Buffy vs Dracula written by Marti Noxon and directed by
David Solomon
What’s it about: Could Buffy really have the nerve to try
and pull off Dracula?
The Chosen One: Marti Noxon wastes no time whatsoever laying
down the seeds for this years major themes and the pre-titles sequences sees
Buffy leaving the comfort and security of her bed (and Riley) to get her
vicarious thrills from hunting and staking a vampire. Keep this in mind as we
work our way through the first handful of episodes. Highlighting the theme of
family this year Joyce is given immediate prominence (she only turned up three
times last year) and it is marvellous to see her enjoying some time with her
daughter before things turn first domestic and then very dark. Dracula makes a
very good point that Buffy’s power (to kill) is rooted in darkness and this is
something that would be explored (in perhaps a little too much depth next year)
a great deal. Its definitely an angle worth taking because it gives the
potential bubblegum cheerleader character a great deal of depth and dramatic
possibility.
Ripper: Without being self pitying Giles has come to the
conclusion that Buffy doesn’t need him any more and so he has spent the summer
cataloguing everything so they have as much information at their fingertips
when he returns to England where he belongs. I cannot imagine this show without
Giles as one of its central figures and this season pleasingly defers that
departure by giving Giles a dominant role in Buffy’s life. Its season six where
we discover how losing Giles from the Scooby Gang equals pain and misery.
Nobody falls down quite like Giles but at least this time he gets groped all
over by a bunch of slavering vampire girls for his trouble. Anthony Head tries
to look like he is struggling but he is clearly relaxing into this part of his
role very well. The scene where Buffy reaches out to Giles and admits that she
needs him is beautifully played by both actors. We lost a lot of the
Gellar/Head chemistry last year because the writers were so invested in pulling
them apart but now it looks as though they are going to be closer than ever. I
really like how their feelings are reciprocated here – Giles needs to hear more
than ever that Buffy needs him and Buffy has come to realise just how badly she
still needs his guidance and training. It made me go all fuzzy…but then this
season does that an awful lot. The look on Giles’ face when Buffy tells him the
thing he most wants to hear (that she needs him) is one of the most understated
and touching moments in this shows entire run.
Sexy Blond: Delightfully Spike harps on about how he and
Dracula are old foes (its all hyperbole, Dracula barely has any time for him)
and how he leaked so many vampiric secrets through his glory hunting.
Witchy Willow: Willow is flaunting some formidable magic
now, a thread that has slowly gained dominance and would continue to do so
until the end of the series. For now it is igniting barbecues on the beach but
soon it will be all about flaying men alive. She’s so techno-literate just call
her the computer whisperer. Its painful watching Willow try and make Giles feel
as useful as possible.
Gorgeous Geek: Xander is comforted by the fact that he lacks
the ability to build a fire on the beach, a skill available to the simplest of
cavemen. Xander is very open to hearing naughty secrets about Willow and
Tara…he’s only human after all! Its lovely to see Xander shoehorned into the
role of comedy stooge again. Season four was so obsessed with ostracising the
character that we lost plenty of his natural charm but fed a few delightful
lines and given the role of Dracula’s butt monkey he is simply a joy to be
around. I don’t know if Nicky Brendon is the best actor in the world but he has
a bucketload of charm and it is more than enough to scrape him a pass in my
eyes.
Vengeance Demon: Anya is a terrible old name dropper and
slips in that she and Dracula hung a couple of times during her demon days.
College Boy: Now that the Initiative plot has been put to
rest Riley is surplus to requirements and this episode agonisingly points that
out from the off. Buffy is getting her thrills elsewhere (not like that),
he’s jealous on a whim and he ponders on the glories days of how the Initiative
could have had the Dracula problem sown up in an instant. He’s a bit pathetic
if I’m honest and its going to be quite interesting to explore that because at
the same time he is a really nice guy. Jealousy really isn’t an appealing
feature of any character (the only time I ever saw it pulled off with any great
subtlety and poignancy on television was DS9’s Odo and some examples – Rose
from Doctor Who, Neelix from Voyager – were character assassination) and
Riley’s irrational fear that Buffy will fall under Dracula’s thrall because she
is transferring her feelings from Angel to the Dark Master is especially lame.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘I think we’ve just put our finger on
why we’re the sidekicks…’
‘I am Dracula…’ ‘Get out!’
‘No poo-fing!’
‘How do you like my darkness now?’
‘You think I don’t watch your movies…you always come back!’
– thank goodness somebody pays attention to the conventions!
The Good: James Marsters and Emma Caulfield are both now
listed in the credits. This is a good thing (although I wish Amber Benson had
the recognition she deserves too). Its always lovely to see Buffy and her chums
hanging out on the beach (its such a rare occasion I actually forget that
Sunnydale is a seaside town) but given past form on this show of horror
following happiness it is usually the precursor to something horrendous. Only a
show like Buffy would dare to shove a previously unseen gothic castle in its
town and pretend that it has always been there. And if you think that that is
the only example of that kind of cheek then wait until you see the end of the
episode. The effects deployed to suggest the movement of Dracula (the rapid
camera movement taking flight as he turns into a bat, fog rolling into Buffy’s
bedroom) are subtle but more effective for it. Buffy often attempts to go for
the jugular when it comes to its monsters and winds up falling flat on its face
(the hideous werewolf costume for Oz, the rubbery snake that appears late this
season) so its nice to see the show expressing some restraint and menace. Who
hasn’t wanted to shove their other half in a closet when they have been
spouting off like Xander does with Anya here?
The Bad: Buffy and her friends are so sarcastic in the face
of Dracula it almost threatens to spill over into a dreadful parody at times.
It would be nice if they could at least pretend to be a little scared of a man
who has laid waste to so many laughs. If they can’t take him seriously, how can
we (although Xander’s Sesame Street impression is hilarious)?
Moment to Watch Out For: Buffy stakes Dracula. Let me say that
again just so it sinks in for me…Buffy stakes Dracula! No, I still don’t
quite believe it.
Fashion Statement: I have never bought into the white shade
of pale sexiness of vampires (Robert Pattinson does nothing for me) but there
is something undoubtedly seductive about Rudolf Martin’s interpretation of
Dracula. It might be his calm confidence, his magnetic purring or his
penetrating eyes. I could see precisely why Buffy was drawn to him. Everybody
has a new look this year which for the most part is an improvement. Xander’s
hair is freakishly long but somehow he fails to look like a complete girl, Anya
sports a new blond cut which suits her just fine, Riley has gone for quite a
severe cut too (I preferred the curtains but then I am a child of the 90s) and
Buffy has never looked quite this laid back in her image (come season six she
is severe-o girl). Spike is less about the leather jackets and more about tight
black t-shirts these days. It’s a move in his favour.
Orchestra: Immediately the loss of Christophe Beck is felt
and his replacement Thomas Wanker (snigger), whilst offering a perfectly
reasonable score in of itself, is easing himself in to the show. I think my
problem is that the music is suddenly to apparent and melodramatic (although in
an episode that features Dracula perhaps that is unavoidable) but to be fair to
Wanker at no point is it ever actually bad. Its just different and I
know for a fact that I adjusted because I can still remember the score for
certain season five and six episodes that really stood out. And to be fair to
Wanker the climactic moment when Buffy sucks Dracula’s blood is gorgeously
scored.
Foreboding: Hang on a minute…Buffy has a sister? Since when?
Result: ‘You think you know what you are, what’s to come,
you haven’t even begun…’ Its not the wham bang thank you ma’am that you
would imagine of a season opener (but then Buffy never bowed to popular form in
that respect, preferring instead to play quieter games as it eases you into
each season) but Buffy vs Dracula is still my favourite opening episode of the
entire seven year run. It’s a fun standalone adventure that wants nothing more
than to entertain you for 45 minutes before the show becomes more serialised
than ever. Along with Fool for Love and The Body it is the only episode that
can be held in isolation this year. At the same time Noxon (who is given the
rare honour to script the opener) slips in plenty of moments that in hindsight
turn out to be the beginning of very important character arcs (Buffy’s
dissatisfaction with Riley, Riley’s obsolescence, Giles’ desire to return home)
this year. For gothic horror purists it might seem obscene to see Buffy smart
mouthing in the face of the greatest literary vampire (anyone who suggests that
it is Edward Cullen can leave now) but in all honesty this was never going to
be a slavish tribute to Dracula. Instead Noxon picks up on themes and
characters from the story and develops fun ways for them to be injected into
the Buffyverse (Xander becomes a hilarious toadying sidekick). Its not the
fastest paced episode of all time and we probably should have reached the
one-episode-wonder castle a lot sooner than we do but this is such a lovingly
written and amiable piece of work where everybody gets fun stuff to do I can’t
find it in my heart to be too critical. And the final scene is a belter: 8/10
Witchy Willow: The three way relationship between Willow,
Tara and Miss Kitty Fantastico continues to be the cutest thing on television
in a million square miles without ever once wanting me to reach for the sick
bucket. How Whedon has achieved this is beyond me. Tara doesn’t feel useful in
the gang and its time to find out where that self doubt springs from. There’s a
moment when Tara tries to choose her moment to say something cool in a scene
where she has been otherwise completely quiet and it goes down like a cup of
cold sick. I can remember moments with my other halves family like in our first
few years together, coming at that point where you don’t quite know where you
fit in and suffer crushing embarrassment because they don’t quite know how to
take to you either. When she is around her family, Tara’s stutter is at its
worst which reveals how uncomfortable she is and they have a nasty habit of putting
her down. Tara has one moment of not being able to cope with Willow and her
friends but it’s the first time she has ever had to tell her girlfriend no and
she clearly feels very bad about it. I’ve heard it said that people find the
revelation that Tara’s isn’t a demon quite a disappointment but I had quite a
different reaction. The thought that the McClay family have been convincing the
women in the family that they have demon blood to keep them press ganged and
under control is actually rather frightening. Thanks goodness Tara has Willow
and her friends because if she was still the meek slip of a girl we met last
year she wouldn’t have had a hope in the face of her family. Watch how Willow
goes from treating Tara so gently to angrily spitting at her father, Alyson
Hannigan can turn convincingly on a sixpence. Tara is so nice that even when
the truth is revealed that she isn’t a demon she tells her father to go without
condemning him. I wouldn’t have been so kind.
Moment to Watch Out For: Joss Whedon is thinking outside the
box again and conjuring up new ways to sell familiar scenes. This week he has
Tara put a glamour on the Scoobies so they cannot see any demons and sets a
pack ravening beasts on them in a sequence that sees them wrestling with
nothing. But the fight isn’t where the rewards are to be found in Family but in
the emotional fireworks that come afterwards. Willow gets to affirm her love
for Tara in the face of her family and Buffy and the rest of the Scoobies stand
up for her and refuse to allow them to take her. It’s once of those moments in
Buffy when you need somebody around to cuddle. If there’s no-one about and you
can’t drag somebody in off the streets, use a cushion. It’s lovely.
Real Me written by David Fury and directed by David Grossman
What’s it about: ‘She still thinks I’m little Miss Nobody.
Just her dumb little sister. Boy is she in for a surprise…’
The Chosen One: Suddenly through Dawn’s eyes Buffy is a
miserable, funless older sister who thinks she has this all-important role in
society when really she just stabs at vampires with pointy sticks. There is
something very natural about the chemistry between Buffy and Dawn (or rather
Gellar and Trachtenberg) that speaks of the writer and actors knowing what it
is like to have a testing older/younger sibling. How much lecturing can one
person offer? Get used to this whiny tone of Buffy’s as its something we will hear
an awful lot of over the next three seasons. But she’s kind of fun with it,
Gellar playing it very loosely.
Ripper: ‘How bored were you last year?’ ‘I watched Passions
with Spike…’ Suddenly Giles embraces parental figure role, telling off Dawn all
the time and fulfilling the role of Buffy’s absent father. I love the idea of
him travelling around he streets of Sunnydale in his fruity new sports car,
trying to educate the people of America with classical music and spot people he
knows he can show it off to. Buying up the magic Shop as a place foe everybody
to hang, to increase his resources and to have somewhere for Buffy to train is
a win/win/win situation.
Ebony & Ivory: ‘When you try to be bad…you suck’
Harmony doesn’t show up until halfway through this episode and she’s such an
ineffectual villainess (that’s part of her charm) that your reaction to this
episode really isn’t going to affected too greatly by her presence. I, on the
other hand, think that she is a delightful character, played with real brio by
Mercedes McNab who is willing to make herself look stupid in order to get the
best laughs. She’s the sort of baddie that has minions, uses books to point out
plans for town domination (world domination would be a little beyond her) and
needs gifts of cheap porcelain statuary from people who treated her badly in
the past to boost her self esteem. When Xander almost gags with laughter at the
idea of a terrifying Harmony gang that was pretty much my reaction too. Its
almost as though Harmony is a test drive for a potential long running
villainess that parodies Buffy. Its no co-incidence that in a few episodes time
another blonde bombshell crashes into the series with terrifying strength and a
destiny of her own. Harmony is such a loser that she can’t even keep hold of
this ragtag bunch of imbeciles and starts seeking out therapy from her captive!
Witchy Willow: As usual Willow is the most fun character to
be around, and through Dawn’s eyes she is the coolest Aunt in town with her
witchcraft and her girlfriend. Even more importantly the inclusion of Dawn
gives Tara a vital role in the series (and trust me I am all too aware of how a
child can bring a family closer together like this, Simon’s niece has given me
a massive role now within his family) and one that is expanded
exponentially over the next two years. When Dawn is sent outside when Buffy and
the Scoobies investigate the latest murder Tara has the understanding to sit
outside with her and not make her feel completely out of the loop.
Gorgeous Geek: Gone is the loser who lives in the basement
last season, now Xander is the coolest guy in town (as far as Dawn is
concerned); funny, sexy and treating everybody as an equal. Whether they
deserve it or not.
The Key: The truth is I have made more than a few
disparaging remarks about Dawn in the past when I have needed an example of a
particularly whiny child character in a TV show. The truth of the matter is
that I am actually rather fond of Dawn and there are only a few isolated
incidents where she threatens to fall ill with ‘irritating younger sister
syndrome’ (and they are mostly confined to season six where she is constantly
acting up to her sister). Michelle Trachtenberg is a genuine find, a child
actress that can mine the character for all of the subtle nuances expected of
her, that looks natural on screen and cope with tough dialogue and who can slip
in with the regular cast effortlessly as though she has always been there
(which is rather the point, had that failed then this season would have severe
problems). Dawn might drive Buffy nuts but she provides a refreshing new view
point on all of the regulars which rather secures their fate this season since
so much of it is about her. When Dawn goes on about the fact that nobody knows
who she is really it is a very clever piece of writing because it could just be
teenage self-centred examination or it could be the thoughts of an opponent
that has slipped under the radar with Buffy and her friends. That pretence is
kept up right until the last moment (and next week continues the seasons run as
though Dawn has always been there and there is nothing suspicious about it at
all).
College Boy: Riley is given a slight reprieve as we get to
see him from Dawn’s perspective. He is a powerful figure, but a gross one who
is always sticking his tongue in Buffy’s mouth.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘There’s going to be far less time for
the sort of flighty, frivolous –‘ ‘Hey there’s Willow and Tara!’ ‘Ooh, they
haven’t seen my new car!’
‘I told mom once I wish they’d teach me some of the things
they do together…and then she got really quiet and made me go upstairs. Huh, I
guess her generation isn’t cool with witchcraft’ – very funny and
naughty at the same time.
‘When are we going to do it?’ ‘Eww! That’s rude! I barely know
you…and you’re a minion!’
‘Can I trade in the children for more cash?’ – this is where
society is heading…
‘I’ve been doing my research, reading books and stuff’
‘What? Evil for Dummies?’
‘Touch me and my sister’s gonna kill you’ (Sarcastic finger
in chest) POUF! ‘Can’t say she didn’t warn him…’
The Good: Let’s take a moment to step back and consider what
Joss Whedon has had the nerve to do here. He’s written a character in to the
series that has never been seen before (but has been alluded to in a very
around and about way) but who the characters believe they have known all of
their lives. He’s changed the fundamental structure of the series in a very
profound way, giving Buffy a brand new focus and making other character
superfluous to requirements (with Dawn representing Buffy’s personal life,
Joyce is now on borrowed time). And he’s done it all without bothering to
explain what is going on for three episodes, expecting the audience to just go
with it and treat this mystery as something that will be dealt with later. Its
remarkably cheeky, undeniably radical and unheard in any other show. Bravo. I
remember simultaneously scratching my head and clapping my hands with delight
when this episode initially aired because was confused by the situation and pleased
by the developments. Dawn referencing events that she wasn’t even involved in
(Xander going undercover to expose Dracula) is very clever. The sleight of hand
is so devious that if you squint, Dawn was involved in last weeks gothic
shenanigans. Some part of me always giggles when Buffy stakes Mort with the
horn of a merry go round pony.
The Bad: Bizarrely the Magic Shop appears to be about ten
times the size than it was the last time we visited. This is either because the
old owner did some renovations because it is such a popular trade or because
this is the new central location for the series and they want plenty of space,
nooks and crannies to tell the stories in. There’s a terrifyingly obvious boom
mike in shot during the scene at Willow and Tara’s room.
Moment to Watch Out For: I kind decide which of two Harmony
scenes is funnier – the one where she calls Buffy out and Xander rips the piss
out of her or her badass confrontation with Buffy at the end (‘So Slayer, at
last we meet!’ ‘We’ve met Harmony you halfwit!’).
Fashion Statement: Amber Benson really is beautiful. I’m not
into girls but if I was given a chance to kiss those lips I think I might just
avail myself of the opportunity.
Orchestra: Oh Wanker you genius. Real Me offers an intriguing
new approach to music on Buffy, dropping the overdone melodrama from the first
episode of the season and developing something a lot more subtle and ethereal.
Foreboding: ‘Curds and whey’ says the crazy old man who
confronts Dawn on the street, making the connection between Dawn and Faith’s
‘Little Miss Muffet’ statement in Restless (although you have to be a real fan
to make this connection, to the average viewer it would slip right over their
heads).
Result: A unique episode that offers a fresh perspective on
all of the regular cast and brings the mystery of Dawn Summers up close and
personal whilst continuing the feeling of creating an inward looking, intimate
feel to the series that was lacking last year. Giles and Buffy cracking down on
her training and his purchase of the Magic Shop are both essential innovations
that see the show getting back on track (especially the latter, its lovely to
have a central location again after always hanging out at Giles’ house last
season). David Fury’s dialogue is witty, thoughtful and natural and offers a
gentle easing in of Dawn with the gormless (but hysterical) return of Harmony. She
is proof that rubbish villains can really be made to work. Joss Whedon has
basically rebooted the entire series into something very different (less
ambitious but more intimate) and by pretending that this is how it has always
been he actually gets away with it too. The emphasis is on family all the way
(the theme for this season) with Buffy and Dawn at each others throats like
real sisters, Joyce disapproving, Giles teaching, Xander babysitting, Anya
washing up and Willow and Tara hanging by on the sidelines like the coolest
aunts ever. As a standalone episode not a lot actually happens in Real Me but
as a subtle re-branding of a series that I thought I knew inside out it is a
agreeable and thoughtful piece of whimsy that makes sure that there are plenty
of questions that still need to be answered: 8/10
The Replacement written by Jane Espenson and directed by
James A. Contner
What’s it about: Two Xanders? Has somebody been reading my
wish list?
The Chosen One: Buffy only watches kung-fu movies so she can
criticise the ineptly choreographed fighting sequences. She’s fine saying that
now but if she had to watch back some of those season one moves she might be
singing a different tune (remember oh-so-cute fists bunched by the chest
pose?).
Ripper: Giles’ attempts to conjure something out his box of
magic trinkets to take on the veiny demon that has appeared in front of him and
then using a fertility statue to club him over the head made me howl. Anthony
Stewart Head should be used more for comedy in this show, like A New Man last
year he has a natural flair for it.
Sexy Blond: I don’t know what’s worse; Spike creating a
dummy of Buffy (complete with a fetching blonde wig) to beat up or later in the
season when he starts to have other feelings towards it. At the moment he feels
like he is coasting and needs a new focus. Fortunately that is just around the
corner.
Gorgeous Geek: Its only when you think of how far back it
has been since we enjoyed a Xander-centric episode (The Zeppo over a season and
a half ago) that you realise how little screen time he had in season four.
Xander is as clueless about renting a flat as I would be and thinks that doing
a funny voice down the phone is adequate as a reference and then you move in.
Thank goodness we never ended up together. The writers are prepared to make
Xander look as pathetic as possible so he can rises from the ashes of his own
ineptitude, it’s a typical Joss Whedon approach (knock ‘em down, watch them
fight to get back up) that is always being used because it works. A struggle
against adversity (especially when it is your own character) and triumph is
always great to watch. Could it get much lower for Xander to wake up in a
garbage dump (and even more galling the smell makes him think he is at home
until he opens his eyes), his friends having forgotten about him and being
replaced by a funnier, more successful version of himself? The truth of the
matter is that Xander did a first rate job at the construction site and was
going to be offered more work and he can afford to give Anya the things she
desires. He just has such low self esteem that he convinces himself he isn’t
capable of doing anything.
Vengeance Demon: It makes perfect sense that Anya would
suddenly feel as if time is ticking away. After thousands of years of punishing
men she is now mortal and living a continuous life so naturally she is in a
hurry to get things done. On her list is getting a puppy, a kid, a car and a
boat. By the end of the episode Anya is anticipating many years of life
excepting disease and airbag failiure. Boy has she got it all wrong.
College Boy: Desperately thinking of how he can please and
protect Buffy and always thinking in black and white…when is Riley leaving?
He worked in season four because he had this whole other life (and narrative)
away from Buffy. Now everything centres around her and that just makes him a
desperate hanger on. Riley’s admission that he knows that Buffy doesn’t love
him comes completely out of left field but shows he is more astute than I gave
him credit.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘Its an evil robot constructed from evil
parts that look like me designed to do evil!’ I hear those are the worst kind.
‘But I never help. I get in trouble and Buffy saves me’
‘That’s not true! Sometimes we all help to save you!’
‘You can’t promise you’ll be with me when I’m wrinkly and my
teeth are artifical and stuck into my wrinkly mouth with an adhesive!’
‘He’s clearly a bad influence on himself.’
‘Buffy has super strength so why don’t we just load her up
like one of those little horses?’
