Buffy ep by ep; rewatch and reviews
- Thread starter saturn5
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Just because the First took credit for it, doesn't mean he actually did it. I prefer to think it was the PTBs who brought him back, and the First just took advantage.
The First is more of a concept personified - an entity, a force of nature. W&H are just demons who realized how to work the system to become more powerful. The First is the source of evil; W&H are just happy to use that evil to their own ends.
As for the Old Ones, they're just big ancient demons wandering around stomping on things.
^Yeah, W&H do seem to be just upstarts who learned how to get more powerful. Ilyria implies that during the reign of the Old Ones, W&H were little more powerful than vampires.
There have been demons since the Old Ones who claim to be 'pure' demons, like the Nazi-esque ones in 'Hero', but really they're all just watered down half breeds, right?
Mayor Richard Wilkins III looked a lot like an Old One in his natural form, though.
I think the old school primordial vampires, the Turok Han, are consistent with what we've seen elsewhere in the Buffyverse. The Master looked a lot like an ancient vampire himself (I always took the Brotherhood of Aurelius thing to mean that he dates back to the Roman era of Marcus Aurelius). And then there was the Prince of Lies in Angel's 'Why We Fight', a veerrry old vampire.
There have been demons since the Old Ones who claim to be 'pure' demons, like the Nazi-esque ones in 'Hero', but really they're all just watered down half breeds, right?
Mayor Richard Wilkins III looked a lot like an Old One in his natural form, though.
I think the old school primordial vampires, the Turok Han, are consistent with what we've seen elsewhere in the Buffyverse. The Master looked a lot like an ancient vampire himself (I always took the Brotherhood of Aurelius thing to mean that he dates back to the Roman era of Marcus Aurelius). And then there was the Prince of Lies in Angel's 'Why We Fight', a veerrry old vampire.
Yeah, I think if you look at The Master, The Prince of Lies, Kakistos etc you can see that the longer a vamp lives they seem to devolve into a Turok Han. The old ones are like The Mayor/Snake or Illyria in her true form although they can be killed
Gingerbread
The Good;
Host of good stuff, the hysteria, the fiery climax, the mislead with Willow, Amy! The Buffy/Joyce scenes are superb, great to meet Will's mum. Love the Mayor's very careful tiptoeing around MOO and Principle Snyder is a joy to behold
The Bad;
A tv cliche but surely the police would take longer than 5 minutes to get a statement from Joyce and Buffy and wouldn't leave them hanging around the crime scene. Also the demon at the end with the stake through it's throat is very obviously a perspective gag.
Best line;
Joyce; "Oh my god it's mister Sanderson from the bank!" just pipping Willow's; "You do doodle"
Whedon Cliches;
Character death;
Shot; no but Giles is intimidated by a security guard with a gun
Tied up; Willow, Amy and Buffy
Knocked out; Buffy and Giles by Joyce using chloroform. Cordy asks how many times Giles has been knocked out, I figure it must be a dozen or more. Love her line about 'waking up in a coma' although it's rather ironic given the events of 'You're Welcome'.
Women good/men bad; in this case it's the women who lead the crusade/lynch-mob
Kinky dinky; Giles and Joyce are at least talking to one another now but still awkward. Willow implores the dark forces to 'fill her with their black naughtiness' which one day they will. Xander has Playboys in his locker which is suprisingly classy porn considering what we know about him. As I recall it was actually the story of the little Dutch boy with his fist in the dyke but that's probably too kinky even for Joss. Giles logs into the 'Frisky watchers chatroom' which I'm sure someone launched at some time
Calling Captain Subtext;
The not so subtle implication is a rant against those who wish to censor Buffy or criticize it for it's occult features. But really it's against bigotry and mob rule anywhere. Ironically I remember this ep being censored on the BBC at the point where Buffy stakes the demon at the end.
. Buffy seems unaware that 'dyke' is another word for dam which makes her expression when Angel refers to having "a finger in the dyke" all the more hilarious.
