S02.E13: Surprise

[Mya Stone]

 

To give Buffy a surprise on her 17th birthday, Drusilla and Spike bring together the body parts of a dismembered demon who cannot be killed.

 

This is definitely the weaker of the two, but it still holds a special place in my heart. The angst. The not-shown sex. It was everything 16 year old Mya could want in a show, plus David Boreanez shirtless. It has some of my favorite crazy Dru moments. Her dance to "Transylvanian Concubine." "Do it again! Do it again!" So good. So hilarious. 

 

Plus, I just realized that Angel pokes Buffy with his sword to turn evil, and Buffy pokes Angel with her sword and sends him to hell. Yes, it took me 16 years to sort out the symmetry and symbolism. (Also, holy crap, 16 years?!) 

Also, in my final nitpick - how is it that Angel, post-coitus, runs from bed completely naked, yet inexplicably ends up fully clothed outside in the rain? We aren't talking the True Blood vamp speed, here. :p 

[Jazzy24]

"Suprise" was the last time I liked all the Scoobies and their pairings or just the gang.

Giles

Buffy

Willow

Xander

Angel

Oz

Jenny

Cordelia

Buffy and Angel were cheesy in this episode but I can look past that.

Also did anyone ever notice that Angel kept wearing his ring after turning into Angelus?

The Library is and will always be my favorite BTVS set probably because my love of books. But I always loved the Scoobies and their research in the library.

[Dianthus]

It's funny to me that ME went so far out of their way to emphasize Buffy turning 17 in this ep. Maybe it's different in other states, but the age of consent in CA is 18.

At first I thought Dru was the gypsy girl Angelus had tortured and killed. Not so, as it turned out.

Here, we have parallels between Buffy and Dru.

They're both having a party.

They're both wearing white in the same sequence.

They're both about to unleash an evil force.

They both dream of Angel.

 

This is purely my interpretation, but this ep is partly about sex, so... it seems to suggest that Angel is (on some level) a selfish lover.

 

Spoiler

Just as we'll see the Good Girl/Bad Girl dichotomy play out with Buffy and Faith in s3,

there's a Madonna/Whore dichotomy playing out with Angel and Spike, IMO. Angel is "a perfect gentleman" before getting it on with Buffy. After that, he's back to being full-tilt evil.

Spoiler

OTOH, Buffy will use Spike for sex (among other things), regardless of his feelings.

[DAngelus]

 

They're both wearing white in the same sequence.

 

Drusilla does not wear white; this episode marks the debut of the dark-red dress that she will wear for the rest of the season.  Once she's no longer the "helpless waif" she was pre-restoration, she no longer wears the pseudo-virginal white.

 

(Also, as a practical matter, the white dress was ruined by all the ash dropped on it at the end of What's My Line, Part 2)

 

 

They both dream of Angel.

 

I think Dru's "I only dreamed you'd come" is addressed to Buffy, not to Angel.  Which, of course, makes the parallel stronger; each girl dreams of the other.  But I doubt any literal comparison is intended between Buffy and Drusilla (what with Buffy not being old, undead, evil, or insane, that we know of), nor is the comparison in service of romantic "subtext".  IMO it's merely here to foreshadow Angel leaving Buffy's world and returning to Drusilla's.

 

On a different subject, poor Dalton.  Yes, he reads, so what, you big illiterate?  If he hadn't figured out how to restore Drusilla, you'd still be in the little boxes.  Ingrate.

[Joe Hellandback]

On 7/4/2014 at 9:35 PM, Mya Stone said:

 

This is definitely the weaker of the two, but it still holds a special place in my heart. The angst. The not-shown sex. It was everything 16 year old Mya could want in a show, plus David Boreanez shirtless. It has some of my favorite crazy Dru moments. Her dance to "Transylvanian Concubine." "Do it again! Do it again!" So good. So hilarious. 

 

Plus, I just realized that Angel pokes Buffy with his sword to turn evil, and Buffy pokes Angel with her sword and sends him to hell. Yes, it took me 16 years to sort out the symmetry and symbolism. (Also, holy crap, 16 years?!) 

Also, in my final nitpick - how is it that Angel, post-coitus, runs from bed completely naked, yet inexplicably ends up fully clothed outside in the rain? We aren't talking the True Blood vamp speed, here. :p 

The weaker of the 2 but that's like comparing The Rolling Stones to the Beatles. As for Angel's miraculously appearing shorts maybe he got them from Bruce Banner?

 

On 7/5/2014 at 6:32 AM, Jazzy24 said:

"Suprise" was the last time I liked all the Scoobies and their pairings or just the gang.

Giles

Buffy

Willow

Xander

Angel

Oz

Jenny

Cordelia

Buffy and Angel were cheesy in this episode but I can look past that.

Also did anyone ever notice that Angel kept wearing his ring after turning into Angelus?

The Library is and will always be my favorite BTVS set probably because my love of books. But I always loved the Scoobies and their research in the library.

Maybe he turned the heart around? We actually have the biggest Scooby gang here until season 7. 

 

On 7/9/2014 at 5:17 PM, Dianthus said:

It's funny to me that ME went so far out of their way to emphasize Buffy turning 17 in this ep. Maybe it's different in other states, but the age of consent in CA is 18.

At first I thought Dru was the gypsy girl Angelus had tortured and killed. Not so, as it turned out.

Here, we have parallels between Buffy and Dru.

They're both having a party.

They're both wearing white in the same sequence.

They're both about to unleash an evil force.

They both dream of Angel.

 

This is purely my interpretation, but this ep is partly about sex, so... it seems to suggest that Angel is (on some level) a selfish lover.

 

Spoiler

Just as we'll see the Good Girl/Bad Girl dichotomy play out with Buffy and Faith in s3,

there's a Madonna/Whore dichotomy playing out with Angel and Spike, IMO. Angel is "a perfect gentleman" before getting it on with Buffy. After that, he's back to being full-tilt evil.

Spoiler

OTOH, Buffy will use Spike for sex (among other things), regardless of his feelings.

 

Spoiler

But eventually she dumps him;

Spoiler

partly for his own sake?

On 7/9/2014 at 9:55 PM, DAngelus said:

 

Drusilla does not wear white; this episode marks the debut of the dark-red dress that she will wear for the rest of the season.  Once she's no longer the "helpless waif" she was pre-restoration, she no longer wears the pseudo-virginal white.

 

(Also, as a practical matter, the white dress was ruined by all the ash dropped on it at the end of What's My Line, Part 2)

 

 

I think Dru's "I only dreamed you'd come" is addressed to Buffy, not to Angel.  Which, of course, makes the parallel stronger; each girl dreams of the other.  But I doubt any literal comparison is intended between Buffy and Drusilla (what with Buffy not being old, undead, evil, or insane, that we know of), nor is the comparison in service of romantic "subtext".  IMO it's merely here to foreshadow Angel leaving Buffy's world and returning to Drusilla's.

