SEASON FIVE: Buffy vs. Dracula

Sure, it's a cute episode. Snappy dialogue, good characterization. And it makes sense that sooner or later, the Count himself would show up.

Here's what I noticed: First, when Dracula is trying to enthrall Buffy, to get her to consider joining his side, he says almost exactly the same thing Dream-Tara said in Restless: "You think you know what you are--what's to come--but you haven't even begun." In significant ways, that's the theme of the second half of the show, and very tied in with it is that Buffy's power is steeped in darkness; that is mentioned in Restless, and Spike (and others) comment on how drawn Buffy is to men who are more dark than light--she comments herself on it as she's beginning to be interested in Riley, that "something is missing." In season 7, she finds out in one episode that the Slayer's original power stemmed from harassing demons, and she rejects getting more demon-fueled-power. Her insistence on right/wrong (as noted by Faith when they switch bodies, and Willow and Xander when they call her "judgmental" during Yoko Factor)--does that stem from a fight within herself to not go to the dark side....? maybe.

Three other things that build throughout season five--because even though this is a light episode, it does establish the season's subtext: Dawn comes, literally. I can't imagine how confused the audience was as they waited week by week to understand how a new character shows up, accepted as canon in-world.

And, just as Giles was preparing to tell Buffy that he's leaving, she decides she needs a Watcher. She's going to accept the official (well, minus the council, so far) responsibilities and structure of Slayer-hood, training, listening, etc. The whole "should I stay or should I go" dance is static this season....he's needed.

Last..Xander, after being in thrall to Dracula, announces he's done being "everyone's butt-monkey." He decides it's time to grow up, to find a place in the adult world for himself. If I remember right, in just a couple episodes he has a defining moment, and is not the poor-little-victim...as often.

That's what I see, and more is coming. (Oh, and Riley was sure he was going to lose Buffy to Dracula, and Anya and Spike both have met him before--Anya seems quite smitten with the memory, too)

Restless

Season four ends not with vanquishing Big Bad, but with an artful, experimental show of dream sequences. Much has been written about this episode, and the dvd includes Joss' detailed commentary on the episode--I really don't have much to say that's not been said before, probably by people who have said it better.

In a sense, the Big Bad of season four is as much finding their own identity--their "true names," as comes up in a couple of the dreams. Adam, as the "am I human, or demon, or andriod--and what does that mean anyway" Big Bad they can physically fight is one manifestation of that, but this episode ties up the search in ways that killing Adam doesn't. Willow, Giles and Xander go on dream quests that end in them naming their quandaries or fears: Cool, Quirky Wicca Willow is a disguise, and nerd Willow quails beneath that disguise, fearful of discovery; as hard as Xander searches, he'll never leave his basement, never overcome the taint and heritage of his upbringing; and Giles' crossroads--am I father? watcher? should I move on?--peppers his journey with options, ones he is too stymied to grab.

Then finally, Buffy's dream-journey takes her face to face with the first Slayer, who tells her she cannot have friends, she must only kill. Buffy rejects that, ultimately saving her friends and herself.

Rife with foreshadowing of Dawn's arrival next season, sexual imagery, and commentary on various plot threads (including Joyce's death--and Buffy ignoring when her mom asks for help), it's clear that Tara is integrating herself into their lives, and that Buffy is aware that Riley may become someone she can't be with. According to Whedon's commentary, the odd cheeseman who appears in each dream really is a random motif, just as dreaming includes random imagery.

There's a lot of interesting symbolism in the episode, but honestly--it's been talked about by people who have devoted a whole lot more energy to being insightful than I'm willing to give. Note though that creative camera angles, odd dissolves, unusual depth of field, and frequent use of color and negatives give this an exceedingly dream-like feel, making it clear that Joss' at least this season was going for an artsy auteur approach to his direction.

Primeval

Buffy calls a meeting, and in an interestingly staged conversation--Giles, Willow, Xander and Buffy standing on a sidewalk (maybe, symbolically, an intersection, now that I think about it) standing in square facing each other--they realize Spike set up the arguments. Perfunctory decision that it's all good, that they need to work together, and so business as usual...but it's at best a whitewash. Until later, again interestingly, symbolically staged: Willow and Buffy repelling down into the Initiative, and Buffy broaches the subject again, apologizing for her distance and lack of attention, then Willow copping to her own secrecy and hurt. By the time they hit bottom--friendship truly reaffirmed, and Xander hops down in time for a group hug. Now, all is really well, and we know that the gang is committed to staying together. Anya, Riley and Tara are nowhere near, but the decision is clearly to not let anything impede the Scooby mojo.