Guantanamo Bay;
SDH has it's civil liberties suspended, Snyder glorying in his power
Questions and observations;
This ep marks the beginning of Cordy's eventual reintegration into the Scooby gang as she helps Giles save Buff&co and Oz and Xander reconcile. The first appearance of rat Amy. Someone should tell Michael that the New Romantic era is over. When Joyce and Buffy have their talk at SDH they're standing under a poster saying 'Blood required again'. You rather wonder that no one has thought to form a vigiliante group to counter the Hellmouth evil before? Joyce refers to 'neck rupture', presumably the authorities term for vampire killings. Snyder misquotes Apocalypse Now which he will appear in a parody of at the end of season 4. Once again Buffy's status as the Slayer seems common knowledge to judge by the boys reaction to her at the school. Willow claims that she's sacrificed the local goats, one day she will sacrifice Bambi.
So lovely that Joyce comes along to Buffy's Slaying patrol. You have to agree with Snyder that it's rather weird for Giles to have such a wide selection of books dedicated to the supernatural in the library. It's a great turnaround that Joyce the parent relies on Buffy the child to console her from the evils she's seen. She has a point that Sunnydale isn't getting any better, they're not running out of vampires. But as 'The Wish' and 'Dopplegangland' prove Buffy&co make a huge difference.
One wonders what Dawn makes of all this? Love Giles struggling with the computer, can't he call the Council for help?
Angel and Buffy's talk is interesting especially in light of his crisis of faith in season 2 of his own show. No Faith which is a shame, love to see where she would stand in all of this. Xander and Oz in the air ducts speaks of every cliche in every action film ever. A hint of Amy's true colours as Buffy observes "She couldn't do us first". Lovely fanfic based on this one where The Mayor falls in love with Joyce and gives up evil to marry her and become Buffy, Faith and Dawn's stepfather. http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3009442/1/The_Mayoress. Also an 18+ fic for the schoolboard wondering about Giles and his girls.
http://buffy.adultfanfiction.net/story.php?no=17390
8/10 again, very good but not truly great
Gingerbread
The Good;
Host of good stuff, the hysteria, the fiery climax, the mislead with Willow, Amy! The Buffy/Joyce scenes are superb, great to meet Will's mum. Love the Mayor's very careful tiptoeing around MOO and Principle Snyder is a joy to behold
The Bad;
A tv cliche but surely the police would take longer than 5 minutes to get a statement from Joyce and Buffy and wouldn't leave them hanging around the crime scene. Also the demon at the end with the stake through it's throat is very obviously a perspective gag.
Best line;
Joyce; "Oh my god it's mister Sanderson from the bank!" just pipping Willow's; "You do doodle"
Whedon Cliches;
Character death;
Shot; no but Giles is intimidated by a security guard with a gun
Tied up; Willow, Amy and Buffy
Knocked out; Buffy and Giles by Joyce using chloroform. Cordy asks how many times Giles has been knocked out, I figure it must be a dozen or more. Love her line about 'waking up in a coma' although it's rather ironic given the events of 'You're Welcome'.
Women good/men bad; in this case it's the women who lead the crusade/lynch-mob
Kinky dinky; Giles and Joyce are at least talking to one another now but still awkward. Willow implores the dark forces to 'fill her with their black naughtiness' which one day they will. Xander has Playboys in his locker which is suprisingly classy porn considering what we know about him. As I recall it was actually the story of the little Dutch boy with his fist in the dyke but that's probably too kinky even for Joss. Giles logs into the 'Frisky watchers chatroom' which I'm sure someone launched at some time
Calling Captain Subtext;
The not so subtle implication is a rant against those who wish to censor Buffy or criticize it for it's occult features. But really it's against bigotry and mob rule anywhere. Ironically I remember this ep being censored on the BBC at the point where Buffy stakes the demon at the end.
. Buffy seems unaware that 'dyke' is another word for dam which makes her expression when Angel refers to having "a finger in the dyke" all the more hilarious.
Guantanamo Bay;
SDH has it's civil liberties suspended, Snyder glorying in his power
Questions and observations;
This ep marks the beginning of Cordy's eventual reintegration into the Scooby gang as she helps Giles save Buff&co and Oz and Xander reconcile. The first appearance of rat Amy. Someone should tell Michael that the New Romantic era is over. When Joyce and Buffy have their talk at SDH they're standing under a poster saying 'Blood required again'. You rather wonder that no one has thought to form a vigiliante group to counter the Hellmouth evil before? Joyce refers to 'neck rupture', presumably the authorities term for vampire killings. Snyder misquotes Apocalypse Now which he will appear in a parody of at the end of season 4. Once again Buffy's status as the Slayer seems common knowledge to judge by the boys reaction to her at the school. Willow claims that she's sacrificed the local goats, one day she will sacrifice Bambi.
