"Doppelgängland" is an episode of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer centered on the character of Willow Rosenberg.
Plot Outline
Episode 16 of season 3 picks up the theme of an alternate reality from episode 9 "The Wish" where Slayer Buffy Summers had never arrived in Sunnydale and vampires ruled the city. In Doppelgängland Anya's attempt to regain her powers with Willow's help goes awry and the spell instead summons evil vampire Willow to the show's main reality moments before she is staked in the alternate reality (poignantly, by Good Willow's then-boyfriend Oz).
Importance
Though Willow is still going steady with Oz in this episode, her later lesbian preference is first introduced here when vampire Willow shows a sexual interest in her human alternate self. The key scene is an exchange between Willow, Buffy, and Angel when they study the unconscious vampire Willow (quoted from the DVD edition):
- Willow (referring to her vampire self): "I think I'm kind of gay"
- Buffy: "Willow, just remember a vampire's personality has nothing to do with the person he was."
- Angel: "Well, actually..."
- (Willow and Buffy glare)
- Angel: "...it's a good point."
The first quote are the exact words that Willow will use in episode 8, season 6 "Tabula Rasa" when she realizes she is gay after being hit by her own amnesia spell. Willow's first girlfriend Tara Maclay is not introduced until season 4, episode 10 "Hush".
Writing and Acting
The episode's humor is based on various incidents of mistaken identity, and actress Alyson Hannigan is given the chance to explore different aspects of Willow's personality in different situations. The episode is one of the most popular of the series; part of its power rests in the moral question of whether the evil version of Willow should be killed like other vampires or sent back to her own reality.
Quotes and Trivia
The episode's title is taken from the term "Doppelgänger", a German word for a ghostly double of a living person, and "gangland," a term associated with organized crime. The form "Doppelgängland" is actually not correct German ("The land of the Doppelgängers" would be Doppelgängerland (note "-er-" inserted), "the land where people are doubled" would be Doppelgangland (no umlaut over the "a")). It should be noted, however, that the title is a pun combining German and English words, and not intended to be an actual German phrase.
Cast
Other Languages
The title has been changed to "Doppelgängerland" in the German DVD edition.
Music
Doppelgängland features the song "Virgin State of Mind" by K's Choice from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Album
External links
