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Buffy ep by ep; rewatch and reviews

The Prom
　
The Good;
All lovely, touching beyond belief and yet still plenty of action and funny stuff, works better when you have an emotional investment in the series. The music especially is excellent (the definitive version of Wild Horses) plus the wedding sequence must have sent many a Bangler's heart aflutter. The class protector award and scene where Joyce has 'The Talk' with Angel are just wonderful.

The Bad;
Again, could only be bettered if it had Dawn and Faith in it. In truth the devil dogs do look rather stupid but who cares, this is genius.

Best line;
Buffy; "Giles we get it, miles to go before we sleep" (somehow I can't imagine Robert Frost being quoted on Charmed)
Whedon Cliches;

Character death;
Does the guy at the menswear shop live or die?
Shot;
No but Buffy uses her crossbow to good effect.
Tied up;
Only Tucker

Knocked out;
For once everyone stays conscious
Women good/men bad;
Tucker wants to kill everyone at the prom because he couldn't get a date. JERK! Anya meanwhile has after a 1000 years of avenging men's wrongs nothing but contempt for them. But still wants to go to the Prom with one.

Jeez!;
Tucker feeds his pets on cow brains, yuck! Probably not as cruel as making them watch all those prom videos.
Kinky dinky;
Anya; "I know you find me attractive, I've seen you looking at my breasts"
Xander; "Nothing personal but when a guy does that it just means his eyes are open"
Wes thinks Cordy in her prom dress is 'hot'. He's not wrong.

Calling Captain Subtext;
Will and Buffy in each other's arms on her bed.
Guantanamo Bay;
What exactly do they do with Tucker? Turn him over to the police on charges of Hellhound raising?

Scoobies to the ER;
Where's Dawn?
Nowhere to be seen this week but you figure one day she might have the same talk with Spike or The Immortal that Joyce has with Angel. This time it's Buffy who's the one in denial

Questions and observations;
We'll never see Tucker again (although he might always show up in season 8?) but of course he's Andrew the Nerd's brother. Buffy dislikes Kool and the Gang's 'Celebration'? For shame! Even Oz gets all teary at 'We are family'. Everyone looks dynamite in their prom gear and the relationship with Giles and Buffy has such a resonance. Looking at Alexis in his tux you could imagine him being James Bond. Buffy writes 'Buffy and Angel 4ever' in her homework book. Sorry Spuffers, I think that settles it. The scene where Cordy and Xander meet at the prom is so great, you finally know she's forgiven him. According to Jonathon thanks to Buffy this year's class of SDH has the lowest mortality rate ever. I don't know if anyone counted but what must the rest of them have been like? As we see the end of the Buffy/Angel romance we see the beginning of Anya/Xander. Wes very much part of the group now and get's to dance with Cordy. Love to know a little more about Jonathon's date, was she from his therapy group? Poor Giles is the only one left stag for the evening. You wonder what Faith is doing across town, she must know the Prom is occuring?
Is the guy who wins the class clown award the one referred to in Conversations with Dead People as going insane?

Marks out of 10, 10/10 Buffy on such a roll.
 
I didn't know The Sundaes from Oingo Boingo when I saw this episode, but I HAD to get that version of Wild Horses. Just an awesome, awesome cover.
 
saturn5 said:
The music especially is excellent (the definitive version of Wild Horses)
Click to expand...
As I said earlier, I love it. But common ... It's the Stones!

Forbin said:
I didn't know The Sundaes from Oingo Boingo when I saw this episode, but I HAD to get that version of Wild Horses. Just an awesome, awesome cover.
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Yeah me too. Had a heck of a time tracking it down. I never went for any of the Buffy compilations, but lucky enough I found (almost by accident) the Blind album in a used CD shop about five years ago.
 
saturn5 said:
The Prom

The Bad;
Again, could only be bettered if it had Dawn and Faith in it.
Click to expand...

I loathe Dawn, so for me, not.

Good episode. Poor David Boreanaz, for me, one of the few men alive who doesn't look good in a tux. Charimsa Carpenter on the other hand looks truely awesome in her prom gown. I love the interaction between Giles and Buffy in this episode.
 
WillsBabe said:
saturn5 said:
The Prom

The Bad;
Again, could only be bettered if it had Dawn and Faith in it.
Click to expand...

I loathe Dawn, so for me, not.

QUOTE]

Fighting talk! I will try to persuade you of the wonderfulness of the Dawnster over the next few seasons!

Yeah, David would probably look better in his tux in season 1, he fills out a little over the years but haven't we all? Personally I think everyone looks superb in their prom outfits
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Graduation Day pt1
　
The Good;
The battle between Buffy and Faith is epic and a long time coming. Note that for some reason Buffy feels the need to put on her shiny red leather trousers before deciding to kick Faith's delectable butt?
The Bad;
Couldn't Buffy just let Angel have some of her blood in batches whilst chugging down iron pills by the handful? We know the Mayor's impervious to harm but why don't they just grab him and tie him up when he's in the library?