 

On a different subject, poor Dalton.  Yes, he reads, so what, you big illiterate?  If he hadn't figured out how to restore Drusilla, you'd still be in the little boxes.  Ingrate.

She does wear white again, notably in IOHEFY?

The Good; Everything! Buffy's opening dream is superb. The fight, the Judge, Dru and Spike and THAT ending! Also the clever way you think Jenny is leading Buffy astray but is actually just leading her to the party. Love Oz's reaction to discovering the truth about Sunnydale

The Bad; Are you crazy, this is Buffy at it's best!

Best line; Dru; (after the Judge burns Dalton) "Do it again! Do it again!"

Questions and observations; Xander mentions giving Buffy a 'pre-birthday spanking', a display of kinkiness that will become apparent in all the Scoobies to a greater and lesser degree over the course of the series

Spoiler

(actually Xander may not be far too off the mark in terms of Buffy's desires, 'Get It Done' later explaining Slayers' penchant for S&M with the stress on the M).

 Jenny back in the gang but with her true self revealed, all the Scoobies keeping secrets over the years. Buffy loses her virginity, as the age of consent in California is 18 this is technically statutory rape. Oz refers to past groupies although he doesn't have any now. Spike in a wheelchair

Spoiler

(like his mother),

he seems reluctant to release the Judge, again showing his more human side. The Judge senses it, commenting that Spike and Dru share jealousy and affection (love Spike's confrontation with him "Yeah, what of it mate!?" as though the judge has spilled his pint or something). Dalton also seems to have retained some humanity (enough for the Judge to burn him), perhaps because he was sired by Dru or Spike? The fact that reading is considered sufficiently un-demon like behaviour to warrant a fiery death speaks volumes as to why humanity rules the Earth and demons don't any more. Dru hates the flowers, I thought roses were supposed to repel vamps anyway? Brian Thompson back again and the wonderful Vincent Schavelli. Why not just sink the Judge's arm into the Pacific? Why does Dalton still need his glasses, surely as a vamp his eyes would have healed up like Darla's heart condition

Spoiler

and Spike's mum's tuberculosis

? Maybe they're just for effect? Small point that Xander says "Hello mom" on the phone and then still needs to say "It's Xander". Does he have siblings or is she just too drunk to understand what he said?

10/10 and more!

[Smad]

56 minutes ago, Joe Hellandback said:

Buffy loses her virginity, as the age of consent in California is 18 this is technically statutory rape.

And technically Buffy is guilty of necrophilia. And since you are one of those people (I think) who think Spike is already into Buffy, lets talk about him following, videotaping, attacking and stalking an under aged girl.

Quote

Spike in a wheelchair

Spoiler

(like his mother),

he seems reluctant to release the Judge, again showing his more human side.

If he was reluctant to release him, why did Spike put the Judge together in the first place? Now he has buyers remorse or something? Yeah, nope. He knew what he was doing and what the Judge was. And Spike is not human or is he suddenly not a vampire anymore and I've missed it?

[Halting Hex]

3 hours ago, Joe Hellandback said:

Spike seems reluctant to release the Judge, again showing his more human side.

Or, rather, the fact that he's a big wuss.  Which, to be fair, Buffy has just dealt him a "truly spectacular kicking of [his] ass", which is why he's in the chair to begin with.  But even still.

3 hours ago, Joe Hellandback said:

The Judge senses it, commenting that Spike and Dru share jealousy and affection

Clearly Spike isn't showing much "humanity", given that:

• the Judge says that Drusilla has the same emotions, and

• he finds Dalton's love of reading more offensive to his demonic senses.

So if Spike really wants to be "a real live boy", maybe he should crack a book sometime.  Remember, kids, knowledge is power!

3 hours ago, Joe Hellandback said:

The Bad; Are you crazy, this is Buffy at it's best!

Nah, not really; this is still Marti writing for the cliff-hanger again, long on set-up and short on development.  The reason this is notably better than What's My Line, Part 1 is because the pace is quicker, it's funnier, and she stuffs it so full of character scenes that the unedited version of the shooting script would have qualified as the show's first 90-minute episode.  And while it's over-angsty (those Buffy/Angel scenes…) Vincent Schiavelli puts enough heartbroken anger into "you thought what? You thought you are 'Jenny Calendar' now?" to sell that scene, at least.  Not a patch on the second half, but acceptable on its own for what it is.

The "round-robin" scene is cringeworthy, though.  It's clear that this is Marti trying to explain a plot mechanism ("how do the Scoobs stay at the library all night? They tell their parents they're staying at each other's houses") but the dialogue is clunky, the idea that Willow has to explain this to Giles when they've (supposedly) been doing it for almost a year is dumb (clearly just an excuse for the exposition), and of course all it would take is one phone call from Joyce to the Rosenbergs for the whole project to collapse.  (Plus, Willow isn't allowed to have boys in her room, per Lie to Me…are we to believe that Sheila regularly okays "sleepovers" at Xander's?)  Cut this and get that Willow/Xander scene in, instead, please.  You know, the one where Xander acts jealous about Willow and Oz going on a date:

Quote

XANDER: Shouldn't you meet him or something? Are you sure you should be giving some stranger your address?

WILLOW: He's not just some stranger, Xander. He's a friend. He took a bullet for me.

XANDER: So? I would've taken a bullet for you. Nobody offered me one.

Awwww. As I said, good…just not "the best".  (That's next episode…)

Edited June 19, 2018 by Halting Hex

[Joe Hellandback]

17 hours ago, Smad said:

And technically Buffy is guilty of necrophilia. And since you are one of those people (I think) who think Spike is already into Buffy, lets talk about him following, videotaping, attacking and stalking an under aged girl.

If he was reluctant to release him, why did Spike put the Judge together in the first place? Now he has buyers remorse or something? Yeah, nope. He knew what he was doing and what the Judge was. And Spike is not human or is he suddenly not a vampire anymore and I've missed it?

Well he is a mass murderer/rapist as his story to

Spoiler

Dawn about the little girl in the coalshed proves. 

Yes, Spike has buyers remorse

Spoiler

think of his later remarks to Buffy about how he likes so much of the human world, Spike and Dru's human side will be a recurring theme I'll mention during the course of the series. 

[Joe Hellandback]

7 hours ago, Halting Hex said:

Or, rather, the fact that he's a big wuss.  Which, to be fair, Buffy has just dealt him a "truly spectacular kicking of [his] ass", which is why he's in the chair to begin with.  But even still.

Clearly Spike isn't showing much "humanity", given that:

• the Judge says that Drusilla has the same emotions, and

• he finds Dalton's love of reading more offensive to his demonic senses.

So if Spike really wants to be "a real live boy", maybe he should crack a book sometime.  Remember, kids, knowledge is power!

