#btvss2

[kosemsultanim]

Buffy Appreciation Week 2020 | Day 2 (July 14th): Favorite Relationship → Buffy x Willow x Xander

[buffster]

BTVS Season Two: Overview

In my ranks, it definitely beats season one. Find the masterlist of episodes here. 

Character Arcs:

Buffy Summers: Though season one taught her that she can’t escape her destiny as the slayer, Buffy still struggles with wishing that she could, keeping secrets, retaining her own identity, and isolationism. By season’s end she has learned her isolationism is a burden as well as a strength; at the end of the day, she’ll always have Buffy. A new lesson this season was that she has to make the calls whether they are easy or hard. She is the law. But with that comes a big dose of guilt and self-loathing (the beginnings of her superiority/inferiority complex) as she wonders whether she made the right choice.

Willow Rosenberg: Willow’s focus this season was slowly carving a space for herself in her social group. She obsessively researched and dedicated her time to the Scooby mission as much as Giles did. In her free time she began studying magic in an effort to bring more to the table. She also started to get over her pointless crush on Xander to date Oz. 

Xander Harris: Xander is a character a bit outside of everyone else. His struggles don’t seem as central to the story because they’re more human. He continues to struggle with bullies, manliness, and powerlessness. Eventually it touches the group when his blind hatred causes Angel to be killed. 

Rupert Giles: Last season Giles began to learn how personal his job really is, but the lesson really hit home this season when he buried, for the first time, a person that he loved. Revealing his dark past and being accepted anyway and being tortured by Angelus really burst his perfectly protected Watcher bubble.

Angel: Angel attempted to keep his distance from Buffy because he was able to see more clearly than she was that they were doomed. But he wanted to help her and eventually he couldn’t resist his feelings. They slept together and he experienced his moment of perfect happiness. 

Daniel Osbourne: Oz started the season clueless about the Hellmouth. Then he began dating Willow and was turned into a werewolf. He is slowly becoming a Scooby.

Cordelia Chase: Cordelia was still part of the popular crowd in the beginning of the season, but she was beginning to make an effort (in her way) to care about some of the Scoobies. Her relationship with Xander eventually pulled her into the Scooby fold and she began to learn more compassion and to care less about popularity. By season’s end she was one of them.

Joyce Summers: Joyce’s arc was fairly simple. She fought as hard as she could to turn a blind eye to her daughter’s struggles while also feeling like she was in control of her. By the season’s end she was forced to admit the truth but could not accept it.

Spike: Spike was introduced to us as witty and independent. The kind of man who didn’t want to listen to anyone else’s rules. He didn’t like to play with his food, he was cunning, and he was fiercely devoted. Then his plan to restore Drusilla got him crippled and he was forced to watch, helpless, as Angelus toyed with his woman. Eventually he regained his strength and took Angelus down. 

Jenny Calendar: Jenny was a confident woman that was perhaps a bit naive about the dangers of Sunnydale. A couple of scary runs in and a possession later she was traumatized and avoiding Giles. She began to come back around only for everyone to realize she was secretly of the gypsy tribe that killed Angel. Right after working her way back into the fold she was murdered by Angelus.

Jonathan Levinson: There were quite a few scenes this season where we see that Jonathan is bullied.

The Big Bad:

Spike, Drusilla, and Angelus: The Fanged Four minus one. This season’s big bad was interesting in that it was meant to contrast the first season’s. Spike’s goal when he rolled into town wasn’t to follow some prophecy or any of that nonsense–he just wanted to have fun! We also saw him share passion and humanity with Drusilla. Then Angelus arrived to show us a villain with a face that we loved. It made the heroes (and us) question how we deal when everything we loved and trusted turns against us. How quickly do we fight back and make the right choice? Angelus’ brand of evil was personal. Fighting it took greater stuff than fighting some ancient vampire. It took emotional strength and psychological stamina.

Themes:

Morality: One of Buffy’s biggest challenges was learning to reconcile the grey area in morality and her duty as a slayer. She learned time and time again that sometimes people have complicated, even good reasons for the evil things they do. She was forced to learn when she should be compassionate and when she should dispense justice to protect the innocent. When she hesitated, she paid the price.

Choice: A big theme this season was the choices that we make and how we must live with the consequences. Buffy chose to sleep with Angel in a moment of heated passion. Jenny chose to keep her secrets and paid the price. Giles chose to cling to his identity as a Watcher and stay objective. And, biggest of all, Buffy chose to let her heart rule and spare Angelus only for him to kill Jenny. 

Gender Norms: A few episode touched on gender norms. Xander struggles with not being manly and cool enough while Buffy struggles with not being soft and sweet enough. Buffy also dealt with men who assumed she was powerless because she was a woman. And she took them down.

The Abuse of Power: Ted was one example of this and Principal Snyder was another. Both sought to abuse Buffy because of their positions as authority figures.

The Best Episodes: 

School Hard

Halloween

Surprise

Innocence

Passion

Becoming Parts One & Two

The Worst Episodes: 

Some Assembly Required

Inca Mummy Girl

Bad Eggs

[kosemsultanim]

Buffy Appreciation Week 2020 | Day 3 (July 15th): Favorite Outfits

[kosemsultanim]

Things I Watched In 2019: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Season 2) 

Sorry, but I'm an old-fashioned gal. I was raised to believe that men dig up the corpses and the women have the babies.

[buffster]

I Only Have Eyes For You (BTVS 2.19)

This is part of my ongoing Buffy Project, where I write notes/meta for every episode in an attempt to better understand the characters and themes of the show. You can find the full list here. Gifs are not mine.

I really enjoyed this episode. I’m a fan of shows like Cold Case so this worked for me even though there wasn’t a whole lot to analyze. I enjoyed the flashbacks and the mystery aspect (which still worked for me because it’s been so long) as well as the parallels to Buffy and Angel. The episode begins with Buffy staring at the dancing couples at the Bronze. She’s approached by a boy named Ben from school and rejects his offer to go to the Sadie Hawkins dance. 

Buffy: I’m not seeing anybody. Ever again actually.

Though Willow encourages her to begin dating she is nowhere near ready (especially with Angelus still lurking trying to kill everyone she loves). She heads to the school where she sees a boy pull a gun. She is able to tackle and stop him.

Buffy: You just went OJ on your girlfriend. 

I liked the scene with Principal Snyder because he does pretty much try and blame Buffy for everything. His viewpoint is that she “incites mayhem, chaos, and disorder” rather than help. Since later in the episode there is a scene where the police chief says, “City Council said you could handle this job” and he is threatened with the Mayor, I’m wondering if Snyder was charged with making Buffy’s life difficult. Also nice bit of season three foreshadowing.

Buffy: Something weird is going on.

Xander: Something weird is going on. Isn’t that our school motto?

Giles explains that there is likely a ghost roaming Sunnydale that is unable to find peace. Ghosts sometimes aren’t even sure what they want and that makes them even more confused and angry, which Buffy compares to teenagers. Giles wants to believe it’s Jenny. The Scoobies later say that he isn’t thinking clearly because he’s personally involved. Character development for Giles! When the ghost begins torturing the students he finally faces that it isn’t Jenny. Buffy quips, “Just one more fallout from my love life”. No one seems to notice how consumed with guilt she is.

In Cordelia’s words Buffy over identifies with the monster of the week. Grace Newman had an affair with her student, James Stanley, and he killed her and then killed himself. Buffy has no sympathy for James. She wants him to pay for being a murderer and killing Grace for not loving him. 

Buffy: He doesn’t deserve it (forgiveness). 

