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Whilst awaiting new Trek, Buffy Rewatch; CHOSEN; Buffy reviews and eps; CHOSEN
Topic Started: Sep 6 2009, 06:34 AM (4,739 Views)
saturn5
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Lieutenant, Jr. Grd
Dopplegangland

The Good;
The beginning of the father/daughter relationship between Faith and The Mayor, Anya comes into her own, VampWillow is a joy to behold, Wes actually makes himself useful, all of the library scenes are comedy classics and the lesbian subtext rapidly starts to become text. The great final gag.

The Bad;
None, it's all fabulous

Best line;
Willow (appreciating her cleavage in VampWillow's leathers) "Gosh, look at those!"
Wheldon Cliches;

Character death;
Poor Sandy, although this isn't the last we'll see of her. And VampWillow get's her dusty desserts back in the Wishworld.
Shot;
VampWillow by real Willow.
Tied up;
Nope although Vampwillow is caged

Knocked out;
Anya and VampWillow
Women good/men bad;
VampWillow; "Bitch!" (all in the delivery). The beginning of the epic hostility between Anya and Willow.
Jeez!;
VampWillow killing Sandy is akin to snuff. Also her breaking of the other vamps fingers
Kinky dinky;
How much time have you got? VampWillow has the hots for everything in sight, Xander, Willow, Sandy. She speaks of 'riding people in chains like ponys' (and I've met more than a few Alysson Hannigan fans over the years who would gladly volunteer). Plenty of naughty touching. Meanwhile Faith refers to 'all the screwing' at her hotel and the Mayor as 'Sugardaddy' but he turns down her advances, making her actually love him more. Best of all is the scary visual place of Willow and Oz playing 'Mistress of Pain' (I'm sure there's a fanfic somewhere?). Percy says he 'owns Willow's ass' but actually it seems to be the other way around. Willow says she feels like 'Dying a virgin'
Calling Captain Subtext;
Will refers to snuggling and thinks her vamp self is 'kinda gay'. She also get's a curious look on her face at the thought of 'breeding' with Percy. VampWillow fancies everything in sight but her lusting after Cordelia's neck is especially interesting considering VampWill's already had a bite in The Wish. Willow's jealousy of Faith is very apparent. Note VampWill still loves Xander much in the same way Spike and Dru still love one another (maybe they were sired by Dru in the Wishverse?). Giles seems to have a very real affection for Will and as we'll later learn she has the same for him. We learn that VampWillow has a great deal in common with real Will.
Guantanamo Bay;
Pretty much everyone is ruthless all around, the plan for luring the vamps out is masterful. Again Buffy shows her skill as a general and not just a fighter.
The dodgy message of the week is to make athletes care about history tests you should beat them up?
Scoobies to the ER;
Not this week
Where's Dawn?
What the fanficcers thought; Willow and her evil twin an insanely popular slashfic pairing

Questions and observations;
The first appearance of Percy and D'Hoffryn. Devon back again, Oz and Angel seem to have a pretty good relationship to judge from their conversation. Faith continues her slide but can't kill for the Mayor yet. Wes saves Cordy for the first but not last time. According to Angel your human self influences your vamp self (as we see with Spike). Xander is oddly pleased at the thought of his vamp self. I figure that the Wishworld run's paralell to the real world but stops dead the moment Giles smashes the necklace. Anya is 1120 years old.
When you look at the scene in the Bronze where VampWillow beats up Percy and Xander asks 'Is it a funny thing?' it looks as though it's Larry amidst the crowd but his name isn't in the titles
This ep features one of the most understated but important scenes in the whole series. VampWillow walks down Sunnydale mainstreet. In her world where Buffy never came to Sunnydale it's a bleak and deserted wasteland. In the real world, it's full of happy, laughing people. Sure people still die in Sunnydale but the difference one person can make! D'Hoffryn says Anya will live out her mortal life and die. Why does Anya go to Sunnydale High, did she create parents etc for herself as well? Or is she hiding out from those seeking vengence? Buffy has lots of sympathy with Faith, Willow says that Buffy would never kill people but she does. Some lovely moody music at the Bronze. Wonderful performance from Alysson Hannigan, the way she slips from real Willow to VampWillow and effortlessly back again then to real Willow pretending to be VampWillow and VampWillow pretending to be real Willow is just masterful.
The Bronze must go through pool cues at a fearsome rate. 'Dingoes ate my baby' apparently know only three chords but nowadays that doesn't seem to bar anyone from musical success.
Marks out of 10; 10/10, totally brilliant, possibly the best ep of Buffy ever?

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saturn5
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Lieutenant, Jr. Grd
Enemies
The Good;
Loads more Faith/Mayor stuff and some strong emotional work between Angel and Buffy. The return of 'Angelus' and a heck of a Keyser Soze. Faith's treachery revealed at last. Also some very nice comedy with Xander and an interesting scene with Angel, Faith and Joyce.

The Bad;
Again quite painful to watch Faith's slide to the darkside.