Nah, not really; this is still Marti writing for the cliff-hanger again, long on set-up and short on development.  The reason this is notably better than What's My Line, Part 1 is because the pace is quicker, it's funnier, and she stuffs it so full of character scenes that the unedited version of the shooting script would have qualified as the show's first 90-minute episode.  And while it's over-angsty (those Buffy/Angel scenes…) Vincent Schiavelli puts enough heartbroken anger into "you thought what? You thought you are 'Jenny Calendar' now?" to sell that scene, at least.  Not a patch on the second half, but acceptable on its own for what it is.

The "round-robin" scene is cringeworthy, though.  It's clear that this is Marti trying to explain a plot mechanism ("how do the Scoobs stay at the library all night? They tell their parents they're staying at each other's houses") but the dialogue is clunky, the idea that Willow has to explain this to Giles when they've (supposedly) been doing it for almost a year is dumb (clearly just an excuse for the exposition), and of course all it would take is one phone call from Joyce to the Rosenbergs for the whole project to collapse.  (Plus, Willow isn't allowed to have boys in her room, per Lie to Me…are we to believe that Sheila regularly okays "sleepovers" at Xander's?)  Cut this and get that Willow/Xander scene in, instead, please.  You know, the one where Xander acts jealous about Willow and Oz going on a date:

Awwww. As I said, good…just not "the best".  (That's next episode…)

I always figured Spike does read poetry in his spare time but can never show it because of his macho image. 

 To be fair she assumes Xander's parents are chaperoning? And I buy the jealousy, Xander loves Willow, she's the love of his life much as 

Spoiler

Dawn will be Buffy's

The Xander, Oz, Willow, CC dynamic is one I find endlessly entertaining. 

[Smad]

6 hours ago, Joe Hellandback said:

Yes, Spike has buyers remorse

Spoiler

think of his later remarks to Buffy about how he likes so much of the human world, Spike and Dru's human side will be a recurring theme I'll mention during the course of the series.

 

Are people still spreading this fanon? Have all of them watched a different show than me or something?

Spoiler

Spike exposed himself as nothing but a liar about how much he loves all those things when he left Buffy, who seemed to be loosing at the time, completely alone and hightailed it out of there with Dru. Leaving Buffy completely alone to fight and stop the world from ending. That's CANON. If Angelus wins, world goes to hell and so do all the things Spike supposedly loves so much. BIG FAT LIAR, that Spike.

And Spike and Dru are NOTHING special. All vampires have humanity (in the sense of human feelings and desires, although limited due to soulessness) by the very nature of being demons born out of/ formed out of humans. Even Angelus fits the definition of human per the Judge's standards, who sets the bar as low as READING=humanity. Angelus loves culture, language, arts etc. and he has affection for Dru and Darla. So what? They are still demons, bound to do evil because of their connection to evil and because you know, no soul.

[Joe Hellandback]

1 hour ago, Smad said:

Are people still spreading this fanon? Have all of them watched a different show than me or something?

Spoiler

Spike exposed himself as nothing but a liar about how much he loves all those things when he left Buffy, who seemed to be loosing at the time, completely alone and hightailed it out of there with Dru. Leaving Buffy completely alone to fight and stop the world from ending. That's CANON. If Angelus wins, world goes to hell and so do all the things Spike supposedly loves so much. BIG FAT LIAR, that Spike.

And Spike and Dru are NOTHING special. All vampires have humanity (in the sense of human feelings and desires, although limited due to soulessness) by the very nature of being demons born out of/ formed out of humans. Even Angelus fits the definition of human per the Judge's standards, who sets the bar as low as READING=humanity. Angelus loves culture, language, arts etc. and he has affection for Dru and Darla. So what? They are still demons, bound to do evil because of their connection to evil and because you know, no soul.

That's very true and it may be Spike is making excuses so he doesn't seem quite so 'sire whipped' but remember, The Judge can burn Dalton but not Angelus. 

[Halting Hex]

8 hours ago, Joe Hellandback said:

Xander loves Willow, she's the love of his life much as 

  Hide contents

Dawn will be Buffy's

So you think that 

Spoiler

Buffy and Dawn spend lots of time making out, much as W/X do in Season 3?

You do read (too much?) fanfic, don't you? ;)

[Smad]

3 hours ago, Joe Hellandback said:

That's very true and it may be Spike is making excuses so he doesn't seem quite so 'sire whipped' but remember, The Judge can burn Dalton but not Angelus. 

So what if the Judge can't burn Angelus?

Spoiler

It's clearly nonsense just to show us (in Innocence only) how evil he is, despite nothing backing that up for the rest of the Season.

His fixation on Buffy...very human and for that he should have been able to be burned. His fixation on Dru and need to make Spike feel inferior all the time, again human enough. Him leaving well drawn pictures behind for people, showing his artistic nature, also should have made him Judge material (if reading is enough, drawing definitely is). If the Judge sets the bar for humanity as low as being a book worm is enough, Angelus more than qualifies, via all the things I've listed.

Spoiler

And Spike's BS about Manchester and meals on wheels was exposed as BS twice in the episode. So using that speech as proof for some kind of humanity in Spike, is pure fanon.

9 hours ago, Joe Hellandback said:

 To be fair she assumes Xander's parents are chaperoning? And I buy the jealousy, Xander loves Willow, she's the love of his life much as 

  Hide contents

Dawn will be Buffy's

 

Spoiler

S7 Buffy would disagree with you on that hidden content.

[illdoc]

17 hours ago, Halting Hex said:

of course all it would take is one phone call from Joyce to the Rosenbergs for the whole project to collapse

Spoiler

Which it does in the Season 6 episode "All the Way", when Dawn tells Buffy that she's staying at Janice's house and Janice tells her mom that she's at Dawn's (Janice's mother calls the Summers house).

[Halting Hex]

1 hour ago, Smad said:

So what if the Judge can't burn Angelus?

Spoiler

It's clearly nonsense just to show us (in Innocence only) how evil he is, despite nothing backing that up for the rest of the Season.

His fixation on Buffy...very human and for that he should have been able to be burned. His fixation on Dru and need to make Spike feel inferior all the time, again human enough.

I'd disagree; the Judge establishes that Angel lacks compassion and empathy and kindness and things such as that, not that he lacks emotions per se.  He's a test of "humanity" not emotionlessness.  He's a demon, not a Vulcan.

(Yes, Vulcans have emotions, they just repress them, I know, I know.  But if you're expecting me to cite That Fucking Android instead, well…screw that.) 

So Angel does hate Buffy precisely because she stirred in him the sort of beneficent emotions that demons (such as the Judge, and the unsouled Angel) hate so very much…"she made me feel like a human being.  That's not the kind of thing you just forgive", to quote the vamp himself.  Angel, even without soul, has plenty of 

Spoiler

passion, as defined in the episode of that name.  What he lacks is "an urge to do what's right", as Wesley defines the soul in Five by Five.

