Family

Variations on the theme: this season, identity and family have been explored, now the theme reaches out to include Tara (and by extension, Willow, who has been underutilized so far this season). Tara has, understandably, been aware that she's not really a Scoobie. Even though she's been around for a season, Buffy and Xander can't think of a thing to get her for her birthday; they claim to not know her well enough.

By the end of the episode, we've found that Tara's own family is awful, and that she believed she was part demon. It's been established that she is officially part of the group, with everyone bonding together to save her from her father--even though she cast a spell that could have caused them to be killed by demons. She is forgiven and accepted, claimed as family.

Things to note: Spike had come to see Buffy killed, but helped save her (gee, imagine that), AND he is part of the process of "claiming" Tara--he's not a Scoobie, but he is. His intervention not only saved Buffy but also established that Tara's father was lying and she was not part demon. His integration from punch line to essential side man has started.

Also, Tara has misused magic, casting a spell for her benefit that impacts others. She is contrite that she did so, accepting that it was wrong. Willow--foreshadowing next season's issues--excuses and defends the use of magic to make Tara's pain less and life better. Tara has learned from her experience; Willow hasn't.

And, very importantly, Riley helps Buffy move in, then feels shut out and leaves, heading to Willy's bar to drink with vampires--looking for darkness? Leading into something? AND, equally importantly, the big love fest at the end that solidifies Tara (and Spike and Anya) as part of the expanded group--Riley's not there. He's on borrowed time. He knows it, too.

The Replacement

Xander-angst! Last season, Xander was a misfit. He wasn't in college, he couldn't keep a job, he was at loose ends and stagnating. This episode, right at the beginning of season 5, is a logical counterpart to Dawn's "Real Me." In both, the core issue is one of identity. "Real Me" introduces Dawn's search for identity; "The Replacement" makes Xander's struggle with finding his groove as an adult into an explicit theme.

So he's twins--grown-up, responsible Xander and goofy, unreliable Xander. The twist is they are both Xander, and the clearest evidence of that is that the reliable one is doing things--getting a promotion, getting a nice apartment--based on the actions of season 4 Xander, who must have quietly been doing some of the right things in order to have the opportunities he takes advantage of in this episode.

As happens in other places, most notably the yellow crayon speech, Xander calls on his history and relationship with Willow. Despite Oz, Tara, Anya, and Dark Willow--Xander and Willow's bond is deep...arguably deeper than his bond with Buffy despite his loyalty and infatuation with her (Note, I'm excluding the last couple episodes of the series when I say that--but it's worth mentioning that he takes the side Willow is on when they throw Buffy out). True Xander, deep down, Willow knows him.

Two bits of foreshadowing occur: first, somewhat jokingly, Joyce complains about a headache. Yep, that's going nowhere good. secondly, Riley has a revealing talk with "responsible" Xander explaining that he knows Buffy doesn't really love him. The clock is ticking on that relationship, we suspect, AND we see Xander doing something that he does even more once he embraces his grown up side: he is the confidante who sees more than most people, and who is willing to say the hard things.

The resolution is simple, and Xander is restored. The Scoobies reaffirm their partnership by working together to solve the problem, and the Magic Box is established as a home base. Season continues to build from here.

Harsh Light of Day

Vamp Time! From the first scene, where Buffy is watching Parker in a mirror at the Bronze to the end scene when Buffy decides to send the Gem of Amarra to Angel (without speaking his name, of course), the episode is about vampires.

Watching Angel in a mirror was never an option; several episodes play with the fact that he could sneak up on her when she was looking in a mirror. He's gone, though, and Parker is here. The subplot of Buffy sleeping with, then getting dumped by Parker is woven throughout the vamp line of Spike and whiny new girlfriend Harmony looking for the gem. (Note: it's a Holy grail image for vamps, a point Giles makes)

Buffy apparently is over Angel, and the multiple ironies of her giving the gem to Angel is not even alluded to: first, Angel leaves, refusing to commit, then she gives him a ring--a symbol of commitment; also, his major reason for leaving was that he couldn't give Buffy a normal life, going outside during the day, moving around at will, but with the gem, he could do all that. He wouldn't age, of course, while Buffy would--but they could have had a long "normal" life (especially considering a slayer's usual life span). She gives him all that while still smarting from the slight wounds Parker inflicted. In fact, Oz delivers the ring so we don't even get the satisfaction of a Buffy/Angel reunion (although that does happen in a few episodes, I think). As Buffy begins other relationships, reinforcing that they are all 2nd to Angel is a reoccurring theme; the fact that her brief Parker relationship takes place at the same time she's earning a prize that could change Angel's life is not an accident--sure, she can play with boytoys, but Angel is still there in the background. There's no doubt that she'd leave Riley for Angel, and the Spike/Angel argument is one that is still being fought in fanfic!