If this season was about Frankenstein, the conclusion must somehow address that. Adam's plan to create an army of demon/tech/human androids--beings without soul, without conscience, is viewed as bad by everyone...well, everyone good. Is technology bad? That's a bit more up in the air--Willow is more wicca, less tech this season, but she's still the go-to girl for all things computer. Maggie's use of tech to dominate humans is definitely decried, but I'm not sure that ultimately, this season adds much to the "what does it mean to be human" discussion. They could have gone there, and with Maggie, her assistant, and Forrest all joining Adam in half-death/tech life-ville, there was opportunity. The fact that Riley was targeted for that could have extended the conversation to the Scoobies, easily. But no...instead the focus is the power of love--agape (Willow, Xander, Giles, banding together for the final spell) and eros (Riley pulling out his own chip as well as whole episodes and themes: Oz overcoming/losing to wolf side and Where the Wild Things Are, specifically)

But the season doesn't end there...in another artsy move, there's one more episode, the dream episode, Restless. I need to rewatch that before I'm sure of any conclusions about the season.

The Yoko Factor

Pivotal episode, in the "things that can't be unsaid" realm. The basic premise is simple: Adam will take care of Spike's chip if Spike helps deal with the Slayer. Getting her friends out of the way--and her distracted by the drama--is Spike's idea. In an insightful explanation, Spike explains that Yoko Ono didn't break up the Beatles, but they broke themselves up under the pressure of fame and time; that's his plan--plant a few seeds, and let them do the dirty work themselves.

It's been clear since season 2 that Spike understands psychology much more intuitively than the Scoobies realize; they discredit him because of his chosen image. But in the process of supplying them info about the Initiative--info which I think does turn out to be important, next episode, making him a double agent--he drops side comments to Giles, Xander and Willow that feed their basic insecurities and lead to a huge argument at the end of the episode, with Buffy walking out, implying that she can't count on Willow and Xander. Who is left? well...Riley--who ends the episode at Adam's lair, for purposes unclear (although avenging his friend Forrest's death seems likely).

Spike tweaks Giles by commenting on his uselessness and lack of control of Buffy--and, appropriately, Giles is singing Freebird when Spike finds him, foreshadowing not just what Spike talks about, but the season 6 song Standing and his ultimate leaving as Buffy's watcher. Giles spends the rest of the episode drunk, even giggling uproariously at the words "Fort Dix." Season four has been rough for Giles--no job, no standing, less than Batman's Alfred, he implies during the argument scene. Spike capitalizes on that.

In a masterful bit of triple-entrendre, Spike hints to Willow that her computer skills are weakening, that being a witch is laughable, and that being with Tara just a phase--because. like Faith, Spike realizes with only small hints that Willow and Tara are involved; something Buffy barely believes even when Willow told her, and Xander and Giles don't realize til the argument at the end of the episode. Willow falls for every one of the lines Spike throws, showing how vunerable to needing Buffy's approval she is. Again, the dialogue where Spike casually throws out those issues is intermixed with other content, making this just throw-away banter that hits home--amazing dialogue writing.

And Xander, who has been as much adrift as Giles this season, quickly believes that his friends think he should enlist. It's curious that no one asks why Spike was in conversations like that with other people--since when does Spike sit and chat? But he is integrated enough with the gang that they do all accept without question that Spike would know; his plan only works because they trust him. Again, they've forgotten that he's "evil." a point he's made repeatedly this season.

There's the whole Angel comes back, and Riley freaks because he thinks Buffy's leaving him for Angel subplot--important in the Riley/Buffy arc, maybe, because he now knows everything about Buffy and Angel (tying in well with Yoko, Xander spilled that by accident, thinking Buffy explained why Angel turned evil). That's as much finishing an arc from Angel as impacting this show, though--Buffy fans who also watched Angel had to see a semi-reconciliation after the serious break that happened on Angel when Angel gave Faith a second chance.