Best line;
Willow (guessing who the Graduation Speaker will be) "Seigfreid? Roy? One of the tigers?" (according to Lorne in Angel Seigreid is actually evil, Roy not so much) beating Xanders 'We're going to need a bigger boat' from Jaws. Xander also paraphrases Private Hudson from Aliens (who in turn is paraphrasing every Vietnam film you've ever seen).
　
Whedon Cliches;

Character death;
No but Angel on the brink. Faith's murder of the professor and her glib remark about it marks the nadir of her fall from grace. But you note that even then she wants her victim to turn around so she doesn't have to look into his eyes. When she chucks herself off the building it's her first suicide attempt but she'll make another later in Angel.
Shot;
Angel with Faith's bow and arrow
Tied up;
Buffy and Faith handcuffed together

Knocked out;
Angel and Faith in a coma
Women good/men bad;
Actually the relationship between Faith and the Mayor is lovely, especially when we see her in her dress. Faith also refers to her childhood in Boston again and you feel her pain. As for Xander he neatly sums up the male of the species;
"Yes, men like sports. Men watch the action movie. They eat of the beef and enjoy to look at the bosoms"
Buffy tells Wes 'I love it when you take charge, you man you' but one day she will. Will and Anya still have hostility.
Jeez!;
Faith killing the harmless old prof is beyond horrible. Plus the Mayor's eating the spiders (liquorice?). And Buffy sticks it to Faith with her great big knife
Kinky dinky;
What must the Professor and his neighbours think when Faith arrives on his doorstep dressed as she does? Probably how much does she charge per hour? I for one am glad we don't get to hear the end of Anya's shepherd story.
Calling Captain Subtext;
Again, violence and intimacy with Faith and Buffy who even penetrates Faith's body with her knife. Faith's goading Buffy about Angel's pain could once again be seen as sexual jealousy. Faith to Buffy "Give us a kiss". Faith also refers to Buffy as 'big sister'
Guantanamo Bay;
Buffy is quite prepared to feed Faith to Angel to save him
Scoobies to the ER;
Buffy get's a hiding at Faith's hands and Angel nearly dies through poisoning
Where's Dawn?
Presumably Buffy get's little sis out of town alongside Joyce.

Questions and observations;
Where's this anti-vamp poison been all these years? It would have come in useful, don't you think? Stonkingly good in almost every respect with the promise of even better things to come in pt 2. Love Will's chopper bike. Nice that Willow and Harmony make up before Harmony gets all bumpy. Can anyone please explain to me why exactly the Mayor wants to be a giant snake? What is his plan for Sunnydale? Buffy breaks from the Watcher's Council and won't come back into the fold again until season 5. Just what are the odds that Anya, the only living survivor of an Ascension just happens to be at SDH? Is that the work of God/the PTB?
Faith's method of surviving her fall off the roof is reminiscent of Catwoman in Batman Returns. Love Giles and Wes fencing which will come in useful for both later.

Marks out of 10;
8/10
 
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Killing the prof is Faith's one totally irredemable act, IMHO. She wasn't possessed, she wasn't a soulless vampire, it wasn't an accident, and he wasn't a demon. It was straight-up 1st degree murder of an innocent human. Puts her squarely in the "evil" category in my book.
 
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PDVD_252.jpg






More screencaps for Graduation Day Part One.​
 
My biggest problem with the Buffy/Faith fight is how badly the stunt work is done.

If Whedon has one weakness as a director it's his inability to conceal doubles.
 
saturn5 said:
Can anyone please explain to me why exactly the Mayor wants to be a giant snake? What is his plan for Sunnydale?
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I think it can be assumed that he went mad over the span of his long life. But that's what I was saying earlier, the character could have benefited from a little more info on his past and his motivations.
 
CorporalClegg said:
My biggest problem with the Buffy/Faith fight is how badly the stunt work is done.

If Whedon has one weakness as a director it's his inability to conceal doubles.
Click to expand...

He freely admits it in at least one of the commentaries. I recall a fight scene where it was obvious Sarah's more-well-endowed double was on camera and he said "Oh, and there are Buffy's stunt breasts."
:lol:
 
Graduation Day pt2
　
The Good;
The final battle and the end of SDH (for the moment, at least). The chance to see some familar faces again and to say goodbye to others. Buffy and the rest of the Scoobies finally graduate into the adult world and if not exactly putting childish things aside growing past them. So great to see the kids of Sunnydale High fight back at last (although has this spoiled the survival record they were all so proud of in The Prom?) Snyder's introductory speech is a definite highlight. It's all terrific and I think we should all be proud to say that we graduated Sunnydale High, class of 1999
The Bad;
Are you kidding? Well, actually one thing that always bothered me was after we see a devastated Mayor visiting Faith in hospital he seems awfully chipper when briefing the vamps for the Graduation? Maybe the briefing the vamps scene was supposed to in a different order in the script?

