In the training room of Der Zauber Kasten, one of the CoWboys is blindfolding Buffy. They're going to test her agility, clarity, stamina, and strength. She will demonstrate this by defending the Xander-dummy from an axe-armed CoWboy while Quentin yells hints to her in Japanese. Because that's exactly like what Buffy does on a day-to-day basis. Remember that episode where...oh never mind, it's not at all like anything Buffy ever needs to do. Y'know, this sounds suspiciously like some sort of corporate-retreat trust-building exercise. I live in fear of those. The CoWgirl calls time, and things don't start well at all. Giles helpfully tries to translate Quentin's instructions, but he's usually a second too late. Buffy throws a few karate-type arm movements, and the Foley artists dub in swooshy air noises in a vague attempt to make those gestures seem in any way powerful. "I thought you've been training her?" derisively remarks Quentin. "I've been training her to win," retorts Giles testily. Buffy quickly tires of Quentin's game and dispatches the CoWboy her way. Unfortunately, she also wings the axe backwards, where it neatly plants itself in the Xander-dummy's throat, knocking over the CoWboy behind it. Buffy whirls around, removing the blindfold, and immediately starts making excuses and asks if she can try again later. Quentin replies that they won't need anymore physical tests, probably so the rest of his CoWhands don't get killed. He tells her to prepare for the strategy portion, which will begin that evening.

Buffy desolately walks through the front door, calling out for her mom. As she walks by the dining room, the music gets loud and rushy to let us know that the appearance of Glory is supposed to be threatening instead of groan-worthy. "Long day, sweetie?" inquires Glory. She goes on to make a bit of chitchat, which I will ignore because it is, as usual, superfluous. While she's prattling, Buffy picks up a poker from the fireplace, the better to bash Glorificus over the head with, but when she turns around, Glory is right there. "Buffy," she clucks, "if I wanted to fight you could tell by the being dead already." Glory gets down to the reason for her visit; she wants information about the Key. Glory blathers on about how insignificant Buffy is when Dawn wanders into the room behind Glory. Buffy gives her a wide-eyed warning look, and Dawn slowly retreats after making the requisite snotty face. However, right before she's about to leave, Glory, not missing a beat, says, "Kid! C'mere a sec." Glory tries to pump Dawn for information. At Buffy's insistence that Dawn relocate to the second floor, Dawn snots, "You're always talking about stuff I'm not supposed to hear. I'm going to figure it out, you know," before flouncing out. Glory pronounces Dawn "sassy." "And I'll kill her. I'll kill your mom. I'll kill your friends. And I'll make you watch when I do." Buffy stands there stone-faced, and normally I would commend her acting skills, but there's really no point, since Glory is about as menacing as the bag of Trader Joe's reduced-fat cheese puffs sitting next to me. Glory gets up in Buffy's face, telling her that the offer is for a limited time only. "Next time we meet, something you love dies bloody." Ugh, whatever. Why didn't she just gut Dawn then and there with a fireplace poker? It'd be a lot easier for me to find Glory menacing if Clare Kramer didn't always sound stuffed up like she had some perpetual low-grade cold. Think about it. "The netht thyme we meet thomething you wuv dies bwloody" just doesn't quite get it done. Glory takes her leave, and a second later Joyce wanders in, looking like some sort of dazed gypsy with her head-rag and hoop earrings. Buffy resolutely tells her to pack a bag.