Buffy and Willow enroll at UC Sunnydale while Xander joins the workforce. The vampire Spike, having left Drusilla, returns to Sunnydale and is abducted by The Initiative, a top-secret military installation based beneath the UC Sunnydale campus, led by Maggie Walsh. They implant a microchip in his head which prevents him from harming humans. He reluctantly helps the Scooby Gang throughout the season and eventually begins to fight on their side after learning that he can harm other demons. But Buffy and her friends don't trust him except Willow who opts to give him a chance to redeem himself, which they eventually do.
