The Wish
Ridding Sunnydale of one slimy demon provides little distraction for Buffy,
Xander, and Willow, who are still coping with the aftermath of their
relationship woes. Cordy is taking it the hardest, ignoring the vast amount
of answering machine messages left by Xander while burning all the pictures
of her ex-boyfriend.
The next morning, Willow tries once again to patch up her relationship with
Oz. Unfortunately, he needs some space and time to make any decisions on the
matter. Cordelia arrives at school dressed to kill, but she soon learns that
all of her old friends still have no respect for her, even after Xander
Harris has left the picture. Harmony introduces Cordy to Anya, a new girl in
town, before harshly insulting her former best friend. Anya takes an
immediate interest in Cordy's personal troubles. Later that night, Cordy and
Anya go to the Bronze, where Xander is also in attendance, along with Buffy
and Willow. After getting up to fetch a few drinks, Buffy notices Cordy
abruptly exiting, so she follows her into the alley. Before Buffy can get
Cordelia to open up and vent her problems, a vampire intervenes. The ensuing
fight sends Cordy into a nearby pile of trash. With the last straw exposed,
Cordelia identifies Buffy as the source of all of her troubles. As she
explains to Anya the next day, none of the bad things in Cordy's life would
have ever happened if Buffy never came to Sunnydale. Anya removes her
necklace and places it around Cordy's neck. Cordy declares her wish that
Buffy never made that fateful trip. At this point, Anya reveals herself to
be not quite human and says, "Done." A bright light flashes, and suddenly
the Sunnydale High campus is much less crowded than it was a moment ago.
Cordelia quickly realizes that Anya must have granted her wish. However,
this new version of Sunnydale is not as ideal as she imagined it would be.
There's a city curfew that coincides with sunset. The Bronze is no longer
the place to be at night. And Xander and Willow, as Harmony tells her, are
dead.
Night falls as Cordelia wanders the deserted streets of Sunnydale. She
encounters Xander and tells him that they have to get Buffy. Willow arrives,
and Cordy learns that they are now vampires. Before Xander can kill her, a
familiar van pulls up to the scene of the inevitable crime. Giles gets out,
warding Xander and Willow off with a cross. Behind him, Oz sits in the
driver's seat with a crossbow aimed at the vamps. Larry and a girl named
Nancy get out of the van and pull Cordy to safety. Giles gets back inside,
and the van takes off. Cordelia is brought to the library, which serves as
the main base for the resistance against the vampires. Meanwhile, Xander and
Willow return to the Bronze, which is now the headquarters for The Master
and his minions. The Master orders Xander and Willow to kill Cordelia before
she can contact the Slayer and interfere with his latest scheme. Back at the
library, Cordy finally comes to and tells Giles about her wish and that they
need Buffy. Unfortunately, neither of them realize that Xander and Willow
have infiltrated the library. Locked inside the bookcage, Giles can only
hopelessly watch as Xander and Willow sink their fangs into Cordelia,
draining her of all of her blood. After the vampires leave, Giles uses an
axe from his weapons cabinet to bust open the cage. Larry and Oz arrive,
informing Giles that Nancy is now dead. As they pick up Cordy's lifeless
body to bring to the incinerator, Giles notices her necklace and removes it.
The next morning, Willow plays around with Angel, who the Master has locked
up in the basement of the Bronze as punishment. At the library, Giles
discovers through his books that the necklace represents Anyanka, the
"Patron Saint of Scorned Women". He realizes that Anyanka must have granted
a wish that Cordy made which resulted in the world they're living in right
now. Giles calls Buffy's Watcher in Cleveland and leaves a message. While
driving down the streets later that night, Giles sees some vampires packing
a group of humans into the back of a truck. He wards them off with the
cross, enabling the humans to escape. However, he is knocked down from
behind. Before the vampires can finish him, another challenger enters the
fray. Giles watches the vampires face defeat at the hands of this newcomer,
then realizes that this new girl is the one and only Buffy Summers. After
taking her back to his apartment, Giles informs her of what he's learned
concerning Anyanka. In order to reverse all of her wishes and render her
powerless, Anyanka's powercenter must be destroyed. Buffy is clearly
uninterested in this, and is more concerned with taking out the Master.
Buffy goes to the Bronze, which is now deserted. In the basement, she finds
Angel locked up behind bars. While she doesn't recognize him, Angel knows
exactly who she is from all the time he spent secretly observing her in Los
Angeles. Angel leads Buffy to a factory where the Master has unveiled a
machine that will revolutionize the lifestyle of vampires everywhere. This
device can drain a person's body of all of its blood and dispense it into
glasses and cups in mere seconds. Buffy and Angel step in to put a stop to
the festivities. While Buffy fights the vampires head-on, Angel frees the
human prisoners. In the course of the battle, Angel, Xander, and Willow are
dusted. While Buffy continues to fight, Giles summons Anyanka and identifies
her glowing necklace as her powercenter. As he rips it from her neck and
prepares to smash it, the Master overpowers Buffy and snaps her neck,
fulfilling the prophecy in the Pergamum Codex in this reality as well. Giles
smashes the necklace, and suddenly Cordelia is standing in front of Anya
again. Anya realizes that she is no longer able to grant Cordy's wish. As
Cordy walks off, she passes by Buffy, Xander, and Willow, who are still
alive and well.
