Anya:
Anya:
Debut -- The Wish (Season 3)
Other 3rd season appearances: Doppelgangland; The Prom; Graduation part I
Last Seen -- Hush (Season 4)
Anya's first seen in Harmony's gaggle of girls. Harmony introduces her to Cordy, saying she's new. The chick looks bored to me, but that could be her distaste for Harmony.
Later, Anya tracks Cordy down and reassures her that she's not going to make fun of her for Xander's shortcomings or anything. She keeps goading Cordy to say bad stuff about Xander or to make some kind of wish. Anya gives Cordy her "good luck charm" and finally, Cordy does make a wish. After she tells Anya that she wishes "..Buffy Summers had never come to Sunnydale," Anya goes veiny and in an raspy voice that's reminiscent of Eyghon's, she says, "Done!"
Cordy comes to realize that Anya was "...a good fairy. A scary, veiny..good fairy."
It's in the Bizarro world that we see Anyanka again. Giles discovers that the pendant Cordy had on belongs to Anya/Anyanka...the patron saint of scorned women. He also learns that by destroying Anyanka's power center, all of the granted wishes will be reversed and Anya will be rendered mortal and powerless again.
When he summons Anyanka, she appears before him, and she's extremely miffed. She, like, really has a thing against men. She also is wearing a very ugly gold lame thing. Giles learns that her necklace thing is the power source...he was probably led to this conclusion when it started glowing bright green. Giles smashes the pendant, Anya freaks out, and Bizarro World is no more.
Back in present-day Sunnydale, Cordy is making wish after wish, and Anya keeps saying, "Done." She's startled when she doesn't have her power anymore, and she just kind of keeps saying "done." Yeeps.
Men are from Mars, Anya is from Hell?:
In Doppelgangland, Anya's first seen pleading her case to this horned-demon thing. She bemoans her pathetic situation as a senior at Sunnydale High, and talks about how she was worshipped by the lower beings by punishing unfaithful-type men and stuff. She asks for help in getting her necklace back -- the one that alter-Giles smashed in The Wish -- but the demon guy (D'Hoffryn) refuses, telling her she must live out her mortal life. Anya vows to get someone else to help her.
As luck, or the writers, would have it, that someone is Willow. Basically Anya asks Willow for help in doing a temporal fold spell, and she assures Willow that it's not dangerous. Basically, she fibs, saying that the necklace was a family heirloom, stolen from her mom's apartment, and that by calling on Eryishon, the endless one, they can bring the necklace back from the time and place it was lost. (Or, stolen?)
After the spell fails to produce the necklace, Anya is miffed, to say the least. She like, calls Willow an idiot child when Willow refuses to help her again, and she smashes a plate. It looked like they were in a classroom, so I wonder if Anya cleaned up the shards or just left it for the poor janitor. That janitor must see some stuff, you know? Oops, anyway...
Later at the Bronze, Anya tries to get a beer, but can't, since she has no i.d. It was neat because sometimes I wonder if the kids at the Bronze ever get alcohol, but I guess they don't. Anya sees Vamp Willow and realizes what's happened. She informs Vamp Willow that Willow can help her get back to her own reality. Later, when Willow-as-Vamp-Willow appears at the Bronze, Anya figures out that it's the real Willow, and orders a vamp to kill her. Anya gets punched in the face by the real Willow, and she later sits in on the spell to send the Vamp Willow back to her own dimension. She vows to make everyone kneel before her when she regains her powers. So, that's about it. She's kind of an evil chick, I guess. I mean, she did order Willow killed, so...who knows if she'll be back. It wasn't made clear if she got her necklace back, either...
Anya's Angst:
Well, question answered. Anya returns in The Prom. Still powerless -- but hey, at least she's not a rat! -- and still fed up with having to live as a teenager. Well, yeah. But at least her name wasn't something totally wacky you know? I mean, what if she had to be a teenager named Goneril?
Anyhoo, she keeps harping to Xander about how men suck, and why it's his fault that she's trapped in this teenage existence, yet then she asks him to take her to the prom. Well, I guess once you bond with someone over an evilWillow thing, you kind of feel like you can ask them that sort of thing....
At the prom, she pretty much goes on and on about plagues and the olden days. It makes Xander look like his brains want to dribble out of his ears, kind of Giles-like, or something. Fortunately for him, Anya begins to see the good side of being a teenager...she finally quiets down during the actual dancing, and she even tells him that it's not bad.
Sorta makes you wonder what her part might be in the Ascension, if she has one...
If You Want to Make Your Date Ill, Follow Anya's Example?:
Hey, that reminds me of this one time I was in the language lab in school..I was sitting in one of those carrels, and saw this grafitti:
Very absurd. But I still remember it...actually that's probably why I remember it. Yeesh. Hey..what're the odds that Anya....nah.
In Graduation part I, Anya proves that she must have had a pretty good time at the Prom. She's sitting next to Xander in Mr. Miller's class, and asks him to do some kind of entertaining thing with her over the weekend. Maybe I should take dating pointers from her..."Hey, do you want to maybe do some kind of entertaining thing?" Nah...anyhoo, here she shows that she still doesn't have this "being a member of the human race" thing down pat. She still thinks that men are just people who like sporting activities and such, until Xander tries to set her straight.
It's in this episode that Anya is somewhat of a help to the Scooby gang. She tells them what an Ascension is like, how the demons are different. She also says it's not something she's eager to stick around for. It's interesting that she later comes back for Xander, tells him that when she thinks something might happen to him, it feels bad inside. Anya sort of reminds me of Cordy...she's someone Xander can spar with, but this time it really is like they come from different worlds. Last we see of Anya, she's left in the hallway, asking Xander if they're going to kiss...but he's already left. I can see this chick popping up in season 4....powerless or otherwise.
