Homecoming

Simple plot: Cordy and Buffy vie against each other for Homecoming Queen. Neither wins, but they reveal more of their characters in the process. Subplot--Xander and Willow kiss. Boy, do they kiss. Which wouldn't be a problem a season ago at this time, but now...Oz and Cordy? Somehow, the whole topic of polyamory is not raised. Curious.

Anyways, isolation is key here. Buffy wants to get in touch with her inner homecoming queen because of what's she's lost as the Slayer. If she were at her old school, if she weren't the Slayer, she would have been Queen. She would have been popular, had friends, been in the yearbook (the yearbook is a recurring theme. In Angel, Cordy goes through the yearbook to try to remember who she is, and realizes it's the story of her life) Buffy has monsters, death, and weapons as her life; high school is an afterthought.

Her friends abandon her in her quest to be Queen. Out of guilt for kissing, both Willow and Xander have committed to working for Cordelia, and the scene where Buffy is excitedly organizing them to help her only to have Cordelia sweep in, assign tasks, then everyone leave (making excuses of course) is understated but poignant--Buffy is isolated and alone. Giles, who obviously doesn't care about homecoming queen but cares deeply about Buffy, quietly sympathesizes.

Buffy's approach to winning is characterized by Cordelia as sensitive, she, deep, caring--some words like that. The picture Buffy uses is not typical, either. Not glamourous, not cheerful, friendly--more Princess Di looking up from under her bangs.

Ultimately, I suspect that part of the point of this episode is to begin morphing Cordy into the character we get on Angel--still the diva, but able to deal with any thing that goes bump in the night. And juxtoposing her with Buffy is good. Buffy could be Cordy (and initially, that's the role Gellar was trying for), and Cordy needs to find her inner Buffy--the snarkiness and sniping in their relationship stems from them knowing each other too well; they recognize themselves, both strengths and weaknesses, from looking in the mirror of the other.

Beauty and the Beasts

On the surface, this is just a throw-away episode. Mysterious deaths, scooby gang doing scooby stuff (Willow even has a Scooby Doo lunchbox in this). Buffy's kind of seeing Scott, but doesn't seem that interested. No big revelations, no huge angst.

However, there is a bit of interesting forshadowing. Buffy is seeing the school counselor, and he echos Joyce's comments from last season about "you're seeing a guy, you get intimate, the guy turns mean..." The theme of Men Turn Mean is not explored in any depth, but is assumed. More interestingly, he also previews Spike's "I'm love's bitch" speech. "Sometimes you love too much, and Love becomes your master, and you're love's dog" was roughly the way it was worded. He made it seem bad; Spike embraced the title. (I think that's this season, too, but I'm not sure.)

Also, Buffy is hiding that Angel's back, and she's obviously worried that he's damaged. In talking with Giles about what it's like to come back from a hell dimension, he explains briefly what it means to have humanity left within you. If it's not there, the returnee can't be saved. If the humanity is, the human can be redeemed. These questions also arise in season 6 after Buffy is resserected--with similar assumptions about her being in a hell dimension, in fact.

Other little things, but overall, not a must see episode--that's my opinion right now. We'll see if I change it, which has happened!

Faith, Hope and Trick

Big news: Angel's back, somehow. We don't know details, that's the closing shot: Angel, naked, laying on the floor.

This episode is an intro episode, starting the season's meta-plot. Character development is key; with the arrival of the somewhat morally ambiguous Faith, Buffy's jealous streak, and intro of Trick (who never quite works for me), a couple interesting things may be missed.

One, Willow knows that she's doing things with magic that Giles wouldn't approve of. She underplays and tries to lie about what she's been attempting, and Giles warns her--one of the first times I remember getting an undercurrent of "this isn't good."

Two, Giles is more subtle and aware than he may seem. A recurring bit during the episode (maybe the first couple?) is Giles pressing Buffy for more info about Angel's death so he can do a "binding spell" to insure there are no problems with the statue (or something similar). Buffy sticks with "I came, I saw, I conquered" as her line until the end of the episode. Finally, with no emotional fanfare, she starkly tells the truth: She kissed Angel, who was back to himself, then killed him. She admits it feels better to have told, but in an understated manner. It's not until after Buffy leaves that we find out Giles' only magic involved healing Buffy's pain--he knew she hadn't faced it all, and he played her to get the rest of the story. That degree of emotional insight wasn't typically observed in Giles earlier, but it becomes more common. Also, Faith suffers because she doesn't tell; Buffy sees that, and realizes that like Faith, she is part of the walking wounded. Telling Giles the whole truth helps.