So what's it all about? Simple: in high school, they were without question a gang, committed to each other. Are they going to recommit, or are they going to float apart without regret as they grow up? Thus far in season 4, it seems that they are on a floating apart track--Riley doesn't really become a Scooby, Willow and Buffy don't like Anya, Xander feels like the others don't respect what he'd doing...which, in fairness, is nothing except hanging with Anya., and Willow is hiding her new relationship. Yep, they are going separate ways, to all appearances. All Spike did was tear the band-aid off the wounds.

And....to be continued....

New Moon Rising

I can imagine the meeting the writers had before sketching out this script: "Well, here's the list of things that we need to have happen. First, we need Riley to break with the Initiative, and to accept a little bit of grey in his black and white worldview. Also, we need to set up Spike with Adam so we can mix up a little chaos there in an episode or two. And it's probably time that we make it clear to the slower members of our audience--and Buffy--that Willow is playing for another team. Suggestions?" Then someone remembered that Seth Green's contract called for another episode this season, and--abracadabra! Oz shows up, wolfie under control thanks to what must be the world's shortest trip to all sorts of places in Europe and studying with Tibetan monks. Really? He's been gone how many weeks?

It's a good episode, and the character development is important. I laughed hard as Riley declared himself an "anarchist" as he broke out of military jail. Big words from someone who's world-view only required two colors until this episode. Because he knew about Oz as a human, because he knew Oz as Willow's boyfriend, he saved Oz from the Initiative, even knowing that Oz could still turn werewolf. Considering the context of his character thus far, that's big.

But right this minute, I don't think there's much more to say about the episode. It builds bridges to coming episodes, and closes the door on Oz, but that's it.

Note, though: When Willow goes mondo-bad in season 6, I thought Oz was going to come back--not to replace Tara, but to help her heal. Maybe replacing the yellow crayon speech--but that's rightfully Xander's moment. Just sayin'.

Where the Wild Things Are

What does it mean to be human? This episode, a road bump on the path to the end of season 4, asks that in a sense...maybe. Adam--who isn't in this episode (or if he is, it's so brief that I've forgotten)--isn't human. He lacks passion. He can't love. And instead of having an Adam-centric episode now, there's one about passion. Simply: Buffy and Riley, because of the intense sexual energy they're conjured up, raise dormant spirits of orphans who lived in that house and were strictly punished for sexually-related behavior.

So, a party raises more Cain, and Buffy and Riley are hot-n-heavy for who knows how long, unaware that killer vines are surrounding them, that there's been an earthquake, that their friends are yelling for them. We get hints that Willow and Tara are involved, and Xander and Anya argue about sex--it's a theme.

Interestingly, Anya and Spike bond at the Bronze, having a conversation about how similar they are, both demons who can't hurt people. Spike is obviously ogling Anya, far more than previously, and Anya talks more freely and normally to him than she does usually. Their brief fling--10 minutes that changes their lives--in season 6 seems less random now; there's a backstory for it.

NOTE: season 4 must be where Joss has an itch to be an artist. As well as the ground-breaking Hush, this show features some artsy camera angles, pulling up on Riley and Buffy in bed until they are a little square of white floating in black. There was some other artsy thing, too, but I'm drawing a blank what it was.

And Giles sings, guitar in hand and earring in place, at a coffee shop. He's trying to find himself, and is still oddly misplaced. Appropriately, the following scene is in a library or something similar, researching; gotta reinforce the Giles image right after the crooning. The song he sings, Behind Blue Eyes by the Who, is symbolic too:

best-song-lyrics.com No one knows what it's like To be the bad man To be the sad man Behind blue eyes No one knows what it's like To be hated To be fated To telling only lies But my dreams They aren't as empty As my conscience seems to be I have hours, only lonely My love is vengeance That's never free No one knows what it's like To feel these feelings Like I do And I blame you No one bites back as hard On their anger None of my pain and woe Can show through But my dreams They aren't as empty As my conscience seems to be I have hours, only lonely My love is vengeance That's never free When my fist clenches, crack it open Before I use it and lose my cool When I smile, tell me some bad news Before I laugh and act like a fool If I swallow anything evil Put your finger down my throat If I shiver, please give me a blanket Keep me warm, let me wear your coat No one knows what it's like To be the bad man To be the sad man Behind blue eyes

Superstar

The season four metaplot, which had been heating up before the Faith/Buffy interruption, is still on the back burner with this quirky show. Jonathon--the would-be shooter during season 3--is back. In fact, it's Jonathon's world. He's Superman, James Bond, Dr. Phil, Frank Sinatra, and Gary Kasparov all in one suave, hot little package. Giles owns the Jonathon swimsuit calendar, Xander has the comics and trading cards, and Anya is entranced by Jonathon's autobiography.