Giles: To forgive is an act of compassion, Buffy. It’s not done because people deserve it. It’s done because they need it. 

Buffy: No. James destroyed the person he loved the most in a moment of blind passion. And that’s not something you forgive. No matter why he did what he did. No matter if he knows now that it was wrong and stupid and selfish. He’s just going to have to live with it...

Angelus, Drusilla, and Spike are now living in a new place. Drusilla has another vision (Angelus is excited: “Incoming. I love it when she does this!”) that leads him to seek Buffy out. 

Despite her disgust of James, he chooses Buffy to play his part. He identifies with her and is “so sad”. Angelus plays the part of Grace.

Buffy/James: It’s my fault! How could I let this--

Angelus/Grace: I’m the one who should be sorry, James. You thought I stopped loving you but I never did. I loved you with my last breath. 

It’s implied that Buffy feels guilty over her decision to kill Angel and is wondering if he would forgive her. But none of her friends address this with her. She also seems to feel guilty for sleeping with Angel and sort of blames herself for his being cursed and having to die. Goodness Buffy. Give it a rest on the guilt spiral. We’re so focused on Buffy and Angel that it’s easy to forget the grossness of romanticizing statutory rape in the 50s. But I’m here to say: ew. 

James finds his peace. Buffy says, “Angel?” after their long kiss but Angelus growls and runs away. Back at the new place he is disgusted and taking a shower to feel clean. Spike embraces his pieces of humanity but Angelus can’t stand even a bit. He resolves to do a vile kill to feel better. Unbeknownst to him, Spike has his strength back. 

Character Notes:

Rupert Giles: Willow gives Giles a rose quartz necklace that has healing powers from Jenny’s desk. When he later sees the janitor pull a gun on a school teacher he hides and watches until he’s able to attack with stealth. It’s different than Buffy, who would have rushed right in.

Drusilla: Drusilla loves the jasmine in the new fanged headquarters. 

Angelus: He is still wearing his Claddagh ring. What a jerk.

Willow Rosenberg: This is when her interest in magic begins. She’s been reading up on some of Jenny’s favorite websites. She discovers the exorcism ritual and a protective charm.

[buffster]

Go Fish (BTVS 2.20)

This is part of my ongoing Buffy Project, where I write notes/meta for every episode in an attempt to better understand the characters and themes of the show. You can find the full list here. Gifs are not mine.

I believe this is universally considered one of the bad Buffy episodes. It definitely took some work to believe in the story, but come on. It was worth it to see Buffy slam Cameron Walker’s face into his steering wheel. 

The Sunnydale swim team has suddenly had a winning streak that has the whole school excited. Apparently the school isn’t known for their sports prowess. Buffy, Xander, Willow, and Cordelia are all at a victory party at the beach. Cordelia is excited she finally has something to cheer for, but Xander is jealous that the swim team losers have suddenly gotten cool. Buffy sits alone watching the water. 

I loved loved loved the commentary about the preference given to athletes. As a high school nerd I could totally relate. Willow is asked by Principal Snyder to give her swim student a passing grade so he can continue to participate. I wanted to hug her when she said she was just trying to grade fairly. Poor sweet Willow. Is it any wonder she gets angry about being run over all the time?

Cordelia: Xander, I know you take pride in being the voice of the common wuss, but the truth is certain people are entitled to special privileges. They’re called winners. That’s the way the world works.

Xander: And about that nutty “all men are created equal” thing?

Cordelia: Propoganda spouted by the ugly and less deserving.

Cordelia may be rude, but she’s right. She understands the way the world works and is determined to come out on top.

There’s also sexual harassment commentary when Buffy goes for a ride with a swim star and he tries to assault her. She slams his face into the steering wheel and has the best “are you freaking kidding me?” face. Snyder immediately blames her and both the swim coach and Cameron talk about the way she dresses. Buffy is outraged.

Xander might be pretty powerless but he doesn’t lack in bravery. He confronts Cameron and says he loves it when guys mess with Buffy. Later he hears him scream and finds his remains and a monster. He decides to join the swim team to keep an eye on Gage. Willow, Cordelia, and Buffy are shocked to see him looking good in nothing but a speedo. I admire his initiative when it comes to helping (taking Sid in The Puppet Show, joining the swim team) although I suspect he also wanted the rise in popularity. Cordelia loves that Xander has a status now and even offers to keep dating him when she believes he’s been turned into a monster. She’s slowly changing.

Gage becomes annoyed with Buffy constantly watching him but grows to admire her when she saves him from Angelus. Unfortunately he is the next to turn into a monster. Buffy goes to confront the coach right after he’s just thrown the school nurse in to be eaten by his old swimmers. I loved that he believed it was worth it to experiment on these kids for a high school win. I knew a coach I’m pretty sure would have done the same. 

Coach: When they were handing out school spirit you didn’t even stand in line, did you?

School spirit goes right over my head, too. He throws Buffy in to be raped by the monsters (and is planning to watch) when Xander intervenes and saves her. The coach falls into the hole despite Buffy trying to save him (and is presumably raped from Buffy’s line “those boys really love their coach”). 

After all this the monsters apparently just go and live in the ocean, which seemed like an insane ending. You aren’t worried about these people-eating-and-raping monsters? Also at this point I’m pretty sure every parent would take the kid out of Sunnydale High and move. 

Character Notes:

Jonathan Levinson: This episode he is being bullied by the swim stars when Buffy saves him. Much like Xander in Halloween, he isn’t grateful. He also mentions he has asthma so he couldn’t make the swim team and as a revenge to the bullies pees in the pool. 

Xander Harris: He likes orange and grape soda.

Cordelia Chase: She has a talent for sketching. She draws the monster Xander describes.

Buffy Summers: Buffy has no talent for flirting her way out of a situation the way Cordelia does.

[buffster]

Passion (BTVS 2.17)

This is part of my ongoing Buffy Project, where I write notes/meta for every episode in an attempt to better understand the characters and themes of the show. You can find the full list here. Gifs are not mine.

Angelus: Passion. It lies in all of us. Sleeping. Waiting. And although unwanted, unbidden...it will stir. Open it’s jaws and howl. 

Passion was a joy to watch not simply from an entertainment standpoint but an analytical one as well. The episode spends a lot of time on Angelus and the line between him and Angel begins to blur. Just as Angel did, Angelus watches from the shadows unnoticed by Buffy or her friends. Her lurks at the Bronze just as he did before (did he stalk her constantly and just announce himself at opportune moments?) and is standing not three feet from Buffy sucking a girl dry as she walks past, oblivious. 

Angelus: It speaks to us. Guides us. Passion rules us all, and we obey. What other choice do we have?

He lurks in her bedroom and draws a picture of her sleeping to lay on her pillow. It begs the question: had Angel done this would Buffy have found it romantic? It has apparently only just occurred to the gang that Angelus has an all access pass to their homes and school. Cordelia is concerned she invited him into her car. Apparently no one bothers explaining to her this isn’t a thing because she later says she convinced her grandmother to switch cars with her. 

Xander: Yep, you’re doomed to having to give him and his vamp pals a lift whenever they feel like it. And those guys never chip in for gas.

One of my favorite things about Buffy is it’s willingness to make fun of itself. It does so this episode when Jonathan Levinson and an unnamed student walk into the library looking for books.

Xander: Does this look like a Barnes and Noble?

Giles directs them to the books and the entire gang watches in disbelief. They leave and Cordelia asks, not unreasonably, why Angelus doesn’t just slit Buffy’s throat. Giles says that he is just trying to provoke her and that she needs to ignore him. His dedication to procedure will see him punished this episode as he fails to take Angelus’ threat seriously. 

