Dopplegangerland

In a sense, this is Willow's version of The Zeppo. Vamp Willow from the parallel dimension is called into our dimension as Willow and Anya try to retrieve Anya's necklace. Again, Willow's magic goes awry and causes more problems than it solves.

In the previous episode, Willow has been jealous and sad; she doesn't want to be everyone's doormat, good old reliable Willow. That point is made throughout the episode, even as she tries to tutor a recalcitrant jock and be cheerful Willow in the fuzzy, funny clothes.

Just as The Zeppo begins the redefining of Xander, this episode makes the audience (and maybe her friends?) look at Willow differently. This isn't about Willow as potential witch, it's about Willow as not-relentlessly cheerful good girl. Even though Willow herself stays perky, the image of a "skanky," sadistic, hedonistic Willow is planted. Typcially, Willow wants to be nice to her evil twin, not allowing the gang to kill her--so in Willow's mind, there is in fact an evil Willow wandering through a parallel dimension.

Consequences

Basically, part two of Bad Girls. Faith tries to frame Buffy--which is when we realize exactly how bad Faith really is--and she threatens to kill to escape from the council when their goons (lead by Wesley) kidnap her.

I suspect I should rewatch this one too, but perhaps the most interesting thing is the Angel/Faith connection. After Buffy and Angel manage to capture Faith, she's shackled in Angel's mansion. He talks to her at length in a scene that is paced differently than the rest of the episode. Although he is not successful in getting through to Faith--and might even be called whining and stoically emo--he's just set the stage for Faith's redemption on his show in the next season (or two? I'm not sure of time frame). In the Buffy-verse, this is the beginning of a significant relationship; Angel champions Faith later, when Buffy claims to intend to kill her.

When I rewatch, I want to pay close attention to Buffy's costume and color choices. If I remember right, when she's being bad with Faith, she's in black--much like Faith typically is. After the killing and subsequent actions, Buffy seems to be in black/white outfits often. That's obviously used symbolically, but I'd like to watch it to see if there's more to say.

Also, Xander tries to do a yellow crayon intervention here, building on the "connection" he claimed to make with Faith in The Zeppo. Even though Buffy apologetically tells him that she knows it means nothing to Faith, Xander the faithful has to try--and nearly gets strangled to death by Faith for his efforts.

Importantly, Willow is having issues in this episode. She's trying to be the nice girl, but she's found out the Xander had sex with Faith and Buffy has been bonding with Faith--as much as Willow likes Oz, she's feeling like the odd man out. In this episode, a wordless shot in a montage shows Willow alone, sobbing--a strong visual counterpoint to her daffy, chipper persona. This time, Willow is the one who's jealous; Willow is the one who feels isolated--and she's aware that she's feeling these things even as she tries to be the good girl.

Go Fish

This episode is fine. Good momentum, fun lines--and utterly baffling. Why is it here? The Buffy/Angel/Spike mojo was brewing, the Willow/Oz relationship was blossoming, Giles and Buffy were grappling with various manifestations of grief and guilt over Jenny/Angel--and the season is interrupted by a monster story? No tie-in or growth in any of the ongoing stories? They are all pushed aside like cauliflower at a preschool snack time. Completely.

Buffy, Willow and Cordy do try something new: they are fangirls. Totally oogling the swimmers. And totally mortified and amused when one of the uber-hot muscled bods belongs to.....Xander. Who knew? Not Cordy, from her reaction at seeing him in a tiny Speedo.

The costumers have made the decision to dress Xander as befits his social station, which means that his clothes are always ill-fitting and often quirky (theory: you can tell whether he's supposed to be taken seriously by whether he's wearing a goofy design). Because he's dressed in such baggy clothes, Xander in a speedo is probably the most memorable moment in the episode--and showed up in several retrospectives just because of the reaction at finding his toned abs.

Oh, and at the end, when Buffy's in danger, who shows up and saves her from the fish-boys? Xander again. Somewhere--before season 4??--Xander gets marginallized and turned into the Zeppho, but so far, no. He's the stalwart white hat (except for the little secret, knowing that he tried to rape Buffy and not confessing that he knows).

On to high drama!

Ted

I want to like this episode. I really do. I like John Ritter--and he's awesomely creepy in a Stepford way in this. But...Nope. I was hoping that as I rewatched it, I'd find some electric connection to it that I'd missed earlier, like I did with "The Pack."

Nope.

Here are the couple things I did notice. This is superficial, but....bib overalls? Buffy wandering around in shapeless, huge bib overalls? I know that clothing reflects aspects of the personality (look at Xander's costuming; it's clear which side of him will appear in almost every scene by the clothes), and yea, Buffy thinks she killed a human, which is for her the carnal sin. Does that mean she has to commit the carnal sin in clothing? The bibs haven't appeared before, and I'm watching to see if they appear again, but that's soooo odd. The plaid shirt in What's my Line and then these bibs--that's not accidental. They are too extreme as choices--and she's fashiony in other parts of the same episodes.

