What’s it about: Buffy’s back in Sunnydale after the summer
away and she’s not in a good mood…
The Chosen One: A brief but unpleasant glimpse at the season
six Buffy, something is definitely off about her as soon as she returns from LA
in a rotten mood. She can barely connect with her best friends and goes cold at
the mere mention of the Master. Her dad compensated for her distance whilst she
was visiting by buying her copious amounts of shoes. Giles is deeply worried
when she pummels her training equipment to death. Clearly he near death
experience last year has disturbed her greatly. What is frustrating is Buffy’s silence.
If only she would open up to her friends and family about how she is feeling a
lot of the pain she spreads could have been avoided. The way Whedon maintains
her bad attitude throughout the episode is commendable in itself but makes her
practically irredeemable come the climax. Once she has gotten over herself Buffy
sums up her behaviour in this episode as ‘I was a moron.’ Its hard not to agree
with her.
Witchy Willow: We get a glimpse into just how exciting
Willow and Xander’s summer has been with an exciting round of The Quote Game
(Willow opts for ‘use the Force, Luke…’). I love it when we get to see Willow’s
anger and she finally gets fed up of Buffy’s abuse and gives her a tongue
lashing! The final scene where she and Xander welcome Buffy back into the fold
is very, very lovely.
Gorgeous Geek: There is a heated moment between Xander and
Willow where they almost kiss. Its like with Buffy away he can see her there
for the first time. Xander is smart enough to know that Buffy hasn’t had a
change of heart regarding her feelings toward him.
Caustic Cordy: Cordelia ponders if it is at all possible to
have too much character (mind she’s only saying that because she has been
deprived for a beach for a month and a half whilst holidaying in Tuscany with
her folks) and if she is the result then I would say no. She proves that her
moment of extreme depth in Out of Mind, Out of Sight wasn’t a fluke by giving
Buffy the best advice she will ever hear – to get over herself.
Puppy Dog Eyes: I know she is experiencing issues but some
of Buffy’s angry accusations at Angel do make sense. When he showed up
in her bedroom mournfully watching her from the shadows I groaned. Why can’t he
just use the front door like everybody else? His ‘brooding in the shadows’ look
seems to have inspired the Twilight trilogy and for that his character should
be condemned to the pits of Hell. But I’m cheered by the fact that I might get
my wish by the end of the season. David Boreanaz seems to be having a bit of
trouble playing angry and chews his dialogue up with a strange, growling tone
that fails to convince.
Mr Snidey: Its great to see more of Snyder from the off and
his pep talk to Giles where he explains how all children are hormonal time
bombs that turn into gibbering idiots every time a pretty girl walks by is
hilarious (especially when Giles’ head spins as soon as Ms Calendar walks
past!). He sees a great future ahead for Buffy that includes expulsion and
jail!
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘Cordelia your mouth is open. Sound is
coming from it. This is never a good thing…’
‘You haven’t been talking about our little adventure all
summer, have you?’ ‘Are you nuts? You think I would tell people that I spent a
whole evening with you?’
‘Embrace the pain. Spank your inner moppet. Get over it.
Because pretty soon you’re not even going to have the loser friends you’ve got
now’ – more pearls of wisdom from Cordelia.
‘Why else would she be acting like such a B-I-T-C-H?’
‘Willow, I think we’re a little too old to be spelling things out’ ‘A Bit-ka?’
‘There are some things I can just smell. Its like a sixth
sense’ ‘No actually that would be one of the five.’
‘I hate that girl…’
The Good: Love the ‘hi guys, miss me?’ straight out the fourth
wall. Joss Whedon has decided to toss away a lot of the pretence that was
prevalent in season one and acknowledge that romance is possible between Xander
and Willow and Giles and Ms Calendar. Buffy’s dream of Giles trying to kill her
had me completely fooled (Whedon frames the scene with a slow close up on Buffy
that completely tricks you into thinking this is reality). My favourite moment
comes when Buffy realises how stupid she has been by heading off without backup
– its always nice when idiots get their comeuppance. Xander tells her he
doesn’t care what her problems are and that she is responsible for Willow and
Giles’ kidnap and I could have kissed him. Except he had blood running from his
nose. Buffy smashing up the Master’s bones is a great moment – this is
definitely a technique that psychologists use to help their patients get over
traumatic experiences when all their hate is bottled up inside (except they
usually favour a cushion than the bones of the living dead). Finally as she
breaks down in Angel’s arms we can feel some sympathy for her.
The Bad: Forget The Trio, Kevin is by far the least
impressive ‘villain’ that this show ever coughed up out of the Hellmouth. Quite
apart from the fact that Andrew J. Ferchland has no presence whatsoever but he
lacks the mixture of humour and horror that makes all the other bad guys so
effective and we never learn a single thing about his background. He’s just a
pathetic leftover of the Master’s plot that needs to be tidied up. Glimpses of
the Master remind us of how good a villain he was. The twist that the spell
requires those who were nearest to the Master when he died is not the sort of
intelligent detail I have come to expect from Joss Whedon’s scripts. Buffy
features some spells with pretty some pretty lame ingredients. Unbelievably
Kevin survives the events of this episode.
Moment to Watch Out For: In a moment that proves what a
total bitch (Willow’s description, not mine) Buffy can be when she wants to be
she offers herself to Xander in a sexy dance to wind up both Willow and Angel.
This is a nasty streak we have never seen in her before and its deeply
unlikable. Because she is hurting she wants to spread a little of that around
to those closest too her (the look on Willow’s face is devastating).
Ultimately it is Xander that she is hurting the most by leading him on when she
has no intention of fulfilling that promise.
Fashion Statement: Cordelia’s feathered fringe doesn’t suit
her and Willow’s ‘my mum whipped it up out of curtains’ dress has to be seen to
be believed. The only person who escaped the summer with any taste it would
seem, is Buffy.
Result: A strange episode for Buffy to opening its sophomore
year on because it seems to be out to spread the message ‘we’re back and more
depressing than ever!’ Buffy is a generally very sunny show and there is
something disappointing about watching these characters fighting each other for
the daftest of reasons. The shows titular character seems to have matured by
losing her sense of humour and turning on those who care about her and it is
not a look that suits her. Yes Buffy died at the end of the last season (and at
least it doesn’t take her an entire season to get over it here) but some people
would walk away from that experience with a renewed sense that life is worth living.
Not our Buffy whose anger reminds me more of Faith in this episode. I fail to
understand how Whedon manages to get his season finales so right but when it
comes to his openers he really stutters and seems unaware of what he is trying
to say. When She Was Bad is more about tying up the plotlines from season one
rather than getting on with the new year and I would rather have forgotten all
about Kevin than brought him back for a final appearance. There are
compensations however including some fine, witty dialogue, lovely
Giles/Willow/Xander interaction and a generally more polished look for the
show. To make your lead character so deeply unlikable is a frustrating
experiment that I hope they don’t repeat again…a wish I know wont come true.
School Hard would have been a far more encouraging opener: 5/10
Some Assembly Required written by Ty King and directed by Bruce
Seth Green
What’s it about: Girls are being dug up to create the undead
girlfriend of a zombie football star. Did I just write that sentence?
The Chosen One: I love the way that last year it was Buffy
that desperately wanted to go on a date rather than get bogged down in Slayer
stuff and Giles was lecturing her disapprovingly and now they have switched
roles and he is the lovesick child and she is the head shaking parent! It’s a
role reversal entirely in both characters favour.
Ripper: A great Giles episode (aren’t they all?) and another
chance for Anthony Stewart Head to charm your socks off. How can you not love
Giles who with his back to the door practices asking out Ms Calendar to an
empty chair? Since she is the only woman that has ever spoken to him and she
already knows he is a librarian and that he fights the forces of darkness in
his spare time Buffy and Xander correctly guess the computer sciences teacher
of Giles’ affections. When he hears that a grave has been dug up he is
practically foaming at the mouth to get started! Jenny knows exactly what Giles
is trying to ask her and enjoys watching him flounder for a little while before
coming to his rescue and asking him on a date. These two are so
adorable, I could have watched this relationship develop for the whole seven
seasons.
Gorgeous Geek: Xander is especially horrible to Cordelia in
this episode (but being the tough bitch that she is it doesn’t even register
for the most part) and it should have been obvious that these two were destined
for smooch city. At the time I thought they would be the best of enemies
forever but looking back their defensive backstabbing comments are clearly
hiding a whole lot of desire. He’s especially rude to her when she tries to
thank him at the climax (a rare event for Cordelia!) and then he ponders why
girls aren’t interested in him. What a lovable goon. He makes one of his
sporadic deep and meaningful comments here about people desiring what they
can’t have – I don’t think I have ever hear lust described quite so succinctly.
Caustic Cordy: ‘Why is it every conversation you people
have has the word corpse in it?’ Cordelia finds that mandatory
participation in the school science fair is abominable and so decides to go for
something she can finish in a hurry – the tomato, fruit or vegetable?
She is hanging out with the Scoobies by choice these days (or under some vague
excuse that barely holds water) and the writers need to give her a reason to
tag along with this social leper group other than just because. Fortunately
that reason is just around the corner. I’m glad that nobody was around to see
her dive into a dumpster when she thinks she is being pursued!
Puppy Dog Eyes: Buffy and Angel get to have the ‘you mated
with Xander on the dance floor’ talk after When She Was Bad. Angel is a wounded
puppy that needs his pride nursed back to life and Buffy (now she has gotten
over herself) is ready to oblige. However to give her a taste of her own
medicine he turns up at the library with Cordelia on his arm. These two are
clearly made for each other if they are willing to go to such childish lengths
in order to wind each other up!
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘Speak English! Not what they speak in…’
‘England?’
The Good: In a really lovely moment of sexual politics Buffy
and Willow sit by a grave and talk about boys whilst Giles and Xander do the
physical work of digging up a grave. Its nice to see everything is back to
normal with these guys after the lengths the opener went to fracture their
friendships. The shot of them all staring down as Buffy opens the grave gave me
the warm fuzzy feelings I only get when all the Scoobies are working together
to solve a mystery. Mrs Epps sitting in front of the TV smoking is a
melancholic image of a mother that has lost her reason to exist after her son
died. Giles makes exactly the same comment that I have always made about American
Football that it seems absurd that a country that prides itself on its natural
virility should strap itself up in so much protection to play a game of rugby!
There’s a moment where Daryl stares out longingly at his friends playing
football and basking in the cheer of girls which could have been the starting
point for a much darker, more subtle episode.
The Bad: The team figuring out what Chris’ endgame is by
discovering the pieced together Frankenstein’s bride collage of various women
in glossy magazines has to be seen to be believed! This show skips over every
other shows point of ridiculous self-parody and then does another couple of
hurdles for good measure. Don’t get me wrong, its that confidence that got the
show noticed in the first place but sometimes, like here, it can really make
your heart sink with the lack of restraint. The characterisation of Chris is a
bit all over the place. For somebody who has put together bits of girls to
create a girlfriend for his dead brother he seems remarkably squeamish and
unexcited by the prospect of finishing his work. And why on Earth is Eric
involved? Is he simply a psychopathic misogynist who enjoys abducting women for
the purposes of hacking them up? The Buffy stunt double gets her mug in shot on
quite a few occasions here! I’m not sure about the ending that seems to want to
suggest that Daryl walked into the flames to die with his beloved (who never
quite made it off the ground) but the direction shies away from the burning him
alive and for all we know he could have survived.
Moment to Watch Out For: Xander performing the James Bond
stunt of pushing the trolley through the wall of flame (with Cordelia screaming
and tied to it!) is way cool.
Result: Some Assembly Required feels like a leftover season
one episode (especially in the sense of its fruitloop premise) but fortunately
with its witty dialogue and engaging characterisation of the regulars it is a
really fun season one hangover. The emphasis is on this being an ensemble piece
but my two favourite characters (Giles and Cordelia) are given plenty of great
material and there’s some movement on the Buffy/Angel romance too. The plot is
absurd but that’s hardly an original observation about a Buffy episode and it
certainly tackles its mock-Frankenstein theme with some confidence and relish.
Perhaps a little too much confidence actually and some restraint might
have made this a lot creepier and subtle. It’s a generally sunny, silly early
Buffy episode that isn’t trying to be great television and is happy to entertain
for 45 minutes and have some fun with the shows characters. It succeeds at that
admirably, just don’t think about the logic of any of this because your head
will explode: 6/10
School Hard written by David Greenwalt and directed by John
T. Kretchmer
What’s it about: Big Bad’s in town…
The Chosen One: Buffy is caught between an mother and school
Principal with her entire future both social and scholarly hanging in the
balance. You really feel for her here because it seems that she cannot please
anybody no matter which way she jumps. Joyce pulls out the big guns by saying
that she doesn’t want to be disappointed by Buffy again – when it comes to
parenting that is the one thing they can say that you can’t answer back to.
She’s being pulled in so many directions at once. Giles wants her to fight
Vampires, her friends want her to party, her mum wants her to study and her
Principal wants her to organise parents day! Buffy tries desperately to keep
her mother and Snyder apart but their rendezvous is inevitable and his
appraisal of her is as sparkling as you would imagine. For a while it looks
like Buffy is for the chop until a gang of slavering vampires attack the school
and she gets the chance to show off what she’s really good at. She takes
control of the situation, remains level headed when Snyder falls to pieces,
shows off her impressive strength and protects her mother. Joyce is just out of
eye line as Buffy stakes a vampire and I genuinely thought for a moment that
her mother was going to see everything. Buffy has proven that she can look
after herself and Joyce is going to sleep better at night knowing that.
Witchy Willow: Willow lets her mouth do the talking without
engaging her brain and mutters that if Angel has been dating for 200 years then
if he only had two dates a year that would be over 400 women…and then realises
that Buffy is staring and shuts up! Buffy’s non-sugar lemonade nearly makes
Willow heave.
Gorgeous Geek: Xander puts the curse of ‘what’s the worst
thing can happen?’ on Buffy’s parents evening much to the horror of his two
friends. I love these guys together. He almost winds up being pre-Slayer
nibbles for Angel and Spike!
Undead Brit: ‘Me and Dru…we’re moving in.’ With the
arrival of Spike Buffy feels as though it has finally reached its stride. There
is something so outrageously over confident about the introduction of this
character almost as if the creators knew that they had a massive hit on their
hands that makes School Hard a joy to watch. The way he comes crashing through
the Sunnydale sign to heavy metal electric guitar chords and lights up a
cigarette with his leather jacket kicking around his feet practically redefines
the method of introducing a new character in as cool a way as possible. This is
a man who has killed a couple of Slayers in his time and loves to brag about
it! Two Slayers in one century is quite a record and he’s turned up in
Sunnydale to score his Hatrick. Its also the one and only time Spike can prowl
around Buffy without her knowing who he is and the scenes of him hunting
through the crowd at the Bronze have a real edge to them. He’s the sort of man
who wont eat a lackey that’s failed him but enjoys killing him all the same.
Spike walks the empty school corridors (empty because undead gang has terrified
everybody away) calling out ‘here kitty kitty…’ for the Slayer! In a moment
that makes me want to break down and cry at how perfect this show is Spike
supplicates before the Annoying One (sorry, Anointed One) before shoving
the little brat in a cage, exposing him to sunlight and turning him into a
crispy pile of dust! And they say there is no justice in the world!
Mad Hatter: ‘You see Miss Edith if you’d been good you
could have watched with the rest…’ God bless Juliet Landau who embodies the
role of Drusilla so completely you be wondering if the actress is a complete
fruitloop too! She manages to walk a fine line between creepy, unpredictable
madness (her lines are out of this world) and sensual sexuality that she exudes
with every caress and gaze. Her collection of gagged, bound and dolls with
their eyes gouged out say a lot about Drusilla’s character.
Puppy Dog Eyes: Ensuring that there is history between Angel
and Spike gives the thus far vacuous character a reason to contribute to the
episode. Their shared experiences together would be revealed a piece at a time
and make up quite a vivid picture ultimately. There’s a tasty homoerotic
rivalry between the two characters that looks like it will be a joy to explore.
Mr Snidey: A wealth of Snyder scenes is just the icing on
the cake of this brilliant episode and he gets to be nastier than ever. He
considers Buffy and a girl who stabbed a teacher with pruning shears (!!!) to
be the worst behaved students at his school and they have a competition to save
themselves from expulsion by organising the parent/teacher night! He affects a
disapproving tone when relaying this information to them but he is practically frothing
at the mouth with delight to see them (or at least Buffy) fearing for her
future with the school. Whenever Snyder is around Slayer talk has to somehow be
twisted into something normal to great comic effect (‘You’re the Slay…slaves to
the television!’). Snyder watches Buffy being dragged out by Joyce with a smug
look on his face and you really want him to slip on a banana skin or something.
He shows his true colours when the school is attacked and he and Joyce are
locked in a classroom together – he’s accusatory, cowardly and lashes out.
Unbelievably after practically shoving a teacher to his death Snyder lies
through his teeth when the explanations are required and says he tried to
convince him otherwise. He really is beyond redemption.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘If every Vampire who said he was at the
crucifixion was actually there it would have been like Woodstock!’
‘Even slaves get minimum wage!’ – Cordy, obviously.
‘Use your head…’ says Spike ramming his lackey’s head into
the fire glass!
‘Do people still fall for that Anne Rice routine? What a
world!’
‘And if you get me out of this I swear I’ll never be mean to
anyone ever again unless they really deserve it or its that time of the
month in which case I don’t think you or anyone else can hold me responsible…’
‘From now on we’re going to have a little less ritual and
little more fun around here!’
The Good: Xander rooting through Buffy’s bag to find a stake
and pulling out a sanitary towel is one of the best gags the show ever devised.
It made me howl with laughter (especially his reaction!). The visual gag of
everybody preparing their weapons and Buffy holding up the fattest sword known
to man…only to chop a cucumber with it works a treat too. Greenwalt is really
on fire with this script. Spike and his cohorts crashing through the window in
slow motion sees him step into Buffy’s world in a very public way. Its odd
because we have seen Buffy take on all manner of vampires already but this time
it feels really deadly. The director is totally in tune with the script
and ensures that these sequences are drenched in darkness and atmospherically
lit to enhance the thrilling siege. The teacher who is savaged by vampires with
his legs flailing through a window manages to be both very funny and very scary
at the same time, a testament to the command of its tone this episode has.
The Bad: Buffy’s partner in crime Sheila is a tad irritating
(plus has daft lines like ‘I’m crazy about a Cad!’) but she gets killed
horribly throughout the course of the episode and then dusted once she becomes
a vampire so alls well with the world. She probably wouldn’t have amounted to
much anyway.
Moment to Watch Out For: ‘You get the hell away from my
daughter!’ Joyce to the rescue bashing Spike over the head with a fire axe
is a real punch the air moment.
Fashion Statement: James Masters with his dyed blond hair
and leather jacket is practically sex on legs. Imminently shaggable. And in a
creepy, gothy kind of way Drusilla has a smouldering look about her two. To say
they are a hotter couple than Buffy and Angel is like saying that the day
follows night. For a start both Spike and Dru have personalities whereas only
one half of the Buffy/Angel relationship is blessed with one. When Dru cuts
Spike’s cheek and licks up the blood and then kisses him with her mouth still
teasing with it I was somewhere between repulsed and turned on. These two are
going to be incredible fun to watch.
Notes: Spike mentions a Slayer he killed during the Boxer
rebellion that we would get to witness in the superb season five episode Fool
For Love. Spike says the last Slayer he killed begged for her life. We see that
death in Lies My Parents Told Me and Nikki does no such thing. Let’s chalk this
down to Spike trying to intimidate Buffy.
