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Buffy ep by ep; rewatch and reviews

mimic said:
saturn5 said:
Quite a long ep coming in at 42 minutes (Amends is the longest at nearly 43).
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Pretty certain this is wrong - isn't "Once More, With Feeling" the longest?
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Yeah but it's one of the longest standard eps, OMWF was special. What was the other 50 min ep, Amends?

A New Man

The Good;
Everything with demon Giles but I also adore the scene where Giles and Ethan get drunk together.
The Bad;
Couldn't Giles just write 'I am Giles' on a big piece of paper? Or is the point that he's too embarrassed?
Best line;
Walsh; We thought you were a myth
Buffy; Well you were myth-taken.
Wheldon Cliches;

Character death;
Shot;
Tied up;
Knocked out;
Giles comments that he has a tendency to get knocked on the head.
Women good/men bad;
Jeez!;
Mucus!
Kinky dinky;
Giles comments that Ethan and Giles are older than him and 'Not as attractive'. Riley says that he likes it when Buffy is in charge.
Calling Captain Subtext;
The whole Giles/Walsh scene and him scaring her later. Willow and Tara's rose magic session is filled with Sapphic hints. Giles calls the Initiative commandos 'nancy'
Giles thinks Ethan is telling him he's very attractive. He's actually talking to the waitress but I know what we all thought for a moment.
Guantanamo Bay;
The Initiative are tapped into the emergency telephone system and Riley has a key to open every shop in Sunnydale. He also has the power to haul Ethan off to indefinite detention at the end of the ep. Again this is all pre-War on Terror, Joss appears pretty prescient.
Scoobies to the ER;
Where's Dawn?
How did she and Joyce celebrate Buffy's birthday?
Missing scenes;
Loved to have seen this;
Waitress (looking at Ethan's note) "You're not Roger Moore!"
Ethan; "Yes I am. Tell her Ripper"
Giles (drunkenly) "What? Oh, he's not Roger Moore"
Apocalypses; 5, Riley comments that he needs to learn the plural
Questions and observations;
Unfortunately the last time we'll see Ethan Rayne although he does return in the comics. Very nice to have a Giles-centric episode as we haven't had one in a while. Riley has personally killed 11 vamps and 6 demons. According to Boo's figures however here's the rest of the scoobs.
Kills:
Buffy: 74 vamps, 26 demons, 5 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot
Giles: 5 vamps, 1 demon
Cordy: 3 vamps, ½ a demon
Will: 4 vamps
Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human
Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie
Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans
Xander: 5 vamps, 2 zombies, ½ a demon, ½ a demon
Anya: ½ a demon
As Buffy birthday's go this one is actually pretty successful? But does anyone really ever get suprise parties like that? I heard that Robin Sachs is actually an expert martial artist and that Peter O'Toole's wife left her husband for him. Anya still working on her humanity, Buffy refers to Riley as her boyfriend for the first time. First hints of something sinister in the Initiative. Tara back, yay! Byebye to Giles' Citreon. Magic shop again. We already see that Buffy won't blindly follow orders like Riley will. The motel Ethan stays in looks the same one as Faith used to stay at.

Marks out of 10; 7/10
 
saturn5 said:
Giles comments that Ethan and Giles are older than him and 'Not as attractive'.
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Maybe I'm mis-reading what you've written here, but I don't understand this comment.

I think this is the episode where Riley describes Giles as having a red sports car - which he doesn't get til next season.
 
saturn5 said:
WillsBabe said:
saturn5 said:
Giles comments that Ethan and Giles are older than him and 'Not as attractive'.
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Maybe I'm mis-reading what you've written here, but I don't understand this comment.

I think this is the episode where Riley describes Giles as having a red sports car - which he doesn't get til next season.
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I always thought that was Spike in Tabula Rusa?
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I've just checked. Riley said that the demon (that chased Prof Walsh) got out of a small red car, a Citroen. So I guess we're both right (or equally wrong! :lol:) He might have said a small wrecked car, but it sounds like red to me.

