something totally wrong it would annoy him, too. She asks Xander for backup, and he says it's true. Whenever they watch a movie with witches in it Willow's like "a cauldron? who uses a cauldron anymore?"

Cut to a big green demon, stirring a mixture in a cauldron. He says something about "the death of the slayer", and thrusts his hand into the brew.

The next day, Xander and the gang check out a potential apartment for him. It's all big and clean, and everyone likes it. Anya especially, who tells him to "pay anything" for it. The chick showing the apartment seems a bit put off at all of the people with him, but tells him it's all ready to be leased, and that she brought an application for him. Xander thought he could just submit references, but she tells him they have to run a credit check on him, and he's gotta pay first month and last month's rent, on top of a cleaning fee and a deposit. Anya still wants the apartment, and starts talking obnoxiously about Xander's current habitation. Xander draws her aside to talk to her privately, and they argue within earshot of the gang and the apartment chick. Xander mentions that his construction job is ending soon, and he won't have any money coming in. Anya doesn't seem to care, and is a total harpy to him, as everyone else tries to look anywhere else but at them. Anya leaves, and Xander takes the application.

At the Magic Box, Giles is unpacking some merchandise, when the greenish demon from earlier startles him. Giles whacks him a few good ones with a wooden statue of a fertility goddess, but the demon is undeterred, and quickly knocks Giles down. He tells him that he is not the slayer, and therefore does not concern him. He leaves.

Later, Giles re-enacts the short battle for the gang. He finds the demon in a book, and says its name is "Toth". That his species is sophisticated meaning they do not fight bare handed; instead use weapons and very focused. He reveals that the demon was after Buffy. He also says Toth had a distinctive smell, and we cut to the gang at the garbage dump. (Don't ask me, I have no idea how they made that leap) They come across Spike there, rummaging through the trash. He has a shopping cart full of stuff, including a mannequin torso. Giles tells him they're looking for a demon, and Spike points to Toth, behind them. It uses a tube-shaped weapon to fire at the gang, and they all dive for cover. Xander knocks Buffy out of the way and gets hit with a blast, falling into a pile of garbage bags. The gang helps him up, and he seems a little sore but no worse for the wear. The demon has disappeared. The gang walks off, and the camera pans down to show another Xander lying amongst some garbage bags.

The next morning, Xander wakes up in the trash heap confused. He goes home and tries to enter the basement, but the door's locked. He goes to the window and peers in and is shocked to discover a copy of himself changing. Quickly deciding he needs Buffy's help, he goes to a pay phone to call her. As the phone rings, he spies the other Xander walking by. Buffy answers the phone, but Xander quickly decides he's got to follow the other one, and see where he's going. Hanging up the phone, he follows his double.

At Buffy's house, Riley watches as Buffy packs up some weapons, and looks nervous. Buffy tries to reassure him that she'll be fine, and kisses him. From the doorway, Dawn makes gagging noises. Buffy tells her to leave, but Dawn pulls the annoying younger sister bit (aiy me, I'm familiar with that one ;), and says she can stand in the hallway if she wants to. Joyce comes out and says they're giving her a headache, and when she leaves Dawn triumphantly says that she didn't tell Dawn she had to move. Buffy just looks at her and shuts the door.

At the crypt, Spike sets the mannequin torso on a stool, and puts some clothes and a blonde wig on it. He arranges it just so, and then kicks it off of the stool, savagely. He picks the head up and strokes its cheek, saying "Oh Slayer, one of these days." Cut to the Xander duplicate arriving at a construction site. He's working on some welding or something when his boss comes up and tells him to come to his office. Xander watches from the port-o-lets, and follows. He peers in the window as the other Xander sits inside talking with the boss. The boss promotes him, saying his work there has been first rate, and offers a full-time position. Outside, Xander notices the other Xander playing with a shiny looking object, which shines a light into the boss's face. He then falls off of his perch, and the other Xander shakes hands with the boss and says he already knows how to celebrate with his girlfriend.

