Go Fish (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
"Go Fish" is episode 20 of season two of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was written by David Fury and Elin Hampton, directed by David Semel, and first broadcast on May 5, 1998.
| "Go Fish" | |
|---|---|
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 20 |
| Directed by | David Semel |
| Written by | David Fury Elin Hampton |
| Production code | 5V20 |
| Original air date | May 5, 1998 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
| |
Plot
Buffy arrives at school in a car with Cameron, a member of the school swim team. He makes persistent sexual advances that are unwelcome, so Buffy slams his head against the steering wheel. Giles informs Buffy that the remains of another member of the team, Dodd, were found on the beach after a party. The Scooby Gang try to determine what killed him. Xander bumps into Cameron who rubs his elite status, as a member of the swim team, in Xander's face and goes to the cafeteria for a snack. Xander hears him scream and on investigating, finds a ransacked cafeteria, Cameron's skin and a humanoid sea creature.
In the library, Cordelia tries to sketch the creature that Xander saw. Buffy and Willow return, having been informed that Cameron and Dodd were the two best swimmers on the boys' team; after them was Gage. Having little else to go on, Buffy shadows Gage as the potential next target. At the Bronze that night, Gage confronts Buffy about her following him; she tells him that he may be in danger. He does not believe her and leaves, only to be attacked by Angelus in the parking lot. Buffy fights off the vampire, noting as she does that Angelus was spitting out Gage's blood rather than drinking it.
The following day, Buffy, Willow and Cordelia sit in on swim practice, discussing Angelus' behavior. They speculate that the swim team may be taking steroids which act as a repellent to vampires, but an attractant to the sea creatures. Xander joins the swim team in an effort to get information from places the girls would not have access to.
Buffy hears Gage cry out in pain; she finds him transforming into one of the creatures and others in the locker room with him. Buffy and Giles tell Coach Marin that members of his team are not being killed by the creatures, but are transforming into them. Meanwhile, Xander tries to find out what drug his team members are taking and how to get it. He finds out that what the boys are assuming are steroids is being pumped in with the sauna steam and that Xander is inhaling it as they speak.
It is revealed that Nurse Greenliegh is a co-conspirator with Marin; they have been conducting experiments on the swim team with fish DNA, in order to get a winning team. Nurse Greenliegh tries to put an end to the situation, but Marin forces her into an open grate that drops into the sewers. The creatures attack and kill her.
Buffy confronts Marin, but he forces her at gunpoint into the sewer. She is fighting the sea creatures when Xander knocks out Marin and rescues her. Marin revives and attacks them, but is knocked into the sewer and killed by the creatures. Xander and the remaining human swimmers are given treatments to undo the effects of the inhaled mutagen, while the fully transformed creatures head off into the open ocean, never to be seen again.
Themes
"Go Fish" is an example of a Buffy episode showing negative consequences for drug use.[1] It also includes the recurrent theme of Buffy's prospective boyfriends turning out to be monsters.[2]
References
- Sherry Ginn (January 10, 2012). Power and Control in the Television Worlds of Joss Whedon. McFarland. p. 120. ISBN 978-0-7864-8970-1.
- Matthew Pateman (January 18, 2006). The Aesthetics of Culture in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. McFarland. p. 232. ISBN 978-1-4766-0612-5.
