Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Storyteller

"Why can't you just masturbate like the rest of us?"

We’ve just had an episode of Angel all about redemption; now it’s time for Buffy, and Andrew, to do the same. And who better to handle the required mix of comedy and serious themes than Jane Espenson?

It’s always risky to handle a character like Andrew who is, as we are forcefully reminded, a murderer,   and use him as a comic foil. It’s to Buffy’s credit that, looked at overall, they get the balance right. It’s clever to frame the episode around Andrew filming the Scoobies for a supposed documentary, to have all kinds of funny and court-wall breaking fun, but then to undercut that, as the episode does, that Andrew is simply playing the outside observer role to escape from the terrible thing he did when being active. He tells stories to his own advantage, and this is where Buffy forces him to face up to the truth.

The ending is edgy, of course, as Buffy seems about to kill him- again emphasising the hard edge she’s had of late, with the prospect of the biggest armageddon yet. And we end with the unanswered question of “What if the tears didn’t work?”

This is all cleverly mixed in with the urgent need to close that door in the cellar, of course, which is causing unsustainably enormous Hellmouth activity. This loose end is tied up, but Robin’s vengeful hatred for Spike continues. And it appears that Anya and Xander may be reconciling as they have some good sex- is this a one-off, or...?

Jane Espenson seldom disappoints. Is this her last episode? Is this the last light-hearted episode? It’s tome to ask those questions: not too long to go now.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: First Date

"Like a bidet of evil..."

Jane Espenson writes again as we get a light-hearted episode before things are clearly about to get very desperate as the First has returned from its plot-convenient mid-season hiatus. This is so obvious that Giles spends the entire episode acting as Greek chorus and bollocking everyone about not taking it all seriously enough.

So we have a light-hearted plot in which Xander gets a date with a nice girl who turns out to be nice, sort of, but also homicidally and kinkily demonic. Oh, and Buffy gets asked out on an awkward date with Principal Wood. The script seems to gloss over the power imbalance of dating one’s boss, and Willow even suggests he may be asking her out to offer a promotion without suggesting this may be in any way a bit dodgy but hey, it’s 2003.

Anyway, we slowly find out that he has a load of weapons hidden in his office, he can fight camps, knows Buffy is the Slayer and- the bombshell- is the son of a Slayer himself, orphaned at four and raised by his mum’s Watcher. It’s a compelling backstory, and soon he joins Buffy and (awkwardly) Spike in resolving the Xander plot.

However, we get quite a conclusion in which the First reveals that, as we saw in Fool for Love, his mother was killed by none other than Spike. Ouch.

Elsewhere, we finally get a rather cheaty resolution to that Giles cliffhanger, Andrew gets to prove his loyalty to the Scoobies, there’s some comedy with the Scoobies being vaguely racist to a Potential from China, and Giles is appalled that (surprise) Buffy chose to have Spike’s chip removed. It’s an excellent episode but a foreboding one.

Except... is it me or is Xander’s tirade about only ever dating evil types so Willow should turn him gay a little bit not at all ok? At least Alyson Hannigan has the sense to act appalled. But you certainly wouldn’t get a scene like this in 2018.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Never Leave Me

"That.s the worst attempt at pig slaughtering I've ever seen..."

So the big bad gets a name: the First, a one off baddie from way back in Season Two, which I blogged many years ago when I was single and childless. Something tells me this time round that snow and Christmas miracles may be in short supply.

This is a big arc episode with a job to do in moving the arc plot forward- the Scoobies need to learn who they’re up against, Andrew needs to become a comic relief prisoner of theirs (love the interrogations) and Spike needs to be captured by those monks for his blood to be used to resurrect that ancient vampire thing. All of this is achieved with some witty dialogue, a top comedy scene where Willow totally owns Andrew, and a lot of deep and superb dialogue between Buffy and Spike, who now knows self-loathing.

The cliffhanger with Giles isn’t resolved; we’re left hanging a while longer. But Quentin Travers and the WTchers’ Council appear, they’re hiding stuff from Buffy, and they’re off to Sunnydale to face the First. They all wear extremely old-fashioned, tweedy clothes that were last popular, pheasant-shooting types aside, with my grandparents’ generation, the ones who fought in the war. As late as 2003 this is a stereotype Americans have of the British, arguably much less so now.

Meanwhile, we get to see the Principal being cool but also see him discovering the body of The unsuccessfully sacrificed Jonathan, whom he buries. We now know there’s more to him than it seems... but what?

A very functional episode on what it has to do, then. But Buffy does functional with aplomb.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Conversations with Dead People

“I mean, I was afraid to talk to you in high school. And now we’re, like, mortal enemies.”