That night the duplicate Xander signs the agreement on the lease at the apartment, as Xander listens from the hallway outside. The apartment chick leaves, and the duplicate Xander calls Anya and leaves a message on her machine (she's standing there screening calls), saying that he's got something to show her, and she should meet him at the apartment at nine o' clock. He then hangs up and exits the apartment. In the hallway, Xander tackles him as he locks the door. The duplicate Xander takes one look at Xander and knocks him down. Okay, all these Xander's are driving me nuts. I'm calling Original Xander just that. Original. The other one I'm just gonna call DX (duplicate Xander). Xander falls to the floor and shouts that he's not gonna let DX do this to him, as DX takes off running down the hallway. Holding a hand up to his battered face, Xander says "Man, I need Buffy."

Xander runs through the rain to Giles' house, only to see through the window that DX has gotten there first, and told Buffy about the "other Xander". Xander hopes that Buffy will be able to "see through his spell", but Buffy comforts DX, saying that whatever stole his face has to deal with the slayer now.

Original Xander comes running into Willow's room, and says "It's me, Xander, and I can prove it." He regales Willow with some memories from their childhood together before Willow can even say anything. In a funny scene, he even does the snoopy dance for her. Willow wants to know why he would think she wouldn't think he was him, and he realizes the other Xander hasn't gotten to her yet. He tells her how he woke up in the dump that morning, but Willow says they walked him home the night before. Xander wants to know if DX waved any shiny things around, but Willow's confused. Xander explains that there's another him going around hypnotizing people, and that it already got to Buffy and Riley and Giles. Cut to the rest of the gang still at Giles' place. Buffy thinks that Toth must be the one behind this. After he hit Xander with that blast, she thinks he must have taken on Xander's form. DX says that makes sense, but abstains from going to find Original Xander, because he's got plans with Anya.

Back at the dorm room, Original Xander laments that some demon has taken his life, and is living it better than he does. He says DX is smarter and better than he is, and maybe he should just let him have his life. Willow says he can't. Xander says he's serious; what has he got that's even worth anything? Suddenly he jumps up. He says he can lose everything else, but not Anya; he needs her. He orders Willow to find some kind of revealing spell and takes off to go warn her.

At her place, he finds Anya gone, but hears the message on the machine from DX. He turns around and starts frantically going through Anya's drawers. Back at the apartment, DX has just told Anya that the place is his. He tells her that he got it for her; because he knew she wanted it. He then asks her if she saw him at all today. Anya is confused, but says she only got his phone message. "Good," DX says. They sit on the floor to have some champagne that he's brought, and Anya asks him what's next in their lives. DX is confused. She says they have to hurry up and get started on their lives because she's dying. Xander realizes that she hasn't been injured or anything since becoming human, and now it's really hitting her what being human means. That she was going to live for thousands of years before, and now she's going to grow old and die. He says he understands how hard that must be for her, but he'll be there for her. They kiss, and Original Xander comes running through the door, ordering DX to get away from her. Anya looks back and forth between them, confused. Finally she sides with DX, and wants to know what "the demon" wants.

Back at Giles', Buffy and Riley are preparing to go split up and look for the false Xander, but are interrupted when Willow comes in and tells them about her own visit from the real Xander. Buffy and Riley realize that the Xander they talked to was kind of forceful, and that's really not like him. Giles suddenly finds some info in a book and says that neither Xander is a demon. He's found information on the weapon Toth used. Apparently, it splits a person in two: a weaker half and a stronger half. Giles realizes Toth was trying to separate Buffy Summers from the Slayer part of her. Riley doesn't understand why he would do that, and Giles says that neither half can exist without the other, and if the regular Buffy had been killed, it would have killed the Slayer one, too. Buffy realizes the same goes for the Xanders.

Back at the apartment, the two Xanders are still trying to get Anya to realize that the other's a fake. She can't tell them apart, however, and DX moves forward to kick Xander's ass. Original Xander pulls out a gun, however, and points it at DX. Anya rushes in between them and they all grapple for the gun.

In Giles' car, Riley and Buffy drive over to Xander's apartment. Buffy asks Riley if he wishes she'd been hit with the blast; instead of having Slayer Buffy he could have Buffy Buffy. Riley says that being the slayer is part of who she is. There's no part of her he's not in love with.

