Flooded (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Plot

Buffy tries to fix a leaky pipe in her basement, but the repair goes wrong and the pipe bursts, flooding the entire space. At breakfast, the group reviews the destruction while Xander and a plumber inspect the pipe damage. The plumber tells Buffy the whole system needs replacing and gives her a huge bill. Faced with that cost, Buffy realizes that between hospital bills and funeral expenses, she and Dawn are completely out of money. To cover the costs, she visits a bank to speak with a loan officer. The officer explains that without a job or any real collateral, she doesn't qualify for a loan. A demon crashes through the office window during the meeting, and Buffy fights it while wearing conservative clothing. The demon escapes, and the loan officer still refuses to give her a loan, even though she saved his life.

That night, Willow tries to deliberately provoke Buffy into showing some genuine anger, but Buffy doesn't take the bait. Dawn wants to join the research, but Tara thinks she's too young, a point proven when Dawn looks at a picture in one of the books. Buffy isn't happy about Dawn researching with the group, but Dawn manages to identify the bank-robbing demon Buffy fought earlier. Giles returns, sharing a joyful reunion and an intense conversation with Buffy before meeting the rest of the gang.

The bank-robbing demon, called an M'Fashnik, throws a tantrum in front of his handlers—Jonathan, Warren, and Andrew (the brother of Tucker from the prom incident)—complaining that the Slayer is still alive even though they got the bank money. After a short internal argument, the three come up with a plan to satisfy the demon without killing Buffy. Giles sleeps on the couch at the Summers house and talks with Buffy, offering to help sort out her money troubles in the morning. The three guys discuss their goal of taking over Sunnydale and mostly agree that none of them wants to kill Buffy, but Warren secretly gives the M'Fashnik demon Buffy's address so it can kill her.