Buffy the Vampire Slayer
The Yoko Factor
TV Flash files “The Yoko Factor” as hour 76 of 144 in the TV Flash guide — Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003) on WB/UPN, season 4, episode 20, aired 2000-05-09, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S04E20: listed hour 76 of 144 in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer guide, hour 20 of 22 in season 4. It aired 2000-05-09 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “New Moon Rising” (S04E19). Next is “Primeval” (S04E21).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
After joining forces with Adam, Spike drives a wedge between Buffy and her friends. Meanwhile, Angel's return to Sunnydale leads to a violent confrontation with Riley.
Viewer FAQ
Where does The Yoko Factor sit in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer guide?
S04E20 is listed hour 76 of 144 — hour 20 of 22 in season 4, season 4 episode 20.
When did Buffy the Vampire Slayer S04E20 air?
The Yoko Factor aired 2000-05-09 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Where should I start, and is season 1 skippable?
Start with Welcome to the Hellmouth (March 10, 1997). Season 1 is shorter and cheaper-looking; it is also the contract. Prophecy Girl is the test of whether the metaphors have teeth. Do not start at the musical. That is how group chats die.
In the series
Why this series still plays
For genre TV that trained a generation to read metaphors with punchlines: high school as Hellmouth, found family as a group chat with fangs, and fandom seminary that still argues ships, silence, and the musical like they are civic issues — because to us they are.
So about last night's group chat: someone said season six is the one that ruined a friendship, someone else posted a still from The Body like it was a legal document, and a third person typed Spuffy versus Bangel as if it were a custody hearing. (I said spoiler-free. I lied a little.) Buffy the Vampire Slayer is fandom seminary. The WB, then UPN, 1997 to 2003: a Slayer in high school, then college, then the part of adulthood where the metaphors stop being cute. Sarah Michelle Gellar is the spine. The Scoobies are…
Filed against
- Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers
Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Buffy Summers made Hellmouth high school a metaphor engine — genre TV literacy, found family, and fandom seminary on the WB/UPN. Kick-first feminism with punchlines. Seven seasons of ships, a musical, and a…
- Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg
Alyson Hannigan’s Willow Rosenberg grew from Hellmouth nerd to magical powerhouse on Buffy the Vampire Slayer — found family, online fandom fuel, and a dark arc that still sparks discourse. How I Met Your Mother later minted sitcom…
- Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris
Nicholas Brendon’s Xander Harris is Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s non-powered friend as load-bearing joke — the civilian in a Hellmouth group chat with fangs. Seven seasons of metaphor-as-monster trained a generation to read subtext with…
- Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles
Anthony Stewart Head’s Rupert Giles was Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Watcher — tweed, tea, and a secret rock-and-roll past under the library’s fluorescent lights. He made mentorship cool and found family official. TV Flash still checks the…
- James Marsters as Spike
James Marsters’s Spike is Buffy the Vampire Slayer as fandom seminary with bleached hair — a vampire the ships still put on trial, a metaphor engine with a leather coat. Hellmouth high school trained a generation to read punchlines as…
- David Boreanaz as Angel
David Boreanaz’s Angel made Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Hellmouth a group chat with fangs — brooding romance as metaphor engine, found family, and ship wars the fandom still treats like custody hearings. The spin-off is optional homework.…