Best line;
A toss up between Buffy's triumphant 'Psych!' and 'Minature golf'
Wheldon Cliches;

Character death;
Only the demon. Faith still hasn't gone all the way yet, she still feels guilt about what she does. Again we see a non-dangerous demon spared by Buffy, shades of grey entering the Buffyverse rather than just humans good/demons bad. Willow bags her first vamp who's skin must be awfully soft if it can be penetrated by a pencil.
Shot;

Tied up;
Buffy in chains. Or is she? Angelus comments that Buffy and he never tried chains, Faith comments that bondage looks good on her.

Knocked out;
Buffy and Angel (or are they?)
Women good/men bad;
The women are very bad in this ep
Jeez!;
Faith gutting the demon seems very graphic
Kinky dinky;
Faith sitting astride Angelus and him asking her to 'wriggle'. Faith pawing at him in the Mayor's office (weirdly I think ED looks her most beautiful ever in this scene). Buffy chained up with Faith about to 'torture' her smacks mightily of S&M 'If you're a screamer, feel free'. Angel(us) flatters Joyce (love KS's little 'I still got it' look of triumph). Buffy and Angel go to see some sort of arty yet sexy French film which can't help their celibacy towards each other. Faith refers to the then topical Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky sex scandal "Close but no cigar". Faith's low cut black top really is hookerwear, her cleavage looking like it's about to explode out of it at any moment. Would Faith having sex with Angel really have robbed him off his soul? To judge by what we learn on Angel (Darla, Nina, The Furies, Eve) almost certainly not. Willow describes Faith as the 'do that girl' although she's done her own boyfriend stealing in her time. Faith and Angelus seem to think beating each other up is foreplay. Angelus refers to himself as a boy toy as Faith refer to Xander in Consequences. The Mayor once again demonstrates his father's love for Faith, concerned that Angelus will keep her out late. Oz refers to Cordy as jail-bait.

Calling Captain Subtext;
Faith kissing Buffy even after they fight, even when they're holding knives at each other's throats. Interesting to note Faith's little look when 'Angelus' speaks to Joyce, it's rather guarded, she's not going to let him hurt her. Faith tells Angel she's 'keeping Buffy warm for him' and . Her rant whilst Buffy is chained up has the air of a rejected lover, jealous of Buffy's boyfriend. Even now Faith and Buffy still walk arm in arm and refer to one another as girlfriend. Angelus wants the Mayor to call him 'Master'.
Guantanamo Bay;
Giles, Angel and Buffy's plan is very clever and dirty. Wes thinks Faith would be helpful in persuading the demon. Xander says he beat up Willy the Snitch but actually just slipped him some money.
Scoobies to the ER;
Xander gets 'a good bruise'
Where's Dawn?
Presumably at the house when Faith and Angel arrive.When Faith has her rant against Buffy she notes 'you got the mom!' making the subtext pretty much text. Anyone want to bet that in everyone's revised memories she also says 'You got the little sister'? After all, Dawn could very easily have been Faith's sister if things had worked out differently.

Questions and observations;
And now the die is cast! So what would have happened if Angel had really turned? Either Buffy defeats them, the Scoobies rescue her or Faith doesn't go through with it? When Faith is about to torture Buffy she seems to still be psyching herself up, as if she can't quite go through with it. Read a very good fanfic once where Angelus does start to torture Buffy but her screams revive memories of Faith' own childhood abuse and she rescues Buffy. When Faith goes to Angel with blood on her hands is it all a ruse or is she partly genuine? She's obviously genuinely upset at facing the demon murder scene and Buffy's reference to 'Someone's idea of a party' What would Faith do if Angelus started to suck on a passerby? Would her Slayer instincts kick in as they do in 'Who are you?' There are texts that Giles doesn't want Willow looking at, fearful of her growing magic power.
Some great acting by DB, he can effortlessly slip into Angelus now with just a look. Interesting that EDs crack up at the Mayor's line at the end was unscripted. If Angel was going to lose his soul again wouldn't the gypsy woman see the signs? Angel says it's been a while since he's been to the movies, not since his Charlton Heston fad in the 70s. From what we learn in the later seasons of Angel it's highly unlikely that Angelus would have been content to be The Mayor's lackey. Wes is more and more part of the gang and seems to be on better terms with Buff and co. Nice to see 'Waiting for Godot' mentioned in an American teen TV series. Actually if Angelus had killed Buffy we wouldn't have had a new Slayer as The Gift shows, Faith would have come back to the good guys. Angelus calls Buffy sleepyhead which is Joyce's pet name for her. Love Buffy's Union Jack top (this is when the Spice Girls were huge). Faith hasn't been informed on all the details of the Ascension. Would she still love the Mayor when he's a great big snake? Also obvious that Faith would like the Scoobies to be hers.
This appears to signal Cordelia's return to the Scooby gang, she's back in research mode and will be a permanent fixture in all future Scooby adventures.
Marks out of 10;
6/10
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saturn5
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Lieutenant, Jr. Grd
Earshot

The Good;
It's all stunning. Jonathon shows his star quality, the mindreading is excellent, the comedy and action fantastic. If I was to select one ep to show to people to demonstrate how great the series is I think it would be this one. The only thing that could make it better would be if Faith and Dawn were in it.

