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Buffy ep by ep; rewatch and reviews

Maybe that's why SMG got so thin in later seasons?

The Initiative
The Good;
So at last the truth! The Initiative set is indeed impressive and Spike's escape is daring, he's almost like Jaws in the Bond films, the audience starts rooting for him even when he's the bad guy. The fights also good and the Harmony/Spike scenes and Harmony/Xander scene is wonderful
The Bad;
Not a great deal, strong ep

Best line;
Buffy (to Walsh); "For someone who teaches human behaviour you might try showing some"
Whedon Cliches;

Character death;
Shot;
Buff uses a flare gun, odd to see her using a firearm of any kind. The Initiative seem to have more guns than NATO.
Tied up;
Spike tied up but escapes.
Knocked out;
Willow in the struggle with Riley and co.
Women good/men bad;
The horrible scene where we think Spike is killing Willow. Of course, she then fights back, You go girl! Contrast that to Harmony who takes Spike back AGAIN after all he's done to her. She asks Xander why men just leave but of course by that stage Xander already has. Buffy is outraged at Riley's seeming chauvanism towards her. Parker's remark about Buffy is unforgiveable although maybe he has a right to be bitter, he did try to apologise to her only for her to bash him over the head with a branch.
Jeez!;
Walsh's remark to Willow about Oz is very harsh. For a moment your heart is in your mouth when you think Willow is lying dead behind Spike on the bed.
Kinky dinky;
Buffy describes her top as 'slutty' but I don't think it is particularly. Unlike her top at the cafeteria which you can blatantly see down when she trips. Forrest eyes up the women in the cafeteria, the first blonde girl in the floral number in particular is undeniably HOT! Parker describes Buffy as 'Bunny in the sack'. You figure she must have gone easy on him? Forrest figures that Buffy and Xander are on their way to have 'Crazy naked sex'. Harmony comments that she can 'slap Spike around' a little if he likes it. Buffy dancing is also good although she's better with Faith.
Calling Captain Subtext;
Doug Petrie describes the Initiative boys as a 'gay calender pin-up' and he's not wrong, you can imagine Jack from Will&Grace having it on his wall. Petrie seems very keen on Marc Blucas in his commentary although he was equally as keen on the Faith/Buffy sapphic subtext.
The whole Spike/Willow scene is one big impotence gag. Once again a vamp feeding is compared to a sexual act. Harmony comments that Buffy is just going to slap Spike around and that she can do that. Is that why Spike falls in love with the Slayer? When Spike finds Buffy on the computer he says 'Hello gorgeous". Hmmmmm. Will still has some insecurity left over from her wallflower days.
Guantanamo Bay;
The whole idea of the Initiative is very 'War on Terror', it resembles Camp X-ray to a T. Of course this all takes place BEFORE 9/11
Scoobies to the ER;
Thankfully not this week
Where's Dawn?
Questions and observations;
Spike likes the Sex Pistols, big suprise. Buffy likes cheese, a leftover from her day as a rat? Here we have Spike in the opening credits hinting that he's a regular from now on (by contrast it took poor old Tara 3 seasons to get there and she only lasted 1 ep). Giles comments that he should lock his door. Spike refers to the Nazis conducting experiments on vamps which we'll see in 'Why we Fight'. Xander refers to the mobile infantry from Starship Troopers, Riley not unlike Johnny Rico in many ways. Spike is 126 which means he was born in 1873, making him a late Victorian (Angel is over 200 making him a Georgian). Note Doug Petrie named Grahme Miller after a Canadian friend of his and that it's Grhame who suggests that Buffy might be a little off because she's Canadian. Spike seems to use significant violence during his escape but maybe the chip hasn't really kicked in yet? Riley' shirt makes him look like he's from Star Trek.
Marks out of 10; 8/10
 
I think Prof Walsh knew perfectly well that she was attacked by werewolves, but she couldn't let on in front of civilians.
 
Pangs

The Good;
The siege of Fort Giles and Buffy's cooking preparations are both excellent. Love Buffy's stetson hat and the Xander digging scene plus the Angel lurking scenes. Favourite though has to be the Scooby cavalry riding to the rescue.
The Bad;
In all the dodgy lessons I've learnt from Buffy perhaps the most disturbing is the idea that when threatened by the vengful spirit of a wronged Native American tribe the solution is to wipe them out entirely so you don't have to worry about them any more.