The Good: Apparently incompetently dubbed kung-fu is China’s
most valuable exports…personally I would say it is wealth of exquisite cuisine
but each to their own. The apartment that Xander and Anya rent (after arguing
about it because the rent is too high and Anya, naturally, comes out on top. To
be fair I wouldn’t want to take a tour of beautiful that I couldn’t have
either) is another awesome location for season five to luxuriate in. The couch
is the longest I have ever seen committed to film. Usually comic pratfalls are
the last resort of the desperate but Nicky Brendon is just so good at it you
can see why they included so many. I laughed every time (‘Harris, where’s
your hard hat?’). Also smirk-worthy is the moment when Xander hugs onto
himself for protection.
The Bad: The whole element of the shiny coin being flashed
in peoples faces is completely pointless. It rather drives the point home too
much when Xander is trapped out in the rain as his friends talk about hunting
him down. Espenson is usually a lot more subtle than this.
Moment to Watch Out For: Xander attacking himself with a big
girly scream and pansy ass moves. Its hilarious. And the Snoopy dance
had me wetting myself.
Fashion Statement: Rain-lashed, sticky hair Xander makes my
belly go funny. Two Nicky Brendon’s has the same effect. Anya is clearly having
the same thoughts and that’s why I like her so much.
Orchestra: I have nothing to say about Thomas Wanker this
week. Except he has an amusing name.
Foreboding: Buffy inverts the premise of this episode in
season seven’s Same Time, Same Place. Instead of there being two Willow’s there
is no Willow and shenanigans involving flesh eating demons ensue. They feels
quite similar in tone (both written by Jane Espenson) but The Replacement is
definitely the weaker of the two. Joyce is having headaches…be warned.
Result: ‘If Xander kills himself he’s dead…’ Whilst I
always enjoy poking fun at Xander and watching him prove how capable he is, The
Replacement is really the point where the season should have introduced the new
Big Bad. The material is agreeable so its not a total loss but this is Buffy
cruising until we can pick up the Glory and Dawn storyline again. After kicking
him down into the dirt last season this is the point where Xander gets to dust
himself down, take stock of his life and realise that things aren’t as bad as
he thought they were. He has a lovely (slightly psychotic) girlfriend, a good
job, great friends and job that he is good at. Before he can reach that
conclusion about himself he gets knocked down one last time and shown just how
successful he could be if brought all of his best qualities to the surface. The
doppelganger material isn’t as funny or clever as it was in Dopplegangland and
there never feels like either Xander is in that much danger. But it is
occasionally laugh out loud funny (Espenson has an ear for writing humorous
dialogue for these characters) and the pleasurable interaction between the
regulars always makes this show worth watching. Not the most enthralling
episode of Buffy ever told, nor the most inventive but it gets by with just
enough charm to scrap a pass: 6/10
Out of My Mind written by Rebecca Rand Kirshner and directed
by David Grossman
What’s it about: Riley is in danger…
The Chosen One: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and her sidekick
Riley doesn’t quite have the same ring to it and Out of My Mind proves why
Buffy patrols alone. Riley isn’t as fast, as strong or as able. Frankly he’s in
the way in more ways than one. When Spike turns up to help out as well it is a
subtle piece of foreshadowing for later in the season when the two men in her
life fight for her attention. Buffy is back to moaning about being all work and
no play but this is self inflicted so she doesn’t drive the point home (thank
goodness, I had had more than enough of that in seasons two and three). She’s
doing extremely well academically which makes her upcoming forced departure
from school all the more gutting. I love that Buffy is geeky enough to know
that there is a Q in Bond and Star Trek. There’s hope for her yet! Joyce’s fall
is a shocking moment because she has always been such a strong character. For
once this feels like something very dangerous is encroaching on the Summers
family. Sarah Michelle Gellar injects such emotion into her admission to Riley
about needing him. I don’t think the material deserves it and I don’t think the
character entirely means what she is saying. She’s convinced herself that she
needs Riley but he’s just too bland for her.
The Key: Astonishingly this is the second episode since the
introduction of Dawn to practically ignore her presence in the show with all of
the characters behaving as though she has always been there. I remember
thinking at the time that this was either an astonishingly thoughtless piece of
shifting continuity that they were hoping we wouldn’t notice if they forgot
about it for long enough or it was part of a much larger arc storyline that was
on a slow burn progress. Fortunately it turned out to be the latter but the
fact that I had pause for thought showed the series was walking on dangerous
ground.
Sexy Blond: Spike tastes his own nose blood…that’s the most
disgusting thing I have ever seen outside of The X-Files’ episode Home. Spike’s
getting in on the comedy pratfalls this week, with perfectly timing falling
into an open grave. I want to hate it that this show is going for such lowbrow
comedy but I laugh every time.
College Boy: Riley is the only character I know that when he
tries to be a bad boy he comes off looking even more ridiculous than his usual
whiter than white self. Even Xander managed to pull it off in The Wish. Riley
has deep issues about Angel and not matching up and how strong Buffy is
becoming. Its not so much an ego thing but an ‘I’m out of your league’ thing.
Which is understandable but a little whiny. When he needs her the most, Buffy
heads off to be with her mum. It takes Graham to spell it out that Riley is
wasting his life in Sunnydale when he has real potential out in the real world.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘She wont give up until she’s killed me
dead!’ and ‘Didn’t you hear? I’m totally her arch nemesis!’ ‘I must have missed
the memo’ ‘There was a memo?’ and ‘You’ve taken up smoking now?’ ‘I am a
villain Spike, hello’ Harmony should have a full time placement on this
show, she’s just so much fun.
The Good: The set design for the magic shop and Buffy’s
training is something special and gets appropriate exposure in this episode
(although the shop has definitely become dimensionally transcendental). The
Riley/Harmony bitch fight is actually terrific fun, far more visually appealing
than watch Buffy and Spike do the rounds again.
The Bad: Bailey Chase is awful in a way that very actors are
on this show. He cannot make a single line of dialogue sound convincing,
especially not the kind of dialogue he is being asked to speak in this episode.
Somebody really should knock down the derelict Sunnydale High, it just seems to
harbour fugitives these days.
Moment to Watch Out For: ‘She’s haunting me!’ Out of
My Mind is justly famous for its cliffhanging scene that reveals that Spike’s
feelings for Buffy are so intense that he has gone from wanting her dead to
falling desperately in love with her. It’s the most tragic thing that could
happen to the character because it is just unthinkable at this stage and it’s
the only way they can hurt the character even more than they have by putting
him on such a tight leash. It gives Spike a reason to appear on the
show, sniffing around after the Slayer like a lost puppy which he has
desperately needed for over a year now (the last time the show actually needed
Spike was the way they used to him to introduce the idea of the Initiative).
Now he can hang around to his hearts content and I wont complain because there
is a motive for character to do so. Before now I wondered why he kept wasting
his time on a town where his plans go so spectacularly wrong all the time. And
it looks like a fun idea to play about with.
Fashion Statement: Has Spike been working out? Because James
Marsters’ body is so taut you could eat your dinner from it. The eye candy has
definitely been of the male variety this year…is Joss Whedon busy over at Angel
and the ladies (Espenson, Noxon, Kirshner) are having their wicked way?
Foreboding: Isn’t it wonderful how Ben makes his first
appearance before we have ever heard of Glory. There is absolutely no reason to
link the two character which makes the eventual twist so much more satisfying.
Buffy is very good at this sort of sly plotting in its arcs.
Result: Everything feels as though it is starting to cohere
but there is a distinct lack of substance to the last two episodes that is
disturbing me a little. Spike’s secret is finally out, Riley is proving to be a
massive pain in Buffy’s butt, Dawn’s mysterious appearance is called into
question, Joyce is unwell, Willow’s magical ability is getting stronger, the
Magic Shop is set up and ready to roll and Anya and Tara have a real presence
on the show. The only thing missing now all the characters have formed into an
effective unit again are some decent stories. The Riley in danger plot feels
like a hangover from season four that should have been dealt with already and
its clear from his lack of presence (and I don’t mean lack of screen time) on
the show that he is on the way out. The question now is how long is it going to
take him to realise that he has to leave? And besides didn't we do all this with Riley in Goodbye Iowa last year? The regular cast are really bringing
their A-game here and I’m not sure the episode deserves it but it’s important
to note how they have matured into such an effective ensemble cast that
compliment each other. When season five picks up its feet this would be its
most essential asset. Whenever Out of My Mind focuses on Spike it is excellent,
otherwise fast forward most of the other bits: 5/10
No Place Like Home written by Doug Petrie and directed by
David Solomon
What’s it about: ‘You just have no idea how much I wish I
was an only child these days…’
The Chosen One: Its horrible knowing what is going to
happen to Joyce and watching the scenes where she tells her children that she
is still suffering from headaches. If it was mild worry the first time I
watched this season, its pure discomfort with foresight. Its rather sweet to
see how jealous Buffy is of Dawn and Joyce’s relationship and it’s a perfectly
natural feeling to have towards your fellow sibling. Its very natural for Buffy
to think that a supernatural force is making her mother ill and its something
the show would suggest for a little while before the ugly truth dawns on them
all.
The Key: Dawn has that exceptional ability that little
brother/sisters have to say exactly the wrong thing at exactly the wrong time. On
purpose. It’s a gift. The identity of those who secreted Dawn into the
Summers house is revealed and it’s not as nasty as you might suspect. For a
moment Petrie tries to suggest that she is a malevolent presence (there’s a
wonderful moment when Buffy looks over her shoulder to find Dawn with her arms
folded listening to her on the phone). The reason this works so well is that
Dawn herself has no idea that she isn’t real. It gives Buffy a reason to
protect her like a big sister should. And there are plenty of surprises still
to come as they discover how their memories have been altered. The final scene
between Buffy and Dawn is gorgeous, beautifully played by Gellar and Trachtenberg
and marks the first step in this very special relationship.
Ripper: Giles dressed up as the campest wizard known to
mankind in the middle of an empty Magic Shop on its opening day is both
spectacularly funny and very sad at the same time. I’m really glad things pick
up for him, I would have hated for this enterprise of selecting a new location
for the show to have been a waste of time.
Sexy Blond: Its only when Buffy pulls Spike out from behind
a tree that I realised I had forgotten all about him and his newfound
obsession. Clearly this episode had me absorbed to a certain degree because
last weeks cliffhanger was a real doozy. Suddenly Spike is hanging around
outside Buffy’s house and its okay because there is a good reason. That’s all
I’ve been asking for.
Goddess: ‘I could crap a better existence than this…’
Whilst there are other factors involved, a lot of your opinion of season five
is going to depend on your reaction to the seasons Big Bad – Glory. I know a
friend who condemned this season as the worst of the lot because he couldn’t
get his head around the character and another who declares this as her
favourite year because she absolutely loved her. I think I had reservations
initially but it didn’t take me long before I fell squarely in the latter
category. I might not think season five is Buffy’s best year ever (but it
certainly ranks in my top three) but I think Clare Kramer was an inspired piece
of casting to take on the role of the blonde bombshell who dogs Buffy’s
footsteps this year. She’s just so unlike any other villainess that this show
has ever attempted; smarter than Harmony, crazier than Drusilla, sexier than
Sunday and when she’s got her head on far scarier than Faith. Glory works as a
counterpoint to Buffy; an insanely powerful blonde with superpowers and a
destiny of her own. She has all the best lines (speaking like Buffy did in
season one before she went and grew up), talking like a character that has
popped out of Clueless for a day break and the bizarre visual of her
apparently innocuous appearance and her terrifying strength and viciousness
really makes her one to watch. I can’t wait to see where this season takes her.
The fact that she is called ‘the Beast’, is smashing her way through an iron
door and the monk is clutching his crucifix and clearly terrified leads you to
believe that something pretty damn frightening is about to make its entrance. I
wouldn’t even say that Kramer is the most sophisticated of performers (although
she is more than capable of upping her game as she proves as the season
progresses) but with the part as written she doesn’t have to be. That’s
the point. Glory is selfish, petulant, outrageously stylish and street wise kid
that just so happens to be an awesomely powerful God (although we don’t know
that yet). Stripped of her omnipotence, shoved down to Earth to exist amongst
the insects and desperate to get back, she suddenly snaps the season into focus
as every one and thing (Joyce aside) starts to revolve around her storyline. I
love the fact that she completely ignores the protests of the security guard
that she has chained up as a snack (he’s trying to tell her he has a wife and
kid that need him) – he’s irrelevant to her. And her mad rant before she sucks
her brains out is great because it shows just how dangerously unpredictable and
psychotic she is.
Vengeance Demon: We’ve reached a point now where even when
Anya is far from the centre of what the episode is about, she makes me laugh
out loud at least once every week. If she is supposed to be a Cordelia
replacement she has blown her predecessor out the water. Emma Caulfield is so
likable in the part I just want to be around her all the time. Telling a
customer to leave and not giving a damn whether they have a nice day because
she has their money is pure Anya. And I love her for it.
College Boy: Riley should be far more bothered than he is
about being described as kittenish. Kittens are strong, independent,
resourceful and moody. He should be described as puppyish. They are
soppy, excitable and desperate for attention.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘What are you doing?’ ‘My boyfriend. Go
away!’
‘Five words or less’ ‘Out. For. A. Walk. Bitch.’
‘I’m President. You can be the janitor.’
The Good: Finally something has started happening.
Monks on the run, spilling treasures, magic curses, doors blowing off their
hinges and flame dressed blondes dishing out horrible death. This is more like
it! Almost to point out that this should have taken place before the
introduction of Dawn (but then would kind of give away everything about her
before she showed up) a caption flashes up informing us that Glory caught up
with the monks two months ago. The dusting effects are much better this year
with the vamps dusting off a layer to reveal the skeleton underneath and then
that floating into the wind as well. We’ve never seen Buffy beaten up quite
like this before. Glory swats her aside like she is a fly. It looks like this
might be a season of bitch fights that will make the Buffy/Faith confrontation
look like kids in a playground. I rather love the fact that the all-powerful
Glory gets sidetracked by a broken heel enabling Buffy to escape. I always said
those things were more trouble than their worth. Powerful energy which is
termed a key turned humanoid? Has somebody been watching The Armageddon Factor?
In a small but vital role, Ravil Isyanov gives a fantastic performance as the
monk.
The Bad: One thing I have really noticed this year is how
economic the first batch of episodes has been. Season four boasted some
outrageously expensive looking sets (the Initiative) and action sequences but
so far this year the show has been contained to sets we already know or tarted
versions of ones we have already seen (the Magic Shop). Either the budget has
been cut (perhaps that’s why the show has been serialised?) or they are saving
the money for something special coming up.
Moment to Watch Out For: I love the subtle effects that are
used during Buffy’s vision quest. The grainy quality of the picture, the soft
pulsing of Dawn in the family pictures and how her room transforms from a
teenage bedroom to a storage room in the blink of an eye. Make no mistake this
is fantastic visual storytelling because you don’t need a single word to inform
you of what is being pointed out. Forgive the pun but the scene where Glory
tiptoes up behind Buffy and is clearly loving every second of it is…glorious.
Orchestra: Wanker’s music during the ritual is terrific,
mystical and spooky with a little touch of tinkling magic.
Foreboding: The show continues to sneak clues under the
radar with both Ben and the crazies turning up in what appears to be a
completely innocent scene about Buffy getting Joyce’s medicine. Very clever.
Result: In one way No Place Like Home is as plotless as the
previous episode but there are several differences that make this stand out as
something far more important. Firstly it introduces Glory to the mix, the evil
harpy that will prove to have a profound effect on Buffy’s life before the
season is over. For good or for ill (I would definitely say the former) Clare
Kramer makes an instant impression in the role and if nothing else the answers
to her mystery (What is the Key? Why are the monks so frightened of her? How
has she invaded the Summers house?) are appetite whetting. Joyce’s storyline is
perturbing to watch especially with the foreknowledge of what is to come but
the standout material in this installment focuses on Buffy’s trip into
psychedelia and exposing Dawn as a fraudulent sibling. Part of me is surprised
it took this long to explain her presence and another part me feels as though
the mystery has been sown up too quickly. All of me is intrigued to see
how she is linked to the Glory plot, how Buffy is going to handle the secret
and whether the character will be integrated into the show for good. Whilst
season five might not be throwing as many surprises at you as last year, it has
one walloping great mystery at its heart which has changed everything.
It was a bold move and it’s already paying off. The opening of the Magic Shop is
superfluous material but just watch the interaction between the regulars – they
are an awesome functioning unit at this point. One thing is clear about season
five – standalone episodes are out the window from now on and its serialised
storytelling all the way. If this is any indication of the story that is going
to be told, sign me up. Its bizarre because I know this isn’t one of the
better episodes of Buffy (Dawn, Joyce and Glory’s plots would all be given
better airings later in the season) but I was really involved in it anyway.
Man, I would give No Place Like Home this mark just for the moment Glory tippy
toes up behind Buffy: 8/10
Family written and directed by Joss Whedon
What’s it about: Tara’s family turn up to drag her back
home…
The Chosen One: Since discovering the truth about Dawn,
Buffy has switched to over protection mode and is dogging her every step and
barely letting her leave her sight.
The Key: Buffy only shares the secret about Dawn with Giles
which at this stage is probably a wise move. All she needs is Xander or Anya
acting all wiggy around her. Buffy’s memories have been changed to such an
extent that she knows that Dawn wasn’t a part of her life two months ago but
she can still remember the most painful and vivid memories about her reacting
to their fathers departure badly.
Goddess: ‘Please don’t tell me I was fighting a Vampire
Slayer…how unbelievably common !If I had friends and they heard about this…’ Glory is going to come for Dawn and Buffy,
that part is made abundantly clear. She’s so much fun, tying up the Lei-Ach
demon in her closet amongst the feather boas and tossing high heels at his face
until he wakes up!
Sexy Blond: In what might be the rudest action sequence
known to mankind, Spike winds up with Buffy’s legs wrapped around his neck with
her screaming ‘I’m coming right now!’ and we cut to Spike and Harmony in bed
and realise where Spike has been the entire time he has been making love to
her. Its hysterical, naughty and I kind of feel really bad for Harm. He turns
up to see Buffy get killed but thanks to his newfound affection for her jumps
into the fray and tries to save her. He gets a bloody nose for his trouble.
College Boy: In Joss Whedon’s hands Riley is suddenly a real
character again, tussling with Xander during Buffy’s move and generally
behaving like a human being and not a walking automaton. He’s starting to
realise that he really is the puppy that comes running every time Buffy slaps
her knees (although he’s getting hyper whiny about it). Riley is propositioned
by a vampire at Willy’s Bar in what appears to be a throwaway scene. It is
becoming ever clearer to me that there aren’t any throwaway scenes in season
five, everything has significance later on even if you don’t realise it at the
time. It looks like Buffy and Riley might have resolved their differences at
the episodes end but its just putting a plaster over a seeping wound without
dealing with the root cause.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘Am I late? Did I miss any exposition?’
I love how Buffy’s dialogue jumps straight to the point, practically shoving a
foot through the TV screen to shatter the fourth wall.
The Good: This weeks demon of choice is rather chilling with
his gross forked tongue, bleeding pustules on his face and matted hair. Much of
the character is really well observed. Recently I tried to introduce a new
friend into my closest group of friends and it went down about as well as the
treatment that Tara received. There have been many a moment like the one
between Buffy and Xander discussing how they fit in with the group and how
nobody really knows them (its basically criticising Tara whilst
constantly counterpointing that with compliments). It’s always interesting when
you add a new element to a functioning group of friends, it usually goes one of
two ways. Post-Enchanted it is weird to see Amy Adams in such a tiny
role but she works wonders with the little screen time she has turning cousin
Beth into somebody who is poisonous to be around whilst pretending to be sugar
and spice. There’s something quite chilling about the way she wants to
encourage Tara into a life of servitude to her father and brother. Buffy
confirms this years theme during the conclusion, stating categorically that they
are a family now. Strangely enough it works here whereas the million and one
times Janeway mentioned the same fact on Voyager I just wanted to reach for the
sick bucket. Very different dynamics. Showing that the chip has legs beyond
de-fanging Spike, he punches Tara in the face to prove that she isn’t a demon.
Clever and funny (‘he hurt my nose…’). Look at those party scenes,
everybody is so happy! A world of pain must be on the way for Joss Whedon to
let his characters smile this much.
The Bad: Thanks goodness Buffy has the ‘previously on…’
sequence at the beginning of every episode now otherwise it would be easy to
forget about the clue that not all is right with Tara that was slipped in
during the middle of last season. I had forgotten all about it. It shows
forward thinking but boy did they wait a long time to pull her up on that.
Fashion Statement: ‘This earns you big favours. There could
be outfits.’ The camera pans away from Ben just as he is taking his draw
string pants off (after exposing his rather impressive chest). I realise that
an important plot point is being concealed but I still shouted ‘no fair!’
at the television. Whedon brilliantly slips the secret that Glory and Ben are
the same person right under our noses and snatches it away again before we can
realise. Xander has a great look this year too, the one year where his life is
together and he represents the most stable character on the show. The last
scene with Willow and Tara floating on a cloud in the middle of the dance floor
is so achingly romantic I think I started purring.
Result: Let’s get one thing straight, this is no Hush or
Restless but it is still very good and a vital episode for the continuing
exploration and settlement of Tara. Not every story written and directed by
Joss Whedon can be a revolutionary classic but Family does show that even with
regards to the nuts’n’bolts tales he is offering something a bit more special
than the norm (in comparison to his early season openers for instance). Tara
has fast become one of my favourite characters on this show and Family goes to
some lengths to show how she has been quietly integrated into the Scoobies
without anybody bothering to really get to know her. Like Willow said about
Dawn last week I have so much involuntary empathy for Tara because she is a bit
of a spaz, because she is awkward around people she doesn’t know and because it
is revealed in this episode that she suffers the same curse as me – her
immediate family (barring a few exceptions in my case) are just ghastly.
It’s a slow burn episode that doesn’t seem to be in a rush to get anywhere fast
and provide anything but decent character moments until the last ten minutes
when Buffy and her friends do something rather wonderful for Tara and affirm
this seasons family theme in a particularly heart-warming conclusion. Its so
lovely I had to grab my better half and squeeze him for about ten minutes. As
usual at this point in season five the plotting is almost non-existent but
compensating in spades is the character work which is absolutely excellent: 8/10
Fool For Love written by Doug Petrie and directed by Nick
Marck
What’s it about: Spike and how he killed two Slayers...