I like in this episode when Giles is talking to Prof Walsh and he calls Buffy a girl and she corrects him, calling Buffy a woman. Giles responds with something like, "how wrong of me to choose my own words", which I find very amusing.
 
WillsBabe said:
saturn5 said:
WillsBabe said:
Maybe I'm mis-reading what you've written here, but I don't understand this comment.

I think this is the episode where Riley describes Giles as having a red sports car - which he doesn't get til next season.
Click to expand...

I always thought that was Spike in Tabula Rusa?
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I've just checked. Riley said that the demon (that chased Prof Walsh) got out of a small red car, a Citroen. So I guess we're both right (or equally wrong! :lol:) He might have said a small wrecked car, but it sounds like red to me.

I like in this episode when Giles is talking to Prof Walsh and he calls Buffy a girl and she corrects him, calling Buffy a woman. Giles responds with something like, "how wrong of me to choose my own words", which I find very amusing.
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Actually Giles' classic Citeron is black? His BMW in season 5 in red.
Giles' still thinks of Buffy as a girl because he thinks of her as his little girl/daughter, as does Joyce. Through seasons 5-6 he realises she's a woman and that's behind his reason to leave
 
THE I IN TEAM
The Good;
Prof Walsh gets her just desserts, Riley and Buffy are finally a couple, some nice comedy, Willow especially looks like a troll doll with the ionisation spell. Anya and Spike becoming more and more Scoobyish. Love the Buffy in the briefing scene.
The Bad;
Weak demons and the first appearance of Adam, worst big bad ever.
Best line;
Buffy; Don't worry, I've patrolled in this halter top many times
Whedon Cliches;

Character death; Byebye Prof Walsh you psycho!
Shot; Buffy uses the blaster but it doesn't work
Tied up;
Knocked out;
Women good/men bad;
No, female villain, Walsh the mother gone bad, the anti-Joyce
Jeez!;
Quite a shock when she gets stuck, still!
Kinky dinky;
Anya notes that she and Xander have 'enjoyed spanking'. Buffy intends to punish Riley for having a twinkie for lunch. Willow is upset that she's not being spanked too which puts her remarks about her and Oz playing 'mistress of pain' into a new context. For Buffy and Riley fighting seems to be akin to foreplay, maybe Buffy is more like Faith than she likes to admit? (see 'Get It Done)' Meanwhile Prof Walsh plays the voyeur, spying on her boys in their bedrooms. At least Buffy doesn't wake to find her lover gone as she did on the 2 previous occasions.
Calling Captain Subtext;
Willow's yellow t-shirt has the word 'fairy' on it. Check out Forrest's jealous attitude about Buffy and Riley, you'd almost think there was something a little 'don't ask, don't tell' between them. Spike remarks that Giles is womanly. Giles wonders if there is a higher purpose in Spike's neutering which indeed there turns out to be.
Guantanamo Bay;
Scoobies to the ER;
Where's Dawn?
Does Buffy get her and Joyce out of town if she belives the Initiative might be hunting for them?
Missing scenes;
Apocalypses; 5,
Questions and observations;
Buffy asks if the Initiative have jetpacks? Well, the Nerds will have them by season 6. Didn't Buffy have a pager in 'Never kill a boy on a first date'? (What exactly was her excuse for that? You'd assume she was either a doctor, a drug dealer or prostitute, she certainly doesn't look like the former 2).Xander's fruit bars introduce Anya to capitalism. Poor Will feels a little left out but at least now has Tara to go to. Buffy is keener on the Initiative than the others but it not only means she gets to see more of Riley but that she might live a lot longer and not be dead by 25 like all the other slayers? Why does Graham hit Spike with a tracker rather than a tranquiliser? Buffy kills two more demons, demons that it took 8 armed to the teeth commandos to subdue. The tracker scene has a very Aliens/Predator2 feel to it.
Marks out of 10; 7/10
 
I think my favorite scene in all of Buffy is when Fyarl-Giles gets out of the car and chases Maggie Walsh.
 