Foreboding: In a clever move that sees Snyder’s involvement
in the show step a gear he talks to the police afterwards and reveals that he
knows all about vampires…
Result: Witty, dark, sexy and effortlessly cool; School Hard
is the first classic episode of Buffy and is the first episode where absolutely
everything locks into place and the show begins to sing. The
introduction of Spike and Drusilla takes the show to a new level of awesome and
they leave a glorious trail of devastation in their wake. David Greenwalt has written
a script that is brimming with superb gags and witty ripostes but remembers
that the heart of this show is in its characters and watching Buffy struggle
under the weight of responsibilities piling up on her gives us real insight
into her life. Spike reducing the so-naff-he-stunk Kevin to dust is my
favourite moment in the series so far and has secured my love for his character
from now until his last appearance. The last third of the episode with the
school under siege by Spike sees Buffy touch on horror and humour better than
any other episode of the series so far. Everybody gets a great moment, Joyce
and Snyder feature prominently and it looks as if our new sexy villains are
here to stay. You could run out of superlatives for an episode this good. Electrifying
viewing: 10/10
Inca Mummy Girl written by Matt Kleine & Joe Reinkemeyer
and directed by Ellen S. Pressman
What’s it about: Xander’s got himself a girlfriend but as
usual there is a catch. A 500 year old curse catch…
The Chosen One: Buffy is most definitely not looking forward
to the school exchange programme. She is an only child (at least at this point
in her life) and isn’t used to sharing. Buffy is used to talking with her fists
but Willow proves that the non-violent approach can be just as effective. The
regulars are starting to recognise how absurd their lives are and when Buffy
laughs of the idea of the Mummy Princess coming to life and being a deadly
danger to them all they suddenly stop smiling because that is exactly
the sort of thing that happens week in, week out on this show!
Ripper: ‘Oh! I know this one! Slaying entails certain
sacrifices, blah-blah-biddy-blah…I’m so stuffy, give me a scone!’ Giles
thinks it is uncanny that Buffy could sum him up so succinctly!
Witchy Willow: Who hasn’t had that moment when you walk in
at precisely the wrong moment? Buffy and Xander discuss the possibilities of a
romance between him and Willow and she smiles at his admission of love and then
looks dismayed when he says the thought has never crossed his mind. Ouch.
Oz makes his first appearance here at exactly the point where Willow’s mooning
over Xander is getting a bit stale. Perfect timing. She decides that she has a
choice; to wait for Xander to go out with every other girl in the world until
he notices her or she can get on with her life. She proves what a lovely friend
she is by telling Xander to go to the dance with Ampata even though she wishes
it was her. Who wouldn’t fall in love with Willow in that Eskimo costume? She
looks adorable!
Gorgeous Geek: Xander needs a vacuous beauty (hey Cordelia!)
to fall in love with quickly because his resistance to Buffy coming in the
vicinity of another boy is getting increasingly tiresome. I want there to be
more to this character than simply going doe-eyed over Buffy. I remember when
Simon finally got over the absurd name of this show (it completely bypassed him
because he refused to watch a series that sounded so utterly goofy) and watched
the entire run. He loved the early seasons but he hated Xander and often got
angry every time he jumped in with a not-so-witty one liner every time Buffy
was attracted to somebody else. When Ampata revealed herself in all her
feminine beauty and the camera practically did that Original Star Trek misty
lens effect with Xander I knew I was in for a long hour. Cue Willow
jealousy, Xander acting like a goon and Buffy preventing the whole thing from
going anywhere when his love turns out to be some long lost even from the past.
Its like we learnt nothing from Teacher’s Pet. For some bizarre reason Xander
talks to Ampata as though she is retarded – I have never quite understood why
people talk to foreigners like they are inbred simpletons. I have often found
that clear, concise English works a lot better than slurring your speech and
adopting a child friendly voice. At least he warns Ampata not to learn from his
example! Girls always tell Xander he is strange before they run away and maybe
it has something to do with the fact that he stuffs entire twinkies into his
gob and keeps talking. He tells Buffy to be careful as he heads off to the
dance with a 500 year old, life sucking Inca princess. How dense can you get?
The Good: The director is working overtime to make the
climax at least look good and the atmospheric lighting and silhouetting
as Xander and Ampata kiss (plus the excellent music) is very evocative. Its
really fun to watch just Buffy and Giles working together. She takes the piss
out of him in all the best ways. More please.
The Bad: Why is there such a wealth of crazed students at
Sunnydale High? Why isn’t there some kind of structured counselling programme?
Remember that nut job Marcie Ross? Or fruitloop Eric in Some Assembly Required
who wanted to make a Frankenstein’s monster woman out of parts of perfectly ordinary
women for no reason whatsoever? This week its bad boy Rodney (can you really be
a bad boy with a name like Rodney?) who breaks into the museum (is that the
coolest place he could think of?) and kick starts the whole Inca Mummy Curse
nonsense that fuels this episode. This is one of those episodes where we are
fifteen steps ahead of the regulars (The X-Files has been known to be guilty of
this rather a lot too) and are waiting for them to catch up and realise just
what Ampata is all about. Its especially galling here because the Scoobies
mention about five minutes in precisely what the plot is all about and then
promptly forget about it so we can watch them figure it all out again. The
ninja warrior (of which nobody seems to react to despite the fact that he
attacks Xander in public) points at Ampata and cries ‘its you!’ and he still
doesn’t quite cotton on that she is at the centre of things. Then Ampata starts
going off on a wistful trip down memory lane about the Inca Princess to Buffy
as if talking from personal experience.
How much more do they need? Considering she is over 500 years old
Ampata seems to fit into modern day American life with ease – shouldn’t we see
her reaction to modern technology/customs/behaviour? Ampata has the biggest
suitcase (sorry, trunk) known to mankind and inside is a shrunken, desiccated
corpse which is what finally leads Giles and Buffy to the conclusion that she
is the Inca princess. Subtle much? A quick fight, a smashed tablet and the
episode is over. They weren’t even trying this week, were they?
Moment to Watch Out For: ‘Who is that girl?’ says Oz to
Willow in her Eskimo outfit. Yes that’s really as good as it gets.
Fashion Statement: Willow’s amazing collection hats
continues to dazzle and she is a cute as ever in each and every one. The one
aspect of this story I can entirely agree with is Xander’s appreciation of
Ampata – Ara Celi is an extremely beautiful young lady.
Result: If School Hard showed the direction that Buffy
should be going in Inca Mummy Girl is a massive step backwards into the season
one ‘light entertainment’ mould and its not a move in its favour. I have
absolute no interest in Inca curses and after what I have seen in this episode
it hasn’t piqued my curiosity to find out more either. It’s a half baked
mystery with no surprises and regulars behaving in a really clueless way when
they aren’t discussing their love triangle which has long since lost its
ability to entertain. Soon Willow will have Oz, Xander will have Cordelia (God
help him!) and Buffy can pursue Angel without complaint (mostly) and all three
developments cannot come fast enough. I don’t really know what to say about an
episode like Inca Mummy Girl since it seems so misjudged in its intentions and
fails to work as either a romance or as a historical/supernatural thriller. It
feels like Buffy going through the motions with the odd witty quip and moment
of inspired direction to keep me interested. Its hard to invest in a love
affair that we know is doomed to failiure (at least with Buffy and Angel there
was a chance it could work out) and one where Brendon and Celi lack even basic
chemistry (he talks to her like she’s dumb and dumber). The best thing
on offer here are the first appearances of Oz and Jonathan: 4/10
Witchy Willow: ‘Who is that girl?’ Willow continues
to bewitch as she convinces Buffy to sneak into the library and steal the
Watcher diaries so they can read up on Angel’s past. The shot of the two of
them framed in the library doorway about to get up to some prime mischief is
adorable. Willow basically shoves Buffy through the door and when Giles catches
the Slayer she will not be coaxed in to grab the booty whilst Giles is
distracted! Halloween is the perfect chance to come as you aren’t and get sexy
and wild with no repercussions. Unfortunately sexy and wild aren’t Willow’s
strong points and needs a little coaxing from Buffy to get her to indulge. The
only way to make Willow even cuter than she already is decked out in a
ridiculous ghost costume is to have her bump into Oz in the corridor. These two
are just made for each other. Mind you I’m not sure if my TV can take
the dose of sweetness if they ever get together – my reaction will be pretty
much the same as whenever I see a fluffy duckling taking his first waddle or
penguin protecting his young. D’awwww!
Puppy Dog Eyes: ‘Like a Care Bear with fangs?’ When
Cordelia described Angel as such (plus her extreme non reaction to him being a
vampire) I was laughing my head off! That is such an apt description for such a
bland character!
Reptile Boy written and directed by David Greenwalt
What’s it about: Cordelia is going after college boys and
they are looking to feed her to a giant snake…
The Chosen One: The best thing on offer in this entire
episode (the same was true of Inca Mummy Girl) is the wonderful chemistry
between Buffy, Willow and Xander as exemplified by the three of them sitting in
Buffy’s bedroom watching an inexplicable Bollywood musical. Buffy is charmed by
possibly the least attractive college senior in history with some of the lamest
chat up lines I have ever heard. Is everybody taking stupid pills this week? I
genuinely thought that the sequence where Buffy and Angel were discussing their
feelings in the most dramatic of fashions in the graveyard was a dream
sequence. The dialogue was melodramatic enough but when he grabbed her so tight
and looked painfully into her eyes I felt as though there was a punchline on
the way that never came. That was all for real? How did Gellar and
Boreanaz get through that without laughing? Its strange because what with her
experience with college boys here you would think that Buffy would have been
more than prepared to handle a loser like Parker who preys on her at university
but she makes the same mistakes all over again. We manage to reach the
conclusion that Buffy and Angel will have coffee at some point in the future. That
was worth waiting 45 minutes for.
Ripper: Giles lecturing Buffy here feels rather tired
because its exactly the sort of sermon he has given her for a year and a half
and besides he’s been behaving like a lovesick teenager himself at points this
year. There’s nothing new to any of this material, it just feels like Giles
giving Buffy a hard time simply because that is what he does. David Greenwalt
is a bad man for wasting such a great character in this way. When he waited
outside the school watching her being chatted up by boys and tapping his watch
angrily I thought the character was more of a parody of himself! What happened
to that delightful lovesick Brit from Some Assembly Required? He decides that
almost being eaten by a giant snake is punishment enough and he is going to be
less hard on her in the future. It feels as though Giles has been this tough on
her throughout Reptile Boy just so he can reach this conclusion rendering the whole
project worthless. The idea of him giving her a little more leeway is nice in
theory, let’s see if it works in practice.
Witchy Willow: Willow is very quietly becoming the dominant
character in this show by simply being the warmest and her glorious mad rant at
Giles and Angel is a real highlight. It works so well here that they choose to
repeat its success to even more effect in Phases.
Gorgeous Geek: Xander is still chasing around after Buffy
disapproving of every man that she bats her eyelids at. Somebody get this
character out of this hole. He needs something else to do, stat.
Caustic Cordy: Desperate to make more contact with boys
(really?) Cordelia is learning that in order to keep his attention you have to
set the female rights movement back about 50 years. Personally I don’t think
its worth it. When she does laugh outrageously in the face of her college boy
boyfriend Cordelia comes across as somebody who doesn’t have a clue and I don’t
like that. She’s smart and sassy and shouldn’t be treated as a socially impeded
comic relief. When she scores a date with the hottest college senior who
happens to come from a really wealthy background Cordelia starts thinking about
all the poor people she could help with all that money at her disposal! I prefer
it when Cordy is show to have moments of depth rather than simply living up to
her vacuous exterior as she does here. She’s so vile to Buffy in their
pre-party chat and even more horrid at the party itself – if I were Buffy I
would go out of my way to make her look like an idiot. In the climax Cordelia
is reduced to a shrieking, screaming Violet who contributes noting (not even a
line or two of scathing wit). Unthinkable.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘You could ask him for coffee some
night. It’s the non relationship drink of choice. Its not a date, it’s a
caffinated beverage! Okay so its hot and bitter like a relationship…’
Dreadful Dialogue: ‘Let her go Wormy!’ – yeah that’s as
witty as this gets!
The Bad: The party scenes fell completely flat for me. They aren’t
injected with enough energy and humour to convince and I hate the way Xander is
made to look like such an idiot and Buffy a loner. Shoving Xander in a blonde
wig and bra and publicly humiliating him is not my idea of fun. Where did the
reptile monster come from? Why are the college boys feeding it high school
girls? Like Inca Mummy Girl it looks like the last amount of effort has been
put into trying to explain away why the ‘weird shit of the week’ is going on.
I’m just not used to writing this lazy in Buffy. Also the giant snake on offer
here is pretty embarrassing (not Hellmouth creature embarrassing but I doubt
anybody would mistake this for the real thing) and the production really should
have remembered this when it came to series five and Glory’s pet snake.
Fashion Statement: Both Buffy and Cordelia look gorgeous
when they try and dress up for the college boys so I guess there are moments
when this episode is at least aesthetically pleasing.
Result: The opening salvo of episodes in season two strikes
me as a show in crisis. We’ve had an episode where the series lead completely
alienates everybody around her in a pointless way, a nuts’n’bolts Frankenstein
parody that lacked cohesion, a dreadful romance tale about Inca Mummy and now a
stultifyingly awkward coming of age story for Buffy and Cordelia featuring a
giant ravenous worm. School Hard was in there as well somewhere proving to be
the exception to the rule but on the whole the show has felt brainless and
completely without direction or class. And don’t give me any of this guff about
episodes being so bad they’re good because no show should ever set out to
produce a run of episodes that feels this tired. Buffy needs a clean
sweep and fast. It needs to grow up. Fortunately that is exactly what is coming
around the corner so I wont give up hope. Its not just that the central
storyline of this episode is predictable and makes the characters look like
idiots (again) but the show seems to be taking the easiest route possible by
having all of its characters (especially Giles and Cordelia) and making them
behave in a predictable, functional way. This is Buffy at its most obvious with
nobody given the chance to be especially funny or surprising which is
unthinkable with this ensemble. There’s no plot for the first half of the
episode but when it does show up and Buffy and Cordelia are at the mercy of a
giant b-movie monster at the sorority house you’ll wish that they hadn’t
bothered. Reptile Boy feels like a bad 80s teen movie for much of its duration
which is some feat considering that it was made a decade later and with all the
benefit of hindsight: 3/10
Halloween written by Carl Ellsworth and directed by Bruce
Seth Green
What’s it about: Halloween costumes taking over their owners
and turning them into monsters? Who ever said Halloween was the quietest night
of the year?
The Chosen One: If Buffy herself stops thinking that she can
have a normal life then it definitely isn’t going to happen. Somebody needs to
shake that girl and tell her to stop feeling sorry for herself and to get out
there and have some fun! Perfectly timed then, Gellar gets to play some prime
comedy as she has to try and keep Giles looking one way whilst Willow sneaks
about behind his back and her ‘Ms Calendar said you’re a babe!’ made me
laugh out loud. The last resort of the desperate! Buffy looks back at the sort
of women that Angel used to like and finds the idea of the indulgent lifestyle
of the upper classes in the past a wonderful dream to luxuriate in. Fabulous
gowns, balls, servants…more fabulous gowns. And no rough and tumble my hair
has foliage in it slaying! Its so weird seeing Sarah Michelle Gellar
playing the girl strapped on the railroad tracks after her empowered Buffy has
blazed across the screens for over a season. It’s a hard adjustment to make but
she sure gives it her all, screaming and fainting and the like. When Buffy
returns (‘hi honey, I’m home!’) its worth a mental high five because I wouldn’t
have her any other way. Its nice to have her reminded by Angel that she is
perfect just the way she is.
Ripper: ‘They have no idea where you come from…’ As
disgusting as Buffy finds the contemplation of adults indulging in smooches she
gives Giles the advice to go for it with Jenny. Amen! There’s a wonderful, wonderful
moment where Ethan and Giles meet and the shopkeeper reveals that the doddery
old librarian routine might be nothing more than an act to hide what Giles is
really capable of. There’s talk of a sordid past that might one day soon come
back to haunt him. Ooh…the sooner the better. When Giles lamps his old friend
he looks truly dangerous. More of this please.
Witchy Willow: ‘Who is that girl?’ Willow continues
to bewitch as she convinces Buffy to sneak into the library and steal the
Watcher diaries so they can read up on Angel’s past. The shot of the two of
them framed in the library doorway about to get up to some prime mischief is
adorable. Willow basically shoves Buffy through the door and when Giles catches
the Slayer she will not be coaxed in to grab the booty whilst Giles is
distracted! Halloween is the perfect chance to come as you aren’t and get sexy
and wild with no repercussions. Unfortunately sexy and wild aren’t Willow’s
strong points and needs a little coaxing from Buffy to get her to indulge. The
only way to make Willow even cuter than she already is decked out in a
ridiculous ghost costume is to have her bump into Oz in the corridor. These two
are just made for each other. Mind you I’m not sure if my TV can take
the dose of sweetness if they ever get together – my reaction will be pretty
much the same as whenever I see a fluffy duckling taking his first waddle or
penguin protecting his young. D’awwww!
Gorgeous Geek: It’s the first Xander/Larry scene where the
school bully asks him if he is going out with Buffy. Xander thinks this is
because Larry has the hots for Buffy. Oh if only he knew… If Buffy had saved me
from a pummelling by a rock solid beast like Larry I would be eternally
grateful and not throw it back in her face like Xander does here. Maybe I’m
just too old to understand teenagers anymore! His eye rolling forgiveness scene
almost makes up for his extreme overreaction – I can’t stay mad at this guy for
long. Xander is the perfect person to go trick or treating with because a) he
is a big kid himself and b) he knows all the little tricks to get extra candy!
Caustic Cordy: Whilst it turns out to be a salient plot
point I thought the joke was going to be that Cordelia didn’t change because
she already has all the characteristics of a cat. A lazy, self obsessed
egomaniac who controls all who are around her! Xander spells out that she is
never going to get between Angel and Buffy ad he speaks from experience. They
look at each other and part company. When are you guys going to realise?
Undead Brit: As if he has the Midas touch that turns
everything into gold Spike returns to the series and suddenly it is back at the
top of its game. I’m not necessarily saying the two things are connected but it
is a remarkable co-incidence. He sends his minions out to record Buffy in
action so he can anticipate her moves, it’s a lovely modern take on spying on
the enemy. Of course Spike adores all the chaos that Ethan’s scheme causes and
he takes full advantage of it to get his revenge on the Slayer.
Mad Hatter: Drusilla proves to be more than a nut job dolly
bird when she prophecies the Halloween costume switches. Beyond her obvious
aesthetic qualities you can see why Spike keeps her around with that kind of
intel at her fingertips.
Puppy Dog Eyes: ‘Like a Care Bear with fangs?’ When
Cordelia described Angel as such (plus her extreme non reaction to him being a
vampire) I was laughing my head off! That is such an apt description for such a
bland character!
Mr Snidey: Buffy, Xander and Willow were never going to sign
up for the ‘look after a pack of sugar hyped runts’ scheme so it’s a good thing
there is Snyder there to make their lives as hellish as possible and force them
to do it. Where would we be without him?
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘When it comes to dating, I’m the
Slayer.’
‘She couldn’t have dressed up like Xena?’
‘We must have some kind of amnesia!’ ‘I don’t know what that
is but I’m certain I don’t have it! I bathe quite often!’
‘Its good to be me!’ – this seems to be the moral of the
story and with Willow’s sexy march through the streets at the end its one that
you cant help but endorse wholeheartedly.
The Good: The ‘For Every Generation…’ intro has been axed!
Hooray! I guess they figured if you aren’t a fan this far into the show then
you don’t have any right to have the series premise spelt out to you every
week! I love the cut to Buffy being video recorded in black and white because
it offers a fresh look at what has become a familiar sight (plus video looks so
much more dramatic when switched to like this). Robin Sachs proves to be a
great choice to play Ethan because he understands both the dramatic and comic
potential of the character. All the best Buffy villains (the Master, Spike,
Glory) have the ability to make you laugh whilst also making you sit up and pay
attention when they indulge in the arcane. So whilst he’s an over the top
character with more verbal swordplay than your average costume shop owner
(although a lot of that comes later in the episodes The Dark Age, Band Candy
and A New Man) you still take him seriously when he performs a ritual
positively dripping with sweat. I’m not sure what’s more fun; the idea of
turning kids into monsters (and a more apt metaphor I don’t think Buffy ever
indulged in!) or the chance to see the regulars play very different characters
(which almost beyond exception is a terrific laugh). Watching the kiddie
monster choke the old woman to death is bloody funny! Rather than going for the
obvious (Buffy could have so easily have been Boudica and Willow a witch or
something similar to their characters) we got some lovely role reversals with
Buffy the shrieking monarch, Xander the buff soldier (yes please!) and Willow
enjoying the powers of a ghost! The image of Spike roaming through the darkness
with all kinds of skullthuggery backing him up made me want to applaud. It
reminded me of a similar scene that was shot in the shows premiere with Darla
and has exactly the same kind of hip energy. The darkly scored last scene
promises that this isn’t the last we’ve seen of Ethan Raine. Oh I do hope not.