This is a sexisode, with Xander going into full goof mode as Anya strips and announces that she thinks that having sex with him will cure her of her crush. (Note the parallel: that does cure Parker of his crush, but cements it for Anya) Amid double takes and comic reactions, the "romance" of Anya and Xander is underway, seemingly out of the blue. When Buffy accuses him in season 5 (i think) of being with Anya because it's convenient and she's willing, it seems possible that she's right until Xander makes his big speech to Anya to clarify. But that's a season (or so) away, and for now, Anya is comic relief--and she takes the role left by Cordelia's absense: truthteller, blurting out what shouldn't be said. Her reason for doing so is different, but often the purpose is the same--to call the character's (and audience's) attention to something we're too polite, or scared, or oblivious to notice.

And Spike--he's back. Mean, focused, and mesmerizing. Could Spike kill Buffy? Could Buffy dust Spike? Would Whedon let either of them win? That seems to be the question he tapdances around for the next few seasons...in this episode, Buffy wins the round and gets the ring, but it's close.

Now to more fun--the Halloween episode is next, and this is Halloween night. Guess what ghouls and ghosts will be scaring me!

Graduation Day, Pt 2

Maybe the most significant part about this is that almost everyone "graduates" in some way. (Giles is the exception)

Buffy forces Angel to drink her blood (in a scene that's at least as sensuous as their lovemaking way back), then watches him walk away, leaving her in a heartbreaking "graduation." And she's again embraced her slayerhood, marshaling the forces to fight against the Mayor. Significantly, she doesn't do it alone. As someone (Spike?) will observe in another season, her strength comes from those around her. She's faced the darkness--trying to kill Faith, trying to BE Faith, nearly dying to save Angel--and she's come through stronger than ever.

The flip side of that, Willow and Oz finally consummate their relationship, beginning with a cute dialogue where she's freaking out and wishes he'd show that he's concerned too. In an understated comic moment, they are late to graduation, presumably because they are at it again. Their relationship has graduated to a new level.

Wesley's graduation takes the form of deciding to do the right thing, stay and take orders from Buffy even though she has fired him. His usefulness is questionable, as he is on the ground flailing at the graduation attack, but for someone who has been a tool of the Council, it's a step in the right direction--and possibly causes the self-reflection leading him to become a "rogue demon hunter" at the beginning of Angel. His transformation from tool of the system to morally ambiguous, which heightens as his character develops in Angel , is another thing I want to explore sometime. Basically, he goes from externally driven definitions of "right" to internally driven.

Cordy never says what she's doing next, and it's clear from The Kiss with Wesley that their infatuation has ended. Significantly, she is hanging out with the Scoobies at the end, part of the money shot closing the season and that phase of their lives. We also know she can't go to college and has no resources because of her father's legal/financial trouble. Cordy has graduated from pampered princess to real girl, in a sense.

Xander is perhaps the least obvious one. His role in the last part of the season is understated, and the last two episodes he's lucky to speak if he's in a scene. The writers began the show, 3 years ago, identifying with Xander more strongly than anyone. Look at season one, and even some of season two. The number of Xander-centric plots where notable, and is buffoon traits muted. It feels as if they hadn't quite hit on Xander's EveryMan qualities yet, or his "seeing" ability--in fact, Oz is the one who "sees" at the end of this episode, and makes everyone else see, too. In retrospect, it feels as if that should have been Xander. But Oz was good, too. He's got his Zen Master moments.

So how does Xander graduate? In the graduation battle scene, he's the commander. He has authority, knowledge and judgement. Buffy has the crucial job--getting the Mayor in the school--but Xander controls the battle. For the guy who was reviled as Cordy's boyfriend and marginalized as a social force, that's important. He found his strength there at the end, and even though his character takes a while in season 4 to find his place...well, maybe all of season 4...there's a clear sense of his importance to the team. He's been deliberately taunted, as the Zeppo, by Anya--being the field commander helps redefine his position, somewhat.

The Mayor's speech, which is cut short due to his ascension happening a bit ahead of schedule, follows Whedon's pattern of having the truth spoken by the unexpected character:Cordelia, Anya, the Mayor, Spike...probably more that I will have to watch for. He acknowledges that the kids don't care that this day is the 100th anniversary of Sunnydale, knowing that they have more immediate concerns. He acknowledges that everything will be different after today, as well--dramatic irony, knowing the Mayor's plans, but exceedingly valid for a graduation speech. Just as he chose to attack Buffy in the school cafeteria with the truth about her relationship with Angel, now he confronts the graduates with the truth about their ritual.

Human weakness, by the way, is another theme: the Mayor's feelings for Faith are how Buffy gets to him, which Faith in a dream sequence told Buffy (another human weakness, Faith and Buffy feeling connected despite all the baggage).

And it all ends with a tableau, the Scoobies looking at their high school, taking a moment before this phase of the series--and their fictional lives--change.

Oz: "Guys, take a moment to deal with this. We survived.
Buffy: "It was a hell of a battle."
Oz: "Not the battle. High School. We're taking a moment. And we're done."