Here we have it, then; a proper arc episode, which develops the mysterious Big Bad. Oddly, there’s no Xander, one of the main trio of characters (behind the scenes issues?) or Anya. But the focus on Buffy, Dawn and Willow all individually, their paths crossing only thematically, makes them all the more emotionally vulnerable for being alone.

Dawn and Willow both get visitations from the dead which seem designed to undermine themabd the team for the upcoming hi-jinks. Fortunately Willow realises she isn’t talking to Tara when the suggestion to never do magic again is extended to a suggestion of suicide, puncturing the illusion. Dawn has no such epiphany, enduring an episode of poltergeisty weirdness only to be told by “Joyce” that Buffy will turn against her. Oh, and Andrew and Jonathan return to Sunnyvale, with Andrew being encouraged by “Adam” to kill an unsuspecting Jonathan, who dies serene.

Buffy’s story is cleverer, as a recently resurrected vampire turns out to be an old acquaintance and psych major, which leads to reminiscing and psychoanalysis; I love the scene where Buffy uses a tomb as a psychiatrist’s couch. These are great character scenes, establishing both Buffy’s inevitable superiority complex and the guilt she feels about it. And, just to add extra dramatic spice, Spike is killing and siring people again. Some monsters are unexpectedly people, but those we think of as people can also turn out to be monsters.

A change of direction, then, getting the arc back on track. And a bloody good episode.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Grave

“Is this the master plan? You’re gonna stop me by telling me by telling me that you love me?”

The above quote hints at the flimsiness of the plot here; Giles comes back to Sunnydale, having borrowed a fair bit of magic from some old biddies in the West Country, but while trying to stop Willow he “accidentally” lets her borrow that power. Oops. Willow is this overwhelmed and decides to destroy the world and end its suffering, aided by an ancient pagan temple that conveniently appears. Except that, as Giles has apparently planned, Xander gets to save the day as per the quote; having spent the best parrot two episodes bemoaning his own uselessness, he saves the world.

And that’s it. Summarised like that it looks a bit pants and, if this were a series based on plot, plot, plot, it would be. Except the episode happens to be a bit awesome. That’s because the cheerfully rubbish plot is just something around which to hang the characters, who have always been the focus. That makes this an appropriate season finale.

We shall see how Willow heals next season, but so much else happens. The connection between Buffy and the prodigal Giles is wonderful, and joyous from the moment Giles starts laughing. They have a lovely father/daughter relationship, and father/daughter relationships are the best thing ever. It’s also lovely to see Buffy and a surprisingly capable Dawn fight zombies in a crypt, whereupon Buffy finally realised that her sister doesn’t need protecting; Dawn kicks ass. It’s also nice to see the season ending as it began, with Buffy crawling up out of a grave.

We end with loads of juxtaposed hugs- the Scooboies are battered, wounded, but together. And then, finally, we see Spike passing his trials- and having his soul returned..

A satisfying end to a season which, while not up there with the best, is on the whole rather good.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Two to Go

"She's like Dark Phoenix in there."

The fact that the episode begins with a recap of the entire season thus far alerts us to the fact that, structurally, this is the first episode of a two part finale. Hence, yes, plot-wise the episode is pretty much just treading water via some big set pieces, but there's a lot of valuable character stuff along the way and we get to see both how powerful Willow is and how nasty she can be- deliberately evoking the "bored now" Evil Willow.

The title, of course, is a rather nice pun; the penultimate episode consists almost entirely of Buffy, Anya and Xander trying desperately to stop Willow from killing Jonathan and Andrew before the cliffhanger and Giles’ surprise return. But along the way we have so many little moments. Yes, there’s the contractual Spike scene where he survives the first of his trials, yawn, but more interestingly there is also the clear sense that, while Andrew remains immature and unrepentant, Jonathan has come to terms with his responsibility for the terrible things that hVe happened and his need to atone. Willow mills that nasty magic/drug dealer after he tries to sexually assault her and, andway, its implied that he’s a paedo. Although that’s a nice Circle Jerks t-shirt on one of his junkie customers.

What happens next isn’t nice, though, as Willow says horrible things to Dawn. When all this is over that will cause her paroxysms of guilt. Buffy’s big talk with Willow fails, and a still understandably bitter Anya has another row with a notably useless-feeling Xander.

It’s all about this last chance to have these little character moments, really, and it works well. Next episode I’m sure we will have plenty of plot...

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Villains

"If I were you I'd worry about the witch..."

At last, in the twentieth episode, we get the real season Big Bad. She’s immensely powerful, she’s truly terrifying, and she’s Willow.

After last episode’s emotional power- the “previously on” reminds us not only of Tara’s devastating death but Spike’s attempted rape of Buffy- this episode is one of numbed shock.