The Bad;
Um? Well, the excuse of why Buffy can't read Angel's mind is rather stupid. It's also a letdown that we never get to read Faith's thoughts.

Best line;
Hard to pick but I think I'll go for Jonathon 'You all think I'm an idiot. A SHORT idiot!" (although at 5'2 he's only an inch shorter than SMG, not "3 feet tall"). The one I use all the time though is Oz's 'I call that a radical interpretation of the text' plus Angel's 'I'm a funny guy'. Buffy's entire speech to Jonathon is just too beautiful for words.
Wheldon Cliches;

Character death;
None, thankfully
Shot;
Again none although Jonathon has a deer-rifle to kill himself. Some have asked why he uses something as cumbersome as a rifle but even the US has some gun control and they're easier to get than a handgun.
Tied up;
Not this ep

Knocked out;
Dinner lady by Buffy and Buffy herself faints.
Women good/men bad;
Again a female villain

Jeez!;
RAT POISON IN THE JELLY! The dinner lady is actually a recurring character, she's also amongst the mob in BBB. Xander's comment on 'taking out the place with a semi-automatic' and later admission that this is 'bordering on trendy at this point' is obviously near the knuckle. You wonder if things had worked out differently if Xander could have been one of season 6's trio (making them a quartet).
Kinky dinky;
Buffy is flattered by one of the male students admiring her beauty (love her bashful preening) then shocked that he wants to slam her against the lockers and ravish her (love to know what the second guy in that scene was thinking?). She won't always be so dainty, one day she'll happily allow Spike to do that to her and a whole lot more! But maybe it's an inherited thing amongst the Summer's girls as we finally discover the truth about Joyce and Ripper and the handcuffs on the hood of the police car? And Dawn will of course end up giving RJ a lapdance in 'Him'. Seems denial and sluttiness run in the Summer's family? (as well as incredible beauty). Willow worries that Buffy will develop a 'boy demon part' as her aspect of the demon. Oz and Xander admire Cordy and the cheerleaders. Freddy describes them a 'pseudo prostitutes whipping men up into a sexual frenzy'. Wes considers himself a very bad man for lusting after Cordy. Cordy has kneemarks on her back but claims their from the cheerleading pyramid. Once again Xander shows his yen for older women, fancying the English teacher. Willow tells Jonathon that 'fantasies are fun'. Xander questioning of a trio of babes seems to resemble the questions Playboy ask their Playmate of the Month rather than the FBIs serial killer profile.
Calling Captain Subtext;
Xander once again has one of his uncomfortable talks with Larry. Despite being able to read Willow's mind Buffy doesn't pick up any hints of lesbianism. Her reading of Cordy's mind demonstrates that Cordy really doesn't have a subtext, she literally says what she thinks. Nice to see that Othello is still relevant in supernatural teen US series, Faith not only Buffy's Iago but representing the 'dark side of Buffy herself'? Xander considers Wes 'Pierce Brosnany' which is a weird way for one straight man to think of another.
Guantanamo Bay;
Of course this is the ep which was postponed by the Columbine massacre. For UK fans it meant that we got to see the last eps of season 3 FIRST and if you waited for the video boxsets wonderful vigin eps one after the other. Willow interrogates Jonathom again.
Scoobies to the ER;
Where's Dawn?
It would have been interesting to hear Dawn's thoughts about all things Sunnydale. The only time we see Wes meet Joyce and presumably the littlelest Summers as well. Does Dawn ever learn about Joyce and Ripper's tryst?

Questions and observations;
Wonderful in just so many ways, perhaps the most perfect ep of Buffy ever.
Recently went to see The Punisher; War Zone (not good) and was proud of myself in recognising one of the henchmen as Freddy Iverson from this ep. Xander's maths needs work. Snyder is a Bangels fan. Love the headlines in the school paper, especially 'Apathy on the rise, no one cares'. The final tree gag makes me laugh every time and was apparently ASH's idea. The mislead with Jonathon is so clever. Speaking of minor recurring characters we also have 'Asian Joe' an extra whom you see a lot in the background at SDH. Here he's the guy who thinks about being a software jillionaire, his first and possibly only line in the series. Would the Flaying of the Demon Azareth really be a bad thing? Presumably for the demon Azerath? Percy becomes a recurring character. 'Magic' Jane Espensons commentary is wonderful. The demons closely resemble the Drakh from Babylon 5. Angel comments that in his whole life he's only ever loved one girl, Buffy, which is bad news for Darla in season 2 of Angel;TS. As Jane comments we see Angel hunting solo which is rare before his own show. What is with Willow's hat, is she taking up flyfishing or something?
Marks out of 10; 10/10 , up there with Dopplegangland as possibly the best ep ever.

