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!

Goodbye, Iowa

This is Riley's coming of age, his coming to a crisis point. As Buffy puts it at the end, the underpinings of his world have fallen apart, and he's left with nothing...but she's wrong; he's got her scarf (or whatever the piece of fabric from her was). The end foreshadows that Riley has come to terms with Maggie's betrayal by choosing to align with Buffy. Even though he stalwartly defends Maggie through most of the episode, to the point of accusing Buffy of killing her, when he's faced not merely with the fact of Adam, but Adam's statements about how he and Riley are brothers, "Mother's two favorite sons," Riley rejects being one of Maggie's creations--which continues as we (and he) discover that, like Spike, he has an implant that Maggie used to "improve" him as well.

Is this Joss' updating of Frankenstein? Is Maggie the modern Dr. F? The parallels are obvious, especailly with the killing of the child. It's been a long time since I've read Shelley's classic, so maybe I need to along with this season....free ebooks, here I come!

If part of the subtext of Buffy is to explore what it means to be female, then by extension, this season is a more overt exploration of what it means to be human (via Adam) and male (via Riley and Initiative? Thinking about that.) Riley is more "All American Ken Doll" than any other character, something Buffy knew and chose; he was supposed to be the "boring boyfriend" than Anya told her she needed....even though it was in a comic, sentimental scene, with Anya emphasizing that Buffy couldn't have Xander, and Buffy confessing how crazy about Riley she was, even though he turned out to be G.I. Joe instead of Ken Doll.

Riley's a pysch grad student, yet his moments of introspection and analysis are very limited. It's becoming more clear that Riley is a man of action, a man who follows orders and doesn't question--but when the questioning comes, he deals with it quickly and without a lot of emo (bit change from Spike, and Angel, and...yea). If he's the ideal man, I need to watch for what that means.

And on the Willow front: maybe she hasn't had sex with Tara yet after all, but she did spend the night "doing magic." Willow emphasizes to Tara that she really likes being with her and isn't just using her like Capt. Planet---"by our powers combined.." Interesting: when Willow wants Tara to help with a spell that Tara is uncomfortable with, Tara obviously (to us) undercuts it; even here at the beginning, when it's fun and flirty and helpful magic, Tara questions if Willow is using magic appropriately. Foreshadowing.

Helpless

Ohhhhh....now I get it. Last episode, Joyce turns on Buffy, and leaving Buffy without a supportive parent figure...now---Helpless. Daddy turns on her, in essence. We are seeing the creation/growth of Buffy's fatal flaw, her sense of isolation.

It's Buffy's birthday, 18. She's excited about the Ice Capades; going each year with her Dad (a conspicuously absent character) is a ritual that she cherishes. She admits that it's childish--cotton candy, sparkly costumes--even as she tries to defend the artistry of the skaters. He cancels. She sucks it up, but in a touching scene, she tries to get Giles to offer to take her. The Giles-as-father-figure is in full bloom, with Buffy articulating it as clearly as she ever does. If Giles would offer, it would complete the transition into Buffy's dad, symbolically.

However, he's completely distracted. She's so wrapped up in her scheming that--childlike--she pays no attention to his mood. We find out why. He's shooting her up with a substance that, we realize in a bit, is sapping her strength. He seems distraught about doing it, but--ever the good soldier--he does.

A lot is written about this episode and Buffy's loss of strength: the men leering at her, her inability to save Cordelia from a bully, her clever dealing with the vampire test--but there's a bigger loss: a loss of trust in the adults around her. It's not a total loss, and they do redeem themselves, still having loving relationships, but her father, Joyce, and now Giles have revealed that they are human; they may have their own agendas, they may even knowingly hurt her. The most important rite of passage in this episode may not be the Counsel's Vampire test; it may be Buffy's realization that she is alone in a fundamental way.