Of course, no one initially knows about Tara as a scarily cold and vengeful Willow turns to the dark arts and goes single-mindey after Warren, saving Buffy’s life almost as an afterthought and using both her and Xander as pawns.

We see Willow, a character we know and love, utterly changed to become cold, ruthless, single-minded; she’s been this powerful all the time but that’s been ok because she’s lovely. Now she terrifies us, and it’s the emotional coldness that is the most chilling. But the slow torture and killing of Warren is what really does it- her “Bored now” obviously evokes the evil (and sexy...) Willow from the other reality, but worse; she actually flays Warren alive before burning him to death. It couldn’t have happened to a worse person but, as Buffy sort of explains to Dawn and Xander, Revenge is not justice. And her parting words are “One down”. What will happen to Jonathan and Andrew...?

Oh, and Spike gets a brief contractual scene where he has to undergo some trials to remove his chip or something. But right now I and most viewers side with Xander in being quite badly disposed to this attempted rapist.

Obviously a powerful and superb episode, notably with very little humour, unusually for Buffy. Outstanding.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Seeing Red

“Great love is wild and passionate and dangerous. It burns and consumes.”

Wow. This is a powerful episode, to put it mildly.

Things are not well with the Scoobies, to the point where the only people who can help Buffy trace the Three Nerds are Willow, Tara (finally, and ominously, Amber Benson is in the opening credits) and Dawn. Anya is off being quite rubbish at being a vengeance demon while Xander, Who needs an urgent cultural awakening in real ale, is drinking bad lager alone. Buffy and Xander have fallen out over Spike- although it’s nice to see them make up later, like true friends- and the awkwardness about what everyone saw last week is palpable.

All of which contrasts with the lovely, joyous, wonderful and loving scenes between Willow and Tara; sometimes it’s so lovely to watch scenes of nice people being happy that you forget that this is a Josss Whedon show, and Joss Whedon is evil. Dawn’s squeeing joy at their being back together speaks for us all. Love hasn’t gone very well in Sunnydale lately, but there’s hope.

It’s touching to see Dawn visit Spike, who is unlikely to be around much now; she misses him, but is quite rightly angry at what he did to Buffy with his moment of weakness. And it’s amising to see the Three Nerds again, complete with Jonathan wearing a fourth wall-busting rubber costume to get this week’s Charles Atlas MacGuffin so an increasingly disturbed Warren can again play at being the alpha male.

Then it happens. Spike comes to demonstrate with Buffy, demonstrate with her... and tries to rape her. The act isn’t trivialised or minimised; it’s allowed to linger in its full horror, with a traumatised Buffy and flashbacks. When I first saw this episode, more than a decade ago, I thought this scene was misjudged, and the character of Spike was tainted by this act. But this time it feels different, because this is what rape culture is like; men who know their victim, and rape from an aggrieved sense of enlightenment. This kind of rape happens all the time, by “nice guys”, and it’s good to make that point, however upsetting. It’s also good to see Spike’s confused feelings of both guilt and continued entitlement, sadly realistic, and inevitable after this that he rides off into the sunset.

Buffy finally confronts the nerds on a heist and beats them, capturing Jonathan and Andrew. But Warren is still loose, and the last few seconds of the episode are harrowing, even when you know what’s coming. Tara’s death is deliberately sudden, shocking, and out of nowhere, and Williw’s red eyes are terrifying.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Entropy

"You're lesbians, so the hating of men will come in handy!"

Anya's back, looking for revenge! And... actually we get a rather witty and thoughtful episode that mixes comedy with very good characterisation, hitting exactly the right tone in the way that only Buffy can.

Xander starts the episode in a terrible state, drinking bottles of awful, undrinkable American lager. Fortunately, Anya's return at least saves him from that awful (though perhaps deserved) fate, in spite of going terribly wrong.

Other stuff is happening, of course; Jonathan is doing some spell type thingy, while the rest of the gang (well, Warren) seem to have ominous plans for him. Spike is still threatening to tell everyone about him and Buffy. Buffy and Dawn are slowly reconnecting. But much of the episode, played for comedy and performed with superb comic timing by Emma Caulfield, consists of Anya trying to get each member of the cast in turn to curse Xander. Eventually she connects with spike, over a bottle of bourbon. Very well, in fact. To the point of doinky doinky. Unfortunately this happens right in front of one of many cameras installed by the three nerds, just as it's been hacked by the Scoobies- and everyone sees. Including Buffy and Xander, both heartbroken. And this time the anger between Anya and Xander is mutual. The whole fallout is simply brutal.

