“Blackmail is such an ugly word.”
“I didn’t mention blackmail.”
“Yeah, but I’m about to blackmail you, so I thought I’d bring it up.”
This is essentially a farce, well-performed by the cast and well-crafted by the increasingly impressive Marti Noxon; clearly a second comedy episode in a row to leaven the heavy stuff surrounding it on either side. And yes, it has a nice subtext about the violent possessiveness of men towards women and its extreme consequences. But there’s a problem. Xander is one of the central characters of the show, someone whom it’s essential that we like. And yet I’m trying to find a way of not seeing him as being essentially guilty of something awkwardly close to attempted rape here. I can’t. That’s a big problem.
The thing is, the spell which Xander gets Amy to cast seems to be a mind control spell, and a cruel one; he wants Cordelia to love him so he can reject her and break her heart. That’s nasty. Yes, I know there’s no implication of actual sex here, but we’re still talking the supernatural equivalent of rohypnol. We’re not talking something which is effectively just pheromones (that, I think, is what more-or-less lets Owen off the hook in the first episode of Torchwood, although even that is problematic). I’m glad to see Giles making it clear how disgusted he is, but even he doesn’t really get the point, and Xander gets off far too lightly. Buffy actually seems grateful that he didn’t take sexual advantage of her- surely that sort of thing should be taken for granted. Worse, Cordelia actually takes him back after dumping him (and makes the huge sacrifice of giving up her place in the social hierarchy) because she realises the spell was meant for her, and somehow finds this romantic as opposed to incredibly creepy and controlling.
All this is a huge problem for the series. What Xander has done is not ok, and Whedon & co simply can’t expect us to suddenly like him again.
Cordelia, on the other hand, I like a lot. She’s still as cluelessly tactless as ever (dumping Xander, in public, on Valentine’s Day!) but I just melted when I say that she was still wearing her gift from Xander, and her angry sheep accusing Harmony and co of being sheep is the best thing ever. Xander had better be very, very nice to her, or else. Her being so lovely deep down just makes him look even worse.
Oh, and I like Oz, too, because he punched Xander for making Willow cry. And Willow, of course, for the axe, and for that look on her face while telling everyone that “My boyfriend’s in the band”. And Joyce, for the sheer pricelessness. There are other couples on this Valentine’s Day, too; Angel is still gradually prising Drusilla away from Spike, while Giles is still unable to forgive Jenny.
It’s good to see Amy again, off course, this time as a witch in her own right. And I suppose that Buffy being turned into a rat allows Sarah Michelle Gellar to have a bit of a rest. The comedy farce element is well directed (I particularly love that slow-mo shot of Xander walking through a school corridor as all the girls perv at him) and performed, but there’ll always be a problem with the premised of this episode for me. Right now, I don’t like Xander much at all. The character is aged goods. He’d better bleeding well redeem himself.
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