He's never meant to be a blank slate, but a burning holocaust of hatred.  And his dominance games with Spike and Dru hardly disqualify him; the Master ran things the exact same way.  And Big Blue couldn't have laid a hand on old Nest, either.  JMO.

[Smad]

3 minutes ago, Halting Hex said:

I'd disagree; the Judge establishes that Angel lacks compassion and empathy and kindness and things such as that, not that he lacks emotions per se.  He's a test of "humanity" not emotionlessness.  He's a demon, not a Vulcan.

(Yes, Vulcans have emotions, they just repress them, I know, I know.  But if you're expecting me to cite That Fucking Android instead, well…screw that.) 

So Angel does hate Buffy precisely because she stirred in him the sort of beneficent emotions that demons (such as the Judge, and the unsouled Angel) hate so very much…"she made me feel like a human being.  That's not the kind of thing you just forgive", to quote the vamp himself.

 

Then why could he burn Dalton? The yardstick used on Dalton for humanity was READING. Just that, and the Judge was able to burn him. So if things like that count as a symbol for humanity, then Angelus sure as hell should have lit up like a match. I'm sorry but there is no other way around the fact that it doesn't make sense that Angelus doesn't burn. As he has feelings that humans feel and just like Dalton, a love for human entertainment. He's no different than other vampires since all vampires are reflections of humanity by their very nature (demons formed out of the former human).

[Halting Hex]

Perhaps the Judge considers reading a frou-frou, hippy-dippy, make-the-world-a-better-place kind of interest?  Whereas demons are 

Spoiler

as Spike says to Giles in A New Man

pretty much just "Crush, Kill, Destroy."  Those are the emotions that the Judge likes, and Angel certainly qualifies there.  His Grand Guignol tendencies make him of necessity more ornate than the pedestrian Spike (and even William the Single-Minded used to enjoy a good torture once upon a time, hence his name), but they don't really make him that much different, at his core.

[Joe Hellandback]

12 hours ago, Halting Hex said:

So you think that 

  Hide contents

Buffy and Dawn spend lots of time making out, much as W/X do in Season 3?

You do read (too much?) fanfic, don't you? ;)

Entire websites devoted to that concept during the run of the show and normally throwing Joyce into the mix for good measure. In fact I remember the first rule of The Joyce Summers Fanfic Archive was no incest because people just loved putting her with her daughters (says something for the popularity of the show that a fairly minor character like Joyce could have her own story archive). But no, not what I mean, Buffy and 

Spoiler

Dawn

are soulmates, they just have that special bond as Buffy herself states in The Gift. 

[Halting Hex]

Was checking out the massive tome that was the shooting script again (to get the sequence of events down) and I noticed some of the cut lines in the "It's Happy Birthday Buffy!/Not a perky birthday puppy" scene:

Quote

GILES:  It's just... A piece of the nightmare Buffy had the other night actually came to pass. [Note: in the aired ep, this becomes "transpired"]

XANDER: Something happen to Angel?

BUFFY: He's fine. For now. But if part of what I had a dream about came true-

WILLOW: Then all of it may come true.

BUFFY: And Drusilla might be alive. ["Then" and "could still" in the final version]

Two points:

1) It's perfectly logical for Xander to inquire if Angel's okay, since Buffy's nightmare was specifically about Angel's death and Xander knows this is what has Buffy worried, but I can't help but imagine if Nick might not have put a somewhat-hopeful tone into this line…and how the fandom would have hated Xander for it.  (Especially coming off of "How is Angel?  Pretend I care." in Ted.). Still, interesting, IMO.

2) Notice who didn't get a mention?  Spike.  Buffy isn't worried about him hurting Angel, she doesn't even consider whether Drusilla's possible survival of the fire/organ collapse in What's My Line, Part 2 would mean that Spike also survived.  Heck, he wasn't even in her dream, at all. I guess those "Buffy was in love with Spike, even in School Hard" ultra-'shippers might need to find a way around this omission.  Because when it comes to vampires, Buffy seems to have everyone but him on her mind.

Oh, burn, Spike.  Not the literal one you got from the fire, but even still.

Edited September 9, 2018 by Halting Hex

[lembergwatcher]

I'm sure that first they introduced Jenny Calendar as a character in season 1 and only some time later invented her backstory. Because no suspicion of her true identity has any existence in Jenny's pre-Surprise appearances. Nothing indicates that keeping Buffy and Angel apart happens to be Jenny's agenda either. Which is quite odd, given that Bangel is no secret among Buffy's inner circle. Miss Calendar is aware that Angel and Buffy know each other since Prophecy Girl/When She Was Bad. She's a witness to an interesting conversation involving the two in School Hard:

Quote

Giles: Well, he can't be any worse than any other creature you've faced.

Angel: (suddenly appears) He's worse. (they all look at him) Once he starts something he doesn't stop until everything in his path is dead.

Xander: Hmm. So, he's thorough, goal-oriented.

Buffy: We were at the Bronze before. Thought you said you might show.

Angel: You said you weren't sure if you were going.

Buffy: I was being cool. C'mon, you've been dating for, what, like, two hundred years? You don't know what a girl means when she says maybe she'll show?

Willow: Wow, two centuries of dating. If you only had two a year, that's still, like, four hundred (Buffy gives her a look) dates with four hundred different... (looks at the mace on the table) Why do they call it a mace?

Giles: Uh, we do have slightly more urgent matters to discuss.

Buffy: Yeah, like keeping my mom away from Principal Snyder tomorrow night?

Jenny: And not dying Saturday.

No reaction at all. Anyway Jenny dates Rupert Giles who, as we know, is totally positive about Buffy/Angel "romance" ("A vampire in love with a Slayer! It's rather poetic!") and has zero reasons to keep secrets from his girlfriend. After Calendar's ordeal in The Dark Age Jenny and Rupert have a little falling out, therefore we don't see her in two crucial eps regarding Buffy/Angel relationship (What's My Line, Parts 1&2), which is kind of weird because Jenny's supposed to watch Buffy and her "boyfriend" 24/7, whether she dates Tweed Boy or not. They reconcile eventually in Ted, but there's no word from Jenny in Bad Eggs - an episode in which both Buffy and Broody Boy are shown caught up in the whirlwind of passion. 

Only in Surprise, at the eve of Buffy's birthday, while both Angel and Buffy are moving full speed ahead to consummating their love, Jenny all of a sudden wakes up after months of dozing and tries to do something about the impending disaster. But to no avail. The stupidity of her clan is abysmal, but that's a matter for a separate talk.

[Halting Hex]

1 hour ago, lembergwatcher said:

Rupert Giles who, as we know, is totally positive about Buffy/Angel "romance" ("A vampire in love with a Slayer! It's rather poetic!"