And then we get a final scene, perfectly scripted, where Willow and Tara, the sweetest couple ever, get back together. This is the perfect ending to an episode that really does demonstrate this programme's absolute mastery of tone. Magnificent telly.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Normal Again

"What, you think this isn't real just because of all the vampires, and demons, and ex-vengeance demons, and the sister that used to be a big ball of universe-destroying energy?"

Wow. This episode is right up there with the very best, with Hush and Once More with Feeling. It really is that good.

And the idea isn't even intrinsically brilliant. A demon that makes Buffy think she's in a mental institution and her vampire slaying life is just fantasy. It could have gone very, very wrong. Instead it's a real highlight of the series.

It all happens because Buffy gets a little too close to the Three Nerds, who panic and send after her a demon with a complicated name that is going to have her "tripping like a Ken Russell film festival". But her alternate reality is cleverly done; instead of playing up the horror of being stuck in a psychiatric institution we her her loving parents, Kristine Sutherland is back, and she gets the chance of a normal life instead of one from which she's recently become very, very detached.

It's fitting that we finally get an episode that's all about Buffy, although Xander somewhat sheepishly returns to slot back into his role convincingly enough, Anya is troublingly missing, and Willow continues to pine adorably over Tara. But we also get some superbly metatextual touches, as the doctor describes Buffy's delusion as "grand overblown conflicts against an assortment of monsters" and, in a nice touch, not only does Dawn not exist in the other world but the doctor refers to the "inconsistencies" caused by her being retconned into Buffy's reality. We even have it pointed out that, with all the gods and monsters that Buffy has faced and fought in the past, her current nemeses seem to be a trio of pathetic teenage boys.

It's all very real to Buffy, because she actually was briefly put into such an institution before, when she first encountered vampires. It's all very real how much she comes to question which reality is the true one and, by the time she is persuaded to lock Willow, Xander and Dawn in the cellar so the demon can eat them, the episode feels like a horror film with Buffy as the baddie. That's brilliantly done.

And yet the final scene is best of all, as the episode pulls back to suggest that, actually, maybe the institution was real...? Absolutely peerless telly.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Dead Things

"I love you."

"No you don't."

"You think I haven't tried not to?"

Wow. That was... dark.

We begin with Buffy and Spike having some sneaky, kinky and, it's heavily implied, very good sex where she is extremely rough with him... and then things get post-coital, for once Buffy doesn't leave immediately and Spike is moved to ask "Are we having a conversation?". It may be good sex, but the ambiguity over whether it's hate sex or even a "thing" makes it problematic.

There are no such nuances in the next scene, though, as Warren, Jonathan and Andrew plan to use magic to make a woman their sex slave: that isn't just a bit rapey, it's literally rape, and right from the go these are dark waters to be swimming in. So when Warren finds his ex Katrina and argues with her, only to use the magic and have her instantly say "I love you, Master"... that's seriously dark. So when we next see her dressed as a French maid, waiting on all three of them and expected to service all three of them, and she even drops to her knees in front of Warren... that's incredibly dark for a fairly mainstream TV show, and one of the most uncomfortable scenes I've ever seen on TV. I'm glad she comes immediately to, and she calls them out as rapists and sets out to report the crime to the police; not to have had that happen would have been appalling. But I can't imagine such a scene being written in such a blatant way today. 2003 seems so long ago. The intent is, of course, clearly to call out rape culture, but it's done with a certain insensitivity.

So, once that has happened and, worse, Katrina is killed, all three of them are beyond redemption. Narratively, they have to pay for what they've done, even if Warren is both the ringleader and shows clear psychopathic tendencies, referring to Katrina's body as "it".

Meanwhile, Buffy is filled with guilt. Everyone understands, except a neglected Dawn, that the reason they no longer see her is because she works at the burger bar on top of a busy slaying schedule. But only she knows that she also spends a lot of time having guilty good/bad sex with Spike, the forbidden fruit. She is female, we as a society have double standards, so Buffy feels sex shamed.

This only intensifies, of course, when she again neglects her friends for Spike, so our already guilt-ridden Slayer is well-primed for being made to believe that it was her who accidentally killed Katrina. And the suffering this added guilt causes her is heart-wrenching to see, especially when she confesses to Dawn and explains she will need to confess and go to prison, causing a horribly teenage reaction.

Fortunately Spike, sheer chance, clever Scoobies and a busy police station allow Buffy to work out what appened, and I think we can forgive how convenient this is as it's good sleight of hand. Besides, this episode is powerfully and brilliantly crafted.

Meanwhile we get an awkward meeting between Willow and Tara, and Tara reveals to Buffy that she really, truly, didn't come back wrong at all. But even without Katrina's death on her conscience a tearful Buffy is wracked with guilt, telling an understanding Tara that she lets Spike do these things to her because it's the only time anything feels real. And she realises she's "using him", that that's wrong, so we have even more guilt. If only society made men feel such scruples...

