Season 7 Episode 14 - First Date

Giles finally explains how he managed to escape the ax-wielding Bringer all those months ago: his "exceptional instincts and years of training" saved his life. Or maybe it was luck, and a pair of squeaky Bringer shoes. He soon realizes that Spike is now chipless, since Buffy had the Initiative remove it and not repair it. Giles isn't pleased at all, worrying over the safety of the Slayerettes as well as Buffy herself. Buff trusts that Spike can be a good person, but he needs to be given the opportunity. Giles still senses the connection between them, and though Buffy denies any physical relationship, she can't write it off altogether.

As Xander woos a woman, Lissa, over rope at a construction demonstration, Buffy decides to do some snooping in Principal Wood's office. His skeevy behavior of late (like the shovel incident in the basement) has her a little concerned. Robin catches her in his office, and Buffy comes up with a bad, yet somehow acceptable excuse. To her surprise, Wood asks her out on a date, and she agrees. After Buffy leaves, Wood lifts a wipe board to reveal a vast and very shiny collection of knives. Sharp knives.

Buffy talks with Willow about her upcoming date with her boss, and comes up with three possibilities for his motivation. 1) He thinks she's hot. 2) He wants to promote her. Yeah, right. 3) He wants to kill her. Buffy waffles about her own intentions towards the Woodster, but decides that she could really like him.

Andrew's trying to set up the new microwave when he's approached by the First in the guise of Jonathan. Playing on Andrew’s guilt over having killed Jonathan, the First urges him to get Willow’s new gun and kill the Potentials. After all, the First points out, Buffy's making Andrew pay for committing murder, but she doesn't give the same treatment to her other formerly murderous friends.

Xander is proud he has a date with Lissa, and Anya's jealous as hell. Buffy's excited about her date, but Spike is...less jealous. In fact, he seems perfectly okay with it when he runs into Buffy as she's getting ready, but he still very obviously cares for her, and vice versa. Downstairs, Willow and the Potentials do some Googling on the Principal and are surprised to find absolutely no record of him at all. Spooky.

That night, Robin is taking Buffy down a seamy back alley to a restaurant she's never heard of when they're jumped by a pile of Vamps. Buffy's convinced Wood set her up, but as she's kicking booty, she notices he's helping her out. When the Vamps are defeated, Robin leads a stunned Buffy into the restaurant. Buff is awestruck to learn that not only does he know she's the Slayer, but that his mother was the Slayer as well. Robin was four when she was killed, and he was raised by her watcher. He's been looking for revenge ever since, fighting evil and killing Vampires whenever he gets the chance.

Back at the house, Andrew presents the gun to the First, then starts to clumsily grill it for information about its weaknesses. "Are you wearing a wire?" a suspicious Jonathan/First asks. Oops. Apparently Andrew IS wearing one so Willow can listen in from the basement. Andrew's afraid, but he stands against the First, even though it's verrrrry angry with him now.

Poor Xander: he's fallen into a familiar trap of dating demonic chicks. His date, Lissa, is a baddie, and she hangs him up over the recently uncovered Seal of Danthalzar in the school. She's going to drain his blood till the seal opens and releases another Ubervamp. Terrific. Somehow, Xander manages to send a text message to Willow, and Spike heads out to retrieve Buffy from her date to rescue him.

Spike finds Buffy at the restaurant and drags both her and Robin to save Xander. Robin's stash of very sharp knives comes in handy, and they all attack Lissa. During the fight, Wood recognizes Spike's undeadness as the Vamp valiantly tries to defeat Xander's demon date. Xander's blood starts the Seal opening, but when Wood cuts him down, the Seal slams shut just in time. They defeat Lissa, and as they regroup, Wood notices the romantic tension simmering between Buffy and Spike.

At home, Giles berates the gang for focusing on romantic interludes instead of Evil. Later, Spike decides he's going to leave town, so as not to put Buffy in danger. However, Buff stops him, saying, "I'm not ready for you to not be here."

Wood recovers from the fight at his own home, and is approached by the First in the guise of his dead mother. The Principal isn't even remotely willing to switch sides, until the First reveals that he met his mother's killer that night. It's Spike.