The Chosen One: We’ve never seen Buffy bleed quite like this
before, or look as scared and it really drives home the point that despite her
sarcastic quips and attitude that she is fighting a dangerous game. I think
somewhere along the line (with the additional of the latest Big Bad) we forgot
that vampires can actually be scary. There’s no smart lines of dialogue
when Riley rushes in to save the day, she simply collapses into his arms in a
bloody state. She even has the humility to admit that he was one a pretty
ordinary sort of vampire and that it was as simple as he beat her. She’s only
being honest when she says that each Slayer comes with an expiration date on
the package (she almost passed her sell-by date in season one and would come
face to face with the same issue at the end of this season). Her first lesson
is that a Slayer must always reach for her weapon because a vampire always has
his. I think Spike is right when he suggests that Buffy has gotten so good that
she is starting to think she is immortal. I think the audience has fallen into
the same trap so this is a healthy
reminder that it isn’t the case. Is Buffy a little bit in love with the
idea of dying or is it something she fears? The only reason Buffy has lasted as
long as she has is because she has ties to the world. Those ties are being
tested as Joyce heads off for a CAT scan, a real world horror invading her
life.
The Key: ‘Come one, who’s the man?’ ‘You are. A very
short, annoying man.’ Dawn proves that she isn’t just a whiny teen but can
be useful in some Joyce-related cover ups. It might be the first time she
hasn’t deliberately been portrayed as a pain in Buffy’s butt.
Sexy Blond: It’s a fabulous premise for an episode to have
Buffy so badly injured during a mundane fight that she needs to turn to Spike
to find out what weaknesses the other Slayers had that he murdered. It’s by far
the best use of Spike in this show since the beginning of season four (he has
to be involved in this one and that hasn’t always been the case in the past
year) and fills in a lot of rich detail about his past that I have always
wondered about. It also subtly continues the ‘Spike loves Buffy’ storyline with
him gently agreeing to help her out where a few years back he would have fed
her a pack of lies, probably so he could dispatch her himself. How he turns her
education into a twisted version of a date is great. It was a bold move to
suggest that one the coolest characters ever seen on television began his life
as a bumbling, awkward, shy boy who would rather scribble down poetry than
express his feelings. James Marsters is a delight in these scenes and clearly
relishes the chance to play something completely different. To be fair to those
who mock him effulgent is not a word that should turn up in any poem. Or anything.
It’s gorgeous to spend some time with Drusilla again and to be reminded of what
a smoking hot couple she and Spike were. She was always nuttier than a
squirrels shit after he has been overdosing on macadamias and Petrie fills her
scenes with mouth wateringly loopy lines (‘the King of cups expects a
picnic…but this is not his birthday!’). We’ve never seen a siring quite
like this before with William proving a wimp until the last, screaming ‘ow!’
over and over as Drusilla sinks her teeth into his neck. He was such an awkward
thing that putting him down was probably a kindness. After his first Slayer and
his taste of her rich blood you can see what he came after Buffy, its like an
addiction. Drusilla is so batty she is horny as hell after Spike has bagged his
first Slayer and makes love to Spike whilst the blood is still hot on his lips.
The look on Angelus’ face when he is told that Spike has bagged his first
Slayer could be read as simple jealousy but you have to watch the accompanying
Angel episode to understand that that isn’t the case at all. Cutting from the
best night of Spike’s life at the Boxer Rebellion to the current day where he
is hanging out in a kids nightclub with a Slayer shows you how far he has
fallen since then. Taking the leather jacket from Nikki is not only an
awesomely cool moment but also explains why he always seems to be wearing it. At
the climax Spike goes from wanting to kill Buffy to comforting her and Marsters
makes that transformation looked utterly convincing.
College Boy: Without a doubt Riley’s finest hour since
season four and proof that if the writers went quite so obsessed with writing
him out of the show he could be made to work. I’ve heard people bemoan
that he manages to kill a vampire that almost dispatched Buffy but that is only
because he thinks in such black and white terms. She’s all about the fun of the
fight and the witty quips. He turns up with a hand grenade and blows the crypt
that his gang are hiding in to smithereens. I think I punched the air as he
walked away from the explosion of dusty death.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘They call him William the Bloody
because of his bloody awful poetry!’
‘Every day you wake up to the same question that haunts you…is
today the day I die?’
‘Death is your art. You make it with your hands day after
day. That final gasp. That look of peace. Part of you is desperate to know
what’s it like? Where does it lead you? You see, that’s the secret. Not the
punches you throw or that kicks that you land. She nearly wanted it. Every
Slayer has a death wish. Even you.’
The Good: Its very clever how Doug Petrie throws the least
convincing looking vampire at the audience (what is up with that hair?) to
deliberately throw us off balance and think on this as a casual late night
dusting. He turns that completely on its head and make this the vampire that
finally gets the better of Buffy and manages to stab her in the gut with a
stake. It’s the most eye opening pre-titles sequence in a while, taking a trope
of this show and subverting it with shocking style. The whole sequence of Riley
patrolling and being saddled with the GAP kids club (otherwise known as Willow,
Xander and Anya chomping on chips and wearing really inappropriate clothing)
had me hooting. How gorgeous do the flashback sequences look, giving the show a
spanking new set of locations beyond the usual Sunnydale schlock. England is
represented as cobbled lanes, horses clip-clopping along and well dressed
ladies and gentlemen drifting past the camera. The scenes set in and around the
Boxer Rebellion look as though they have sprung from a Hollywood movie.
Atmospherically lit, filled with extras and with and with a sense of space that
this show usually shuns, its impossible not to be impressed as you drink in
these impressive visuals. Perhaps this is where the budget all went. Spike’s
fight with the Chinese Slayer is simply one of the finest pieces of action you
will see on this show, set in a beautiful location, exposed from many cameras
and cut rapidly with the end result offering the one thing this show has to
avoid usually – the death of a Slayer. The shot of the four vampires strolling
in slow motion away from the chaos of the Rebellion with flames reaching up
into the sky behind them is one of Buffy’s most enduring images. I have a bit
of a love affair with trains (is it a boy thing or a geek thing or just a me
thing?) and so immediately got excited as we jumped onto a graffiti strewn New
York subway train as Spike combats wit Nikki. Awesomely some of the shots are
filmed from outside the train looking in as it screams along the tracks.
Intercutting the past and the present with Spike fighting both Nikki and Buffy
is exceptionally done, really giving the climax a sense of energy. Catching up
with Spike and Dru post-Becoming fills in an essential piece of missing
continuity and shows that Spike had an unhealthy obsession with Buffy before he
even realised it.
The Bad: As one myself (although I find the term rather
endearing), I take exception to Spike’s mis-pronunciation of poofter.
Moment to Watch Out For: This episode builds to the
incredible moment when Spike spells out that Buffy has a death wish and leans
in to take advantage of her. Her reaction, and how she tears the ground away
from beneath him by tossing money at him, is extraordinary. We’ve never seen
Spike go from such a climactic high to a pathetic low in a heartbeat. ‘You’re
beneath me.’
Fashion Statement: Willow’s hat in the cemetery. So cute I
want to gobble her up. 80s punk Spike is hot in a very wrong way.
Orchestra: I think I had really underestimated what Thomas
Wanker brought to this show. Whilst he isn’t in the same league as Christophe
Beck (mostly because his music is a little samey whereas Beck could give each
episode its own unique identity) I have identified a great deal of very good
music already in season five. He lends the China sequences a more hard hitting,
kung-fu pace and the scenes set in New York sound as headache inducing and as in-yer-face
as the worst excesses of 80s rock music.
Foreboding: Introducing Kali Rocha as Cecily, and later
Halfrek. She has such immediate screen presence it is easy to see how see why
she was brought back. How they retro-actively decide to make Cecily and Halfrek
the same person just like Anya/Anyanka was inspired cheek of the kind only
Buffy can get away with. As a counterpoint to this episode check out the
phenomenal season seven episode Lies My Parents Told Me which fills in the gaps
with regards to William’s mother.
Result: A rich exploration of Spike’s mythology, a shocking
reminder that vampires are supposed to be scary, a memorable return for Darla,
Drusilla and Angel, some genuinely funny comedy and an expensive production
filled with memorable imagery – there isn’t one part of Fool For Love that
isn’t firing on all cylinders. It’s one of those episodes that feels like it
was written and directed by Joss Whedon because it is just a notch above all
the really good episodes and has had extra care poured into it so it’s
surprising that it was last week’s quieter character affair (which was still
very good) that he actually helmed. Doug Petrie writes what is probably his best
script with some valuable insights into some of the most popular characters
this show has produced and the direction courtesy of newbie Nick Marck is a
thing of beauty. If he had something to prove coming onto Buffy then he has
achieved his goal and then some. Proof that he has taken over as top dog in
Sunnydale Spike is afforded the sort of gripping flashbacks that Angel enjoyed
back in seasons two/three and it’s an invaluable charting of his life from meek
poet to grungy bad boy. Fool For Love cements James Marsters’ position as one
of the best performers on this show, effortlessly taking us on a journey
through different stages of Spike’s life and convincing in every one (unlike
Boreanaz who is still struggling with his hideous Irish accent). The last ten
minutes are some of Buffy’s finest material, some gorgeous observations are made
about Buffy and Slayers in general and these scenes expose a chemistry between
Gellar and Marsters that the show is really about to start capitalising on.
Even the ending is perfect, the silent reaction shots as Spike tries to comfort
Buffy as she realises that her mom could be very ill indeed. Fool For Love is
an essential episode of Buffy, a top ten classic and something to be savoured: 10/10
Shadow written by David Fury and directed by Dan Atlas
What’s it about: Glory ups her game in her hunt for the Key…
The Chosen One: I find the scenes where Joyce is alone in
the hospital room having her CAT scan and wondering if she is going to die very
disturbing because of my foreknowledge of her fate. These scenes were
unsettling the first time around but now they are unbearable. Waiting for
something horrendous to happen to a character you love is very disquieting.
When a shadow is discovered Joyce does what every good parent would do in her
situation, thinks about the reaction her children will have to the news and
attempts to buoy their spirits. She is such a trooper. The direction when Buffy
discovers the news that her mother has a brain tumour is excellent, the
dialogue drowning out as she watches the Doctor intently without taking in a
single word beyond the news of a life threatening illness. Buffy telling her
mom she looks beautiful broke my heart.
The Key: Dawn has jettisoned her annoying teen persona and
is now just a child trying to cope with the fact that she might lose her
mother. Buffy chooses to hold off from telling Dawn the truth about her mum for
as long as possible, not because she is afraid to do so but because she wants
her to live in a world where her mother might not be snatched away from her at
any minute for as long as possible. The story of Dawn, Buffy and Joyce riding
the carousel over and over when they first moved to Sunnydale and she hadn’t
made any friends yet to invite to her birthday party is gorgeous. It shows what
a fantastic job those monks did.
Goddess: Ben is gaining increasing prominence on the show
simply because he keeps appearing in Buffy’s frequent trips to the hospital. It
looks like he is being set up as Riley’s replacement as a romantic interest the
way he gently handles her when she receives terrible news about her mother and
the show does go down that route temporarily before yanking the character in a
whole other direction. It’s season five thinking ahead again, laying seeds for
some great surprises in its second half. How Glory’s ritual is interrupted by a
beating that she effortlessly turns the tables on Buffy is terrifically played
by Kramer, she walks away from the fight as though having her head smashed
against a wall is only the smallest of inconveniences. Glory has such a smiley
insouciance about everything she does I just love spending time with her.
Sexy Blond: Just when we thought Spike couldn’t get any more
pathetic he is caught sniffing Buffy’s sweater and getting off on it and tries
to pretend that it is so he can hunt her scent in out in the future. Bless him,
he really needs to deal with this new obsession.
Witchy Willow: Now Buffy and her friends have proven their
loyalty to Tara there is a subtle shift in Amber Benson’s performance that
shows her burgeoning confidence in their presence. This pleases me no end.
Gorgeous Geek: What has happened to Xander? Since The
Replacement he has been showing consistent maturity and insight. Our boy is
growing up. He can see what is happening behind the scenes between Riley and
Buffy when everybody else is ignorant.
College Boy: Riley is already in a bad place when it comes
to his life and his relationship with Buffy so it doesn’t take much prodding
from Spike to bring all his anxieties (that she doesn’t need him, that he is
more invested in their relationship than he is) to the surface. In the face of
Joyce’s illness, Riley is completely impotent. It’s not selfish of him to want
to protect Buffy and Dawn but it is selfish when he starts to consider his
feelings a priority over what they are going through. Riley considers it a
slight on his character that Buffy cries a lot less with him than she did with
Angel but from and this audience members point of view it is infinitely preferable.
That final shot of Riley being shut out of the hospital room where the Summers
women are sharing their personal grief. You’re not long for this show, Finn.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘I for one did not want to start my day
with a slaughter. Which really goes to show how much I’ve grown!’ – scene
stealing Anya in full force.
‘How did she get away with this bad mojo stuff?’ ‘Giles sold
it to her.’
‘Can nobody appreciate that I’m on a schedule here?
Tick-tock, Dreg! Tick fricking tock!’
The Good: Toadying minions are always fun and this set of
scabby demons who worship Glory are a particularly appealing lot. I had no idea
that Dreg was played by Kevin Wiseman (one of the standout features of JJ
Abrams’ Alias) and he gives a superb comic performance. Only in Buffy could you
have a detail as seemingly innocuous as Giles putting an advert in the
newspaper becoming an important plot point. To then have your central villain
turn up at his shop and buy the ingredients she needs for her spell that will
sniff out Dawn right under the noses of all of your heroes takes some nerve.
Which this show has in abundance and somehow always gets away with it! ‘She
could be anywhere’ says Giles, immediately after serving Glory, ‘but I
imagine it wont be long before she makes herself known.’ Anya’s realisation
of how stupid they have been (‘hey…hey…HEY!’) made me crack up. They
than guiltily have to fess up to Buffy and they would gotten away with it too
if it wasn’t for that pesky Anya.
The Bad: The CGI snake goes to show how far they’ve come
since the days of the Mayor’s ascension (it is far more fluidic and generally
more convincing looking) but the physical prop is so unbelievably stiff and
crappy you have to wonder why they bothered. Buffy rising on its back made me
inwardly cringe and I haven’t really experienced that since the early days of
seasons one and two. At this stage of the game they should know what they can
pull off and what they can’t. The snake bursting into the magic shop in an
explosion of CGI destruction is okay, the puppet clunking into shot in the
church and its stiff tail vanishing behind a pew is not. The only point when
the relentless misery became too much for me was the montage in the last third
which points out with some determination how depressed every character on this
show is right now. Compounding the problem there is a whacking great shot of
what is obvious not Sarah Michelle Gellar but a stunt double running after the
snake once it crashes through the fence. They try all kinds of tricks (POV shots,
fast editing, glimpses of parts of its body) but the end result reminds me of
the Myrka from Doctor Who’s Warriors of the Deep – they’ve paid for the bloody
thing so it has to have some exposure.
Moment to Watch Out For: I thought we were long past the
point where Riley could surprise me but that’s precisely what happened when he
picked up a vampire in a bar, let her drag him down a dark alley and suck his
blood and then staked her. This is really dark stuff and has potentially
riveting consequences.
Orchestra: This is the first time I thought Wanker’s music
was a little too inconspicuous for the material. I’m not saying that scarier
music would improve the realisation of the snake but it would have certainly
have given me something else to focus on.
Result: Another apparently plot-free episode in itself but a
vital part of the overall picture of the season, Shadow is a dark episode that
is enlivened by the continuing presence of Glory. Anywhere else this might be a
bit too depressing but Buffy has a way of adding touches of humour to any
situation because its regulars are naturally funny characters (Anya is
especially imperative in this regard). I can understand if over the next
handful of episodes people got weary with all the high drama but I had the
opposite reaction because it is so beautifully written and performed for the
most part and proves that this show can be made to work even as a melancholic
character serial. The difference between this and a run of episodes on another
show that wallow in a tone as black as Dracula’s heart is that I really care
about the characters on this show and will stick with them because I want to
make sure that they get through the difficult periods in their lives (season
six tested me a little in this respect but we still made it through relatively
intact). What’s interesting about season five is that the writers have managed
to subvert everything we know about some of the core characters (after being
useless for a year and a half Giles is now a vital mentor again, Spike has
become a lovesick puppy, Riley is a bit of a bad boy who enjoys the hit of
being sucked on by vampires, Buffy now has a sister that she never had before)
and what’s great is that they have made it work. The thing that drags
Shadow down is an effects disaster of real magnitude. You’ve got two version of
a giant cobra, a CGI one (not bad) and a physical costume (utterly dreadful).
Did Doctor Who never teach you that you shouldn’t be too ambitious on a
shoestring? Buffy punching the rubbery snake in the head might be a new low for
the series: 6/10
Listening to Fear written by Rebecca Rand Kirshner and
directed by David Solomon
What’s it about: An outer space demon?
The Chosen One: The opening scenes feature the three Summers
women waiting it out in the hospital until Joyce’s surgery comes around and
reveals what an effective little team they are together. It’s a crying shame
that we didn’t get to see this play out over a longer period but I completely
understand the reason for removing Joyce from the show (to give Dawn prominence
and because she now fulfils the domestic role previously held by Buffy’s
mother…and that has rather been exhausted of dramatic possibilities over the
past four seasons). It is a massive ask of Kristine Sutherland to take on the
less desirable side effects of suffering a brain tumour and to her credit she
plays it to the hilt, turning fluffy mom Joyce into a twisted, unpredictable
version of the same character. Suddenly she is forced into the position of
acting like the child; irrational, opinionated and wanting everything her way.
Buffy trying to do something as mundane as wash up whilst her mum is falling to
pieces upstairs manages to be one of the most heartbreaking moments of the year
so far. She is trying to remain strong for her Joyce and Dawn but inside she is
dying and she finally has to let go off a little of that personal grief. Gellar
is magnificent. Before her death Joyce does come to realise that Dawn isn’t her
child and something has sneaked her into their lives. In the same breath she
affirms what Buffy has already concluded, that she is a part of their family
now and she has to be protected. When Joyce tells Buffy that no matter what
happens and if she doesn’t make it through the surgery she has to promise to protect
Dawn no matter what the cost she is practically signing her own death warrant.
Dawn feels like a part of their family and that she always has been. Season
five strikes the right chord of family warmth again.
The Key: It is becoming increasingly clear that the spate of
crazies that has polluted Sunnydale of late can see Dawn for what she really
is. Everybody keeps telling her that she isn’t real and Dawn is beginning to
notice. The way she slowly discovers the truth about herself is one of season five’s
greatest triumphs.
Sexy Blond: As Spike obsesses more about Buffy and prowls
around her house it seems to bring him nothing but pain. And I’m not talking
about the emotional kind. The Quellor attacks him unawares in a scene that had
me laughing out loud. It was the last thing that he (or anybody) would expect
to be visiting Buffy’s house.
Witchy Willow: Willow is thrilled that she managed to dust
two vampires but the overall effect of her, Giles and Xander taking on a small
nest of the undead is that they aren’t very good at it. Willow and Tara are
still in the early stages of their relationship, the months where you head out
to the roof a building and stare up at the stars together. This is desperately
cute material (which is much needed in such a bleak episode) but also serves to
cleverly introduce the presence of the meteor crashing down to Earth.
College Boy: Riley is hooked on having his blood sucked now,
and it’s all taking place in the dankest, dirtiest building a set designer has
ever had to create. At the moment it just looks like he is acting out for the
hell of it, because he feels his needs aren’t being met but I hope we get some
kind of explanation for this transformation soon. He still has ties with the
government and when he thinks the danger is out of the Scoobies’ league he
doesn’t hesitate in bringing them in.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘The girl who can break things just by
looking at them now has a book to teach her to break things just by looking at
them?’
‘Because it’s a killer snot monster from outer space. I did
not just say that…’
The Good: It has long been a wish of mine for Buffy to ditch
the supernatural for one week and take a stab at the extraterrestrial and
Listening to Fear ticks that box very well indeed. Not only is the Queller
demon extremely well designed (in sharp contrast to last weeks rubbery snake)
but the director goes to some lengths to make it stand out from the crowd with
some disorienting POV shots and its terrifying ability to climb the walls and
hang from the ceiling. It’s quite disgusting, with a scabby carapace and a face
full of spiky teeth that explode outwards as it gobs thick mucus all over your
face. It is one of those creatures that looks utterly inhuman and fascinates me
because of it. That poor security guard has really suffered this season, first
having his brain sucked out by Glory and now walking into the path of the
Quellor and being vomited on and killed. It again shows how clever the strategy
is in this season of Buffy, introducing this guy in No Place Like Home,
bringing him back as a mental patient and having the Quellor drawn to him so we
can make the link about mental patients and Joyce being its potential next
victim. The director has very cleverly built floors to look like ceilings and has
the Quellor crawling across them and then inserts them into the appropriate
scenes. It’s a simple but very effective (although I was constantly screaming
at characters to look up!). The location work out in the mist swathed woods by
the lake is unusual and atmospheric. I love the scene where the mental patients
are tucked in and tied down for a nights rest and the Quellor leaps up and
vomits in their faces. The director paces this brilliantly and it feels like it
could have sprung from a good video nasty. Like a good horror movie heroine
Buffy goes for the largest carving knife in the set as she patrols the eerily
silent house for the intruder. Spike leaps out in a particularly well timed
fright. After she stabs the Quellor in the back several times it dies in her
arms looking for all the world like it is giving her a hug. After all the
horrors they have faced from the demon from outer space the best scare comes at
the end of the episode when Joyce heads off for surgery. It’s make or break
time.
The Bad: I’m sure it is perfectly possible that the symptoms
that Joyce exhibits could manifest themselves as quickly as they do but the way
her headaches started, her tumour was exposed and now suddenly she is
experiencing the mood swings and irrational behaviour feels contrived. It feels
as if the symptoms have had to wait until the tumour was exposed in the last
episode in case they spoilt the surprise. I also find it a little peculiar that
they chose to deal with dark-Joyce for one episode only. This is ripe for
further drama. Little did I know that I was being led up the garden path with
her recovery. Buffy’s choice of washing up music is truly atrocious.
Moment to Watch Out For: The Quellor attacking Joyce,
straddling her on her bed and puking in her face is half gross horror and half
high camp. Either way I was lapping it up. How many more indignities can this
woman suffer?
