Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV Series) Doppelgangland (1999) User Reviews

One of the funniest episodes of the entire series

[katierose295 · 10/10 · 4 August 2006]

BTVS has some really funny episodes, but this one is one of the best. It seems like it would be confusing or silly, with Willow's evil vampire twin running around Sunnydale, but really it's just brilliant. "Doppelgangland" would be hard to follow without first seeing its companion episode "The Wish." "The Wish" introduces Anya, Dark Sunnydale, Vampire Willow and the background information that helps makes "Doppelgangland" so great. You really can't skip either of them.

The episode is set into motion by Anya, who's stuck in mortal form and desperate to regain her powers. To do that she needs her necklace back, and unfortunately, Giles destroyed it in the Dark Sunnydale alternate reality of "The Wish." So, Anya decides to cast a little spell and enlists Willow to help. Willow is desperate to prove that she's not just a reliable good-two-shoes and agrees to help conger up the "dark arts." As usual, magic in Sunnydale goes wrong, though. Instead of bringing Anya's necklace back from the alternate Sunnydale, they get Vampire Willow.

Vampire Willow is not pleased to be in a world that lacks people she can ride around like ponies. She immediately starts recruiting vampire minions to help her make Sunnydale a haven for evil again and takes over the Bronze. Of, course everyone who sees her thinks that she is the Real Willow. At first their just confused. But when Buffy, Oz, Angel and Xander realize that she's a vampire, they all jump to the conclusion that Willow's been turned and is now un-dead. Grief stricken and unable to believe that this has happened the Scoobies try to figure out how to proceed. Luckily, Real Willow arrives and cheers everyone up with her alive-ness. She's not thrilled to hear that she has an evil double and the Scoobies set out to stop Vampire Willow's reign of terror.

Through a series of misadventures, Real Willow manages to lock Vampire Willow up in the library book cage. Then the two Willows switch clothes, so Real Willow can head to the Bronze and call of the vampire attack. In the meantime, Cordy, thinking that Vampire Willow is really Real Willow lets her out of the book cage and is nearly eaten. Wes has to save Cordelia from Vampire Willow. At the Bronze, Anya sees right through Real Willow's vampire act and a fight breaks out. Vampire Willow shows up, but Real Willow can't kill her. Instead the send her back to Dark Sunnydale... About half-a-second before alternate-reality-Oz stakes her.

There is so much to like about this episode. Giles, Buffy and Xander mourning Willow is especially great. They sit around the library too numbed by grief to move. When Real Willow walks in, alive and clearly not a vampire, Buffy and Xander hug her... Then Giles dashes forward to hug her, too. Very funny. And Anya is great in this episode. Her aggravation at being a human is just hilarious. "I'm 1120 years old, just give me a friggin' beer!" And I like that Cordelia finally confronts Willow about kissing Xander. Even if she actually talking to Vampire Willow. Finally, "Dopplegangland" also introduces the idea that Willow may be "kinna gay," a story line that will come into focus next season. I love how the show gives us hints of what's to come.

In the end, "Doppelgangland" is a success because of Willow. She's just wonderful. There are really four different incarnations of Willow in this episode and all of them are a joy to watch. Vampire Willow, Real Willow, Real Willow pretending to be Vampire Willow and Vampire Willow pretending to be Real Willow. But, it's pretty easy to tell them apart, because of the way that they act. Vampire Willow beats up just about everyone she meets. Real Willow tapes "Biography" every night. Real Willow shifts uncomfortably in Vampire Willow's leather and platform boots. Vampire Willow cringes at Real Willow's fuzzy pink sweater. "This is like a nightmare." But then Angel insinuates that a person's vampire self is actually influenced by their human personality. So, how much of Vampire Willow's "bored now" darkness is laying dormant inside Real Willow? It's a question the show revisits in season six.