Best line;
Willow; "Man, just ascend already!" just beating Xander's 'Good to know that when the chips are down you can feed on the girl who loves you to save your own ass!' Also fond of Oz 'Our lives are different to other peoples'.
Whedon Cliches;

Character death;
Byebye Larry (although his death isn't confirmed until season 6, I for one had no idea if he'd survived or not). Byebye Snyder who quite obviously had no clue what was going on. We see Harmony bitten but we don't see her sired? And byebye the Mayor, Harry Groener will be missed, he brought a lot to the table. Glad we'll see him again a few more times. Also unless I'm mistaken Cordy bags her first solo vamp.
Shot;
Vamps with flaming arrows, great idea straight out of every western you've ever seen.
Tied up;

Knocked out;
Faith still in a coma and will remain so for over a year. Buffy also unconscious. A pained Wes asks at the end could he be knocked unconscious.

Women good/men bad;
The Mayor refers to Buffy as a whore, a nastily misogynist remark. Buffy says Wes 'Screams like a woman' and compares Xander and Angel to squabbling old ladies.
Jeez!;
Watching the Mayor try to smother an unconscious Buffy is awful
Kinky dinky;
Angel biting Buffy. The sexiest scene you'll ever see between two fully clothed lovers, once again a vamp feeding is seen as a sexual act with violence as foreplay (the second time Buffy has been bitten by a vampire but by no means the last), the orgasmic overtones clear to all. She has a similar reaction when the Master bites her, pawing her and penetrating her body with his fangs, if we see this as rape/snuff with Buffy pleasured against her will it lends a new understanding to her actions in 'When she was bad', she's a traumatised sex crime victim. Willow loses her virginity to Oz, it's all so sweet. Their van sex proves Cordy's theory about danger being an aphrodisiac. Willow says that its the best time of her life.
Calling Captain Subtext;
The entire Buffy/Faith dream sequence is just one huge Buffy/Faith love in, especially Faith's caressing of Buffy's face and Buffy kissing an unconscious Faith. Face it, they love each other, they're meant to be together. And remember it's Faith who gives Buffy the secret of defeating the Mayor. Angel in his delerium also mistakes Oz for Buffy, THAT would have been an interesting conversation! Wes and Cordy's kiss is a disaster, one day they'll love each other plenty but not like that.
Guantanamo Bay;
Buffy gets Angel into vampface by slapping him around a little. Is Buffy going to let Angel drain Faith entirely or give them a bit of each of their blood?
Scoobies to the ER;
Buffy is taken to hospital for blood loss whilst Wes is carted away at the end. The Scoobs must be such frequent visitors there the staff must know them by name.
Where's Dawn?
Safely out of town with Joyce. However I think it's no great leap of imagination to say that the cat in the dream sequence is representative of Dawn. Indeed this could be the moment it's decided she's Buffy's sister rather than Faith's. Faith remarks about 'Little Miss Muffet, counting down from 730' which of course is 365x2 and it'll be 2 years before Dawnie shows up.

Questions and observations;
Goodbye Angel, he makes a fantastic exit. Again, what exactly is the Mayor's plan? He obviously believes in a sort of idealised vision of Sunnydale, how is being a huge snake going to achieve that? Also although this is referred to as an apocalypse it really wouldn't be the end of the world, we've had demons like this before and the world goes on. Also surely the Initiative/Military/National Guard would just blast the Mayor to bits? Xander's soldier knowledge once again comes in useful. Although I'd really have liked to have seen the hummus offensive.
The Mayor says Faith doesn't like to be cooped up, prison must have been tough for her then. Why should Wes leave the country? Would the Council really give up that easily? Shouldn't the hospital staff call the police when the Mayor tries to smother Buffy? There's a great picture of Wes in the Sunnydale High Yearbook asking 'Who is this guy?' The first mention of shrimp in the Buffyverse. Anya refers to her car but then in 'Triangle' says it's the first time she's driven? The Mayor says Sunnydale is 100 years old but surely the town dates back to Spanish/American times?
Lot of fanfic based on the concept of 'what if?' the ascension had succeeded. Like the one where WR&H, the Initiative, Doyle, Gwen, Spike, Fred, Warren, Lorne, Tara, Gunn etc team up to set the world to rights, also fond of the monks sending Dawn to Faith as her sister, Glory killing the transformed Mayor in her quest for The Key and Faith killing her then being won back over to the good guys by her little sis' love. All time favourite though is Faith realising the transformed Mayor doesn't love her anymore so she goes to the Oracles and turns back time, even if it means she ends up in a coma. http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3004681/1/A_Higher_Being
Marks out of 10; 10/10 and no mistake. For me Buffy peaks at exaclty this point, it's still a wonderful show for the next 4 years and never jumps the shark but this is the best of the best and we'll never see TV consistently as good as this ever again.
 
I though "730" referred to the Initiatve lab where Adam is created, which has #730 on the door? Doesn't Dawn show up at the beginning of season 5, which is a little over one year from the end of s3?
 
^ The lab is 314. I agree with the timing of Dawn though. It is a year til Dawn shows, so I don't think it refers to the number of days til she arrives.
 
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