"The Dark Age" is episode eight of season two of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The episode was written by Executive Story Editors Rob Des Hotel & Dean Batali and was directed by Bruce Seth Green. The narrative follows Giles, whose friend has died, prompting the Scooby Gang to unravel his mysterious past; meanwhile, Buffy crashes into Ethan Rayne again.
A man is hurriedly making his way through the school grounds trying to find Giles, when he is approached by a decomposing woman whom he addresses as "Deirdre". The corpse moves forward and strangles him, before falling to the ground and dissolving into a puddle of slime.
The next morning Giles awakens from a disturbing dream. At school, Buffy and Willow are seen playing 'Anywhere But Here' in which they recount their fantasies: Buffy is on a beach before sunset having her feet rubbed by Gavin Rossdale, Willow is in Florence at a restaurant eating ziti when she is joined by John Cusack. Giles tells Buffy to meet him later at the hospital where there will be a blood delivery, which attracts vampires. When Giles gets back to the library, a detective is waiting for him who informs Giles that there was a homicide on campus and the dead man had Giles' address on him. Giles identifies the body as an old friend from London, Henry Phillip. The body has a tattoo, which Giles claims he does not recognize. In Giles' anguish the show's soundtrack makes use of Buffy's theme to indicate Giles' need for Buffy despite his present refusal to tell her the whole truth.
The Dark Age is a trilogy by Mark Chadbourn set around the beginning of the third millennium. While the previous series was a clear fantasy story, this has strings of gothic horror and existentialism woven into it.
The three books are:
Although not a direct sequel to The Age of Misrule, it is a continuation of the world established by the end of this trilogy, the events of which are referred to as the Fall. It is followed by the Kingdom of the Serpent
At first the books appear to be standalone novels, however ultimately they weave together to form one larger story, as sub-plots and themes coalesce in the final book, and only by reading that can you see how it all holds together. They do not need to be read in order of publication, although The Hounds of Avalon does bring together the characters from the other two and is set after the events of The Queen of Sinister and The Devil in Green.
This trilogy fits into a much bigger jigsaw, a sprawling story that covers two thousand years of history, multiple mythologies and two worlds, through The Age of Misrule and the Kingdom of the Serpent - again, the stories stand separately but a greater perception comes from reading all.
Amber rain is beautiful but wrong Caught between weak and being strong It seems these days the weaker ones survive What an awful way to find out you're alive
A dull warm red water falls Flowing down to the sea Where deeper darker waters wait for me
I don't expect I'll ever understand How life just trickled through my hand