Yeah, Giles is so often the sensible adult it's nice to see him just have some guilty fun

GOODBYE IOWA
The Good;
Some great acting from Marc Blucas as Riley comes apart. Love Buffy's rallying speech in her sushi pyjamas and Riley recognising Spike.
The Bad;
A pretty dull episode in many ways, Adam is a stupid enemy. I always said that the more Joyce in an ep the better it is, well, the more Adam in an ep the worse it is. The idea that he had a floppy disc player in 2001, really! Also the little boy he kills is the dumbest kid ever.
Best line;
Anya; "He was GI Joe for one night, it wasn't as if he was in The Nam"
Wheldon Cliches;

Character death;
Byebye another Initiative scientist and some poor MP
Shot;
No but Riley threatens one of Willy's patrons with his pistol.
Tied up;
Knocked out;
Women good/men bad;
Jeez!;
Cutting the demons arm off, nice!
Kinky dinky;
Trying to remain inconspicuous Xander tried to kiss Buffy.
Calling Captain Subtext;
Buffy, Willow and Anya spend the night in bed together. Amazed if the slashficcers didn't make great play of that! Upon seeing the Initiative Xander asks if he can have sex with Riley too. So, why does Tara ruin Will's demon hunting spell? One day we'll find out. Spike comments that Buffy has tragic taste in men, foreshadowing indeed.
Guantanamo Bay;
The Initiative are very brazen, charging around in Humvees, guns blazing. Buffy hits Willy but at his own request, the last time he'll be seen in the series.
Scoobies to the ER;
Riley goes cold turkey and gets stabbed.
Where's Dawn?
Missing scenes;
Apocalypses; 5,
Questions and observations;
Giles still has his Mark of Eyghon tattoo, you'd think he'd want rid of it? In the scene where Riley and Buffy meet at the murder site the camera goes very funny in places, going octagonal? Spike says he has a cousin who married a Privlops demon but like most of what Spike says he's probably lying. Obvious Frankenstein theme with Adam, interesting to consider Giles' 'It's alive!' gag in Fear Itself

Marks out of 10; 6/10 Adam is going to drag the scores down for the rest of the season.
 
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Screencapping This Year's Girl was a bum job, but someone had to do it. ;)
The hi-res screencap album is here and the lo-res one is here.
 
Scrawny71 said:
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Bumping the thread!
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Cool, would love to have seen Buffy 'getting to grips' with Faith's body