Moment to Watch Out For: Giles’ index card flying reaction
to Willow walking through the wall. I’m still laughing.
Fashion Statement: Is it just me or is the bright pink gown
that Buffy chooses absolutely hideous? In fact I really cannot see much
difference between this haughty dark haired upper class Buffy and the grunting
primate she becomes in Beer Bad. They have very similar haggard hairstyles!
Willow looks like spectacular white trash in her skimpy top and tiny skirt but
she’s right when she says the look doesn’t suit her. For one night of high
jinks its fine but I like my Willow in her silly hats and colourful jumpers.
Xander in his army slacks…wow. Mind you he doesn’t quite fill out that
tank top but the result is still extremely easy on the eye (if you’re a geek
freak like me…).
Foreboding: Please pay attention to Xander’s ‘sexy army
training’ (as it later becomes known) because it is referenced many times over
the years and used as a method of extraditing them from more than one
proverbial pickle in the future!
Result: Packed with witty lines and visual gags, Halloween
is a terrifically energetic episode that delights from beginning to end. Like
Reptile Boy the plot takes over half the episode to kick in but unlike
Reptile Boy the first half is one delightful character moment after another
with lots of insight into Buffy and Willow. Then brilliantly things get even
better as the episode steps up a notch and turns all the kids in monsters and
Buffy, Willow and Xander all take on very different roles to those they are
accustomed to. The action is non stop, it’s a perfect chance to fill the screen
with ghouls, the jokes are genuinely very funny and it’s a completely unique
kind of danger that removes Buffy from the solution in a very imaginative way.
If that wasn’t enough Spike is back and revelling in all the havoc and he gets
another fine confrontation with Buffy. Willow is wonderfully bossy, Xander’s
breaking me out in sweats every time he grips his gun and Cordelia is firing
off one great line after another. We even get to explore some Giles’ shady
past. This is completely and utterly bonkers and joyful viewing. A spectacular
return to form: 9/10
Lie to Me written and directed by Joss Whedon
What’s it about: Buffy’s first crush turns up in Sunnydale
with a plan to become one of the undead…
The Chosen One: The quality of mercy is definitely not Buffy
and she gives Willow and Xander the brush off when she discovers they have been
looking into Ford behind her back. To be fair to learn you are the only one not
involved in this conspiracy must feel like a betrayal. Sarah Michelle Gellar is
always excellent at playing defiant rage and she excels herself here when she
rails at the vampire wanabees and demands answers from Ford. Buffy makes an
excellent point about being turned into a vampire that is easy for even the
audience to forget – once you have turned a demon has set up in your body and
it walks and talks like you but it isn’t you. Buffy understands Ford perfectly,
she gets that he wants to have a climactic moment of melodrama before the final
confrontation and she gives it to him whilst still condemning him. I love her
unforgiving nature at the conclusion when she locks Ford in with Spike knowing
that he will murder him. It’s a dark side to her character that I hope we see
more of.
Ripper: Jenny and Giles have their second date here and
‘just for a change’ she takes him to monster trucks. A shame the budget
couldn’t stretch to a little scene with them there because I would have loved
to have seen Giles’ reaction to the ‘nitro burning funny cars!’ The clever
thing about Joss Whedon is that you don’t realise he is pushing this
relationship on for a reason. What seems like a harmless and amusing subplot
actually has a lot of relevance because Whedon is ensuring that we can see
these two enjoying each others company ready for the fireworks in the next
episode. Giles’ defiant ‘it took one of my books!’ made me laugh. He can get so
worked up about these things. The closing scene between Buffy and Giles is
gorgeous, in a moment of emotional turmoil he is the one person she can totally
rely on.
Witchy Willow: Willow invites Angel into her bedroom (which
is an act she will come to regret) and is quick to try and hide away her
underwear! The second Angel asks Willow to keep their investigations into Ford
a secret she is immediately cagey, awkward and tries to run away from Buffy at
every opportunity. She is so adorable.
Gorgeous Geek: Ford brings out Xander’s least attractive
(and some might say only these days) feature – his jealous streak when
it comes to all things Buffy. Although his line ‘doesn’t she know any fat
guys?’ did make me chuckle.
Undead Brit: Grumblings of jealousy from Spike about Angel
and Drusilla talking. Turns out Spike is as good as his word and does sire Ford
even though his plan to kill Buffy goes out of the window. Who would have
thought he was an honourable vampire?
Mad Hatter: Drusilla proves to be much scarier than I ever
envisaged she could be as she approaches the little boy in the park and slowly
advances on him and asks what his mother will say when she finds him dead. Lie
to Me hints at a dark, lustful past between Angel and Dru that will be joy to
explore further. Angel admits that Drusilla was an obsession of his when he was
a vampire. He made her insane, killed everybody she loved and visited every
mental torture on her he could devise. And then he turned her into a vampire
(on the day she took her holy orders). Cleverly Buffy goes for the one weakness
that Spike has – his love of Drusilla. Upon threatening to stake her he orders
his minions to stop feasting.
Caustic Cordy: Trust Cordy to relate to Marie Antoinette
because she worked really hard to look as good as she did and nobody
appreciated it! ‘She cared about them! She was going to let them have cake!’
Puppy Dog Eyes: With his red lips and pasty face, Angel
really has a look of Edward Cullen about him in this episode. Which I guess
means Edward Cullen stole his look from Angel. Something else we have to thank
him for.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘I’ve known you for two minutes and I
can’t stand you. I don’t really feature you living forever!’ Spike proves to be
an excellent judge of character.
‘Angel was in your bedroom?’ ‘Ours is a forbidden love.’
‘My God could you have a dorkier outfit?’
‘You have a choice. You don’t have a good choice but you
have a choice.’
‘What do you want me to say?’ ‘Lie to me’ ‘Yes its terribly
simple. The good guys are always stalwart and true. The bad guys are easily
distinguished by their pointy horns or black hats. And we always defeat them
and save the day. No one ever dies and everyone lives happily ever after’ ‘Liar.’
The Good: You can usually tell when Joss Whedon is back in
the directors chair because every element of the show is that little bit
shinier and watching the pre credits sequence I was struck at how sinister the
dialogue, performances and even the lighting were. The episode gets a whole lot
more interesting when Buffy is told about Ford’s little secret because suddenly
they are playing a game with each other. Each knows something they think the
other doesn’t and Whedon uses disorienting handheld camerawork to set the tone.
The twist that Ford was leading Buffy into a trap all along comes out of the
blue. The music and lighting when Buffy realises she is trapped illicits a
feeling of claustrophobia – suddenly things feel really dangerous.
The Bad: Enter Ford, Buffy’s childhood crush from LA newly
transferred to Sunnydale High. It’s a lovely idea to bring some of Buffy’s
(thus far) murky past into the present but unfortunately Whedon chooses one of
the least charismatic actors to fill the role. Jason Behr was by far the
dullest thing about (the fairly dull anyway) Roswell and enjoys the
Kristen Stewart acting method of conveying every single emotion with a faceless
pout. Shoehorned into a new role for Buffy he is practically the same
character; dour, expressionless and desperately uninteresting. This is a guy
who is dying and wants to turn into a Vampire so he can choose when he dies and
stay pretty. How hollow. And in doing so he chooses to involve a bunch of very
innocent and easily led losers and turn them into food for the undead. He’s
just not very nice, is he? But not in an interesting way. In more of a ‘I write
long dreary poetry because I’m beset with angst’ way. He’s a loser who has been
watching far too many movies and wants this whole scenario to play out like
one. Didn’t we do all of this Buffy has a boyfriend and Angel gets jealous last
season in Never Kill a Boy on a First Date? Out of the three – Angel, Owen or
Ford – it would be hard to choose who is the dullest. Somehow when Buffy loses
Angel she winds up with somebody even duller. Her taste in men sucks…until
about season six. I wasn’t sure whether to stick this next comment in section
above because I think Whedon is trying to make the wannabe vampires to look as
cringeworthy as possible but he succeeds a little too well. The glam nerd with
the purple velvet cape on is so embarrassing to watch he makes the Jonathan,
Andrew and Warren look like the cast of 90210. The ‘other viewpoints than yours
might be valid, you know’ gal sounds like every other internet geek in a row
with another internet geek.
Moment to Watch Out For: When Spike enters the lair of the
wanabees with his face drenched in shadows he is a genuinely intimidating
threat. No gags, just ugly death come to play.
Fashion Statement: To some people Jason Behr is practically
edible (my husband is one of those nutters) but he is a little too plain for
me. On the plus side Buffy looks hotter as every episode passes.
Result: You might get the impression from reading this
review that I didn’t like Lie to Me when I found it one of the better season
two episodes so far. My two biggest complaints – that Ford is a deeply
uninteresting character and the vampire wannabes are sadness personified –
probably shouldn’t be complaints because at least one of those is deliberate
(and I would argue that we are supposed to find Ford a bit tedious too). Whedon
fails to get to the heart of these characters in the way that he does so well
with the regulars and also repeats some of the Angel jealousy nonsense that was
tiresome the first time round. Despite those problems there is much to
recommend this episode. There’s a probing look at Drusilla that aches to be
explored further (watch this space), more cuteness from Jenny and Giles, some
terrific dialogue and standout direction (especially at the conclusion). What
really stood out though was Sarah Michelle Gellar who has always given 100% but
is excellent here, especially in the climax where she confronts Ford. When She
Was Bad was okay, Lie to Me is good and when we get to Innocence Joss Whedon’s
learning curve is complete and he has worked through the stages to write the
perfect Buffy episode. This is within
the grasp of greatness but it doesn’t quite make it (mostly it is held up by a
soporific performance by Jason Behr) but there are many memorable moments all
the same: 7/10
The Dark Age written by Dean Batali & Rob Des Hotel and
directed by Bruce Seth Green
What’s it about: Giles’ past come back to haunt him and
opens up a little window to his controversial past…
The Chosen One: How interesting to force a role reversal on
Buffy and Giles and to have her become his Watcher for an episode. Its
foreshadowing for the sullen, more mature Buffy of seasons five, six and seven
and surprisingly seems to be a role that suits her rather well. There’s a
wonderful little moment when Giles is pouring his heart out to Buffy and she
has to turn away from him in disgust. How the mighty have fallen. For once it
feels as though Buffy is in actual danger once she has been tattooed with the
mark of Eyghon. This is one demon that she cannot fight because it will live
under her skin. Buffy understands Giles more as a result of these events, how
he doesn’t have a choice in his calling and how similar they are in that
respect.
Ripper: ‘Why did he call him Ripper?’ An episode that
is entirely centred on Giles – could anything be finer? When he and Ms
Calendar walk along the corridor with moon eyes for each other the Scoobies can
barely contain their vomit. Nobody ever seems to tell him he is anything else
but a fuddy-duddy and Jenny enjoys winding him up by pretending that she has
dog eared and marked pages in his most precious books! Finally their
relationship is moving up a level and Jenny is making plans to stay a Giles’
for the weekend (hubba hubba!). Giles is one of those people who it is easy to
spot if something is wrong because he always lives his life in such a
fastidious fashion so when he starts missing appointments and drinking alone
there are massive signs that there is a problem. The thought that Giles used to
be a tearaway delinquent in his childhood and one that performed all manner of
dangerous satanic rites to defy authority is frightening and makes sense of an
awful lot of things. Especially why he is so stuffy these days. It also helps
that this episode has an actor as strong as Anthony Head to bring its dark
ideas to life and when he stares into a mirror and says ‘you’re back’ it is a
genuinely ominous moment. What really surprised me was how easily Giles could
step back into the bully boy role, grabbing Ethan by the ear and looking for all
the world as though he is about to rip it off. He takes his glasses off and
with eyes blazing he tells Buffy to mind her own business and you can see that
he means it. This new on the edge Giles is an absolutely gripping
character and one that I hope we see a lot more of. He hated the tedious grind
of study and the overwhelming responsibility of his destiny and so he dropped
out and moved to London and fell in with the worst crowd that would have him.
They say the course of true love never runs smooth and rarely is that more
appropriate than with Giles and Jenny and just as they are about to seal the
deal (if we are going to be British about this) she is possessed by a demon
from his past and it frightens her away from him. Perhaps nobody in this group is
destined to be in a happy relationship simply because of their calling. The
hurt puppy look on his face when Jenny utters the words ‘some time…’ at the
conclusion might just break your heart. It sure did mine.
Witchy Willow: The very idea of Giles drinking is
antithetical to her understanding of his character and she asks in a desperate
squeal ‘tea, right?’
Caustic Cordy: Cordelia gets to have a fabulous rant about
having to read a book on computers when the whole point of computers is to
replace books whilst it the same time completely missing out on the fact that
the police have come to escort Giles away. Her self importance knows no bounds
and long may it stay that way! I love the idea of Xander needing Buffy to sit
between him and Cordelia to demilitarise the area between them! She’s clearly
been paying attention to Buffy and lands a perfectly timed high kick at Ethan
and stops him from escaping. Clearly this is past the point of no return for
Cordelia where she actually volunteers to spend time with the Scoobies to help
Giles. Her integration into this group is ongoing and would eventually be
addressed amongst her own friends in Bewitched Bothered and Bewildered.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘Are you kidding? His diapers were
tweed!’
‘The first thing we’re going to do is…Buffy!’ ‘Huh? Did I
fall asleep already?’
‘This is what happens when you have school on Saturday…’
The Good: The pre titles sequence seems to be a lot moodier
than usual (Lie to Me started this promising new tradition) with a fantastic
Christophe Beck score and a particularly grisly looking zombie attacking a
friend who is visiting Giles. It looks like the preamble to a dark and
distressing episode and fortunately that is exactly what it turns out to be.
The nightmarish flashbacks back to Giles childhood and the dangerous ritual
that he and friends performed are genuinely freaky and the graded look of them
really suggest the seventies. Since this episode I have been known to play
‘anywhere but here.’ Sad, but true. I’ve seen effects and contacts added to
peoples eyes to make them look scarier before but the cat-like slit that they
employ here really gets under my skin. Robin Sachs was a delight in his first
story but it given much more screen time here and despite the fact that he is a
rakish rogue who is only out for himself you cannot help but like him (‘I
hope you’re not taking this personally Buffy. I actually quite like you…the
trouble is I quite like myself a lot more…’). Is this the first time we’ve
visited Giles’ house? Its moodily lit here but would go on to be a central hub
of the show during series four. Although I am the only who finds that massive
window in the kitchen a little weird? Robia LaMorte is too good at playing the
possessed, vampish Eyghon and I was quite discomforted during those scenes. The
subtly done make up that makes her look like a demon without losing the fact
that this is still clearly Jenny seals the deal. Between the writers, the
director, the make up artist and the actress this is the most frightening villain
yet to appear in Buffy. There are some fantastic window smashing stunts too.
Ethan is willing to sacrifice Buffy and burn the mark off his arm with acid in
order to get Eyghon off his scent. Wow, that’s nasty. I love the creepy
silhouette of Jenny at the fancy dress store door…that’s some bloody scary
lighting. Fascinating that Angel should save Jenny’s life here given what he
does to her later in the season and its an ingenious solution on Willow’s part
to have the two demons fight it out inside of him (the vampire whoops Eyghon’s
ass of course).
The Bad: The whole sequence where Buffy prevents the
vampires from stealing the transfusion blood is superfluous (although I have to
say it is pretty cute watching her and Angel fight side by side). Jenny’s possession
is signposted with big red arrows when her hand is dropped into shot as Philip
melts away. It might have been nicer if this was one time that we weren’t ahead
of the characters are were surprised along with them.
Moment to Watch Out For: My favourite moment was entirely
disconnected from the main plot (as good as that is for the most part) but a
demonstration of why Buffy is one of the greatest shows on television – its
characters and their interaction. Whilst Giles is falling into disrepair and Buffy
is about to be tattooed with the mark of Eyghon, Cordelia, Xander and Willow
are all in the library chained to the books to try and think of a way out of
this. The simmering sexual tension between Cordy and Xander bubbles over and
they almost get into a cat fight which gives Willow the chance to have another
of her wonderfully bossy rants (‘Get the hell out of my library!’). Its so much
fun being around these people even when the chips are down and Alison Hannigan
continues to slowly, quietly become the star of this show.
Result: A genuinely spine chilling piece of horror and not
at all the cut price Exorcist that it has been referred to. Possession
is a hard menace to pull off without sinking the show into melodrama or
dragging some appalling performances out of great actors (many great shows have
fallen victim to this) but Buffy succeeds with some subtly menacing camerawork,
a creepy musical score and some restrained effects. The chance to learn some
more about Giles and give Anthony Head some adult material (as opposed to
wagging his finger at Buffy sternly) is delightful and I love the fact that
they go down the route of him having been a right tearaway in his youth and
suffering the consequences for it now. There’s some dramatic developments in Giles’
blossoming relationship with Jenny and Ethan Rayne’s reappearance is an
unexpected delight. The Buffy/Giles relationship is proving to be a
surprisingly rich one and both Lie to Me and The Dark Age climax on a very
touching moment for the pair of them. Season two continues to improve: 8/10
What’s My Line Part I written by Howard Gordon & Marti
Noxon and directed by David Solomon
What’s it about: Slayers and assassins and a career choices…
The Chosen One: Buffy sees no point in indulging in Career Week
when her whole life has been mapped out before her. Oh if only she knew the
changes that the future would bring. Angel is the one freaky thing in her
freaky world that makes sense. Frustratingly the one thing she wants but can
never have is a normal life. When her parents used to fight all the time Buffy
used to like ice skating because it took her away from it all. It’s a shame
that this was only mentioned in this episode and dropped again afterwards
because it might help in later years when Buffy becomes all about duty to have
something fun to fall back on. Her test comes back and assigns her to a week
with law enforcement which Buffy balks at but I actually think would be a sound
career choice for her given her calling. When it comes to the book learning
Buffy totally contributes…she is the snack girl!
Ripper: Giles has been indexing the Watcher Diaries and even
he is amazed at how numbingly dull and pompous his predecessors were. When
things get serious Giles snaps at Xander to stop making silly remarks.
Witchy Willow: How lovely that Willow and Oz finally get to
meet. Get it together already!
Gorgeous Geek: Xander would rather not suck all the
spontaneity out of being young and stupid than complete a multiple choice test
which is supposed to determine what career you are supposed to have when you
are older. When it comes to questions like ‘do you like shrubs?’ you have to
wonder what sort of special needs committee assembled this quiz. He states that
he will always be stupid which is something that you can always guarantee with
Xander with moments of brilliance scattered about.
Undead Brit: There is something violent and sexy about
Spike’s relationship with Drusilla that always makes it quite edgy to watch.
When he reacts to her mad ramblings I’m never sure whether he is going to hit
her or shag her. I seriously wanted Spike to get on and do something rather
than hanging about in his lair and bitching on about how much he hates Buffy.
He’s starting to sound just like the Master!
Caustic Cordy: From the quiz Cordy’s job suggestions are
personal shopper (I can see her loving telling people what to buy) or
motivational speaker (in a deranged sort of way). Her and Xander’s bitching has
reached its apotheosis and something has got to blow soon. No two people can
direct this much bile at each other without wanting to leap into each others
arms.
Puppy Dog Eyes: Buffy stroking his face when he is vamped up
and telling him that she didn’t even notice is very sweet. Angel is finally
taking matters into his own hands and seeking out Spike and Drusilla.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘Whatever comes out of your mouth is a
meaningless waste of breath. An airbourne toxic event.’
‘Don’t warn the tadpoles!’