So yet, bit of a feminist subtext there. And a powerful, harrowing, amazing episode.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Gone

"There was a voice, before. It made my coffee dance."

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a serious and harrowing episode of Buffy must be followed by a silly and light-hearted one. Hence this little romp where Buffy has a lot of fun being invisible and eventually even cheers up to the point where she no longer has a death wish.

Not that the whole episode is silly, though: Willow may be a magnificent sleuth here, but this is where her cold turkey from the crude drug addiction metaphor of recent episodes really begins. Buffy gets a visit from a social worker at the worst possible time, and her custody of Dawn is under threat.. but, fortunately, due to hi-jinks the clock us reset on that one. Phew. 

The sex scene between invisible Buffy and Spike is fun (once again it seems Buffy is rather rough and dominant in bed: wonder if Riley is visiting dominatrixes now?), but what happens afterwards is new: Spike actually kicks Buffy out because she's just using him for sex. Wow.

And we end with the Scoobies finally realising that Andrew, Warren and, of all people, Jonathan seem to be this season's big bad. Enough to make you miss Glory...

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Smashed

"How've you been?"

"Rat. You?"

"Dead."

"Oh."

Another light episode, then, but one where stuff happens well and truly; the simmering sexual tension between Buffy and Spike eventually erupts into some symbolically building-demolishing sex, while Willow is led even further astray into the selfish use of magic by a de-rodented Amy. Mind you, the scenes of them both doing naughty magic in the Bronze are notable because this is the first time the Bronze has made an appearance in aaaages!

(Oh, and I bet Willow likes the Donnas. And Verruca Salt.)

Amy's first scenes are amusing, though, as she digests the news that three years have passed and that, anyway, the whole school was swallowed by the Mayor. And our three baddie's provide further amusement with the freeze ray and all that. But their main role in the episode is to prove to a Boba Fett-threatening Spike that his chip is present and correct; it's just that Buffy no longer counts as human since her resurrection, which is an alarming thought. Or, if you're Spike, a kinky one.

Buffy, for the first time ever, isn't quite as good as Angel and, it occurs to me for the first time, be a little past it's peak, especially now Once More, with Feeling is over. Still bloody good, though.

Bet we get a really serious episode next. You can always tell...

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Life Serial

"Stop touching my magic bone!"

Last night we were introduced to our three, er, suoervillains; this time we get to know a bit better and discover which one of them has the righteous opinion on the best James Bond- no love for George Lazenby?

We learn absolutely nothing about how Buffy and Angel's reunion went, and this vagueness is turned into a joke; not a bad way of handling the fact that Buffy is now airing on the WB while Angel is still on Fox, presumably necessitating a bit of the old arm's length treatment. 

A big theme of this episode is what, besides slaying, Buffy is going to do with her life. She tries returning to uni, working on a construction site and working in the Magic Box, but none of these quite works, and not entirely because of the machinations of our dastardly trio. All three situations are, however, hugely amusing. Jane Espenson can do that to a script.

This script sparkles, and I'm not just saying that because of the kittens, or Buffy's description of Spike as a "neutered vampire that cheats at kitten poker". I'm enjoying this season, despite my reservations about the way geeks are presented. I can even forgive Giles suddenly solving Buffy's money worries with a deus ex machina cheque. 

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Flooded

"So... You guys wanna team up and take over Sunnydale?"

Never has a flooded basement been more redolent with obvious metaphor; Buffy has returned to the Hell of life and adult responsibilities from a stress-free afterlife, and all the pressures of adulthood- especially her overwhelming money troubles- are drowning her. Meanwhile, our three baddies for the season, introduced here, are intended as a contrast. 

I have a bone to pick with the use of Jonathan, Andrew and Warren; they are geeks, and this is clearly intended to symbolise that they are unable to put away childish things. I'm a bit offended by that. I'm a geek (I mean, I do this blog), and I have responsible job, a mortgage and a wife. Oh, and any day now I'm due to become a father, something which is rather tending to dominate my every waking moment. I'm a fully functioning adult who happens to like geeky things. I'm a bit offended by the implied insult here and so, I would imagine, are many of the viewers. Buffy fans, after all, tend to be geeks.

Anyway...

There are a lot of things to note here. I note that Buffy is partly broke because her mother's medical bills are up her inheritance, for example. Thank Bevan we have the NHS in this country. We also have an interesting argument between Xander and Anya about whether they should announce their engagement, and he clearly has cold feet, nervous about the adult responsibilities it symbolises. Once again the theme rears its head.