This episode does reveal one crucial piece of info: to destroy Adam, his power source must be destroyed. Because of the military's consistent secrecy, it's possible that Riley and Co. would not have known what they had to do to get rid of this season's Big Bad. So...plotwise, "Superstar" may have had a point. Also, Jonathon talked with both Riley and Buffy about the whole "Riley had sex with Faith, kinda" brooding that Buffy was falling into--and instead of the audience having to listen to Buffy's angsty-whining about it the rest of the season, she is fine.( That alone is a reason for this episode.)

And, obviously, Jonathon's slightly short-sighted moral ambiguity is clear in this, as is the fact that ultimately, he will do the right thing...after events have spiraled out of control. More interesting, though, is the counterpoint that Jonathon provides to Buffy, big picture. For all of Buffy's "I'm different, I'm alone, Poor me"--some of which is valid, but it's hit very hard at times in the series--Buffy really isn't alone. She's different, but it's a difference that is strong and celebrated, and she has a support system that most kids that age would envy. But no, Buffy is amazingly good at seeing what she's lost.

Jonathon, though--he is alone. He is different. Buffy's small and strong, sexy and wanted. Jonathon, though...small(er) and weak, ridiculed and ignored. Even Buffy refused to go out with him. Regardless of the context (she was pining over Angel), Jonathon still saw it as rejection. And when Jonathon needs to hear words of encouragement and affirmation, Buffy plays Dr. Phil for him, saying the things to him that she often disbelieves about herself and her situation. He's an interesting mirror for her to be reflected in.

The transition to adulthood is tricky for these characters. Xander is floundering, and Giles is barely adult--no status, no job, some episodes this season, he's Xander's sidekick. Jonathon's magic spell turned him into instant adult. That's worth noting, I think.

And I don't remember the next episode at all. Could be fun!

Who Are You?

This is one of THOSE episodes...lots going on, setting up lots more that's going to happen. It's a continuation of the previous episode, and clarifies a couple points from that. For Willow, Faith, and Buffy, it's a character-defining (or re-defining) episode, at least introducing some shifts.

Buffy is in Faith's body, and she's being held by the Watchers, who are taking "Faith" back to England to be dealt with. The assumption is that it's possible the Council will execute "Faith." Buffy, true to her history, does not kill the Watcher-hit-squad goons when she has a chance. Clearly, Buffy is still "good," even under threat of death.

That's important, but it's more important in light of Faith's attitude about Buffy. In a somewhat funny scene, but a very uncharacteristically shot one, Faith (getting used to looking like Buffy) plays in front of a mirror, saying "Don't do that--it's wrong," in a variety of ways. She's trying to understand Buffy while mocking her. (Watching SMG be Faith as Buffy is interesting; SMG obviously worked at getting some of Dushku's body language incorporated into her version of "Buffy") The theme of "that's wrong," shows up again in the bar scene where she sexually taunts Spike, calling Buffy "joyless" and other similar things, ending by telling Spike that there's one reason she wouldn't have sex with him--it's wrong. She's more Faith than Buffy in this scene, but oddly, Spike--who usually has a finely tuned radar in all things Buffy--doesn't realize something's seriously askew. Perhaps that's because he's so tuned in to the sexual vibe she's generating, but even that should be a signal, I would think.

Finally, though--Faith understands. She could make a get away, be free of the Scoobies and the Watchers alike, but she sees the news: vampires have invaded a church. She believes Buffy is on her way to England and can't respond; it's not her problem--she's leaving on a jet plane, too.