The Good: Seriously it is like somebody flicks a switch halfway
through the episode and suddenly assassins are on the move (I love the sudden
scream that melts into the plane roaring overhead) and a new face in Sunnydale
that threatens Buffy’s standing as the Slayer. There’s a very clever cheat
suggesting that Kendra is one of the Order here to kill Buffy because she turns
up in the episode at exactly the same time as they do. Whilst they (once again)
hold back the plot, the ice skating scenes do have a very important function of
showing the more romantic side to Angel before his transformation later in the
season. David Solomon directs these scenes with a sensitive touch and for once
I could really buy into the Buffy/Angel relationship because they were simply
enjoying themselves rather than holding onto each other melodramatically and
arguing about the latest threat to Sunnydale. Not even a (really ugly) assassin
is going to spoil their fun time. I love the creepy salesman that is made out
of maggots (that’s a really nasty effect and well achieved) who kills Buffy’s
neighbour just so he can keep an eye on her house. After Buffy realises that
her card is marked suddenly every sound, every glance, every sudden moment
makes her jump. Its unusual to see her this frightened and very effective. Its
nice to be completely in the dark for a change and Kendra suddenly attacking
Angel generated a real feeling of ‘what the hell is going on?’ which I haven’t
felt that much of in season two so far.
The Bad: Whilst none of the material in the first half of
the episode isn’t exactly what I would call bad, it isn’t particularly
inspiring either. Why does it take some Buffy episodes over half their running
time to get the plot kick started? It was a relied in The Dark Age when the
plot was apparent during the pre titles sequence. Character scenes have their
place but not stacked up against each other and getting in the way of a decent
narrative. Giles’ ominous warning of ‘something’s coming…’ should have been in
the pre-titles sequence and not 20 minutes into the episode. If Kendra is a
Slayer then why doesn’t she just stake Angel instead of locking him up?
Moment to Watch Out For: Buffy is one of the best shows for
shoving a ‘OH MY GOD!’ twist in your face and barely giving you time to react
and take it in. There were many times during the series’ run where I was left
pointing at the screen going ‘but…but…’ When Angel turned into a vampire was
one such time. And the cliffhanger to this episode was another. Kendra is a
vampire Slayer? Suddenly the show is changing the rules and opening a whole new
can of worms. It’s a great moment (although I think my shock at Kendra’s
appalling accent contributed to my shock too!).
Notes: There’s a number of firsts in this episode. It’s the
first time there is an X-Files/Buffy crossover with the writer of the previous
episode that I watched (Firewalker) turning up to make a one off contribution
to Buffy. Marti Noxon makes her first appearance and she would go on to become
a very important figure for the show in later years and write some very memorable
episodes. Director David Solomon is another name we will be hearing a lot of
and he will go on to direct the odd episode in the next couple of seasons
before becoming a more frequent contributor from series four onwards. To be
frank a lot of his episodes are the worst of their respective years (although
it is nearly always down to the writing rather than the direction) but there
are some gems scattered along the way (The Prom, Wild at Heart, Wrecked).
Result: Despite a stunted first 20 minutes where nothing
seems to happen, What’s My Line Part I is excellent when it kicks into
life in the second half. You can definitely understand why Marti Noxon went
onto to become an important figure in Buffy because she clearly understands
these characters. The dialogue is sharper than ever and yet she knows when to
stop making wisecracks and to give the show a sense of gravitas. There’s a
sense that everything is building here, not just to a conclusion in the next
weeks episode but that all the little elements are being slotted into place
(especially the scene where Buffy visits Angel’s pad for the first time and the
first appearance of Willy) so that the show can explode into life in the second
half of the season. Its that sense of anticipation and the genuinely gob smacking
conclusion that makes this one of the most exciting episodes of Buffy yet. The
assassins are great fun (especially maggot man) and when the ‘to be continued’
sign flashed up at the end of the episode I was desperate to watch the next
episode and try and make sense of that bombshell from Kendra. Overall this is
good stuff but perhaps its two part nature is the reason it took so long to get
going. Let’s see if part two only has half a plot too: 8/10
What’s My Line Part II written by Marti Noxon and directed
by David Semel
What’s it about: With two Slayers in town Spike had better
watch his back…
The Chosen One: ‘Your life is very different from mine’
‘You mean the part where I occasionally have one?’ I like how they contrast
Buffy’s lifestyle with Kendra’s and because the second Slayer has devoted
herself to her calling and lives a life of study and fighting suddenly Buffy’s
life looks quite cushy in comparison. For a second Buffy thinks that Kendra
might have staked Angel and panic sets in. There’s no doubt that if they had
found Angel’s remains then Kendra would have gone the same way. Bringing Kendra
into the show allows us to see a very funny jealous streak in Buffy and some
priceless line deliveries from Sarah Michelle Gellar (‘What do you mean it
would be of no use in my case? What’s wrong with my case?’). Suddenly
with a second Slayer on the scene Buffy starts thinking of a future of her own
making rather than one that has been mapped out for her (making sense of the
careers fair material in the first part that felt like it was wasting time).
Like Buffy, we have grown to like Kendra and wouldn’t mind spending more time
with her.
Witchy Willow: More great comedy from Willow as she shows
appropriate indignation at the thought that Buffy might be accused of kissing a
vampire…until she remembers that she does do that. Pairing hyper
ambitious Willow up with super laid back Oz works a treat and his assertion
that doing well at school leads to jobs (something that he really has no
interest in) made me chuckle. He never quite reacts in the way that you expect
and smiles at the shock of being shot rather than screaming in pain. I know
somebody who is very like Oz in real life and if he showed any serious amount
of emotion then I would know that something was very wrong. When all the other
characters are like emotional fireworks Oz is just about the perfect
refreshment.
Gorgeous Geek: Finally all that tension that has been
building between Xander and Cordelia is released in a snog and a half but not
before one final almighty bitch fight. The kiss when it comes is accompanied by
some awesome overdramatic music but I was too busy laughing my head off at
their deadpan reactions to what their lips have just done against their will.
Very funny stuff. It could have been a one off moment but their smooches at the
climax when they promise to never do it again sets a promising new trend.
Undead Brit: I would have thought that nothing could be
sexier than Spike and Drusilla and their twisted relationship but once you add
Angel to the mix they make a threesome that is so violent and provocative that
Buffy would never quite reach these levels of seduction again. When Angel
suffers a change of character in a few episodes time I will be pretty much hot
under the collar until the end of the season! In What’s My Line Spike brings
Angel as a present for Drusilla and enjoys watching her abusive and salivate
over him. Its wonderfully perverse.
Mad Hatter: Now its Drusilla’s turn to torture Angel just as
he did to her when he drove her out of her mind before he sired her. She proves
quite handy with holy water, making his chest sizzle and burn. She growls at
him like a puppy dog too.
Caustic Cordy: Subverting all the clichés that says women
should be inveterate screamers simply because of their sex, Cordelia is paired
up with the equally cowardly Xander who would give her a run for her money in
the ear splitter stakes. When it comes to Cordy being covered in maggots and
hosed down by Xander…well I was basking in the glory of a show that felt as
though it was finally letting go and having some fun.
Puppy Dog Eyes: Angel, locked in a room, shivering and close
to death…did Marti Noxon read my wish list because this episode couldn’t have
started out any better for me! Kendra points out that Angel is a vampire and he
should die. If only they had listened to him we could have been spared the
death of one of the regulars, his pitiful return in series three and his own
show. I suppose that’s not entirely fair – some people do like his show. Just
not me.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘Back off Pink Ranger!’ and ‘Doesn’t
anyone just say hello where you come from?’ – there is great comedy mileage in
Kendra’s sledgehammer approach to…well everything.
‘So you’re a Slayer, huh? I like that in a woman.’
‘Don’t feel bad for Angel because he has something you
don’t’ ‘What’s that?’ ‘Five minutes.’
‘That’s me favourite shirt! That’s me only shirt!’ –
Kendra’s best line!
The Good: I love the idea of there being a second Slayer and
Buffy’s death in Prophecy Girl being more than just a dramatic cheat but
actually having consequences. Its even better that they waited nearly half a
season to drop this bombshell on us. It means that Buffy is thinking long term
as a show and that things that we might appear to have been forgotten about
might come back to bite us on the butt in the future (it’s a trick that Buffy
would pull off time and again and sometimes with devastating results – think
‘Joyce’ and ‘tumour’). Xander and Cordelia being menaced by an assassin that
can burst into a shower of maggots and reform in a second is not only
spectacularly gross but also very funny. I started to think I had wandered into
a Pink Panther movie when the police officer turns out to be another assassin
in a perfectly timed shock. The visual of a gun being fired in a High School
still gives me the shivers. Willy is so marvellously toady that he manages to
betray Buffy just seconds after bigging himself up for helping her out. I hope
we get to see him again. And his bar is a great new location. Two Slayers,
loads of assassins, vampires and a whole bunch of Scoobies make for an exciting
climax in the church as Drusilla is restored to her wretched self. Its worth it
see Buffy and Kendra fighting side by side and their side by side ass kicking
is a joy to watch. The organ smashing down on Spike is really nasty and a
revenge that has been a long time coming. Its just one of many terrific stunts
in the final act in show that has just about perfected its action sequences.
The Bad: Kendra’s accent continues to disturb me. As far as
Buffy the Vampire Slayer goes the only accent that is this indecipherable is
the exquisitely un-cockney Molly in season seven. Its trying to ape Caribbean
but the way she accentuates every single syllable makes her sound as though she
might have learning difficulties. What the hell is up with the wallpaper in the
classroom that Xander and Cordelia avail themselves of at the conclusion?
Classrooms have wallpaper? Hell if that is all I can find to have a go at we
are doing pretty damn well.
Moment to Watch Out For: Given the flames that are writhing
you could well imagine that the destructive climax might have been the last we
saw of Spike and Drusilla but its just a trick to make the final scene all the
more powerful. Drusilla, stronger than ever, rises from the wreckage holding
Spike. Now she is going to take care of him. This is great stuff and promises
an interesting future for this pair.
Fashion Statement: Angel is tossed into the soaking wet
sewers and his shirt accidentally falls open to reveal his chest glistening wet
– Buffy gets sexier by the minute. Willow is sporting red dungarees which
should be wrong for anybody over the age of six but somehow manages to make her
look cuter than ever. How does she do that? Not sure what’s going on with
Kendra’s earrings (she looks like she’s been to visit Pat Butcher on Albert
Square) but aside from that she is dressed for business. Oddly in comparison
Buffy looks like she is off to the lumber yard for work experience.
Result: One thing that really stood out about the conclusion
to this generally superb two parter was how funny the dialogue was. That Marti
Noxon was quite a find and she has the characters speech patterns down pat
(more than down pat – they have rarely been written for this well thus far in
the series even by their creator). The Slayer mythology is turned on its head
and paves the way for an even more dramatic development to drive series three
and there is more fun to be had with unbelievably hot Spike/Drusilla/Angel
combination. Blissful comedy moments abound as Xander and Cordelia fall into
each others arms against their better judgement and Oz and Willow continue
their cuddlesome romance. The action is pretty much relentless and you’ve got
everything from maggots crawling under doors, guns being fired at Sunnydale
High and a truly destructive climax that sees a church ruined by a martial arts
smack down. Season two has been climbing out of its early episode blues and
this has been one of the most confident examples yet things are continually on
the up. I think the biggest success of this episode is that it can introduce a
character as weird as Kendra and by the end I was longing for her to hang
around. For a girl with an accent that strange that is working some serious
magic. Overall this has been a triumphant of witty writing and fantastic
performances, pushing the series forwards and giving everybody a chance to
shine: 9/10
Ted written by David Greenwalt & Joss Whedon and
directed by Bruce Seth Green
What’s it about: Buffy has a new stepfather and he’s a real
piece of work…
The Chosen One: We learn that when Buffy has a rough day she
slaps around the vampires for a while rather than simply staking them. Today
she’s in a really bad mood so its an especially bad evening to rise from the
grave. The writers keep finding new ways to make Buffy’s life interesting and
throwing Ted into the mix is the best example yet because it has nothing at all
to do with her role as the Slayer. Who would have thought that she would have
so much to lose in her sparse personal life? Speaking as somebody whose father
left at a young age and his mother tried out a number of possible replacements
(I make that sound way more slutty than it actually was) I went through similar
sort of feelings to Buffy when I was growing up and I can empathise with her
trying to hold onto the tight the relationship she has with her mother. Is
there a guy out there who would ever satisfy Buffy? Only her father, I’m
guessing. The moment I found most frightening was when Buffy tells her mother
that Ted threatened to hit her and she brushes it off as something that a kid
trying to adjust to such a big change would say. How many households work in
that way with one parent ruling with an iron fist and the other pretending that
it isn’t happening? Sure some kids cry wolf but some don’t. And this
really taps into that nightmare. Buffy reminded me of Dexter in that until Ted
crossed a line (actually physically striking her) she felt honour bound to put
up with his encroaching behaviour. They both have a code that cannot be
breached but like Dexter, Buffy lets rip when Ted finally crosses that line.
The silence between Joyce and Buffy after Ted has been killed is
deafening, it’s the epitome of parental disappointment without saying a word.
Ripper: Jenny is having trouble sleeping after her
experiences in The Dark Age and Giles is having trouble trying to make
reasonable conversation with her. He’s desperately concerned for her (and
Anthony Stewart Head does do adorable puppy dog eyes) and she feels bad for not
feeling better about what has happened. Damn, why can’t these silly adults just
leap into each others arms whilst they have the chance? What’s so great about
making Jenny the victim like this is that our attentions are completely
diverted away from the fact that she has a secret of her own. Shooting Giles in
the butt is as good a way as any to take her revenge on him and affords him the
awesome opportunity of literally pulling it out of his ass and staking the
vampire with it. What a guy.
Gorgeous Geek: The Ballad of Xander and Cordelia continues
with him trying to compliment her and her going nuts because that is precisely
the sort of out of character behaviour that will give their smooching game
away!
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘I don’t get it. Buffy’s, like, the
Slayer. Shouldn’t she have…’ ‘What? A licence to kill?’ ‘Well not for fun. But
she’s like Superman. Shouldn’t there be different rules for her?’ ‘Sure in a
facist society!’ ‘Right! Why can’t we have one of those?’ – Not only very funny
but some great points made too. The episode doesn’t have the time to explore
the idea of a rogue Slayer her so I’m pleased that it would feature so
prominently in season three.
The Good: As usual Buffy is playing with expectations and
whilst it might appear that the forces of darkness have finally caught up with
the Slayer domestically it actually turns out to be Joyce and her new boyfriend
caught in a clinch on the work surface. Prepare yourself for much mileage about
old people making old! John Ritter plays his part perfectly and he has the
exact look of a man who could slip almost invisibly into a home and destroy it
from within (and oddly looks a lot like Buffy’s real father which pushes the
‘replacement’ feeling even further). Whilst the episode is making Buffy out to
be the only one who doesn’t like Ted, it really is excellent because only we
are privy to the few (very scary) moments where he turns on her. The way he
slowly starts imposing his rules on the Summers household are deeply
uncomfortable, especially to Buffy who has been giving quite a bit of freedom
until now. Ted’s barely restrained anger when he starts hitting his leg with
the golf club and threatening to beat on Buffy takes this episode to a whole
new level of discomfort. We’re talking about an abusive man crowbarring his way
into Buffy’s house and seducing her family and friends. Forget giant Preying
Manti or Invisible Girls, that is a really scary premise. The way Ted manages
to be both patronising and appearing to be fatherly at the same time is really
quite impressive but its when he finally invades Buffy’s bedroom when the
episode gets really dark. Frankly a crappy science fiction twist was
needed at this point because things surely couldn’t get much creepier than
this. It was either turn Ted in a crazed robot or have him molest Buffy and at
this stage of the game the show wouldn’t be prepared to go that far. The idea
of a Slayer accidentally murdering a human being is only played for a couple of
(very effective) scenes but is such a dramatic idea its wheeled out again next
year in the episode Consequences.
The Bad: By making Buffy so savvy about Ted has the adverse
effect of making Joyce, Xander and Willow look a bit stupid. If all it takes to
seduce them is a pizza and a cookie then the Earth genuinely is doomed. When it
comes to Buffy beating the shit out of Ted Joyce is made to look like a right
moron. Surely she can see that Ted has stopped fighting her and could
physically overpower her daughter if he wanted to? Ted winding up being a robot
does rather threaten to undo all the good work that is done earlier in the
episode. I say threaten because whilst the twist is absurd (and he suddenly
becomes something much less threatening and more comic book) the feelings that
Buffy and Joyce have experienced are very real. But there’s no denying that his
crappy lines (‘I don’t take orders from women! I’m not wired that way!’) and
easy defeat try and sink what has otherwise been a pretty decent episode. Oh
and Joyce buying his excuse about being dead for just under six minutes…it
might be tasteless to suggest that she needs a lobotomy but Jesus! Until she is
let in on the secret her ability for denial and self delusion is incredible.
Skeletons in the closet? Really?
Moment to Watch Out For: Imagine how the scenes of Ted
menacing the Summers women in their own house would have played out had he just
been an abusive man? Brrr… Even when playing the malfunctioning robot version
of Ted there is something threatening about Ted.
Fashion Statement: Willow in dungarees in What’s My Line was
really cute but Buffy in dungarees is just hot.
Result: Conventional wisdom will tell you that Ted is half
an hour of dark drama with ten minutes of ludicrous science fiction tacked on
the end. Its not an unfair assessment although I don’t think it goes downhill
quite as spectacularly as others. Everything about Ted the character gives me
the chills from the way he is written to invasively spread into every aspect of
Buffy’s life, how he crosses the line with her so publicly and invisibly and
most importantly thanks to John Ritter’s incredible turn as the all American
hero that has knocked Joyce off her feet. He’s a great creation and would have
been more effective had he not turned out to be a lumbering robot with literal
skeletons in his closet (they still haven’t quite got a handle on this restraint
malarkey). The episode throws up some interesting questions about Buffy’s
violent reaction to things not going her way and her potential danger to the
public that would be picked up again in series three. And I really liked how
the Xander/Cordelia and Giles/Jenny romances were weaved into this tale because
it proves once and for all there is no longer such thing as a standalone on
this show. Even a dud will be peppered with likable continuing storylines. Ted
turns out to be a robot as so what looks like disturbing developments in the
Slayer’s life winds up being an interesting ‘what if?’ episode instead. The
Slayer versus robot conclusion was shocking the first time around (I Robot, You
Jane) but everything that comes before it worked for me: 7/10
Bad Eggs written by Marti Noxon and directed by David
Greenwalt
What’s it about: A school project goes horribly wrong when
eggs hatch and possess students at Sunnydale High. Yep, I don’t know how that
one made it off the drawing board either.
The Chosen One: The relationship between Buffy and Angel is
starting to feel a little kindergarten because all we ever see them get up to
is kissing! I realise that this is about to change in a spectacular way and it
can’t come soon enough. Buffy tries to murder her young with the biggest iron
known to mankind and stabs it death with some scissors. I’m starting to wonder
if parenthood isn’t perhaps for her. Joyce is in full on nazi-mode in Bad Eggs
and no matter what Buffy says or does she simply lands herself in more hot
water. Joyce finds Buffy a terrible burden and far too irresponsible. Boy is
she in for a shock when she finds out the truth. This episode is proof that
Buffy and Xander need Giles and Willow to do all the book work because once
their friends have become possessed they stand in the library looking like lost
tourists wondering where to look first for information on the latest nasty.
Gorgeous Geek: ‘This would work a lot better for me if
you didn’t talk’ ‘Well it would work much better for me with the lights off!’
How much more fun is Xander since he has gotten over his Buffy obsession and
found himself a smooch mate? Even better, that pair of lips belongs to Cordelia
and so there’s plenty of amusing consensual hate to go with all the rampant
lust. How their friends aren’t aware that these two are at it is beyond me
because their bitching has gone through the roof and they pretty much declare
all out war in the middle of a class. I cannot believe that Xander boiled
his egg. When that guy is funny, he’s really funny. Then when he decides that
there’s nothing left to eat so he may as well nosh on his egg (‘sorry,
junior’)…I was snorting coffee through my nose for laughing!
Puppy Dog Eyes: Angel gives Buffy ‘the look’ (see the Angel
section title about half a sentence back) when he admits that he cannot have
children. That’s a massive revelation to drop in the middle of this idiotic
episode and well worth exploring in more depth. Buffy says that when she looks
into the future all she sees is Angel but that’s easy enough to say at this
young age. In the future she might very well want children (or have one dropped
in her lap).
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘Its an egg Buffy. It doesn’t emote.’