Giles: As the slayer you don’t have the luxury of being a slave to your passions. 

Both Xander and Buffy dumb down Giles’ long-winded explanations, but as pointed out by Xander only he is given the withering looks and snotty attitude. I’ve noticed that, for now at least, Giles seems to like Xander less than the other Scoobies. It’s unclear why that is, but my theory is that he sees him as a liability. Willow offers technical and research support. Buffy is the slayer. Xander gets the doughnuts. 

Willow is Angelus’ next victim. He strings up her fish and leaves them in an envelope. Buffy tells her that when things like this happen she still wants to run to Angel, but he’s gone. Willow tells her that one thing has not changed: she is still all he thinks about. 

Joyce is next. He leaves a picture of her for Buffy and then confronts her outside their house. He tells Joyce that he slept with her daughter. Right afterwards Willow performs the ritual to lock him out of the house.

There were quite a few insights into Joyce this episode. She asks Buffy what’s wrong and says, “I’ve read all the parenting books. You cannot surprise me.” Joyce feels the need to appear to be parenting well, but she clearly struggles to follow any of the advice laid out for her. She has little backbone and also isn’t even sure she wants to know what her daughter gets up to. Joyce also struggles to let Buffy talk and assumes she knows exactly what’s going on at all times. I could sympathize with her in this situation simply because Angelus doesn’t act at all stable when he speaks to Joyce. It would be hard to imagine how you’d fall for this guy’s tricks. She is also upset because she slept with a boy Joyce didn’t even know she was dating, clearly illustrating how out of the loop her mother is. But Joyce doesn’t exactly encourage things to be different.

Joyce: Buffy, you can shut me out of your life--I am pretty much used to that. But don’t ever expect me to stop caring about you because it’s never gonna happen. I love you more than anything in the world.

Giles and Jenny begin to speak again. Giles admits he felt betrayed and Jenny admits she fell in love with him. He wants her to make things right with Buffy but can’t deny he misses her. They plan to get together that evening, but first she wants to nail down the spell used to grant Angel a soul.

Back at the factory Spike is refusing to eat. He hates feeling helpless and childlike, especially with Angelus taunting all that Dru does for him. Drusilla seems thrilled to be fought over until she has a vision about Jenny’s plans. Drusilla is a serious danger and would have thwarted many a Scooby victory had she stuck around.

Just as Jenny figures out the spell translation Angelus appears. He says that he is able to get in because the sign outside reads Enter all ye who seek knowledge. Even watching this over and over again you can’t help but root for Jenny as Angelus chases her. And then you see the big window and think nooooo as he snaps her neck.

I noticed at the beginning of the episode Jenny told her students she wanted a paper and disc copy of their work. It foreshadows her leaving behind a disc copy. I also liked how Jenny had a lasting legacy on the show with this final piece of work.

Giles walks into his apartment to music, roses, and candles. Had Giles paid more attention to Buffy’s worry over Angelus he would have recognized the paper immediately (reading ‘Upstairs’). He finds Jenny’s body where he is expecting to find her ready for a romantic evening. This was an important episode to understand the cruelty of Angelus and how different he is from other vampires. The way he gets off on other people’s pain speaks to a deep sense of rage...but I’ll muse on that later. Giles stands frozen as the police arrive. When they ask him to come with him he says, “Of course. Yes. Procedure...” 

Angelus: Passion is the source of our finest moments. The joy of love, the clarity of hatred, and the ecstasy of grief.

Angelus watches from the window as Buffy gets the call from Giles. She hands the phone to Willow and drops to the floor. Willow is the one to be comforted by Joyce as she begins sobbing. They go to Giles’ apartment and survey the scene. Angel has sketched Jenny’s face in death. 

Buffy: Giles didn’t set this up. Angel did. This is the wrapping for the gift.

They surmise that Giles intends to kill Angel.

Xander: Well it’s about time somebody did. Well, I’m sorry but I hated Angel long before you guys jumped on the bandwagon. So I think I deserve a little something for not saying I told you so long before now. If Giles wants to go after the fiend that killed his girlfriend...

Buffy: You’re right. There’s only one problem with Giles’ little revenge plan.

Xander: And what’s that?

Buffy: It’s gonna get him killed.

Xander’s being an insensitive ass here, yes. Honestly I think he views caring for a vampire the way we view keeping a wild tiger for a pet. How surprised and sorry do you really want us to be when it turns around and bites you? That’s what tigers do. He never quite understands the grey area of morality. He’d be a terrible fit for Angel the Series, which deals in it a lot more. I don’t think he’s trying to be a jerk. To him stay away from vampires is just what’s right and makes sense.

Back at the factory Spike is angry with Angelus for playing games. Buffy finds them and attacks Angelus before he can kill Giles but lets him get away to save her Watcher. Afterwards, Buffy punches Giles and says he can’t leave her to do this alone. They hug each other and sob.

Angelus: It hurts sometimes more than we can bear. If we could live without passion, maybe we would know some kind of peace. But we would be hollow. Empty rooms, shuttered and dank. Without passion we’d be truly dead.

The events have moved Giles out of his comfort zone as the cool and removed Watcher. He admits he’s buried many people but Jenny was the first he loved. He now understands what it means to be personally involved. Buffy feels responsible because she wasn’t able to bring herself to kill Angelus when she had the chance. 

Buffy: Angel is gone. Nothing is ever gonna bring him back. 

She’s ready.

Character Notes:

Willow Rosenberg: Willow panics when offered the chance to teach the computer class. She’s excited but full of self-doubt. She spends five hours planning lessons for a few minutes of teaching time. 

Angelus: Giles says that “since Angel lost his soul he’s regained his sense of whimsy”. 

Buffy Summers: Buffy is still unhappy with Jenny but tells her to talk to Giles because she doesn’t want anybody to be lonely. One of the things that makes Buffy a hero is her ability to turn her inner pain into compassion.

[buffster]

Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered (BTVS 2.16)

This is part of my ongoing Buffy Project, where I write notes/meta for every episode in an attempt to better understand the characters and themes of the show. You can find the full list here. Gifs are not mine.

This is a Valentine’s Day episode. You don’t see too many of those. Not only was it Xander focused (because SMG was filming SNL the week of filming) it was a warning against wishing the whole world was obsessed with you. 

The episode begins with Buffy and Xander in a graveyard waiting on a vampire to rise. Xander is asking for Buffy’s approval on a necklace he’s gotten Cordelia and later even asks her to dress him (funnily enough, she dresses him a bit like Angel). Buffy admits she likes the necklace but would like to see him with someone better. He very casually notes that the only other girl he’s interested in (Buffy) is not available. I like how Buffy and Xander are able to maintain their friendship despite the unrequited love they’re both aware of. One somewhat sad thing is that Xander defends his dating Cordelia by implying he just doesn’t have a lot of options. 

Not even Cordelia Chase can get away with such a social faux pas as dating the school geek. Harmony is the new leader of her group and Cordelia’s being ignored. Social status is very important to Cordelia, so when Xander gives her the necklace she says she loves it but then dumps him. Poor Xander has clearly dealt with a lot of rejection in his life and he’s pretty upset. When he walks into school the next day everyone is mocking him. 

Xander: I want some respect around here. I want for once to come out ahead!

