History Recap / BuffyTheVampireSlayerS4E3TheHarshLightOfDay

Buffy and Spike have a huge fight outside. She tries to stake him, to no avail and he reveals the ring that is protecting him. Xander shows up, but Spike quickly knocks him out of the way and continues to beat up Buffy. As he does, he notes that Buffy and Parker didn't seem to know each other that well and that she fell for his trick of playing a sensitive side and getting her to seduce him. He then mocks her by telling her that she must not be worth a second go, and jokes that Angel told him as much An enraged Buffy pummels Spike and takes the ring from him. Smoking from exposure to the sun, he dives down into the sewers. Later, Buffy and the gang sit around at Giles' place and Buffy decides that she wants Angel to have the ring. Oz volunteers to take it when he [[Recap/AngelS01E03InTheDark goes to L.A.]] for a gig.

** The difference being that Buffy has to hide her identity as the Slayer to uphold theMasquerade. She can't very well tell Parker she's the Slayer and there's a whole world of vampires and demons out there just as she's getting to know him. That's hardly the same as leading a young woman on just to get her into bed.

* CoincidentalBroadcast: Giles tells them that watching TV isn't going to help them with their problem. Sure enough, the news shows a clue to Spike's whereabouts.

* {{Hypocrite}}: Parker is judged harshly for having misled Buffy, who calls him "manipulative and shallow". This has some basis - he presented as being more caring and sensitive than he really was. Buffy's hypocracy was that she presented herself as being an entirely different person to who she really was; Buffy hid her identity and outright lied to Parker multiple times, such as by claiming her vampire bite was actually from a puppy. Parker's manipulation only put Buffy's feelings in danger, whereas Buffy's lies put Parker's life (and, in the Buffyverse, his soul) in clear danger. Overlaps with ProtagonistCenteredMorality.

Buffy and Spike have a huge fight outside. She tries to stake him, to no avail and he reveals the ring that is protecting him. Xander shows up, but Spike quickly knocks him out of the way and continues to beat up Buffy. As he does, he notes that Buffy and Parker didn't seem to know each other that well and that she fell for his trick of playing a sensitive side and getting her to seduce him. He then mocks her by telling her that she must not be worth a second go, and jokes that Angel told him as much An enraged Buffy pummels Spike and takes the ring from him. Smoking from exposure to the sun, he dives down into the sewers. Later, Buffy and the gang sit around at Giles' place and Buffy decides that she wants Angel to have the ring. Oz volunteers to take it when he goes to L.A. for a gig.

[[quoteright:284:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/btvs_s4_ep03_harshlight19.jpg]]

* RomanticFalseLead: Spike is sleeping with Harmony to get over Drusilla; [[spoiler:he will eventually fall in love with Buffy.]] Buffy is sleeping with Parker to get over Angel; [[spoiler:she then hooks up with Riley Finn.]] Xander sleeps with Anya to get over Faith, while Anya sleeps with Xander to get over him [[spoiler:and the two end up falling in love.]]

** Buffy is infuriated when Spike claims Angel thought she wasn't good in bed. Angel taunted Buffy over her sexual performance after his SexFaceTurn in [[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS2E14Innocence "Innocence"]]. The NotStayingForBreakfast is also a call back to that episode.

* LittleBlackDress: Buffy wears a [[SexyBack backless]] black dress when seducing Parker.

* WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove: Anya

* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: Harmony is this trope to a T.

* DressHitsFloor[=/=][[DistractedByTheSexy Distracted by the Stark-Naked Sexy Ex-Demon]]

* IronicEchoCut
* ItDoesntMeanAnything

* MsFanservice: Harmony

* ReadyForLovemaking: Harmony in Spike's lair.

* RingOfPower: The Gem of Amarra

* SomethingElseAlsoRises: Xander turns around to offer Anya (whom he only knows as a weird ex-demon girl who makes a lousy prom date) a juice box, to find Anya has dropped her dress. Xander reacts by squeezing the carton he's currently holding, causing juice to spurt in the air.

* YourDoorWasOpen

Below ground, as Spike starts breaking into the crypt, Harmony balks when she's told she can't go back outside and complains. As a result, Spike puts in her place with some harsh verbal abuse. When he finally breaks into the crypt, Harmony tags along. An irritated Spike tells her to take anything else she wants, and looks for the Gem of Amarra. Seeing an elaborate pendant, he assumes that to be the gem and puts it on but feels nothing. When he tries to pick up a cross it burns him as it normally would. Harmony prattles on, and Spike finally loses all his patience and stakes her with a jagged piece of wood... however instead of turning to dust, nothing happens to Harmony and the wound instantly heals itself. Spike realizes the ring Harmony picked up randomly is the Gem of Amarra and tries to force it off her. Upset, Harmony just gives him it and Spike, knowing that the ring will render him invincible to all vampire weaknesses, including daylight, decides to go outside.