Back at the apartment, DX gets the gun and points it at Original Xander, but Anya stands in the way. Buffy and Riley rush in, and Buffy asks for the gun from DX. He unloads the gun and hands it over. Buffy puts both Xanders next to each other, and tells them that they've been split in two, but they're both real. Neither one believe her, until Buffy asks what number she's thinking of and they both say eleven and a half. Original Xander says that DX has a shiny disk in his pocket that stuns and disorients, but DX pulls out a quarter that he says he found on a railroad track that got all smooshed, and he kept it because it looked cool. Riley explains that different properties went into each Xander, but they are each Xander. Anya wants to know why there are two of them, and Buffy says she'll explain on the way to Giles' place. They all start to leave but Toth crashes through the door attacks Buffy. Riley knocks the demon around for a bit before getting thrown off, and Buffy jumps in, beating him up. She then grabs the sword and stakes Toth with it.

Back at the Magic Box, Giles chalks a magical symbol on the ground as both Xanders (each clad in the same outfit once again) prepare to be reintegrated with each other. Anya wants them to forestall the spell until the morning, so she can go back to the apartment and have sex with both Xanders tonight, but everyone pretty much glosses over it. Xander asks DX how he was able to score a promotion and the apartment if he wasn't hypnotizing people. DX says he's good at that kind of stuff. Willow puts both Xanders in the circle on the floor, and breaks the spell. Oila, one Xander.

The next day, Buffy and Riley help Xander pack up to move out of the basement. While Anya and Buffy are out of the room, Xander wonders how Anya is always able to make him feel like "suave Xander has left the building". Riley says they have their friction, but it's obvious that she's in love with him. Xander says he envies Riley and Buffy sometimes. For the sanity, not because he's still into Buffy. "Not that I ever was," he quickly corrects. Riley says he's well aware of how lucky he is, and he expounds upon how much he loves her. After a moving little monologue, which he ends by saying that Buffy's "the one", he says "but she doesn't love me."

Xander wordlessly watches as Buffy comes in and kisses Riley, and Riley goes back to being the good boyfriend guy, as they continue to pack.

FLAWS: Okay, they said several times in this ep that it was an
apartment, not a condo. Yet the apartment chick told Xander and the gang at the beginning that the electric and water was all hooked up and stuff. Um, if it's an apartment, the person leasing it has to do that stuff in their own name. It wouldn't just be all hooked up when he got there.

Also, this maybe isn't a flaw, but it still bugs me, even though I've said it before. How does Anya have a place? How does she have any money? She just suddenly became human a year and a half ago, and we've never had any indication that she got a job or anything, so how does she have money? How does she pay rent?

I also want to ask how DX scored some champagne and stuff, for when he was celebrating with Anya, (considering that he's only 19 at this point), but I know underraged drinking is all the rage, so I can't really count this one as a flaw.

THOUGHTS ON THE EPISODE: An okay episode. I was glad to see an ep that featured someone other than Buffy for once; unfortunately there aren't many of those. The Xander / Xander moments were pretty funny, but the basic plot was kind of a re-hash of "The Zeppo", in my opinion. Meaning, that in each episode Xander gets it through his head that he's not just a useless loser.

To me, the most interesting part of the episode was the end, when Riley tells Xander how much he loves Buffy, but realizes that she doesn't love him. It was at this point that I first started to possibly, maybe, kinda, sorta started to like him. Once they went where they went with it, however, I quickly stopped again, so don't worry ;) But seriously, the most interesting thing was the interaction between Riley and Xander. Honestly and I know other people have said this, too Marc Blucas and Nicholas Brendan had more chemistry together in this scene than MB and SMG have had like, ever. For once I really felt like we were connecting to Riley as a person, and not just Buffy's boyfriend.

As for the rest of the episode, we did get some guest starring from NB's twin brother, Kelly, in the scenes where both Xanders were present, and I feel he pulled it off pretty well, even though you can easily tell which one's which. Kelly does re-appear briefly in "Intervention" during a fight scene. I'm not sure why he was there, but I did notice him, and later on someone told me that he guest starred. Go me ;)

BEST LINE:

Xander: "Hey, wait until you have an evil twin!"

Willow: (scowling) "I handled it fine!"

and:

Anya: "Well what do we do if it (the reintegration spell) doesn't work?"

Both Xanders: "Kill us both, Spock!"

"The Replacement"