Fashion Statement: Is there a new designer this season? What
is it with all these retro eighties looking vampires?
Orchestra: Thomas Wanker sure knows how to create an
unsettling mood when he wants to with discordant stings being the order of the
day. His music makes an already unsettling episode even creepier. There’s a
glorious moment when Joyce descends the stairs from the POV of the Quellor that
feels like a throwback to the days of Psycho with a really effect scream
effect playing in the music.
Foreboding: In a moment that caught me completely unawares
when I first watched this season one of Glory’s minions catches up with Ben and
suggests a connection between the two characters. This has been so well
concealed until this point it left me wondering what other clues I had missed
out on. It also ties a neat bow around the Quellor plot, explaining why he was
summoned. ‘I’m cleaning up Glory’s mess, just like I’ve done my whole damn
life…’
Result: Is this the only Buffy episode to feature a creature
from outer space? If so they should have pulled off that trick more often
because the Quellor Demon is the most memorably grisly nasty we have seen on
this show in an age. It feels like Buffy’s first stab at outright horror since
Hush with both visceral (the icky Demon puking in peoples faces and crawling
into shot in the corner of your eye) and psychological (Joyce’s descent into
madness) horror being explored. The net result is a very strong creep fest that
serves as both a standalone installment (we’ll never hear from the Quellor
again, unfortunately) and a vital piece of this seasons storytelling (Joyce’s
symptoms, Riley’s defection, several crazies realising Dawn’s true nature).
With helicopters sweeping into scenes, wide open locations and the army
patrolling we’re back in cinematic territory and it’s the most refreshing
change of pace after nearly half a seasons worth of intimate character tales.
Joyce’s horrific symptoms are so effectively played by Kristine Sutherland (and
I liked how the regulars were written out of this plot so it was a very
personal nightmare for the Summers girls) but I do have an issue with how her
condition has been structured across the last couple of episodes. Rather than
an illness that has struck an individual it feels as though it is part of a
larger dramatic masterplan. However the performances are so effective it almost
renders that complaint moot because I was so involved with Joyce’s nightmare on
a moment by moment basis. For it’s sinister direction and bizarre but
disturbing demon of the week, Listening to Fears earns a mini horror movie: 8/10
Into The Woods written and directed by Marti Noxon
What’s it about: Goodbye, Riley Finn.
The Chosen One: Interestingly Buffy’s reaction to Riley’s
‘affair’ isn’t to publicly declare him a dawg but to take out the nest of vamps
that he has been attracted to. It’s as though she is embarrassed that he has to
get his kicks elsewhere and doesn’t want to admit that to her friends.
Sexy Blond: Spike only shows Buffy Riley’s dark path because
he wants to drive a wedge between them but there is something rather pathetic
about doing that and knowing that you wont be able to fill that hole. It might
be a case of if I can’t have her then nobody can but I like to think there is
still a fraction of evil in Spike left that revels in create emotional pain
even when he can’t revel in physical pain. Ultimately the conversations between
Riley and Spike are the most honest this episode gets. He knows why Riley is
getting suck jobs and why he is never going to be bad enough for Buffy. They
can share a bottle of wine and discuss how each has what the other wants (Spike
wants Buffy and Riley wants to be a bad boy) and under different circumstances
they would have killed each other long ago.
Gorgeous Geek: Xander knows why Buffy is so upset about the
vampire den, that’s why he mentions Riley to gauge her reaction. He’s become
impressively insightful this year and takes on an important role in Into the
Woods as the voice of reason. The one who lays out bare all of the options in a
horrible situation.
Vengeance Demon: There’s a lovely thread that runs through
this episode where Anya shows how she bumbles and blusters her way through this
new mortal life she has found herself in, usually getting it totally wrong
(babysitting Dawn and suggesting gambling and drinking and her appalled
reaction when she realises that they wont be having loud, obnoxious sex). It is
all leading up to that phenomenal final scene where Xander establishes how much
he is in love with her and how he would never want her to change who she is.
Somewhere along the line the two least conventional relationships on the show
(Willow & Tara and Xander & Anya) have become the strongest.
College Boy: ‘Why? What’s he got here in Sunnydale that’s
so special?’ This is Riley’s big departure story but if I’m honest the
wheels have been set in motion in that regard since Buffy vs Dracula. Ever
since the beginning of season five (post the Initiative) Riley hasn’t had a
place in the show (neither did Angel either, always existing on the periphery
of the Scoobies) anymore and has simply been lolloping around after Buffy
during the biggest emotional crisis in her life. Before things get very serious
we are allowed to enjoy one last candlelit night with the twosome and it’s
clear to see why this break up was inevitable. Whilst they get on really well
when he is acting like a selfish git and only thinking of himself and she isn’t
acting like a selfish cow and only thinking of herself…nobody wants to see
Buffy and her fella getting on really well. It’s actually pretty dull.
Especially when the man is Riley. In comparison with the sparks that are to
come with Spike, it’s a pretty tame relationship. You only have to compare the
way the way she makes love to the two men to see why one relationship was never
going to last. With Riley it is steady, passionless, functional and if you
check out next seasons Smashed you’ll see Buffy and Spike finally surrender to
their feelings in a sexual embrace that borders on the violently passionate
(the literally attack each other their desire is so strong). Riley has
gotten to this stage where Buffy is such a central figure in his life and when
she doesn’t need him to wipe every tear he takes that as a personal slight. You
can look at it how you like, I consider ‘I’m leaving unless you give me a
reason to stay’ as an ultimatum. In that respect I am behind Buffy 100%
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘No longer a victim of crass holiday
commercialisation. I’m a purveyor of it.’
‘I dislike that Anya, she’s newly human and strangely
literal’ ‘I don’t say that. No-one says that. No-one talks that way’ – the
tension between Willow and Anya has only been represented by the odd fleeting
look of disapproval but now they are starting to admit their feelings. Yay.
‘That girl needs some monster in her man and that’s not in
your nature.’
‘I’ve got to say something because I don’t think I’ve made
it clear. I’m in love with you. Powerfully, painfully in love. The things you
do, the way you think, the way you move…I get excited every time I am about to
see you. You make me feel like I’ve never felt before in my life…like a man’ –
Xander’s finest hour.
The Good: It says something about the way I feel about these
characters that I am willing to wait in the pre-titles sequence whilst nothing
happens beyond Buffy and the Scoobies hanging out at the hospital and waiting
for news about Joyce’s operation. Not giving us the easy way out, Noxon cuts to
the credits as Buffy looks on hopefully as the Doctor approaches without giving
us any answers. If they were looking for a new spin-off for Buffy (which wasn’t
an English based supernatural drama called Ripper) they should have looked no
further than the military outfit that has emerged in the last two episodes. We
could head off around the world with this bunch (although the characterisation
of the regulars would have to be a little cheerier than this bunch and Graham
would have to go), tackling demonic incursions with all manner of epic
government resources. When some shows try and rough up their image a bit it can
wind up looking a bit forced (check out Doctor Who’s Paradise Towers or
Voyager’s The Chute) but Buffy really embraces this approach taking us to the
seediest areas of town where vampires prey on needy humans amongst filthy
litter, dirty needles, cracked baths, mouldy mattresses and ripped open sofas.
It’s a horrible place to hang out, everything creature comfort stripped
away and Noxon never shies away from that. There’s some tough discussion about
how the people who head to these vampire dens to have their blood sucked being
willing victims and perhaps Buffy’s efforts are better spent elsewhere helping
who don’t deliberately walk into the lions den. When Buffy and riley finally
have it out the truth becomes clear…they are both too wrapped up in themselves
to be together and they have been hiding that truth from each other for too
long. It’s a great scene, powerfully written with both characters finally
telling the other some home truths. The den of vampires have really chosen the
worse time to try and overwhelm Buffy. She probably could have taken the lot of
them down on a normal day but today she is pissed. What a terrific fight
sequence and at least you can’t say she didn’t warn them. I love how she dusts
six in less than a minute and then almost let’s the vampire that Riley indulged
in go before tossing the stake like a javelin and taking her out from a
distance. Even the fight sequences are loaded with nuances. God I love that
ending with Buffy running after Riley, Noxon has whipped me up into an
emotional state by this point and it’s the perfect lack of closure that this
relationship needed to stick in the viewers mind. I especially like the devious
little trick with the audience thinking Riley has spotted Buffy coming over the
rise only for that to not be the case as he slumps into the helicopter and off
to his new life.
The Bad: Lumping Dracula and Angel into the same bracket as
the men who have so much power over Buffy is weird. One character was the love
of Buffy’s life for over three seasons and the other was a one bite wonder in a
standalone episode. It’s giving Dracula far too much credit whilst doing Angel
a disservice.
Moment to Watch Out For: ‘If he’s not the guy, if what he
needs from you just isn’t there…let him go. Break his heart and make it a clean
break. But if you really think you can love this guy, I’m talking scary, messy,
no emotions barred need… If you’re ready for that, then think about what you’re
going to lose…’ Any scene with Xander. Nicky Brendon does some of his best
ever work in Buffy in Into the Woods, finally written as a fully fleshed out
mature character and not just a comedy goofball. He’s not a genius, just
observant and he’s watched their relationship crumbled over the last couple of
months. Like a good friend he tells Buffy a few home truths and she really
doesn’t want to hear it. Naturally Buffy tries to turn the tables on him and
insult his relationship with Anya but he keeps her own track and boils it down
to the fact that if she doesn’t get over herself she might lose the one man who
loves her more than anybody in this world.
Fashion Statement: I think I may have become a little
aroused when Riley burst into Spike’s crypt, slammed him against the wall and
shoved a stake into him. Unfortunately I am talking literally and not in
metaphor but the testosterone on display is overwhelming. Spike’s reaction
(shock, pain, then surprise that he isn’t a pile of dust) made me howl.
Orchestra: Earlier I compared the intensity of the sexual
encounters of Buffy and Riley and Buffy and Spike and the differences extend to
the soundtracks too. When the former couple make love in Into the Woods the
music is gentle, safe and unpredictable but when the latter destroy a house as
Spike penetrates Buffy in Wrecked the music is destructive, violent and intense
before switching a gear to something angelic. It’s easy to see why Buffy (and
the writers) progressed from one to the other. His music when Buffy decides to
run after Riley is so stirring it really caught me up in the moment.
Result: It’s one of only two episodes of Buffy that is both
written and directed by Marti Noxon so I guess it is the ultimate expression of
what she thinks the approach to the show should be about. It’s also an
extremely good character drama, an unforgettable departure for one of the most
cardboard characters this show has produced, a moody exploration of the seedier
aspects to Sunnydale and an affirmation that Xander has emerged as one of the
shows most observant characters. If the Riley storyline has been a little drawn
out over the past half season it has at least been handled in a realistic
leisurely pace and he is written out with a great deal of care (unlike Tara’s
whose departure from the show is deliberately swift and devastating). Noxon’s
dialogue aims for the jugular and scores, it’s tough and revealing and real.
The interactions and relationships between these characters are so mature now
it is a far cry from some of the more facile and shallow characterisation I
suffered in the early years and if that means we have to get down in the dirt
with these characters to reach it then so be it. Blucas and Gellar save their
best work for last and there is some extraordinary acting from Nicholas Brendon
too (a performer I have often underrated). The last five minutes are probably
my favourite moments from season five yet with Buffy failing to get over
herself in time and Xander breaking my heart when he tells Anya how much he
loves her. They’ve successfully taken Buffy to some very dark places in the
last handful of episodes but can we get back to having some fun now? Memorably
dramatic, and all the better for being so understated: 9/10
Triangle written by Jane Espenson and directed by
Christopher Hibler
What’s it about: The ballad of Anya and Willow and the destructive
troll they release…
The Chosen One: Buffy is becoming something of a realist,
accepting that people breaking up and moving on is a natural course of life.
She understands this process because she has already suffered it with Angel.
It’s when somebody is snatched away unfairly with no warning or justification
when it really hits home as Buffy is soon to discover. Actually I’m a little
frightened at how well Buffy is dealing with her break up. She so often reaches
for tears and sympathy that this new pro-active, deal with it myself Buffy is a
real shot in the arm. Jane Espenson characterises her magnificently, a young
lady who can see her part in Riley’s departure and no longer holds any bad
feelings towards him. I wish all break ups could be handled like this. As far
as I recall this is the first time we have ever seen Buffy and Tara alone
together (barring when Faith was in the driving seat in Who Are You) and
there’s rather nice chemistry between them. It’s not a friendship that the
writers abuse but it does come into play at a vital point in season six. Tears
do come into play but they are played for laughs which is much more enjoyable.
Sexy Blond: James Marsters is just on form this season. He’s
always good but ever since he has been given a new direction with the character
he has run with it admirably. Somehow he makes the scene where Spike has
an argument with the Buffy doll utterly pathetic, sweet and very funny (‘oh
I’ll insult him if I want to…’) all at the same time before hilariously
beating it into pieces.
Witchy Willow & Vengeance Demon: Willow doesn’t
understand why Anya is so inflexible and always plays by the rules. All she
wants to do is help Buffy out in future altercations with vampires. Anya is
annoyed that Willow is helping herself to supplies that she hasn’t paid for and
is taking advantage of Giles’ absence from the Magic Shop. When Xander wont
take either of there sides Willow tries to get Tara to bat for her but she
makes a wise retreat. Willow thinks that Xander is strangled by Anya and
doesn’t step out of line but if she had been around last week she would have
heard precisely why he cares about her so much. She thinks that Anya is going
to hurt him because hurting men is what her life has been about for thousands
of years but Anya re-iterates that she would never hurt Xander. I like
that Anya brings up Willow’s roving tongue and the fact that it helped break
Xander and Cordelia up. Anya has a good reason not to trust Willow because she
is scared that the same thing will happen again. I like that this isn’t a
bitchy relationship just for the sake of it, Espenson has put some real though
in to why these women don’t like each other. Anya proves herself to Willow by
offering herself to Olaf so that Xander can live.
Gorgeous Geek: Xander makes the very smart move of hiding
behind Tara when the two women in his life start snarling at each other. Willow
is his best friend and he really values her opinion but Anya is his
girlfriend…and, well, she always has to be right (trust me I have a husband who
always has to let me be right or suffer the consequences).
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘I have finesse! I have finesse coming
out of my bottom!’
‘I like money better than people! People can so rarely be
exchanged for goods and/or services’ – Willow’s Anya impression.
‘Willow says things always happen for a reason’ ‘You ever
notice how people only say that about bad things?’
‘I will make merry sport with your more attractive
daughters!’
‘We can have something to eat’ ‘Can it be babies?’
‘I wish Buffy was here’ ‘I’m here!’ ‘I wish I had a million
dollars…’
‘You dated a troll?’ ‘And we’re what…surprised by
this?’
‘You want credit for not feeding off bleeding disaster
victims?’ ‘Well, yeah.’
‘Well hello – gay now!’
The Good: Season four was the year that dealt with massive
shifts in show that we recognised. So it is interesting that the departure of
the character introduced in that year is what provokes the biggest reaction in
our regular cast about the nature of change and how it affects them. Xander
feels as if something is missing because he didn’t get any closure from Riley’s
departure, Anya (typically selfishly) considers how she wants to be handled if
Xander ever decides to leave her and Buffy deals with the loss by transferring
all of her mixed emotions on to her friends. And there is some very natural
discussion that perhaps Riley isn’t entirely to blame and the fact that two men
have walked out of her life might be Buffy’s fault. The sheer destruction that
Olaf wrecks upon the Magic Shop, the Bronze and Sunnydale in general is very
impressive. He can barely walk past anything without lifting his oversized (is
he compensating for something?) hammer and smashing it to bits! Just when we
never thought we would ever laugh in Sunnydale again (seriously, after the last
few episodes I thought I had taken a wrong diversion into Angel) Anya and
Willow are racing the streets in Giles’ sports car on the trail of a comedy
troll wielding a destructive hammer. It’s good to smile again. Benrubi is
having so much fun with the role (I would say too much fun but this really
isn’t the type of episode where you ca underplay anything) and I found it
impossible not to be charmed by his full blooded performance. Delving further
into Anya’s backstory is something I heartily approve of and the story of
turning Olaf being the act that secured her the vengeance demon gig in the
first place gives this story a little more substance than it would otherwise
have had. Tearing down the Bronze has to be seen to be believed. Mind it was in
desperate need of a re-vamp. The vanishing till during the climax might just be
the most brilliantly understated moments of comedy I have ever witnessed – it
makes me howl every time I see it. Proof that this was only ever a pleasant
diversion, the final gets straight back into Glory-talk and features Dawn
overhearing that she is a vital element to her masterplan. Intriguing…
The Bad: The gag of Buffy joining a convent to get over her
split with Riley is a good one but is hardly realised with any kind of subtlety
(the nun with the massive curl of blonde hair sticking out of her wimple).
Actually there probably is a very funny episode to be had out Buffy going
undercover at a convent, Sister Act style. The simulated sunlight idea
is so strong it is a crying shame that we never saw that come to pass (there’s
something similar that tears through the army in Chosen but not what they are
discussing here).
Moment to Watch Out For: Without realising it Xander has
been manoeuvred into the impossible position of having to choose which of his
two favourite women has to die. I’m not surprised that the episode chickens out
of making him choose, I wouldn’t have been satisfied with either answer.
Foreboding: Giles is heading off to England to speak to the
Watcher’s Council and find out what he can about Glory. This sets up the next
episode when he returns with them nicely and gives Anthony Stewart Head some
time off to get on with some other work. Buffy suggests that Riley might come
back one day and she can say all the things that she wants to. I think she was
thinking short term but reaching forward he does eventually visit his old
stomping ground in As You Were. We’ll look further into the relationship of
Olaf and Anya in season sevens Selfless.
Result: Triangle provides some much needed levity from a run
of episodes that has been mired in pain. Finally the Willow and Anya conflict
bubbles to the surface and I especially like the way that the audience is made
to understand both women’s point of view. Willow is right; Anya is rude,
literal minded and selfish. Anya is right; Willow is indelicate, patronising
and alienating. And yet they are both so likable it is impossible not to want
them both to come out on top. It’s a great relationship and the writers would
continue to exploit it until the shows last breath. Much like every other season
five episode there are season long threads weaving their way through (Joyce’s
recovery, dealing with Riley’s departure, the approach of the Watcher’s
Council) but this is about as close to a standalone as you are going to get,
and it’s a pretty funny one too. Most of that humour comes either from the
aforementioned Anya/Willow bitching but also from Abraham Benrubi’s
unforgettable turn as Olaf the troll (his beef is with vengeance demons and
witches which gives this episode its Sophie’s Choice moment) casting a path of
destruction through Sunnydale and enjoying his sport. There have been funnier
episodes of Buffy (Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered, Dopplegangland) and
there will be funnier episodes after it (Intervention, Storyteller) but as a
pleasant mid-season pause before the Glory kicks into high gear arc (about damn
time) Triangle is a sunny piece that has no ambition but to put a smile on your
face with its gentle (or not so gentle when Olaf raises his hammer) comedy. It
succeeds in that aim admirably: 8/10
Checkpoint written by Doug Petrie & Jane Espenson and
directed by Nick Marck
What’s it about: The Watcher’s Council comes to town…
The Chosen One: Buffy isn’t just frightened of the Council
coming to Sunnydale, she refuses to work with them and considering the last
time they called they tortured her emotionally and physically that is hardly a
surprise. Why is it that college/university lecturers have a way of making you
feel smaller than anybody else in your life? It’s a true gift, almost as though
they go to a special school for the denigration of youth. Buffy must suspect
that Spike has feelings for her (he leant in to kiss her in Fool For Love, he
was stealing pictures from her house) otherwise she wouldn’t conscript him for
the all important task of looking after Joyce and Dawn, two of the most
precious people in her life. Buffy succinctly points out that the Council were
only going to ask her questions that they know she wont be answer because they
like making her jump through hoops she cannot reach. Somehow it makes the feel
superior. She’s finally figured out why people have been lining up and telling
her how unimportant she is of late…because she has power and they don’t. She
gives the Council members’ jobs and lives some semblance of meaning and now she
understands that.
Ripper: They’ve really gotten a handle on Giles again this
year, giving him a real focus and position of authority in the show again. When
the Council turn up to threaten that he stands between them and Buffy and refuses
to allow them to put her through another of their insane tests. I love it when
Anthony Head plays Giles against type (angry, sexy or funny) because he always
seems to relish the task. The upside of Buffy and Giles having their backs
against the wall like this is that their relationship is stronger than ever (‘they
picked the perfect thing…I can’t lose you’). In her tirade against the
Council Buffy manages to get Giles re-hired and paid retroactively from the day
he was fired. Good on her.
Witchy Willow: Tara has this bizarre impression that English
people are gentler than normal people which must mean she’s never spent a great
deal of time in my home town. At least she has the balls to look embarrassed by
the statement.
Gorgeous Geek: Xander’s Dick Van Dyke impressions is the
worst fake British accent since…well Dick Van Dyke.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘All stand around and look sombre. Good
job.’
‘Our relationship?’ ‘We’re friends’ ‘Good friends’
‘Girlfriends, actually’ ‘Yes, we’re girlfriends’ ‘We’re in love. We’re lovers.
Lesbian gay type lovers’ ‘I meant your relationship with the Slayer’ ‘Oh’ ‘Just
good friends.’
‘I’ll kill your mom. I’ll kill your friends. And I’ll make
you watch while I do.’
‘I love what you’ve neglected to do with the place.’
‘Glory isn’t a demon’ ‘What is she?’ ‘She’s a God’ ‘Oh.’
