I, Robot... You, Jane
| "I, Robot... You, Jane" | |
|---|---|
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode | |
Buffy, Willow and Xander realize they'll never have normal relationships
|
|
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 8 |
| Directed by | Stephen Posey |
| Written by |
Ashley Gable Thomas A. Swyden |
| Production code | 4V08 |
| Original air date | April 28, 1997 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
|
|
"I, Robot...You, Jane" is the eighth episode of season 1 of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The episode was written by staff writers Ashley Gable and Thomas A. Swyden, and directed by Stephen Posey. The episode originally aired on April 28, 1997.
In this episode, Willow accidentally releases the demon Moloch onto the internet. There he wreaks havoc and gains a following.
In Cortona, Italy, in 1418, a circle of priests trap a horned demon (Moloch "the Corruptor") in a book using a magic ritual. The book is sealed in a box, with the head priest expressing the hope that the book will never be read, lest the demon be released upon the world. In the present, the book is delivered to Giles and added to a pile that Willow is scanning into a computer.
Willow tells Buffy that she has formed an online relationship with a boy named Malcolm. As Buffy tries to warn Willow about the dangers of rushing into a relationship with someone she has not seen, Fritz (a computer geek) is instructed by Moloch, via the computer he is working on, to keep watch on Buffy. Later, when Xander asks Willow if she will accompany him to the Bronze, she passes, preferring to talk to Malcolm. When Willow arrives late the next day, Buffy finds that she missed classes to talk to "Malcolm". Buffy asks Dave for help in finding out Malcolm's real identity, but his angry response causes her to suspect that he is Malcolm. When Buffy asks Giles for help, he confesses he cannot help her much as he finds technology to be intimidating.
Willow becomes suspicious of Malcolm after she learns that he knows Buffy was kicked out of her old school, and logs off the conversation. Back at the library, Giles discovers that Moloch's book is blank.
Outside of school, Dave tells Buffy that Willow wants to talk to her in the girls' locker room. At the last minute, Dave has a change of heart and warns Buffy that she is about to be electrocuted. In the library, Giles tells Buffy and Xander that demons can be imprisoned in books; if the books are read aloud, the demons are set free. Giles also explains that Moloch is an extremely powerful and seductive demon, winning his victims over with false promises of love, glory and power.
Buffy and Giles realise that there is no limit to the destruction that a demon could do through the Internet. After they find Dave's body, Xander and Buffy go to Willow's house, and Buffy tells Giles to ask the computer teacher (Ms. Calendar) for help, hoping that between his knowledge of demons and her knowledge of computers, they can reimprison Moloch. Willow is kidnapped by Fritz. Giles seeks help from Ms. Calendar, and is surprised that she is already aware of the demon in the Internet. A robotic incarnation of Moloch crashes through a wall and attacks Buffy, Willow and Xander. After a brief battle, Buffy tricks Moloch into punching an electrical power line, causing his body to explode and, presumably, destroying him for good.
...
Wikipedia