Buffy's first day as a real life high school counselor brings out plenty of freaks and geeks. As she struggles to relate to these kids and share her wisdom, Willow and Xander return to the friendship that kept them going all these years. Xander offers insight into Willow's battle with bad magic by comparing it to hammering a nail. Oddly, the analogy works, in a kind of Xander logic way.

Back at Sunnydale High, amongst the standard teenage angst, Buffy encounters a girl who thinks she's going to die next Friday. She's not suicidal, she hasn't been threatened; she just knows things before they happen. The girl mentions something about coins and Buffy trying to help, but not being able to save her. Buffy's slayer sense gets to tingling. Because she doesn't usually get the chance to save bystanders before they die, Buffy takes it upon herself to save this girl. She rounds up the Scooby Gang to pour over Cassy's school and medical records, as well as her father's criminal record.

Ultimately, their best lead comes from Google.com. It's the perfect resource for any every team of do-gooders. Let's all update our manuals.

Meanwhile, the principal is going through lockers in the middle of the school day, with Buffy accusing students nearby, when he happens upon a locker full of coins. Wow! What a coincidental and convenient way for Buffy to find a suspect. She tracks down the owner of the locker, pumps him for information and after some threatening (I didn't think school employees were allowed to do that), Buffy finds out that some guys are planning on "messing" with Cassy.

Hours later, and it feels like we've been watching this episode for hours, we find that Buffy has infiltrated the wanna-be cult and saved Cassy from sacrifice. A demon shows up, Spike makes an appearance and Buffy saves the day. Then, pow! Cassy drops dead of a heart failure and I just spoiled the episode for my editor. (Nah. I've seen The Ring.)

The few times Buffy has had to face natural causes and true sorrow, it has been over someone we've cared about. Tonight, the episode denied viewers the escape many of us tune in to get. The ultimate evil was not anything that could be slain and the victim was not anyone we'll miss. We've seen it before: Buffy is powerless against more reality based tragedies. Aside from reminding us to get our cholesterol checked, what was the point of tonight's episode?

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