On a nit-picky note, how does Anya survive in Sunnydale? Where does she get money? How can she afford a car or a place to live? She's a 1120 year old vengeance demon. How can she even register for classes at Sunnydale High? Also, I wish that Vampire Willow had recognized Angel as her "puppy" from Dark Sunnydale. Just to see what his reaction would be.

My favorite part of the episode: Real Willow, dressed as Vampire Willow, waving at Oz in the Bronze.

Buffy - and Joss - at its finest

[Jemiah · 10/10 · 22 January 2008]

Every "genre" show has an episode that I consider "the show that launched a thousand fanfics", and this is definitely one of Buffy's. (Buffy has several, which is both a symptom of and a cause of its enduring fan base.) "Dopplegangland" has hilarious lines of dialog which comes thick and fast, and the comic timing is excellent on the part of everyone - but who could lose with those witty lines? An atmosphere of strange kink runs through it, used to great comic effect, as well as displaying secret, hidden sides to characters in subtle moments and reactions that only become apparent later in the season, or in the series as a whole. It threatens to get too silly at times, but it never does; the laughs are too smart and too genuine. This is Joss Whedon at the top of his game as both scriptwriter and director, and is the episode that made me into a fan of Whedon - and Buffy.

The return of evil, sexy, vampire Willow

[Tweekums · 10/10 · 6 May 2018]

Ex-vengeance demon Anya is bored of living a mortal life in Sunnydale; she asks to have her powers restored but is refused so decides she must find a way to get her necklace back. To this end she approaches Willow for magical help, claiming it was a lost family heirloom. As they perform the spell Willow gets a vision of the alternate reality that Anya created in 'The Wish'. There is no sign of Anya's necklace but it turns out the spell has brought Vampire-Willow to normal reality. This soon leads to confusion as various characters observe her and assume our Willow has been turned into a vampire then surprise when Willow appears as normal as always. Later Willow has a rather disturbing encounter with her alternate self!

If I were to compile a list of top 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' episodes this would certainly be on it; it is witty, action packed and also shows a new side to a main character. It was good to see Emma Caulfield returning as Anya but it was even better to see Vampire Willow again. To work this episode relied on a brilliant performance from Alyson Hannigan; for two and a half seasons we've grown used to her playing the mousy Willow but here she is totally believable as Vampire Willow; a supremely confident, very sexy character... the scene where Vampire Willow comes onto ordinary Willow, with the help of some impressive special effects was priceless! A subplot were Principal Snyder 'asks' Willow to help a sports star who is failing history also provides some good moments. Overall a great episode.

Giles: Well, uh, something... something, um, very strange is happening. Xander: Can you believe the Watcher's Council let this guy go?

[bombersflyup · 10/10 · 7 November 2019]

Doppelgangland is about Willow sick and tired of being taken for granted, she helps Anya cast a spell that goes wrong and summons her double from an alternate universe.

A hilarious and clever episode. Feels a bit unrealistic that Faith's suddenly back in with the group though, while secretly working for the mayor. It's unlike her, so they should have suspicion and especially working with Wesley and all. The most memorable of moments is when Buffy, Xander and Giles mourn Willow. Sarah also so beautiful sidling up to Alyson. Funny, Angel's facial expressions in the background minding his own business. Anya's likable here as well, gradually being integrated into the cast.

Giles: She was truly the finest of all of us. Xander: Way better than me. Giles: Much, much better.

One of the best

[Joxerlives · 10/10 · 20 February 2012]

Dopplegangland

The Good; The beginning of the father/daughter relationship between Faith and The Mayor, Anya comes into her own, VampWillow is a joy to behold, Wes actually makes himself useful, all of the library scenes are comedy classics and the lesbian subtext rapidly starts to become text. The great final gag.

The Bad; None, it's all fabulous

Best line; Willow (appreciating her cleavage in VampWillow's leathers) "Gosh, look at those!"

Character death; Poor Sandy, although this isn't the last we'll see of her. And VampWillow get's her dusty desserts back in the Wishworld.

Shot; VampWillow by real Willow.