Buffy tracks down Parker, but she finds him putting the same moves he used on her on another girl. She asks him if everything is ok and Parker, completely casual, tells her it is. She asks if he wants to do something, but Parker refuses citing earlier plans and attempts to rush off. Buffy asks if she did something wrong, but Parker assures her he didn't and he had a lot of fun. Buffy realizes that, while their night together meant a lot to her, for him it was nothing more than casual sex. He reminds her that it was her that put the moves on him, and claims that he thought they were on the same level. He then quickly leaves, telling Buffy that he'll call her when he clearly has no intention of doing so. As Buffy reels, she turns around when she hears a familiar voice and Spike hits her.

While Dingoes Ate My Baby play The Bronze, Buffy talks to Willow while also secretively watching Parker play pool. After the Dingoes wrap, Oz gets ready to take Willow home and Parker volunteers to take Buffy back to her dorm. While Willow is waiting for Oz and Devon to return to the van outside The Bronze, Harmony approaches her. The two of them talk and then Harmony reveals she's a vampire and bites Willow. Oz rescues her and Harmony goes away, threatening that her boyfriend is not going to be happy that they were mean to her. Buffy and Parker walk back to the dorm, and Parker discovers her scar from when Angel bit her (Graduation Day, Part Two). She tells him it was an angry puppy that bit her. He then asks her to a party the next night and she accepts.

* {{Anvilicious}}: The episode's message about the downsides of sex, particularly casual sex, are quite heavy-handed, with the three female characters who engaged in it walking alone regretfully at the end of the episode. Anya is also shown rather than Xander despite him being the one in the pair who is a main cast member, leading to possible UnfortunateImplications.

* EroticDream

* GameFace

'''Spike:''' I wonder what went wrong? [[NoGuyWantsAnAmazon Were you too strong? Did you bruise the boy?]] Whatever. I guess you're just not worth a second go. Come to think of it, seems like somebody told me that. Who was it? Oh, yeah. Angel.\\

** "[[FreudWasRight You love that tunnel more than me]]."

Spike and the now vamped-up Harmony are searching for a mythical gem which can make vampires invincible. Buffy sleeps with a boy named Parker who was just using her. Anya returns and sleeps with Xander.

!!Tropes in this episode:

->'''Harmony:''' I don't know why I let you be so mean to me.
->'''Spike:''' Love hurts, baby.

* AManIsAlwaysEager: Xander tries, he really does, but Anya and his own libido wear him down.

*** Or maybe it just happened later.

* RingOfPower

* ScarSurvey: Parker checks out Angel's bite scar on Buffy's neck. Buffy claims it was from an [[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E9TheWish angry puppy]].

* YouRemindMeOfX[=/=]OnTheRebound: Plenty of Angel reminders; rather than deter Buffy (as with Scott Hope) this only makes her more determined to move on. Anya's forthcoming approach to sex reminds Xander of Faith and the [[NoTellMotel time]] they hooked up. And the [[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E15Consequences time]] she almost hooked up with him. He too is not deterred.

* AManIsAlwaysEager

* [[FaceDoodling Back Doodling]]: Harmony writes "Spike loves Harmony" on his back. Spike's reaction when he wakes up? He's not pleased.
-->'''Spike:''' I love ''syphilis'' more than you.

-->'''Spike''': So you let Parker take a poke, eh? Didn't seem like you knew each other that well. What did it take to pry apart the Slayer's dimpled knees?\\
'''Buffy''': You're a pig, Spike.\\
'''Spike''': Did he play the sensitive lad and get ''you'' to seduce ''him''? That's a good trick if the girl's thick enough to buy it.\\
[They fight. Spike has the upper hand.]\\
'''Spike''': I wonder what went wrong? [[NoGuyWantsAnAmazon Were you too strong? Did you bruise the boy?]] Whatever. I guess you're just not worth a second go. Come to think of it, seems like somebody told me that. Who was it? Oh, yeah. Angel.\\
[Buffy proceeds to [[BerserkButton kick every square inch of his ass]].]
* BrutalHonesty / DoYouWantToCopulate: Anya regarding sex -- the start of a RunningGag with Xander.
-->I like you. You're funny and you're nicely shaped. And, frankly, it's ludicrous to have these interlocking bodies and not interlock.