Best line;
Spike; "You won, alright? You came in and killed them and took their land....The history of the world isn't people making friends. You had better weapons and you massacred them. End of story". Of course Spike is a Victorian, the days when (as Blackadder the 4th put it) "You saw a bloke in a grass skirt you shot him and nicked his country"
Whedon Cliches;

Character death;
The priest, the professor, the poor guy captured by the vamps. Buffy kills Hus.
Shot;
Buffy hit by an arrow as is Spike
Tied up;
Spike to the chair
Knocked out;
Women good/men bad;
Harmony smartens herself up and kicks Spike out, about time too! Whenever you get the die-hard Spikettes I always think they resemble Harmony a lot more than Buffy or Dru.
Jeez!;
The poor priest! Hung and has his ear cut off not to mention the professor having her throat slit. Spike considers pictures of famine victims funny, not suprising from a soulless vamp but amazed they left it in. Angel snapping the warrior's neck is also pretty cringeworthy.
Kinky dinky;
Anya get's turned on by Xander performing manual labour. Buffy comments that imaginary Xander is 'quite the machine' (she should talk!). Anya also likes the idea of playing nurse for Xander as indeed does Buffy for Riley later and for Angel in both seasons 2 and 3. Xander proposes sex with Anya at the end of the ep by commenting that his syphilis has cleared up. Buffy says she likes her men 'evil', in Get It Done we find out why.
Calling Captain Subtext;
Spike compares his inability to kill as akin to being neutered, do we need any more evidence that to vamps biting equals sex? Buffy observes that Xander looks quite Village People. Well, he's been a soldier, construction worker, cowboy, leather clad vamp and this ep is filled with native americans. Just sailor, and cop to go really?
Guantanamo Bay;
The Scoobies are quite prepared to let Spike broil
Scoobies to the ER;
Poor Xander getting syphilis amongst other diseases
Where's Dawn?
Presumably gone to Aunt Arlenes with Joyce. Arlene must be Joyce's sister rather than Hanks?
Questions and observations;
Xander has previously been working at Hot-Dog-on-a stick which is where Snyder suggested Buffy work in season 3. He gives the rest of the Scoobs freebies as will Buff at the DMP. Giles and Angel have put their differences behind them. Anya doesn't seem to have met Angel before despite them having been in the same room together in Dopplegangland and The Prom. Buffy seems to have inkling that Angel is near, her vamp sense or something stronger? Buffy comments how one person can make a difference, certainly Dopplegangland proves that. Asian Joe has obviously survived the events of Harsh Light of Day and is in the stands at the ceremony. Sunnydale has been around since 1812 so before the Mayor was around. Still plenty of Anya and Will tension. Why does Riley cam-up his face but not his neck? Xander refers to Anya as his girlfriend. Note the sign saying US Army over Angel's head when Riley is talking to Buffy. Hus rather reminds me of an old ep of the TV series Kolchak;The Night Stalker which apparently inspired the X-files. In fairness to Custer he was actually a lot more sympathectic to the Native Americans than most.
Marks out of 10; 9/10 I really like this one, perhaps one of the strongest of season 4
 
I think Pangs would make for a great intro for Buffy noobs. It's easy to get into: you don't need any background and it's pretty spoiler free. It's also light and humorous enough to be accessible and engaging.
 
saturn5 said:
Buffy observes that Xander looks quite Village People. Well, he's been a soldier, construction worker, cowboy, leather clad vamp and this ep is filled with native americans. Just sailor, and cop to go really?
Click to expand...
:)

Pangs is a bona fide example of both JE and SMG at their best. It's funny, erudite and well-paced.

Dialogue:
1.
Buffy: "I like my evil like I like my men - evil."
(One of many funny quotes from that conversation.)

2.
Giles : "Well, that's good, but this is why I think we should all keep a level head in this."
Willow : "And I happen to think mine is the level head, and yours is the one things would roll off of."
There are plenty more Giles / Willow gems here too. JE's script sparkles and has just about the right drama/humour ratio for a truly excellent Buffy episode.
 
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I am not Spock said:
I actually liked pretty much all of season four. Beer Bad notwithstanding. What can you say about that ep that hasn't already been said? It probably is the weakest episode of the entire series. But yes, it does have some good humour. Even the poorer eps of Buffy have at least some redeeming features about them (a funny moment, a nice line, a character revelation, etc)
Click to expand...
Does anybody else notice how CaveBuffy in this episode foreshadows the appearance of the Primitive in "Restless" ?