Tied up; Nope although Vampwillow is caged

Knocked out; Anya and VampWillow

Women good/men bad; VampWillow; "Bitch!" (all in the delivery). The beginning of the epic hostility between Anya and Willow.

Jeez!; VampWillow killing Sandy is akin to snuff. Also her breaking of the other vamps fingers

Kinky dinky; How much time have you got? VampWillow has the hots for everything in sight, Xander, Willow, Sandy. She speaks of 'riding people in chains like ponys' (and I've met more than a few Alysson Hannigan fans over the years who would gladly volunteer). Plenty of naughty touching. Meanwhile Faith refers to 'all the screwing' at her hotel and the Mayor as 'Sugardaddy' but he turns down her advances, making her actually love him more. Best of all is the scary visual place of Willow and Oz playing 'Mistress of Pain' (I'm sure there's a fanfic somewhere?). Percy says he 'owns Willow's ass' but actually it seems to be the other way around. Willow says she feels like 'Dying a virgin'

Calling Captain Subtext; Will refers to snuggling and thinks her vamp self is 'kinda gay'. She also get's a curious look on her face at the thought of 'breeding' with Percy. VampWillow fancies everything in sight but her lusting after Cordelia's neck is especially interesting considering VampWill's already had a bite in The Wish. Willow's jealousy of Faith is very apparent. Note VampWill still loves Xander much in the same way Spike and Dru still love one another (maybe they were sired by Dru in the Wishverse?). Giles seems to have a very real affection for Will and as we'll later learn she has the same for him. We learn that VampWillow has a great deal in common with real Will.

Guantanamo Bay; Pretty much everyone is ruthless all around, the plan for luring the vamps out is masterful. Again Buffy shows her skill as a general and not just a fighter. The dodgy message of the week is to make athletes care about history tests you should beat them up?

Scoobies to the ER; Not this week

Questions and observations; The first appearance of Percy and D'Hoffryn. Devon back again, Oz and Angel seem to have a pretty good relationship to judge from their conversation. Faith continues her slide but can't kill for the Mayor yet. Wes saves Cordy for the first but not last time. According to Angel your human self influences your vamp self (as we see with Spike). Xander is oddly pleased at the thought of his vamp self. I figure that the Wishworld run's parallel to the real world but stops dead the moment Giles smashes the necklace. Anya is 1120 years old. When you look at the scene in the Bronze where VampWillow beats up Percy and Xander asks 'Is it a funny thing?' it looks as though it's Larry amidst the crowd but his name isn't in the titles

This ep features one of the most understated but important scenes in the whole series. VampWillow walks down Sunnydale mainstreet. In her world where Buffy never came to Sunnydale it's a bleak and deserted wasteland. In the real world, it's full of happy, laughing people. Sure people still die in Sunnydale but the difference one person can make! D'Hoffryn says Anya will live out her mortal life and die. Why does Anya go to Sunnydale High, did she create parents etc for herself as well? Or is she hiding out from those seeking vengeance? Buffy has lots of sympathy with Faith, Willow says that Buffy would never kill people but she does. Some lovely moody music at the Bronze. Wonderful performance from Alysson Hannigan, the way she slips from real Willow to VampWillow and effortlessly back again then to real Willow pretending to be VampWillow and VampWillow pretending to be real Willow is just masterful.

The Bronze must go through pool cues at a fearsome rate. 'Dingoes ate my baby' apparently know only three chords but nowadays that doesn't seem to bar anyone from musical success.

Marks out of 10; 10/10, totally brilliant, possibly the best ep of Buffy ever?