He goes to Amy Madison, who he’s learned is a witch now (by the way, the Scoobies could have done something more about this alarming fact. Also why didn’t they bring her into the fold after Witch?). He wants her to cast a temporary love spell on Cordelia so that he can dump her and not be the rejected one for once. Let’s go over a few things here: he never says anything about taking advantage of her in any way. He also doesn’t really want to hurt her because he thinks she doesn’t care about him. He wants to humiliate her because she humiliated him. On Valentine’s Day. Right after he gave her a gift.

Does it make it okay? No, and Xander does later realize his mistake. Buffy is also correct when she later asks him if she’s just a toy. It wasn’t fair of him to do this, but it also wasn’t any more evil than Willow dabbling in magic because she was tired of being powerless. I think we all need to take a step back and realize Xander did a stupid thing (as a sixteen year old!) because he was tired of being rejected. I knew a guy in high school that got dumped at prom by his girlfriend. She later asked him out again and he said yes only to dump her at the next prom. Pretty sure that’s exactly what Xander was trying to do and he simply didn’t realize the gravity of involving magic (by the way, it makes no sense to me that Xander was the one to summon Sweet in Once More, With Feeling. He knew better at that point.) It was revenge. Not saintly, but an understandable human impulse. And yeah, you could make the argument that it was a misogynist thing. But I also think you could argue that it wasn’t. Just saying.

Giles tells Buffy that Valentine’s Day is an important day for Angelus. He’s prone to “brutal displays” that Giles believes he views as affection. Spike and Angelus both get Drusilla a present. Spike gets her a necklace and Angelus brings her a heart. Unsurprisingly, she prefers the heart. Drusilla seems entirely oblivious to the two boys’ rivalry over her. They are also at odds when it comes to how to handle situations. Angelus is obsessive and sort of seduces his prey into darkness. He views killing as an art form. Spike is all about getting the job done.

Spike: Why don’t you rip her lungs out? That might make an impression.

Angel. It lacks...poetry. 

Spike: Doesn’t have to. What rhymes with lungs?

Joyce and Buffy are enjoying the perks of being single women. They’re snuggled up with snacks and movies when the doorbell rings. Angelus leaves Buffy a bouquet of roses with “Soon” written on it. Both Angelus and Spike chose to warn Buffy before their attacks, but I believe they had two very different reasons. Spike was attempting to lure Buffy into complacency until Saturday and then attack early, thereby having a better chance of beating her. For Angelus knowing his prey is nervously awaiting his arrival is part of the fun.

When the spell is cast, every female at the high school becomes attracted to Xander (how does this work? Were lesbians attracted to him? What about gay boys? Who knows). Buffy is the first to come on to him and he at first believes it’s real, showing that he’s still holding out hope she’ll come around. But he refuses to touch her when he realizes it’s not (yes, yes. Xander doesn’t get a gold star for not committing sexual assault. Just noting that he isn’t a rapist). We get an interesting peek into Xander’s bedroom, which looks like it’s fit for a twelve year old. X-men posters, toy cars...Xander is clearly still a kid and a bit of a geek. Willow tries to kiss him there, and when he rejects her she calls Oz crying and he punches Xander in the face. Giles’ face was priceless (his fed up attitude was the best part of this episode). Amy turns Buffy into a rat after they argue over Xander.

Jenny attempts to come to Giles and talk things over this episode but is distracted by her feelings for Xander. Giles has no time for Xander or the spell, probably because he knows the dire consequences that can occur because of youthful stupidity.

Giles: I can’t believe that you are fool enough to do something like this. Xander: Oh, no, I’m twice the fool it takes to do something like this.

Even Joyce is under Xander’s spell. Cordelia and Xander end up trapped in her basement (again) trying to escape all the women. Even Drusilla is obsessed with him, which saves his life when Angelus tries to kill him as a message for Buffy. He backs off when she says she’s obsessed with Xander. Is he afraid of her or just respectful?

Xander: You’re just so desperate to be popular!

Cordelia: I’m not the one who embraced the black arts just to get the girls to like me!

Giles and Amy are able to break the spell and things go back to normal (although Willow is still upset). Cordelia makes Xander smile when she says she will date whoever she wants to date, but it slips off his face when she says “no matter how lame he is”. Xander still needs someone who doesn’t think he’s a loser. He helps her after she freaks out about walking away from her friends.

Character Notes:

Joyce Summers: Buffy notes that her mom is suppressing everything. I believe this is an integral part of her character. 

Harmony Kendall: Cordelia calls Harmony a sheep.

[buffster]

Killed By Death (BTVS 2.18)

This is part of my ongoing Buffy Project, where I write notes/meta for every episode in an attempt to better understand the characters and themes of the show. You can find the full list here. Gifs are not mine.

Buffy is still operating mostly on fantasy, with Buffy getting to confront the demons we all face in literal demon form. A bad boyfriend, a friend’s betrayal, and a new father figure are all things she’s faced this season. Now we deal with sickness and death.

A weakened Buffy climbs clumsily over a fence with stake in hand. She’s wandering around when she nearly stakes Xander.

Xander: My whole life just flashed before my eyes…I gotta get me a life.

He’s patrolling along with Cordelia and Willow in an attempt to give Buffy some rest from the flu. But, though clearly in no state, Buffy continues to patrol for fear of someone else dying on her watch. Xander tells her this is no time to challenge Angel, which is when he appears. It was kind of a terrifying moment. He tackles Xander and then begins to fight Buffy. Xander, Cordelia, and Willow manage to work together to pull him off her and then shove a cross in his face. It was kind of strange that that worked. Couldn’t he just pull a Spike, take the moment of pain, and toss it? I think it speaks to Angelus’ unwillingness to kill Buffy. He’s having too much fun playing with her.

Buffy faints and they take her to the hospital. Once again, Joyce prefers to be oblivious and isn’t alarmed by the school librarian hanging around constantly. The mental illness backstory again doesn’t fit since Joyce isn’t worried about a sick Buffy screaming about vampires. Honestly why does she even bother calling Hank? He clearly doesn’t care.

Angelus walks in with flowers and is stopped by a bold Xander. Once again we get the fantasy aspect where “that guy” is literally the worst and Xander is going to get to take him down.

Angelus: Buffy’s white knight. You still love her…it must just eat you up that I got there first.

Xander: You’re gonna die. And I’m gonna be there.

We get a bit of Buffy Backstory and learn her cousin Celia died in the hospital when she was eight. She has hated hospitals ever since (if she’s been in a mental hospital maybe that is the reason she hates them, Joyce?). Buffy has flashbacks to being a kid when Celia got sick and we get to see little brunette Buffy (this actress isn’t very convincing as young Buffy looks-wise, but SMG has a pretty distinct face. Too bad Charlotte wasn’t around to play her). 

I found Cordelia’s struggle relatable this episode (and many episodes I suppose). She really struggles with tact. But is there really a right way to filter the blunt observations she has a talent for? Cordy doesn’t understand why people lie constantly because she’s self-aware enough to take the truth. When you see people insult her she isn’t really bothered. Not because she’s confident (though she is) but because she already knows her bad qualities. Other people don’t keep the truth quite so close to the surface. Cordelia’s upset with Xander because he didn’t warn her she should bring a gift to the hospital (he brought balloons and Willow did Buffy’s homework). Her self-centeredness causes her to struggle with social expectations, but she later makes an effort and brings Xander coffee and doughnuts to sit with him all night. When Buffy warns them there’s a monster stalking the halls, Cordelia says what’s on everyone’s mind:

Cordelia: So this isn’t about you hating hospitals because your friend died and you wanna conjure up a monster and not feel so helpless?

Cordelia: Tact is just not saying true stuff.

