The Renfields

Frank Renfield :

[Filling in a crossword puzzle]

6-Down, 7 Letters :—

Dracula — is — My — LORD.

My homicidal maniac is of a peculiar kind. 

I shall have to invent a new classification for him, and call him a zoöphagous (life-eating) maniac; what he desires is to absorb as many lives as he can, and he has laid himself out to achieve it in a cumulative way. 

He gave many flies to one spider and many spiders to one bird, and then wanted a cat to eat the many birds. 

What would have been his later steps?

“I feel like every word we say is now a potential indictment, you know. The last malignant thrashing of the passing Aeon of Osiris. 

The Echoes of The Inquisition, accusations of ‘WrongThink’, The Return of Original Sin, The Demonic GLEE taken in any stumble or falter from The Approved Path seems almost mediaeval.  It’s terrifying. 

The potential for misunderstanding is almost infinite and its almost fated that we will struggle to abide by Rules That Grow ever more Authoritarian and Specific every day. 

Again, all that feels to me like the last ferocious attempts at asserting its fading Power by The Osiris Energy of The Last 2000 years, now gone Rotten and Unsustainable but trying HARDER to Keep Everything and Everybody under Increasingly Deranged levels of Control in every area of our lives.”

Tough talk, cowboy...

But you're not gonna catch him napping in a crypt.

No.... The Count has to have

his luxury estate and his bug-eaters and his Special Dirt, don’t he?

Here's a jelly one. You want it?

No.

Got it. Got it! Mine, mine.

Well, I think we have Dracula factoids.

Like any of that's enough to fight the dark master...

Bator.

A lot of it we already knew.

Wood, fire, crosses, garlic.

Nice duds, minions,

long, slow bites that last for days.

Riley: Yeah, I did a little research, too.

Dracula likes to live in style.

Which means we can rule out the usual dumps vampires haunt.

Ah, but he's smart enough to figure

that we probably already know that.

I'm guessin' he's layin' low.

Actually, my research backs Riley up.

Drac isn't the lay-low type.

So we can check out the nicer places.

Don't you think, Buffy?

Buffy?

Yeah, we'll check all the swanky places first.

What else did you guys get?

Well, Willow has most of it, actually.

Only because you gave me super pointers.

I never would have...

Just... Go ahead, Willow.

OK. Dracula's modus operandi

is different from other vampires.

He will kill just to feed,

but he'd rather have a connection with his victims,

and he has all of these mental powers to draw them in.

He... he can read and control minds,

appear in dreams.

Uh-huh.

Makes sense.

That stare...

He just kinda looked right through you.

Didn't you feel it, Buffy?

No.

No, I didn't.

See?! Buffy didn't feel it.

I think you're drawing a lot of crazy conclusions about the unholy prince!

Bator.

The point is, though he goes through the motions

of an intimate seduction,

the end result is the same...

He turns them into a vampire.

Well, that is intimate.

Dracula's gifting these ladies with his own blood.

And blood...

Blood is life.

According to them.

Uh, just be aware that

he tends to form a relationship with his prey.

It's not enough for him to take her.

She must want to be taken. She must... Burn for him.

That's interesting. I'm gonna go find him.

You shouldn't go by yourself, Buffy.

I mean, this guy's seriously dangerous.

It's cool. I got it.

Hey.

Take off that scarf.

What? No.

You're under the thrall of the dark prince.

I am not under the thrall of the dark prince.

Then take off the scarf.

Oh, let go of me! This is ridiculous.

Giles: Well, why didn't she say anything?

'Cause she didn't want to worry us, right, buffster?

It's nothin'. Just a scratch.

2 deep, puncture-y scratches.

I'm not sure why I tried to hide it.

Uh, there was just this voice,

and it was telling me to cover it.

And what did I tell you?

That's thrall.

You're saying Dracula has some sort of

freaky mind control over her?

You're watchin' too many creature features, man.

Buffy: But it does seem like he has this control over me,

even though a big part of me is resisting.

No, that's OK.

I... i shouldn't take this personally.

I mean, what with angel,

I mean, it's understandable that there would be transference.

I mean, they're both broody immortals.

I am not transferring.

I swear to you...

I'm your girl, and I'm gonna stay that way.

OK, but you are not going anywhere near him again.

Riley's right. You should stay out of sight.

Let the rest of us look for Dracula.

I can't go home. He already got inside once.

You can come over to my place.

I'll make sure you stay put.

Good. Riley and I can...

Can search for Dracula.

Willow, you and Tara could do a protection spell at Buffy's house

to prevent him from returning.

Got it. How'd he get inside, anyway?

He seemed so nice and normal...

A little pale.

A good sunnydale rule of thumb...

Avoid white-skinned men in capes.

I'm not like this. I don't invite strange men over for coffee.

It's just...

Oh, when you girls are older, you'll understand.

It's hard to date.

Sometimes you just feel like giving up on men altogether.

Another bust.

And it's getting dark.

I should have turned up a better lead.

There must be an easier way to find him.

Ah, too late to worry about that now.

If we hurry, we can hit these last places.

So how come I have to be here slayer-sitting

while the other guys get to look for Dracula?

I mean, just because I'm...

What time is it?

Uh, almost 6:00.

Look, I mean, I'm the one who knows him.

I'm the one who had a really good look at him,

and so, I mean... What? Hey, what? Hey!

I'm supposed to deliver you to the master now.

There's this whole deal where I get to be immortal.

You cool with that?

Take me to him.

Anya: Come on, Xander. This isn't funny. Let me out!

Master?

I delivered the slayer.

She who you most desire.

Sorry. Whom.

So now comes the immortality, right?

You do the thing and...

Leave us.

We must not be interrupted.

You bet.

I knew you'd come.

Why?

Because I'm under your thrall?

Well, guess again, pal.

Put the stake down.

OK.

Right.

That was not you.

I did that.

I did that because... I wanted to.

Maybe I should rethink that thrall thing.

Ohh...

I've lived in sunnydale a couple of years now.

Know what I've never noticed before?

Uh, a castle?

A big, honking castle.