The Good: We’re not eased back into the Glory plot but
dropped into it head first dramatically as she lies on the floor in a sweaty
mess waiting for a brain to suck. Her minions continue to be delightful
characters, especially with Troy T. Blendell taking his place in the season as
Jinx who proves to be the most hilarious toady since DS9’s Weyoun (in fact they
share a great deal in common – his gentle tone, his sarcasm and unashamed butt
licking - which might be why I love the character so much). Hurrah for the
return of Haris Yulin, one of the greatest character actors to skip the
Atlantic and turn up in many glorious roles in American TV shows. Travers
brings with him the biggest bunch of stuff shirts and bureaucratic nasties ever
to step out of a British institution and it is impossible to feel anything but
disdain for the chosen Council members on this mission because they are just so
horrid to Buffy and her friends. They walk into their lives and start examining
every aspect of it under the mis-apprehension that they have the right to do so
(ultimately the scrap of information they have his vital but it’s only a
snippet that tells them how powerful Glory is, not how to defeat her). For
Buffy (who has realised citizens of the British Isles in a very mixed way –
Spike, Dru and Giles, great, Wesley and Gwendolyn Post, not so much) this is a
good representation of arrogant British superiority without ever going over the
top (although there is far more tweed on display than is ever acceptable). They
are at least terribly polite whilst taking over their lives and attempting to
moderate them. Giles’ appalling Japanese translations whilst Buffy is trying to
fight is very funny (and it comes again in season seven as he tries to
communicate with a Japanese Potential). Love the axe in the dummy’s throat with
the Council member trapped underneath (it’s just a shame the dummy was in the
way). Just when you think the episode is going to give Buffy some respite, Glory
turns up at her house in a brilliantly played sequence where they finally get
to talk without Buffy being tossed around like a rag doll. Dawn and Glory come
face to face for the first time in a moment of such understated tension it
quite took my breath away (I guess that’s what half a seasons build up does to
you). Shoving in the Knight’s of Byzantium at the crucial point when Buffy
needs to prove herself to the Council is brilliantly timed. She has far too
many complications in her life right now to deal with another but at the same
time I was rubbing my hands with glee. It’s a great action sequence with
spinning metal poles glinting in the night and Buffy taking on people for a
change.
Moment to Watch Out For: The
hilarious cross cutting of interviews between the Watcher’s Council and the
Scoobies. I have seen this sort of thing done before and since but never played
with such a sunny disposition. Anya’s nerves make her more literal than ever,
Tara and Willow confuse the practicicing of magic and lesbianism and Xander is
embarrassed that he has no special skills or powers. The interactions between
the actors are gorgeous and Willow’s sudden Tara stutter always gives me the
giggles.
Foreboding: The knight promises that an entire army will
follow to take Buffy down. Surely they wouldn’t be able to pull that off?
Result: Sharp, amusing and re-formatting series five in a
very positive way, Checkpoint sees Buffy at the top of its game. It has a great
many things to achieve (pushing Glory to the forefront of the show, giving the
Council a good arse kicking, inching Dawn closer to the truth about herself,
filling in the Scoobies on the gaps in the arc plot they have missed) and it
does all of them whilst handing great lines to everybody, indulging in some very
funny comedy and allowing for terrific action sequences and confrontations.
Bringing back Quentin Travers and his sinister bunch of British bureaucrats was
a stroke of genius and gives the Glory plot a greater sense of gravity and
deals with some plot threads that have been left hanging since series three.
Much of the pleasure of this episode comes from Buffy and her friends reacting
in a very guilty fashion in the face of the Watcher’s Councils examination and
trying to hide the fact that they all have a secret of some kind. The outcome
of which is that they have nothing to be ashamed of and they are proud of their
relationship with a demon (Xander), a flirtation with magic (Willow) and an
obsession with the shows central character (Spike). In the awesome final speech
Buffy affirms that they are tighter than they have ever been before and they
are ready to take on anything that Glory, the Council or anything else throws
at them. You’ll never find these characters at a point when their belief in
themselves is so high again and it’s a glorious feeling. Buffy gets no rest in
this episode, threatened by the Council, Glory and the Knights of Byzantium but
she overcomes them all and has rarely been as powerful as she is in the final
scene. Season five is hitting a run of form that isn’t losing momentum. If it
keeps this up it could be the best year yet: 8/10
Blood Ties written by Steven S. DeKnight and directed by
Michael Gershman
What’s it about: Dawn investigates…
The Chosen One: Buffy’s birthdays have been notoriously
hideous affairs and this year looks set to be no different. In season two she
almost lost Angel, season three she was put through a series of torturous tests
and season four she nearly killed Giles! What fresh Hell can the writers
descend upon a celebratory Ms Summers this year? Buffy’s mates do have a right
to be angry, she’s always keeping them out of the loop about something
(remember when Angel returned from Hell)? It’s very clever how the emphasis of
this series has shifted from Buffy to Dawn almost imperceptibly. It’s also
telling that when Buffy isn’t the focus all the time she is a hell of a lot
more likable. The look on Joyce’s face when Dawn tells her that she isn’t her
mother is one of pure pain and I’m sure it’s something that every mother has
experienced at some point in bringing up their (occasionally ungrateful)
children. The fact that she still wants to protect her (made up) daughter
regardless of how she is being treated is the sign of a fantastic mom, and one
that will be sorely missed because of it shortly. I loved the moment where
Joyce tells Buffy that Dawn needs her sister and not the Slayer, it’s an adult
discussion and far cry from the spats they used to have over Buffy’s calling in
previous seasons. Buffy takes a injury to protect Dawn here, proving how much
she cares about her and why they are from the same stock. It’s another very
touching moment between the two characters. Anyone who questions the choice to
bring Dawn onto this show I say piffle. The proof of its success is there on
screen.
The Key: I find that children are so perceptive of shifts in
peoples behaviour or in spotting when something feels wrong that you should
send one into every social setting ahead of you to check it out before you
enter. This is definitely the case with Dawn who notices the sly looks
everybody is giving her, how suddenly everybody is treating her with kid gloves
or seems to be a little nervous in her presence. It would only be more obvious
if she looked up and saw a flashing neon sign above her head that said THE KEY
with a big arrow pointing downwards. Dawn’s birthday present for Buffy (a
photograph of the two of them from before she was conjured into existence)
manages to be really sweet and very disturbing (it prompts a memory in Buffy
that never happened). How many kids feel what Dawn is going through for real
here? That there is something wrong with their lives and that they have been
dropped in on the wrong family? The way this season taps into that sense of
displacement is superb and Trachtenberg plays this material with consummate
skill. Dawn’s reaction to being told that she has only been alive for six
months made me well up, she’s simply doesn’t have the emotional ability to cope
with this kind of bombshell. Simple things like Dawn looking at her diary
(shrewdly introduced in Real Me) and exposing the lie of it make an impact.
Goddess: Immortal, invulnerable and insane – that’s our
Glory! It’s terrific to finally learn some of her backstory but this is a
character that just keeps on giving until the season is over, snippets turning
up in the most surprising of ways. She absorbs the energy that binds peoples
minds together leaving behind a string of crazies. If only the Goddess would
stop and listen to some of those people who are all pointing the finger at Dawn
she would have found her Key, unlocked her portal and been home ages ago.
There’s a lesson in hubris for you. Awesomely, Glory gets beating from Buffy, a
cross bolt from Giles and a crowbar to the head by Xander and she doesn’t even
break a sweat.
Sexy Blond: The Dawn/Spike interaction is made out of pure
win in the same way that putting together two opposing characters always
produces magic (think Quark/Odo on DS9 or Spock/McCoy on TOS). The pair of them
sneaking off to the Magic Shop to steal stuff together is great fun (and goes
to show how this show develops its characters…it’s a far cry from the Spike who
threatened Buffy so back in School Hard, now he’s babysitting her made up
sister!). Buffy’s natural reaction to Dawn’s discovery is to blame Spike but he
pleasingly throws her accusations back in her face by reminding her that he
wasn’t kept in the loop and she wasn’t told by the people that care about her.
Both good points, which Buffy accepts.
Watching men being beaten up by women for comic effect is always amusing
(if the emphasis was different I would find it disturbing but its all played
out in a fantasy world here where you know Spike will dust himself down)
and Spike gets a good hiding by Glory that had me chuckling after he suggested
she was weak.
Vengeance Demon: Anya has absolutely no sense of charade
about her when it comes to hiding the fact that she knows Dawn is the Key but
considering that she has never subscribed to the value of pretence oddly she is
the one that gets away with it the most. Just by being honest. And a bit loopy.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘It’s blood. It’s Summers blood. It’s
just like mine.’
Dreadful Dialogue: It’s Dawn’s first ‘get out get out
GET OUT!’ but she’s just found out that she’s not real so I’ll let her have
that one.
The Good: Thousands of demon dimensions all pushing on the
edge of our reality and trying to get in – that’s every nasty they visits this
town explained away in future then! With knights fighting scabby little hobbits
in a moonlit location it feels like we have been transported away from the
Buffy we know and love into some fantasy based dimension where Merlin
and The Lord of the Rings clash. It’s so different to anything that we
have ever seen before I found the tone rather refreshing (also as a fight it’s
quite exciting…especially with the minions looking as offensive as Ewoks).
Glory is so inoffensive looking that the litter of corpses she leaves behind is
all the more shocking. It’s a small thing but check out the lighting during the
sequences where Dawn and Spike raid the Magic Shop, it’s really moodily lit
from lots of angles (the shelves glow, the candles, the lamps from above).The
overall effect is a set that is brimming with atmosphere. This episode takes many
avenues to explore the idea of unreliable memories, it’s a concept that I have
long been fascinated by and rarely have I seen it dealt with so thoroughly and
emotively in fiction. If Dawn needed any more proof then the super creepy scene
where Glory’s cast off crazies react to her presence is the clincher. The whole
emphasis of the season has now changed…its moved on from the danger of Dawn
discovering the truth about herself to the fresh danger of Glory discovering
the truth about Dawn. The mileage in the Glory/Dawn/Ben identity mystery is
astonishing. Somebody has finally asked what the Key is supposed to unlock, a
mystery that can wait for another day. What a great visual gag Glory being
teleported above Sunnydale is.
The Bad: The whole ‘I’ve forgotten that Ben is Glory’ notion
seems convenient here but its later used to incredible dramatic and comic
effect. Nothing is included without a reason this season.
Moment to Watch Out For: Dawn crashing Buffy’s party having
cut herself with a carving knife is so disturbing it made me shiver. Also the
brilliantly timed reveal that Ben and Glory are the same person. Foreshadowed
discreetly (Family) with the emphasis on a tortured sibling relationship (as is
suggested her just before the reveal) and given half a seasons worth of build
up, this is a twist that really hits its mark. Bravo. Not only a ‘what the…?’
moment but also an ‘oh shit…’ moment when you realise (after getting over the
shock) the danger that Dawn is now in. Great stuff.
Fashion Statement: Dawn is wearing a T-shirt that says LITTE
MISS DRAMA. Well, I laughed. Xander and Anya’s role-play extends to firemen
(okay) and shepherds (weird).
Orchestra: This one’s for Mike. Wanker continues to spume
and his music themes for the episode are starting to take on real resonance.
Glory has her own sinister theme when she is close to discovering the truth
about Dawn and the mystical glitterings that sing around Dawn throughout this
piece suggest her mystical nature. Oh and I really love the melodramatic stings
every time Buffy and Glory fight (embarrassing I kind of find myself singing
along…). I really thought I would miss Christophe Beck more than I am but
clearly I underrated that Wanker’s abilities.
Foreboding: The first sign that Willow is playing about with
magic that she can’t cope with.
Result: Another superb episode. Blood Ties focuses squarely
on Dawn finding out about her true identity and in doing so she puts herself in
real danger. I love that this is a show that doesn’t have to dump the surprise
on her but she can spend 45 minutes taking in everybody’s behaviour, reading
material about the Key and fitting it around incidents that have occurred to
her in the last half season to come to the conclusion herself. It makes Dawn
less of a whiny teen that needs protecting (although there is a five minute
period in the heart of this episode that gives Dawn an excuse to be a spoilt
brat – eek!) and more of a pro-active, intelligent young lady that can
figure things out for herself. The way she prods the lion by probing Glory
about her nature without actually giving herself away sees her bravely taking
the scariest option to fill in her backstory. Blood Ties is an episode that is
obsessed with this seasons arc story so your response to it will depend on your
reaction to the story that is playing out. I am loving the grand
narrative that is unfolding so I was entranced by the developments and at this
stage this has become the most involving, all encompassing story arc that Buffy
has ever told. They’ve gone to the lengths of forgoing standalone episodes so
those of us that are willing to watch every chapter will be compensated
generously. Blood Ties shows that the apparently plotless, meandering first
half of season five has been putting all the key (hohoho) elements in place so
everything can fit together in the second half and flourish. Michelle
Trachtenberg has already proven that she can hold up an episode (Real Me) but
she’s given tougher material to work with here and she’s just as good. Dawn’s
relationship with Spike is very rich and I hope we’ll see more of that soon and
her scenes with Glory are loaded with understated tension (aided by a string of
episodes that has suggested that never the twain should meet). Clare Kramer
improves in each episode as well, catching on to the fact that it’s time for
her to get more sinister (in a great shudder/gasp moment she snaps somebody’s
neck simply because they interrupted her). Glory is a character I could hang
around with any day (a far cry from last seasons Adam). As you can tell I am
thoroughly enjoying this year, it’s proving that Buffy has learnt its lessons
from the past and is dishing out both character work that shines and a densely
plotted season arc that rewards. No complaints from me: 9/10
Crush written by David Fury and directed by Dan Atlas
What’s it about: Drusilla is back in town to tempt Spike
back into the fold…
The Chosen One: Buffy is an odd one alright. She’s the sort
of person who thinks that punching Spike in the face ad nauseum and refusing to
allow him to socialise with her is fine but she can dump her mom on him when
she needs protecting and use him to find her sister when she goes missing.
Buffy always seems so righteous when she pushes him away and yet seems equally
blameless when she needs his help. It’s a perplexing paradox and one the show
needs to resolve if I am to start believing that she believes that she has a
consistency of character (that resolution will come as soon as Intervention).
In fact all of the Scoobies have gotten used to Spike being around in a crisis
of late but nobody wants him around when there’s a quiet day in Sunnydale.
Spike and Joyce are only brought together every now and again so we don’t get
too used to it and stop enjoying it and as such their interaction is always a
delight. It means that his reaction to her upcoming demise (I’m still preparing
myself for that) feels very real. How many people have suffered that moment
when somebody points out that somebody that you know is desperately in love
with you and haven’t even noticed. I’ve been on been in all three positions at
some point in me life (the one who was blissfully unaware for somebody’s
feelings, the one who has deeply fallen for somebody who hasn’t noticed and the
one who is jealous because I fancy the person who fancies someone else) and
none of them are especially enjoyable. When Dawn pulls the wool from Buffy’s
eyes suddenly she is seeing things in Spike’s behaviour that she never noticed
before (that is beautifully observed because I had a similar encounter with the
chick who dug me!).
The Key: More Dawn/Spike interaction is welcome. She’s the
only one who treats him with any respect and likes to be with him and it’s
because he’s real and talks to her like a person and not a mystical ball of energy
or an annoying teenager. The ‘campfire’ scene where Spike is telling Dawn a
scary story about one of his kills is fantastic because it exposes how much
children love to be frightened (but in a safe way) and how ‘adults’ (like
funless Buffy who comes in to spoil their good time) try and protect them too
much. Dawn spelling out that Spike is in love with Buffy made my heart sing
because it revealed that not is she more observant than anybody gives her
credit (kids usually are) but also that Buffy can’t see what is blatantly going
on under her own nose.
Goddess: There’s a nice gag where Glory is coined ‘she who
will not be named…’ and Buffy plucks the first person that she spots as a
replacement name, which just happens to be Ben. I honestly did not remember Ben
having such a large role in this season beyond helping out at the hospital in
the early installments when Joyce is in critical care. I don’t think there’s
been a single episode that he hasn’t appeared in. Maybe it’s because he is such
a subtle compared to Glory. You’re bound to recall everything that Glory does
(whether you love her or hate her) because she’s just so good and loopy. Ben on
the other hand only really comes into his own in the later episodes when he
makes some bad choices. He reminds me of a less bland Riley, a nice guy that
has some baggage in his life that he cannot shake (and therefore makes a
relationship with Buffy impossible). Although I would say that I find Charlie
Weber’s performances far less cardboard than Marc Blucas’. He has a much more
naturalistic flair with dialogue.
Sexy Blond: James Marsters continue to prove his worth on
this show and has by now completely revolutionised his character into something
very different from where he started. It’s clear that the writers had a swift
direction in mind for Spike this season – it’s hard to remember a time when he
wasn’t lovelorn for Buffy but the truth of the matter is he was the same
vicious Spike from School Hard at the beginning of this season – and the only
reason it has worked out as well as it has (it could have completely alienated
the audience) is because Marsters has made the transition so effortless. He has
tapped into a seam of sympathy for the character that was never really there
before and toned down the comedy a little so he comes across as more of a real
person and less of a villain. This is why it’s deliriously enjoyable to throw
Drusilla into the mix to expose just how far he has come in such a short space
of time because she remembers the old Spike and is horrified to discover what
has become of him since they have parted. The truth dawns on both the audience
and Spike just how much Spike digs Buffy now because not even the appearance of
Drusilla (once the love of his life) can tempt him away. Spike is willing to
dust her for Buffy (and I love how she laughs at the thought of it like the
idea of dying at last amuses her greatly). In Spike’s twisted little head
bringing the two women in his life (he doesn’t even bother with Harmony as
she’s so irrelevant to him, she just crashes the party anyway) and threatening
to kill one or have her kill the other if Buffy doesn’t admit she feels
something is actually working out their relationship problems. I would hate to
see this guy get a job as a counsellor!
Ebony & Ivory: ‘You forget about me again! The actual
girlfriend?’ Bless Harmony, making her dress up as Buffy (in her sweater
and everything) and pretend to be out patrolling so he can jump her bones is
such an insult to her. Spike treats Harmony no differently than that dummy of
his, or the Buffybot. He’s abusing her in exactly the same way that Buffy is
abusing Spike (they are perfect for each other in that respect). When he tosses
her against the wall in favour of Drusilla you can’t help but feel for her.
She’s has been completely under his spell and he’s thought of her as little
more than a wank aid with legs and blonde hair. It’s tragic.
Gorgeous Geek: Xander too, was more than happy to discuss
his feelings with regards the Willow/Anya brawling in Triangle but when he
needs some company he’s just rude. It was long past time to address this.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘Eww’ ‘It’s not blood, it’s bourbon’ ‘Eww…’
‘You’re like a serial killer in prison!’
‘I lie awake every night!’ ‘You sleep during the day!’
‘Tin soldiers put funny little nick-nacks in your brain.
Can’t hurt. Can’t hunt. Can’t kill’ – I’ve missed Drusilla’s whacko dialogue.
‘Honey did you somehow unintentionally lead him on in
anyway? Send him signals?’ ‘I do beat him up a lot. For Spike that’s like third
base.’
‘Oh we can, you know. We can love quite well. If not
wisely.’
The Good: Awww…everybody is dancing and laughing and being
happy. Pain is on the way. It was about time a troll destroyed the
Bronze with a mystical hammer because it was starting to feel a little stale
but thanks to a hefty re-design the place looks spanking new again. I don’t
know I would have taken the re-design even further though, to something a bit
more chrome, glass and neon but this is still a refreshing new look for the place.
I meant to mention this earlier in the year but it kind of slipped away from me
– I am really enjoying how the university campus is a setting that the
characters can use every now again without feeling like the show is obsessed
with the place. We barely left campus in season four and lots of the characters
missed opportunities (deliberately so I might add) as a consequence. Things are
on a much more even keel now we can flit between Buffy’s house, Xander’s flat,
the university, Spike’s crypt and the Magic Shop. We’ve now seen Sunnydale’s
shipyard (Surprise), beach (Go Fish, Buffy vs Dracula) and train station…but
bizarrely these are locations that we are drip fed slowly over the years. The
geography of the town seems to shift every time they want to tell a new story
which works for me. We meet the gayest couple of vampires in town, flicking
through CDs, cooking up some popcorn and running away like a pair of Nancy’s
when Buffy comes calling. For those of you who miss the Buffy of old then the
sequence at the Bronze featuring Spike and Drusilla oozing sexuality on the
dance floor, picking out victims and dancing to a great tune should appease you
a little. The lyrics scream ‘Let me out!’ as Spike has to choose whether
to be a good boy or give in to temptation and suck on the throbbing jugular
that has been dished up to him. How creepy is the shrine to Buffy? Spike has
let his obsession go way too far. When Buffy wakes up chained up I thought this
might take a dark turn into Misery territory. Oh come on…a three way
bitch fight with Spike pretty much just getting in the way. Too cool.
Moment to Watch Out For: Subtlety seems to be the key this
year to getting everything right this year (compare and contrast to season six
which is patent and in-yer-face to the nth degree) and the teaser on the train
might just be one of the most subtly scary things the show has ever dished up.
The last thing you would expect upon entering a train carriage is to find a
massacre where everybody arranged as though they would be when enjoying the
journey, blood spilled in their laps. The POV shot of the nasty that approaches
the conductor is dramatic and I love the swing past the door on the platform as
he tries to escape and is dragged inside to his death. Very creepy and
beautifully directed. Drusilla couldn’t have asked for a finer homecoming. Also
Marsters’ final ranting speech during the conclusion which shows the depth of
character he can mine. He’s awesome. The look on his face as he realises
he has been shut out of Buffy’s house is heartbreaking. It says more than a
thousand words.
Result: ‘What the bleeding hell is wrong with you bloody
women? What does it take? Why do you bitches torture me?’ What a curse
Buffy suffers. I’m talking about the only weak point in this otherwise stellar
episode. During the climax of Crush, Spike, Drusilla and Harmony are all in the
same cave and it feels like one of them should be killed (especially
considering Harm and Dru wont be having a role in this series anymore…although
we don’t know that yet). It needs some kind of climax for these great
characters that have been brought together. The curse comes in the fact that
Buffy features villains so strong that it would be crime to bump them off –
they are such memorable creations that just the thought of them never appearing
again would end this episode on a bum note. It’s a Catch-22, Crush needed to
kill one of them off and yet it can’t. Aside from that niggle this is
absolute perfection from a season that has by now delivered the longest string
of knockout episodes in a row. David Fury has great fun with his assembled
group of nasties and makes sure that the dialogue is smoking hot for the
occasion. Spike is excellently characterised throughout and the reveal that he
has feelings for Buffy is handled extremely deftly. It’s one gem of a scene
after another (the trailer train massacre, Harmony dressing up as Buffy, the
campfire scene) on the road to Spike’s ousting, leading up to the extreme
bitch-off when he chains up and slags off all of the women in his life. James
Marsters is fantastic at showing Spike at a crossroads in his life and it’s
wonderful to have Drusilla back to tempt him to the dark side. This is a
necessary character episode that tosses out all the old girlfriends in Spike’s
life so the show can concentrate on his burgeoning (as much as she hates to
admit it) relationship with Buffy. The series isn’t ready for Buffy to love
Spike yet (indeed it would take nearly another season for them to get it
together) but every episode from now on is taking a baby step closer in that
direction. Crush is addictive viewing and the most fun and sexy Buffy has been
in an age: 9/10
I Was Made to Love you written by Jane Espenson and directed
by James A. Contner
What’s it about: Introducing Warren and his sex bot…and an
exit from Joyce.