In season five we get to see how Buffy handles it when there isn’t a demonic cause for sickness and death.

A sick child named Ryan draws a picture that helps Buffy find the demon. Giles and Cordelia work together to discover he is Der Kindestod (Child death). Buffy realizes he is what killed Celia and that she has to be sick to see him. She nearly drinks the virus pure but Willow stops her and dilutes it. Willow is useful without magic, but she never saw her brains as enough. Buffy and Xander manage to find the demon. Xander rescues the kids and she defeats it.

Back at the Summers residence Xander, Willow, and Buffy are taking advantage of Joyce’s care taking. She’s waiting on them hand and foot. She clearly doesn’t lack in physical care but is a bit bad at the emotional. She says nothing about the horrific picture Ryan has drawn for Buffy of her killing the demon.

Character Notes:

Joyce Summers: She says she “babbles when she’s nervous”.

Buffy Summers: Celia and Buffy used to play “power girl” with Buffy being the hero. Buffy likes crunchy peanut butter and jelly with no crust and a drink thats two parts orange juice and one part grapefruit juice.

Cordelia Chase: She once again flirts with a man to get her and Xander out of trouble. She mentions how Xander’s obsession with protecting Buffy is unattractive. 

Willow Rosenberg: Willow says she played doctor with Xander when she was younger. He quickly says it wasn’t a sexual thing, which confuses her. She isn’t even aware that’s a thing. We get some continuity when she pretends frogs are crawling all over her to distract security guards (she’s mentioned she has frog fear).

[buffster]

Ted (BTVS 2.11)

This is part of my ongoing Buffy Project, where I write notes/meta for every episode in an attempt to better understand the characters and themes of the show. You can find the full list here. Gifs are not mine.

Ted stands out as one of the masterfully told high-school-as-horror episodes. If you’re a child of two loving, committed parents you might find this episode boring or just creepy. But if you’re (like me) the child of a single mother who’s brought a Ted-ish home, this was an amazing episode. The experience of dealing with a new potential father-figure personified into a serial killing robot was just…awesome.

Buffy doesn’t exactly meet Ted under the best of circumstances. She walks in on him kissing her mom. Ted instantly bonds with Willow and Xander (offering to give Willow brand new computer software and feeding Xander) while her mom explains she met him when he updated her computers at work. He is charming and says all the right things about caring for Joyce and wanting Buffy to be okay with it. But as the episode continues he darkens.

Willow and Xander don’t miss that Buffy immediately wants to dislike Ted. They mention Sigmund Freud: separation anxiety, the mother being taken away, conflict with the father figure…the last Buffy promptly rejects. Buffy turns out to be right about his being supernatural, but it would have been interesting to see her deal with a man she just didn’t like.

Jenny and Giles make up in this episode. At first Giles goes to check on her and she asks for space, saying he makes her feel bad for not feeling better. But she feels guilty for hurting his feelings and goes to apologize. They are then attacked by vampires. She accidentally shoots Giles with a crossbow and the whole experience seems to shake her out of her trauma. Xander and Cordelia are still making out but she wants it to remain secret.

Angel’s sources (who are Angel’s sources?) say the Order of Taraka’s hit on Buffy is out. So that plot is over for good. Apparently Angel can contact his sources while resting at his place and being cared for by Buffy. Angel tries to get her to see that loneliness is awful and asks if she’d be happy with any man that her mother brought home. Buffy instinctively says “My dad?” but knows that isn’t going to happen. I liked the realistic childishness of that moment. She can’t help but desire the return of her typical nuclear family.

When Ted asks to take Willow, Xander, Buffy, and Joyce out to play miniature golf we see the first signs of his intrusiveness. He comments that Buffy’s grades “should be picking up soon” and intervenes when Joyce tries to allow Buffy to cheat at golf. His controlling nature and intercepting of Buffy and Joyce’s regular patterns is every child-of-a-single-parent’s fear. We don’t want things to change. 

There are also nods to abused children within the episode. Ted asks if Buffy wants him to slap that smart ass mouth of hers in private and then turns on his fake smile for Joyce. When Buffy later tries to tell her mother she isn’t believed. I liked how instantaneously Ted and Joyce became a unit and Buffy went from child/friend to just child. That was my experience when my mother dated seriously. Also, Joyce feels she needs someone a bit tougher to back her up because she’s not making much progress with Buffy’s behavioral problems.

Buffy is creeped out enough (and wants him out of the picture enough) to spy on him at his office. She finds a photo of Joyce where Buffy has been folded out of frame on his desk, confirming her worst fears (that the new man will shove Buffy out of the picture). After Ted mentions the possibility of getting engaged at dinner, Buffy sneaks out to slay and work through her feelings. When she returns Ted is waiting in her bedroom in perhaps the creepiest moment of the episode. He’s gone through her things and tries to blackmail her into keeping quiet so he can have his happiness with Joyce. He says he will have her put in a mental institution for believing she’s the Slayer. When she won’t let him leave, he hits her.

Buffy: I was so hoping you’d do that.

When Buffy gets to beat him up I wanted to cheer. It was a great moment because he wanted to take advantage of her vulnerability and she got to kick ass. Who hasn’t wished they had the power to fight authority when made helpless? When Buffy tries to explain what happened to the police after “killing” Ted, they don’t believe her because she doesn’t have any marks on her. Joyce doesn’t rush to comfort Buffy and sends her to her room. I know she was hurting, but I would have liked to see some selfless parenting here.

I want to talk about Faith/Buffy for a second. We very nearly got to see Buffy go through what Faith does this episode. She’s walking around in a daze, wracked by guilt over killing a human with her slayer powers. She accepts responsibility and says “she had no right to hit him like that”. Faith has trouble doing that, but I think the reason is that Buffy trusts the love of her mother and her friends. Faith doesn’t trust that she will be forgiven and accepted. Cordelia brings up what Faith does in season three and asks if there should be different rules for Buffy because she’s the Slayer. Willow says sure, in a fascist society.

Ted reappears and knocks Buffy out. He then goes downstairs to see Joyce and says “Daddy’s here”. Why was she not instantly creeped out? He goes full-on nightmare boyfriend and yells at Joyce for thinking of Buffy and says he doesn’t take orders from women. Ew. Buffy saves Joyce from being kidnapped and finally kills Ted. Afterwards his story is revealed: he was dying and his wife left him, so he built a robot Ted and kidnapped/killed her. The robot Ted continued to bring similar looking women home and repeated the process. One thing I wasn’t clear on: did original Ted intend to kidnap random women or did the robot just continue to do that on it’s own?

The episode ends with things going back to normal for Joyce and Buffy. They plan a man-free evening watching movies. Willow keeps some of the robot parts from Ted’s place. She is fascinated by the genius even as she’s horrified by the man. When questioned she says she “just wants to learn stuff”. Willow has some trouble with the “just because you can doesn’t mean you should” concept. It would have been cool if Warren somehow got the parts from Willow and that’s how he learned to build robots.

Character Notes:

Buffy Summers: When frustrated with Ted, Buffy seeks out vampires. They are her outlet.

Xander Harris: Despite initially liking Ted, Xander is instantly loyal to Buffy and says they have to prove he’s bad to help Buffy out.

Cordelia Chase: Cordelia has a different perspective that helps the Scoobies out. She notices a rug doesn’t go with the decor and that reveals a trap door in Ted’s house.

Dawn Summers: This was an episode that made me think about Dawn’s place in the new memories. Was Ted nice to her? Was she just as taken with him as the Scoobies? Buffy would have been so protective of Dawn in this scenario.