Last, Joyce finds out that Buffy can't quit without dying--and that she died once and that led to Faith. She hates Buffy's calling, but supports her too. That's a recurring theme.

Next--I don't remember! Fun ahoy!

Dead Man's Party

Xander summed it up: If you try to bury things, they'll come back up. He was talking about the issues related to Buffy's running away, but zombies were attacking them as he said it. So this is one time when the metaphor is impossible to miss!

Willow and Buffy talk, finally, after dancing around issues the whole episode. Buffy and her mom apparently do, too--but if Xander and Buffy do, there's no hint. However, he makes the strongest statement about Buffy needing to talk, to not isolate herself. He supports Joyce, siding against Buffy in the big argument. Willow backs away from confronting Buffy, but Xander does it because it needs done. Is that part of how he shows manhood and loyalty? Could be.

Notably, Buffy is still dreaming about Angel, sensuous, death-filled dreams

One thing worth noting: some of the intense emotional scenes include dialogue that is ridiculous. It fits with the situation and characters, but the sincerity of the actors in the emotions they bring to the scenes create credibility. Because they take it seriously, we can also. That's a large part of why the show resonants. It is campy, but not because the actors triviolize it or treat it frivolously. That is part of what makes the show.

SEASON THREE: Anne

Identity and isolation. The tension between community and self is a recurring theme, one of the key issues that Buffy as a character is torn between. Because of the danger involved with helping her, she believes she doesn't have the right to want community. In the reality of the Buffy-verse, she is ultimately the only one who can do her job. So friends and family are on the outside, even when they are invested in the struggle.

Given that, her attraction to Spike and Angel is simple: she doesn't have to watch their backs; they understand her and her mission on a level that even Giles can't--he's a voyeur to her mission, a watcher. Everyone else is potentially a liability because she feels responsible for them.

That's a long introduction to a simple season opener: Buffy left Sunnydale at the end of season 2, kicked out in the heat of the moment by her mother. She's in an unidentified city (later mentioned at L.A.) working as a waitress in a bad section of town. There are cuts to Sunnydale, where school is starting, Giles is trying to find Buffy, etc, but the bulk of the action follows Buffy.

She's going by her middle name, Anne, and evidently not in Slayer mode. When she meets someone who knows her real identity, it's someone whose identity is constantly in flux (we last saw her with a fancy french name, wanting to be a vampire); now she is Lily, and at the end of the episode, she decides to be Anne when she takes over Buffy's apartment and job. She resurfaces on Angel as a woman running a shelter for kids, someone Gunn helps out--still named Anne. She understands not knowing who you are, and gives Buffy tacit permission to not be Buffy. (I assume that there's a reason the name Lily fits; I should look it up, because Whedon almost never names spuriously. Maybe later)

By the end of the episode, though, Buffy claims her identity in full, resisting the demons who force their slaves to become "nobody." Buffy announces that she is Buffy the Vampire Slayer loud and clear, then begins to show them what that means as she saves the enslaved street kids. Buffy can't escape her identity, and because of her basic personality, she can't stay isolated. Lily finds her power because Buffy needs her to, and it's fair to surmise that Lily's life changes because of it. Buffy changes people, usually for the better--and she can't stay alone like previous slayers have.

And of course, Mom takes her back, after telling Giles that she blames him, that he should have done things differently, told her about Buffy. Giles doesn't argue much, but sees Buffy's destiny as beyond his control.

And Xander and Cordy are sniping and immature--what happened to make Xander go backwards? And Willow and Oz are cute, but barely sidebars. I'm hoping it's only this episode--I don't remember the next few episodes, though, so we'll see....

