Episode 5: The Hunt for Alexandra

Walker spots Moonstomp heading into the Burying Ground and goes to tell the gang rather than take him on alone. But when they get there, they don't find Stomp; instead, they find a vampire who attacks, and looks just like Marcus Pope! Has Marcus become a vampire? He yells "for Alexandra!" and tries to stake Walker, but everyone jumps him and he barely gets away.

Alexandra, who escaped our heroes last episode, is now Priority One for everyone. They check with Mr. Pope and discover Marcus is still alive and not a vampire; obviously, they're faced with a shapeshifter. Billy suggests setting a trap for Alexandra at the hospital; we know she called from there, but she doesn't know we know, so how about hiding there and waiting for her to come by? The gang stakes out the 3rd-floor conference room she used to make some calls. Alexandra (Harrow, not The Vampire Alexandra) spies a bit of pancake makeup on the phone cord, which implies that Alexandra is using makeup on her hands. A spell of similarity leads Diligence to a bunch of discarded plastic facial appliances; apparently someone very much like Alexandra is wearing ten pounds of rubber and silicone to fill in big gaps in her face and hands, probably legacies of being devoured by Harmon Creel's relatives in episode 1.

With that much gunk on her skin, she can probably go out in daylight, too, which is a revelation that does nobody any good.

Marcus comes down to check in, but paranoid Diligence touches him with a cross. Nothing happens, of course. However, when Diligence turns away, Alexandra notices that Marcus' skin has blackened from the cross's touch. He's not only a vampire, he's a vampire with the willpower to endure a branding iron on his cheek!

Alex challenges the vampire, who changes into his true form, a gray-skinned hawk-nosed man with glowing blue eyes and wrappings of dusty gray, except for embroidered black arm wrappings. He runs, and everyone chases him, but he gets away.

Billy tries the redial button on the phone and leads everyone to the Mayor's house. Mayor Stonebridge having been murdered, the house is empty ... or is it? Our heroes go in from three different directions and fight three different vampires: Marshal duels Sasha, the vampire swordsman. Juliet stakes Georgi, the giant vampire. Diligence and Billy sneak into the garage and get to fight Alexandra! She proceeds to mesmerize Billy (Diligence hides in a convenient car) but the gray vampire shows up and shoots her with a crossbow, dusting her.

Then he dives out the kitchen window and runs. Juliet dives through the window, does an acrobatic roll to land on her feet, catches him in a sprint and cuts his head off. He dusts, but his bright blue eyes remain -- they're some kind of mineral contact lenses, which Juliet breaks.

Professor Armitage concludes that the gray vampire was an Assamite who impersonated Marcus so that we'd lead him to Alexandra. Why the Assamites wanted Alexandra dead is open to question; they did ship her six of their clan-brothers in coffins, who were then killed by the Slayer and her friends while Alexandra lifted not a finger to help. Perhaps that was enough. And perhaps they didn't yet accept the contract to kill whoever it was Alexandra wanted dead, because if they had, they'd be forced by their vampire honor to follow through, no matter what.