Most dramatically Giles is back, and giving Willow a real bollocking for what she's done, which takes her aback somewhat. Worse, she implicitly threatens him for doing this before realising what she's done. We're getting plenty of hints that Willow is heading to a very dark place this season.

It's lovely to see Giles with Buffy, though; there's no doubt that he's her real dad, blood relative or not. Still, Buffy is not quite able to confide in him as she can with Spike. And she's still very emotionally dulled, although that could just be Sarah Michelle Gellar's acting.

We get quite a cliffhanger, though; Angel wants to see Buffy in an intra-network crossover...

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Superstar

"You could have, I dunno, a world without shrimp. Or a world with nothing but shrimp…"

The best episodes of Buffy, for me, as a lover of metatextual fun, are the ones that subvert the format, and this is no exception. Jonathan, unexpectedly, is back for the first time since Jane Espenson's earlier Earshot. I love the character, and I'm not just saying that because I'm a shortarse. I love everything about this alternate world in which Jonathan is even in the opening credits.

It's hilarious just how perfect Jonathan is- he's a millionaire with two live-in supermodel lovers, a world-famous crooner, starred in The Matrix, has completed med school in spite of being only eighteen, advises the Initiative, has his own comic books and trading cards, was given the Class Protector Award by Buffy(!), and is the most hilariously exaggerated Mary Sue I've ever seen. This alone is enormous fun. We also get hilarious consequences. My favourite is the conversation, early on, between Willow and Tara, where the camera suddenly turns round to reveal they've been making a Jonathan collage.

Interestingly, reality has shifted only as far as is needed to incorporate Jonathan being such a great hero. This has knock-on effects, but continuity is otherwise the same. Indeed, we learn more about Adam, courtesy of Jonathan, naturally; he's powered by Uranium-235, which basically means he's really difficult to kill. Lovely. Also, the Initiative have a new boss: Colonel George Havilland.

The only real difference is that Buffy, in this reality, has always played second fiddle to Jonathan, and is rather lacking in confidence until reality reasserts itself. Her relationship with Riley remains the same, though, and we see the consequences of Riley unknowingly sleeping with Faith play out. This seems to be resolved, rather touchingly, with a lot of honesty, a lot of tenderness, and some very wise words from Jonathan. I wonder, though: are they really going to be able to quite get back to where they were before?

Also adorable are Xander and the gloriously tactless Anya (please let her be in every episode!!!), but most of all Willow and Tara, who are now officially and publicly a couple. Willow's concern for Tara after she's attacked by the beast is just lovely. Seeing the two of them together just makes me go "aaaah!"

Interestingly, and usefully for the exposition, Adam realises that reality has shifted, but also that chaos will ensue as reality reasserts itself. This also has the useful side-effect, of course, of making him seem more of a badass. And Buffy, too, comes across as increasingly badass as she works out what's happening and gradually starts to act herself, instead of the subordinate role that Jonathan has written for her. The conclusion is fitting; Jonathan, although he's made a Faustian pact, ultimately avoids temptation by saving the day and Buffy's life. For all its wit and coolness, this episode is also plotted with awesome economy and efficiency.

Rather hilariously (intentional, I think), the final conversation between Buffy and Jonathan comes across as a bit like those monologues at the end of Masters of the Universe and other cartoons. We're being told that problems can't be solved by magic, and life is complicated. Given the high magical content of this show, you could say that's a bit rich!!!

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Go Fish

“I’ll do whatever I can to make your life better- whether little bath toys or whatever.”

OK, this isn’t exactly the best episode ever. In fact, it’s the worst episode we’ve had a while. But a relatively lacklustre episode of Buffy is better than the best episodes of lesser shows, and this episode has a surprising amount to say about misogyny, rape, and corruption in the world of sport.

Oh, and the monsters look just like the thing from The Creature from the Black Lagoon. I don’t think this is any more than a visual reference, in spite of the more overt homages to Universal movies we’ve seen in the past, but it’s a nice touch. It, er, doesn’t mean the costumes look any less embarrassing, though.

We see a lot of evidence of corruption in Sunnydale High School, as Willow (a student of seventeen taking a class, especially for all this time, is rather dodgy- is she getting paid?) is heavily leant on by Principal Snyder to allow a failing student to pass simply because he’s a successful member of a sports team. Worse, another member of the swimming team attempts to rape Buffy, implying that successful performers in competitive sport have privileged status and are allowed to get away with some extreme stuff, all in the name of “school spirit”. Is this really what happens in American high school, to some degree? To this foreigner it looks a little far fetched, and I say that as someone with very little interest in spectator sports and zero interest in macho culture. This seems to go a lot further than the “jock” trope.