Becoming, pt 2 (I'm awake now)

I said that the episode is about the power of love, in both the negative and positive forms. Here's the list:

• Good--Because Spike loves Dru, he works with his enemy to get Dru back from Angel and protect her. This is a beginning (remember my Janus reference) because he goes beyond defining himself as evil, switching sides to align with the Slayer. Yep, a trend begins.
• Good--The power of love is possibly why Willow wakes from her coma. Xander gives a big speech to her, saying he loves her, and she starts rousing. She asks for Oz right away, though. (Closure of her infatuation with Xander? We'll see)
  
• Bad--Because Giles loves Jenny, he tells "her" (really Dru magicked to be Jenny) the secret of how Angel can wake the demon. He resisted torture; he can't resist love.
• Bad--Because Joyce is so concerned about Buffy (mother's love), she argues with Buffy to make Buffy stay home, not fight Angel--which leads to Buffy running away. Joyce said don't come back;Buffy didn't,
  
• Bad--Buffy has to balance her love of Angel with her duty; love loses. Buffy realizes that Angel is back, Angelus gone, and she still kills him to close the portal.
• Bad, maybe Biggest Bad--Because Xander loves Buffy (and he's proven repeatedly that he does, it's not just infatuation), he believes Angel is dangerous to the world and Buffy. Obviously, jealousy plays a big part here, but I'm willing to credit Xander with seeing the Angel's potential evil, SOOOO....he lies to Buffy for the second time in their relationship. He delivers Willow's message, but instead of "delay as long as possible, I'm trying the spell again," Xander claims Willow said, "Kick his ass." Symbolically, even happy, faithful, optomistic Willow has seemingly given up on Angel, sealing his fate with Buffy? Perhaps. It's noteworthy that the phrasing is very un-Willow-like. Xander would say that, not Willow. But Buffy is focused on the mission and doesn't question the false note.

Other Xander-centric note: He's evolved this season, maturing. In this episode, he comfortably, casually calls Cordy "honey," he pulls Giles to safety, he's calm and dependable---except the lying, of course. The first episode of next season, he's goofus and immature. Not sure what happened over the summer, but.... And the lying will come back to haunt him, season 7.

Blood is the key that opens and closes the portal....hm...that seems vaguely familar, like the premise of season 5, maybe...It's done differently, but on retrospect, it's odd that only Spike understands it in season 5.

Isolation and loneliness are a major theme here. Ultimately, the slayer is alone. Whistler says than, and Buffy ends the show watching as an outsider before leaving. There's more to think about....

Oh, and Kendra's dead, killed by Dru--which activates Faith, but we don't know that yet. And Spike is there with Buffy when Joyce finds out that Buffy is the Slayer. Joyce trying to make small talk with Spike even after realizing when and where she met him (as he was trying to kill Buffy early in the season, attacking the high school) is a marvelously fun bit. We find out later that Spike has great affection for Joyce, and that even when they are enemies, Buffy and Spike can do some of the facial shorthand communication stuff that becomes even more evident later.

Becoming pt 2

Big news: Buffy kills Angel. Who could have guessed???

That's not what this episode is about, though. It's about the power of love (yes, I do think that would be a good title for a song. Maybe Huey Lewis.....) Here's the twist--it's a two-faced power, the Janus, in a sense. And the implication of openings and closings, beginnings and endings inherent with the Janus image seems to hold true, also.

But I've had a very very long day, and I have just realized I'm too tired to write, so I'll explain later--tomorrow, maybe.

At least I gave you something to consider, right??

Becoming, pt 1

Obviously, part one isn't the big finish, and I'm just going to ramble about a few things here then see if there's a big point after I watch part 2.

First, the flashbacks are interesting. We want to like Angel and root for he and Buffy, yet the writers have gone out of their way to make him reprehensible: casually killing unnamed people, killing Jenny and setting up the tableau for Giles; taunting Willow and Buffy; telling Joyce about he and Buffy--it's clear that we're not supposed to like him. But the flashbacks--Angel as Liam, meeting Darla. It's hard to not be a bit appalled and confused. Is Angel the Big Bad or not? Well, yes, and he's trying to reanimate the demon--but wait, he can't. He's not bad enough. We'll see.

And Xander, who has been Buffy's top leutenant thus far, yells at her and Willow, insisting that Angel should be killed, soul or no soul. Willow is trying to restore Angel's soul, Giles and Buffy are doing a hurry-up-happy-dance, and Xander is incensed. Xander doesn't seem to believe in redemption.

Kendra shows to help; that's going to be an important point, but not right now.

Season 2 is the big intro Spike season, but it's striking how little he's really on screen. He's not even quite on the radar as a problem. He's evil, yadayada--but an afterthought. He's not a main player, except in a couple episodes.

Ok, that's all off the top of my head. On to part 2!