[buffster]

Innocence (BTVS 2.14)

This is part of my ongoing Buffy Project, where I write notes/meta for every episode in an attempt to better understand the characters and themes of the show. You can find the full list here. Gifs are not mine.

Don’t you just hate love rip-your-heart out episodes? Innocence delivered on making us feel the pain Buffy’s going through while also not letting her become a total victim. The best part of Buffy as high-school-as-horror is that Buffy gets to take situations where most of us are/have been victims and kick ass. But first, the pain.

As a final testament to their relationship, the episode begins with Buffy waking up and saying, “Angel?” just as he says, “Buffy!” for the last time. When he bites the random girl and blows cigarette smoke out of his mouth you just get this feeling like…oh shit. 

I am never not impressed by the difference in Angel and Angelus. Angelus is like Angel with one hundred pounds off his shoulders. He even seems to walk lighter. He’s confident, buoyant, quick to laugh…it makes it even more chilling when he’s cruel because he just doesn’t care. There’s no sense of someone lashing out or retaliating. He’s just a bastard because…well, because it’s fun. Drusilla and Spike are both happy to have the gang together again. They’re eager to begin the apocalypse but Angelus prefers a personal nature in his killings. He wants Buffy.

Buffy, unable to find Angel, goes home and encounters her mother. In a very high school moment she worries her mom is going to be able to tell somehow. Back at school, the gang has assembled and is worried about Buffy. Giles and Cordelia say that rushing in to “save” Buffy won’t likely do anything but get them killed.

Xander: Those of us who were born with feelings are gonna do something.

He’s ready to charge in to any situation to protect his friend. Willow is usually more logic-oriented like Giles, so I’m not sure if she was planning to go just to back Xander up or if she was just overcome with emotion as well. But Buffy returns before they do something stupid. 

Willow catches Cordelia and Xander kissing. She’s upset both because Xander would rather be with Cordelia than her and probably because he’s kissing someone who bullied her horribly for years. She feels betrayed in many ways. She’s also upset that he didn’t tell her.

Willow: Gee, what stopped you? Could it be shame?

Willow is feisty when she wants to be. She later says he has “gross emotional problems”. When she tries to use Oz to make him jealous Oz refuses. He really likes her and wants her to be thinking of him when they finally kiss. Aw.

Buffy finally locates Angel at his place. Just to dig the pain in a little deeper he at first pretends to be his old self. I get that he’s supposed to be the jerk that changes after you sleep together but I really hope no one has dealt with someone this cruel. 

Angel: Like I really wanted to stick around after that.

Buffy: …What?

Angel: You got a lot to learn about men, kiddo.

Buffy: Was it…me? Was I not…good?

He treats her like she’s nothing because he’s had sex plenty of times before and ends the conversation with, “I’ll call you.” Buffy’s devastated face is truly awful.

Jenny’s uncle explains to her that Angel was never meant to live as human. One moment of happiness and he dies. It seems like a weird spell because Angelus can torture more people if he goes back to his soulless state. But her Uncle explains that they don’t care about justice. Just vengeance. This plot created an issue for Angel because he could never achieve any happiness. It was all doom and gloom all the time. Wouldn’t it be tough to be Angel? Oh, Cordelia, you’re hilarious. Ha ha ha. Shit! Think dark thoughts, think dark thoughts!

Angelus comes to the high school and grabs Willow. I think this moment was really important for Xander (ironically). He says “Don’t do that!” but knows how powerless he is in this situation. He also says, “Oh my god.” in a tone that implies he is the first one to grasp how truly horrifying this is. Angelus calls Willow “cute and helpless”. He’s definitely a misogynistic villain and always goes for the women–especially the ones he views as “pure”. I feel like he wouldn’t be all that interested in human!Faith. He likes them sweet. When Xander shoves a cross in his face he gives Buffy a kiss and leaves.

Giles: I’m leaning towards blind panic myself.

Jenny: Rupert, don’t talk like that. The kids…

If Jenny and Giles had lasted it would have been neat to see them develop as the adults in the group. 

Cordelia: This is great. There’s an unkillable demon in town. Angel’s joined his team. The Slayer’s a basket case. I say we’ve hit bottom.

Xander: I have a plan.

Cordelia: Oh no, here’s a lower place.

Drusilla realizes that Angel wants to do to Buffy what he did to her. He believes that “to kill this girl you have to love her” and thinks emotionally wearing her down will get it done. It seems to be working when we see Buffy sobbing over the gifts Angel has given her in her room and thinking back to their night of passion. Buffy has a habit of going the non-traditional route for big scenes and man does it work (The Body). Instead of nudity flashes we get close ups and hear every little sound. It somehow makes it way more intimate and explicit.

Angel’s great mistake in all his plans was involving other people. When you’re going to kill Buffy she can have a hard time rallying a resistance. But when other people are on the line she’s there. Indeed, when Angel kills Jenny’s uncle she says he’s only making it easier. The wall reads was it good for you too? in blood. 

Xander is able to get a military-grade weapon for Buffy to use on the Judge. She does, but gives Angelus plenty of time to escape first. She still isn’t ready to let him die. He attempts to hurt her more but she says it isn’t going to work because she knows it’s not Angel. It makes you wonder if she’s really able to compartmentalize that well. She isn’t able to stake him but gives him a nice kick in the balls and says, “Give me time.”

Buffy: You must be so disappointed in me.

Giles: No. No, no I’m not.

Buffy: This is all my fault.

Giles: I don’t believe it is. Do you want me to wag my finger at you and tell you that you acted rashly? You did, and I-I can. But I know that you loved him. And he’s proven more than once that he loved you. If it’s guilt you’re looking for Buffy then I’m not your man. All you will get from me is my support. And my respect.

One of Giles’ top moments to be honest. He acts as her father figure in this episode as her mother is entirely oblivious. Joyce sets up cupcakes for Buffy but barely seems to notice anything is wrong. Her willful ignorance of things she doesn’t want to face is an integral part of her character. I will likely write an essay on her after The Body. For her part, I think Buffy sometimes enjoys getting to pretend to be normal around her mom. But this is not one of those times.

Character Notes:

Spike: One of my favorite things about Spike is his unquestioning nature. It makes for some great comedic moments because he just doesn’t care about reasoning. 

Xander Harris: Xander has the least trouble mentally moving Angel from friend to enemy. Probably because he never really trusted him.

Rupert Giles: When Giles learns Buffy slept with Angel he takes off his glasses, something he will later say he does when he doesn’t want to see what (the kids) are doing. When Buffy doesn’t want Jenny around, Giles backs her up. It’s important to him to support her and he doesn’t let up until Buffy tells him to.

[buffster]

Surprise (BTVS 2.13)

This is part of my ongoing Buffy Project, where I write notes/meta for every episode in an attempt to better understand the characters and themes of the show. You can find the full list here. Gifs are not mine.

This is a top Buffy episode for me. Just really good stuff from start to finish. It’s also a Buffy’s birthday episode.

I spoke too soon at the end of season one. Buffy’s prophetic dreams weren’t gone for good quite yet. Surprise begins with a dream. At first it seems like any old dream with Willow speaking french to a monkey and Joyce saying “do you really think you’re ready, Buffy?” Buffy immediately looks at Angel, so I took that to mean her subconscious was wondering if she was really ready to take the big step with him. But Drusilla lurks in the background and kills Angel at the end of the dream. It freaks Buffy out enough that she runs to Angel’s place before school (her mom drops her off, so this means she pretended to walk towards school and then took off? Cue more Joyce anger.) and kissing ensues. The relationship is heating up. 