** Harmony's back...cept now as a living dead. Yay?

** Xander reacts to all the blunt comments from Anya about wanting sex from him by telling her she's still more romantic than Faith.
** The scar on Buffy's neck from when Angel fed on her in "Graduation Day, Part II". Saying it was done by an "angry puppy" might be a writer's in-joke reference to "The Wish", where Vampire!Willow referred to a bound Angel as her "puppy".
** "Did he play the sensitive lad and get ''you'' to seduce ''him''?" Puts a whole new spin on some Bangel moments in the first two seasons.
** Buffy is infuriated when Spike claims Angel thought she wasn't good in bed. Angel taunted Buffy over her sexual performance after his SexFaceTurn in "Innocence". The NotStayingForBreakfast is also a call back to that episode.
** Buffy taunts Spike by asking if Drusilla dumped him again. The last time they met was in "Lovers Walk", which ended with Spike determined to win back Drusilla after she ended their relationship. Apparently that whole "torture her until she loves me again" didn't work.

* CoincidentalBroadcast: Giles tells them that watching TV isn't going to help them with their problem. Sure enough the news showed a clue to Spike's whereabouts.
* ConvenientSlowDance
* DaywalkingVampire: The Gem of Amarra protects its user from vampire weaknesses, including sunlight.

* DressHitsFloor / [[DistractedByTheSexy Distracted by the Stark-Naked Sexy Ex-Demon]]
-->'''Anya:''' At point the matter is brought to a conclusion with both parties satisfied and able to move on with their separate lives and interests. To sum up, I think it's a workable plan.\\

* DoubleEntendre: Loads naturally in an episode about sex.

** [DING] "Fabric softener..."

'''Xander:''' Really. You know [[NotWearingPantsDream if I'm in the checkout line at the Wal-Mart]] I've had the same one.

* FaceRevealingTurn: Harmony at the beginning as she's talking to Willow. The meeting starts out as two friends just catching up...then Harmony reveals she's been undead for quite some time.

'''Harmony:''' Oh, maybe a little. [vamps out]

* ImpliedDeathThreat: Spike checks out Buffy's new boyfriend. "I like him. He's got...what's the word? Vulnerability."

-->'''Buffy:''' You're right. He's manipulative and shallow...and why doesn't he want me? Am I repulsive? If there was something repulsive about me you would tell me, right?

-->'''Spike''': Did he play the sensitive lad and get ''you'' to seduce ''him''? That's a good trick if the girl's thick enough to buy it.
* MineralMacguffin / NighInvulnerability: The Gem of Amara makes vampires immune to all harm, including staking and daylight.
* MockGuffin: Spike and Harmony are looking for the Gem of Amara in a tomb full of jewelry and other artifacts. Spike thinks it's a huge gaudy necklace and puts it on. Moments later he tries to kill Harmony in a fit of rage only to discover when he fails that the real Gem was a [[RingOfPower relatively nondescript ring]] that Harmony had put on.

* NotStayingForBreakfast: Averted in a deliberate CallBack to "Innocence" -- Buffy finds an empty bed, but then Parker turns out to have ducked out for coffee. Then subverted when it turns out Parker was just using her for sex after all.

* OffingTheAnnoyance: Spike is so annoyed at Harmony's prattling while he's trying to find the Gem of Amara he stakes her. Fortunately she's wearing it at the time.

* RequiredSpinoffCrossover: What happens after Oz takes the Gem of Amara to Los Angeles is shown in the ''Series/{{Angel}}'' episode "[[Recap/AngelS01E03InTheDark In The Dark]]".

* SayingTooMuch: Harmony blurts out to Buffy that they're looking for the Gem of Amara.

* VisualInnuendo: Xander turns around to offer Anya (whom he only knows as a weird ex-demon girl who makes a lousy prom date) a juice box, to find Anya has dropped her dress. Xander reacts by squeezing the carton he's currently holding, causing juice to spurt in the air.
* VisualGag: The Greek letters on the Frat house are Gamma Alpha Pi (ΓΑΠ) which, from the angle the shot is taken, look a bit like FAIL. The house in the background across the street bears the letters ΤΩA. Perhaps it's a sorority house?

-->'''Giles:''' [[StealthInsult Believe me I am kicking myself.]]
* YouRemindMeOfX / OnTheRebound: Plenty of Angel reminders; rather than deter Buffy (as with Scott Hope) this only makes her more determined to move on. Anya's forthcoming approach to sex reminds Xander of Faith and the [[NoTellMotel time]] they hooked up. And the [[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E15Consequences time]] she almost hooked up with him. He too is not deterred.

-->'''Harmony:''' Being a vampire sucks!

* HollywoodSex: Played straight, then subverted when Buffy wakes up and sees just how grungy Parker's apartment is in the harsh light of day.

-->'''Willow:''' I think you're missing something about this whole poop head principal.

* YouRemindMeOfX: Plenty of Angel reminders; rather than deter Buffy (as with Scott Hope) this only makes her more determined to move on. Anya's forthcoming approach to sex reminds Xander of Faith and the [[NoTellMotel time]] they hooked up. And the [[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E15Consequences time]] she almost hooked up with him. He too is not deterred.