The Good: We finally get to visit the mythical Sunnydale
mall! I think this one of only a very few times we see this much talked about
but rarely visited location!
The Bad: There is something really off about the teaser
which sees Buffy forgetting to pick up Joyce’s dress because she is distracted
by a rubbish hick vampire. It ends on something of a punchline but it’s the
kind that’s made at a party where nobody laughs and everybody coughs to cover
the silence. Please tell me the ‘keep an egg for a week’ lesson is just made
up? Because I had sex education lessons when I was at school and we never did
anything as pre-school as this. Usually it consisted of everybody perving over
a video that showed the barest glimpse of naked flesh and shoving a condom on a
banana. Imagine if Buffy and Angel were taken out by the Gorge brothers? What
an embarrassing end to the series that would be. I’m not saying that Buffy
always was at the cutting edge of special effects (especially in its cash
starved first couple of years) but the tendrils breaking free of the egg and
crawling across the bed looks abysmal. An effect that has been reversed
more I never did see! I’ve always thought that Spike and Angelus were really
well done villains (I speak in jest – they are) but now I’m starting to
wonder if its just because the competition in season two is incredibly lame.
The Anointed One, Frankenstein’s football player, the Inca Princess, the
vacuous Frat Boys, the drippy one from Roswell, robot Ted and now the
Gorge brothers. People shouldn’t be moaning about the standard of villainy in
season six – its season two were all the lame asses are hanging out! Why is it
that everybody becomes terminally stupid when a possession episode comes along?
Willow starts talking monosyllabically and with a monotone and yet nobody twigs
that there might be something wrong with her. Where did the creature come from?
What did it want? Simply to hatch more eggs? Was it an alien or a demon or what?
Did everybody simply forget that they were possessed? The Gorges have no plot
function whatsoever and I wonder if they were just added to pad out the flimsy
possession plot that was under running? They simply show up at the climax as a
distraction, one gets eaten and the other runs off to fight another day. I’m
not sure what the point of them was.
Moment to Watch Out For: The little puppteered parasites
reminded me of the ones from Star Trek TNG’s Conspiracy. That’s where the
comparisons end though because whilst they both ape b movies, one is genuinely
creepy and graphic and the other is a vapid mess. Unfortunately Buffy is not
the former.
Result: You know that period in the middle of season six
where it feels like sod all is happening in Sunnydale and we get throwaway
episodes like Gone and Doublemeat Palace back to back…Bad Eggs feels as though
it belongs in that period because it shares a similar sense of irrelevance and
silliness. Buffy’s snogging Angel, Xander’s snogging Cordelia and a load of whacky
eggs are hatching alien body snatchers that want to unleash an epic version of
Krang from Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles on the world. And if that sounds
like an intellectual treat to you then you might just be a tad
disappointed. The Gorge brothers and
the possession plots have nothing to do with each other and both are
underwritten and lack any kind of dramatic or humorous impact. There are so
many unanswered questions about the eggs and their progenitor that I would have
happily have cut the odd snogging scene (there are an awful lot of them) to
give this plot some context and reason. This isn’t so much a parody of b movies
because there is no Buffy post-modern wink at the audience, it simply is
a contemporary b movie with little horror, no humour and a complete lack of
character development to give it any kind of point. Only the exquisite
Alexander Harris makes this worth watching: 3/10
Surprise written by Marti Noxon and directed by Michael
Lange
What’s it about: Two star crossed lovers who the fates are
about to conspire against in a pretty permanent sort of way…
The Chosen One: Buffy’s dreams have always had a prophetic
quality to them and when she dreams about Angel’s death it really shakes her
up. Buffy and Angel are being built up as the ultimate modern day Romeo
& Juliet, a love that comes at a terrible price not only to themselves
but their friends and family. As the season progresses there seems to be
constant reminders as to why the Buffy and Angel relationship simply cannot
work. His past is full of horrors, she’s sworn an oath to kill all of his kind,
he can’t give her kids and even something as simple as her morning glory being
his bedtime shows how they cannot function in a normal relationship. Following
on from something as daft as Bad Eggs with discussion of Buffy losing her
virginity is astonishing, its as mature and sophisticated as the evil mutant
eggs was facile. Suddenly all that smooching between Buffy and Angel over the
last couple of episodes begins to make sense. They had to show them relaxing
into their relationship in order to make their split here as dramatic as
possible. This isn’t the sort of melodramatic angst I was complaining about
earlier in the season, their split here is played for real. Gellar and
Boreanaz invest a lot of emotion into these goodbye scenes and as a result
their relationship feels much more mature. Buffy and Angel, freezing and soaked
to the skin, finally take their relationship to the next level and it’s a
beautifully filmed (especially the shadow of the rain pouring down the window
on the wall) and powerfully acted sequence. Watching them here you genuinely
believe that Buffy and Angel ache for each other. Anybody who has been
that powerfully in love will recognise this.
Witchy Willow: All of the character arcs that have been
bubbling under seem to be coming to a head in this mid season two parter and
Willow and Oz take their first steps towards becoming a couple. I love the way
Oz asks her out for a date and Willows reaction (‘if it helps I’m going to say
yes’) made me melt. These two should be as sugary sweet as Naomi Wildman from
Star Trek Voyager joining forces with Winnie the Pooh but somehow their not.
They manage to be cuddlesome without making me feel sick.
Gorgeous Geek: ‘This thing with us, despite our better
judgement, keeps on happening’ Even the Xander/Cordy snogathan is addressed
with our favourite nerd wanting to go on an official date with Cordelia to
Buffy’s birthday. Unfortunately he forgets who it is that he is locking lips
with and she firmly (and without any apology) reminds him that any public
recognition of their ‘thing’ would be social suicide for her.
Mad Hatter: I wasn’t sure how they were going to continue
Drusilla’s storyline after her spectacular recovery in What’s My Line but I’m
pleased that we have returned to her and Spike so soon. It seems that any
episode not featuring them in season two is doomed to failiure whereas any that
they appear in (whether they have a great role or not – Halloween) seems to
work. I love the fact that Drusilla is so dangerously, unpredictably mad. This
could have so easily been misjudged but she is simply so loop-de-loop and flies
off the handle at the strangest of things (like she does here over the flowers
for her party) that I simply cannot guess how she is going to react next.
That’s really refreshing in a character. There was a moment where she
threatened to pop out the eyes of one of her goons when he failed her and
instead she pats him on the head like a puppy dog. She’s truly gaga in all the
best ways and she throws one hell of a party (I love that vampires can be seen
scooping blood from a punch bowl!). Her present from Spike (who remains very
much in the shadows here, trapped in a wheelchair) is the end of humanity. Just
what a girl always wanted! Her reaction to Judge burning the life out one of
her lackeys (‘Do it again! Do it again!) made me scream with laughter.
The Good: The episode opens on a fantastic dream sequence
that proves how far Buffy has come in a year and a half. There was a similar
dream sequence at the beginning of the series but it was basically a montage of
whatever episodes they had already shot. Surprise’s dream sequence is all new
material and has that frightening, discordant, unreality to it that the best
examples of this sort of thing have. Drusilla pursues Buffy silently through
her hallway and she walks from her house to the Bronze in a moment where Willow
is sitting taking tea with a monkey and Angel is murdered. The shot of his hand
crumbling as it slowly reaches out for Buffy is exceptional. The truth about
Jenny starts to emerge and we learn that everything that we have been told
about the character is a fabrication and that she infiltrated the Scooby gang
for a purpose – to watch over Angel and ensure that he doesn’t have even one
moment of happiness. The fact that this has never even been hinted at should
make this development feel forced but it never does, the very fact that Jenny’s
past has been left obscure feels deliberate and filling in the gaps in such a
surprising way feels very right. Jenny has gone from being a cute love interest
for Giles to a victim of his past and now feels like a threat that has quietly
invaded the group purposefully. That’s some good development considering her
limited screen time. There’s a great bluff here where it looks as though Jenny
is walking Buffy into a trap when she is in fact only escorting her to her
surprise birthday party…but they are hijacked by vampires anyway and it does
turn into a dangerous situation. Suddenly all bets are off as far as Jenny is
concerned and that’s another really good feeling. The episode keeps developing
its characters and Buffy’s glass shattering entrance to her party means that Oz
is in on the supernatural secret on his first date with Willow. Finally we are
given a villain worthy of some build up. The Judge is marvellously conceived, a
demon that could not be killed and it took an entire army (most of which were
wiped out) to dismember him and send him to the four corners of the world. He’s
mythologised (‘his touch can burn the humanity out of you’) and spoken about
reverently before he makes it to the screen which makes his eventual appearance
feel like something big is happening and that a very real threat is coming
together. Its nice to see Brian Thompson back (he also played Luke in the first
episode of the series and was just about the most menacing vampire the series
would ever offer us) and I really wish they could have figured a way for him to
become a series regular.
Moment to Watch Out For: The dramatic cliffhanger left me
reeling. What could possibly have happened to Angel to make him leap away from
Buffy in bed and throw himself out into the rain screaming in pain? This
unpredictable episode keeps on offering surprises.
Orchestra: The Buffy/Angel ‘Close Your Eyes’ theme is
delicate and beautiful, a triumph on the part of Christophe Beck.
Result: Exceptional drama, Surprise is so far removed from
the goofiness of Bad Eggs it astonishes me that they took place in the same series,
let alone the same season. And if you had told me that they were written by the
same writer after watching them cold I would have laughed in your face. This is
Buffy for adults and Marti Noxon has written a beautiful script that juggles
all manner of exciting character arcs but rightly places the Buffy and Angel
romance at the centre of the action. Not even Joss Whedon has (thus far)
written as well for the shows central characters and the resulting episode
illicits the best performances yet from Sarah Michelle Gellar and David
Boreanaz. For once I was convinced of their love for each other rather than
thinking of their relationship as a causal teen romance. Michael Lange’s
direction serves the script very well and he injects a great deal of excitement
and sensuality into the piece. I really have no complaints about this one, it
just got better as it gathered momentum and closed on a mysterious and dramatic
cliffhanger. Part two has a lot to live up to: 9/10
Innocence written and directed by Joss Whedon
What’s it about: Angel has undergone a personality change
after his night of passion with Buffy…
The Chosen One: The most heartbreaking portrayal of Buffy to
date and if you are moved by the moment when she collapses in bed in a flood of
tears then there is probably no hope for your soul. Buffy waking up alone after
sleeping with Angel for the first time is a wonderful metaphor for being left
high and dry by some douche bag. Joyce says that Buffy looks different but she
doesn’t quite know why – as ever mother knows best. Angel as the ‘morning after
jerk’ is so well done because he’s so casual about how awful she was in bed.
Its painful to watch Buffy crumble under his sarcasm and ask tentatively ‘was I
not good?’ If he wanted to hurt her, then criticizing one of the single most
important moments in her life whilst pretending to be her Angel is just about
the deepest thrust he could have made (‘I’ll call you…’). Buffy is
consumed by grief and Sarah Michelle Gellar has never looked so delicate in the
role. By hurting everybody around her Angelus is only making it easier for
Buffy to kill him. Knock her down and she comes back twice as strong and the
sight of tiny Buffy holding up a giant rock launcher is a delight. After
everything they have been through together Buffy cannot kill Angel but she does
leave him with the parting message of a painful kick in the nuts. What a girl.
Ripper: Jenny is still lingering behind the scenes in the
first half of this episode as an unseen menace. I love how Giles is so angry at
Buffy for accusing Jenny of being involved and then his shock when he discovers
that she is. Suddenly their whole relationship is called into question.
Did Jenny ever really love him or was she just after his Slayer? Nobody plays
puppy dog hurt like Anthony Head and the moment he ordered Jenny away from
Buffy reveals his quiet, restrained anger. Even better is his awkward reaction
to the news of Buffy’s love making with Angel setting off this chain of events.
He’s just so British. He more than makes up for this in the conclusion when
Buffy thinks that he is going to go mad at her for being so reckless and he
gently assures that all she will get from him is support and respect. I was
reaching for the tissues!
Witchy Willow: Finally the love triangle between Willow,
Xander and Buffy is reaping some major dramatic rewards. Its high time that she
found out about Xander and Cordy and her mad rant at him for preferring to be
with somebody that he hates than being with her really hits home after a season
and a half of watching Willow moon over him. So many parts of this episode see
Joss Whedon showing his hand after playing a long game moving these characters
into the right positions. Willow thinks that Xander has ‘gross emotion
problems’ and wants him to know that things are not okay between them. Alison
Hannigan plays these scenes with such a righteous anger that its impossible not
to be completely in love with her. Oz comes along to make it all right by
telling her that sometimes he fantasies about kissing her in class (because
thinking about class is something he would never do) but he wont do it
for real just to get back at Xander. When he kisses her in his fantasies, she’s
kissing him back. Willow looks rightfully impressed.
Mad Hatter: The advent of evil Angel means Drusilla isn’t as
relevant as she was in Surprise but regardless she still gets a number of
dreamy, insane moments. I love her counting the stars during the day and her
wobbly after the Judge is taken out is worth the admission price of the episode
alone.
Caustic Cordy: She seems to have slipped invisibly into the
Scooby gang permanently, hasn’t she? I’m not complaining, her dialogue rocks.
Puppy Dog Eyes: Suddenly, unexpectedly, David Boreanaz is alive.
He’s no longer sleepwalking through his not particularly challenging role of
Angel but instead ramps up the tension by making Angelus as nasty, violent and
sarcastic as possible. Turning Angel into a psychotic killing machine is the
best move the series has made yet and proves that Joss Whedon isn’t afraid to
change things radically to create good drama. Angelus sucking the tobacco from
his first victims neck and releasing it in one great puff after she falls to
the ground might just be the coolest thing I have ever seen a bad guy do on
television. Now Spike, Drusilla and Angel are a family of blood, feeding and
playing. The three of them together against Buffy is probably as nasty and
horny as his show ever got. He enjoys winding up Spike and flirting with Dru
but he isn’t aversed to kissing him either. Angelus doesn’t want to do anything
as crass and as obvious as destroying the world, he wants to hurt Buffy simply
because she made him feel. There’s a terrific moment where he lures
Willow into his clutches and tries to crush her neck, playing on the fact that
all of Buffy’s friends trust Angel.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘When do we destroy the world already?’
‘No more of this I’ve got a soul crap?’ ‘What can I say? I
was going through a phase…’
Cordelia: ‘This is great. There’s an unkillable demon in
town, Angel’s joined his team, the Slayer’s a basket case…I’d say we’ve hit
bottom’ Xander: ‘I have a plan’ Cordelia: ‘Oh no, here’s a lower place!’
‘Where something trashy…er.’
‘To kill this girl, you have to love her…’
‘I’m seventeen. Looking at linoleum makes me want to have
sex.’
The Good: Joss Whedon I has come of age and knocks out one
memorable character moment after another. One of the finest comes when Buffy
realises that it was her first sexual encounter that turned Angel bad, Giles
insensitively doesn’t pick up on that and Willow is the only person who can.
Its all so expertly done it makes you wonder why he wasted his time with angst
ridden evil Buffy from the season opener. He clearly understands these
characters to the core. Uncle Enios’ death is superbly handled too, Angel’s
visit to him is well timed to surprise and it means that Jenny has lost
something personal to this fight too. Whedon isn’t afraid to put continuity
from previous episodes to good use such as Xander’s ‘sexy army training’ here.
Things move so fast in this episode and Angelus behaves so violently that you
might believe that this is the end for his character. Buffy with the rocket
launcher blowing up the Judge might be Buffy at its least restrained (and did
nobody report this terrorising incident to the authorities?) but its still the
shiniest nugget of pure cool I have ever seen. Filmed in slow motion with
Angelus and Drusilla diving out of the way, I was mimicking Dru from the
previous episode (‘Do it again! Do it again!’). Enios was the easy way that
Whedon could have turned Angel back again and so to avoid that and continue
this nightmare of Buffy’s is all the more impressive.
The Bad: Considering the sex scenes between Buffy and Riley
and Buffy and Spike are so marvellously indecent, the dream sequence/flashback
of Buffy and Angel writhing between crisp, clean sheets seems almost tame in
comparison. Perhaps that’s just how she remembers it. The downside of making
Angel the bad guy is that it leaves Brian Thompson’s Judge on the sidelines for
too long and as soon as he decides to do something he is killed. It feels as
though he was hardly worth all the build up for such an easy defeat. Plus who
attacks one shopping mall? I suppose you have to start somewhere!
Moment to Watch Out For: Its Sarah Michelle Gellar’s most
challenging episode yet and she makes every scene count.
Orchestra: Massive kudos for Christophe Beck’s unforgettable
music for this episode. He has really come into his own here and pulls out
everything from the delicate ‘Close Your Eyes’ theme to the epic and momentous
score when the Judge is taken down.
Foreboding: Oz and Willow are about to decide the future of
their relationship in Phases, Xander and Cordy theirs in Bewitched, Bothered
and Bewildered and Giles and Jenny theirs in Passion. Buffy and Angelus’
rivalry will continue on throughout the rest of the season.
Result: Welcome Joss Whedon, king of dramatic storytelling
and breaker of hearts. Innocence is one of my favourite episodes of Buffy
because it has such a momentous feel to its events and takes all of its
characters to some dark places only to empower them again by the climax. Buffy
and Angel are wrenched apart, Xander and Cordelia are exposed, Giles questions
his relationship with Jenny and Oz reveals how he feels to Willow. In the last
episode Buffy and Angel were clinging onto each other as if their very lives
depended on it and in this one they are kicking the shit out of each other
fully intent on murder one another. It proves how quickly and realistically
Buffy can develop that this transition feels dramatically satisfying and
seamless. Angelus is simply the best villain this show has ever offered us and
he goes straight for the hurt in some agonising scenes. Suddenly the show has
shifted focus and it feels much more exciting and adult as a result. The fact
that Angelus hasn’t transformed back at the end of the episode proves that this
show is willing to sustain its shocks and upset the audience to provide them
with what they need. There are too many memorable moments to mention and the
cast are all at the top of their game. I don’t even care that the Judge subplot
is spectacularly fudge because everything on offer here is so damn assured.
Phenomenal stuff: 10/10
Phases written by Rob Des Hotel & Dean Batali and
directed by Bruce Seth Green
What’s it about: Oz is bitten and undergoes a transformation
and Willow wants to define their relationship…
The Chosen One: There are quite a few times in this shows
run where Buffy is put through the emotional ringer and they have to follow up
her hurt with something a lot lighter to get the character back on track. Into
the Woods is followed by Triangle. The Body & Forever are followed by
Intervention. After Life is followed by Life Serial. This is the first instance
and they get the balance just about right by giving the character something
murderous to chase after whilst still showing her handling the aftermath of her
night of passion with Angel. If in doubt, pair Buffy up with Giles because they
are comedy gold together. There is a very weird moment between Buffy and Xander
where it looks like they might kiss when he comforts her after Angel’s ‘gift.’
These kids need to get their hormones under control! Aren’t their lives
complicated enough?
Ripper: Giles doesn’t seem to be letting his split from
Jenny affect him too much this week because he is thrilled to be investigating
werewolves. Finally one of the classics! Something is slightly off about him
though since he is laughing at Xander’s jokes which would be unthinkable under
normal circumstances (and thankfully next week he is back to disapproving of
him). Despite what we learnt in The Dark Age it appears that Giles may have had
quite a sheltered upbringing since he doesn’t have a clue what snoggers corner
is actually all about and needs Buffy to explain it to him. Plus some gossip.