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saturn5
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Lieutenant, Jr. Grd
Choices

The Good;
Buffy does a heist movie. Some clever foreshadowing of events to come and some good strategising on the part of the gang, taking the offensive for once. The Faith and Willow showdown and Oz shows his love in a suitably taciturn manner. Love the diagram Willow makes of Oz and Xander, distinguishable by stick-figure Oz having a guitar.
The Bad;
The creatures in the box look a bit ropey, Buffy takes 'inspiration' from Aliens not for the first time and not for the last.

Best line;
Willow; "Sounds like your mom's in a state of denial"
Buffy; "More like a continent"
Wheldon Cliches;

Character death;
Faith kills another human/demon? SDH loses another staff member, this time one of the security guards.
Shot;
No but Faith kills the courier with her bow from Bad Girls.
Tied up;
Buffy get's tangled in the wires, Willow gets captured but not tied up.

Knocked out;

Women good/men bad;
Cordy seems unnecessarily snarky about Willows acceptence from the universties but we'll understand more about that later.
Jeez!;
Poor old security guard, what a way to go! Was I the only one who took a few seconds to comprehend what Faith meant by her 'cut through bone ' remark?
Kinky dinky;

Calling Captain Subtext;
The Faith/Willow showdown has a lot of the elements of two jealous lovers fighting over their shared object of desire. The Buffy and Willow rolling around on the ground at the end telling one another they love them is a slashficcer's dream.
Guantanamo Bay;
Buffy beats up and interrogates the Mayor's limo driver before 'introducing him to Mr Pointy'. A tough call with the trade for Willow, if they had not gone through with it, Larry, Snyder, the Professor Faith kills, Harmony etc might never have died.
Scoobies to the ER;
Where's Dawn?
How does she feel about Buffy going away to university? Happy to have more time to herself in the bathroom or will she miss not having her big sis around the place?
What the fanficcers though?
Instead of fighting Buffy seduces The Mayor into giving up evil; http://buffy.adultfanfiction.net/story.php?no=600031095
Questions and observations;
Good ep, carrying the central storyline forwards whilst also accepting that life goes on outside the Hellmouth. The first time that most of the Scooby gang actually meet the Mayor. Cordy working in the shop is a shocker and no mistake. Joyce calls Buffy's Aunt Arlene, is she Joyce's sister or Hanks? Is she the mother of cousin Celia from 'Killed by Death'? The Mayor's comments on Buffy and Angel are true and Joyce will say pretty much the same in the next episode. First appearance of Faith's knife which looks like something the Klingons would use on Star Trek.

Marks out of 10; 6/10

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saturn5
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Lieutenant, Jr. Grd
The Prom

The Good;
All lovely, touching beyond belief and yet still plenty of action and funny stuff, works better when you have an emotional investment in the series. The music especially is excellent plus the wedding sequence must have sent many a Bangler's heart aflutter. The class protector award and scene where Joyce has 'The Talk' with Angel are just wonderful.

The Bad;
Again, could only be bettered if it had Dawn and Faith in it. In truth the devil dogs do look rather stupid but who cares, this is genius.

Best line;
Buffy; "Giles we get it, miles to go before we sleep" (somehow I can't imagine Robert Frost being quoted on Charmed)
Wheldon Cliches;

Character death;
Does the guy at the menswear shop live or die?
Shot;
No but Buffy uses her crossbow to good effect.
Tied up;
Only Tucker

Knocked out;
For once everyone stays conscious
Women good/men bad;
Tucker wants to kill everyone at the prom because he couldn't get a date. JERK! Anya meanwhile has after a 1000 years of avenging men's wrongs nothing but contempt for them. But still wants to go to the Prom with one.

Jeez!;
Tucker feeds his pets on cow brains, yuck! Probably not as cruel as making them watch all those prom videos.
Kinky dinky;
Anya; "I know you find me attractive, I've seen you looking at my breasts"
Xander; "Nothing personal but when a guy does that it just means his eyes are open"
Wes thinks Cordy in her prom dress is 'hot'. He's not wrong.

Calling Captain Subtext;
Will and Buffy in each other's arms on her bed.
Guantanamo Bay;
What exactly do they do with Tucker? Turn him over to the police on charges of Hellhound raising?

Scoobies to the ER;
Where's Dawn?
Nowhere to be seen this week but you figure one day she might have the same talk with Spike or The Immortal that Joyce has with Angel. This time it's Buffy who's the one in denial

Questions and observations;
We'll never see Tucker again (although he might always show up in season 8?) but of course he's Andrew the Nerd's brother. Buffy dislikes Kool and the Gang's 'Celebration'? For shame! Even Oz gets all teary at 'We are family'. Everyone looks dynamite in their prom gear and the relationship with Giles and Buffy has such a resonance. Looking at Alexis in his tux you could imagine him being James Bond. Buffy writes 'Buffy and Angel 4ever' in her homework book. Sorry Spuffers, I think that settles it. The scene where Cordy and Xander meet at the prom is so great, you finally know she's forgiven him. According to Jonathon thanks to Buffy this year's class of SDH has the lowest mortality rate ever. I don't know if anyone counted but what must the rest of them have been like? As we see the end of the Buffy/Angel romance we see the beginning of Anya/Xander. Wes very much part of the group now and get's to dance with Cordy. Love to know a little more about Jonathon's date, was she from his therapy group? Poor Giles is the only one left stag for the evening. You wonder what Faith is doing across town, she must know the Prom is occuring?
Is the guy who wins the class clown award the one referred to in Conversations with Dead People as going insane?