So lovely that Joyce comes along to Buffy's Slaying patrol. You have to agree with Snyder that it's rather weird for Giles to have such a wide selection of books dedicated to the supernatural in the library. It's a great turnaround that Joyce the parent relies on Buffy the child to console her from the evils she's seen. She has a point that Sunnydale isn't getting any better, they're not running out of vampires. But as 'The Wish' and 'Dopplegangland' prove Buffy&co make a huge difference.
One wonders what Dawn makes of all this? Love Giles struggling with the computer, can't he call the Council for help?
Angel and Buffy's talk is interesting especially in light of his crisis of faith in season 2 of his own show. No Faith which is a shame, love to see where she would stand in all of this. Xander and Oz in the air ducts speaks of every cliche in every action film ever. A hint of Amy's true colours as Buffy observes "She couldn't do us first". Lovely fanfic based on this one where The Mayor falls in love with Joyce and gives up evil to marry her and become Buffy, Faith and Dawn's stepfather. http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3009442/1/The_Mayoress. Also an 18+ fic for the schoolboard wondering about Giles and his girls.
http://buffy.adultfanfiction.net/story.php?no=17390
8/10 again, very good but not truly great
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My favorite bit in the whole episode is Willow's talk with her mother - Mom is perfectly comfortable and unconcerned trying to talk Willow out of her "witchcraft phase," but when Will tells her mom she's dating a musician, she gets a thoroughly disappointed "Oh, Willow!"
Yeah, cool to finally meet Will's mum although she never appears again and we never get to meet her dad, Ira
Helpless
The Good;
Fabulous ep, really pulls the rug out from under you and puts Buffy in serious peril, very scary. Lovely Amy ref, love the final scene and Joyce's pride at Buffy's cleverness.
The Bad;
The whole idea of the Cruciantanem is stupid. If the Slayer isn't up to the job then surely she just dies anyway and they get a new one? Surely Buffy would go to her friends for help? How does Kralik know that Buffy is aware where to come to when he send her his invitation? Wouldn't it be better for the Council to have Wes standing by to relieve Giles rather than leave it a fortnight? Willow's mustard yellow tights are awful, I think Tara threw them out as we don't see them past season 3. .
Best line;
No contest "Bite me!" but I do also like the Buffy/Angel exchange;
Buffy; "That's beautiful...or taken literally really gross"
Angel; "I was just thinking"
Whedon Cliches;
Character death; 2 humans and 2 vamps
Shot;
Tied up; Joyce
Knocked out;
No but Buffy mesmerised
Women good/men bad;
Lots of it. Buffy is let down by her father and betrayed by her father figure (the scene where she dumps her father's present in the bin is particulary heartrending). Kralik killed and ate his own mother (hopefully after he became a vampire?) Kralik menacing Joyce is very scary and his idea of turning Buffy even more so (although would even a sired Slayer be evil?).
Kinky dinky;
How long have you got? Buffy and Angel 'getting all sweaty' as Xander would say. Buffy refers to dating an older man who likes it when she calls him daddy, probably her father but Angel would like to be sure (and she never says for certain?). I must say I missed the whole 'phallic crystal fondling' first time around, David Fury had to point it out to me.You could even say that the whole Giles' drugs Buffy routine is tantamount to child abuse, he dopes her then penetrates her with the needle. Kralik meanwhile actually seems to like pain from Buffy burning him with the cross
Calling Captain Subtext;
If there were ever an ep where Cordy and Buffy were to get together this is it. Note Cordy's outraged pounding of the guy who pushes Buffy and her leaving Buff home.
Guantanamo Bay;
The Watcher's Council show their true colours and they're pretty damn ruthless
Scoobies to the ER;
Going to start a new topic because in virtually every ep one or more requires hospital treatment;
Buffy pretty banged up and without Slayer healing for once
What the fanficcers thought;
Taboo Comics has a CGI-illustrated erotic story at their site where Buffy isn't the Slayer and she and Willow end up willing sex slaves in a demon brothel. In the follow up story they poison the brothel owners and take over the business for themselves, enjoying their normal lives at home and at Sunnydale High plus delighting in all the demon sex they want as a part time job. Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to write a letter to C20th Fox's legal department about them using the names and images of the characters/actresses and charging for access to the site.
