S02.E21: Becoming, Part 1

[Mya Stone]

 

Angel plots to revive an ancient demon bent of sweeping everything on earth into hell itself.

 

Ah, the Liam accent. I've missed it. Said no one ever. The older I get the more grumpy I get about Darla's lack of accent. Alas, I'm learning to let it go. I know, it sounds like I'm nitpicking. And I am. These two episodes are just fantastic. (But I like part 2 more.) 

 

I do appreciate the attempts at seeing Angel's past. His bits with Dru are especially chilling. 

 

RIP, Kendra. I can't remember if Slayer blood is more, eh, potent to vamps, because I can't help but thinking "What a waste." 

The old bait and switch on Buffy from the Annoying One - Angel took notes. 

And lastly, Snyder at his most hateful. Maybe? Eh. Maybe not. 

 

[Dianthus]

Watching - we are reminded that we're watching a show, just as the characters are watching each other during the show.

We watch people learning. We/They don't just watch. We/They learn, experience, become.

What do they become? It's an examination of the issue of identity.

 

Spike mocks the evil of Angelus, Dru and Acathla in this ep, much as Angelus mocks Dru's goodness in the confessional. We see the first tiny glimmer here of what Spike will one day become.

[Joe Hellandback]

On ‎04‎/‎08‎/‎2014 at 8:15 PM, Mya Stone said:

 

Ah, the Liam accent. I've missed it. Said no one ever. The older I get the more grumpy I get about Darla's lack of accent. Alas, I'm learning to let it go. I know, it sounds like I'm nitpicking. And I am. These two episodes are just fantastic. (But I like part 2 more.) 

 

I do appreciate the attempts at seeing Angel's past. His bits with Dru are especially chilling. 

 

RIP, Kendra. I can't remember if Slayer blood is more, eh, potent to vamps, because I can't help but thinking "What a waste." 

The old bait and switch on Buffy from the Annoying One - Angel took notes. 

And lastly, Snyder at his most hateful. Maybe? Eh. Maybe not. 

 

Darla's lack of accent? Surely she's supposed to be a colonial American? I'd actually rate Go Fish as his most obnoxious.

On ‎05‎/‎08‎/‎2014 at 1:46 AM, Dianthus said:

Spike mocks the evil of Angelus, Dru and Acathla in this ep, much as Angelus mocks Dru's goodness in the confessional. We see the first tiny glimmer here of what Spike will one day become.

 I always liked that, rather than some special magical power they just read it in the paper. 

Becoming pt1

The Good; The glimpses of Liam and Drusilla in their human forms are just too tragic for words, especially Dru. Good scenes with Whistler and of course Kendra back. Angelus' suicide telegram for Buffy (would they allow that post 9/11?). Snyder's chair shortage gag

The Bad; David's accent. Where is it supposed to be from exactly? Are they after his lucky charms?

Best line; Spike; "It's a big rock. Can't wait to tell my friends, they don't have a rock this big"

Character death; yep, byebye Kendra, making it one recurring character dead every 8 eps or so. A shame to lose her but I think most would agree that

Spoiler

Faith is better as both a character and a Slayer. And if she hadn't died? I figure Faith would have turned up as one of the potentials in season 7 and she rather than Kennedy would have hooked up with Willow.

Knocked out; yep, Xander, Willow and Giles

Questions and observations; We get to see pre-Slayer Buffy in LA and a different version of Merrick. In this version Buffy does indeed miss the heart first time out 

Spoiler

as she later tells Dawn.

The 'Do you know what time it is?' line is very clever, the same words as Joyce says in the movie but with a completely different meaning. Presumably Angel as a tramp is following

Spoiler

the diner incident in the 70s we later see in season 4 of Angel. 

Willow once again play's the bashful virgin for comic effect. Whistler's 'puppets' speech is interesting when you consider

Spoiler

 Jasmine manipulating the Fang Gang over the course of Angel.

Willow attempts her first spell.

10/10 no contest

[Halting Hex]

On 8/4/2014 at 12:15 PM, Mya Stone said:

The old bait and switch on Buffy from the Annoying One - Angel took notes. 