Marks out of 10, 10/10 Buffy on such a roll.
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saturn5
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Lieutenant, Jr. Grd
Graduation Day pt1

The Good;
The battle between Buffy and Faith is epic and a long time coming. Note that for some reason Buffy feels the need to put on her shiny red leather trousers before deciding to kick Faith's delectable butt?
The Bad;
Couldn't Buffy just let Angel have some of her blood in batches whilst chugging down iron pills by the handful? We know the Mayor's impervious to harm but why don't they just grab him and tie him up when he's in the library?

Best line;
Willow (guessing who the Graduation Speaker will be) "Seigfreid? Roy? One of the tigers?" (according to Lorne in Angel Seigreid is actually evil, Roy not so much) beating Xanders 'We're going to need a bigger boat' from Jaws. Xander also paraphrases Private Hudson from Aliens (who in turn is paraphrasing every Vietnam film you've ever seen).

Wheldon Cliches;

Character death;
No but Angel on the brink. Faith's murder of the professor and her glib remark about it marks the nadir of her fall from grace. But you note that even then she wants her victim to turn around so she doesn't have to look into his eyes. When she chucks herself off the building it's her first suicide attempt but she'll make another later in Angel.
Shot;
Angel with Faith's bow and arrow
Tied up;
Buffy and Faith handcuffed together

Knocked out;
Angel and Faith in a coma
Women good/men bad;
Actually the relationship between Faith and the Mayor is lovely, especially when we see her in her dress. Faith also refers to her childhood in Boston again and you feel her pain. As for Xander he neatly sums up the male of the species;
"Yes, men like sports. Men watch the action movie. They eat of the beef and enjoy to look at the bosoms"
Buffy tells Wes 'I love it when you take charge, you man you' but one day she will. Will and Anya still have hostility.
Jeez!;
Faith killing the harmless old prof is beyond horrible. Plus the Mayor's eating the spiders (liquorice?). And Buffy sticks it to Faith with her great big knife
Kinky dinky;
What must the Professor and his neighbours think when Faith arrives on his doorstep dressed as she does? Probably how much does she charge per hour? I for one am glad we don't get to hear the end of Anya's shepherd story.
Calling Captain Subtext;
Again, violence and intimacy with Faith and Buffy who even penetrates Faith's body with her knife. Faith's goading Buffy about Angel's pain could once again be seen as sexual jealousy. Faith to Buffy "Give us a kiss". Faith also refers to Buffy as 'big sister'
Guantanamo Bay;
Buffy is quite prepared to feed Faith to Angel to save him
Scoobies to the ER;
Buffy get's a hiding at Faith's hands and Angel nearly dies through poisoning
Where's Dawn?
Presumably Buffy get's little sis out of town alongside Joyce.

Questions and observations;
Where's this anti-vamp poison been all these years? It would have come in useful, don't you think? Stonkingly good in almost every respect with the promise of even better things to come in pt 2. Love Will's chopper bike. Nice that Willow and Harmony make up before Harmony gets all bumpy. Can anyone please explain to me why exactly the Mayor wants to be a giant snake? What is his plan for Sunnydale? Buffy breaks from the Watcher's Council and won't come back into the fold again until season 5. Just what are the odds that Anya, the only living survivor of an Ascension just happens to be at SDH? Is that the work of God/the PTB?
Faith's method of surviving her fall off the roof is reminiscent of Catwoman in Batman Returns. Love Giles and Wes fencing which will come in useful for both later.

Marks out of 10;
8/10
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saturn5
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Lieutenant, Jr. Grd


Graduation Day pt2

The Good;
The final battle and the end of SDH (for the moment, at least). The chance to see some familar faces again and to say goodbye to others. Buffy and the rest of the Scoobies finally graduate into the adult world and if not exactly putting childish things aside growing past them. So great to see the kids of Sunnydale High fight back at last (although has this spoiled the survival record they were all so proud of in The Prom?) Snyder's introductory speech is a definite highlight. It's all terrific and I think we should all be proud to say that we graduated Sunnydale High, class of 1999
The Bad;
Are you kidding? Well, actually one thing that always bothered me was after we see a devastated Mayor visiting Faith in hospital he seems awfully chipper when briefing the vamps for the Graduation? Maybe the briefing the vamps scene was supposed to in a different order in the script?

Best line;
Willow; "Man, just ascend already!" just beating Xander's 'Good to know that when the chips are down you can feed on the girl who loves you to save your own ass!' Also fond of Oz 'Our lives are different to other peoples'.
Wheldon Cliches;

Character death;
Byebye Larry (although his death isn't confirmed until season 6, I for one had no idea if he'd survived or not). Byebye Snyder who quite obviously had no clue what was going on. We see Harmony bitten but we don't see her sired? And byebye the Mayor, Harry Groener will be missed, he brought a lot to the table. Glad we'll see him again a few more times. Also unless I'm mistaken Cordy bags her first solo vamp.
Shot;
Vamps with flaming arrows, great idea straight out of every western you've ever seen.
Tied up;

Knocked out;
Faith still in a coma and will remain so for over a year. Buffy also unconscious. A pained Wes asks at the end could he be knocked unconscious.