Lots of other fic too where Buffy isn't the Slayer but Willow, Cordy and even Joyce are or she's just Faith the Vampire Slayer's girlfriend.
Where's Dawn?
Still at the house when Kralik snatches Joyce? At Kit's? Girl Scouts? After school classes? Or taken hostage with her mother?
Questions and observations
Interesting to hear David Fury's initial story idea, that Buffy hallucinates the Scoobies and Joyce as vamps. Nice to hear he was a fan before he got to write it. I also heard they couldn't do it because Kristine Sutherland was allergic to the vamp makeup. No Faith this ep? A shame, liked to have seen her. Presumably Kralik's pills are for mental illness rather than for anything physical which would have been cured when he became a vamp like Spike's mum/Darla. The guy he turns is one of the crew from ST;ENTERPRISE. You always knew Buffy would beat him but her method is very ingenious (after all, Little Red Riding Hood defeats the big bad wolf). Presumably more time elapses between Buffy trying to untie Joyce and him breaking through the door than is shown onsecreen. Remember Buffy hasn't even seen Kralik wash down the pills so Joyce must have told her. Personally I always liked the eaten-away-from-within effect and it was always obvious to me. Cordy's paper is on Bosnia which dates this ep pretty accurately (nowadays kids would be writing about Darfur).
8/10, very, very good, almost a classic
Helpless
The Good;
Fabulous ep, really pulls the rug out from under you and puts Buffy in serious peril, very scary. Lovely Amy ref, love the final scene and Joyce's pride at Buffy's cleverness.
The Bad;
The whole idea of the Cruciantanem is stupid. If the Slayer isn't up to the job then surely she just dies anyway and they get a new one? Surely Buffy would go to her friends for help? How does Kralik know that Buffy is aware where to come to when he send her his invitation? Wouldn't it be better for the Council to have Wes standing by to relieve Giles rather than leave it a fortnight? Willow's mustard yellow tights are awful, I think Tara threw them out as we don't see them past season 3. .
Best line;
No contest "Bite me!" but I do also like the Buffy/Angel exchange;
Buffy; "That's beautiful...or taken literally really gross"
Angel; "I was just thinking"
Whedon Cliches;
Character death; 2 humans and 2 vamps
Shot;
Tied up; Joyce
Knocked out;
No but Buffy mesmerised
Women good/men bad;
Lots of it. Buffy is let down by her father and betrayed by her father figure (the scene where she dumps her father's present in the bin is particulary heartrending). Kralik killed and ate his own mother (hopefully after he became a vampire?) Kralik menacing Joyce is very scary and his idea of turning Buffy even more so (although would even a sired Slayer be evil?).
Kinky dinky;
How long have you got? Buffy and Angel 'getting all sweaty' as Xander would say. Buffy refers to dating an older man who likes it when she calls him daddy, probably her father but Angel would like to be sure (and she never says for certain?). I must say I missed the whole 'phallic crystal fondling' first time around, David Fury had to point it out to me.You could even say that the whole Giles' drugs Buffy routine is tantamount to child abuse, he dopes her then penetrates her with the needle. Kralik meanwhile actually seems to like pain from Buffy burning him with the cross
Calling Captain Subtext;
If there were ever an ep where Cordy and Buffy were to get together this is it. Note Cordy's outraged pounding of the guy who pushes Buffy and her leaving Buff home.
Guantanamo Bay;
The Watcher's Council show their true colours and they're pretty damn ruthless
Scoobies to the ER;
Going to start a new topic because in virtually every ep one or more requires hospital treatment;
Buffy pretty banged up and without Slayer healing for once
What the fanficcers thought;
Taboo Comics has a CGI-illustrated erotic story at their site where Buffy isn't the Slayer and she and Willow end up willing sex slaves in a demon brothel. In the follow up story they poison the brothel owners and take over the business for themselves, enjoying their normal lives at home and at Sunnydale High plus delighting in all the demon sex they want as a part time job. Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to write a letter to C20th Fox's legal department about them using the names and images of the characters/actresses and charging for access to the site.