And all that talk about Buffy “leading on” her potential rapist, and the way she dresses… it’s rather clear what’s being said here. I doubt this is the first time this bloke has tried it on, and most girls are not as physically strong as Buffy. It’s not a pleasant thought. And neither is the almost-rape of Buffy by the fish boys near the end.

Oh, and it’s rather alarming to see Jonathan being waterboarded by said jocks. Frankly, I’m glad he peed in the pool. It’s interesting that he’s starting to become an actual character. I’m also enjoying the rather, er, arousing sight of Willow as interrogator, complete with lamp to be shone in eyes.

The other subtext, of course, is steroids, and the need to succeed in sport at all costs. This seems absurd to people like me who don’t follow sports- after all, it’s only a game, an artificial contest with no meaning outside of itself. But the status it confers is real, especially in a hierarchical society such as that of a high school. We rather cleverly get shown these pressures at work in the funny dialogue between Cordelia and Xander.

Still… the whole thing is more than a little clichéd, and the comeuppance of the coach as he gets eaten (just like a principal) is so very uber-predictable. And isn't the premise more B-movie sci-fi than horror? It doesn't quite seem to fit the aesthetic of the show. There’s not much going on arc-wise, either, aside from one of those contractually mandated cameos from Angel. That’s a rather awkward thing about the length of these seasons: Angel has spent rather too many episodes just sitting on his arse for someone who’s supposed to be the big bad. Still, two-part series finale, here we come…

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Passion

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

This episode is so, so devastating. It’s emotionally draining. It’s also very, very, very clever in the way it uses structure to deliver its massive emotional punch. It’s probably best to talk about these things separately, and to get the structural stuff out of the way first.

The first we hear is Angel’s voice, as narrator, and we hear this narration throughout. This immediately shows us just how much control Angel has over Buffy and the Scoobies; a narrator has authorial, omnipotent, godlike powers. Connected with this is his absolute power over space- he’s able to enter anyone’s private spaces whenever he wants, leaving tokens to show he’s been by the bedsides of Buffy, Willow and even Joyce. All this is just to mentally torture Buffy.

In this context, the scene in which Jonathan and another student essentially evict Giles and the Scoobies from the School Library (such effrontery to want to actually use it as a library!) is a massive contrast. While Angel has absolute control over everyone’s space, the Scoobies have no control even over their own.

Things don’t continue this way, though; Buffy manages to assume at least some limited control over space (Giles’ spell, which “changes the locks”) and over the narrative (the closing narration is hers). But she most certainly doesn’t win.

Jenny’s horrible murder, just as she and Giles are about to be reconciled and just after she’s admitted that she loves him, is the most devastating thing. Angel’s cruel taunting of Giles, with the roses, the Puccini and the champagne, perversely seems even more horrible than the murder itself. And Anthony Head’s performance sells the devastation utterly. But the worst thing for me is Alyson Hannigan’s reaction to receiving the phone call. This whole succession of scenes is very, very powerful. And that’s why the final hug between Buffy and Giles after the fight at the factory is so very, very important. Our surrogate father and daughter still have each other, and they’re so very, very close.

Speaking of parental relations, Joyce is wonderfully supportive of Buffy here, and it’s a joy that the character has consistently avoided being pigeonholed into being the obstructive authority figure. She gives Buffy a bit of grief for sleeping with Angel, but everything she says is quite correct, and she knows when to stop. It’s very clear (as Buffy pretty much acknowledges early on) that she needs to be told everything, and soon. I can’t remember from my previous viewing of the series when exactly it is that she finds out, but the narrative impetus strongly suggests that it must be soon.

So… deep breath. This episode is emotionally draining, very clever and absolutely pivotal- Buffy is now left in no doubt that Angel has to die. But could he be re-souled? That final shot of the disk, lodged between the tables, reminds me of something Raymond Chandler is once reputed to have said about guns and first scenes…

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Bad Eggs

“As far as punishments go, this is fairly abstract.”

I was under the impression that this was supposed to be a notoriously bad episode. In fact, I was rather looking forward to it for that very reason. There’s a certain kind of perverse glee to be found in watching something you know to be bad in the full knowledge that you’re going to be mocking it on your blog before long. Except… this episode is bloody brilliant. Why the bad reputation? This is possibly the best comedy episode we’ve had yet.

Oh, the concept’s a bit blah- a massive subterranean parasite uses nasty little eggs which hatch creepy-crawly things to control people so it can use them for, er, egg mining, and this all sprawls out of a school assignment to look after eggs as though they’re babies. Unusually for Buffy, there’s not really a great deal happening in the shape of a big, central metaphor; I did ponder the idea of the parasite being a metaphor for Joyce, who makes Buffy’s life particularly difficult, but I don’t think so. I certainly hope not; I really like Joyce. And the fun little conversation between the two of them at the start shows that they can be great together when they’re not being confrontational.

