Buffy Logo 'The Wish'
Story Code '3ABB09'

by Marti Noxon
Buffy

Willow and Xander are still miserable because neither Oz nor Cordelia will talk to them. Cordelia arrives home from hospital and erases all the messages Xander has left for her, and then burns all the photos she has of them together. When she shows up at school next day, determined to forget all about Xander and the others, her former friends are hurtful towards her, suggesting she date another ‘geek’. Willow attempts to talk to Oz, but he tells her to leave him alone. Later that day, a new girl named Anya asks Cordelia if she wished that things were different; Cordelia replies that she wishes Buffy had never come to Sunnydale, because that was the point when all her problems started. Suddenly, Anya’s face transforms into a monster - and in the blink of an eye, Cordelia finds herself in the world she wished for. Believing Anya to be a ‘good fairy’, Cordelia is delighted to find that all her old friends like her once more, although attendance at school seems to be lower than usual. Returning home after school, Cordelia encounters Xander, and is shocked to discover that not only he is with Willow, but that they are both vampires! Not only that, but neither of them has heard of a Slayer called Buffy. As Cordelia flees from the undead creatures, Giles and Oz pull up in a van and rescue her, taking her back to the school library. Meanwhile, Willow and Xander return to ‘The Bronze’, which is now the home of the Master; he is enraged when they mention hearing of the Slayer, and despatches them to kill Cordelia. Meanwhile, Cordelia is trying to explain to Giles about how things in Sunnydale should be, and how he must find the Slayer, when Xander and Willow appear; they lock Giles in the book-cage, and drain Cordelia’s blood, killing her. The two vampires then leave, and when Oz and Larry return and free him, Giles notices a curious necklace on Cordelia’s body. The Master is so pleased that his servants have killed Cordelia that he allows Willow to play with Angel, whom she has locked up in a cage for her amusement; she tells her captive of the Master’s plan to drain the population of their blood using a machine, before torturing Angel him while Xander looks on in admiration. That night, Giles researches Cordelia’s necklace, and finds that it is the symbol of Anyanka, the ‘patron saint’ of scorned women, who grants wishes. Giles goes home to do more research, but while en route he sees some vampires herding people into the back of a van. He rescues the captives, but in turn finds himself at the vampires' mercy. Suddenly they all turn to dust, and Giles looks up to see a scarred, unhappy-looking Buffy Summers, who demands to know why she has been called. They go to Giles’ apartment, where he discovers that Anyanka can be defeated by destroying her ‘power centre’. Buffy sets off in search of the Master; entering ‘The Bronze’ she finds Angel, and together they leave to track down the monster and his minions. Elsewhere, the Master, Xander and Willow have just used their machine to drain a victim of blood when Buffy and Angel suddenly burst in. As a vicious battle commences, Giles summons Anyanka; she threatens him, but he notices her necklace and grabs it. The carnage continues: Xander kills Angel, Buffy kills Xander, and Oz kills Willow; finally, Buffy and the Master face off - as the Master breaks Buffy's neck Giles smashes the necklace. There is a flash, and suddenly all is back to normal. Her charm destroyed, Anya is now mortal and powerless, unable to do anything as Cordelia spouts off her list of ever-more outlandish revenge wishes.

Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy Summers), Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris), Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg), Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia Chase), David Boreanaz (Angel), Seth Green (Oz), Anthony Stewart Head (Rupert Giles), Mark Metcalf (The Master), Emma Caulfield (Anya/Anyanka), Larry Bagby III (Larry), Mercedes McNab (Harmony), Danny Strong (Jonathan), Nicole Bilderback (Cordette #1), Nathan Anderson (John Lee), Mariah O'Brien (Nancy), Gary Imhoff (Teacher), Robert Covarrubias (Caretaker)
Directed by David Greenwalt

TX (US): 8th December 1998
TX (UK - Sky One): 8th October 1999
TX (UK - BBC): 7th June 2000

Notes:
*Featuring Buffy, Xander, Willow, Giles, Oz, Cordelia and Angel

*This episode features the first appearence of Anya