Lots of other fic too where Buffy isn't the Slayer but Willow, Cordy and even Joyce are or she's just Faith the Vampire Slayer's girlfriend.
Where's Dawn?
Still at the house when Kralik snatches Joyce? At Kit's? Girl Scouts? After school classes? Or taken hostage with her mother?
Questions and observations
Interesting to hear David Fury's initial story idea, that Buffy hallucinates the Scoobies and Joyce as vamps. Nice to hear he was a fan before he got to write it. I also heard they couldn't do it because Kristine Sutherland was allergic to the vamp makeup. No Faith this ep? A shame, liked to have seen her. Presumably Kralik's pills are for mental illness rather than for anything physical which would have been cured when he became a vamp like Spike's mum/Darla. The guy he turns is one of the crew from ST;ENTERPRISE. You always knew Buffy would beat him but her method is very ingenious (after all, Little Red Riding Hood defeats the big bad wolf). Presumably more time elapses between Buffy trying to untie Joyce and him breaking through the door than is shown onsecreen. Remember Buffy hasn't even seen Kralik wash down the pills so Joyce must have told her. Personally I always liked the eaten-away-from-within effect and it was always obvious to me. Cordy's paper is on Bosnia which dates this ep pretty accurately (nowadays kids would be writing about Darfur).
8/10, very, very good, almost a classic
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Great reviews, love that there is a section for subtext (especially useful in season 3 with Faith). Season 3 is when Buffy started getting really good imo, the mayor is maybe my fav big bad and I love Faith. I think the best villains have a human side instead of being all evil.
The great thing about the Mayor / Faith relationship is that it's perfectly genuine. He loves her like the daughter that he probably never had.
Mmm, imminent Faithy goodness.
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The awesome thing about the Mayor was that he really didn't believe he was evil. He was just a nice guy who happened to be a giant demon snake. He genuinely cared about Faith like a father. So many villains on TV act like 'mwahahahaha' mustache twirling villains, but the Mayor was just a guy who couldn't see why people didn't like the fact he might want to turn into a snake and devour everyone? What a great character.
Thanks you're too kind and the Fuffy, Tillow and Budary subtext is only only beginning!
The Zeppo
The Good;
All of it, pure genius and a chance for Nic Brendon to shine like a beacon.
The Bad;
Not much, the zombie makeup could be a bit better but that's about all. Buffy's hair looks like it's been through the machine that makes crinkly chips. Surely Jack's bomb is not sophisticated enough to be boobytrapped, why doesn't Xander just yank the wires out? Like Spike in Lover's Walk and the swimteam in Go Fish isn't it a bit irresponsible to just let O'Toole go at the end?
Best line;
Willow; Occasionally I'm callous and strange (as we'll find out in Seeing Red)
or
O'Toole (threatening Xander with his knife) Are you sacred?
Xander (desperate) Would that make you happy?
But the winner is;
Xander (wondering why Oz is cool) Is it the way you express yourself in short, non-commital sentences?
Oz; Do I?
also good is Xander's 'I like the quiet', he's prepared to die to save his friends.
Whedon Cliches;
Character death;
The Magic Box has a new owner but not for long.
Shot;
Various members of the undead gang when they were alive plus Oz twice by Willow
Tied up;
nope unless Faith and Xander indulged in some during the heat of passion
Knocked out;
Angel according to the dialogue plus werewolf Oz
Women good/men bad;
Actually a sisterhood of female demons this time around.
Jeez!;
Decapitation by letterbox, death by soda machine
Kinky dinky;
Faith shamelessly uses Xander for her own pleasure then chucks him out the door afterwards. Not that he's complaining! (and I'm sure millions of guys and not a few girls would agree). Xander seems to imply that he's never had sex before. We don't exaclty know how old he or Faith are so it could be statuatory rape, like Buffy/Angel (the legal age is 18 in California). Faith does this after the pain of Xander resetting her shoulder, linking pain, violence and pleasure (in Get It Done we discover why Slayers have this dark sexual side). Buffy seems to imply that Xander's car is a penis metaphor, love how her mind works. Xander's girl is lovely although Cordy's opinion of her is probably correct. Willow dreams of being naked, attacked by demons and late for a test.
