"Buffy The Vampire Slayer" Season 2 Part 3 Reviews (Spoilers)

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Buffy The Vampire Slayer "Surprise"

I am leery. I am very worried about my rewatch of "Innocence" and seeing "Surprise" again did not alleviate those misgivings. I think on some level Marti Noxon (who wrote the episode) deserves a lot of credit for the amount of painful foreshadowing she infuses every action Buffy and Angel take together for the final time at this phase of their relationship. But in hindsight, whether it's good mythology set-up or not, I am not positive making "Innocence" as painful as possible for the viewer in hindsight is actually admirable. In hindsight, maybe "Innocence" was handled wrong.

What is interesting to me is that regardless of the questionable messages being sent about teenage sex I find that this section of the season is actually when the show hit its stride, and a LOT of the individual elements are stronger now than they have ever been. I seem to have overlooked Juliet Landau's brilliance this episode. Bringing the character back to full strength really made Landau embrace the crazy and chew the scenery for good measure. The scene where she's threatening to scratch Dalton's eyes out with her fingers is both playful and scary. Her putting back on and straightening his busted glasses, and patting his head with a bored look on her face was quite funny.

And Oz. Oz. The whole bit where he's telling Willow that he is going to ask her out, he's nervous about it, she tells him she'll say yes, and he admits comfort to that idea providing a buffer, is beyond adorable and endearing. I don't think the writers quite nailed who Oz was until he deadpans "Say, did everybody here just see that guy turn to dust?" and while Willow clues him into the realities of vampires she's all, "I know it's hard to accept," and he instantly and cannily says "Actually, it explain a LOT." TV didn't have characters this cool back in 1998 before Oz. And what kills me most is knowing how badly the show is going to fail and ruin the character in season four. One of the worst things about Buffy the Vampire Slayer is that it will create perfect characters and scenarios, and just destroy them for the sake of destroying them. And it bothers me more than most of the times the show did that that they wrecked Oz of all characters. This right here is a special dude who deserved better.

James Marsters is billed "As Spike" for the first time in the guest star credits. I like him basically making fun of Angel's truly ludicrous plea to sacrifice himself to the Judge instead of Buffy. He smiles almost ruefully at Angel's dumbness and he's like "There IS no instead. It's first or second." Which anyone but an idiot like Angel could clearly see. This situation did not cry out for a negotiation and Angel looked like a chump for it.

I'm going to talk a little bit more about Miss Calendar's reveal as Romani in the next episode. I have to say, knowing this show, I half expected there to be little clues all throughout the first and second seasons of the idea that she was sent to watch Angel, but this is literally the first time it's ever come up. The foreshadowing to the next episode is pretty impressive. But there was literally no place to suggest Jenny had a link or interest in Angel previously, so it seems out of nowhere instead. That's not good mythology. That's sloppiness.

I am going to warn you. My review of "Innocence" is gonna be long, and I'm betting shockingly uncomplimentary in hindsight. I hope I'm wrong on both counts. But Buffy's dew eyes in this episode and Angel's sweet and purely good behavior means I'm probably gonna come down hard on a plot turn I used to be impressed by, but no longer am. ***1/2.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer "Innocence"

I do not approve.

I seem to recall back in the day a secret part of me hated this episode, but it was critically acclaimed, and back then Joss Whedon was in the phase of his career where he could do no wrong, so I accepted the accolades and half-loved the episode too. The part of me that hated that episode was the part that hated Buffy being hurt, which meant it was effective, and therefore, great. Right?

I am going to make a prediction for the rest of the season. I am going to give "Becoming, Part 2" the highest rating I can give a an episode because I personally believe it is the best episode EVER of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. What kills me is it's never on any fan's top ten list. I hear about "Hush", "The Body", "Once More With Feeling", and "The Gift" but "Becoming, Part 2" has not received its proper fandom acclaim. It was considered the best episode when it aired, but other episodes soon took other fans' place in that regard. My opinion is that it was the best episode and stayed the best episode. What makes me respond so positively to it while this kind of made me cringe in hindsight?

"Becoming, Part 2" made me hurt, just as much as this episode did. But it was a GOOD hurt. I cry like a baby every time I see it, but those are good, cathartic tears, of witnessing something truly tragic and epic that moves me in the way few television productions ever have. People talk about Buffy's pain here, but it's just nastiness. Angel hurts her by slut-shaming her and making her ashamed of her sexuality. Which is bogus. It's not something you could really complain about in 1998. But in the era of MeToo? Yeah, it's a problem.