Not to mention how "Fear Itself" features all the exact insecurities that Spike will utilise in "The Yoko Factor," and "Pangs" features all four of the main Scoobies bickering in Giles' living room, also like in "Yoko" ?

There's a lot of thematic foreshadowing in this season that you don't notice first time through.

saturn5 said:
In all the dodgy lessons I've learnt from Buffy perhaps the most disturbing is the idea that when threatened by the vengful spirit of a wronged Native American tribe the solution is to wipe them out entirely so you don't have to worry about them any more.
Click to expand...
Well, no... not at all. The entire point of that plot was what you yourself quoted in Spike's line - that is not the ideal solution by any stretch, and everyone involved knew it, but what else could they do?

Spike considers pictures of famine victims funny, not suprising from a soulless vamp but amazed they left it in.
Click to expand...
That wasn't the worst part. To me the worst part was the scene where starving Spike looks through a window at a group of other vamps killing a human, and he sighs longingly and wistfully. We're supposed to see that as funny - but since when did the show start depicting the death of an innocent human as a punchline? The same thing happens in "Storyteller" in season 7 - a student explodes in a splattery mess, and Buffy jokes about how it will be a mess to clean off the windows.
 
lvsxy808 said:
I am not Spock said:
I actually liked pretty much all of season four. Beer Bad notwithstanding. What can you say about that ep that hasn't already been said? It probably is the weakest episode of the entire series. But yes, it does have some good humour. Even the poorer eps of Buffy have at least some redeeming features about them (a funny moment, a nice line, a character revelation, etc)
Click to expand...
Does anybody else notice how CaveBuffy in this episode foreshadows the appearance of the Primitive in "Restless" ?

Not to mention how "Fear Itself" features all the exact insecurities that Spike will utilise in "The Yoko Factor," and "Pangs" features all four of the main Scoobies bickering in Giles' living room, also like in "Yoko" ?

There's a lot of thematic foreshadowing in this season that you don't notice first time through.

saturn5 said:
In all the dodgy lessons I've learnt from Buffy perhaps the most disturbing is the idea that when threatened by the vengful spirit of a wronged Native American tribe the solution is to wipe them out entirely so you don't have to worry about them any more.
Click to expand...
Well, no... not at all. The entire point of that plot was what you yourself quoted in Spike's line - that is not the ideal solution by any stretch, and everyone involved knew it, but what else could they do?

Spike considers pictures of famine victims funny, not suprising from a soulless vamp but amazed they left it in.
Click to expand...
That wasn't the worst part. To me the worst part was the scene where starving Spike looks through a window at a group of other vamps killing a human, and he sighs longingly and wistfully. We're supposed to see that as funny - but since when did the show start depicting the death of an innocent human as a punchline? The same thing happens in "Storyteller" in season 7 - a student explodes in a splattery mess, and Buffy jokes about how it will be a mess to clean off the windows.
Click to expand...

Very good point about cavebuffy, I'll add that to the reviews. I don't think the Spike through the window scene was supposed to be funny, it just showed him locked out of the vamp community (and at the end the Scoobs are also sharing a meal together?)
Anyway, on to Spuffer heaven

Something Blue

The Good;
The ep to put joy into the hearts of Spuffers everywhere. Brilliantly funny with some emotional resonance with Willow and Xander and Anya's relationship taking a step forwards. Plus AMY! Nice little touches too like Giles' 'Kiss the librarian' mug
The Bad;
Some of the demons look a bit ropey. Why does Willow's spell on the other's work instantly but Giles only becomes progressively blind?
Best line;
Xander; "What? How? What?"
Giles; "3 excellent questions?"
Wheldon Cliches;