Calling Captain Subtext;
Xander is quick to point out to the cop that although he and Jack are wrestling it's 'Not in a gay way'. Check out page 17 of the Sunnydale High Yearbook for a very interesting picture of Willow from this episode posed with a couple of SDH cheerleaders. Some of the dialogue about making Xander 'part of the gang' has a distinct Carry-On feel about it.
Guantanamo Bay;
Xander interrogates the zombie-gang by dragging one behind a car and threatening another with a bomb. Buffy goes to beat up Willy but finds someone has beaten her to it.
Scoobies to the ER;
Giles this time with a banged up arm and head wound.
Where's Dawn?
Presumably Buffy got Dawn and Joyce out of town as she did in Graduation Day pt2
Questions and observations;
The title comes from one of the lesser known Marx brothers. I suppose they could also have called it 'The Ringo'? (they do refer to Yoko later). Raising the dead appears to depend on the alignment of the stars as we later see in Bargaining although the magic is obviously different as Buffy is alive whilst Bob and co are zombies. Xander and Cordy still have a rapport despite them having fallen out. Cordy mocks Xander for his lack of superpowers but one day she will have her own in spades. The seeds of the season 7 ep Potential are sown here. The scene between Oz and Xander is wonderful, they have obviously made up although what would Oz have thought of Will telling Xander she loved him outside the Magic Box? Giles and Buffy both like jelly doughnuts. Amazingly the SDPD make themselves useful, rescuing Xander at the Bronze. Sunnydale obviously has it's share of criminal gangs in addition to all the evil. Uncle Rory is mentioned again. The series is confident enough to make fun of it's own cliches but the more serious point is that the Buffy/Angel relationship has not much room left to go. This is the last comedy ep before we start the evil-Faith storyline where things get a lot more serious. Xander uses the SDH soda machine to kill one of the gang, is this why it always gives the wrong drink from then on? He's pretty handy with the axe but then he wanted to be a fireman. Thankfully Oz still can't remember stuff he does as a werewolf but that'll change by season 4. Interestingly in this ep Angel is referred to as a the 'key' to opening the Hellmouth just as his blood awakened Acathla.
10/10, one of the best eps for a series at it's peak.
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Budary?
This is a wonderful, side-splittingly funny episode and has nio doubt enticed many in the direction of Buffy fandom.
Favourite dialogue:
Faith: "Relax. Take off your pants."
Xander: "Those two concepts are... antithetical."
There's some really great visual humour as well. Nine out of ten, an absolute classic.
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I never cared for this episode first time around. On re-watching though, I thought it was really excellent. A classic. I love any show that can take its own concept and mock it. The music alone for the moments when the Scooby Gang are doing their thing is hilarious.
'The Zeppo' is a hands down classic. A brilliant reversal of the A and B storylines. The Scooby Gang are preventing an apocalypse, yet it mostly occurs offscreen, and we follow Xander's slightly more comical larks. I love, love, love how this show takes the mickey out of its own cliches and conventions. It never takes itself entirely seriously all the time, unlike some shows.
I love that 'That's beautiful...or taken literally, really gross' line. The show always undercuts the operatic dramatic moments with a moment of comic respite.
Awesome episode from an awesome season.
I love that 'That's beautiful...or taken literally, really gross' line. The show always undercuts the operatic dramatic moments with a moment of comic respite.
Awesome episode from an awesome season.
Budary?
This is a wonderful, side-splittingly funny episode and has nio doubt enticed many in the direction of Buffy fandom.
Favourite dialogue:
Faith: "Relax. Take off your pants."
Xander: "Those two concepts are... antithetical."
There's some rea;;y great visual humour as well. Nine out of ten, an absolute classic.
Great pictures!
Budary=Buffy, Dawn and Glory subtext, I'll point it out as we go along but there's plenty of evidence of attraction between Buffy, Glory and her Key.
Now hold on to your hat, we're in far a hell of a ride!
Bad Girls
The Good;
All of it, excellent battle sequences and Faith's luring of Buffy especially good. Nic Brendon's twitching on demand is also wonderful. The silent scene with Faith and the Deputy-Mayor's body is excellent. The Mayor's ritual scene is also great especially his 'things to do' list.