Oh, hardly.  Have you forgotten the rest of Giles's line to Angel there?  "…in a maudlin sort of way."  He's trying to see it from Angel's point of view, but he can't help but snark.

1 hour ago, lembergwatcher said:

Jenny all of a sudden wakes up after months of dozing

Hey, be fair…it's not as if they had given her all the relevant facts, or anything.  She was probably just glad to get away from all the nutjobs, send an occasional note home ("Angel's still brooding.  Off to dance naked in the desert.  Love, J") and enjoy California.  Even the local Hellmouth is a chance to hone her technopagan skills, it develops.

Once Enyos deigns to actually tell her all those pesky details, she's got Angel on a slow boat to China within 12 hours.  (Well, almost.  But still.) That's pretty fast work, considering that she's improvising, I'd say.

[lembergwatcher]

14 hours ago, Halting Hex said:

Off to dance naked in the desert

Mmmmmm... I'd trade all Bangel scenes for just one Jenny's dance in the desert...

[Halting Hex]

I know that Buffy/Jenny slash exists.  Surely there must be one where Jenny takes her to Burning Man?  Rawr.

[lembergwatcher]

Sort of observation...

In Welcome to the Hellmouth Buffy tells Willow to "seize the moment". As we all know, that kind of advice nearly gets Willow killed at the hands (or should I say "at the fangs"?) of Thomas and Darla. 24 episodes later Willow "returns the favor" basically encouraging Buffy to take her thing with Angel next level. Buffy follows her best friend's advice and ends up losing her virginity on her 17th birthday, 

Spoiler

while everybody's darling Broody Boy eventually loses his precious soul and turns into ruthless killing machine unleashing a reign of terror all over Sunnydal for nearly six months.

Lesson: you do not give that kind of advice to those you love.

P.S.: Speaking of this round robin thing. I imagine Mrs. Harris response:

Quote

Xander: Willow and I are gonna be studying all night long, so I'm not gonna be coming home.

Mrs. Harris: Oh, that's how you call it these days? I'm so glad my little boy is growing up!..

[Halting Hex]

Well, yeah…except that

Spoiler

a nice Episcopalian family like the Harrises would prefer something other than that Jewish girl who's been sniffing after our Alexander all these years.

 What's wrong with that Buffy Summers we keep hearing about?

Speaking of her, let's be fair to Willow.  She was actually shocked to hear about Buffy's intentions (not to mention the "I like you at bedtime" sexy talk) and it was Buffy who went to the "I think seizing is kind of inevitable" place while Never-Been-Kissed (or on a date, even) Willow was devolving into "wow" after "wow".  Still, I'll grant you that she did remind Buffy of her previous advice…without pointing out the results of that conversation.  But I think I have to put it far more on Buffy than Willow, overall.

Personally, I'm just miffed that Marti* didn't go with the original version of the joke:

Quote

WILLOW:  Carpe diem.

BUFFY:  Seize the fish?

Yes, yes, I understand that Buffy can't be accurately remembering the translation of the Latin (!) "carpe" as "seize" at the same time she's also mistranslating it as "fish" (via the "carpe=carp" mixup), since it makes very little sense for Buffy to translate "carpe" into two separate words at once.  But IMO "seize the fish" is so much funnier than "fish of the day", so I'm sad to see absurdity sacrificed on the altar of accuracy, here.

*—I'm almost 100% certain this joke is actually from a Joss rewrite, rather than Marti's original.  Not only does it IMO sound a lot more Whedonesque than Marti's usual work, but the whole scene is referencing Welcome to the Hellmouth and (allegedly) Marti has still (to this day) never seen Season 1.  I mean, I guess she might have taken a squint at the pilot at some point, but generally S1 references in her work ("You and bug people, Xander.  What's up with that?" in What's My Line, Part 2) are a rewrite alert for me.  But JMO.

[lembergwatcher]

That's probably the best part of the episode's B/W dialogue. At least, from my POV. I truly love Willow's excitement.

[Halting Hex]

Kiss her! Right now!

(Yeah, yeah, nothing but 'shipper goggles, I know.  This is about BAngel, not my unrealized dreams of Wiffy.  Carry on.)

Spoiler

Okay, we know that Buffy and Dear Forehead REALLY shouldn't "carry on", but that's just hindsight.  Much as I'd like to blame them, I really don't.

Did I mention that I used to have a hard drive that I named "Kiss Her! Right Now!"?  I know, big shock, I'm sure…

[lembergwatcher]

Yeah, right, but... Buffy will definitely break Willow's heart one day.

[lembergwatcher]

At first I didn't notice Buffy's outfit (after running in the pouring winter rain) was that revealing... Wasn't that a little bit too much by the WB's standards?..

[Halting Hex]

That 16mm film covers a multitude of Hi-Def sins, it appears.  And here I thought I only loved it for adding "atmosphere".  Apparently, our Smidge appreciates the opportunity to be "free".

(Buffy also goes braless in Some Assembly Required.)

Spoiler

This also explains why those pokies are unfettered and a-poking in the "Was I…not good?" scene next episode.  I'd thought it was strange of Buffy to "celebrate" Angel's absence by foregoing undergarments, but if she didn't have one the night before, either, then that's different.  I guess Buffy thought her birthday not only meant she was mature enough to "seize" the moment, but that was now too grown-up for support garments.

Sadly, Angel's caddish remarks (and attempted murder spree) disabused Buffy of that belief;  when she pins Jenny to her desk later in the ep, her spaghetti-top's strap is flapping, but we see another strap in place, below.

Angel ruins everything.  Sigh.

 

Edited September 25, 2021 by Halting Hex

[Halting Hex]

Quote

 

BUFFY:  I like seeing you first thing in the morning.

ANGEL:  It's bedtime for me.

 

That's lovely, Forehead, but as Buffy was speaking about her emotions, your sleeping schedule really isn't on point.  Unless this is a subtle hint, but I think Angel is too protective to hatch a seduction plan, and subtlety isn't really his strong point.
*************************

My latest reactor continues the trend of everybody thinking Jenny is up to no good when she offers to give Buffy a ride, since they've just seen Vincent Schiavelli browbeat her into pledging to split up Buffy and Angel.  Besides, doesn't Buffy know not to get in cars with older women?  I grant you that Jenny is very attractive and Buffy is a horny little virgin, but come on, now.  If you want to finally get around to that "lesbian chic" thing (which was two years ago in 1996, slowpoke!), grab Willow or Cordelia.

(Or possibly both at once… *ahem*)

Anyway, it's so amusing that the reactors all panic (when Buffy gets out of the Beetle to check on the suspicious activity, the reactor went "Jenny, you better not be setting her up!") when, in fact, all Jenny's doing is giving Buffy a ride to the surprise party.  It was probably all Giles's idea.  Nice fake-out by Marti, there.