The thought behind this episode's acclaim (and a LOT of Buffy's goodwill) is that, Buffy always shows negative consequences to teenage behavior that parents might find questionable. Like horror movies before it, Buffy is a roundly conservative franchise punishing characters for not living up to an adult's expectations regarding sex. Horror movies kill the characters off. Buffy puts them through the emotional wringer instead. Neither position is healthy to portray.

It would be one thing if Joss Whedon were a conservative himself, and the show was reflecting his ideals. I could actually respect that and even see the artistry there. But Joss Whedon, liberal extraordinaire's main message to the kids at home is that sex is bad, even if both people love each other and are ready for it, and men will always use and abuse women after they get what they want, and women will wind up being ashamed and feel like embarrassed pariahs among their group of friends. That's not a feminist message. And it never was. The idea that Whedon has branded himself as such is not nearly as appalling as the fact that people didn't push back on it long before now.

David Lynch similarly treats women terribly in his movies and TV shows. But say what you will about Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (and I'll say the first 40 minutes are utter dreck) but it helped a lot of women who suffered abuse confront that about themselves in seeing Laura's struggles and ultimate redemption. I think Lynch does not get enough guff for how he treats women on-screen. But I cannot deny his work has resonated for many victims of abuse who think Fire Walk With Me has value while the rest of the Twin Peaks fandom treats it as the Black Sheep of the canon. And God, I could also probably deal with it if the abuse Buffy suffers from Angel led to women in similarly abusive relationships to recognize how to get out them. But the moral of the season is Buffy and friends trying to get Angel's soul back. Instead of Buffy dumping him for the loser he is, the show has turned into all about how she can fix him and how he can change under the right circumstances. There is no redemption for Leland Palmer coming, so Twin Peaks exploring Laura's pain actually is a healthy message for people who've been through the same thing. This season is telling kids there always a hope that the guy who beats you and treats you like waste can become a good person if given the proper motivation to change. Did I mention it's appalling feminists haven't been calling Whedon on this poo long before now?

We're gonna spend some time discussing individual scenes in the episode. I knew this review was gonna be long, and I suspected it was The Scene that was going to do it. I was right.

Some of what I am about to write has been verbalized by me elsewhere. I am a writer. And this episode and The Scene in particular were turning points in how I approached writing. I consider writing a form of therapy. My problem is Marti Noxon does too, and it ruined season 6 of Buffy by making it a cry for help, but I can say nothing I write is toxic for the sake of working out my issues. I think I should probably talk a bit about Joss Whedon's DVD audio commentary about The Scene and why his reaction to it made me decide how to write my characters going forward.

When discussing the "Next Day" scene Joss says that he wrote the deliberately, horribly, cruel things Angel says to Buffy off the top of his head, and afterwards he felt like a total dirtbag, and totally guilty for how easy that was for him to do. And based on the allegations against him, I would not have been comforting myself the way he did afterwards. Let me be blunt. The scene is amazing. Its cruelty is precise and laser focused in a scene that lasts a surprisingly short space of time. Angel says things both nuanced in their meanness and deliberately horrible. It's a master abuser at work, and everything wrong with men done in as an efficient and damaging a manner as possible. And let me tell you something. And this is especially true because the scene is amazing. If it weren't I might cut him some slack. But his "Woe is me, I felt so bad for writing that," does not pass my b.s. detector. He says he feels like a horrible person? That's because he is. He is not off the hook for that simply because he recognizes it in hindsight. The whole "Woe is me, I'm such a jerk, love me for it," thing pretty much wore out its welcome with Louis C.K.. I'm not saying I'm a better or worse writer than Joss Whedon. What I will say is that given half a chance I would totally botch that scene. I have men in my comic books mistreat women from time to time, but none of it is subtle, and borders on cartoonishly outrageous, which is sort of the point. I do not know enough about how to say the correct cruel thing to a woman to get under her skin. You know what? I'm cool with that. I am perfectly happy with my sexist characters not being all they should be because I don't understand the specific mindset of the abuser deep down. I'll accept my writing is worse for it. Because I don't feel like a terrible person otherwise, which I would if I could come up with something that brilliantly written off the top of my head. I can look myself in the mirror and sleep at night. Fair trade.

Next scene to discuss. Also a big deal on Whedon's audio commentary. The scene with Jenny's Romani uncle describing the purpose of vengeance. It is Whedon's favorite scene in the episode, and the one he was dreading writing. And I get why he likes it. But I don't think it's actually a good scene.

The problem with the idea of the Gypsy Curse is that it makes no sense for the Gypsies to build in the escape hatch into it for Angel experiencing human happiness. Whedon loves the scene because it makes something that really makes no sense sound plausible. I don't love the scene because as much as the characters rationalize it, it's still not actually plausible. What were the Gypsy's thinking?