The Bad;
Has anyone ever really been able to sneak out of class without the teacher noticing?
Best line;
Faith "I like him, He's butch!"
Wheldon Cliches;
Character death;
If we include the vamps killed when Buffy and Faith smash through the doors then this ep must have the greatest number of dustings ever. And of course Faith accidentally kills the deputy Mayor. Watching it it's all the more tragic as Buffy hits him first, if she'd had the stake in her hand rather than Faith did it would have been her that killed him. Of course she would have dealt with it very differently as the events of 'Dead Things' demonstrate. Buffy's killing of Balthazar once more shows her ingenuity.
Shot;
No but the cops threaten the Slayers with guns, otherwise they'd never have been able to capture them. Mr Trick ventures that the Illuminati should used Uzis rather than swords but he doesn't follow his own advice.
Tied up;
Faith and Buffy in handcuffs. Wes and Giles also tied up by the vamps.
Knocked out;
Women good/men bad;
As the title suggests, the girls are the bad ones this time
Jeez!;
Always horrible to watch Buffy drown, again! Balthazar is grotesque! The Mayor has a 'splitting headache'.
Kinky dinky;
Even when being arrested Faith flirts with the cop.
Cop; "Spread'em"
Faith; "You wish!"
Note that when Buffy drags Faith away when dancing in the Bronze she points to 3 guys and goes 'Call me!". When Faith doubts that Buffy has never had sex with Xander she asks 'What are friends for?'. The show that the pair put on at the Bronze is normally the sort of thing you have to pay £15 at the door for. And of course they just have to add it to the opening titles so we see it every week. Buffy comments on Faith's grunting and how slaying turns her on, getting 'sweaty'. Xander describes Cordy's dress as 'hookerwear'
Calling Captain Subtext;
The whole thing is just a massive love letter between Buffy and Faith. Doug Petrie drools over them dancing at the Bronze. The symbol Faith makes in the window is basically a valentine to her girlfriend. You could also argue that Willow is jealous of Faith and is trying to win Buffy back. What a shame they dropped the line about Wes and Giles at the Bronze being David Bowie and a boyfriend (wouldn't ASH make an excellent David Bowie?). Interesting according to Petrie that ED was always keen to play the lesbian subtext. You wonder was SMG? Although to judge by her performance in 'Cruel Intentions' she probably wouldn't have a problem with it.
Guantanamo Bay;
Faith leads Buffy in burglary and criminal damage, knocking out 2 cops in the process. Balthazar get's Wes to talk by threatening to rip off his kneecaps.
Scoobies to the ER;
Where's Dawn?
I wonder what Dawn's attitude to Faith is? You think that if Faith had a Joyce and Dawn to go home to she'd never have gone bad. Joyce is dieting, I really don't think she needs to.
Questions and observations;
Does Mr Trick follow the Slayers around? He seems to have recovered the swords very quickly. Doug Petrie's commentary is very weird, he rather reminds me of a young Tom Hanks in a dreadful film he made called Bachelor Party. The Mayor can't be killed, what if you cut his head off? The Mayor's comments about the Scouts are a bit disturbing, he wants to 'eat'em up!'. I think it's evident that Faith does care she killed a man or it wouldn't affect her so much. Doug's wrong in his commentary. Buffy and Faith will be friends again. Willow is deciding which university, another benefit of the Hellmouth genius. And here's Wes, no sign yet that he'll last over 5 years in the show and get his name in the opening titles. Xander's dad seems to be currently unemployed. The cops refer to Sunnydale's girl gangs, confirming what we learnt in The Zeppo (even now Faith can't resist teasing Buffy by referring to them as The Slayers). First meeting of Wes and Angel, surely Wes would have read up on him prior to coming to SD?
Marks out of 10; 10 out of 10 or maybe 5x5 would be a better way to put it
You know what this thread needs?
More pics of Eliza.
More pics of Eliza.
I recommend putting the full-size version of that in the Thread Bombs thread....
But she's so darn plain.You know what this thread needs?
More pics of Eliza.
Done. Thanks for the idea!
I recommend putting the full-size version of that in the Thread Bombs thread....
That pic of Xander with his hand over his eye makes me shudder.
Makes me wonder just how long in advance Joss plans these things.
Makes me wonder just how long in advance Joss plans these things.