Witchy Willow: It would appear that no romance on this show
can ever run smoothly. I guess that’s what makes them so engaging to watch
because we get to see these characters reach such highs and lows. The Oz/Willow
relationship was in danger of becoming sugar sweet (they are both so adorable
they are practically a massive hug in human form) and so by making her
boyfriend a werewolf it prevents them from being too cute. It feels very
different from the tragedy that the Buffy/Angel relationship has just suffered
and I love the way that it brings Oz and Willow together rather than tearing
them apart. Oz has a spectacular non reaction to discovering that he is the werewolf
and only shows concern when he thinks that he may have hurt this friends. After
trying to understand why Oz keeps making such delicate gestures of affection
and pulling away from actually seizing a relationship with her Willow bursts
into his house and has a wonderful rant. How does Alison Hannigan make these
moments so lovely? Coming from anybody else’s mouth this would be a tedious
lecture! ‘No godammit we’ll talk about it now!’ Proving that she is no
slouch in the action department Willow is quite adept with both a trash can and
a tranquilliser gun! I don’t think Oz will be trying to nibble her any more
after this treatment. The last scene between them where they finally put the
shaggy dog issue aside and define their relationship is pure sunshine. When we
pause on Oz thinking that Willow is the most wonderful girl on the planet (‘a
werewolf in love’) it is a joyful pause in what is generally a depressing
(but gripping) second half of series two. The biggest difference between Buffy
and Angel and Willow and Oz is that I find the former far more effective when
they are ripped apart at the seams but I am always rooting for the
latter. Should they ever split I might just give up television.
Gorgeous Geek: It seems the only way that Xander and
Cordelia can communicate is either through tongues or insults. She definitely
has a point that he obsesses about his friends too much, though. He should take
note or he might just lose the hottest girl he has ever had a clinch with. I
really enjoyed the sequence with the pair of them in the car being attacked by
the werewolf. Its aping all those dreadful (and when I say dreadful I of course
mean wonderful) teen wolf flicks where the jock and his girlfriend are
getting jiggy on Lovers Lane and the wolf tears off the roof and slaughters
them. Hilariously Xander channels the hyena that possessed him in The Pack
whilst staring Oz right in the face…and pins the blame on Larry! Very
insightful Mr Harris!
Caustic Cordy: How brilliant to see Cordy and Willow hanging
out and slagging off the men in their life. How far have these characters come
since the pilot when she was angry with Willow for simply existing?
Puppy Dog Eyes: Its terrifying to see Angelus posing as
Angel and luring innocent girls to their deaths.
Mr Snidey: Has Snyder been killed? I’ve really missed the
little troll. Obviously DS9 was keeping Armin Shimmerman busy at this stage.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘That’s great Larry. You’ve really
mastered the single entendre.’
‘What’s his number? Oh yeah – 1800 I’m dating a skanky ho!’
‘Angel sends his love…’
‘He said he was going through all these changes and then he
went through all these changes…’
‘I spoke to Giles. He said I’ll be okay, ‘’ll just have to
lock myself up around the full moon. Only he used more words than that. And a
globe.’
‘Three days out of the month I’m not that fun to be around
either’ – that’s a phenomenal line!
The Good: There’s an awful lot of continuity used in this
episode which is something that I thought Buffy had always done in order to
make the show feel like one long running saga but I haven’t really noticed it
until now. Oz mentions how the cheerleading trophy’s eyes follows you about
(The Witch), Xander mentions Willow’s robotic love affair (I Robot, You Jane)
and how he nearly lost his head (Teachers Pet). Perhaps not the best episodes
to remind us of but I appreciate the gesture. Larry is so utterly chauvinistic
he was either going to turn out to be the werewolf or a closet gay. I’m really
glad that it was the latter because it is much funnier and gives the show a
contemporary (for the time) edge. They really run with the theme by making some
of the male characters behaving especially animalistic (especially Larry and
Cain) so we suspect them and diverting our attention away from the real
culprit. Having Angelus send Buffy a dead friend with a message is a pleasing
reminder that he is still a threat and will continue to be so. I have seen an
awful lot of shows where men stand around and bitch about not understanding
their womenfolk. Its hugely refreshing to find a series that plays that in
reverse – the women are the characters that make sense and it’s the men and
their hot and cold attitude that drives them crazy. I genuinely think that
Buffy did the genre a world of good for the ladies.
The Bad: The werewolf costume is truly, truly
shocking. Given their budget they didn’t have much of an option then to try and
make a costume but what baffles me is how they didn’t edit this much quicker
and keep him in the shadows more. What’s especially irritating is that the mid
stage make up between Oz and the werewolf is actually very effective and would
have been more than enough to convince me.
Moment to Watch Out For: Xander outing Larry is one of the
most hilarious moments of season two and made all the funnier for us reacting
to the shock in exactly the same way Xander does and watching him squirm in the
most awkward of circumstances. The running gag of Larry thinking that Xander is
gay (‘you bring it out of me’) is hilarious but this mostly works
because whilst it is making us laugh it is also very touching.
Foreboding: Turning Oz into a werewolf was another smart
move because its another issue that the show can return to sporadically. Almost
invisibly the writers have built up a number of characters the show can return
to on a conveyor system and perpetuate the series (Spike, Drusilla, Angelus,
Oz, Cordelia).
Result: Phases is a wonderfully engaging take on your
typical teen werewolf tale in exactly the same way that Bad Eggs was a terrible
parody of a b-movie. Had it just been about Buffy and Giles hunting down a wolf
then it might have bombed but once you add the sensational Willow/Oz romance
into the mix and it becomes much more surprising and heartfelt. Thank goodness
the script sparkles because there was no way of making that werewolf costume a
genuine threat without some serious darkness and editing. The story moves at a
great pace and there are some very fun (especially Xander and Larry and Buffy’s
hilarious gossiping with Giles) and frightening (Angel on the move) moments
along the way. The show seems to have really found its voice since What’s My
Line and switches mood with incredible confidence these days. It’s a testament
to Alison Hannigan and Seth Green that this episode turns out as gorgeous as it
does. This has been a slow burn relationship and it now has an added
complication but there isn’t a single moment where you aren’t rooting for these
two wonderful characters to be happy. Let’s hope they improve that dodgy
costume though, Oz’s condition is here to stay and it opens up a whole new
avenue of storytelling for the series: 8/10
Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered written by Marti Noxon
and directed by James A. Contner
What’s it about: Xander is this weeks loser in love and he
decides to turn to the black arts to do something about it…
The Chosen One: Buffy is having a little time off this week
so Gellar can head off and make a movie and I have to admit her stand in is so
professional and eye catching that you barely notice that she is gone. Before
the rat takes her place Buffy walks into the library completely nude except for
a very revealing rain coat (‘aren’t you going to open your present?’). Dirty
mare. They have great fun finding silly dangers for the Buffy rat to face
including a hungry cat and a juicy lump of cheese sat on the edge of a mouse
trap. Oo-er!
Ripper: ‘Its obsession! Selfish, banal obsession!’ Giles
I showing solidarity and loyalty to Buffy but he clearly still cares deeply for
Jenny. His anger is much needed to restore some sanity to events but it has the
adverse effect of making you feel even more sorry for the hapless Xander.
Witchy Willow: Can I be the first on record to say that sex
kitten Willow is just wrong. This characters raison d’etre is that she
is the human interpretation of a fuzzy jumper on a cold winters day and
watching her try and devour Xander’s ear is absolutely gross (‘I want you,
Xander, to be my first’).
The Ballad of the Gorgeous Geek and Caustic Cordy: I
actually don’t think that Nicholas Brendon is the worlds greatest actor. He can
be obvious at how he approaches material and sometimes a little irritating when
the character isn’t characterised that way. However he is mostly a
charming and charismatic screen presence and given the chance to bring comedy
to life nine times out of ten he positively dazzles. He’s extremely likable and
that counts for a lot (ask John Barrowman, he’s built his acting career around
the fact). How can any episode that focuses on the exquisite (and probably my
favourite of all the Scooby dalliances) Xander/Cordelia romance? Born from
mutual loathing and lust, in which both participants have tried to prevent
themselves from indulging in and declared ‘a gross emotional problem’ by one of
Xander’s closest friends, it’s the romance that has blossomed despite
adversity. Everybody is under the impression that Xander could do better than
Cordelia which is strange because Cordelia thinks that she can do better than
Xander. Nobody does a comedy double take like Xander and his sissy fall to the
ground when I vampire emerges really made me chuckle. The day has finally come
when Cordelia is ostracised by her friends as news of her taste in men reaches
goes public and reaches her friends. What is her thoughtful and considered
reaction? To dump him on Valentines Day! Only somebody who has seen Supergirl
too many times and lacks any kind of maturity would even consider putting a
love spell on somebody and fortunately Xander is blessed (I suspect) with both
these qualities. I loved the moment where Cordy pretended that his necklace was
in her locker when she had been keeping it close to her hear all along –
throughout this episode you can see that she genuinely likes him very much but
feels bullied into making him feel otherwise.
Why is it this pair always wind up down a basement in mortal danger?
Somehow their feelings focus when they have a million other more important
things to focus on! Cordelia’s defiant gesture in Xander’s favour is the
perfect ending, especially because she regrets it as soon as her defence of her
feelings comes out of her mouth! Its not easy to be the one whose different and
be proud of it but Cordy has a hide thick enough to pull it off. It might have
taken her some time and she may have hurt him terribly during the process but
she is now proudly dating Alexander Harris. Bravo!
Puppy Dog Eyes: There is something so menacing about Angelus
sending brutal messages of love on Valentines Day for those he is obsessed with
hurting. The image of the red heart, dripping with blood that was torn out of a
girl and giving to Drusilla as a present is quite disgusting. It also makes
Spike’s present of a necklace look shockingly mundane.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘Slaying is a tad more dangerous than
dating’ ‘Well then you’re obviously not dating Cordelia…’
‘Do you know what’s a good day to break up with somebody?
Any day besides Valentines Day! I mean, what? Were you running low on dramatic
irony?’
‘We have to catch the Buffy rat!’ is one of the best lines ever.
This show is gleefully insane with self-assurance at this point.
‘And keep your mum aged mitts off my boyfriend. Former!’
The Good: Where on Earth has Marti Noxon come from?
Seemingly unattached to the show in the first year, she burst onto the scene
with the memorable What’s My Line two parter, the scorching drama Surprise and
now this comic gem. Okay she wrote Bad Eggs too but nobody is perfect. It
cannot be a complete co-incidence that as soon as this woman writers five
scripts for Buffy suddenly its fortunes are apparently irrevocably reversed and
it is delivering one knockout episode after another. It is seen as little more
than a fun trick here but this is a nice reminder of Amy and her witchy past
which would become vital to Willow’s character arc in season six. Harmony is
another pleasing recurring character who will go on to bigger and better things
in the series. She’s such a class A bitch here and so stupid that she is ripe
for humiliation despite thinking she is the one who is dishing it out. Why is
it when you are dumped everybody else seems to be either ‘the hills are alive’
happy or laughing at you? Had the episode began with everybody clawing at
Xander it might have felt a little overdone but the momentum gathers slowly but
surely, each of the girls trying to subtly draw his attention before turning to
more dramatic methods when that fails. It means the episode can build to the
image of enemies and friends all coming together en masse to ravage Xander
without it ever seeming absurd. Xander’s slow motion walk along the school
corridor with the entire female population (and despite his best efforts some
blokes too) giving him the eye is hilarious. Joyce is American Pie style
MILF is so gross you might just be squirming and laughing at the same time.
When it comes to Angel dragging Xander out of his bedroom window to have his
neck ripped out and being saved by Drusilla (‘how do you feel about eternal
life?) I had stopped trying to predict where this was going and just enjoyed
the ride. Has there ever been anything more terrifying than the stampede of
axe, knife and rolling pin wielding scorned women? Cordelia’s description of
school bullies as ‘sheep’ is exquisite and something that I have used myself
from time to time. Watch as Harmony flinches in the face of Cordy’s defiance,
that’s because she knows what she is saying is true.
The Bad: I think they missed a trick by only featuring the
ladies coming onto Xander, especially in the wake of Phases and his awkward
outing of Larry. It would have been uproarious to have watched him try and
escape the claws of this newly de-closeted only gay in the High School. Mind you the upside of this is that Giles
isn’t affected. That I would have found too much to take (Joyce is bad
enough!).
Moment to Watch Out For: If it wasn’t an obscenely early
hour then I would have been clapping loudly at Cordy’s rant at Harmony at the
climax. As a gift to the guy that she has hurt so badly early in the episode,
it couldn’t be a finer gesture.
Fashion Statement: I’m wondering if both Buffy and Cordelia
have gone insane because the hang glider collar shirt that Xander wears when he
is dumped is a throwback to the worst excesses of the 70s! Has Gellar been away
on holiday or something? She’s looking more bronzed than ever (compare her skin
tone to Hannigan’s) and when Buffy comes onto Xander she looks practically
edible.
Orchestra: More outstanding music from Beck who proves as
adept at writing for comedy as he is at the more dramatic stuff. The flighty
violin score as Xander tries to escape his pursuers is especially memorable and
the score when Oz searches for the Buffy rat really got my feet moving.
Result: The very idea of every single woman in Sunnydale
falling for Xander is so priceless and taking that to violent extremes sees
this series ripping out the comic jugular. Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
is another episode where the actually plot doesn’t kick in until halfway
through the episode (its something of a Marti Noxon trait) but for once it
doesn’t matter because every scene before that is an absolute gem. James A.
Contner’s direction is sumptuous, full of vibrant colours, fun imagery and
highlighting the beauty of the cast. Appropriately for an episode about love
its full of lustful images. There are few things in life that are more
entertaining than two women going at it over a man and so to stage one on this
scale is absolute television gold. For Nicky Brendon, being pawed at by so many
beautiful women, surely it doesn’t get any better than this? The confidence
with which this farce plays out is quite breathtaking, this show is riding high
on its newfound poise and its intoxicating to bask in its success. The
characters on Buffy started out in pretty decent shape but with some careful
nurturing they have gelled into one of the most impressive and likable casts in
television history. This is another phenomenal episode and a comic gem that
manages to be really funny whilst having a great deal to say about its
characters: 10/10
Passion written by Ty King and directed by Micheal Gershman
What’s it about: Angelus steps up his terrorism of Buffy and
her friends…
The Chosen One: Buffy has a very real concern about her
mother since Angelus has access to her house at all times and she might not
always be there to protect her. She wants to tell her something to make her
aware of the dangers ahead. Joyce finding out that Buffy and Angel have slept
together is a revelation that requires much discussion. Joyce thought that
Buffy would have shown better judgement and wants to know if she used
protection. Again this is Buffy stripping away the fantasy elements and
exploring something that is very real for every teenager. It’s a beautifully
performed scene and a wonderfully awkward mother/daughter moment. Buffy telling
Giles that she needs him at the climax breaks my heart every time I watch it.
His anger at Buffy for stepping in and preventing him from killing Angelus is
vicious and she punches him and bursts into tears for putting his life in
danger. Jenny’s death has the adverse effect of bringing Slayer and Watcher
closer together than ever before. Buffy is done with all this hurt, she is
finally ready to kill Angel. Can’t wait.
Ripper: There is something dreadfully mundane about Giles’
‘lets hope Angel gets bored and goes away’ approach early in the episode. Talk
about tempting fate. Jenny came to Sunnydale with one purpose in mind and she
had no intention of falling in love but now that the cat is out of the bag she
wants nothing more than to make things right with Giles. Buffy offers her a
gesture to Jenny despite the secrets she has kept from them, telling her that
Giles misses her and that its okay for them to rekindle their passion. She
doesn’t want her Watcher to be lonely. Jenny wants to return Angel’s soul to him
but does it secretly so she can please everybody with her work. If she had told
Giles then he might have been able to have arranged some protection for her
whilst she worked. You want to scream at Giles not to go up the stairs where
Jenny’s body is waiting for him on his bed. Anthony Head is just about this
casts strongest performer and so giving him material that is this strong is
dramatic gold. The irony of his reconciliation with Jenny just prior to her
death shows a playful writing team who are prepared to play nasty games with
their audience (and characters) to make this show as dramatically satisfying as
it can be. Giles’ violent anger is impressive and it is impossible not to cheer
this guy on as he attempts to slaughter Buffy’s ex-lover.
Witchy Willow: Its Alison Hannigan that gives this episode
some of its best emotional highs. Her haunted reaction when she discovers her
fish stapled together in an envelope mirrors our own. It is Willow’s devastated
reaction to Jenny’s death that got me the most and the fact that this is shot
through a window where we cannot hear what is being said is inspired.
Gorgeous Geek: Giles is astonished at Xander’s ability to
boil down a complex thought to its simplest form. And so am I but he does make
me laugh with it. In a moment of spectacular honesty Xander says I told you so
about Angel. He’s right of course but that doesn’t stop it feeling really
petty. I like that the heroes can behave that way in this show, it keeps them
real.
Undead Brit: Angelus has been winding up Spike for so long
now that when Giles turns up to give him a right beating he holds Drusilla back
and watches with glee.
Mad Hatter: She’s a liability, this one. If she hadn’t
informed Angelus of Jenny’s scheme to return this soul then none of this could
have played out as it did. Buffy she take out Angelus’ early warning system
before anything.
Caustic Cordy: Bless Cordelia (I seem to say that quite a
lot but then its hard not to pity somebody quite this vacuous at times), she is
cursed to give Angelus a lift in her car (which she has invited him into)
whenever he wants one! Shockingly she convinced her grandmother to switch cars
with her so clearly that is not one of her favourite relatives.
Puppy Dog Eyes: This is the one. This is the episode where
Angelus goes from being (in the words of Joss Whedon) ‘not just grouchy but a
cold blooded killer.’ Angelus is just as obsessed over Buffy as his
Slayer-whipped soul version was but this time it is to hurt her as much as he
possibly can. He’s stalking her in the evenings, watching her and her friends
have fun whilst murdering people just out of sight and leaving her gifts of
sketches of her sleeping peacefully. Cordelia makes a good point about why
Angelus doesn’t just slit Buffy’s throat rather than leaving her threatening
gifts all the time and the purpose of this episode is to transform the shows
new villain from a gloat into a real threat. I love the scene where Angelus
harasses Joyce because it makes such a great play of the ex boyfriend who can’t
quite let go (which is precisely what Joyce thinks he is). Its beautifully
played by Boreanaz and Sutherland with a rising tension as Joyce tries to
escape him into the sanctuary of the house. To set up such an elaborate
romantic gesture at Giles’ house to make his reaction to her death as painful
as possible reveals that Angelus really has regained his sense of dark whimsy.
How sick and voyeuristic is the scene where Angel watches Buffy and Willow get
the phone call from Giles about Jenny’s death and watches their pain just for
kicks?
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘This is a school library, Xander’
‘Since when?’ – I’m really glad somebody brought up the general dearth of
students that frequent the library!
‘I’ll die without Buffy. She’ll die without me.’
The Good: I love all the foreshadowing in this episode which
doesn’t take on any significance until after Jenny’s death. Willow is so
excited to look after her class for a few minutes when Jenny is going to be
late until she has to take it over completely after she is taking out of
action. The sketches seem like a dramatic ploy to suggest that Angelus enjoys
putting the fear of God into Buffy until Giles discovers one after Jenny has
been killed as a parting gift from Angel. Whilst the murder itself might be heavily
foreshadowed this is a really tight script that uses all of its elements
beautifully to have double meanings. Passion features the first appearance of
the Magic Shop in Buffy, a terrific location that would take on greater
significance as the series progresses. I really liked the theatrical owner who
adopts a dreadful accent for tourists and drops it as soon as he realises that
Jenny is in the trade (‘lose those New Agers, they put my youngest through
college’). A shame he doesn’t make it past this episode and Drusilla’s lustful
teeth. All the rules of television say that Jenny cannot die because she is a
core player in this show which is why it is so astonishing when they make the
decision to remove her so dramatically. The image of Jenny staring sightlessly
from Giles’ boudoir is not one that is easily forgotten.
Moment to Watch Out For: Jenny’s death and Angel stalking
her through the school is one of the best scenes of the entire series. Its
claustrophobic (the school suddenly feels like trap closing in on Jenny), dark
(Angel running through the shadows as he pursues her) and tragic (you really
think she has got away when Angelus turns up out of nowhere and snaps her
neck). Its astonishingly well directed and turns the school into such an
oppressive environment. What’s sick is how much Angelus enjoys toying with her
before he goes in for the kill. He wants to work up an appetite.
Orchestra: There’s a gorgeous score for Angelus as he stalks
Buffy and her friends that sounds for all the world like there is a storm
coming. Very prophetic.
Foreboding: The disc falling to the floor and Jenny’s
translation of the curse are just waiting to be found. It might be the show
stalling the final confrontation between Buffy and Angelus but it does at least
give a reason why and whet the appetite.