Women good/men bad;
The Mayor refers to Buffy as a whore, a nastily misogynist remark. Buffy says Wes 'Screams like a woman' and compares Xander and Angel to squabbling old ladies.
Jeez!;
Watching the Mayor try to smother an unconscious Buffy is awful
Kinky dinky;
Angel biting Buffy. The sexiest scene you'll ever see between two fully clothed lovers, once again a vamp feeding is seen as a sexual act with violence as foreplay (the second time Buffy has been bitten by a vampire but by no means the last). Willow loses her virginity to Oz, it's all so sweet. Their van sex proves Cordy's theory about danger being an aphrodisiac. Willow says that its the best time of her life.
Calling Captain Subtext;
The entire Buffy/Faith dream sequence is just one huge Buffy/Faith love in, especially Faith's caressing of Buffy's face and Buffy kissing an unconscious Faith. Face it, they love each other, they're meant to be together. And remember it's Faith who gives Buffy the secret of defeating the Mayor. Angel in his delerium also mistakes Oz for Buffy, THAT would have been an interesting conversation! Wes and Cordy's kiss is a disaster, one day they'll love each other plenty but not like that.
Guantanamo Bay;
Buffy gets Angel into vampface by slapping him around a little. Is Buffy going to let Angel drain Faith entirely or give them a bit of each of their blood?
Scoobies to the ER;
Buffy is taken to hospital for blood loss whilst Wes is carted away at the end. The Scoobs must be such frequent visitors there the staff must know them by name.
Where's Dawn?
Safely out of town with Joyce. However I think it's no great leap of imagination to say that the cat in the dream sequence is representative of Dawn. Indeed this could be the moment it's decided she's Buffy's sister rather than Faith's. Faith remarks about 'Little Miss Muffet, counting down from 730' which of course is 365x2 and it'll be 2 years before Dawnie shows up.

Questions and observations;
Goodbye Angel, he makes a fantastic exit. Again, what exactly is the Mayor's plan? He obviously believes in a sort of idealised vision of Sunnydale, how is being a huge snake going to achieve that? Also although this is referred to as an apocalypse it really wouldn't be the end of the world, we've had demons like this before and the world goes on. Also surely the Initiative/Military/National Guard would just blast the Mayor to bits? Xander's soldier knowledge once again comes in useful. Although I'd really have liked to have seen the hummus offensive.
The Mayor says Faith doesn't like to be cooped up, prison must have been tough for her then. Why should Wes leave the country? Would the Council really give up that easily? Shouldn't the hospital staff call the police when the Mayor tries to smother Buffy? There's a great picture of Wes in the Sunnydale High Yearbook asking 'Who is this guy? The first mention of shrimp in the Buffyverse. Anya refers to her car but then in 'Triangle' says it's the first time she's driven? The Mayor says Sunnydale is 100 years old but surely the town dates back to Spanish/American times?
Lot of fanfic based on the concept of 'what if?' the ascension had succeeded. Like the one where WR&H, the Initiative, Doyle, Gwen, Spike, Fred, Warren, Lorne, Tara, Gunn etc team up to set the world to rights, also fond of the monks sending Dawn to Faith as her sister, Glory killing the transformed Mayor in her quest for The Key and Faith killing her then being won back over to the good guys by her little sis' love. All time favourite though is Faith realising the transformed Mayor doesn't love her anymore so she goes to the Oracles and turns back time, even if it means she ends up in a coma.
Marks out of 10; 10/10 and no mistake. For me Buffy peaks at exaclty this point, it's still a wonderful show for the next 4 years and never jumps the shark but this is the best of the best and we'll never see TV consistently as good as this ever again.
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saturn5
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Lieutenant, Jr. Grd

Graduation Day pt2

The Good;
The final battle and the end of SDH (for the moment, at least). The chance to see some familar faces again and to say goodbye to others. Buffy and the rest of the Scoobies finally graduate into the adult world and if not exactly putting childish things aside growing past them. So great to see the kids of Sunnydale High fight back at last (although has this spoiled the survival record they were all so proud of in The Prom?) Snyder's introductory speech is a definite highlight. It's all terrific and I think we should all be proud to say that we graduated Sunnydale High, class of 1999
The Bad;
Are you kidding? Well, actually one thing that always bothered me was after we see a devastated Mayor visiting Faith in hospital he seems awfully chipper when briefing the vamps for the Graduation? Maybe the briefing the vamps scene was supposed to in a different order in the script?