When she finally arrives at school Buffy talks to Willow about wanting to sleep with Angel. A big part of her motivation is the feeling that either one of them could die tomorrow and she doesn’t want to miss out on the experience. Her relationship is going so well that she pushes Willow to talk to Oz so she can join the happy train. Surprisingly Willow does and they agree to be each other’s date to Buffy’s birthday party. Xander tries to take Cordelia but she swiftly rejects him.

This is the episode in which we learn Jenny hasn’t been entirely honest about who she is. She is actually Janna of the Kalderash gypsy tribe (the one that cursed Angel). Angelus destroyed the most beloved daughter of their tribe (and everyone she loved) in a move just like he did to Drusilla. There’s a definite pattern of Angelus attacking good people with a strong support system. It speaks of a resentment that I’ll have to write on later.

Drusilla is back to full power and is assembling the Judge. It’s a pretty ballsy move considering he immediately notices both she and Spike stink of humanity (they “share affection and jealousy”). Also as soon as he spoke I was like ADAM.

At her party, Buffy bursts through the door fighting a vampire. Oz swiftly learns the truth about Sunnydale and isn’t all that surprised. Cordelia is becoming closer to the Scoobies (attending a party with only them there) but is still self-absorbed. She shrugs and asks if anyone else is going to have cake while Buffy is reeling. It’s decided (by Jenny) that Angel should take the piece of the Judge they found and scatter it as far as he can. 

Xander: Well, clearly the hellmouth’s answer to what do you get the Slayer who has everything.

The Judge can separate the righteous from the wicked and burns the righteous down. He’s a pretty terrifying villain that the show had to swiftly take care of because our heroes would be no match for him. They can’t even touch him and soon wouldn’t have been able to be in the same room with him.

While Buffy and Angel are saying goodbye Xander indulges in a little fantasy about how their relationship will end. At first it just seems like wishful thinking, but knowing Xander’s backstory and having seen Hell’s Bells I now take this as his lack of faith that happy relationships can last. He says Buffy will be a Denny’s waitress and Angel will sit on the couch with blood belly dreaming about the glory days when she still liked him. Sound familiar? Pretty close to his nightmare vision in Hell’s Bells. And, I’m assuming, pretty close to his parents. 

Buffy and Angel’s relationship peaks in this episode (from an up-until-now standpoint) so that our hearts can be ripped out worse than ever in the next. For her birthday Angel gets her a Claddagh ring. The hands represent friendship, the crown loyalty, and the heart love. They both wear one pointing towards them so others know they belong to someone. Just as Angel is about to say I love you they’re attacked. Angel is trying to make sure the piece of the Judge doesn’t get away, but when Buffy is pushed into the water all thought vanishes and he jumps in after her. This is part of why they later break up; both of them are charged with saving the world but neither can think straight while the other is around.

When they are brought before The Judge Angel begs them to take him instead and you see the depth of his love for Buffy. They narrowly escape and Buffy is even more certain that they can’t know what’s coming tomorrow. They both say I love you and have sex. 

[buffster]

What’s My Line Part 2 (BTVS 2.10)

This is part of my ongoing Buffy Project, where I write notes/meta for every episode in an attempt to better understand the characters and themes of the show. You can find the full list here. Gifs are not mine.

Buffy: I’m the damn Slayer!

What’s My Line (Part 2) begins right where What’s My Line (Part 1) left off. Buffy and Kendra are facing off until Kendra announces she is the vampire Slayer. Their fight was cool, but let’s be honest–it paled in comparison to Buffy vs. Faith in season three. Almost immediately we learn that Kendra is a very different kind of Slayer. She is all rules and rigidness and is flummoxed by Buffy’s methods (not consulting her Watcher over everything, refusing to obey him without question, having civilians in on the secret). There’s a whole world of traditional slaying we didn’t know about because Giles decided when he met Buffy that “some flexibility was required” (there’s a Slayer Handbook!). Buffy is jealous over the instant bond between Kendra and Giles, who have both studied the same things. But when Willow reassures her she won’t be replaced Buffy says maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. 

Kendra is amazed by Buffy’s love of Angel, especially considering all she knows about him she’s read in books about Angelus. But she takes Buffy to save him even though it’s too late–Willie has already given Angel to Spike. 

Drusilla asks to play with Angel and begins by saying he’s been a bad daddy. Interestingly, she tortures him while talking about everyone she loved that he murdered. She never mentions this when he is Angelus. Does she grieve her family but knows talking to Angelus about it would be pointless? Or does she only talk about it because she knows the guilt tortures Angel? Angel doesn’t want to restore Dru to health (her sire is needed for the ritual) because of the danger it would pose to Buffy, so he attempts to get himself staked by provoking Spike. He says Spike isn’t sexually satisfying Drusilla and that the two lack the fire she had with Angel. It very nearly works. Drusilla smirks and doesn’t contradict him, saying only, “Shh. Bad dog.” Spike says he’s never been one for the pre show, which is taken as an innuendo but is true in his fighting style as well. Each time he’s tried to simply take Buffy out. He doesn’t play games.

While looking for Buffy, Cordelia and Xander become trapped in her house by an assassin from the Order of Taraka. Cordelia obliviously lets him in because he’s offering free makeup samples and then goes on about being both a winter and a summer (of course Cordelia would be more than one). Xander and Cordelia argue endlessly while trapped in the basement.

Cordelia: You think we should just wait until someone decides to be a hero?

Cordelia: Coward.

Xander: Moron!

Cordelia: I hate you!

Xander: I hate you!

Cordelia believes in saving herself while Xander is happy to wait for Buffy. But after a passionate kiss they both agree they need to get out of there and run screaming from the house. Their sexual tension is something you don’t notice until you do and then you realize it’s been there awhile.

Willow and Oz have their first interactions. After Oz admits he’s not a work of any kind person Willow says, “Don’t you have some ambition?” They end up having trouble over the werewolf deal, but supernatural issues aside I think power-hungry Willow and laid-back Oz would have eventually butted heads. When Oz is grazed by a bullet from another Order of Taraka assassin he seems thrilled, rather than frightened, by the experience. He later tells Willow she has the sweetest smile he has ever seen.

Xander Harris gets a lot of hate in the fandom, but I have to say early season two Xander is some of my favorite Xander. He is endlessly funny and charming. He’s also so welcoming to Kendra, and as an introverted person I would so appreciate his easy ability to reach out and make conversation. Also I would like to offer this:

Xander: Angel’s our friend! Except I don’t like him.

He comes to Angel’s defense against Kendra. I believe that’s further evidence that what he does in Becoming is more than simple jealously over Buffy’s boyfriend. His hatred of vampires and lack of faith that Angel could or should be saved (with the danger he will always pose) had to play a part.

Buffy: Nobody messes with my boyfriend.

Kendra agrees to help Buffy save Angel. She’s grateful for the help, but as they’re getting things ready they discuss their differences. Kendra was sent to her Watcher at a young age to prepare her to be Slayer (even though she might never have been called!). Kendra says she doesn’t feel sorry for herself and that Buffy shouldn’t entertain emotions. But Buffy says her emotions give her power and they’re “total assets”, insisting that she would have beaten Kendra in the end because she can improvise and go with the flow.

Buffy: Anger gives you fire. A Slayer needs that.