Character death;
Shot;
Tied up;
Spike chained in the bathtub
Knocked out;
Women good/men bad;
Buffy comments that her dad isn't too far away which means they're not estranged yet
Jeez!;
Anya says that she used to do spells to give men 'Boils on the penis'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kinky dinky;
Buffy teasing a chained up Spike with her neck. Plus naked Amy. Xander tells Anya to consider his lips the 'fruit roll ups of love'. Willow shakes her booty on the dancefloor. Willow comments on all the demons who are attracted to Xander. Buffy ponders her attraction to dark relationships? Xander pictures her in Raquel Welsh's bucksin bikini from 1 Million Year BC. D'Hoffryn strokes Will's face (he seems to consider his female demons akin to his daughters?)
Calling Captain Subtext;
Note it's Spike who notices that Willow is still in pain. Perhaps William the Bloody;sensitive poet isn't totally gone after all? Spike's 'little brother' jealousy of Angel is still evident. Riley helps out the UC Sunnydale Lesbian Alliance by hanging their banner up and tells Buffy that he's a lesbian (he wishes!). Willow agrees that Riley has good arms (another tick in the Bi box)
Guantanamo Bay;
Scoobies to the ER;
Where's Dawn?
Presumably returned with Buffy from visiting their dad in LA. Buffy doesn't seem to get around to telling Dawn and Joyce about her engagement.
Spike seems to cast aspersions on Joyce's naming of Buffy which is weird as he normally thinks the world of her.
Questions and observations;
Hugely funny, nice to see that Willow mourning her loss of Oz hasn't just been forgotten about. A step forwards for Spike and D'hoffryn back again. Buffy again refers to her not being the greatest driver. Willow still has the pics at the peir from season 3 of Buffy. Buffy kills one vamp and Xander drowns a demon. Buffy says that they may be into a forgetting spell later and indeed in season 6 they are.
Marks out of 10; 8/10
 
A little real-life anecdote in regards to Willow's sexuality - a good friend of mine went to the age of 37 dating men before she met the right woman and suddenly realized she'd been playing for the wrong team all that time. Willow just found the right girl a lot sooner.
 
lvsxy808 said:
saturn5 said:
D'Hoffryn strokes Will's face (he seems to consider his female demons akin to his daughters?)
Click to expand...
I think it's much creepier than that - more like they're his whores and he's their pimp.
Click to expand...

Well, knowing the demon world they could be both?:rolleyes:

Hush

The Good;
Everything, it's all staggeringly brilliant. If I was to name a favourite scene it would be when Forrest and Riley are stuck in the lift about to be gassed, Riley's desperately trying to remember the overide code and Forrest holds up a piece of paper on which he's written 'C'mon! C'mon!', makes me laugh every time (possibly an idea from Alien 4). Also love Gile's slideshow, the final battle and Olivia. The Gentlemen's applause.
The Bad;
Naught. Ok, when Spike get's his mug of blood from the fridge it's full up but then he takes a sip from it and it's almost empty
Best line;
Not the ep for that
Wheldon Cliches;

Character death;
At least 6 people have their hearts gorily cut out
Shot;
Tied up;
Spike to the chair
Knocked out;
Women good/men bad;
When Anya starts to complain about Xander's insensitivity towards her he comments "Boy you really did turn into a girl, didn't you?". Love Buffy's horrified reaction to Giles' drawing of her and her exasperated look as Riley smashes the wrong thing. The scene with the Wicca group, a bunch of 'wanna blessed be's' is hilarious(when the Charmed sisters did this they ended up dancing naked with them around the fire I recall? Shame we don't get that here). .
Jeez!;
The scene where the Gentlemen hold the guy down and slice his heart out, yeeesh! We don't actually see anything but Giles' slideshow doesn't leave much to the imagination. Also Spike's V sign to Xander. Buffy breaks guy's wrists and henchmens neck.
Kinky dinky;
The return of Olivia, Giles' 'orgasm friend'. Unfortunately this seems to be the end for them. Anya's crude hand gesture to Xander at the end, Xander seems to think that the Gentlemen are after 'boobies'. In fairness, everyone seems perplexed by Buffy's hand gesture. Spike says he doesn't want to be tied to a chair whilst Xander and Anya 'shag'.
Calling Captain Subtext;
And here's Tara. Personally I for one thought the subtext between her and Willow was evident right from the beginning, just the look on Willow's face at the end of their final scene together when she calls her 'special'. Xander thinks Spike would bite him as he's 'moist and delicious'. The awesome dream sequence is great, the little girl I think is quite obviously Buffy as a child. All very Nightmare on Elm Street. Remember reading a great fanfic where Buffy and Anya are killed by Freddy Kreuger but in the follow up story he wakes up from his dream screaming, chained to his bed in the mental hospital he's been confined to since the night he got torched. But after the nurse sedates him she walks away and we discover she's actually Buffy.
Spike calls Giles a 'sissy'. Forrest says that he and Riley are 'pretty' and suggests Riley 'get with the kissing'. Giles hugs Willow.
Guantanamo Bay;
The Initiative/Town authorities cover up the Gentlemen's activities by declaring a laryngitis outbreak.
Scoobies to the ER;
Buffy get's stabbed with the scalpel but just seems to shrug it off.
Where's Dawn?
Quietly at home with Joyce
Questions and observations;
Just terrific, one of the Buffy eps that just sets the standard for all others, Joss at his finest. Isn't it a bit much though for Buffy to automatically assume she's the princess? Finally spotted Andy Hallet in the dream sequence, he's sitting two seats behind SMG with a dark haired girl sat in front of him. The little girl declares that you 'Can't call to mom', foretelling Joyce's death? Equally when Riley in the dream turns into a Gentleman is he revealing his hidden side?
Spike is now allowed to roam around loose. The Wicca group refer to the 'wolf at our side' which Oz used to be. Will makes good cookies so why should she be opposed to the bakesale? The clocktower scene is very Tim Burton right down to the music. Tara trips like a true horror heroine. Nice twist with Willow's door. Buffy kills 8 Gentlemen and one henchman. Pink Floyd are a Cambridge group whilst Giles went to Oxford.
Marks out of 10; 10/10
 
