"Selfless" is the fifth episode of the seventh and final season of television series ''

Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the 1992 film of the same name, also written by Whedon, although the events of the film are not consid ...

''.

Plot

Anya Aanya, Anya or Anja is a given name. The names are feminine in most cultures especially Indian, and unisex in several African and European countries. Origins and variant forms * Aanya or Anya is an Indian name that means inexhaustible, limitless ...

finally gets back into her old vengeance demon ways by helping a girl get revenge on an entire

fraternity A fraternity (from Latin ''frater'': "brother"; whence, " brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternit ...

by having a spider demon tear their hearts out. Anya herself feels deep remorse about the event, even though

Halfrek Halfrek or Hallie is a recurring fictional character on the TV series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer.'' She appears as a vengeance demon in seasons 6 and 7, and has previously appeared as Cecily in season 5. She is played by actress Kali Rocha. H ...

tries to encourage her to continue.

Willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist so ...

, returning to college, discovers the frightened and crying girl and the remains of the fraternity in the frat house, so she confronts Anya and offers her help in giving up her vengeance work; but Anya acts stubborn and defensive. When Willow tells Buffy and

Xander Xander is an abbreviated form of the name Alexander and pronounced like "Zander". Alexander is the Latin form of the Greek name "Alexandros". The name's meaning is interpreted from "alexein" which means "to defend" plus "andros" which translates to ...

, all three fear the worst of Anya. Buffy is determined to kill Anya; Xander, who still loves her, cannot believe Buffy could do such a thing. He claims that Buffy is hypocritical since she is so quick to kill Anya but ignored what her vampire lovers have done - Buffy reminds him that she killed Angel because it needed to be done and Xander cheered her on. Buffy and Xander track Anya back to the frat house, where the two women fight as Xander tries to stop them. Buffy stabs Anya, seemingly killing her, but Anya's demon side prevents her from dying. Willow calls forth Anya's boss D'Hoffryn, using the talisman he gave her while trying to recruit her as Anya's replacement. When he interrupts the fight between her and Buffy, Anya begs him to reverse the spell she did – even though she knows the cost of reversing such a spell is the life and soul of a vengeance demon. Anya is ready to die, even if Xander does not want her to, but D'Hoffryn instead summons Halfrek and kills her as the price to bring back the fraternity boys, wanting Anya to live as a human and suffer through her guilt rather than die. A distraught Anya leaves and tells Xander not to follow her, wondering what her purpose is outside of their relationship now that she is mortal again.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Selfless (Buffy The Vampire Slayer) Buffy the Vampire Slayer (season 7) episodes 2002 American television episodes Television episodes written by Drew Goddard