I'm just sad that only Willow wore the party hat.  I mean, Giles had already said he wouldn't and it's understandable that Cordelia would pass, but what about the boys?  You'd think Angel could be persuaded (just tell him it's customary…how's he going to know?), and Xander generally follows Willow's lead.

But especially Oz, since this is their first date, after all.  A little bit of co-operation would not be amiss.  Although, to be fair, it would mess up his hair.  Still, a bit disappointing. JMO.

[Halting Hex]

Quote

REACTOR:  (Is confused about the Jenny/Uncle scene)

ME (in a crude mood):  It's simple.  Jenny just has to get to Buffy's pussy before Angel does.

Yes, yes, Jenny has a much better shot at Angel because she's alone with him when he's naked and wet later this episode (darn you for not even writing that scene, Marti!  Even in a non-porn version, it would be fascinating), but come on.  Angel's a guy, he's perfectly capable of racking up some "extra credit" and then going right back to being in love with Buffy, whatever consequences there might be to the Curse.

If you wanna block him, you've got to deal with Buffy, no way around it.

Of course, Angel does have an ex-girlfriend in town…

Quote

ANGEL:  [Drusilla]'s just crazy enough to do it.

WILLOW:  Do what, re-assemble the Judge?

ANGEL:  Unleash Armageddon.

Haha! Get it?  Armageddon?  Because it was an arm in the box?

Very clever, Dead Boy.  And people say you have no sense of humor!

Well, at least Buffy and the gang know Dru's plans now.  Forewarned is forearmed, as the saying goes.

**********************

ETA, because I can't leave well enough alone.

Not from the episode:

Quote

UNCLE:  The girl and him, it ends now!  Do what you must to take her from him!

JENNY:  I-I can't!

UNCLE:  You must!

JENNY:  I can't!  I mean, I haven't even eaten pussy since college!

UNCLE:  That is of no consequence— wait, what?

JENNY (downcast look):  It's true.

UNCLE:  Really? (Annoyed) Then why are you not yet married?  I've been telling your mother she has to be tolerant, and you make a fool of me?

JENNY:  I'm sorry.  I-I've been very busy.

UNCLE:  Apparently not busy enough!  (beat) Seriously, not even at Burning Man?

JENNY:  Well, I was naked…but I was really high on Ecstasy.  I honestly don't remember.

UNCLE:  This is very troubling.

JENNY (pleading):  Is there no other way?

UNCLE (hesitates):  There is… (reaches into his bag)…this.

He produces a large DILDO, made of polished bone, with an accompanying set of leather straps, and hands it to her.

JENNY (eyes wide):  Oooooh. (She fondles it)

UNCLE:  I had hoped it would not come to this.  Such things are dangerous.  (Shudders)

JENNY:  Eh, Buffy's a Slayer.   She'll heal.

Sorry!

Edited May 18, 2022 by Halting Hex

[lembergwatcher]

3 hours ago, Halting Hex said:

UNCLE:  I had hoped it would not come to this.  Such things are dangerous.  (Shudders)

JENNY:  Eh, Buffy's a Slayer.   She'll heal.

Too late. Jenny can play with this "toy" all by herself from now on... 

[Halting Hex]

Quote

ANGEL:  BUFFFFFFY!!!!!!

Thunder rolls.  Screen goes black.

LEXI:  What? "To Be Continued"?  Nobody told me this was a two-parter!

ME: Heh. Surprise…

Nobody back in the day was surprised, because the WB had so relentlessly promoted the "two-night event".  Of course, they had to be sure the audience knew about the shift from Mondays to Tuesdays.  DVDs and streaming services don't have that concern.

Quote

LEXI (continuing):  You can't end it that way, with Angel screaming outside!  (Beat, smirky) He should be screaming inside, with Buffy.

Naughty, naughty.  And this from the girl who gets all squeamish about Spike and Dru's kinks; she didn't like Dru licking his blood in School Hard or her torturing Angel in What's My Line 2.  I was seriously disappointed when she dropped something on the floor and missed Drusilla licking Spike's burnt cheek in Act 1.  Oh, well.

***********************************

Speaking of dropping things, Lexi found it hysterical that after Giles blows into the noisemaker, he just tosses it onto the floor in the next shot.  Tweed Boy is such a slob, isn't he?  First they leave Ampata-parts (including her arms, ironically) all over the Museum in Inca Mummy Girl, now he won't clean up after himself at the Bronze.  FFS, Rupe…there was a table right next to you.

************************************

So Oz handles the news about the existence of vampires pretty well…but did anybody tell him there was actually one at the party?  It took Cordelia a bit of time to catch on about Angel, and while Oz thinks he's so much smarter than Cordy, it might not be immediately obvious even to him.  

After all, I didn't see anybody say "Angel's a vampire" during the party.  Xander implies that Angel knows what vampires do ("What? [Is the arm the] vamp's version of Snakes-In-A-Can™, or do you care to share?"), Angel knows about the Judge, and Buffy and Jenny and he talk about how Angel is the only one able to protect the Arm, but there's not much definitive.  It could just be that Angel's a big buff guy, and he's read up on the supernatural.  I mean, Giles knows about the Judge, too.

Okay, so there's that bit about how Angel can't take an airplane because "I can't avoid the sun", but that goes by pretty quickly, Buffy and Angel are standing close to each other and speaking quietly, and I don't know if anyone's told Oz about the "vampires combust in sunlight" bit as yet, anyhow.  ("Willow will fill you in" rather got derailed by the Arm attacking Buffy, after all).  Let's face it, Oz is so far behind at this point that when Buffy asks "what was that thing?", he thinks "it looked like an arm" is an important diagnosis, instead of his merely stating the obvious.

I'm just saying, if they didn't tell him…

Spoiler

…then it's going to be really confusing when, two days from now, they're all "we have to kill Angel.  You don't mind risking a decade in Federal Prison to help us break into the Army base, do you?

I mean, if Oz thinks this is how the group reacts just because Angel broke up with Buffy, it might put the kibosh on his romancing Willow, pretty quickly.

**********************************************

Quote

BUFFY:  I think [Angel and I] are going to.  Seize it.

LEXI:  Yes! Yes! Grab it! You grab it, Buffy! 

She grins hugely and bites her lip to avoid completely cracking up.

LEXI (to the audience):  Ignore me.

I'm glad to know I'm not the only pervert spotting the "Stop talking about Angel's penis!" moments.

Speaking of…

Quote

Angel and Buffy are saying goodbye at the docks.

ANGEL:  I have something for you.  For your birthday.

ME:  Stop talking about your penis, Angel!

*************************************

Quote

BUFFY:  What, you think [Oz]'s too old because he's a senior? Please.  My boyfriend had a bicentennial.

WILLOW (brightens): That's true!  (hesitant again) It's just…

BUFFY:  Willow, you can't spend the rest of your life waiting for Xander to wake up and smell the hottie.

