The Witch

In which Buffy tries to be normal, Cordy is bitchy, and we meet the world's most controlling mom.

Official back-of-box synopsis:

School spirit gets ugly when cheerleader tryouts take a supernatural turn, and Buffy gets bewitched as she tries to make the squad.

From the old WB Buffy website:

CHEERLEADER FROM HELL - When students start dropping out of cheerleading tryouts by spontaneously combusting, going blind and losing the power of speech, Buffy and her posse suspect a powerful witch is in their midst. Buffy herself soon becomes the target of a deadly spell as they discover the witch's true identity. Meanwhile, Xander finally musters up the nerve to ask Buffy out on a date but in the throes of a witch's spell, Buffy's response isn't exactly as he'd hoped.

Links:

This episode's page at http://www.restlessbtvs.com/, the Restless BTVS Trivia Guide

This episode's page at http://www.vrya.net/bdb/, the Buffyverse Dialog Database

Cross-reference:

episodes with scary Mothers:

• Some Assembly Required
  Mrs Epps, there's surgery going on in your basement!
• Gingerbread
  Nice witch-hunt, mom!
• Conversations With Dead People
  OK so it wasn't Joyce, but it was very scary
• Lies My Parents Told Me
  Spike's mother, enough said.
• this episode
  Amy's mom takes over her body, not just her life

Cast:

• Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy
• Alyson Hannigan as Willow
• Nicholas Brendon as Xander
  

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• Anthony Stewart Head as Giles
• Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia
• Kristine Sutherland as Joyce
• Elizabeth Anne Allen as Amy
• Amanda Wilmshurst as Cheerleader
• William Monaghan as Dr Gregory
• Robin Riker as Catherine
• Jim Doughan as Mr Pole
• Nicole Prescott as Lishanne