The Chosen One: Cruel, cruel, cruel Joss Whedon! Offering as
a recovered and more gorgeous than ever Joyce before snatching her away from
us. You’ve never seen Joyce, Buffy and Dawn so happy together than you have in
this episode which should have automatically have set my warning bells off but
at the time I was just so glad that their domestic horror was over I was
completely thrown off my game. Buffy’s attempts to laugh at Ben’s jokes are
cringe-worthy (but in a good way). They get the whole ‘will Buffy date Ben?’
angle over and done with in this episode (it’s basically ignored after this
because of what comes next) which is good because considering his true nature
it’s hardly a relationship that has legs.
Ripper: Giles baby-sits Dawn and is forced to listen to
music by people chosen for their ability to dance, eat cookie dough and talk
about boys. He had a torturous experience but this sounds like a great night in
to me! Giles tries to escape as soon as possible before Joyce can start talking
about boys too…but there is probably a deeper reason behind that. Giles gets to
be quietly menacing in this episode and that’s always fun and his advice to
Spike (‘get over it…’) are wise words.
Sexy Blond: Has any man been so beaten up by women as Spike
has this year? First Buffy, then Glory, then Harmony and now April! He should
just turn gay…although they would probably start beating him up too.
Witchy Willow: There’s a very sweet look on Willow’s face
when she is caught checking out April. Her and Tara remain the cutest lesbian
couple on TV.
Gorgeous Geek: Xander is still proving to be a great friend
and dishing out wonderful advice, this time about Buffy’s inability to find the
right man. Unfortunately for him this is the day she chooses to hug him and he
is wearing his puffy sumo suit. It’s the first instance of Xander complaining
about having to repair things after Buffy has destroyed in a fight. Get used to
it mate, you’ll be doing this until the series is out from now on.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘I’ve had precisely two boyfriends and
they both left. Really left. Left town left.’
‘I go online sometimes but everyone’s spelling is really
bad. It’s depressing.’
‘Just trying a little spicy talk…’
The Good: I love the fact that the general consensus about
April is immediate and unmistakable – she is a robot. It’s as though Espenson
wants to avoid the disappointment that the audience felt when watching Ted and
so gets this surprise out of the way as early as possible so the episode can
run with the idea. Funnier is that everybody agrees that April must be some
kind of sex bot, except Giles who is too stuffy to ever think such a thing.
Glory turns into Ben in a nicely filmed sequence that waits to pull the gag
that he is wearing her smoking red dress until the last minute. Nicely done.
Adam Busch isn’t the strongest actor the world has ever seen but he is more
than up to the task of playing a giant wedge of sleaze that has built the sex
bot. He seems to embody that nasty misogynist side of geekdom which if you prod
hard enough you can see genuinely does exist – he’s the sort of guy who
obsesses over Lara Croft’s curves and enjoys making her obey his will whilst
never actually going out there and trying to meet a real woman (because they
cannot be controlled or lusted after so blatantly). If that sounds like a
horrific cliché then head to local Games Workshop. You’ll see some perfectly
normal, adjusted individuals but you’ll also see a handful of Warren’s as well.
I promise. April is an extension of that uncomfortable misogyny, an
actualisation of a socially retarded geeks failiure with women. In the same way
I bet certain guys have genuine relationships with the busty babes from video
games…at least in their heads. The fact that she is dumped the second Warren is
lucky enough to catch a break says everything you need to know about his
character. Check out the POV shots from April and the hilarious sub folders and
routines that she has ready to activate (including kissing, four programmes for
sex, three programmes for fetishes and numerous programmes for positions).
April’s termination is played well and like much of season five is all the
better for being so modest.
The Bad: Technically April should be the most frightening
opponent that Buffy has ever faced because she is motivated by the strongest of emotions – love. It’s an
obsession that can turn people into monsters. But it’s when April gets nasty
that this episode doesn’t work. There is something unconvincing about those
moments of seriousness that are smothered in this episodes gooey goodness. And
the growl is pathetic.
Moment to Watch Out For: The trio of great scenes at the end
of this episode that promise interesting developments in the future. Glory
discovering that Ben has tried to make a date with the Slayer, Spike putting in
order for a sex bot and…well the cliffhanger is in a league of its own.
Agonisingly well directed so Joyce is visible out of focus before Buffy
discovers her and the growing realisation that something is very, very wrong. ‘Mom…mom…mommy?’
Fashion Statement: Puffy Xander is possibly the cutest his
character has ever been and you can’t help but feel for him as Buffy takes out
her wrath on him in reaction to Spike’s feelings for her. Joyce all dressed up
for her date with Brian isn’t mom-ish at all, in fact it’s the most sexy and
full of life she has ever looked.
Foreboding: You wouldn’t be able to tell from this episode
but Warren will return in a central role in season six. Was it a case of
setting things up early (because that is some pre-thinking!) or liking the
character and the actor after he had appeared in a one-off and deciding to
bring him back. My money’s on the latter. Warren would go on to take part in
two of the most disturbing Buffy scenes ever filmed. Go figure. Katrina appears
here too but doesn’t make that much of an impression, but she’ll make one hell
of an impression next year.
Result: The flimsiest episode in an age but in no way a
stinker, I Was Made To Love You is automatically lifted by three consecutive
scenes at the conclusion which promise interesting things of the future. I’ve
often read that season five is a hot bed of unrelenting misery and whilst there
is a higher quota of that than usual I think there is an argument to be made
that there is also a great deal of warmth and levity in this season too. Buffy
vs,. Dracula, Real Me, The Replacement, Triangle, Checkpoint, Crush and I Was
Made to Love You are all packed full of comedy and the warmth that is exuded
from the characters in Family, Into the Woods and Blood Ties offsets the
serious stuff going on elsewhere. This is probably the lightest episode of
season five and whilst it is enjoyable it is also probably the slightest
too, with a plot that is as considerable as a sigh. It mixes character comedy
and touching moments to create what is probably the easiest episode of the year
to watch and forget about. April (by her very nature) is a vacuous character
but her scenes have an infectious, fairytale atmosphere to them because she has
such a smiley outlook on the world. The dialogue and interaction between all
the regulars is all warm cosy and it doesn’t get any darker than throwing Spike
through a window. I think the thing that is lacking is substance but because
the rest of year has been overloaded with the stuff this short break from it is
no bad thing. A light, likable episode with a cruel shocker of an ending: 7/10
Gorgeous Geek: Xander is desperate for somebody to blame –
Glory, Doctors, anybody so long as he doesn’t have to accept that it was just a
pointless accident. Punching the wall is probably how I would cope, I have been
known to lash out when I don’t know how to react to something (but never at a
person I might add).
The Body written and directed by Joss Whedon
What’s it about: Joyce has died and we witness how everybody
copes.
The Chosen One: In the face of the dreadful shock that her
mother is dead, Buffy reverts back to an almost catatonic, childlike state
where she doesn’t know how to cope with anything and calls her ‘mommy.’ Gellar
plays that first sequence entirely on her own and is absolutely superb, the
best she has ever been in the series. Her panic, her juvenile confusion on the
phone to the emergency services, her petulant insistence that she is called mom
and not ‘the body’, Gellar (and Whedon) capture that sense of unreal,
trance-like state that you retreat into when something shocking happens that
you can’t cope with something that has been presented to you. It’s like Buffy
is taking in every detail that is going on around her but actually isn’t taking
in anything at all. Straightening her mothers skirt before the paramedics reach
the house is such a natural reaction, Buffy wants her mom to look her best in
the face of strangers. Look at the look on Gellar’s face when she is told that
her mother is definitively dead and there was nothing she could do, it’s a look
of young lady whose entire world has been turned upside down and there is
nothing she can do about it. The look of shock on Buffy’s face when she screams
at Giles not to move her mothers body, at once realising that she is really
dead and that she has accepted the fact, haunts me every time I see it. Buffy’s
quiet acceptance of Anya’s (awkward) comfort is a really lovely moment.
The Key: This is the stage when you realise that not only is
Dawn here to stay but that you have completely accepted her as a member of this
ensemble almost as though she has always been there. Cleverly Whedon cuts to
Dawn crying as though she has already been told about her mom but we soon
realise it is tears about something as vacuous as a boy calling her freaky.
It’s horrific to know about Joyce’s death before Dawn and being able to watch
her last few minutes as she is blissfully unaware of the state of affairs and
that her world is about to be upended. It’s the most uncomfortable
foreknowledge…and the thought that I was intrigued to see how she would
react to the news made me question my own reaction to this drama.
Ripper: Giles automatically assumes a parental role with
Joyce out of the picture. But then he has always been her surrogate dad.
Witchy Willow: Some people cope with tragedy by focusing on
something trivial and Willow’s obsession with what to wear to the hospital feel
very natural. Tara is hanging back, trying to be supportive and when the time
comes she steps in and kisses her girlfriend to calm her down. It strikes me as
a good move to wait for the first onscreen kiss between these two characters to
come in such an honest episode. There is so much else to focus on that it
practically slips by unnoticed. That Anya/Willow rivalry bubbles over again
when Willow reacts very badly to her constant questions of how to deal with
grief and whether they will see the body. It’s also very real to start
mistreating those around you when you are hurting. Tara’s admission that she
has lost her mother comes out of the blue.
Gorgeous Geek: Xander is desperate for somebody to blame –
Glory, Doctors, anybody so long as he doesn’t have to accept that it was just a
pointless accident. Punching the wall is probably how I would cope, I have been
known to lash out when I don’t know how to react to something (but never at a
person I might add).
Vengeance Demon: After hundreds of years of maiming and
killing people Anya finally comes up close and personal to mortality in a way
that has never affected her before and she simply doesn’t understand the
concept. Oddly Anya and Giles’ comedy cuddle is one of the most touching
moments in the episode.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘Things don’t happen. I mean they don’t just
happen.’
‘But I don’t understand. I don’t understand how this all
happens, how we go through this. I mean I knew her and there’s just a body and
I don’t understand why she can’t just get back in it and not be dead anymore –
it’s stupid! It’s mortal and stupid. And Xander’s crying and not talking and I
was having fruit punch and I thought well Joyce will never have anymore fruit
punch, ever, and she’ll never have eggs or yawn or brush her hair, not ever and
no-one will explain to me why.’
‘It’s not her. It’s not her. She’s gone.’
The Good: Massive kudos to Kristine Sutherland who has the
thankless task of playing a corpse through this episode and with her bland,
lifeless eyes staring out of the screen the episode offers some of the most
chilling imagery I have ever seen committed to film. None of that Joyce warmth
is present, every time we cut to her it is a shocking reminder that she really
has gone for good. The show pulls off the most awful trick imaginable by having
Buffy return home to find her mom dead on the sofa. It’s one of the most
frightening moments in television because although it has been heavily
foreshadowed earlier in the season and touted as possibility you never really
believed that they would go through with bumping somebody like Joyce off in
such a realistic way. Buffy has always been about as out there as genre television
comes so to wrench the audience out of that fantasy and to so cruelly dump them
in reality at for this one hour is extremely jarring and painful. The series
even went to some lengths to suggest that Joyce’s condition might be the work
of this years Big Bad, Glory. So to suddenly, without warning, confirm that it
was nothing of the kind and just a horribly real blood clot on the brain is a
nauseating tug into reality. I know a friend who has returned home and found
her flatmate dead and by all accounts it is horrific a situation as you would
imagine. The thought of this ever happening to me with my husband fills me with
dread. Cutting to a sequence at Christmas filled with warmth and joy is
possibly the most unkind place that Whedon could take us, remembering the good
times before painfully wrenching us back to the present where the person that
brought everybody together has departed this mortal coil. Whedon ensures that
we never get anything less than 100% exposure of the pain his characters are feeling,
the camera following them around from room to room as they try and cope with
this impossible situation. Who wouldn’t play out the scenario that Joyce is
alive and well and thanking them for reaching her in time. It’s another
horrendously malicious trick on Whedon’s part but one that feels like a very
natural reaction to the situation so he completely gets away with it. Choosing
the shoot Dawn’s reaction to the news from the near-silent POV of her
classmates was a sublime move, seeing the horror unfold from a dispassionate
distance. I honestly don’t know if I could have taken another in-your-face
reaction shot at this point. There is a very impressive tracking shot that
follows the Doctor from Joyce’s body in the mortuary all the way along the
corridors to Buffy and her friends, a look of regret on his face as he has to
discuss the arrangements with her. Whether he is telling the truth or just
trying to comfort her, the Doctor tells Buffy that even had she been there by
Joyce’s side there was nothing she could have done. It would have a swift and
(mostly) painless. It’s not a great comfort but it’s what I would need to here
to prevent me from blaming myself. The crisp, cool lighting as Dawn enters the
morgue is just perfect, really highlighting the sense of unreality and reality
colliding. I’ve heard complaints that this episode didn’t need a vampire to
appear at the end and that it should have stood alone as a piece without any
fictional nasties present but I genuinely feel that without that bridging between
this painfully real human drama and the Buffy we know and love the sudden yank
back to normal in the next episode would give the viewer whiplash. We needed to
be reminded that life does go on, there are still enemies that can be fought
and that this show will survive without Joyce. Played in absolute silence, it
is by far the most chilling vampire attack that either Buffy or Angel has ever
dished up. Listen to how savage and desperate Sarah Michelle Gellar’s sounds,
like Buffy really needed something to fight. The shot of Buffy and Dawn
looking on their mother on the mortuary slab took my breath away, it’s so
unnerving. Dawn is what is known as a mystical ball of energy so the
cliffhanger to this episode when she reaches out to touch her mother is one of
the tensest ones yet. Will she be able to bring her back to life with on touch?
So many little details jump out that make this episode so unusually direct and
personal and impacting; the cracked rib, the lost focus on the telephone
dialling pad, the tinkling chimes, Buffy’s vomit, the sweat glowing on her
forehead as she is bleached in the unreal sunlight, charcoal running down a
board, the blue top on the chair, the parking ticket and the awkward moment
when Buffy apologises to Tara for having to go through all this.
The Bad: I perhaps would have dispensed with the theme music
for this episode. It just feels completely out of place in what is essentially
the most honest piece of character drama you are ever likely to see. ‘We’re
not drawing the object…we’re drawing the negative space around the object…’ What
the fuck sort of hippy shit are they teaching kids at school these days? I can
remember when this episode first aired I was working with a man who was the
most vacuous, bitchy, shallow and self-centred human being it has probably ever
been my misfortunate to know (this is the man who filmed himself having sex
with his ex and sent it to his current boyfriend as a way of splitting up with
him…that’s how low he was prepared to sink and revel in it). I was still
reeling from this drama and he came into work declaring it was the most boring
thing he had ever seen and ‘nothing happened!’ I took that as a massive
compliment in The Body’s favour.
Moment to Watch Out For: Basically the whole episode but if
I was forced at gunpoint to choose one moment it would be Anya’s speech about
not understanding. Usually it is Willow who breaks my heart with moments like
this but Emma Caulfield seizes this moment and provides us with a heartbreaking
and chilling monologue that proves that Anya is far more than just a collection
of witty quips.
Orchestra: Whether Whedon thought Wanker was up to the task or not, the decision to remove the music from this episode is vital to it's success. The silence gives the characters actions and reactions so much more meaning.
Fashion Statement: That red sweater of Buffy’s is one of my
most enduring memories of this episode. I hope we never see it again or it will
just bring back all these memories.
Result: One of the most painful hours of television I have
ever had to sit through and yet consequently one of the most beautiful too,
watching The Body is like having your heart ripped out of your chest and
crushed before your eyes. It’s the point where these characters go beyond a
fun, quirky ensemble into real people that you want to reach into the
television and comfort. Sarah Michelle Gellar gives the performance of her
career in this episode and the rest of the ensemble perform wonders too but the
person that makes the biggest impression is Joss Whedon who has clearly poured
so much of himself into this disquieting, shocking piece of television. Clearly
a personal piece of work, he has never allowed us this close to himself and the
characters and his use of silences is disquieting in the extreme. Removing
Joyce from the show was something that nobody wanted but I can understand the
reasons why in storytelling terms and in order to push the audience to the
limits of what they can feel about these people. The Body is a cornerstone
moment in Buffy and one of those game changing episodes that affects everything
that comes afterwards. That a show called Buffy the Vampire Slayer could
produce something as hauntingly real as this is a fantastic achievement. It is
quite simply one of the finest episodes of television ever broadcast and most
shows couldn’t come anywhere near to claiming something as bold as that: 10/10
Forever written and directed by Marti Noxon
What’s it about: Joyce’s funeral and the consequences of it…
The Chosen One: So many people don’t have that conversation
about what they would like when they die and whoever is left behind has to try
and cope with the choices as best as they can. It pleases me that Joyce left
Buffy in no doubt that she didn’t want a wake. Suddenly Buffy’s life has taken
a massive new direction. She’s no longer sister Buffy but has to step into the
role of surrogate mom Buffy and that’s something she hadn’t prepared herself
for. The moment Buffy and Angel kiss and it doesn’t set either of their worlds
on fire, it is just a moment of release for both of them really drives home the
point that they are now the firmest of friends.
The Key: Holding back death has long been a fascination in
fiction (and reality if you look into things) and Dawn’s preposterous proposal
to try and bring her mother back from the dead isn’t that unreasonable given
the amount of hurt she must be feeling. Especially given what she has learnt
about herself recently and knowing a pair of increasingly powerful witches. She
probably thinks it is a perfectly rational request and one that would be easy
to put into practice.
Goddess: The Glory arc returns to the show in fine form as
Ben lets slip to Jinx that the Key might be a person and an innocent at that.
He’s willing to go to any lengths to stop Glory from finding out and so
practically guts her minion at his place of work. How far is he willing to go?
Could Dawn be in danger from him in a very different way than she is from
Glory?
Ripper: I love the completely superfluous but far reaching
moment when Giles sits alone and listens to the same song he and Joyce enjoyed
as teenagers in Band Candy and has a drink. It says a thousand things without
anyone uttering a word. Was he in love with her? Did he long to take that role
as Buffy’s father? Does he regret not taking things further with Joyce?
Sexy Blond: Sweetly, Spike wants to leave flowers for Joyce
and when confronted by an irrational Xander (who is hurting so I’ll forgive him
no matter how much of an asshole he is being) he explains the reasons why he
liked her so much. She was friendly, always had a cuppa for him and never put
on any airs around him. All this is very true.
Witchy Willow: It’s amazing how something like a friend
losing a loved one can make you realise how much you take yours for granted.
It’s like a whopping great reminder that the people in your life are special
regardless of how much they drive you nuts. There’s a very interesting shift
between Willow and Tara in Forever where for the first time ever the latter has
had to say no forcefully to something (Dawn’s plan to mess with life an death)
whereas Willow clearly has mixed feelings about the whole idea. This is a clash
of ideologies that will develop over the next season and lead to some explosive
consequences for the couple. Willow thinks she is doing the right thing by
pointing Dawn in the right direction and this curse of thinking she knows what
is best for people is only going to get worse as she gets more powerful.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘You make a place for her in your heart.
It’s sort of like she becomes a part of you.’
The Good: We’ve seen Buffy prowling around funeral homes
before looking for the last vampires to stake so the opening scene is quite
cleverly played except this time she is there for the very real horror of
having to choose the coffin for her mother. There’s a heartbreaking pan along
the upper level of the Summers household as both Buffy and Dawn sit in their
respective rooms in silence and the house seems devoid of life and warmth
without their mothers presence. I’ve seen funeral scenes that really try and
gut the audience and wind trying to push the sentiment too far but Noxon is
more truthful to the characters than that, filming the sequence in a series of
quick reaction shots and capturing the beauty of the moment of so many people
coming together to pay respect to an incredible woman. I love the conceit of
everybody slowly leaving the graveside and Buffy remaining behind, right up
until the sun goes down. It might seem like the oddest observation but the
cemetery that Joyce is laid to rest is really pretty. You can’t help but scream
at Dawn to stop whatever dark spell she is about to conjure up whilst at the
same time completely understand why she is doing it. Joel Grey automatically
adds a touch of class to any TV drama and provides a wonderful performance as
Doc, at this stage just a creepy old man who has access to some dark knowledge.
The Bad: It is probably the only time after he leaves where
Angel’s presence is actually needed but David Boreanaz’s delivery is so
somnambulistic that he sounds like he would rather be anywhere else. I’ve seen
worse demon puppets on Buffy than the Gora demon but I’ve seen better ones too.
I was cringing with embarrassment but then I wasn’t that impressed either. It
fulfils its purpose.
Moment to Watch Out For: The last five minutes of Forever
make this exercise in despair more than worthwhile as Buffy and Dawn’s feelings
finally burst forth and the they admit how lost they are and how much they need
each other. Add in the chilling cuts to Joyce stumbling towards the house
across the graveyard and her shadow silhouetted against the curtains and you
have material so powerful it quite took my breath away. It’s Buffy that
surprised me most here, first when she slapped Dawn (I probably would have done
the same but I would have never have expected it of Buffy) and when she ran to
the door to greet her mom excitedly. The net result is Buffy admits that she
doesn’t know what she’s doing to her sister and that she doesn’t know who is
going to take care of them now which feels so real. Dawn finally gets to take
care of Buffy, breaking the spell and holding her as she breaks down. It's especially great that Buffy remembers that it is the things that you don't see that are scarier and the suggestions of Joyce are far more frightening than anything they could have shown us.
Orchestra: Thomas Wanker provides a delicate and respectful
piano score to lead us through the funeral. There is even a little nod to the
Buffy/Angel theme when they kiss afterwards. Also the sinister music as Dawn
prepares and performs the spell to resurrect Joyce subtly enhances the error of
what she is doing.