But as she's lived in Buffy's skin, she is channeling Buffy too, and ultimately shows up to deal with the vamps and tells them, with conviction worthy of Buffy, that what they are doing is wrong. Originally, way back, Faith had a sense of mission and right and wrong, just different than Buffy's. She's found it again, and during the fight between her and Buffy (who has shown up in Faith's body to save the church as well), Faith (as Buffy) pummels her own face, yelling "You're nothing! Disgusting! Murderous bitch! You're nothing! You're disgusting!" She's not yelling at Buffy; it's not Buffy she hates. She wouldn't call Buffy "murderous." The fight is really between Faith and herself--and, symbolically--Buffy finds Faith in a church, and Faith faces herself in the church.

Faith heads to LA, where she ultimately gets in a similar fight with Angel, who she was going to let kill her. He refuses, causing a major breach between himself and Buffy--Buffy wants Faith dead, or at least not near any males she claims as hers. Angel is betraying Buffy by helping Faith...which echos the whole season 3 dysfunction where Buffy's jealousy of Angel and Faith causes all kinds of havoc.

That leads to Buffy--in a sense, this episode is about fear. Adam (who is the reason the vamps show up at church) asks what vampires are afraid of. He's trying to learn about fear. Through season 3, we know that one of Buffy's fears is Faith taking her place with her boyfriend, with Giles, and with the Scoobies. In this episode, Faith does all those things--even sleeping with Riiley, which is further than she went with Angel--which lead to Buffy freaking pretty seriously in season 3. Buffy is being forced to confront her fears and deal. The fact that everyone thought it was her makes it easier to deal, but being Buffy, she questions both Giles and Riley about how they couldn't realize it was not really Buffy. They deflect well enough--I don't remember if it comes up again or not in this season, so I'll have to watch for that issue.

Ironically--the person who knows is Tara--who hasn't met Buffy. When she meets Faith (in Buffy bod), Tara realizes right away something's off, and she tells Willow, who believes her and does a spell. (Note--last episode I thought Tara sabotaged a spell because she thought it was too powerful; I found an analysis pointing out that Tara believed she was part-demon, and the spell identified demons--that may explain undercutting the earlier spell. This one is powerful, and she does it.) And ironically, Faith is the first to know that Willow and Tara are a couple. Her comment "So Willow isn't driving stick anymore," was one of the Faith-like moments that SMG convincingly pulls off--she veers between Buffy moments and Faith subtext throughout the episode in an amazing performance.

As well as confronting fears--this episode is about sex. The spell Willow and Tara do gives some of the most sexually graphic imagery on Buffy thus far--clearly hinting at their relationship for any viewers that didn't understand what Faith meant; Faith's seduction of Riley is very blatant and un-Buffy-esque, enough so that Riley stops her and asks "What are we playing at," clearly uncomfortable with what "Buffy" was doing. When he says he loves her, Faith freaks. She's good at sex, but love--that's when Faith has a moment of facing her fear. And whether that could be a trigger for her decision to go back a save the church....hmmmm.....gotta think about it. And even though we know Spike has an interest in Buffy (Drusilla leaves him because of it), this episode is the most blatant at establishing the degree of his sexual attraction to her.

There's one component missing here--Xander. I have a theory about why he is so absent in this episode, and the one time he's in a scene with Faith, Anya is literally draped over him. With fear and sex as the major themes in this episode, there's only one direction a Xander-centered scene could go: Faith would seduce Xander, who would believe he'd finally gotten Buffy. He didn't realize "Buffy" was Faith in the scene in Giles' apartment. He's spent four seasons wanting Buffy--a dynamic that arguably never changes over the life of the show. (yes, he turns her down in the episode where he cast the love spell--he knew that would be his fault and he'd be taking advantage of her. In this case, he wouldn't know).

Faith is well aware of Xander's obsession; she's a student of male reactions, so she must know. She couldn't interact with him in any way but the most superficial without having it turn sexual, in the context of the episode. In fact, the one comment she makes to him is taunting him--Anya says they have plans for the evening, they are going to have sex. Faith says something like, "well, what are you doing after that seven minutes is done?" The ramifications to the season if Faith slept with Xander are much more disruptive than Faith sleeping with Riley; that's why Xander isn't in this episode very much.

The next episode is one I remember not liking. I'm interested now to see if there are tie-ins or foreshadowing I didn't catch the one time I've seen it before.