I love that they briefly explored Kendra, all rules and no emotion, and then went on to show us how going too far in the other direction is detrimental as well (with Faith). Kendra hesitates to rush off and save Angel because deep down she believes he should die. But she eventually comes to Buffy’s rescue and we get a really cool fight scene where everyone is pitching in. I liked the part where Buffy says, “switch” and Kendra rolls over her. Kendra’s rigid style was more fitted to the assassin while Buffy’s free styling is more fitted to Spike. As Buffy told her, when the assassin rips Kendra’s shirt and makes her mad she is able to win. But Kendra also gets her teaching moment and tells Buffy that slaying isn’t a job–it’s who she is. Buffy knocks Spike and Dru to the ground and rubble piles on them, but at the end of the episode we see Drusilla has risen and is carrying Spike. The roles are reversed. 

Character Notes:

Buffy Summers: Buffy mentions wanting pineapple pizza after all this.

Oz Osbourne: Oz talks endlessly about animal crackers and whether the other animals are jealous that only the monkey gets pants. It reminded me of Xander saying Willow has “too many thoughts”. Oz gets that.

[buffster]

Bad Eggs (BTVS 2.12)

This is part of my ongoing Buffy Project, where I write notes/meta for every episode in an attempt to better understand the characters and themes of the show. You can find the full list here. Gifs are not mine.

When you know the outcome of the season some of the foreshadowing starts to feel over-the-top. Okay, we get it. Buffy and Joyce are having Problems. Joyce is Fed Up. Every time Buffy rushes off to save the day she ends up looking ridiculously irresponsible to her mom. The case in point this episode happens at the mall when, after chasing down a vampire, Buffy returns to meet her mom without the clothes she was supposed to pick up. To Joyce it’s like really? I asked you to do one thing and you come back like you have no idea what I’m talking about? Joyce pretty much feels like she doesn’t matter one bit to Buffy. When she later finds Buffy in her room fully dressed like she’s going to sneak out in the middle of the night she grounds her. This time, surviving a crazy Sunnydale mishap doesn’t make her soften. She’s really sick of Buffy’s behavior.

Cordelia and Xander are moving past the random make outs in the closet phase towards a complicated relationship. As they’re kissing Cordelia requests that the lights remain off. She doesn’t want to face that she’s with Xander because she believes he’s beneath her. Knowing this, Xander is hurt. Their next-level bickering is beginning to be noticed by others, but no one has realized the truth yet because it’s so far-fetched.

Buffy and Angel can’t see to keep their hands off of each other. When they briefly pause Buffy mentions maybe having kids someday and Angel lets her know that isn’t possible for him. He asks if she thinks about the future and she says all she sees is him. I love love love how First Love their romance is. Even though they have serious compatibility issues they are rushing full speed ahead because well, they’re in love. It’s exciting and passionate and a little thoughtless. They continue kissing against a headstone that reads “In Loving Memory”. I can’t help but read that as a testament to this phase of their relationship. Goodbye, innocent Bangel.

The plot of the episode is that the students are parenting an egg for science class. Being Sunnydale, the egg is no normal one and begins possessing the students and faculty. Complicating matters are two vampires who want to kill Buffy. The responsibility of parenting hits each student differently. Buffy has a bit of a moment when her tardiness causes her to be a single mom. She worries she is doomed to become her mother. Willow is, of course, extremely attentive and says her egg is Jewish. Xander goes ahead and boils his to make sure it won’t break. Willow says this is cheating, but Giles compliments his Machiavellian ingenuity. It is kind of a fun peek into Xander’s brain. Especially because he later gives up on the whole enterprise and starts to eat his egg. Because of this choice Xander and Buffy are the only ones not possessed. They work together to save the day. 

The Official Story? Gas leak.

[buffster]

What’s My Line Part 1 (BTVS 2.09)

This is part of my ongoing Buffy Project, where I write notes/meta for every episode in an attempt to better understand the characters and themes of the show. You can find the full list here. Gifs are not mine.

Personally, I loved the inclusion of the school Career Fair in this episode. Not only did it fit seamlessly into the plot but it revealed some telling things about the characters. Xander wasn’t thrilled about participating. He already feels like he knows his place in the world, and it ain’t great. Willow was excited. She’s desperate for some validation. It supports my theory that she would have loved being called as the Slayer (though I suspect she’d have struggled with the fighting bits). But when her wish is granted and some big software company recruits her, she turns them down. I don’t think it would have made her feel special the way being a Scooby does. 

Xander: What if I’m a people person who keeps his own company by default?

I loved this line. First, it was so Xander. He really is a people person and frequently throws himself into social situations where he is then ignored (see Cordelia, Kendra). Second, I’ve asked myself similar questions when doing personality quizzes (loves to travel? Yes, but uh, I never do because money?). Xander is told he should be a prison guard. Cordelia checks that she aspires to help her fellow man but she knows she struggles with being a snob. She gets personal shopper or motivational speaker.

Buffy: It’s all mootville for me.

Perhaps the most impacted by the fair is Buffy, who asks Willow if “’sealed’ and ‘fate’ ring any bells”. She’s upset throughout the episode about her lack of a future. Her test reveals she should be a police officer but she doesn’t seem too thrilled about that. Buffy’s poor school performance wouldn’t likely be any better with a job. The episode title comes from Buffy--“it’s like ‘What’s My Line’?’ only I don’t get to play.” She struggles with her position as separate from the rest of the world even as Willow craves the validation it brings her. Giles attempts to make Buffy see how great it is that she has a purpose but she isn’t going for it. You’d think he would be of greater help considering his initial resistance to becoming a Watcher.

Angel really wasn’t meant to be more than a caricature of a high school boyfriend. He tells Buffy he knows about the Career Fair because he “lurks”. What is romantic to a high school girl is somewhat stalker-y to an adult (and indeed Buffy is angry at him when he does it in season four and later with Spike in season five). Angel’s feelings are hurt when Buffy talks about being frustrated with her identity as the Slayer. He sees it as her wanting a life he could never be a part of (because the two of them only make a kind of sense when she’s bound to the night as he is). She reassures him he’s the only freaky thing in her freaky world that she likes. He laughs when she calls him a “cradle-robbing creature of the night boyfriend” so...yay for a brief non-serious moment.

In another Buffy/Angel highlight moment he offers to meet her at the local ice rink after learning about her Dorothy Hamill obsession. Her room in L.A. was a shrine with dolls and posters; she even copied her haircut (imagining Buffy with this style is hilarious--look it up). Skating was an escape for Buffy during her parent’s fighting. It was nice to see these two meet for an actual date--even if it did go awry.

Spike has finally tracked down all the information needed to bring Drusilla back to full strength. He doesn’t want Buffy getting in his way so he contacts the Order of Taraka. I’m kind of surprised this never came up again in the plot. An endless army of assains? Scary. One attacks Buffy and Angel while they’re at the ice rink. When Angel is hurt he twists away from Buffy because he’s in vamp face, but she touches and kisses him like she loves him anyway. It was meant to be a sweet moment, but I also read it as Buffy being in a bit of denial about what Angel being a vampire actually means. In true teenager style she isn’t really thinking about their future as a couple, much less what being a vampire means for Angel (something she’ll learn this season). Kendra has arrived in town and sees her kissing him, leading her to lock Angel up in view of the sun and try to kill Buffy. The episode ends with Kendra announcing herself as a vampire Slayer.

Character Notes:

Buffy Summers: Buffy has a stuffed pig she was attached to as a child named Mr. Gordo. When she learns of the Order of Taraka she goes to Angel’s place and lays in his bed. He is her safe space. For now.

Willow and Oz: Out of everyone in the school, only Willow and Oz were offered a position at the software company. It hints at their destiny as a couple.

Willow Rosenberg: Will mentions she is afraid of frogs.