Best line;
Willow; "Man, just ascend already!" just beating Xander's 'Good to know that when the chips are down you can feed on the girl who loves you to save your own ass!' Also fond of Oz 'Our lives are different to other peoples'.
Wheldon Cliches;

Character death;
Byebye Larry (although his death isn't confirmed until season 6, I for one had no idea if he'd survived or not). Byebye Snyder who quite obviously had no clue what was going on. We see Harmony bitten but we don't see her sired? And byebye the Mayor, Harry Groener will be missed, he brought a lot to the table. Glad we'll see him again a few more times. Also unless I'm mistaken Cordy bags her first solo vamp.
Shot;
Vamps with flaming arrows, great idea straight out of every western you've ever seen.
Tied up;

Knocked out;
Faith still in a coma and will remain so for over a year. Buffy also unconscious. A pained Wes asks at the end could he be knocked unconscious.

Women good/men bad;
The Mayor refers to Buffy as a whore, a nastily misogynist remark. Buffy says Wes 'Screams like a woman' and compares Xander and Angel to squabbling old ladies.
Jeez!;
Watching the Mayor try to smother an unconscious Buffy is awful
Kinky dinky;
Angel biting Buffy. The sexiest scene you'll ever see between two fully clothed lovers, once again a vamp feeding is seen as a sexual act with violence as foreplay (the second time Buffy has been bitten by a vampire but by no means the last). Willow loses her virginity to Oz, it's all so sweet. Their van sex proves Cordy's theory about danger being an aphrodisiac. Willow says that its the best time of her life.
Calling Captain Subtext;
The entire Buffy/Faith dream sequence is just one huge Buffy/Faith love in, especially Faith's caressing of Buffy's face and Buffy kissing an unconscious Faith. Face it, they love each other, they're meant to be together. And remember it's Faith who gives Buffy the secret of defeating the Mayor. Angel in his delerium also mistakes Oz for Buffy, THAT would have been an interesting conversation! Wes and Cordy's kiss is a disaster, one day they'll love each other plenty but not like that.
Guantanamo Bay;
Buffy gets Angel into vampface by slapping him around a little. Is Buffy going to let Angel drain Faith entirely or give them a bit of each of their blood?
Scoobies to the ER;
Buffy is taken to hospital for blood loss whilst Wes is carted away at the end. The Scoobs must be such frequent visitors there the staff must know them by name.
Where's Dawn?
Safely out of town with Joyce. However I think it's no great leap of imagination to say that the cat in the dream sequence is representative of Dawn. Indeed this could be the moment it's decided she's Buffy's sister rather than Faith's. Faith remarks about 'Little Miss Muffet, counting down from 730' which of course is 365x2 and it'll be 2 years before Dawnie shows up.

Questions and observations;
Goodbye Angel, he makes a fantastic exit. Again, what exactly is the Mayor's plan? He obviously believes in a sort of idealised vision of Sunnydale, how is being a huge snake going to achieve that? Also although this is referred to as an apocalypse it really wouldn't be the end of the world, we've had demons like this before and the world goes on. Also surely the Initiative/Military/National Guard would just blast the Mayor to bits? Xander's soldier knowledge once again comes in useful. Although I'd really have liked to have seen the hummus offensive.
The Mayor says Faith doesn't like to be cooped up, prison must have been tough for her then. Why should Wes leave the country? Would the Council really give up that easily? Shouldn't the hospital staff call the police when the Mayor tries to smother Buffy? There's a great picture of Wes in the Sunnydale High Yearbook asking 'Who is this guy? The first mention of shrimp in the Buffyverse. Anya refers to her car but then in 'Triangle' says it's the first time she's driven? The Mayor says Sunnydale is 100 years old but surely the town dates back to Spanish/American times?
Lot of fanfic based on the concept of 'what if?' the ascension had succeeded. Like the one where WR&H, the Initiative, Doyle, Gwen, Spike, Fred, Warren, Lorne, Tara, Gunn etc team up to set the world to rights, also fond of the monks sending Dawn to Faith as her sister, Glory killing the transformed Mayor in her quest for The Key and Faith killing her then being won back over to the good guys by her little sis' love. All time favourite though is Faith realising the transformed Mayor doesn't love her anymore so she goes to the Oracles and turns back time, even if it means she ends up in a coma. http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3004681/1/A_Higher_Being
Marks out of 10; 10/10 and no mistake. For me Buffy peaks at exaclty this point, it's still a wonderful show for the next 4 years and never jumps the shark but this is the best of the best and we'll never see TV consistently as good as this ever again.
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saturn5
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Lieutenant, Jr. Grd
The Freshman (or Freshwoman?)

The Good;
Very clever ep, it's interesting that we really feel for Buffy, we're used to her being invincible but here she's bested by an ordinary vamp and it shakes her and us (note that people refer to her as 'Willow's friend'). Of course, our girl comes back and it's possible she was only off her game because Kathy had been sucking her soul. Great opening gag with the vamp behind Buffy and Will and it's amazing how funny the old comedy cliche of the smallest person carrying the biggest load can be.