Willow and Oz in the van. Whedon has a special place in his heart for the scene and I do too. Oz's initial reaction to Willow offering to make out was priceless ("Whaaaat?") and his whole explanation of wanting her to kiss him back is beyond sweet. I swear to God, this is why I resented them destroying the character so much. He's perfect as is.

Xander reveals he still possesses the military skills he learned at Halloween. It's kind of cool, and it's also something you wish they went back to more often than they did.

When Buffy pulls out the bazooka, that's when it's okay to cheer. "What's that do?" I can bemoan this episode's messages all I want. This is clearly the show in its prime either way.

"Wear something trashy...er." Here's something interesting. In the commentary, Whedon bemoans the fact that he didn't think to have wardrobe dress Charisma Carpenter in a trashy outfit, and Xander saying that while she's dressed wholesomely is out of line. Do you know what that is? A red flag. The reality is, it would have been wrong for Xander to say that no matter WHAT Cordelia is wearing. And Whedon doesn't know that? And he still claims to speak for feminists? Stuff like this is why all of the abuse allegations are no surprise to me. It was woven into the very fabric of his writing.

Spike wanting to destroy the world in the episode is actually out of character. Granted, he had secondary selfish reasons for teaming up with Buffy in the finale to take down Angel, but him wanting to destroy the world is wholly outside of the idea that he likes the world he professes in "Becoming, Part 2". I'd actually cut the show a little slack for this if another writer wrote this specific episode, but Whedon wrote both. It's out of character since he did.

I loved Giles' scene with Buffy in the car at the end. Giles is a thankless role on the show but Anthony Stewart Head brought the goods there and showed why he's indispensable to the show's success and why Seasons 6 and 7 didn't work with his lesser involvement.

I will give the episode this much: Because it exists, and because "Passion" exists, "Becoming" is the best episode. The good hurt would not have existed without the bad hurt first. I can acknowledge that much. While also pointing out that it IS a bad hurt, and nothing about the moral of the episode or how the female characters are treated is remotely admirable or empowering. **1/2.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer "Phases"

That was not only better than I remembered, it's definitely better than the critics always said it was.

Entertainment Weekly in particular was lukewarm on the episode. It said Jack Conley, (who played Sahjahn on Angel, and can be seen here out of demon make-up) delivered a rare bad performance for the show. I disagree. Kane's problem isn't down to Conley. It's simply bad writing. I mean, in order to make it clear Kane is absolutely loathsome, he has to make deplorable, gross, and sexist remarks. Kane sucks. But Conley delivered the lines the writers fed him with no problems. And they sucked.

"A Werewolf in love," was a pretty cheesy way to end the episode, but I'll forgive it. Just because Oz on the phone with his Aunt was great. "Hey, is Jordy a Werewolf? Uh huh. And how long has that been going on? No reason. Give my love to Uncle Ken." Classic. I also loved him watching the Catherine statue at the beginning of the episode, and noting its eyes follow you. Oz saying he likes something means it's good and it always did.

Angel's scene in the episode was creepy but not in a good way.

The way Xander dusted Theresa was cool. Cool enough visual to make the main titles of Season 3.

I love Giles telling Buffy not to jump to conclusions, and Buffy saying she didn't jump. She took a tiny step, and there conclusions were. That's great, classic Buffy The Vampire Slayer dialogue.

In hindsight I really like how Larry is portrayed in the episode. I think it's pretty much the best one-episode character progression I have ever seen a random character be given. He is so horrible throughout the first part of the episode. And when he comes out to Xander his entire demeanor instantly changes. A weight has been lifted, and he's lost the chip on the shoulder. I normally would scoff at any of show giving a character this amount of growth in this short space of time, but when I see him help the girl pick up her books at the end, I think it's brilliant instead. It's not remotely realistic. But who says fiction has to be? What it is is great.

This episode is SO unusual because Xander is talking so much smack about Oz. Outside of Willow herself, it turned out Xander wound up liking Oz more than the rest of the Scoobies. Giles and Buffy liked him (as did Cordelia) but none of them developed the appreciation for his laconic demeanor that Xander did. It's SO weird to hear him bashing him.

I love Giles being excited by the Werewolf ("One of the classics!") and thinking Xander's moon pie joke was much funnier than it was. Has that ever happened to you? Somebody makes a LAME joke and you are the only one who finds it hysterical? You feel sort of crazy in hindsight when everyone is rolling their eyes at you. But it's funny! No fair judging me!

Willow says she's not much fun to be around three days out of the month either. I very much enjoyed how the show tied Oz's Werewolfism into puberty. I especially love that because they did that Willow gets that line.