There is, perhaps, a bit of a theme developing with regards to pleasures distracting us from our responsibilities. Ironically, neglect of her responsibilities is what Joyce finds so upsetting about her daughter, even though the reason for her apparent misbehaviour is the awesome responsibility of the Slayer. But there’s a second layer of irony here, as Buffy is in fact spending most of her time snogging her boyfriend instead of hunting vampires as she’s supposed to; perhaps she isn’t being too unfairly punished, after all. Alarm bells are beginning to ring about this relationship; I’m reminded of Kendra’s admonition that Angel, whatever his virtues, is a vampire, and “He should die”. Gosh, you don’t think something really, really bad could be about to happen between those two, do you?

As for the comedy parallel to this couple of snoggers, namely Cordelia and Xander, whose kissing / insulting sessions are such fun to watch, they’re beginning to get less and less careful. It’s rather obvious that the others (particularly Willow) are going to find out, very, very soon, and the laughter is going to stop.

Lyle Gorch (I love the hat!) is another great thing about this episode, and I’m delighted that he survives, obviously to prepare for another appearance. The first season gave us the Master and some rather ritual-heavy vampires who did what they were told, but this season’s vampires are much more fun. Spike is the character who announced this new direction, of course, but Lyle shows us that we can expect a lot more of this sort of thing- quirky vampires with fun personalities. I love the Lenny George thing he has going on with his brother.

There are other cool touches, though- the long scene with Buffy looking for the creature is shot and soundtracked like a horror film, and it’s really, really scary. Plus there’s that nice frisson of nostalgia at Buffy’s mention of a Giga Pet- remember those? But this kind of fun episode usually means only one thing: this is our last chance to sit back and feel comfortable for a while, because things are probably about to get very, very dark…

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Reptile Boy

“Some guy’s attacking Buffy with a sword. Also, there’s a really big snake.”

Back to Buffy after my Christmas break, and the sheer Nineties-ness of the whole thing hits me immediately. It’s not the most fashionable of decades at the moment, is it? It’s old enough to be dated but not old enough to gain any of that retro cool. One day, perhaps, there will be Nineties-themes parties where we all wear faded jeans, lumberjack shirts and terrible hair. That day, alas, is yet to come.

Meanwhile, in the actual episode, we have one of the more obvious metaphors as a fraternity club is pretty much directly equivocated with those nasty, cowled, virgin-sacrificing cults that the horror genre seems to love so much. This leads to much subtext in which points are made regarding gender, age, social class and (in a rather puritanical way) alcohol.

…All of which leads to an abiding theme of these reviews, namely that I, a foreigner, know nothing about the many rituals of school and college life aside from what I’ve gleaned from popular culture. It’s all quite exotic to me. So, these fraternity things… they seem quite elitist, laddish and, well, uncool to me. Are they really such an elite thing as this episode seems to be saying? We seem to be literally told that they’re a disturbing cult and, while they may not literally sacrifice girls to an unconvincing-looking snake man, this is an obvious metaphor for their laddish abuse of women. God, I hate lad culture. I hate it almost as much as I love being old enough to ignore it and not care what anyone thinks. I’m a man, not a lad.

Er, anyway, ranting aside, there’s also an obvious class subtext here. First it pops up humorously, in pretty much all of the interactions between Cordelia and Buffy, but the way the frat boys abuse Xander, the most unambiguously working-class character, is downright sinister, and almost enough to drive one to Marxism. All the same, though, is this damning view of frat boy culture widely held in the US? There are times here where the imagery and subtext seem to border on conspiracy theory.

Oh, and isn’t there an excessively and disturbingly puritanical subtext to alcohol here? Buffy only symbolically “falls” once she drinks a cocktail (although, yes, there’s also a simultaneous rohypnol analogy here), and all the characters (who are sixteen or seventeen) speak of it as something utterly taboo. When I was sixteen my parents would let me have some wine or beer with a meal quite often, although admittedly this had a lot to do with my Dad’s ultimately successful campaign to impart his taste in beer unto the next generation. Oh, and there was also the underage drinking, but let’s gloss over that, shall we?

In other news, I completely adore the opening, as Buffy, Willow and Xander comment on a Bollywood musical. They should force them all to record a DVD commentary for every Bollywood film ever made. The campaign starts here. Also, Willow’s lecture to Giles and Angel on their treatment of Buffy (and her reaction afterwards!) is the best thing ever. I love Alyson Hannigan.

Jonathan gets an appearance, too. And this time he has a name!