The Bad;
It is disturbing to see Buffy so upset but the whole idea of putting the heroine in peril is to see her overcome
Best line;
Xander; You're sitting here alone looking like you've been diagnosed with cancer of the puppy
Wheldon Cliches;

Character death; poor Eddie. Buffy says it's been a 'Slay-heavy summer'.
Shot;
no Scoobies but the vamp tranqulised at the end
Tied up;
No but Eddie's favourite book is 'Of human bondage'
Knocked out;
No although Riley says he has a slight concussion
Women good/men bad;
Professor Welch considers herself the 'evil bitch monster of death'. Sunday tells Buffy she 'fights like a girl' (which is maybe why Buffy beats her?)
Jeez!;
The idea of Sunday and co not only killing the weaker students but mocking them is awful.
Kinky dinky;
Buffy thinks 'Of human bondage' is porn which she's 'trying to cut down on'. Xander spent the summer working in a male strip club kitchen (and possibly on stage?) Read a great fanfic once where Wes pays for his motorcycle by working in the same club under the stage name 'Huge Grant'. Buffy compares Giles to Hugh Hefner and he now has the lovely Olivia as his own girl next door. Buffy thinks Giles shouldn't have a private life because he's old and it's gross which is a bit of a blow for Guffy. When Xander is all alone he sometimes wonders what Buffy is wearing. Willow compares learning to a sexual act
Calling Captain Subtext;
Xander and Oz don't hug because they're too manly. Buffy comments that she hopes her mum has a 'funny aneurysm' which is foreshadowing indeed as is the reference to Joan Armatrading's 'Once more with feeling'.
Guantanamo Bay;

Scoobies to the ER;
No, Buffy's arm is hurt but not broken (and even if it was would heal pretty quickly)
Where's Dawn?
Interesting scene where Buffy goes home to find Joyce is storing stuff in her room. You wonder why she didn't put it in Dawn's room which isn't occupied yet?
What the fanficcers thought; the real story of Xander's summer http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3029445/1/The_Fabulous_Ladies_Nightclub

Questions and observations;
Interestingly Buffy hasn't accepted Christ as her personal saviour, the series has always had an ambiguous relationship with Christianity. Five Scoobies at this stage, Buffy, Giles, Xander, Willow and Oz. Buffy shows great tactical awareness, Faith or Kendra might have fought to the death even when they know it's hopeless, Buffy retreats, get's reinforcements and defeats the bad guys. Great gag where Buffy answers the phone, we know it's actually Angel phoning just to hear her voice. Buffy just walks into Giles, doesn't even knock.
Marks out of 10; 6/10 I think although that might be a little generous

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saturn5
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Lieutenant, Jr. Grd
Living Conditions

The Good;
Kathy is a wonderful character and I wish we'd seen her again (the actress later turns up as recurring character in Desperate Housewives, the nurse who accidentally kills Carlos' mother). I was genuinely suprised that she was a demon, I thought Buffy was going nuts (great performance from SMG, amazing what a little eye-shadow can do). The fight between the 2 at the end and the argument between Kathy and her dad is terrific. The final gag is excellent too although Buffy's scarf makes her look a lot like Joyce when she's had her operation.
The Bad;
Exactly how long would it have taken the demons to work out that Buffy wasn't Kathy?
Best line;
Kathy; I just wanted to make sure we didn't have a thief or somthing?
Buffy; Like who? Sid the wiley dairy gnome?
but I also like Oz; 'On the plus side you killed the bench which was looking shifty' and 'No one deserves mime'
Wheldon Cliches;

Character death; none
Shot;
Tied up;
Buffy is netted and tied up by Xander, Oz and Giles. They need to work on their Boy Scout skills though (Buffy's been tied up and escaped countless times and I'm sure escapology must be part of Slayer training?)
Knocked out;
Yep, Oz and Xander by Buffy
Women good/men bad;
Patriarchical demons not letting their daughters go to college. On the other hand it seems that Hank still helps out with Buffy's tuition.
Jeez!;
Kathy slamming the phone into Buffy's face is gruesome yet oddly funny
Kinky dinky;
Xander wonders why Giles doesn't have any manacles like any self-respecting bachelor? Both Oz and Xander admire Parker's 'driveby' hitting on Buffy.
Calling Captain Subtext;
Kathy puts the moves on Parker much to Buffy chagrin. Buffy and Willow end up in the end being roomates. And here is Veruca for the first time, the little scene between her and Oz subtle but incredibly significant. Willow refers to Parker as the cutie-patootie once again casting her as Bi rather than gay. Willow refers to Giles as their 'grown up friend' but not in a creepy way.
Guantanamo Bay;

Scoobies to the ER;
Buffy isn't hurt despite the no-holds barred thrashing she and Kathy give each other
Where's Dawn?
Kathy comments that Buffy has always been an only child, well not always. She also says she and Buffy are like sisters, well Dawn and Buff fight too and Dawn turns out not to be what she seems

Questions and observations;
Giles reads Scooter and Motorbike magazine, did he sell Wes his? A funny but pretty slight ep with some good performances from the leads. I think season 4 is just taking a little time to find it's feet.
Marks out of 10; 6/10, a slight ep but a cracker, funny and interesting.

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