Note that even though she absolutely refuses to kill a human, she will let one die--the zookeeper in The Pack and her friend Billy Ford could have been rescued.

I've read that the subtext of this episode is the whole jealousy at sharing her mom, guilt of child of divorce, etc. Sure, that's in there, but I'm not convinced that's any more than inevitable given the plot line. Perhaps this is another episode priming us for Angel to turn, getting the audience to see that someone who seems good can have an side, pointing out the duality.

Ted says, "The rules are the rules." More than once, I think. In "What's My Line," the point is made repeatedly that Buffy doesn't follow the rules. Not the Watcher's rules, not the school rules. Is the emphasis on "the rules" foreshadowing that even though Buffy breaks the rules, not everyone has a get out of jail free card--that if Angel breaks the rules (by finding a moment of happiness, perhaps...) there will be consequences?

Also, everyone--even Willow and Giles--believes Buffy did kill a human...except Xander. He pushes to research, to investigate. Even though Ted comes back and his robot-ness is revealed, the extent of his crimes is known because of Xander. His faith in Buffy is absolute, beyond Willow and Giles, even. Maybe that's infatuation-driven, fighting to retain the rosy glow of perfectenss, but he has seen Buffy be less than perfect; he has told her she's wrong on occasion. This goes deeper than not wanting his dream girl to do something wrong, I think.

Little note: the language in BtVS is always G-rated. Innuendo, yes, but actual bad words, no. This episode has both Willow and Buffy using "damn" and "hell"--and in fairly innocuous places. That's interesting...not sure why, but I noted it.

What's My Line Pt 1

Lots going on--guess that's why it's a two-parter! First, the plot lines that create the two part story arc: healing Drusilla, which includes stealing a "super duper decoder ring;" and the threat from the Order of Tarokis, assassins that Spike has hired ("Isn't that overkill," a minion asks Spike; "No, it's just the right amount of kill")

Tied in with that, though, are all sorts of things. Most obviously, Kendra the Vampire Slayer appears, and the Career Fair is the backdrop for the episode. Those two things are intertwined, too. Buffy has no future, no reason to participate in the career fair (except the Principal is forcing her). She has a "gig," and she invites Giles to "fire her," then comments on the fact he'd have to kill her, chosen one, blah blah blah. She's got an attitude about not having a future, and the running joke about her going into law enforcement is too true, in a mythic big picture sense. She's not amused.

Then, abracabra--Kendra, a culturally ambiguous Bratz doll slayer. More on her next episode, but she is Buffy's foil, the traditional Slayer. And she emphasizes that Buffy is just one in a series, that her life expectancy is zip. (We could argue about whether Buffy could walk away since Kendra--then Faith--are the "official" slayers following the straight slayer line, but no reason to go there; neither Buffy nor Giles define her as inactive, and she still has the power and skills.)

After the last bit, where Giles has been reframed as a character, he's back in tweed-clad Watcher librarian mode and asserting his position. He's research-driven, bonding with Willow (who at this point really seems to be closer to Giles in many ways than either Buffy or Xander--he understands her best and values her abilities) He's grumpy at Buffy, demanding. That sets up the juxtaposition we'll see next episode with Kendra and the traditional Slayer/watcher paradigm.

What else....hmm...as important as names are to Whedon, I haven't figured out why the cross and book that are needed to heal Dru are by a man named duLac. Of the lake? Like Lancelot--there are few ties with Arthurian legend in the Buffyverse; if this is a reference, I haven't gotten it yet. Also, Spike and his nerd vamp handle duLac's cross without as much as a cringe. Curious--espeically since Xander used a smaller cross to bully Angel the end of last reason, and a cross necklace burned Angel when he and Buffy kissed.

Brief references to religion a couple times. Buffy says, "Note to self: Religion freaky" as she's in the tomb with Giles looking at duLac's relics. The way religion (Judeo-Christian) is treated in the show is interesting; that's one of the themes I'm watching.

This is a relationship-building episode, too. We actually meet Oz finally, and Xander comments on Cordy wanting to be a Scooby (is that the first use of the term in the show?? Maybe) Buffy gets to ice skate because Angel takes her on a "date" to the skating rink (that means she skates and he lurks).

Worth noting: Joyce still has no clue Buffy is the slayer, and she is frequently out of town on business trips, giving Buffy far more freedom than most teens. At this point, she's windowdressing to pull out as needed.

Oh--Buffy's clothing is worth noting. It's hard to think of Buffy as dowdy, and through most of this episode, she's as fashionista as usual--but when she gets upset and scared, after both Angel and Giles say she needs to hide from the Order of Tarokis because she can't win against them, she's wandering around in this huge plaid shirt--looks as if it could be flannel, in fact. I think she goes through several other episodes with this shirt. Gotta watch that. She is sometimes casual, but dowdy? It's not even quirky or odd (a la Willow and Xander's clothes) Almost never.

Also, the dialog is snappy in this. It usually is, but for some reason it hits me as slightly quirkier than the last few. I need to check who is the credited writer.

On to Part 2!