He probably had to listen to Buffy beating herself up about it, time and again.  Girl was all guilt-a-palooza at the end of that episode; I'm sure Angel got drafted for audience duty, just as much as Giles did.

On 6/24/2018 at 10:49 AM, Joe Hellandback said:

 I always liked that, rather than some special magical power they just read it in the paper. 

"Love" the Spike-redemptionist above trying to claim this makes Spike "more human".  If you'll notice, it's actually Drusilla who read about Acathla in the newspaper.  Spike merely passes on the information ("No, you ninny…she read about it in the newspaper").  So if anybody wants to make a claim of "soulfulness" based on this, it wouldn't be Bleach Boy.

And isn't the image of Dru reading the newspaper the most hilarious thing ever?  I always joke that she probably goes straight to the stock market tables:  "Oooh, Spoike, I can hear them humming…"

On 6/24/2018 at 10:49 AM, Joe Hellandback said:

Best line; Spike; "It's a big rock. Can't wait to tell my friends, they don't have a rock this big"

True, but the comedy there doesn't undermine the drama of the act-ending "My friends, we're going to make history…end."

On 6/24/2018 at 10:49 AM, Joe Hellandback said:

Willow attempts her first spell.

Not even close.  It's at least her fifth.  (Disinvite spells for Buffy's house, Cordelia's car [unshown, but mentioned] and Willow's own house in Passion and the Magnus Tripod spell in IOHEFY, not to mention anything else she may have tried that we didn't see.) The spell may be bigger than anything she's attempted ("I don't want to be our only hope!  Let's have another hope."), but it's not completely unexplored territory.

Quote

"I was a bit unclear on some of the themes."

"The theme is that Angel's too big of a coward to face me."

"The other theme was 'Buy American', but, uh,  it got kind of buried."

Edited June 25, 2018 by Halting Hex

[Joe Hellandback]

12 hours ago, Halting Hex said:

He probably had to listen to Buffy beating herself up about it, time and again.  Girl was all guilt-a-palooza at the end of that episode; I'm sure Angel got drafted for audience duty, just as much as Giles did.

"Love" the Spike-redemptionist above trying to claim this makes Spike "more human".  If you'll notice, it's actually Drusilla who read about Acathla in the newspaper.  Spike merely passes on the information ("No, you ninny…she read about it in the newspaper").  So if anybody wants to make a claim of "soulfulness" based on this, it wouldn't be Bleach Boy.

And isn't the image of Dru reading the newspaper the most hilarious thing ever?  I always joke that she probably goes straight to the stock market tables:  "Oooh, Spoike, I can hear them humming…"

True, but the comedy there doesn't undermine the drama of the act-ending "My friends, we're going to make history…end."

Not even close.  It's at least her fifth.  (Disinvite spells for Buffy's house, Cordelia's car [unshown, but mentioned] and Willow's own house in Passion and the Magnus Tripod spell in IOHEFY, not to mention anything else she may have tried that we didn't see.) The spell may be bigger than anything she's attempted ("I don't want to be our only hope!  Let's have another hope."), but it's not completely unexplored territory.

You must remember we do see Spike read the paper 

Spoiler

when he's later with Harmony?

You always wonder how much interest vamps take in the human world other than what it can give them materially? To judge by Why We Fight? not that much?

[lembergwatcher]

I always wondered what did David B. feel/think when they were shooting "Liam's siring" scene? :) 

And what is Hank doing at Buffy's LA house in '96? He doesn't live here anymore, as Buffy herself confirms in the conversation with Willow 23 episodes earlier, in Nightmares.

Quote

Willow: When did they get divorced?

Buffy: Well, it wasn't finalized till last year, but they were separated before that.

I don't believe Daddy Summers came to visit and couldn't find a better thing to do other than starting a fight with Joyce over Buffy's love life.

[Halting Hex]

Remember that Buffy becomes the Slayer in either January or February of 1996 (Witch is March, 1997 and Buffy says "I've been slaying vampires for more than a year now" in that ep), so there's still plenty of time for Hank and Joyce to split and then call the lawyers before the calendar ran down on that year. 