Anya: "Do you have any idea what I do to a man who uses that spell to summon me?" -- to Giles, after he's..well, summoned her.
Anya: "I'm eleven hundred and twenty years old, just give me a frickin' beer!!" -- to the Bronze's bartender.
Anya: "So then this one time a girl wished that her ex would cannibalize himself. Even I had a hard time watching that one, let me tell you." -- to a sickly-looking Xander.
As cannibals eat the back of my head, I ponder life.
The Harsh Light of Day; Fear, Itself; Pangs; Something Blue; Hush
Anya returns in The Harsh Light of Day to make Xander's life a living...hell? Something? She's all about hormones and the scientific approach in asking Xander to engage in sexual intercourse with her. She tells him that afterwards, she'll be over him. Uh...not going to go there.
Anyway, it's apparent that while her "What I Did On My Summer Vacation" may have included a big change in the hairstyle, it didn't include a crash course in understanding emotions and relationships. But it did pave the way for some very interesting conversation.
Anyhoo, after she and Xander have interlocked their bodies, Anya tells Xander that she's over him. Xander, not really sure what to say to a man-hating demon type of gal, says, "Okay..?" which makes Anya stalk off. If you're thinking this is kinda wacked, well..yeah.
Later, Anya tracks Xander to Buffy's dorm room, where he has to give her the brush off. World in peril and that sort of thing, you know. Yeesh. Fasten your seatbelts..it's going to be a bumpy ride...
In Fear, Itself, Anya tries to start off with Xander again...she tries to tell him that his friends have moved on to college, and that's not where he is right now. The chick wants her man, what can I say. Anyhoo, Anya gets invited to the Halloween party at the frat house, and on Xander's advice to come as something scary, she opts for a rabbit costume. Uh...yeah, I guess if we're talking Energizer Bunny, then..scary. Yeah.
It's probably a good thing that she was supposed to meet the gang at the frat house instead of go with them as a group...this way she can witness the freaksome stuff going on (i.e., the fact that the door to the house disappears, etc.,) and be the person who runs to Giles for help. It's kind of interesting to put Anya in this role, I think. I mean, in that respect, she's almost become the Cordy of the group. Here I'm specifically reminded of Gingerbread, when Cordy goes looking for Giles and they go off to save Willow, Buffy, and Amy. (Or more specifically, Cordy's clothing from her mom's clutches, if I'm not mistaken. Heh.) See? Both Cordy and Anya seem to be in it for themselves...Anya made reference to saving only Xander, not the rest of the gang. You know, it almost makes me wonder if she and Xander will work out, after all...
Anya hasn't been seen since, but I'm sure she'll pop up soon. I was surprised she wasn't in Beer Bad -- I mean, come on...didn't you wonder if Xander the Bartender would serve her? She is eleven hundred and twenty years old, after all....
In Pangs, Anya does something that wins my heart..she calls Thanksgiving a "ritual sacrifice with pie." Now, mind you, I'm not saying I'm taking a stance on the holiday one way or the other...no, I'm just here to say that I'm glad pie is getting the recognition it deserves. Better still, it just is cool to have an ex-demon realize how great pie is. It's almost like how I'd have felt when Spike mentioned little marshmallows..except I don't like marshmallows.
Anyhoo, this time out, Anya's startled (albeit pleasantly) when Xander refers to her as his girlfriend. Note: He did preface it by calling her "strange." Anya basically spends this episode imagining having sex with Xander, and trying to diagnose his illness(es). She's also integral in helping fight off the Chumash Indian spirits, and lastly, the chick can ride a bike. That's better than I can do. By the way, did I mention she likes pie?
Something Blue provides a bit more backstory on Anya. We learn how she became a demon way back when. Basically, she was screwed over by a guy and sought vengeance. At that point, D'Hoffryn invited her to become one of those vengeance demon-types, and the gal accepted. Probably because the dental plan was good. Again, Anya's instrumental in trying to help the gang fight off other demons, and she tries a summoning spell to get to D'Hoffryn and the other realm. It's kind of amusing how Anya can always determine which demons are which, and the way to kill them. It's almost as if Giles's books have come to life. I mean, think about how much research time they might have saved in high school..on second though, nah.
Hush gives Anya what she wants...she finally finds out just how Xander feels about her. Sure, she had asked him straight out, but he sort of hedged...it's what you do when you're in front of your mentor and your impotent vampire. Anyhoo, after Xander believes that Spike drained Anya, he starts punching him. It might have helped here if Spike had had a message board to say, "Bloody hell, I didn't bite your girlfriend, you ninny!" Then again, maybe not. Suffice it to say Xander's much relieved to learn that Anya's alive and well. Now that's caring for you.
Anyhoo, Anya gets caught up in the excitement during Giles's presentation about who the Gentlemen (Sunnydale's Silencers) are and how to deal with them. I mean, the chick brought popcorn! And didn't share. She gets especially excited/enthusiastic seeing the illustrations of the way the Gentlemen kill folks. Amusing. That's about all she does this time out. I would also like to remark on the backless shirts the gals of Sunnydale have been wearing lately. I'd get cold, but I guess it's a lot warmer in Sunnydale than it is where I am...
Anya says "orgasm" a lot in this episode, and when she's rendered silent, she resorts to using the standby hand gestures for "have sex." I guess she missed a lot during the demon years...
Son of Cordelia's Tact?:
Anya: "An orgasm friend?"
Giles: "Yes, that's exactly the most appalling thing you could have said." -- On learning that Giles wants Xander to keep Spike for a few days while he has company.
The ABCs of Sunnydale