Spoken or not, I vote "best line" to Buffy's stabby gesture and the reactions thereto.

btw, how the hell did Giles manage to get time in the college lecture hall for his slide show? He has naught to do with the college.
 
saturn5 said:
Hush

The Good;
Everything, it's all staggeringly brilliant. If I was to name a favourite scene it would be when Forrest and Riley are stuck in the lift about to be gassed, Riley's desperately trying to remember the overide code and Forrest holds up a piece of paper on which he's written 'C'mon! C'mon!',
Click to expand...

And when they get out and Walsh indicates the "do not use in emergency" sign. :lol:
 
Forbin said:
Spoken or not, I vote "best line" to Buffy's stabby gesture and the reactions thereto.

btw, how the hell did Giles manage to get time in the college lecture hall for his slide show? He has naught to do with the college.
Click to expand...

I figure with everyone speechless all lectures were cancelled?

Doomed
The Good;
Some good fights and character advancement and some excellent comedy. Favourite bit off all has to be Spike's 'American' accent (all the more brilliant when you think that this is an American playing an English character playing an American)
The Bad;
Riley says the demon is 3 metres tall which would make it nearly ten feet and seems way too much (drug dealers aside americans never did learn to use the metric system). He estimates it at 120kgs. How exactly? Buffy's leap down the Hellmouth beggars belief but maybe the laws of physics work differently there.
Best line;
Giles; It's the end of the world
Xander/Willow; Again!
Wheldon Cliches;

Character death;
One dead guy at party
Shot;
Tied up;
Knocked out;
Giles again
Women good/men bad;
Poor Willow, inadvertently wounded by Percy at the party.
Jeez!;
Willow lying in the guys blood and the symbol carved into his chest
Kinky dinky;
The partygoers want to play 'naked limbo'. Riley says his skin is 'humming'. He also says he's not going to 'force himself upon' Buffy.
Calling Captain Subtext;
Spike calls Xander a poof.
Guantanamo Bay;
Scoobies to the ER;
Where's Dawn?
Apocalypses; 5, the demons want to open the Hellmouth
Questions and observations;
Percy back, hooray. Last time we'll see him unfortunately. Xander is now a pizza delivery boy just as Cordy predicted. Interesting that just as Spike says, Willow and Xander at the end are still the High School Nerds watching TV in their basement. Oddly enough Giles tries to 'Scully' Buffy both in this ep and in Hush. Marc Blucas appears in the titles for the first time. In many ways this is making the point that Xander and Willow are still the geeks they were in High School, Willow is lost at the party, she doesn't have Oz any more and doesn't have Tara yet. Reputedly the scene where Buffy objects to Giles' drawing of her was actually improvised by the cast.
Riley says they track demons by their phermones, very like how Adam Baldwin's MiB's track the alien in Predator 2. Buffy refers to Faith and says that Slayers don't live past 25 (she and Faith both have now, they're the most successful Slayers ever). It's actually Xander who figures out the demons are the sacrifices. Quite a long ep coming in at 42 minutes (Amends is the longest at nearly 43).
Marks out of 10; 6/10, nothing wrong with it but it comes after a very strong couple of eps
 
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