Vampire Willow

[mcase5 · 10/10 · 30 November 2006]

I have to say this is one of my favorite BTVS episodes ever. When Willow is good she is really good, but when she is evil she is even better. She is one of my favorite characters on BTVS. When she is evil as vampire Willow she is great, but when she turns evil later on in the end of season 6, she is the best. She would definitely make a really good vengeance demon. My favorite parts of Dopplegangland is when Real Willow is in the Bronze pretending to be vampire Willow and when Buffy, Zander, and Giles are in the library mourning real Willow and she walks in and they realize she is not a vampire. I really don't have any complaints about Dopplegangland at all. GREAT EPISODE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Adore it

[ladyshard1834 · 10/10 · 23 June 2007]

Like most I am a dedicated Willow fan and this shows her at her best. In the beginning she was just an underestimated character and actually she reminded me a lot of myself at that age. Never got the guy, and had the word nerd basically tattooed on her forehead. This episode really puts Willow in her Element and gives a sort of glimpse on what this little red head can do the future (See season Six) I just think this shows her spunky side. However I am having the most difficult time finding any clips from this episode anywhere. Especially the one where everybody thinks Willow is dead and she walks in, and is like "Who died?" Seriously it was classic! So if anyone has this clip or knows where I can find it let me know :) Thank you!

Great Willow centric episode.

[m-47826 · 9/10 · 26 June 2021]

Consequences was an interesting episode. It showed how characters coped with the bad choices of previous episodes. Which provided an interesting dramatic tone for the show. Doppelgangland, is another highlight of the season for me. Coincidentally following another episode's plot, and one of its most important ones, The Wish. It's funny, mischievous and wildly entertaining. And gave the Willow actress, Alyson Hannigan, her moment to really shine on the show then. It is also the first episode suggesting her most important character's trait, during the rest of the series run. It's another must watch of season three.

Willow the vampire

[Realrockerhalloween · 2 October 2016]

Willow helps an ex vengeance demon being her amulet back only to summer her doppelganger. Now vampire Willow roams the streets looking for those she knew in the alternate world and sets out to remake it in her own image. A fine episode dealing with a side of Willow we've never seen before invoking fear and suggests she has erotic tastes that don't come into play until next season. She brings out the good in Percy by accident at the bronz so he starts studying and he becomes her pupil.

Another aspect is human Willow see that people do notice her, her friends mourning her death and that without her Buffy nor the Scooby hang could function as a cohesive unit rendering them powerless against the forces of evil.

The One With Willow's Doppelgänger...

[taylorkingston · 10/10 · 5 April 2015]

I love this episode. It has got to be one of my all-time favorite episodes from Season 3 and the entire series.

In this episode, Anya uses Willow to try and get her necklace back, the one that was destroyed in the world Cordelia wished for. Anyway, it doesn't work and Willow refuses to help anymore, saying it's too dark of magic for her. The spell did however bring something else into the world. Willow's doppelgänger vampire, Vampire-Willow. Vampire-Willow walks out into a world where children play at night and vampires don't rule the town. She is not happy and she is very confused. She really doesn't like this world. She sees Xander and is happy until she realizes that he's human. She then takes everyone at The Bronze hostage. Real Willow is tired of everyone calling her predicable and is shocked to find out that she has an evil version of herself, roaming the streets. Everyone draws Vampire-Willow out of The Bronze and then Willow trades places with her. Eventually, everyone gets freed from The Bronze Willow sends her doppelgänger back to her own world, where she is immediently staked.

Overall, I give this episode a 10 out of 10.

Multiverse before it was Cool

[ossie85 · 9/10 · 11 August 2022]

Willow starts to feel that everyone thinks she is just a nerd, but when Anya comes to her asking for help locating a necklace magically she agrees. But Anya has ulterior motives, Anya wants to get her necklace back so she can get her powers back. But things go wrong and Vampire Willow comes to Sunnydale.

Why It's So Good - A chance to see Alyson Hannigan at full powers, and she plays both characters delightfully and distinctly. Willow's importance is underlined in this episode, and there is so much fun to be had.

Watch Out For - Angel telling Buffy that Willow's dead.

Quote - "I was feared and worshipped across the mortal globe. And now I'm stuck at Sunnydale High. Mortal. Child. And I'm flunking math." - Anya.