Result: In many ways this is just as dark and heart
wrenching as The Body but then Joss Whedon’s masterpiece of human drama was so
out of the ordinary I think a leap straight back into the normal action packed,
wittily played Buffy would have felt jarring. We needed Forever which was a
mixture of the two tones to ease as back into the show as it normally is and to
deal with the messy aftermath of Joyce’s death before the show can move on and
get back to the Glory arc (it’s telling that the name isn’t mentioned after
halfway through the episode after the funeral). I love the atmosphere
that pervades the latter half of Forever, taking Buffy into the realm of dark
fantasy as Dawn seeks out the help of a creepy wizard and has to steal the egg
of a ravenous demon in order to bring her mother back to life. The fact that
the end result of her labours is so utterly unsettling is what sells the piece
and the final scenes take Buffy into a new area of understated horror. It’s not
perfect, the pace is painfully slow at times and it’s true that at this point I
am desperate to have a laugh with these characters again but there is no part
of Forever that I could point at and say doesn’t work either. In fact when the
shadowy visage of zombie Joyce approaches her two daughters it is clear that
Noxon has tapped into something truly chilling the likes of which Buffy doesn’t
usually dare to approach. Joyce’s death has been beautifully and sensitively
handled and the show has shifted a gear as a result. Now let’s get back to the
fun. Hauntingly brought to life by Noxon behind the camera: 8/10
Intervention written by Jane Espenson and directed by
Michael Gershman
What’s it about: Spike has had a Buffy sex robot built…
The Chosen One: Immediately the tone is different with the
interaction between the characters more light, the humour is back and nobody is
wallowing in self pity anymore. She’s starting to feel like being the Slayer
was turning her to stone in a way that even she didn’t like. She recognises
that she wasn’t there for Riley and she was cruel to Dawn and she doesn’t want
that hanging over her anymore. Buffy feels that being the perfect Slayer means
being too hard to love at all and that’s not something she can cop with. In the
end, when the show presents it’s most epic threat (the First in season seven)
Buffy does have to be cold to the point of rejecting her social life and
committing totally to the job, even if that makes her completely unlikable. So
she does have a point here. Her ‘weird love’ moment with both Giles and Dawn
sees a more amiable Buffy than we have seen in a while (before the misery of
coping with the death of her mother she was being unerringly horrible to Spike,
Riley and Dawn). In the hands of Espenson, Buffy is at her most good-natured.
Add to the nicer than normal Buffy the Buffybot and Sarah Michelle Gellar is
forced to smile more in one episode than she manages in some whole seasons!
It’s lovely to see. A good friend of mine doesn’t exactly rate Gellar as an
actress (citing Alyson Hannigan as the main acting draw for this show) but it’s
when you are confronted with a perky, vacuous version of Buffy (to be fair to
my friend there isn’t a great deal of difference between the robot and Buffy of
season one, which shows how far Gellar has come as an actress with the role)
like the robot when you see just how nuanced her normal performances are in
comparison. Buffy shows some ingenuity by pretending to be the robot to find
out what Spike has told Glory and then pleasingly rewards him for taking such a
thrashing for a member of her family.
Goddess: ‘How is a vampire who wont talk like an apple?
Think I can do you in one long strip?’ Glory is so often treated as a
comedy character (she works so well that way) but it’s during those moments when
she dishes out a whole world of pain to Buffy and her friends that she makes
the biggest impact. We’ve spent a season getting very close to Spike and so to
see him being tortured so casually by Glory tugs at the heartstrings and the
final image of him battered, bruised and bloody is quite horrific. Spike often
bounces back from the punches Buffy and her mates throw at him but this is a
beating that he wont forget in a hurry. It’s an important that reminder that
beneath that clueless exterior, Glory is a dangerously unpredictable and
powerful child. Only Glory would feed you a glass of water and then smash it
into your face. We don’t need to see at this point that Glory punishes her
minions when they return to tell her that they have failed to bring back Spike.
An off screen scream of pain is all that is required to know that they are
suffering badly.
Sexy Blond: How Spike ever thought he would get away with
the Buffybot and manage to keep it a secret when the Scoobies recurrently break
into his crypt to accuse him of something or enlist is help is beyond me. If you are a twisted soul (some days I think
I might be) then you may consider the idea of a sex robot in the shape of a
celebrity that you really fancy a good idea. When you break it down it is spectacularly
creepy but ultimately it’s no different from Riker or Janeway over in the Star
Trek universe creating their ultimate fantasies on the Holodeck and that rarely
seems to get frowned upon.
Vengeance Demon: It’s lovely that literal minded Anya enjoys
the company of the literal minded Buffy bot far more than she does the usual
dour Buffy she has to contend with.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘I know this ritual! The ancient shamans
were next called upon to do the hokey pokey and turn themselves around’ ‘Go
quest’ ‘…and that’s what it’s all about.’
‘It’s Spike! And he’s wearing a coat!’ – not a great line in
itself, but the delivery is priceless and the same goes for ‘Angel’s lame. His
hair goes straight up and his hair’s bloody stupid’ although that is a pretty
cool line in its own right.
‘Spike is strong and mysterious and somewhat compact but
well muscled’ ‘I am not having sex with Spike…but I’m starting to think that
you might be.’
‘You guys couldn’t tell me apart from a robot?’
‘Gyles? Spike didn’t even bother to programme my name
properly!’
‘It is not Bob Barker scabby morons! The Key is new to this
world…and Bob Barker is as old as writ’ – the whole guess who is the Key
sequence is pure sitcom.
‘That thing, it wasn’t even real. What you did for me and
Dawn…that was real. It wont forget it.’
The Good: The Buffy bot is technically a really bad idea
creatively, threatening to take the show into sleazy areas that it is best
avoiding. And yet somehow they manage to grasp hold of the concept and squeeze
it for every laugh and sweet moment that it’s worth. A sports car in a vast,
bleached out desert…not the usual sort of visual that this show sports and more
effective because of it. For a show that has been as self-contained and
claustrophobic for a season it is refreshing to get into some wide open spaces
and there is a shot of Buffy approaching the endless wastes of the desert which
is being kissed by the tangerine sun for the last time before it disappears for
the evening that was quite beautiful. The robot POV shots are back and Espenson
has great fun with some descriptive passages for each character (Anya: LIKES
MONEY, Willow: GAY (1999-PRESENT). Nothing could have quite prepared me for the
shot of the Buffy bot straddling Spike in the graveyard and crying out ‘you’re
the Big Bad!’ so goodness knows how Xander felt! In a sequence worthy of
Shakespeare the Scoobies send the Buffybot (thinking that it is Buffy) to get
changed and our Buffy returns home and they pick up their conversation with her
not being able to tell the difference between the two. I was just waiting for
the bot to come back… Love Xander’s assertion that they are both Buffy, as a
reference back to what he went through in The Replacement. Our Buffy repeating
the Gyles gag makes me laugh every time. Spike escaping down the lift shaft is
marvellously directed with the camera cutting back and forth to different POV
shots.
Moment to Watch Out For: The beautiful final scene which
achieves a great many things. One, we get to see just how strong an actress
Sarah Michelle Gellar is by slipping so convincingly between the Buffybot and
our Buffy. Two, it’s superbly written to bring the truth out of Spike before
rewarding him for his loyalty. Three, it suggests there is hope for a
Buffy/Spike relationship yet which coming at the end of an episode that sees
him showing off a sex robot in her image was the last thing I was expecting. I
remember season five was the first year that my mum really got into this show
and it was after this episode that she declared that it was now her favourite
show on television (at the time). Touchingly performed, how the gorgeous
character drama springs from such an absurd situation is the icing on the cake.
Fashion Statement: With his messed up, bleached blond hair
Spike has never looked more like he belongs in a boy band. They have really
softened the character this year and that has extended to his look now and he
has never looked this edible before.
Orchestra: Wanker suggests the aching loneliness of the
desert as Buffy searches for her spirit guide.
Foreboding: Dawn’s kleptomania is first spotted in
Intervention. I forget how early Buffy kick starts its little character arcs,
it would take an entire season before this would be revealed. The First
Slayer’s announcement that death is Buffy’s gift foreshadows the season finale
beautifully. Whoever thought that the
Buffybot would return to take a vital role at the end of season five/the
beginning of series six.
Result: ‘Death is your gift…’ A lovely comedy of errors
and another great Spike episode, Intervention is precisely what the series
needed at this point – a healthy reminder that these characters can still be
terrific fun to be around. There is a wonderful moment when Glory’s minions
barge in on Xander and Spike arguing over his taking advantage of Buffy in this
where two long running narratives collide (let’s call them the Glory and Spike
arcs) and the resulting consequences that play out are massively rewarding.
Glory thinks Spike knows who the Key is and beats him up bloody and raw to
persuade him to share the information and thus he gets to prove to Buffy just
how far he will go to protect her and her family. Whilst this is playing out
there is all manner of hilarious comedy surrounding the Buffybot who is brilliantly
played by Sarah Michelle Gellar and is finally freed from the shackles of
misery that she has been forced to endure for practically the entire season.
The Scoobies reactions to the idea of Buffy bonking Spike and then their
subsequent humiliation when they have to admit to the real Buffy that they
couldn’t tell her apart from a robot are played for all they worth. The season
is back on track and we are edging ever closer to some kind of culmination to
the Glory/Dawn storyline. I’m pretty darn excited to see where it leads us
after all this fantastic build up. Intervention is delightful to watch and has
a winner of a final scene that suggests massive development for Spike and
Buffy. This is the tenth episode in a row I have given a 7 (and that was only
one episode) or above to which gives season five the strongest consecutive run
of episodes yet: 8/10
Tough Love written by Rebecca Rand Kirshner and directed by
David Grossman
What’s it about: Tara is stolen by Glory and Willow seeks
revenge…
The Chosen One: Buffy is struggling in the role of mom and
cannot find a way of punishing Dawn for acting out. In a moment of inspiration
she asks Giles to be the person who tells her off and it’s interesting to this
narrative thread appear so early before it becomes a real problem in the first
half of season six where she relies on him too much. Here Giles gently refuses
but next year he would literally have to abandon her to force her to stand on
her own two feet. Unfortunately she takes discipline to mean acting like the
educational Nazi (whereas Willow’s fun approach to Dawn’s homework yields much
better results). These scenes are a little awkward because they are trying to
show the audience how wrong she is getting it but in the face of Willow’s
suggestions Buffy just comes across as being obstinate and irrational.
The Key: Not only is Dawn stealing, she’s also been skipping
school and she has a ready made excuse in the death of her mother. Sometimes
all you need is a good slap around the face (in the metaphorical sense) to make
you see how badly you are behaving (trust me I’ve had plenty of those from
friends, family and Simon before) and Dawn being told if she doesn’t buck her
ideas up then she will be taken into care is just the ticket. Watch Michelle Trachtenberg
when she gives her speech about being something horrible to cause so much pain
in everyone around her. That is not an easy speech for a young actress to make
but she imbues it with a real sense of delicacy and emotion. When they shy away
from the irritating teen persona, Trachtenberg really is something special.
Goddess: What fun the writers are having with Ben and Glory
existing in the same body. Or at least fun on Glory’s part who is taking great
delight in tearing Ben’s world apart piece by piece. Unlike Dawn’s arrival and
Joyce’s illness and subsequent death this is something that has managed to slip
under the radar and be teased at and only revealed when the season is ready to
deal with the consequences. I am with Glory when she says there are a lot of
sucky things in this dimension but bubble baths are not one of them…I love
bubble baths (anyone who doesn’t is strange and must be banished to the hell
dimension where there is no shrimp). Especially when you have scabby minions
blindfolded and holding up boxes of chocolates and luxurious drinks.
Ripper: This is a great episode for Giles who gets to dish
out very good advice to both Buffy and Willow (if Gabriel Byrne wants to hang
up his coat there is a couch with Anthony Head’s name on it) and gets to show
his rarely seen but always exciting dark side when he tortures one of Glory’s
minions off-screen.
Sexy Blond: Glory describes Spike as ‘follicley fried.’
That really tickled me. Spike is still bruised and cut up from his beating last
week which was a nice touch.
Witchy Willow: ‘You’re the only woman I’ve ever fallen in
love with so how on Earth could you possibly take me seriously…’ It’s
Willow and Tara’s first proper fight and it’s not something that I ever wanted
to see (they just work so well together as a couple) so I was bound to have an
allergic reaction to this material. Kirshner has a fair stab at showing how a
perfectly reasonable conversation can develop into a full blown argument when
both parties are a little too relaxed in each others company but I found the
whole idea of Willow being jealous because she hasn’t lost her mom a little
disconcerting. That jealousy extends to Tara’s sexuality and affinity with
witchcraft and how she has been exploring these aspects of her life for much
longer than Willow. It’s one of those conversations where whatever one party
says (Tara), the other party takes it completely the wrong way (Willow). The
best thing to do in these situations is to walk away for an hour or two. You’ll
find that the time apart with your thoughts will soon make you miss the other
person and suddenly what made you mad doesn’t matter anymore. Hannigan unveils
a dark streak to her character that we really haven’t seen before, speaking in
a low, flat tone and accusing Tara with her burning eyes. It’s uncomfortable
but perhaps that is just because it’s so unusual. If Amber Benson doesn’t
entirely convince when she is being threatened by Glory then she works wonders
after her brain suck, offering up a child-like Tara who is disconnected from
the world. Willow makes some great points about when it is the time to take the
fight to Glory. The Scoobies might be there to back Buffy up but they are
capable of making their own choices and if she is hurting then Willow is damn
well going to do something about the cause of that pain. This is pretty much
played out in verbatim at this point next season but far more dramatically. The
gulf between Buffy and Willow is tiny here but soon there will be an ocean of
resentment raging between them.
Vengeance Demon: Anya’s sudden patriotism is the first time
I have felt that her quirkiness is foisted upon her rather than a natural part
of her character. It feels like there was a lot of empty spaces in the script
to be filled so this was added to gobble up some running time. When she starts
going on about French old people being not only Un-American but bottom of the
barrel I thought I had lost the plot.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘Then all of a sudden it was all doom
and gloom and the outlawing of human triangles.’
‘Well I took psyche 101. I mean I took it from an evil
government scientist who was skewered by her Frankenstein-like creation before
the final but I know what a Freudian slip is’ – only Alyson Hannigan could take
a hold of a mouthful of dialogue like this and make it work this well.
‘Maybe I’m not evil…but I don’t think I can be good.’
‘Did anybody order an Apocalypse?’ – I love how Glory is
unfazed by anything.
‘What’s that, a bag of tricks?’ ‘No, a bag of knives.’
The Good: Boy when Glory’s scabby minions get it wrong, they
get it really wrong. I like the conceit of them thinking that Tara is
the Key though and the way the script tries to make you believe that Glory has
discovered that it is Dawn. Tough Love’s best moments comes when the minions
are prowling around just out of shot and the moment when Giles opens the door
whilst giving romance advice to Willow and smashes one in the head with it came
as such a surprise I howled with laughter.
The Bad: Perhaps this is one of those budget saver episodes
(although I personally feel that all the money was being poured into the
effects heavy conclusion) but the cultural affair has clearly only been partly
built and as such the director cannot use a wide angle to give it any sense of
scope. As such it feels like a bunch of extras grouped together in shot and a
few stalls taking place behind Tara. Cutting to Willow in the Magic Shop and
then somebody delicately taking Tara’s hand rather ruins the surprise that it
isn’t her (plus Glory’s head is visibly in shot before the camera does the
dramatic reveal). The sequence where Glory squeezes Tara’s hand until blood
comes and she brain sucks her is shot head on and Amber Benson looks more
awkward than terrified. It’s bizarrely
ineffective in a way that the Glory scenes really haven’t been this year so
far. Willow trying to break through the non existent crowd and being stopped by
a Chinese dragon doesn’t work at all. It feels like people are deliberately
throwing obstacles in her way and the pacing is way off.
Moment to Watch Out For: Willow turning up at Glory’s
apartment with an apocalypse of pain in her wake. She glides through the door
with jet black eyes and unleashes a storm on the She-God. She’s a formidable
force but not something for a God of Glory’s strength to worry about and she’s
soon tossing the furniture at her and combating her party tricks. It’s five
minutes of great effects, bitch fighting and lustful action. Colour me excited.
The last scene is fantastic for whetting the appetite – Tara spills the beans
about Dawn and Glory stands triumphant in the face of her Key. Extra points for
the way she sweeps aside a wall with such careless abandon. Glory rocks.
Result: I simply cannot predict David Grossman as a
director. He is capable of producing works that are as good as Buffy comes
(Wild at Heart, Superstar, Tabula Rasa) but he is also capable of struggling if
the script is a little unwieldy or lacking in substance (Out of My Mind,
Bargaining). With Tough Love he sets out to prove that both cases can manifest
themselves in one episode because it is full great moments that really work
(such as vengeful Willow attacking Glory and awesome final scene) and other
moments that feel oddly flat and really shouldn’t (Tara being attacked by Glory
at the fair). Rebecca Rand Kirshner is this years Tracey Forbes (only much more
skilled in the art of writing Buffy) and this is her middling script (it’s
nowhere near as vacuous as Out of My Mind but it doesn’t quite hit the creepy
heights of Listening to Fear either) and it exposes her terrific handling of
dialogue and love of a big dramatic climax but it does take a little while and
goes through some awkward characterisation of Willow and Tara that doesn’t
always ring true to get there. Giles gets some good moments although it would
appear Buffy’s comfortable turn in the last episode was a refreshing one-off
because she’s back to playing the fuhrer here. Strangle enough it’s
Glory’s scabby minions that provide some of the more enjoyable moments and it’s
a shame they were confined to one season. There’s so much that does work in
Tough Love that it’s a shame that I should have to punish the piece for some
poor directional choices and a little uncomfortable characterisation but thems
the breaks when it comes to reviewing a series. It would be a 5 if it
weren’t for the first glimpse of evil witch bitch Willow and the
appetite-whetting dramatic climax: 6/10
Spiral written by Stephen S. DeKnight and directed by James
A. Contner
What’s it about: It’s time for Buffy to take on the Knights
of Byzantium en masse…
The Chosen One: Finally Buffy has realised just dangerous
Glory is and decides to go on the run. It might not be the bravest course of
action but when you are dealing with a pissed off Hell God from another
dimension it is definitely the most sensible one (I loved the little dig at
Adam and how easy he was defeat in comparison – this show never shies away from
bringing up its mistakes). Buffy admits that she cannot take much more because
the pain keeps coming (Glory, Tara, Riley and her mom) and it’s clear that she
needs some kind of release from it all. In hindsight you can see where all this
is leading but when watching for the first time I could never foresee that the
writers would be looking to offer Buffy the ultimate release. To be fair to
Buffy I would have given up at the climax too. How much more can one
person take?
The Key: More wonderful moments between Buffy and Dawn where
she gives her the succour she needs to continue the fight. I had always thought
season five was Buffy and Dawn at each others throats (and there has been a
fair amount of that too) but there has been an equal amount of gentle moments
between them as their relationship has deepened that has really helped to sell
their love for each other (there are similar moments in No Place Like Home,
Blood Ties and The Body). Dawn was created to open the gate which separates the
dimensions and Glory will use her to return home and seize control of the Hell
she was banished from. The walls separating reality will crumble , dimensions
will bleed into each other, order will be overthrown and the universe will be
thrown into chaos. Gulp.
Goddess: Something that was hinted at previously is now
being led towards for real…could Ben kill Dawn to prevent Glory from obtaining
her Key and returning home? His thread throughout the season is another element
that has been superbly handled and plotted. As I have mentioned before I don’t
remember him appearing as much this season as he had (mind you it has been
years since I last re-watched this show back-to-back like this and due to the
serial nature of this season it is one I rarely select one episode at random
from because it has so few standalones) but I’m pleased to have re-discovered
his importance to this arc, how sneakily his body switch with Glory was dealt
with, how it was played for laughs, how it is suggested that he might be
Buffy’s next boy toy and now this dark moral dilemma facing him. It pains me to
think of Charlie Weber being shackled to as vacuous as 90210 when he has been
so impressively understated here (although if his role in the teen drama
involved him getting his shirt off a lot I might even be tempted to tune in one
week). Spiral offers another dilemma surrounding Ben but looking at the problem
from the other side…kill the man half of the She-God and Glory dies. Can Buffy
bring herself to murder Ben? ‘Hey, it’s Gregor’ declares Glory when she
materialises inside Buffy’s sanctuary before picking up a hub cap and sliding
it into his stomach. She’s so cool.
Ripper: At a point where she desperately needs it Giles
tells Buffy how proud he is of her.
Sexy Blond: Spike takes another wound for Buffy. Surely he
has done enough to be welcomed into the Scoobies by now? Xander helping him out
with his cigarette lighter offers hope in that direction.
Witchy Willow: Although it isn’t the focus, Tara’s condition
has not been forgotten and she’s cleverly used as a portent of doom whenever
things get too quiet (which isn’t often in this installment). Amber Benson
continues
Vengeance Demon: Before she got heavily involved with Xander
running away was Anya’s method of choice so of everybody she is the one who is
most behind Buffy’s idea to flee. Because it was either that or throw a piano
on her head and I don’t know if that would work and it would be a waste of a
good piano.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘Weapons?’ ‘Hello you’re driving one!’
‘Don’t hit the horsies!’ Worth mentioning because that is exactly what Simon
shouted out when watching…he has a bizarre fascination with not enjoying
watching animals getting hurt on television but human beings are fair game.
The Good: Spiral opens with an action sequence so awesome
that the episodes surrounding it don’t really have much of a chance in
comparison. Glory knows who the Key is now and she is going to hound Buffy
until the ends of the Earth until she gets her hands on Dawnie. It’s everything
that the season has been building in its complexly structured way and so some
payoff in such a destructive fashion is extremely welcome. So here we have
Buffy diving through a Willows college door (literally obliterating it because
opening it wouldn’t be her style at all), Glory being tossed aside by a spell
of Willow’s, her bursting through a wall in pursuit and running after them
through the campus Superman-style, coming face to face with a massive oil
tanker and then destroying a car roof as she penetrates it and quick as a flash
transforming into Ben. It’s superbly directed by James A. Contner (he is far
better than David Soloman at directing this show on the move) who wastes an
entire episodes budget on about four minutes of footage…but what an opening. A
massive round of applause for Lily Knight as Gronx, the only female scabby
minion that we have seen and one of the most agreeable yet. They have all been
well cast and played and stood out as one of the most enjoyable aspects of
season five. It’s not very Buffy (which is normally a very sexy show) for them
to head off in something as battered and functional as the beaten up old RV but
it adds a great deal of character to this episode as a result (it feels more
like the sort of getaway vehicle the Doctor would choose). In that respect it
also feels like a TARDIS because the interior is absolutely massive, a studio space
as opposed to being shot on location. Unlike the usual gang of four or five
people masquerading as vampires the Knights of Byzantium are genuinely
represented by what looks like a real army, the camera ascending above the
trees to fill the screen full of extras. We cut from the Knights to the
Scoobies to the crazies in the hospital to the scabby minions – it’s very
satisfying to feel everything cohering like this and gaining momentum. Just
when you think there is a moment to breathe flaming arrows start tearing
through their shelter! It is unrelenting, this episode! Isn’t it wonderful to
see the old Doctor Who base under siege genre kicking into operation (okay it
isn’t limited to Doctor Who but that is where I have seen used most
effectively) with Buffy and her friends holed up in an abandoned gas station in
the desert under siege from an army of psychopathic knights? While we’re
talking about Doctor Who Spiral borrows another of its tropes: creating
expensive backstory with words (it was a case of having to with Who because
they didn’t have the budget to afford big, cinematic flashbacks). General
Gregor’s tale of Glory laying waste to the dimension that she came from is
gripping and it doesn’t require anything more than two actors giving it their
all. Buffy asking Ben to come visit their hidey hole to help Giles is one of
those marvellous oh shit moments that works because its leading up to the moment
when the heroes twig what they have done. We’re a few steps ahead but in a very
electrifying way.