Aww, is that why Willow was hesitating?  Not about how she didn't know Oz that well, or she was scared to make the first move, it was that she still hadn't made "the choice" to move on and get on with her life that she and Buffy had discussed back in Inca Mummy Girl?  Even though she really hadn't had any "romantic potential" moments with Xander in the nine episodes since that?  Aww.  Poor girl.

I guess Xander showing off his hair-braiding skills in the Reptile Boy teaser earned him a good amount of loyalty, huh?  Buffy is completely hopeless compared to him, it's true.  "When it comes to Willow's hair, I'm the Slayer!" 🙂

As I once wrote to summarize a quiz I did, "it's all about the hair".

Edited June 15, 2022 by Halting Hex

[Halting Hex]

Quote

The Judge moves toward Buffy; she struggles to break free.

ANGEL:  Don't touch him!

Buffy's arms are still being held, but she gets her leg up and kicks the Judge.  He stumbles back.  Angel shrugs off the vampires holding him and releases the chain holding Spike's Column o' Monitors up high.  The Column falls on top of the Judge, knocking him down and punching a hole in the floor.  Spike and Drusilla watch this happen.

More specifically, the vampire couple's heads move down in unison as they follow the Column's downward progress.  Er, James? Juliet?  You do know that you can watch something move just by moving your eyes, right?  This synchronized head-bobbing really isn't needed.

********************

Quote

ANGEL:  [Buffy] hasn't been sleeping well.  Tossing and turning.

Everybody looks at Angel, wondering how he knows this.  Is he a Peeping Tom Cruise?

ANGEL (annoyed):  She told me! Because of her dreams?

They go back to work.

Is it me, or does Willow give a little smirk at this explanation?  I mean (unlike Xander/Giles/Jenny), Willow did get that heads up about Buffy's plans to "seize" Angel.  Perhaps she thinks that Buffy's been getting a little cuddling and snuggling, if not yet full-on seizing, to go along with the smooching?  Hmm.

[Halting Hex]

I tend to mention all the goodies from the script that didn't make the aired episode, but let me reverse course and mention some nice bits from the ep that weren't in the script.

From the tome that was the script:

Quote

WILLOW is at a table, having coffee with a MONKEY - who wears a little hat and a vest. She turns and waves. Buffy, puzzled, waves back.

And that's it, Buffy moves on to Joyce.

Which means that "L'hippo a piqué ton pantalons" was a late add.  Not bad for somebody to remember the "all monkeys are French" convo from the end of 2.10 and come up with a line in French that means "the hippo stole your pants", referencing that the cookie monkey Oz referenced did have pants but this dream!monkey does not.  (I'm assuming this is Joss's work; it feels like him.) Props for Aly nailing the French on such short notice.

(And, inside the story, since Buffy wasn't there for the "animal crackers" scene with Willow and Oz, this means that Willow told Buffy all the details of that convo, including Oz's postulate that the cookie!hippo was jealous of the monkey's pants.  Awww.  And no wonder Buffy is willing to suggest Willow "make a move" on Oz, if she's just been reminded by her dream about how Willow literally gave her a word-for-word recap of the guitarist's "wit".  I grant you that Willow has a history of obsessing about her crush object [this is the girl who tracked Xander's blood pressure, recall], but it does seem to indicate a specific amount of Oz-focus.)

Also not in the script was the bit where

Spoiler

As Angel turns to dust, you can (barely) hear him say "My soul…" thus foreshadowing that it's not Forehead's body that's about to "die".  Another neat detail that Joss put in for the final polish, I'd guess.

Considering that Marti had, as noted, given the cast and director a good 80-90 minutes' worth of script, you wouldn't think that anybody would be thinking about adding stuff, but I do think the added detail work helps the episode, so good job.

Edited November 14, 2022 by Halting Hex

[Halting Hex]

I keep threatening to unleash the unabridged script; why don't I at least do a couple of excerpts? I'm pretty sure I remember how to Copy+Paste.  Deviations from the aired episode noted in bold.

Quote

INT. HALLWAY - NIGHT

Still half-asleep, Buffy pads down the hallway. From the shadows behind her emerges DRUSILLA, ripe, carnivorous blood staining her mouth. A truly horrifying sight.

Uh, yeah, Marti.  We're on the WB; we've got kids watching.  Remember how you wanted Octarus's blood to ooze from his corpse (after Buffy sliced his throat with the skate blade in episode 9) and make a pool on the ice, so that Kendra would see Buffy kissing Angel with his vampire face on while they were standing in a pool of blood?  Remember how that didn't happen?  Ix-nay on the ood-blay, already.

Quote

Dru stalks Buffy - is a heartbeat away from grabbing her when Buffy senses something and turns.

There is nothing there. Buffy shrugs it off, moves to the bathroom door. She opens it and enters-

INT. THE BRONZE - NIGHT

Yeah, the part where The Bronze is in Buffy's bathroom pretty much cues the "it's a dream!" reveal.  We don't need the extra beat.  Cut it.

Quote

BUFFY:  I had this dream. Drusilla was alive. It was awful-

ANGEL:  What happened?

BUFFY:  She killed you. Right in front of me. I saw the whole thing.

Yes, if Drusilla kills Angel in front of Buffy, it's reasonable to assume she'd see it, rather than be looking over the vamps' shoulder to check out the Knicks game on the TV.  Redundant; cut it.

Actually, I'm not even sure that we need the "right in front of me" here, given that in a dream, literally everything is something that Buffy observes.  But I guess she could have dreamed that Giles told her that he had seen Drusilla kill Angel, so I suppose "right in front of me" does help us specify.

Quote

BUFFY:  This happened before, Angel. That dream I had about the Master... It came true.

In the aired version, this becomes "Angel, this happened before.  The dreams that I had about the Master…they came true."

The first change is just good writing; you want to end your sentence on the key word or phrase, in this case "happened before".  Terms of address, such as "Angel", belong at the start of a dramatic sentence, not the end.

And for the second change, somebody (Joss? Smidge?) rightly remembers that Buffy had at least two aired dreams about the Master (Welcome to the Hellmouth, Nightmares) and Giles's referring to "the nightmares" in the Bronze in the premiere indicates that she might have had others.  Hence the plural.

(Really should have watched S1, Marti.)

Okay, nothing meaty yet.  But I'm going for comprehensive here.  it takes longer.

*******************************************

As far as the aired episode itself goes, I'm surprised (pun!) that I only recently noticed that we start (almost) with Buffy waking from a nightmare, and we end (almost) with Angel waking from…whatever disturbed him.  Neat mirror-image.  Well-done, Marti.

Spoiler

With the additional connection that Buffy dreams of Angel "dying" and gasping "my soul", and that Angel wakes because he is, in fact, losing that soul, and so "[Buffy's] boyfriend is dead", effectively.  Cool.