THIS YEAR'S GIRL
The Good;
Faith's dream sequences are all excellent, wonderful to see Harry Groener again, love the reveal of Faith at UCSD and great scenes with Joyce/Faith, the fight that follows one of the best in the show's history
The Bad;
Are you kidding, Faith is back, how could anything be bad?
Best line;
Faith; How do I look?
Joyce; Psychotic?
Whedon Cliches;
Character death;
Thankfully not
Shot;
Tied up;
Knocked out;
Buffy-as-Faith in the final scene plus the poor girl at the hospital
Women good/men bad;
Nope, female villain this time around
Jeez!;
Psycho-Buffy in Faith's dreams is scary indeed, great performance from SMG, love her vacant stare, steady walk and that little tilt of the head, give her a hockey mask and she's the villain in the slasher film. Check out Buffy's expression as she twists the knife in Faith's side. Plus Faith hits Joyce! Oh, that girl deserves SUCH a spanking! Plus Adam's Silence of the Lambs homage.
Kinky dinky;
As Petrie comments, 'Cleavage, demons and intrigue'. Faith also tells Buffy she has dreams about 'cigars and tunnels', Bill Clinton and Monica anyone? (a reference that would have been a lot more topical at the time). Willow refers to Faith as a 'cleavagey slutbomb'.
Calling Captain Subtext;
The grass snake intruding in the picnic needs no interpretation. It represents the Mayor's evil desires intruding on his and Faith's happiness. Doug Petrie comments on Jaith and I think he's right, actually Joyce and Faith love each other much the same as Buffy/Faith do. I remember reading a great fanfic where Joyce is lying in bed feeling guilty about having sex with the naked Slayer lying beside her who calls her 'mommy'. Of course in the very last word of the story you realise that it's actually Faith rather than Buffy and it all makes perfect sense from both a narrative and character point of view. http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3060871/1/Forbidden
Buffy and Faith in dreams are still making the bed, Faith pleads for Buffy to take the knife out of her, does this signify a yearning for forgiveness?
Guantanamo Bay;
Scoobies to the ER;
Buffy-as-Faith get's a hammering (one could argue that this is actually Faith self-harming?)
Where's Dawn?
Taken hostage by Faith alongside Joyce? It would certainly explain Dawn's antipathy towards her in season 7. Faith refers to 'Little sis coming'. Of course Dawn could just as easily have been Faith's sister if things had worked out differently.
Missing scenes;
The bit where Tara and Willow search for Faith is quite obviously an add in but is funny, especially Tara's idea of fighting.
Apocalypses; 5,
Questions and observations;
Wonderful to have Faith back. You can't help but feel sorry for her when she's wandering the streets of Sunnydale having lost everything, ecspecially when she sees the happy daughter leading her father by the hand. One question, looking at the Mayor's video he seems to think that there will be a museum dedicated to him in Sunnydale and that he and Faith will bring 'order' to the town? By being a big snake?
I always wondered what would happen if a Slayer was brainsucked by Glory? Read a fanfic once where that actually happens to Faith but then in the follow up story DarkWillow brainsucks Warren before killing him and uses his mental energy to cure her. Watching this I realise that if Slayer healing can restore Faith from her coma then Glory would be no big deal for her or Buffy. Tara asks what 'Five by five' means, about time someone did. Who calls the police for Faith at UCSD?

Marks out of 10; 9/10
 
The cigar and tunnel reference is, of course, to Sigmund Freud, not Bill Clinton (despite Bubba making he cigar his own icon).
 
Forbin said:
The cigar and tunnel reference is, of course, to Sigmund Freud, not Bill Clinton (despite Bubba making he cigar his own icon).
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I kinda doubt Faith ever heard of Freud but Clinton (handsome older man in a position of authority) would be just her thing.

WHO ARE YOU?
　
The Good;
One of SMG's great performances as Faith-as-Buffy, what a shame we don't get to see more of Buffy-as-Faith. Terrific in every way
The Bad;
Even Adam can't spoil this one but then thankfully he's not in it for too long.
Best line;
"Tiny, tiny babies" ASH overacts to great effect
Wheldon Cliches;