They changed the design of the Werewolf later on to make it less fake-looking, and also a little more unique-looking to only this show, but that just means the production values of the episode seem wildly inconsistent. Here is an interesting opinion: The Werewolf may look fake here, but it looks fine for the show. I think the best reason to change it wasn't because it looked fake but because it's better to easily be able to put Seth Green in the make-up and beast transformations.

I'm with Oz. I like it. ***1/2.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer "Bewitched, Bothered, And Bewildered"

Joyce and Jenny macking on Xander is the funniest thing ever.

The episode missed the boat on two things. Ironically, I was disappointed in this back in the day too. But because Buffy is the Slayer, when she was the rat, she should have beaten up the cat and broken the mousetrap. Clearly the show didn't have the budget to do those two things. But it's what it SHOULD have done.

I love Oz punching Xander and saying he just really had the urge to do that, and then instantly helping him up. I love Oz. Him looking for Buffy as the rat was great too.

There is not enough comeuppance for Angel this season for how much he sucks, but I like how stupid he looked and felt when Drusilla said Xander was a real man compared to him.

I love that Cordelia is still wearing the necklace. It's clear she's somehow hoping this break-up won't be a permanent thing.

However I rolled my eyes are her "You mean that love spell was for me?" She thinks it's sweet instead of the single creepiest thing a person could ever do. Ugh.

"Angel nails a puppy..." I'm with Buffy, Giles. Stop. We don't need to know this bit.

This was fun. And yes, the premise is creepy and so is Xander. They still made it work. ***1/2.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer "Passion"

There are things about this episode I have always loved and still love. But to be blunt, I have a LOT of problems with it now. I am by turns amazed and disgusted at various points in the episode.

I think before we really discuss the good things in depth (and there were many) I want to basically say why I'm not okay with this episode anymore. And maybe question my fitness at a discernable TV viewer for ever being okay with it. But the episode is FAR too cruel. Especially considering Angel's descent into evil, especially going by the last scene, was never intended to be permanent.

I think the "gift" he left for Giles was startling in its horribleness, but I think it went far farther than it ever should have. I mean leaving her in the bed is problematic enough. The cops should have arrested Giles for murder for it. And the drawing of her left in Giles' apartment simply makes the idea stupid as well. The cops didn't take that crucial piece of evidence at the crime scene? Come on, now.

But as cruel (and stupid) as the picture of Jenny is, I think the thing that I most regret watching again is something I'm angry at myself for not objecting to before. What REALLY angers me is Angel looking in Buffy's window and laughing at her and Willow wailing in despair over learning Miss Calendar is dead. Is that necessary? Does that or Angel's torpid narration wrapping around the episode actually make it even slightly better in any respect? What has happened instead is that I will never, EVER forgive Angel, and the part of 2021 Matt Zimmer who is disgusted with this episode is equally disgusted with late 1990's / early 2000's Matt Zimmer who later forgave Angel and was a fan of his own TV show. I thought giving SPIKE a redemption story after his actions in Season 6 was disturbing? For some reason, that strikes me as far worse for multiple reasons. And I cannot believe I ever, EVER wanted to see good things happen to this character later on.

According to the DVD commentary there was some debate over whether or not to show Angel actually killing Miss Calendar or whether or not to surprise the viewer when Giles was. Seeing it happen and knowing what Giles is walking into with the "Upstairs" card and roses and candles is far worse. They also pointed out that they made a conscious decision to have Angel kill Jenny in his Vamp face because they were afraid if he did it in his human face the audience would never forgive him or accept him kissing Buffy again. I think that "concern" sums up the problem with the writers on the show in a nutshell. They actually believe at some point the viewer should forgive Angel, and accept him kissing Buffy, even after that. That's troubling, to say the least.

But there is a LOT of good in the episode. I mentioned the show is in its prime and it is. Only Buffy The Vampire Slayer would have the magic shopkeeper with the thick foreign accent instantly switch to a New York dialect and say to Miss Calendar, "Oh, you're in the trade?" That is pure genius, and the first time I ever saw a scene as perfectly clever as that was when the episode first aired.

There is another selling point to the episode that I will almost certainly be discussing in-depth in "Becoming, Part 2". But I'm a little shocked and proud this compliment can also be extended to this episode. Joyce Summers is like the best and most refreshing TV mom to a teenager from that specific era of television. She's trying to navigate the idea that her daughter had sex and she asks Buffy if she was at least careful. And Buffy rolls her eyes and is like, "Come on, Mom." And Joyce is like, "Don't come on, Mom me. You had sex with a boy you didn't even see fit to tell me you were dating." Joyce has no way of ever knowing Angel probably has not had sex since before the AIDS epidemic, or that vampires can't get humans pregnant. She's a concerned mom who loves her daughter. That is 100% the right question. Buffy has no right to brush it off as besides the point. Stuff like that is why I love Joyce. You'll hear a lot longer and more extended rave about the character in the second part of "Becoming".