 

Edited February 12, 2023 by Halting Hex

[Halting Hex]

On 2/12/2023 at 2:44 PM, Halting Hex said:

Okay, nothing meaty yet.  But I'm going for comprehensive here.  it takes longer.

Shouldn't take an entire year between updates, however.  Great Scotty!

Quote

ANGEL:  What if what?

BUFFY:  Sorry. Were we talking?

They kiss some more. The bed in the corner entices. They both feel it - glance there - but don't go there.

Director Michael Lange not only creates a number of memorable images (check how represented the episode is in the Season 3 credits), but has the sense not to break the momentum by having Bangel glance ostentatiously at the bed.  The intensity of the kiss conveys the deepening passion on its own.

(And besides, we are about get an Wiffy demi-scene discussing Buffy's decisiion to "seize" the Forehead.  No worries about the audience not knowing what's on the Buffster's mind.)

Quote

ANGEL:  You have to go to school...

Still kissing, Angel picks her up and moves her to the front door. Now they kiss against the door. Finally pull back.

BUFFY: Alright. This is me.

Oh, no, he doesn't, Marti.  That "pick her up" deal is way too sexist. (I suppose Marti might have been trying to mirror the "carry the bride across the threshold" imagery, but that's overstating things, impending "seizing" or not.) Also, how is Boreanaz going to keep working on TV for another quarter-century if you strain his back this way?  Smidge may only weigh 100 lbs, but that still counts.

(SEAL Team is still cranking along on Paramount +.  The seasons are only 10 eps long now, and the upcoming season 7 is the last, but it still counts.  So that brings David up to 26 seasons of "main cast narrative television" [2 on this show, 5 of Angel, 12 of Bones, 7 of SEAL Team], one short of the Michael Landon/Harry Morgan record for men, although Mariska Hargitay has blown past that, with Law & Order: So Many Perverts! still chugging away.)

Instead, what Lange does is have Buffy walk backwards to the door, her hands still on Angel's arms and his on hers, until they reach the door. Better for showing her torn between her desire to leave and her desire for him.

And the line becomes "All right.  I know.  This is me; I'm going.", which not only mirrors the previous dialogue, but makes Buffy's point be about leaving Angel, not merely asserting her identity.

Quote

BUFFY: This was nice. I like you first thing in the morning-

ANGEL: It's bed time for me.

BUFFY: Then I like you at bed time.

In the aired episode, SMG inserts "seeing" between "like" and "you" in both lines, which not only matches Buffy's next line ("I like seeing you.  And the part at the end of the night, etc."), but has the virtue of being less blunt.

HOWEVER, it does make Willow a liar, because we then cut to:

Quote

WILLOW: "I like you at bed time." You actually said that?

Well, no, not quite like that, naughty nerd! Of course, they couldn't fix it because the Torrance High scenes had been shot first. So Sarah basically hangs Aly out to dry.  Bad Smidge!

Okay, still snail's pace, but any progress is good progress.  And at least we've gotten Buffy out of the basement!  Actual deleted scenes next time, methinks.

Edited February 25 by Halting Hex

[Halting Hex]

(I know, I should hit the script [I actually have it open in another tab], but I've got fresh stuff that I want to cover first.  Sorry.)

So, I can't help noticing that Buffy's vampdar is really shit in this episode.  I mean, while she's scolding Dalton about stealing, there is literally a vampire in the truck's cab no more than three feet away from her, plus another on the truck bed that she doesn't spot, either.  And then later, when she and Angel are having their (near-) tearful (near-) goodbye at the docks, there are three vampires (Dalton and two henchmen) who get within punching range of Ms. Slayer without the 'dar pinging.

It's been almost a year since Buffy came to Sunnydale, and it's as if she hasn't "honed" at all.  (Her occasional successes, such as being able to sense The Three in Angel and Angel himself in When She Was Bad aside.)  Sheesh.

***************

At the Bronze, I for the first time noticed that when Buffy stakes the vamp, we actually get a reaction shot of Willow looking across Xander at a confused Oz.  I guess Will had actually put a bit of thought into the "how do we keep Oz from learning about the whole 'Buffy slays vampires'?" issue and thus was already worried about how the guitarist might react.  Smart Willow, thinking ahead.

Of course, she might have had rather a bit of time to think about "how do we break the news about the supernatural to Oz? Should we?", given that What's My Line, part 2 was the week before Thanksgiving and this is mid-January.  Buffy is telling Willow, "Make a move; do the talking thing", but clearly Oz isn't being very chatty, himself.

(Not that I'm necessarily 'shipping Willow and Oz, but I do feel a bit sorry for Willow.  Here she is being all "wow" about Buffy probably getting "seized" and Willow's never even been kissed or on a date, even.  And yes, 90% of that is on her and Xander's inability to get on the same page, but still.  I feel awkward when Buffy shifts the convo from her and Angel to Willow and…whomever.  [Since Buffy notes that Will is still "waiting for Xander to wake up and smell the hottie."]  Not that it's a competition, but the dichotomy is a bit jarring, when I consider it.)

Anyway, when we get to the next bit:

Quote

OZ (in shock):  Hey, did everybody just see that guy turn to dust?

WILLOW:  Well, um…

XANDER:  Yeah, vampires are real, a lot of them live in Sunnydale, Willow will fill you in.

(Xander steps forward and goes to Cordelia)

and I can't believe that it has taken me over two decades and dozens (possibly over 100) viewings to catch this, but Xander's bored tone and walking away isn't just about how there's so much going on that he doesn't want to do the exposition, but that this is him being fucking jealous because he doesn't want Willow to have a date to begin with, much less his having to bring some dude Xander barely knows (remember, Oz is a senior; this isn't like Cordelia, whom Xander has known for 12 years and had lots of classes and social interactions with, since the grades are fairly segregated, for the most part) up to speed.

Because again, Joss (semi-) stupidly cut the "Willow has a date and Xander is instantly possessive and jealous!" scene, which is the underpinning for the whole story you've been trying to tell.  Marti almost literally spells it out in Act I; Oz's entire function in this story is to make Xander "wake up and smell the hottie" wrt Willow.   But because Marti wrote So. Much. Goddamn. Stuff., Joss had to do a lot of cutting, and he missed the mark on this.  Because if you don't have the set-up, we can't get this as the punchline it's meant to be.

(Although the only obvious cut is that stupid "round robin" bit that I railed against, so I don't know what else should have gone if that isn't enough.  I suppose we don't quite need the entire "Xander and Cordelia try to come out of the relationship closet to Harmony and Willow and it flops hard" cut scene, much though I adore it, but even the following Oz/Willow/Xander bit might be too much. Sigh.)

Okay, I've written half a book, I clearly need to actually add the cut scenes I'm constantly referencing, and I haven't even touched on the stuff I really want to talk about, which is in the main story.  Time to put a pin in this and come back soon.  Sorry.

Edited Monday at 08:28 AM by Halting Hex