The 'Flu is going around Sunndale, half the school is down with it, including Buffy. However, as the Chosen One she can't afford to be ill in bed, not while Angelus is on the loose.

Buffy is parolling the graveyard when she is surprised by Willow, Xander and Cordy who are also patrolling. They try to persuade her to go home, but she refuses, worrying about Angelus who coincidentally appears to give Buffy a kicking. ("Things do not look good for our heroine.") Xander wades in and pulls Angelus off Buffy and gives him a few kicks in return they then send him on his way with a trio of crosses.

Buffy, however, is in a bad way form the fight and the 'flu, so her friends end up rushing her to the hospital where is is admitted. In her delirium she tells her everyone that she can't stay in the hospital because she has to "stop the Vampires."

We learn that Buffy has a fear of hospital, ever since her cousin Celia died in one when Buffy was eight. Buffy was alone with her when she died, you see.

In her delirious state she dreams of a little boy standing in her doorway and of a scarey looking monster dresed in back. In her dream she follows the boy and monster, but the hospital changes into the one where Celia died.

When she wakes up Buffy goes down to the children's ward and sees the little boy in her dream crayoning in a picture of the monster who was laso in her dream. The little boy's name is Ryan.

Ryan tells Buffy that only the children can see the monster, and every time it comes another kid dies. He tells her that the moster is Death ("As in 'you time has come" - Willow).

While all this is going on, Angelus comes to 'visit' Buffy in the hospital, but is stopped by Xander who Angelus mocks as 'Buffy's White Knight'. Xander vows to Angelus that he'll see him dead.

Inital research reveals a more mundane source for the deaths. Dr Backer, the children's doctor is involved in medical research and unorthodox cures. Unfortunately he is crossed out of the running (well, slashed really) when Buffy watches him getting slashed to pieces in the children's ward by an invisible assailant.

Giles and Cordelia do some research and discover that the monster is called 'Der Kindestod' - Child Death and that it kills it's victims by sucking the lifeforce out of them in a horrifying way.

Buffy realises that it is the same thing that killed her cousin, and she vows to stop it before it kills anyone else. Buffy also realises that you have to be feverish to see it, which Celia wasn't when she died. Willow and Buffy do some investigating and find some tubes of flu virus in Dr. Becker's office. He was trying to innoculate the kids by re-infecting them with the virus. Buffy convinces Willow to let her take some of the virus and soon enough she is feverish enough to go after the Der Kindestod.

However, when she gets to the children's ward, the kids are gone, the door is locked and the monster is going after the kids. When Buffy and Willow try to go after them, Buffy's doctor catches them and it's upto Willow to create a diversion to allow Buffy to escape.

The kids are hiding in the basement but the monster finds them and catches Ryan and tries to suck the life out of him. Luckily Buffy arrives on the scene and manages to get him off Ryan. Xander gets all the kids out of the way. Buffy fights the monster, but with her being so ill it is a close run thing with Buffy nearly losing before she breaks it's neck.

The episode ends with Buffy, Xander and Willow relaxing in front of the tv in Buffy's room and Joyce playing slave to them. Ryan sent Buffy a letter and when she opens it, it is a picture of Buffy standing triumphantly over the monster. ("Oh he drew you a picture . . ." - Joyce)

Our View

Well, it explained our fear of hospitals, I knew the smell was disguising something. The Angel/Xander scene in the hospital was fantastic, Xander was certainly fulfilling his role as Buffy's White Knight. The Cordy/Xander scenes were also spot on especially when Cordy apologised with coffee and donuts. It was good also to see Buffy as a normal person for a change, subject to the whims of teeny bacteria.
However, we found it a little slow, but maybe that is a good thing after all the excitement of the episode before.

Our Score - 6

The Professional View

Another marvellously directed episode, and, despite the obvious 'Nightmare on Elm Street' inspired plot, a clear and simple story about the bogeyman. It gets a bit confusing towards the end, but the characterisation is impressive. A lovely little piece of a much bigger jigsaw

Score - 7