This Buffy Episode Turns Sarah Michelle Gellar Into a Monster — Why “Normal Again” Still Haunts Fans
“Buffy? Wake up.” In the Season 6 episode “Normal Again,” Buffy Summers (played by Sarah Michelle Gellar) is poisoned by a demon and begins alternating between the show’s established reality and an alternate reality in which she is a patient in a psychiatric hospital. The episode shows her friends trying to help, while a doctor in the hospital suggests her Slayer life may be a delusion and that the only way to free her is to remove items anchoring her to that world — including her relationships.
Plot and premise
The episode centers on a hallucinogenic toxin delivered by a demon that causes Buffy to experience two alternating realities. In the show’s main timeline, Buffy continues her role as the Slayer. In the alternate timeline, she is shown in a psychiatric hospital where her mother is alive and her life as the Slayer appears to be a constructed delusion.
In the hospital reality, a psychiatrist explains that the patient (Buffy) has formed a detailed alternate world and recommends removing objects and relationships that reinforce that fantasy. Consequently, Buffy believes that eliminating those anchors — including her friends — might be necessary to break free from the hallucination.
Cast and performance
Sarah Michelle Gellar is credited as Buffy Summers in the episode and performs scenes that switch between Buffy’s usual outspoken persona and a more withdrawn, confused state while she experiences the alternate reality. The episode also features the characters played by Adam Busch, Danny Strong, and Tom Lenk as the trio who become involved in the plot to take Buffy down by enlisting the demon.
Supporting cast members appear in both the main timeline and the hospital sequences, and the script explicitly presents the psychiatrist’s assessment that Buffy’s memories of Slayer life could be symptomatic of a constructed delusion.
Notable moments
The episode includes scenes where Buffy uses her Slayer strength while appearing to act against her friends within the hospital-dominated hallucination. The final hospital shot shows Buffy in a comatose state with her mother at her bedside, which leaves the episode’s alternate-reality thread visually unresolved within that hour.
Where to watch
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, including the episode “Normal Again,” is available for streaming on Hulu. For viewers researching the episode, the show’s streaming availability and episode listings on the platform provide episode order and descriptions.