Willow saying that Ira Rosenberg would be unhappy with his daughter nailing crucifixes to her bedroom wall is a great joke.

Plothole: Angel claims the Latin sign outside the school inviting all who seek knowledge to enter is the thing that invited him into the school. In reality, it should have been because it's a public building. He doesn't need an invite for that.

And finally, as angry as a lot of the episode made me, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Anthony Stewart Head brought the goods. I love that after Buffy saves Giles' life she decks him in the face and tells him he was going to get himself killed, and that she can't do this without them. Which ends up with them sobbing in each other's arms. And knowing neither actor was ever nominated for an Emmy for this show shows how useless that particular award actually is. That moment actually gave me chills.

I am unhappy with a lot of this episode in hindsight. And what's disturbing is that I am equally unhappy with myself for failing to recognize these problems until now. ***1/2.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer "Killed By Death"

This will be an interesting review.

Generally speaking, among Buffy fans, this is considered an unambiguously bad episode. The children in jeopardy trope is outright gross, and the actress who plays young Buffy looks so unlike Sarah Michelle Gellar it didn't even occur to the producers to hire a blonde girl. So, knowing that this episode is widely hated (for admittedly good reasons) are there any interesting things to note? Or even any, GOOD things?

Actually, yeah. I was really digging Cordelia in the episode. Her "Tact is just not saying true things. I'll pass," is a classic and essential Cordelia line. And it's especially classic and essential because it's true. Giles even mentions to Willow later that what Cordelia was talking about in Buffy's trauma with her dead cousin making her need a tangible monster to fight is 100% accurate, and insightful to boot. I don't see why Cordelia should be getting shade for clarifying this important distinction with Buffy ahead of time. Especially if even Giles thinks it might be true.

I laughed at Giles pouting about being saddled with Cordelia, but on this go-round, I find it more troubling than I did before. Not because I don't believe Giles would be that petty. My problem is is why is Xander seemingly in charge, and why has everybody just decided he was? I don't get the group hierarchy at ALL when Buffy is in the hospital.

My favorite scene is something I didn't even register or notice before this viewing. I love Joyce extending sympathies to Giles about Miss Calendar. What amazes and interests me is it hurts Giles because he didn't expect to be reminded of that when he was. Which also tells me both Giles and Buffy don't really appreciate Joyce. Her empathy is no surprise to me, but it shocks Giles because he takes her for granted. She's the clueless Mom who has no idea her daughter is the Slayer. So maybe Giles and Buffy have mistaken that aspect of her as stupidity. And since THEY are the ones holding back the secret, THAT is the hang-up THEY are saddling her with. It's interesting Joyce being insightful surprises them when it does. Mostly because they never treat her like an insightful or even a real person. They act like she is always in the way. But Giles is in pain and she noticed, and offered her sympathies. I like that about her.

Angel telling Xander it must have killed him he got there first really, REALLY angers me. First of all, because Angel is a low-class jerk, and I dunno, I feel like the show often makes characters antifeminist so it's easier for the viewer to hate them. It actually is NOT great to hear a character make gross and sexist statements, even if they are evil. I also am annoyed that Xander doesn't say "You are a gross and stupid person, Angel, and I pity you." To be perfectly blunt, if Angel said that to me in Xander's exact position, I wouldn't push back on it either. Because Angel is powerful, dangerous, and crazy, and I would never push my luck in antagonizing that psychopath in that circumstance. But Xander has already done quite a bit of threatening and goading Angel in that scene, so when I needed to hear him stand up for Buffy's virtue, when he doesn't, I took extra notice. I am not happy about that scene. At all.

Also, the writers shouldn't be asking Charisma Carpenter to mack on middle-aged dudes to get intel. I get that Carpenter was like actually 30 when Cordelia was in high school, but because Cordelia IS supposed to be in high school, it's still super skeevy. Ick.

This also clarifies that Angel does not need an invite for public spaces. Another bit of proof the last episode messed that up.

Here's something. I think that the monster's method of killing is actually pretty good. It's scary, has a good visual, is gross and creepy, and still looks all right on the show's nonexistent budget. When people are talking down how much this episode stinks, I hope they don't mean those eye suckers. They actually give me the willies.

So yeah, a bad episode. But as bad as people say? I wouldn't go that far. **.