Character death; 1 parishioner killed at the church, Buffy, Riley kill one vamp each and Faith kills two.
Shot;
No, despite the Watcher's Council blazing away during Buffy-as-Faith's escape. Buffy-as-Faith actually uses a gun in her escape.
Tied up;
Buffy-as-Faith in chainsx2. She later tells Giles that this isn't the time for 'bondage fun'. Implying she's open to it at other times?
Knocked out;
Buffy-as-Faith doped to the eyeballs
Women good/men bad;
Buffy-as-Faith effortlessly outsmarts the Watcher Council's goons.
Jeez!;
Your heart freezes when you think Faith-as-Buffy has stabbed Will, thankfully it's only a daydream
Kinky dinky;
Ah, Faith, how the kinky dinky column has missed you! Faith-as-Buffy wears the sluttiest outfit we'll ever see on SMG and then seduces Riley asking 'What nasty little desire have you been itching to try out. Am I a bad girl? Do you want to hurt me?' and 'Well if you don't want to play...'. Riley doesn't like the idea of a 'bunch of marines' watching him during sex but FaB might dig it? Buffy/Joyce wear a brand of lipstick subtly named 'Harlot'. What next, slut? Skank? Ho? I must confess that my favourite ever adult fanfic ('Thanks for lending me your body, B')is based on this story where Faith takes the opportunity to not only have sex with Riley but the rest of the Scoobies, Spike and just about everyone else as well, even Adam (but oddly not Giles?). Of course in the follow up story ('Thanks for taking care of my body, Faith') not only do Buffy and Faith kiss and make up (and a whole lot more!) but we find out that Buffy had her own sexy fun in Faith's body. Check them out at adultfanfiction.net IF you're over 18 and EXTREMELY open-minded.
http://buffy.adultfanfiction.net/authors.php?no=5134 and http://buffy.adultfanfiction.net/story.php?no=19486
Xander refers to the 'Orgasmantor'. Xander and Anya are going to have sex near some candles. FaB says that'll last about 7 minutes (based on Xander's prior performance?) According to BaF Joyce thinks Giles is like a stevedore (docker) during sex which adds another colourful chapter to momma Summers sexual history. Plus Faith-as-Buffy teasing Spike at the Bronze.
Calling Captain Subtext;
Faith-as-Buffy meets Tara and deducts that Willow is 'no longer driving stick' (what a wonderful euphenism!). Once again the villains show their insight. Faith also seems to take the opportunity to, ahem, 'explore' Buffy's body in the bath (finally able to get her hands on it?). Of course when Faith-as-Buffy is hitting Buffy-as-Faith in the end it's perfectly clear that this is actually Faith expressing her own self-loathing at her image, just as she tells Joyce to burn the lipstick because it was Faith's choice. The Watcher's team use the word 'ponce' as an insult. Faith-as-Buffy thinks there's some 'big old Bertha' waiting to shower Buffy-as-Faith with affection in prison. Plus more erotic spellcasting from Willow and Tara and Tara breaking a million hearts and ending a lot of argument by telling Willow that she's 'Yours'. Faith can't help her Slayer instincts, saving the girl at the Bronze. She wants Riley to punish her and Joyce to burn the lipstick because she hates herself. Check out the little look of triumph on FaB when BaF is being carried to the ambulance, holding Joyce's hand as if to say 'She's mine now'. When Joyce hugs her she obviously wants it but is uncomfortable with it (same expression when she saves the girl at the Bronze)
Guantanamo Bay;
Scoobies to the ER;
Where's Dawn?
Does she have any inkling that Buffy is not as she appears to be?
Missing scenes;
Apocalypses; 5,
What the fanficcers thought;
A nice one where instead of Faith and Buffy switching bodies it's Xander and Willow. Willow enjoys not having to queue for the toilets at concerts, Xander pretty much stays in bed playing with Willow's breasts and poor Tara is VERY confused. http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3043545/1/In_your_best_friends_shoes Plenty too where Faith-as-Buffy actually kills Buffy-as-Faith etc but she always comes back to life by some means and they always make up.
Questions and observations;
Such a tour-de-force, brilliant at every level. The one gag I wonder they never did was for Faith-as-Buffy tries to reach for something but can't because Buffy's body is shorter than Faith's. But maybe SMG is sensitive about her height? Although they do joke about it in season 7. This marks Anya's indisputable entry into the Scoobies, she's at the briefing at Giles' house without any back story. This makes the Scoobies;
Buffy
Xander
Willow
Giles
Anya
Shouldn't someone have shown Anya and Riley what Faith looks like? Nice that Riley actually goes to church. I always thought the line for Faith when the lead vamp is mouthing off about where god is should have been 'He couldn't make it but he sent me'. Note how hurt FaB is when Riley says he loves her asking 'What do you want from her?' Adams speech is pretty convincing, he again underlines why humans rule and demons don't. The Bronze loses another pool cue. The guy Spike pushes at the Bronze looks like Asian Joe. Collins says 'Gas', as a Brit he'd probably say 'Petrol'.
Marks out of 10; 10/10, competes with Hush and Restless for the best ep of the season.
 
Plus more erotic spellcasting from Willow and Tara and Tara breaking a million hearts and ending a lot of argument by telling Willow that she's 'Yours'.
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One nice detail: the morning after their out-of-body astral-plane spell, Willow and Tara took the time, even in the midst of an urgent Scooby sitch, to change clothes. Oh, yeah.
 
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