In counterpoint, when Quentin fires Giles, he claims Giles loves Buffy with a father's love, and that renders him unfit to be a Watcher. He wants to protect and preserve her, to help instead of watch and guide. At that moment, Buffy probably doesn't believe that, but her subtle reactions to Giles' firing implies that she's considering what that means.

As is common in the Buffy-verse, love triumphs and Joyce, Buffy and Giles are pretty much fine post-Helpless,....but--as always in Sunnydale--the history is remembered and the lessons learned. When Giles conspires with Robin against Spike, he betrays Buffy again, nearly leaving her even more helpless than in this episode; again, he does it for what he believes are important reasons, and not easily. Giles is a more morally ambiguous character than I had realized--which isn't to say he is, but he's not the total background white hat I'd remembered.

Revelations

Yes, more than one revelation. The obvious one is that Angel is alive, and Buffy's been lying to everyone about her whereabouts when she's been stealing time with him.

Some people might argue that another revelation is that Mrs. Post is an evil former watcher--maybe, but that's really too simple, too tied to a single episode plot line. That revelation isn't worth the time and energy, I think.

So.....hmmmmm......well, Xander and Willow have a secret--they are attracted to each other and "accidently" kissing every chance they get, but that isn't revealed, so that's not a revelation...

How about this: Buffy's tragic flaw, the heroic blemish that will ultimately define her, is very evident here, I think for one of the first times. Hubris. She believes that the way she chooses to do things is the only way: she "had to" keep Angel a secret. No, she really didn't. She seemed to hope that it would not come to light, which means when it finally did, the situation was compounded by her friends' feelings of betrayal. And, as will be her pattern later, if people disagree with her decisions, she turned it back on them. She claims that Xander is motivated by jealousy of Angel, not from a desire to keep his friends safe. She apologizes to an obviously upset Giles for not telling, but her subtext is "I'm sorry you don't understand why I thought this was best."

Giles is subtle, but important here. He's very disappointed in Buffy, and begins questioning his methods in dealing with her--especially claiming that she doesn't respect him or his job. He makes a good case for that, too. And he suffers again--last season, tortured by Angel, this season, carted to the hospital because of an evil watcher. Giles bears the brunt of bad decisions.

And that tragic flaw has cemented Faith's distrust of her, a large part of the reason Faith turns to the Mayor. Faith wanted to be accepted, wanted to be a Scooby--but it was made clear that she wasn't. The opening couple of scenes, she's like the sister Buffy never had (hehe--yet!), then it turns sour as Faith is excluded from the Scooby intervention--which comes after Buffy lies by omission about Angel.

When hard emotional choices must be made, too often, Buffy opts to follow the path of least resistance, and to not seek or disregard wisdom from others. She chooses isolation when community would help. As I watch more of these and as the plots turn darker, I think I'm going to see that as Buffy's tragic flaw....gotta watch more!

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!

Lie To Me

I fell asleep near the end, so I probably should rewatch that, but I'd seen it recently, so....

This has what's one of the sadder scenes in the early seasons: Buffy is losing her innocence, and she tells Giles to lie to her about life (I forget the exact context). He basically says that good and evil are clearly labeled, and good will always triumph, all the men are stalwart and the women beautiful--or something close. She doesn't believe him, he doesn't believe it. But it's a bittersweet father-daughter-y moment, and one of the scenes I clearly recalled long after I watched it.

Alo, Buffy won't kill a human, but she lets her friend from LA die. She's taking baby steps towards situational ethics, but she has more lines that she won't cross than many people, even at the end. She is created to be a hero at least 3 ways: in the superhero-y tradition; in the literary tradition; and in a more mythological sense...I think. Gonna pull out my Joseph Campbell and see if I can defend that, but not tonight. I'm tired.

Interesting: Willow, Xander and Angel go check out the vamp-wanna-be club. Considering the degree of antipathy Xander and Angel have towards each other, they are quietly teamed up very often. Another topic for pondering.

But not tonight. I'm tired.