Season 5, Episode 15 | Aired: 20 February 2001 | Written by: Jane Espenson | Directed by: James A. Contner
Warren Mears (Adam Busch) has built a robot girlfriend — April (Shonda Farr) — who has tracked him to Sunnydale after he abandoned her for a real relationship. April is cheerful, strong, and will be loyal to Warren until her batteries run out. The episode handles its robot-as-objectification premise with more care than the premise deserves, and ends with Buffy sitting with April as she winds down — an unexpectedly gentle scene. The final shot: Joyce, dead on the sofa.
What Happens
April pursues Warren through Sunnydale, hurting people who get in her way while looking for the boy who made her. Buffy finds her and they fight. Spike, who has commissioned Warren to build a Buffy robot for his own purposes, lurks in the background. April runs down alone on a park bench and Buffy sits with her. It’s a quieter ending than the episode’s action suggested. Then Buffy comes home and the episode’s final seconds happen.
Key Moments
April winding down on the bench, asking Buffy “Is this when it happens?” — she means the battery running out, but the question resonates further than she knows. And Joyce, seen for three seconds, on the sofa, not moving. The cut to black.
Monster / Villain
Warren — not the episode’s monster in a meaningful sense yet, but the show is noting him carefully.
Notable Quote
“He doesn’t love you. If he loved you, he never would have left.” — Buffy, to April. Said simply. True.
Where It Fits
I Was Made to Love You is the last episode before The Body. It functions as the calm before, though the episode itself is engaging on its own terms. Warren will return as a Season 6 threat. The final image of Joyce is one of the most effective episode endings in the series.