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The Puppet Show
4V09


"Did I mention that I hate this school?!"

Giles has been roped into supervising Sunnydale's talent show. When Buffy, Xander and Willow stop by to tease him about it, the new principal punishes them by insisting they come up with an act.

One of the dancers in the show is found dead, with her heart removed. The last person she was seen talking to was Morgan, a strange, awkward student who is a ventriloquist in the talent show with his dummy, Sid. When Buffy tries to question Morgan, he gets nervous and rubs his head. Sid seems to have a mind of his own, and Morgan talks to him as if he were real. Still suspicious, Buffy goes to check out Morgan's locker, but finds only the empty puppet case. When Buffy goes to sleep that night, Sid is outside her window. She feels him enter the room but when she screams and turns on the light, he's gone.

The next day, Giles tells Buffy, Xander and Willow about a brotherhood of demons who need human organs to maintain their humanity. Although this sounds like Morgan may have killed the dancer for her heart, these demons have super strength, while Morgan has been growing weaker. Willow discovers a book which says that dolls and mannequins are capable of becoming human by harvesting organs. Buffy, looking for Morgan in the prop room, finds him dead, with his brain removed. A light rig suddenly comes crashing down on her, and Sid is next to her with a kitchen knife. They have each mistaken the other for a demon. Sid explains that he was a human, but then was cursed, and he thinks the demon who cursed him is in the talent show. If he can kill that demon, he'll be free. Backstage at the talent show, Morgan's brain falls from the catwalk -- apparently the demon has rejected it. Willow researches Morgan's records and finds out that he had brain cancer.

This means the demon is still going to be looking for a healthy, intelligent brain. We find Giles in the auditorium, innocently helping Marc, a student performing a magic act in the talent show. Marc convinces Giles to fill in for his assistant and lie down in a guillotine. Just as Giles realizes he's about to get his brains removed, Buffy runs in to save him. Marc changes into a demon, and Sid finally stabs him in the heart. Now that the demon is dead, the animated Sid turns back into a normal puppet. Suddenly, the curtain opens as a stunned audience attending the talent show looks at the dumbfounded gang on stage.

More Information

The key to making this episode work is that the viewer should never be certain whether Sid is alive or not, and whether or not he is the killer. Ellen Pressman's surefooted direction means that this is handled with considerable skill. For example, the shot where Sid shifts position, as Morgan stows him inside the trunk, is subtle and could as easily be dismissed as a minor continuity blunder.

Unfortunately Pressman isn't entirely above cheating. The knee-level, point-of-view shots of the killer advancing towards Emily in the locker room are purposefully misleading. It's about two thirds of the way through the episode when the truth about Sid is revealed, releasing some of the tension, but giving the situation an extra twist that is typical of the series.

The running gag about Buffy, Willow and Xander being forced to participate in the talent show is very funny, and cements the episode's various elements together very nicely. 'The Puppet Show' is a very inventive episode, and one of the best of the first season.

Armin Shimerman is a wonderful addition to the series' semi-regular cast, bringing a cynicism that's all too often lacking in American shows.

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