Result: This is such a blissfully written episode its hard
to believe it doesn’t come from the pen of Joss Whedon. Everything about
Passion screams of his style from the poetry, the mounting tension and the
shocking arc developments. Massive kudos to Ty King then for pulling off this
most Whedonesque of episodes with such passion (hoho). Whilst Jenny’s death is
foreshadowed in the first half of the episode it doesn’t stop it being any less
gutting when the time comes. Turning Angel into a villain was the finest move
Whedon could have made because the whole show feels darker and more threatening
as a result. Removing Jenny in such a painful way is a logical extension of
that development and makes you question if everybody else is going to make it
out of this season alive. This is a show that has come on in leaps and bounds
dramatically and having to of the main cast trying to kill each other at the
climax is about as serious as it gets. Buffy breaks all the rules of televised
drama and is all the more riveting for it. I’m making this sound so mechanical
when Passion is also packed with wonderful dialogue, injected with real anger
and beauty and is given a terrific polish by the director. There isn’t one part
of this that isn’t firing on all cylinders. It’s the second of two back to back
classics that show off the many facets to this ever evolving show: 10/10
Killed By Death written by Rob Des Hotel & Dean Batali
and directed by Deran Serafian
What’s it about: Buffy is admitted to hospital where it
seems even there she cannot escape the demons…
The Chosen One: Of all the times for Buffy to succumb to the
flu, she gets it when Angelus is stepping up his terror attacks on the
Scoobies! Her fear of hospitals was well played and completely understandable
since her cousin Celia died in one in front of Buffy when she was eight.
Judging by the flashbacks to her childhood it looks Buffy always fancied being
something of a superhero (‘Power Girl to the rescue!’). Buffy is starting to
feel responsible for every living person on Sunnydale whether she is in a
position to stop it or not. This persecution complex is only going to get more
powerful as the series continues. Its no wonder that Celia’s death stayed with
Buffy and gave her such a phobia of hospitals. Clawing and screaming at an
invisible monster that is sucking the life out of her is something that would
stay with me too! Finally Buffy can make sense of her fear and put the demon to
rest. Another strength of this series is Buffy for all her heroism and strength
can also be seen to be something of a total airhead at times. Such as here
where she is about to swig down a glass of full of 100% pure flu virus.
Ripper: There is a gorgeous, gentle moment between Giles and
Joyce where they discuss the recent loss of Jenny and you can see the potential
for future development between them.
Witchy Willow: Willow is exactly the sort of friend you need
in this kind of crisis. Forget your balloons and your grapes, she’ll do all
your assignments for you (‘chocolate means nothing to me…’) and all that is
required is a signature.
Gorgeous Geek: In a memorable sequence Angelus attempts to
belittle Xander who is holding vigil outside of Buffy’s room (‘It must just eat
you up that I got there first’). He calls him Buffy’s White Knight and outs the
fact that Xander still loves her. Xander’s response (‘you’re gonna die and I’m
gonna be there’) is all the more impressive for its restraint. We learn that
Willow and Xander used to play Doctors and Nurses together but not in a kinky
way.
Undead Brit: Giles thinks that Buffy might be making up a
monster to fight because sickness is the one thing that she cannot battle like
she does demons. Remember how well that ‘let’s pretend Angel isn’t a problem and
hopefully he will go away’ plan worked out last week, Rupert? I’m starting
wonder if he understands his Slayer at all, especially when he asks if the
childs drawing is Buffy’s work (although her deadpan reaction is very funny).
Even more hilarious is Giles’ marvellous reaction to being lumbered with Cordy
(‘lets go tact guy…’). I could watch this pair investigating demons until the
cows come home because they are so funny together.
Caustic Cordy: Its acknowledged that Cordelia has never
heard of tact which I think is a good thing because she manages to get to the
point far quicker than most who skirt around the real problem (ie the rest of
the team). They had to replace her character with somebody when she skipped
over to Angel because everybody else is always too busy being nice to
actually get the nub of the problem on a weekly basis. Mind you she does need
to work on her flirting (‘you have the most perfect nose that I have
seen…’). Cordy and Xander are snippier than ever in this episode but it does come
with the very sweet punchline when she apologises with Krispy Crème donuts and
coffee. Her continued presence on this show is a massive bonus as she brings
such a whirlwind of confidence and humour with her.
Puppy Dog Eyes: After the riveting action of Passion Angelus
goes back to being a mild annoyance rather than an dangerous threat – there are
about five instances during the graveyard fight where he could have easily have
snapped Buffy’s neck but fails to make use of the opportunity. I can see why this
has been done, the show will start to feel a little repetitive if every episode
concerned itself with Angelus tearing a field of bloody corpses on his way to
finish off the Slayer but it does rather ponder the question of what he is
doing between now and Becoming. Still it could be worse, they could have just
ignored him completely between now and then and that would have been even
worse.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘Boy there’s a demon for everything!’
Cordy exclaims, putting into words what we will come to discover over the
series’ seven year life span. Particularly memorable are demons who steal your
voice (Hush) and on the other end of the scale a demon who makes you sing (Once
More With Feeling) and even a demon who makes you think that you’re nuts (Normal
Again). Killed By Death features a demon that you can only see when you are
sick, close to death and not able to fight back. That’s novel, but then most of
the monsters in this show are. His long fingernails and sucker eyes make for
some uncomfortably icky scenes.
The Good: Its always lovely when we move away from the
established settings of a particular seasons. In latter years Buffy would
choose a main setting, be it a university campus, the Magic Shop of simply
Buffy’s front room and rarely move beyond it to tell its stories. Season two
seems to buck the trend in that respect and this hospital bound drama is a
great example. Death walking past Buffy’s hospital door suddenly is a great
shock moment and despite ripping off Freddie Kruger visually it is still a
great design. A demon dressed as an undertaker would be addressed again and
even more effectively in Hush. How stylish is the camerawork in this episode?
Buffy’s seems to be attracting all the best directors towards the end of its
second season.
The Bad: Brian Markham is one of those actors that turns up
in every cult show going and especially memorable in The Goldberg Variation in
The X-Files. This is probably the most thankless role I have seen him give
though, as the over excitable security guard that Cordelia flirts with.
Moment to Watch Out For: The death of Dr Backer is
especially chilling because it is witnessed by a terrified child (although the
bloody slash marks are pretty grim too) and I love the way that he is dragged
away to be devoured by his invisible assailant. This sequence is very A
Nightmare on Elm Street or at least as far as the show could go and still
get past the censors.
Result: Killed By Death is slightly reminiscent of
Nightmares from season one but it just goes to show how the series has improved
exponentially since then. Unusually for this period of Buffy it is a very plot
driven story with no emotional stakes in it for anybody but even that is
refreshing after a run of (admittedly excellent) episodes that have dealt with
the love lives of the Scoobies. Every episode comes packed with terrific
dialogue these days and having everybody come together to fight a monster in
this fashion is very season one but all the more engaging for it. Refreshingly
Der Kindestod is a nasty piece of work that isn’t loaded with wisecracks, he’s
a vicious monster that wants to kill little children. A monster of the week
episode boosted considerably by season two’s confidence and style and packed to
the gills with entertaining character moments, chills and witty lines. This is
a massively enjoyable throwback of the sort that we would lose in later years.
Rather than bury it for not trying to be anything too deep, just enjoy it for
its sheer unpretentiousness: 8/10
I Only Have Eyes For You written by Marti Noxon and directed
by James Whitmore, Jr
What’s it about: Why is a vengeful spirit haunting Sunnydale
High?
The Chosen One: ‘The quality of mercy is not Buffy!’
It looks like Ben who asks Buffy to the Sadie Hawkins dance was the one that got
away. Lucky for him considering the downward spiral her life is about to go on
as we progress through the series! Poor Buffy is going stag at the Bronze
whilst all her friends are enjoying time with their significant others and
admits that she’s not in date mode and doesn’t want to be impulsive Buffy
anymore. Not after what happened last time. Her prophetic dreams are getting
more powerful all the time. Buffy is determined to pin the blame on James
regardless of what the scenario is trying to tell her about his guilt. We
discover that James is haunting the school because he wants forgiveness and is
doomed to kill the woman he loves over and over again in his own form of
purgatory. Buffy is going through something similar at the moment, having made
an unfortunate mistake that she has to live with and is now trying to hold back
from murdering the man she loves. The episode makes these parallels very clear
but makes Buffy shockingly unlikable as a result of her identification (it’s a
strong reminder of her behaviour in When She Was Bad). As Giles says: ‘forgiveness
is an act of compassion Buffy. Its not given because they deserve it but
because they need it’ but her reaction is a flat ‘he’s just going to
have to live with it.’ Buffy’s going through a hard time at the moment so
we’ll let this one pass but there will be many times later in the series where
she gets a little too introspective and one track minded. Or as Cordy puts it ‘is
she trying to be a big loner hero or something?’ For once you can believe that Buffy’s life is genuinely in danger
as she is possessed and walks into the school to shoot herself.
Ripper: Head could make practically any scene work and the
moment where Willow gives Giles Jenny’s rose quartz was really moving because
of his wonderfully subdued reaction. Once again Giles is excited to be
researching one of the classics. He needs to get out more. Actually no he
doesn’t – the last time he got close to somebody she was murdered horribly.
He’s in a pretty unstable place because of Jenny’s recent death and thinks that
the haunting must be her because she died violently in the school but its an
irrational hope that isn’t supported by the facts. Giles is too intelligent to
hold on to this notion for long and I’m pleased they didn’t push the idea as
the dramatic backbone of the episode. Instead it’s a rather touching side issue
that sees the man trying to cope with her passing.
Witchy Willow: This is where it all begins for Willow. She
has discovered sites on paganism and witchcraft on Ms Calendar’s computer and
finds it fascinating. I had no idea her magic leanings stretched back this far
but from this point it is one hell of a journey as Willow learns all the joys
and the pain of indulging in the dark arts.
Gorgeous Geek: ‘Something weird’s going on…isn’t that our
school motto?’ Xander is so flippant sometimes that he needs a reality
check and I cannot be the only person who was applauding when he was dragged
into his locker by a demon hand?
Puppy Dog Eyes: Angel confesses that he bored of playing
games with Buffy and he is ready to finally take her on for good. He’s
continually winding up Spike by flirting with Drusilla and you can feel the arc
cogs moving into place as we work our way towards the finale. What a shame that
Go Fish is rather crow barred in the way. For Angelus being forced into a
romantic confrontation with Buffy is just about the worst torture that he can
imagine, being made to feel again. For Buffy being able to hold him
again is a dream come true so when they break away from the kiss as their
normal selves the way he tosses to the ground so savagely is heartbreaking.
Mr Snidey: ‘What would Sunnydale without you to incite
chaos, mayhem and disorder?’ It feels like an age since we last got to
spend any time with Snyder so I cheered when he turned up at the beginning of
this episode to make Buffy’s life hell. It doesn’t matter what delinquent
behaviour occurs he always wants to be Buffy’s fault somehow. I get the
impression that she is exactly the sort of unattainable babe that he couldn’t
get a date with in High School and wouldn’t give him a second look and now he
is in a position of power he can take all of his frustrations out on the next
generation. There’s another quiet moment where Snyder reveals that he knows far
more about the supernatural occurrences of Sunnydale than we have previously
been led to believe (‘Things are getting out of hand’).
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘Exorcism’ ‘Are you kidding me? I saw
that movie! Even the Priest died!’
‘Love is forever…’
The Good: An illicit affair between a pupil and a teacher in
the 50s is the catalyst for the ghostly happenings in this episode and that is
a very adult starting point for a show that was offering Frankenstein 90210 at
the beginning of the season. I have a massive phobia of snakes so the shock
moment where they fill the school canteen and one takes a lump of Cordelia’s
face scared the crap out of me. I love the atmosphere of the scenes where
Buffy, Willow, Xander and Cordy try and take out the ghost in the school at
night. Once the show grows up and leaves High School the feeling of closeness
between the four characters will start to dissipate so I really enjoy this
period when they were all so close. When I think of the first three seasons of
Buffy its images like the four of them clutching onto candles and wandering
through the schools corridors that make me smile. All the horrors that try and
spook the kids away are fantastically scary, especially the shots of Willow
being sucked into a muddy grave and Cordelia’s face being consumed by her snake
bite. Its all topped off with the glorious visual of a plague of locusts
driving them all from the school. To intercut between four different characters
and the horrors they are facing and building them up to create an atmosphere of
tension requires some very tight editing so kudos on that score. We realise
with some horror that the gun went off by accident and that James never
intended to kill Miss Newman. The last scene sneaks up on you unawares where
Spike gets up from his wheelchair reveals that he is completely healed and
waiting for his moment to strike back at Angelus. Please can’t we skip Go Fish?
The Bad: Marti Noxon has scripted a nice angst-ridden ‘don’t
walk away from me bitch!’ set piece for the audience recognise when the ghostly
scenario is playing over again but it needs the work of skilled actors to bring
it to life and pretty much everybody except Gellar and Boreanaz sink these
scenes because they are little more than bit players. Guns are being waved around
in high school again. I’m not so much of a priss that I think that images like
that provoke it to happen in real life but we’ve seen rather a wealth of
firearms in Sunnydale High of late.
Moment to Watch Out For: The finale set piece of Buffy and
Angel playing out the James/Miss Newman scenario is wonderful for so many
reasons. Buffy gets to identify with James in a very intimate way and finally
understand the forgiveness he seeks. It’s a marvellous reminder of the
melodramatic confrontations between Buffy and Angel we had to suffer in every
episode at the beginning of the season – the show has grown so much now that it
takes the pair of them being possessed to make it happen these days! Look how
far we’ve come! Putting Buffy in the role of the man and Angel in the role of
the woman is a very neat device and allows both Gellar (who adopts a very
harsh, masculine voice) and Boreanaz (who is frightening convincing as a woman)
to play about with their roles. All this plus it is a very neat way to resolve
the problem of the recurring haunting by using Angel’s vampiric powers in a
very imaginative way (reminding me of The Dark Age).
Orchestra: Beck’s music fits every tone that this episode is
indulging in be it horror, romance or drama. The score during the final
confrontation is especially stirring.
Foreboding: Buffy is already setting up its third season
with a marvellously ominous mention of the Mayor…
Notes: Fans of Doctor Who should pay close attention to
scenes of the Scoobies investigating the school at night and then running out
and slamming the main doors shut. These scenes are played out almost
identically in the series two episode School Reunion (which oddly features
Anthony Stewart Head as the demon headmaster). RTD always said he wanted a Buffy
feel to the series where the dialogue and contemporary references are concerned
and he certainly achieved it in Sarah Jane Smith’s triumphant return to the
show.
Result: A smashing script that is gorgeously directed and
acted to the hilt, I Only Have Eyes For You is another top notch Buffy episode
from the latter half of season two. This was an easy episode to review because
there was so much to talk about. On a visceral level there was the grisly
horror of the snakes, Willow being pulled into a watery grave and a zombie
dancing with a teacher. On an emotional level there is Giles still trying to
cope with the death of Jenny, Buffy’s empathising violently with James and
Angelus being forced to experience love again. As a piece of storytelling it is
tightly written and satisfying with oodles of fun interaction and fun dialogue.
And as a performance piece you’ve got all the actors at their best, especially
Gellar and Boreanaz who get to indulge in multiple roles with real aplomb. This
is past the point of Buffy having found its niche now – the show is delivering
consistent gems that show many other genre shows up for the static, cliché
ridden bores that they are. When this show drags you in and makes you care
about its characters there is nothing finer and I Only Have Eyes For You is
another great example: 9/10
Go Fish written by David Fury & Elin Hampton and
directed by David Semel
What’s it about: The swim team and their empathy with the
water…
The Chosen One: You would think that by the time Buffy reaches
university she would realise that she always picks the wrong guy but no she
keeps making the same mistakes over and over. Cameron Walker is a swim team
champion who talks poetically about the sea and locks young girls into his car
so he can have his wicked way with them. Again female empowerment is the order
of the day because in any other show this would be the cue for the woman to
scream for help or try and smash the window but Buffy simply grabs his head and
smashes his nose open over the dashboard. Like Cordy in Killed By Death, Buffy
desperately needs to work on her flirting (‘there’s something about the
smell of chlorine – oh baby!’).
Witchy Willow: Willow the inquisitor made me chuckle (‘i’ll
crack him like an egg…’) because she takes no prisoners when questioning
Jonathan and recoils in such a cute way when she learns that he has peed in the
pool.
Caustic Cordy: Cordy believes that winners are entitled to
special privileges and that’s just how the world works. She believes that even
more when her geeky boyfriend turns out to look shit hot in Speedos and gets a
place on the swim team. She is finally proud to be Xander’s girlfriend which is
rather lovely in a shallow kind of way.
Mr Snidey: More Snyder makes me beam and this time he
reveals that he is a assignment scoring cheat too as he tries to manipulate
Willow into giving the swim team a free ride in computer sciences. He really is
irredeemable, isn’t he? Just how I like him.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘I’m undercover!’ ‘Not under much.’
Dreadful Dialogue: ‘Dude! What is that foulness?’ Wentworth
Miller must look back at his star turn on Buffy and cringe, especially with
dialogue like this that not even the finest Shakespearean actor could make
sound plausible.
The Good: I always knew that Sunnydale was in California but
I figured it must be some weird alternative universe California where it
doesn’t have a stretch of beach because it has always been conspicuous by its
absence. Bugger me then when the beach turns up at the beginning of this episode
and turns out to be another visually fresh location. We keep seeing more and
more of Jonathan which pleases me. It was good of the show to recognise the
potential of this character and for inviting him back for season three and
beyond (its even better when he gets an episode of his very own and then gets
to be a villain for a year). Go Fish gets away with more graphic horror than
the average Buffy episode with the bloody remains of a corpse left on the beach
and a grisly sequence where the fish arm tears through Gage’s hand. The fish
creatures are appallingly realised but the magic of this show is once again in
evidence as we cut to Xander giving a very funny description of the, and you
realise that Buffy can practically get away with anything just through
its sheer confidence.
The Bad: Poor Wentworth Miller. Doomed to be remembered for
his bit part in Buffy the Vampire Slayer when he becomes famous for Prison
Break. I have to be honest though and say that he doesn’t give a very
convincing performance here – there is no sign of the intensity and
intelligence that he would bring to Micheal Schofield. The conceit that the
victims have been gutted when the truth is they have been transformed should
have been more prominent but is lost in a muddy script. I hate the assertion
that women are leading men on by dressing to kill – that’s such a misogynistic
point of view that leaves a very bad taste in my mouth. It assumes that women
can’t want to look good for themselves. I get what the episode is trying to say
about athletes taking steroids but it isn’t like Buffy to get on its moralistic
high horse like this and rather fudges the issue by making the effect of drug
abuse being transformed into a rubber monster. The fish creatures could have
been made to work (later seasons of Buffy perfect prosthetics to a very high
quality) but they are far too static and cumbersome to look anything other than
men in wet suits going ‘raaaaaah!’ The fat nurse being dumped in the
sewer at the mercy of the fish monsters is pure b movie (and a real pity to
lose the character because the actress was rather good). Why does the coach
throw her down there? Why is he turning his boys into fish when they cannot act
as part of the team in that guise? The script says he just wants his boys to
win but the episode seems to suggest that the transformations are being done
deliberately. The whole issue is shockingly glossed over. There’s another gun
at the High School – come on Buffy, you are much cleverer than this. Buffy is
sent down into the depths to act as a breeder for the fish monsters (even
Gellar sounds embarrassed saying the line ‘you’re just going to feed me to
them?’). Can you think of Buffy being placed a more anomalous danger than
this? Unbelievably a comedy moment with Cordelia misses the mark by a country
mile and that is something I thought this show was incapable of. There is
something about the way the scene where she thinks Xander has been turned into
a fish swimming in the school pool that fails to hit the spot (the overdone music
doesn’t help either). The coach being eaten by his ‘boys’ does have a certain
poetic justice to it but it prevents him having to account for his actions. Is
this just a another case of missing kids in Sunnydale then considering the last
we see of Gage and his mates is them attempting to return to sea? Why would
parents ever move to this town?
Moment to Watch Out For: Xander in Speedos. Bestill my
beating heart. Oh and that truly dreadful shot of the fish people swimming off
to sea at the end.