The Bad: Karim Prince is embarrassingly melodramatic as
Dante (he really loves shouting ‘clerics!’) but that is more than made
up for by Wade Williams’ memorable turn as the General.
Moment to Watch Out For: I can still vividly remember the
moment when my husband went from being curious about Buffy the Vampire Slayer
to actually becoming a fan of the show and it was during this episode. I can’t
remember whether he first switched on at the beginning of series five or
halfway through (I hope it wasn’t at the point of The Body because that would
have given a really misguided view of what the show was about!) but during the
sequence on camper van when Buffy fights hordes of knights he turned to me and
exclaimed excitedly ‘why did you never get me to watch this show before?’ From
this point on he never missed an episode on transmission. I’m trying to
pinpoint what it might have been about that sequence (beyond the fact that it
is ridiculously exciting and maybe that is enough) but all I can think of is he
has long wanted to tour America in a creaky old wagon like this (I am
continually trying to discourage this notion but it persists) and he has a
massive hard on for anything Arthurian and steeped in mythology. Buffy has
never offered up visuals like this before; knights on horseback riding along an
RV and showering it with arrows, Buffy atop swinging a sword and knocking
people to their deaths and Giles getting a pike to the gut and flipping the RV
onto its side in a cloud of dust. Plus full marks for Anya hitting a knight
repeatedly over the head with a frying pan (see, it really does pay to watch
cartoons!).
Orchestra: Wanker has really woken up with this action
packed story and fills it full of chest thumping music that adds wonders to the
atmosphere. I particularly like the marching army theme when the knights attack
the RV.
Foreboding: It’s all pretty much foreboding at this point.
Can Ben kill Dawn? Can Buffy kill Ben? Will Glory activate the Key and destroy
the world? Will Tara be a vegetable forever? So many interesting possibilities
and it all comes down to how Joss Whedon handles and concludes them in The
Gift. Watch this space.
Result: Spiral (and possibly Villains/Two to Go next year) is the
closest Buffy has ever come to offering up a big cinematic action spectacular
and rather than feeling completely out of place it proves to be one of the more
successful episodes in the closing run of season five (the only point where I
feel it stutters slightly). Everything that has been seeded in the season feels
as though it is finally bearing fruit and cross pollinating coming together
(the Knights of Byzantium, the purpose of the Key, Glory’s crazies and
backstory, Ben’s dilemma, Buffy’s desperation in the face of overwhelming odds
finally catching up with her) but they do so in an episode that is skilfully
paced to provide as much visceral entertainment as possible. From the first
second to the last the action is non-stop and James A. Contner proves he is the
perfect director to handle this kind of adrenaline fuelled piece, offering
college-bound, on the road and holed up action sequences that get progressively
more exciting and murderous. Have they been saving up the budget for this
episode because it looks as though it is eating away through about half a
seasons money? Buffy usually involves whatever nasties arrive in Sunnydale
invading their lives and becoming a part of their stories but by this stage of
season five we have upped sticks from the Scoobies affairs and they have been
plunged headlong into the world of Glory and the Knight’s of Byzantium. It is
completely disconnected from reality (which Buffy rarely is) but as a result it
proves to about as gripping as this show comes as escapist television. I like
how Buffy’s friends are hurt during this fight (Spike, Giles) and how desperate
the performances are to drive home the tension (the usually unflappable Buffy
and Willow are particularly panic-stricken) but what I especially appreciate is
how much Glory has come into her own know as a formidable force. She cuts through
all the hand to hand nonsense at the climax by committing mass murder and
achieves everything she has been aiming for this season. Yes that’s right
folks, this is the one episode where the villain(ess) wins and it leaves poor
Buffy who has simply had too much thrown at her of late in a catatonic state.
All this and it fills in much of the backstory that we have been missing this
year (who Glory is, why she was banished and what the consequences of Dawn’s
activation would be). Exhilarating, gorgeously shot and cohering this season in
a very dynamic way, Spiral is a top notch episode of Buffy that might just take
your breath away. There is no other Buffy episode quite like this and that is
why I like it so much: 9/10
The Weight of the World written by Doug Petrie and directed
by David Solomon
What’s it about: Buffy is catatonic and Dawn has been
kidnapped…
The Chosen One: Alexandra Lee is a terrifyingly authentic
match for Sarah Michelle Gellar as the young Buffy. She even gets the voice
inflections right.
Goddess: ‘So tell me why aren’t I popping your head like
a zit right now?’ Just as she has been a pain in Ben’s backside, he is now
starting to infect hers as their transitions get closer together and his
morality and goodness is starting to seep into her veins. It forces her to
wrestle with her conscience, to battle with her inner demons and question
whether sacrificing a child to her aims is decent idea. Clare Kramer’s
performance has become far less pantomime in the last few episodes and now she
is playing this character in a much darker place, making the scenes between
Glory and Dawn really count. Ben's choice to sacrifice Dawn in order to survive is this episodes only real shock and even that doesn't come as a massive surprise given the alternative for him.
Sexy Blond: Amazing how Spike has now slipped alongside the
Scoobies almost invisibly in the wake of the latest developments. About damn
time. I really chuckled when he slapped Xander (and thus himself).
Witchy Willow: Willow is using her powers to break up Spike
and Xander when they brawl and its one of the first signs that she is using her
powers to inflict her will upon others. Even though she does this for the best
of reasons (they did need a good telling off at this point), Alyson Hannigan
plays in a very dark way that suggests a menacing future for the character. My
how things change on this show. Just half a season ago Willow and Anya were at
each others throats but now the former is trusting the latter with the most
precious thing in her life.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘This body…it’s just a rental, Dawnie.
Being human is just a costume party for girls like you and me.’
‘Is this what the poets go on about? This?’
‘And you wanted out for one second. So what?’
The Good: Buffy and Dawn are both disconnected from reality
in the pre-titles sequences but in very different ways. I like how both scenes
feature many characters talking and end with the focus on one of the Summer’s
women hidden at the periphery, lost in their own thoughts at how things have
played out. It’s surprising that the nature of the Ben/Glory transformation
amnesia is only revealed at this point but I’m pleased that it was given some
form of explanation and that it was played for laughs. For Spike to be the
rational person in a conversation is terrifying and his insistence that they
are one and the same person in the face of the Scoobies amnesia is very funny (‘is
everybody here very stoned?’). I wondered where all those crazies were
going in Spiral when they knocked out the nurse and stomped away chanting like
Buddhist monks. This has been another cleverly woven narrative (brilliantly
exposed when the same crazy that confronted Dawn in Real Me is the first seen
here working on Glory’s magnificent construction) in season five that was
introduced early and is yielding great results. In telling a sustained
narrative over an entire season this has been one of the best plotted that I have
ever come across. Spike discovering Ben’s little hidey hole in Glory’s
apartment crosses off the question of where he lived when she was tucked away
inside of him. It’s a design representation of their schizophrenic personality
as he walks from the decadence of her apartment to the squalor and simplicity
of his. I’m torn about the Buffy dream sequences because this feels like the
point where the season should be gaining some forward momentum as we race
towards the climax and yet it pauses for long gaps as Willow reaches inside
Buffy’s mind and offers her some extended therapy. These scenes take too long
to get to their point of Willow telling Buffy to snap out of it. On the other
hand it is lovely to be able to get a peek at Buffy’s childhood home and the sequences
are imbued with a certain blissful calm that you could imagine Buffy retreating
into from all the pain she experiencing in the real world. I also love the idea
of seeing first hand some of false memories that the monks squirreled away in
Buffy’s head, the moment when Dawn came home from the hospital as a baby and
was presented to her. The dream sequences aren’t as in your face as usual
(compare to the complexity and weirdness of Restless) but that just means that
images like Joyce’s graveside turning up in Dawn’s bedroom and Buffy smothering
her sister with a pillow so calmly make more of an impact because they have one
foot in reality. It's lovely to see Kristine Sutherland again too.
The Bad: When Joel Gray allowed to menace through his
performance as Doc, his character is very creepy but the effects work is a
little cartoony and pantomimic for my tastes (a tongue that whips out of his
mouth?). The minions seem to be walking about the streets of Sunnydale
completely unnoticed by the people around them. I think I would make a fuss if
I saw such leprous creatures wandering about. I’m not sure I follow Buffy’s
train of thought from wanting the conflict to be over to her murdering Dawn.
It’s quite a leap for the character to make and one that doesn’t make a lot of
sense given how protective she has been of her sister all year. We have
subconscious thoughts like that because we’re human. It’s not what we really
want, its just a possible outcome for a second, a consideration, perhaps a wish
in a moment of darkness. To drown in guilt over a stray thought like that is
really self indulgent. It’s clear from the way the last scene suddenly picks up
the central narrative that was paused at the end of Spiral that this has been
nothing but a 45 minute deferral of the finale. It feels like the show has held
its breath for an entire episode.
Moment to Watch Out For: How long must the sequence where
Ben and Glory have an argument with themselves have taken to film? It was worth
it and it stands out as one of the most impressive scenes for both characters
as they lay their ambitions bare and tussle against one another in the same
body.
Foreboding: A reminder of the First Slayer’s advice that
death is Buffy’s gift. The Weight of the World is basically taking the audience
down a massive blind alley in trying to convince us that the death that she was
referring to was Dawn’s. It’s a well played red herring because everybody has
been so fixated on Dawn this year that the real interpretation of the prophecy
is hidden whilst hiding in plain sight.
Result: Less of an episode in its own right and more an
extended prelude to The Gift, The Weight of the World is an piece of the puzzle
that I haven’t had much time for in the past but watching it again there is a
wealth of decent material nestled away in this quiet pause before the intensity
of the finale. The Buffy dream sequences are more worthy than I initially
thought, offering us a decent metaphorical visualisation of the turmoil she is
facing inside but at the same time they play out for too long and don’t come to
any great conclusions beyond Willow’s ‘get over it.’ The Glory/Ben
material is much better and beautifully played by both actors (especially the
sequence where they talk to each other). I like the re-introduction of Doc, the
comedy surrounding the Scoobies amnesia with regards to the Ben/Glory
transformation and the increased appearances of the scabby minions. It’s all
good stuff, but it isn’t gripping enough to make me forget that all The Weight
of the World is doing is filling in a couple of blanks (where does Ben sleep
when he isn’t Glory?) and postponing the climax to the season. Now the central
dilemma that Buffy has to face is whether she can kill Dawn to save the world?
That’s where this season has been heading all along and I can’t wait to see how
she handles it. It’s such a shame that the run up to the finale has been a bit
hit and miss because the season has been in fine shape right up until Tough
Love. The Weight of the World feels like this show holding its breath for 45
minutes but having a couple of profound thoughts whilst doing so: 5/10
The Gift written and directed by Joss Whedon
What’s it about: The end of the world?
The Chosen One: Suggesting the rift that would develop
between them next season, Buffy makes it emphatically clear that if Giles tries
to hurt Dawn then she will stop him. It’s a pointed statement in a scene that
is loaded with mutual affection between the two characters. If Dawn dies then
Buffy is going to turn her back on her calling because she cannot lose anything
else to this gig. Buffy admits in a quiet moment that she wishes her mother was
here because she needs her strength right now. When Buffy goes at Glory with
the hammer over and over you get a sense that she is releasing an awful lot of
tension that has developed over this year.
The Key: Dawn has got an awful lot of therapy to get through
after the events of this episode. That’s all I’m going to say. Bizarrely where
the focus has been all about Dawn throughout the season, it shifts to Buffy at
the last minute as it always should have because this isn’t called Dawn the
Vampire Slayer.
Goddess: Ben has made his choice, he’s sold Dawn out but at
least he isn’t pretending that he hasn’t made that choice or trying to hide
from it. You have to have some grudging respect for somebody who goes through
with their choices, no matter how twisted they are. It’s Ben’s influence over
Glory that has kept her on a leash this year, explaining why she always goes
for the hurt rather than the kill (some part of me can’t help but wonder if
that is Whedon fighting the tide of complaints about Glory being a God and how
she should have torn them all apart already).
Ripper: In a scene loaded with tension Giles finally
explodes at Buffy, forcing her to accept that the situation is either killing
Dawn or the end of the world. There is only so long he can let her bury her
head in the sand. Harshly he reminds Buffy that Dawn isn’t her sister to which
she fires a response that even he can’t respond to. Giles killing Ben…just wow.
I never saw that coming and the way it is played so quietly that it chilled my
blood.
Sexy Blond: Another demonstration on how this show evolves
so quickly (and yet so naturalistically) is Buffy inviting Spike into her house
without a second thought when just ten or so episodes ago she forced him out
permanently. When he tells Buffy he knows that she will never love him but she
treats him like a man broke my heart. I cannot believe what a journey he has
been on throughout season five. It was worth all that embarrassment for the
character because he has come out of it with more dignity than ever before.
Spike being tossed from the top of the scaffold is a real shocker – how much
more pain can this man suffer protecting Buffy’s sister? It’s his tears that
affect me the most at the climax, we’ve never seen Spike so devastated by
anything before.
Witchy Willow: That cute, shy Willow makes a brief
re-appearance when Buffy suggests that she is the strongest one amongst them
(chiefly because she is the only person who has ever hurt Glory). She might
regret feeding her ego after the events of this episode because it leads to all
kinds of complications.
Gorgeous Geek: Xander makes the appalling suggestion that
they could kill a regular guy (Ben) as opposed to a God (Glory) and suddenly
realises what he is suggesting. It’s something that becomes a very real choice
later in the episode.
Vengeance Demon: Anya really is growing because her natural
instinct is to flee and yet when everybody is fighting amongst themselves she’s
right in there trying to fire up suggestions and get people motivated. Giles
angrily suggests she has nothing of value to contribute and she immediately
comes up with something of value. Stick that in your eye, Ripper. When did the
Anya and Xander relationship become the most stable one in this show? Had you
told me that at the beginning of season four I would have laughed so hard I
might have peed a little. His proposal to her in this episode feels partly a
moment of release in an impossibly tense situation and partly where their
relationship was heading anyway. I didn’t think that anybody could have topped
Marti Noxon’s glorious affirmation of their relationship at the end of Into the
Woods but Whedon has a damn good stab here. Nicholas Brendon and Emma Caulfield
deserve a great deal of credit for taking a relationship that on the surface
looked as though it would never last and taking it to some unexpectedly deep
places. Anya’s natural reaction is to slap Xander when he proposes to her but
then she melts when he explains why. Her decision to accept the ring after the
world doesn’t end is a smart one.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘Blood is life. It’s what makes you
warm, it’s what makes you hard, it makes you other than dead.’
‘She’s me. The monks made her out of me.’
‘Oh sweaty naughty feelings causing one’ – come on that has
to be the best one yet.
‘She’s a hero you know. She’s not like us.’
‘Dawn, the hardest thing to do in this world is to live in
it.’
The Good: Has there ever been a more incident packed ‘previously
on…’ for an episode of Buffy. It’s really fun to randomly pause the flashes
through every episode in the past five years to see what you get (my two pauses
were the fish man bursting out of Wentworth Miller from Go Fish and Anya
walking along the street in a bunny costume from Fear Itself!). It shows you
how much ground this show has covered and speeds up to such a degree that it
hurls you into the episode running. This is clearly going to be something quite
special. It’s fascinating to think of how far we have come from vampires being
the major the threat on this show, especially in the last three seasons. Even
Buffy walks through the door and is surprised that it’s only a vampire –
it’s almost as if the show has become so blasé about them that it has made them
safe (although they did have a good stab at trying to inject some blood back
into the premise in Fool For Love, if you’ll pardon the pun). In the first
episode Xander’s world was turned upside down by the news that vampires exist,
in The Gift he merely says ‘oh’ after she has dealt with one. There’s no
‘you’re just a girl’ about this show anymore, If Whedon wanted to hand a show
over to a strong female protagonist and show how it could flourish then he has
succeeded in spades. That works for the actress too, I don’t think there are
that many avid TV watchers who don’t know who Sarah Michelle Gellar is now.
Watch as the Scoobies (especially Anya) plunder the previous seasons worth of
stories to tool themselves up to fight Glory (the Dagon’s Sphere, Olaf’s
enchanted hammer, the Buffybot, Xander’s building equipment) and marvel at the
way this season has been plotted to incorporate these elements so they are of
use to our heroes now. The giant scaffolding that the crazies and minions have
been building certainly lives up to the climactic promise of this finale. If
you were going to set a final apocalyptic nightmare in motion it makes sense
for it take place right above the town where they have all featured. A ticking
clock always helps and this is a climax that could have only have taken place
at this point (it was ordained, you know) and the idea is to keep Glory busy so
she misses her slot. Besting Glory is one of the most satisfying things this
show has ever done and I don’t know what is more delectable – her reaction to
the Buffybot when she knocks its head off, Buffy smacking her around the head
with the troll hammer or Xander sending her flying with his wrecking ball. She
gets beaten up good and proper but its more than she deserved after the hell she
has put them all through this year. The scaffold was a great place to stage one
of Buffy’s most dynamic fight sequences yet. Doc turning up like a magician
atop the scaffold to bleed Dawn is a fantastically scary moment, Joel Gray is
just too good at calm menace. I never thought that Whedon would dare to try and
realise an apocalypse on this scale (okay it’s hardly cinematic but for a
television budget it is far more than you can expect). Dimensions rip through
the air, buildings turn black, lightning flails, , the ground splits, demons
break through…it’s all very exciting and end of the world. Compared to the end
of Graduation Day, this is high art.
Moment to Watch Out For: I love everything about Buffy’s
sacrifice. How it suddenly makes sense of so much in the season, her inner calm
at being set free from all the pain that has built up recently, how right it
feels that she should give up her life for a sister that she never should have
had. It’s gorgeously directed too with the poetic touch of the sun coming up,
the slow motion leap and the cut to the devastating reaction shots of her
friends. The final shot of the series is a slow pan towards Buffy’s grave and
it was massively brave to end the season (and possibly the series) on this
note. Both uplifting and devastating. It gave me goosebumps.
Orchestra: If I were Thomas Wanker I would be mightily
pissed that I had given myself to a show for an entire year and was suddenly
superseded at the climax by the person I took over from. Whedon wisely chose to
excise Wanker from the show during The Body because that was an episode that
required silences as part and parcel of the story he was telling but to hand
over the reigns during his latest piece suggests that he doesn’t quite trust
the musician to do his material justice. And yet Wanker is back again next
year…it’s quite baffling. Regardless, of course it’s delightful to have
Christophe Beck back in the fold for one final episode and he more than lives
up to his reputation of creating beautiful soundtracks. Although I have to say
I did miss Wanker’s Buffy/Glory fight music that I had become so accustomed to
throughout the season when they had their last punch up. His theme for Buffy’s
sacrifice is one of the best things he has ever written. It captures the moment
perfectly.
Foreboding: Technically this could have been the final
episode so it is worth taking a look at where the characters are at the end of
the episode and whether it would have been a satisfying place to leave them if
another channel hadn’t picked up the show.
Result: As gorgeously written and directed as The Body was
but in a very different way, Joss Whedon has really come into his own during
season five and proven what a skilful storyteller he is behind the typewriter
and the camera. The first half of The Gift is one awesome character scene after
another, everything from people making tough choices to people accepted the
ones they have already made, proposals being made and relationships being
affirmed. The way that Whedon plunders the season for all manner of expertly
hidden elements to create some kind of a force that can take down Glory is
phenomenal and shows just how well thought through this year really was. A lot
was riding on this finale because never before has a season of Buffy held back
its conclusion to a story for so long (Buffy has never been serialised quite
like season five before – only season seven would match it in that respect). In
essence, The Gift has had 23 episodes worth of build up and so the way it
approaches its end game is to make the build up to the conclusion of this
episode as long and as tense as possible. The when the fight comes it is
everything you could have hoped for and more with Glory getting her ass whooped
good and proper before Giles unexpectedly makes the move that nobody else had
the guts to do. Whedon has struck upon a brilliant course that has only been
pulled off once before (at the end of season two); the way to stop the monster
isn’t to find their weakness, the way to stop it is for Buffy to lose something
that is precious to her. In a coup that tops even the (apparent) death of
Angel, Buffy spares Dawn from being sacrifices and gives up the only life she
has ever had the right to. The way this dawns on Buffy and the audience at the
same time is beautifully done, and suddenly the entire season locks into one
long flawlessly formed narrative with a perfect ending. We’ve always been
heading here, right from the beginning. This could have been the end for the
show (we were lucky enough to get two more seasons on another network) and had
that been the case it would have been a very impressive one: 10/10
At the risk of sounding like a stuck record, I am loving these reviews.
ReplyDeleteCan not wait to see what you think of the rest of the season especially The Body and the finale.
Great work
James
Really pleased you are enjoying them, James. I'm having greAt fun working my way through the series! :-)
ReplyDeleteAmazing review of The Body Joe,absolutely amazing. I lost my mum just under two years ago and every time I watch this episode I cry as it is so real to life and so correct in how death effects everyone. I can't watch it often as the episode brings all the feelings back into very sharp focus.
ReplyDeleteJames
Thanks James, and I'm so sorry to hear about your mum. What a fantastic achievement this episode is.
ReplyDelete