Fashion Statement: ‘Its officially nippy! So say my
nips!’ There is a scene in Go Fish where David Boreanaz sinks his teeth
into the neck of Wentworth Miller. Has somebody been reading my Christmas wish
list? Later there is a long, seductive pan up Xander’s body dripping with water
clutched in nothing but a pair of tight Speedos. Somebody has been
reading my Christmas wish list!
Notes: For other examples of David Fury’s work check out
Terra Nova (if you dare…) and Fringe.
Result: Go Fish has a number of impressive resources
including a beach location, impressive sewer sets filled with water and
Xander’s privates on display but ultimately it isn’t a particularly engaging
story to watch. The central mystery is dull and surprisingly moralistic (Buffy
uses avoids lecturing its audience) and there’s nothing emotionally involving
going on (unless you were genuinely afraid that Xander might turn into a fish).
The whole steroids in the steam room angle isn’t as clever as it thinks it is
and before the end of the episode we have veered dangerously into b movie
territory with hideous monster costumes leering up from the depths, people
being put in the jeopardy of the most peculiar kind and the central villain
lacking any kind of reasonable motivation that might have made sense of all
this. The biggest problem with Go Fish is that it doesn’t feel as though
it is about anything relevant (which is the opposite effect of what it is
trying to achieve) and it spoils the run up to the finale which has been
building momentum since the middle of the season with this tiresome relapse to
the worst excesses of the first season crowbarred in the way. Like all the best
shows Buffy proves that even when it is riding high on its own success it can
still produce a stinker: 3/10
Becoming Part One written and directed by Joss Whedon
What’s it about: This is the story of a man called Angel who
fell in love with the Slayer and lost his soul…and found himself baying for her
blood.
The Chosen One: Buffy is going to go on such an incredible
journey over the course of these episodes so it is fascinating to flashback to
a time where she had no idea what her calling would be and all she had to care
about was fashion, boys and sweets. She is pure Clueless (‘call me!’)
and wonderfully shallow (practically Cordelia) and greets the news of her
destiny with an almighty ‘huh?’ Witnessing her first staking where she
completely misses the heart is a comic gem. Joyce and Hank can be heard arguing
off screen in a little glimpse to their self destructing marriage and how Buffy
has a detrimental effect on it. Buffy doubts herself scholastically but proves
time and again (especially when she heads to university) that she is much
brighter than she thinks she is. Buffy mentions the word ‘patrolling’ for the
first time but by the end of the series it is practically uttered in every
episode. Angel uses Buffy’s latest complex that every death at his hands is her
fault to lure her to the graveyard so he can put his plan into motion. He
understands his adversary a little too well.
Witchy Willow: Willow has really caught the teaching bug and
it’s a shame that nothing came of this because it has been mentioned so many
times over the last handful of episodes you might be forgiven for thinking that
this was going somewhere. Its summarily dumped at the beginning of season three
in favour of the witchcraft angle. Willow has been researching the black arts
‘for fun’ and thinks that she can handle the restoration spell. It’s a massive
asks for such an inexperienced Wicca and it’s a taste of just how powerful
magic can be. No wonder she was completely bewitched by the art. She is
completely uncomfortable with being Buffy’s last chance but she winds up
fulfilling that role time (Primeval) and again (Chosen).
Gorgeous Geek: I’m really glad that somebody asked the
question of ‘who cares?’ about restoring Angel’s soul given how much suffering
his blood sucking alter ego has caused. Predictably it had to be Xander who has
never been a fan of the guy even when he was Buffy’s cuddle monkey. It’s a
great scene for all the actors involved, especially Giles who lashes out
vicious when Xander points out in no uncertain terms that Jenny is dead and
pretending that Angel didn’t kill her defiles her memory. Xander’s (very nasty)
suggestion that Buffy wants to forget all about Angelus’ murder of Ms Calendar
just so she can get her boyfriend back is well worth the murderous looks that
both she and Willow give him. What makes this drama so gripping is that what
Xander is saying is right.
Mad Hatter: ‘I met an old man. I didn’t like him. He got
stuck in my teeth.’ Since we are about to wave adieu to Drusilla now seems
a vital time to see where she came from and how she ended up quite as mad as
she did. She was a gentle, unassuming sort of girl who was terrified of her
‘gift’ (the visions) and just happens to visit confession at the wrong time
(whilst Angelus is slaughtering the priest). He sees this delicate flower and
decides that she will be his next project, killing all her family and friends,
telling her she is a devil child and determined to turn her into an evil thing.
It is his personal mission to make her life on Earth a personal Hell and then
to introduce her to it. The episode blissfully cuts to our Drusilla in the
future so we can witness the result of his handiwork; a psychopathic, dreamy
and unpredictable killer. Juliet Landau has perfected Drusilla’s ethereal
madness at this point and is simply a joy to watch. Drusilla has never felt
like a forbidding presence than when she walks through the carnage in the
library and slashes Kendra’s throat with her razor sharp fingernails. Its so
quick and graphic it takes you entirely by surprise.
Caustic Cordy: Kendra proves to be a bit rubbish at
protecting Buffy’s friends but both Xander and Cordelia (who proves deadly with
a bookshelf) acquit themselves well.
Puppy Dog Eyes: I will say one thing negative about
Boreanaz’s otherwise stellar performance and that is his Irish accent needs
some more work and is barely comprehensible at times (although this isn’t
entirely untrue of Irish enunciation). Otherwise he gives the performance of a
lifetime in an episode that is devoted to his character. I have been taken on a
massive journey with Angel this year because for the first year and a half I
was unconvinced that he had anything to add to the show beyond teenage angst
but since Surprise his character has constantly, well, surprised me and
so has Boreanaz. He has proven that he can play many aspects of the character
from love struck vampire to vicious killer and has indulged in all the nuances
in between. We get to witness Angel’s siring at the hands of Darla (or should
that be the breasts of Darla?) and cutting from him turning into a vampire to
several hundred years later where he has been cursed with a soul and then
turned evil again it gives the show a real epic sense of scale. For Angel this
episode is all about the various transformations he has suffered through the
years and as well as seeing his bewitching conversion into a blood sucking
killer we also witness the moment the gypsies curse him with a soul. Having to
act out a man who has suddenly turned good and remembers 100 years of killing
in an instant is a big ask of any actor and Boreanaz looks physically weighed
down by the horror that overwhelms him. A hundred years after he had his soul
returned Angel is living the life of a sewer rat in Los Angeles (when he
returns there at the end of season three of Buffy it is under very different
circumstances) and is given a new lease of life by a personable demon called
Whistler (a great new character who unfortunately doesn’t get seen again after
this story). It was never explained why Angel was following Buffy in Welcome to
the Hellmouth or why he was so obsessed about her and here Whedon gets to fill in
all the blanks, having him see her for the first time in Los Angeles and making
her protection his new mission in life. It adds so much to their romance it’s a
shame that it should only be revealed here at its conclusion.
Mr Snidey: Snyder is just looking for a reason to expel
Buffy. Any reason. And I think he might be able to get his wish some time very
soon.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘There are moments in your life that
make you. That set the course of who you’re going to be…’
‘This isn’t an orgy people, it’s a classroom’ ‘Yeah, where
they teach lunch.’
‘The big moments are going to come, you can’t help that. Its
what you do afterwards that counts. That’s when you find out who you are.’
The Good: As far as I understand the production team filmed
outside of the usual confines of their warehouses and were given a completely
new studio to film the flashback sequences. This would seem to be an imminently
sensible idea because this turns out to be one of the most visually stunning
and cinematic of all the Buffy episodes. It takes us to the wet cobbles of an
Irish street outside a cosy little tavern to the litter strewn mist swathed
streets of New York taking in both England and Los Angeles on the way. All of
these locations are blissfully realised and help to sell the flashbacks as
important moments in these characters lives. How awesome is it to see Darla
again after so long? That’s one thing you can definitely say about Buffy the
Vampire Slayer, it maintains the respect of its performers who often turn up in
the most exquisite of cameos long after they have left the series. Flashing
backwards and forwards through Angel’s life is very reminiscent of Highlander
and proves to be just as evocative as that show at its best. You can see why
this narrative tool was adopted so much in Angel’s own show although I felt it
was occasionally overdone on that show so it lost its novelty. Here though it
feels like such a useful tool to fill in so many of the gaps that have been
alluded to this year and it provide some dramatic counterpointing to the action
in the present day. Although the pencil dropping antics feels a little
contrived the build up to discovering Jenny’s restoration spell has been such a
long time coming and so appetite whettingly build up that it feels exciting
regardless. The return of Kendra (who I had completely forgotten about if I’m
honest) is very welcome and adds to the feeling of the entire season converging
to create one humdinger of a finale. There is mention of a demon universe where
all these creatures that we have met in the series have come from (with the
Hellmouth as a kind of gateway). Can we visit there someday please? I love the
idea of Joss Whedon being able to go back and fill in the blanks of all these
characters long after we first met them. It’s a great indication of how rich
their backstories have been. We learn that not all demons are dedicated to the
destruction of life on Earth and we would get to meet a number of charming ones
later in the series (Anya, Halfrek, Clem). Intercutting the fight between Buffy
and Angel and the raid on the library gives the closing scenes a real injection
of energy and tension.
The Bad: What is it with these massive game changing two
parters of Joss Whedon’s that everything else is so good but the actual threat
to the characters (the demon) is so underwhelming. Like The Judge in Surprise,
Akafla is given a massive build up but winds up being a very unimpressive
looking statue. A world swallowing demon sounds very ambitious but we see very
little of that in either episode. The
staging of the vampire walking into class with a message from Angel and
bursting into flames is extremely well done but surely this is a little too
public for the show? Or are we accepting that the entire population of
Sunnydale knows about vampires now? Oddly after such a mesmerising episode the
actual cliffhanger (of which there were much better moments where the episode
could have paused) is shockingly forgettable.
Moment to Watch Out For: Why are the moments when characters
realise that they have walked into a trap so damn exciting? Or at least they
are when they are done this well. Buffy rushing back to the school and dashing
down the corridor in slow motion is a really memorable conclusion to the
episode. Giles kidnapped, Xander beaten and Kendra dead…Buffy is going to be
flogging herself for years over this epic failiure.
Fashion Statement: Buffy’s awful padded orange jacket for
her LA sequences is horrible.
Orchestra: The ‘Massacre’ suite for the final fight and
Buffy discovering Kendra’s corpse is unforgettable. Check it out on YouTube.
Result: It’s a closely contested fight but Becoming (Part
One) just about edges it as the best episode of the season. There is so much
richness to this story it is impossible to know which superlative to pull out
of the bag first. Rarely has a title been so accurate as we get to witness
Angel becoming a vampire and inflicted with a soul and Buffy becoming
his lover and nemesis. There is so much clever intercutting of the past and the
present, using the history of these characters to make sense of what is
currently going on in their lives. The script is a work of art, juggling
riveting flashbacks with present day action and ensuring that not one character
is forgotten in this coming together of all the elements of the season.
Production wise Buffy has rarely looked as cinematic with a globe trotting
visit to England, Ireland, Romania, Manhattan and Los Angeles before bringing
everything together in California. Angel is given a fascinating character study
that allows us to explore the most momentous moments in his life and we finally
get to understand why Buffy is so important to him. The action is gripping,
Christophe Beck’s score mesmerising and the build up to the finale almost
unbearably tense. Just take a look at where all these characters began this
season and where they have ended up – the development on this show over a
single season is more than some show manage across their entire series
(although I wont mention the usual suspects). This is simply breathtaking
television and still holds up impressively today: 10/10
Becoming Part Two written and directed by Joss Whedon
What’s it about: All bets are off. Either Buffy or Angel has
to die. But things might not go down the way you think…
The Chosen One: After hiding the truth from Joyce for so
long Buffy has to dust a vampire right in front of her. Its such a great moment
because it comes after giving her mother the least convincing explanation for
her criminal behaviour yet (that she is in a band with Spike) and the audience
collectively sighs as Joyce buys it (as usual). The last thing you ever expect
to happen then is for a vampire to appear and undo all that so naturally that
is exactly what occurs. Kristine Sutherland plays the bemused Joyce
superbly but also gets to show off the characters anger as Buffy tries to brush
her off so casually after dumping something this momentous in her lap. ‘I am
your mother and you will make time to explain yourself!’ Let’s be honest
Buffy’s trace record since they moved to Sunnydale hasn’t exactly been golden
and although this bombshell goes someway towards explaining her actions its
still a lot to get your head around. The trouble is Buffy doesn’t have the time
to hold her mothers hand through this. In a fabulous moment where Buffy talks
directly to the audience she accuses her mother of being spectacularly thick
for not figuring all of this out sooner. Buffy still longs for a normal life
but has found herself trying to save the world. Again. Let’s not forget
that Joyce gave Buffy an ultimatum and told her not to come back before we
start dishing out blame in season three. This is an amazingly well performed
scene that sees Joyce at her wits end and Buffy unable to cope with her mothers
questions. I love it. Angel taunts Buffy at the climax with the fact
that she no longer has any weapons, friends or hope but that doesn’t stop her
believing in herself and kicking the crap out of him. At the climax Buffy
cannot go home (because her mother told her not to), she can’t go to the school
(because she has been expelled) and she can’t face her friends (after
everything she has put them through) and so she decides to skip town. It’s the
wrong decision on so many levels (and she’ll have to address that in season three)
but you can completely understand why she simply has to get away.
Ripper: What astonishing inner strength Giles shows by
resisting showing signs of weakness in the face of Angel’s torture. He keeps
his poker face on at all times despite the fact that he is practically sweating
blood. How astonishingly cruel is it using Jenny to extract the information
about the ritual from Giles? Offering what he most seeks on a plate whilst he
is too weak to resist. I would have had less respect for the man had he not
given them what they wanted.
Witchy Willow: Willow is determined to carry out the
restoration spell and despite Xander’s objections (her ‘resolve face’ is very
funny) Oz understands that she knows her limitations.
Gorgeous Geek: I have been less than complimentary about
Nicholas Brendon as a credible actor but he has gone and proven me wrong in the
second half of season two where he has been as convincing indulging in the
serious stuff as he has making me laugh my head off. He certainly aces the scene
at Willow’s bedside where he admits that he loves her and this is another small
moment of set up for the explosive romantic events of season three. Xander
fails to give Buffy Willow’s message about trying the spell again which feels
like it should be addressed next year but in fact doesn’t get brought up again
until season seven!
Undead Brit: You’ve got to love how this show revels in
making its characters do what nobody expects them to do. Who would ever credit
that Spike would wind up saving Buffy from police custody? Spike gets a
fabulous speech about how lame these plans to end the world are because he
likes things exactly as they are with people walking across the surface like
Happy Meals with legs. Even Buffy is shocked that he should defect from his own
side because of something as shallow as lust (‘you want my help because your
girlfriend’s a big ho?’). Its amazing to think how far these two will
journey by the end of the series because at this point Buffy freely admits that
she hates Spike. When the actors say that performing with James Marsters is a
joy and Whedon says that he makes them up their game you can really see that in
Becoming. He’s insanely funny but there isn’t one point where his character
doesn’t convince entirely. Any scene with Joyce and Spike is automatically a
winner because the actors share such adorable chemistry (‘Have we met?’ ‘You
hit me with an axe one time. Remember “get the hell away from my daughter!”).
Spike is delighted that Drusilla has bagged herself a Slayer but in this
company it might not have been the smartest thing to say.
Mad Hatter: Drusilla gets completely lost in the moment of
trying to seduce Giles and winds up snogging the face off him! She has no idea
of the betrayal Spike is planning and is still treating him like a sick child.
Puppy Dog Eyes: Angelus used to love torturing people and
its been a long time since he has had the chance to indulge and now he has
Giles in his clutches he hopes that he doesn’t co-operate so he can take the
opportunity to really hurt someone. You get the feeling that Angelus has really
reached the end of his patience now and is capable of anything. Whistler admits
that even he never saw Angel falling in love with Buffy coming and that he was
supposed to stop Akafla rather than help to bring him forth.
Mr Snidey: ‘You never, ever got a single date in High
School, did you?’ ‘Your point being?’ Snyder practically salivates when he
finally gets his wish to expel Buffy and I love the moment of fear he
experiences as she draws her sword and walks past him. We learn here that his
hatred of Buffy might not simply be because of her school record but because he
is trying to please this unseen background menace, the Mayor. Lots more healthy
set up for season three. This is a show that really thinks ahead.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘In order to be worthy you must perform
the ritual in a tutu. Pillock.’
‘I don’t fancy spending the next month getting librarian out
of the carpet!’
The Good: So much has happened in season two that defies
belief and so many dramatic conventions have been turned on their head (the
good guys are on a downward spiral of lose, nice people are being killed whilst
the baddies get more powerful and the heroine most definitely does not get the
guy) that having Buffy on the run from the police (which should feel massive)
simply feels like a continuation of the unpredictable nature of her life of
late. You genuinely feel like all bets are off here, that everybody’s life is
in danger and that anything could happen. Suddenly everything is very serious
whilst Willow is on deaths door, nobody is wise cracking or talking like a
smart arse. I love moment where Spike finally makes his move and attacks Angel
because this leads to the equally insane act of Drusilla attacking him – after
they have been such a tight unit of evil throughout the year this is the last
place they should have ended up! Gellar and Boreanaz taking fencing lessons
certainly paid off because their final fight looks very impressive. They clash
swords in a very fluidic, energetic and vicious way.
The Bad: Spike and Drusilla simply exiting stage right
during the finale might feel a little underwhelming after the journey we have
been on with them this season but these are characters that are simply too good
to kill off. Doesn’t Akafla take a long time to swallow the Earth? He waits out
the entire fight between Buffy and Angelus!
Moment to Watch Out For: Am I the only person who wasn’t
cheering once Angel had his soul returned or wondered why Buffy didn’t think
this was one last desperate trick? Still you cannot fault the performances on
display and how expertly Joss Whedon has moved his chess pieces to put Buffy in
such a devastating position of having to choose to kill the man she loves in
order to save the world. In an entirely selfless act she plunges the sword
unsuspectingly into his chest and seals up Akafla’s gob for good. The fact that
the puppy dog Angel that she fell in love with has just been returned to her
makes the moment so much more powerful. Whedon is a bad, bad man but he makes
dramatically sound decisions and this finale is unforgettable.
Fashion Statement: Buffy’s ‘on the run’ outfit is to zip
herself up in a black bomber jacket and matching bobble hat. She’s the cutest
fugitive of all time.
Orchestra: Christophe Beck’s ‘Close Your Eyes’ is rightfully
celebrated and it delicately adds even more emotion to the already powerful
decision that Buffy has to make. Sarah McLachlan’s Full of Grace has become the
seminal closing number of a Buffy season and I cannot hear this song without
thinking of this devastating finale.
Foreboding: Who is the Mayor? How will Buffy get back into
Sunnydale High? How do Xander and Willow feel about each other? Where has Buffy
gone? What happens next for Spike and Drusilla? See you in season three to find
out!
Result: Its probably Buffy’s most remembered finale (in
exactly the same way Doomsday is Doctor Who’s most remembered finale – because
of its raw emotional content in the last ten minutes) and yet the second part
(for all its wealth of great scenes) is nowhere near as accomplished as the
opening instalment. We’re used to bad things happening to good people at this
point but Whedon takes it to extremes here with Willow bruised in a hospital
bed, Giles physically tortured and Buffy forced into making a decision that
tears her heart out. As a result this is gripping viewing but allows very
little relief for our heroes. Joyce finding out about Buffy’s calling is
spectacularly handled and coaxes unforgettable performances from Sutherland and
Gellar and Spike defecting to the other side affords some terrific moments for
his character. All eyes are on Buffy and Angel during the climax and its clear
that they can’t both escape this episode alive and the title of the series might
give you a big clue as to which of them is going to buy the farm. That doesn’t
stop the moment being any less powerful (especially in the hands of Beck’s
phenomenal score) or game changing. Its very brave to leave your central
character in such a dark place at the end of such a triumphant season but brave
has been the watchword for this remarkable year of television. There is so much
to wrap up in season three and overall this is a uneven finale that is
punctuated with gob smacking scenes: 8/10
Good collection of stories.Please get
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