She and Merrick can be in the graveyard in February, the movie (which is still mostly canon, and in which Buffy's parents are married) can take place in the spring, with tension about Buffy "getting in trouble" causing strain in the marriage and separation in the summer (Hank went to watch the Olympics in Atlanta, justifying it as "business" for tax purposes), followed by filing soon after.

Alternatively, Summers v. Summers could have had its roots in a 1995 separation, and Hank's presence in early 1996 could have been an attempt at reconciliation, a thought that no matter what issues the couple had, staying together for the sake of their little shoplifter was worth it.  A plan which goes to pot when Hank starts complaining about why he always has to be the one to discipline the budding felon*, exactly.

Either scenario works without positing that Hank's just visiting here, IMO.

*-okay, so ordinary petty theft is only a misdemeanor under California PC 666 (yes, really!  No wonder Buffy was doomed to a life mixed up with the occult) but accrue enough priors and "that lipstick from Bullock's" eventually does become a felony, regardless.

[lembergwatcher]

Quote

Giles: Curing Angel seems to have been Jenny's last wish.

Xander: Yeah? Well, Jenny's dead.

Giles: (approaches Xander angrily) Don't you *ever* speak of her in that tone again!

Bad Xander, very-very bad. How dare he speak of Miss Calender in that tone? Sure, a simple reminder of Jenny's current state is 10,000 times more offensive than actually kicking poor woman's corpse (figuratively, of course). Most of you probably do not see it that way, but I truly hate how Giles and his two favorite Scoobs try to present Buffy's fixation on having Angel back as something Jenny wished for... It's so *nice* of you to speak on Jenny's behalf when the supposed love of your life cannot say anything for herself, G-Man. True, Jenny had been working on the Restoration spell prior to her untimely death, but what exactly gives us reason to believe having Angelus re-ensouled was Calendar's ultimate wish? Did she leave some written will or say that explicitly ("Whatever happens, we have to re-ensoul this motherf***er!")? 

Yes, Buffy clearly prefers to have her precious boyfriend cured, not dusted. But Jenny?.. Is this really so necessary to disturb the dead woman here? And I understand Willow's stance on the subject (even though I don't justify or accept it) since teenagers have a tendency to be gullible when it comes to their best friends. But I expect Giles (Giles!!! Of all people...) to act like like a Watcher and an adult, not like his slayer's lapdog. Is it too much to expect?

But, of course, Xander is the bad guy here. Not St. Buffy. Or St. Giles. Or St. Willow. And who cares about Kendra, her life and her dreams, when Buffy's once-in-a-lifetime love is at stake?? 

That's the reason why I generally dislike the first part of Becoming, after all...

[Halting Hex]

3 hours ago, lembergwatcher said:

Giles and his two favorite Scoobs try to present Buffy's fixation on having Angel back as something Jenny wished for...

Actually, Willow doesn't get involved in this part of the discussion.  Indeed, she never really presents a point of view, discussing the practical possibilities of her performing the Ritual of Restoration and then mostly retreating into shock when the Big Scooby Fight erupts.  It's quite possible that her thought process could be along the lines of "I know Ms. Calendar wouldn't want to give Angel another chance, what with him killing her and all…but he was a good guy until he lost his soul, so maybe that's more important.  And besides, Buffy's been so miserable."  (I'm not saying I necessarily agree with this line of thought, but it does seem that Willow could have it.  And it allows for other possibilities to outweigh vengeance-for-Jenny [irony!] in her mind.)

3 hours ago, lembergwatcher said:

Yes, Buffy clearly prefers to have her precious boyfriend cured, not dusted.

I don't know; she actually seems quite conflicted.  Yes, she loves Angel and as she says, "what happened to Angel wasn't his fault".  (She's still blaming herself, Giles's attempt in IOHEFY to move her past that not necessarily a full success.)  But on the other hand, she's the only one in that room who knows what it's like to be the Slayer, who realizes the import of her Duty even as she feels burdened by it.

And then there's the part of all this that nobody else seems able to get…a good part of Buffy, IMO, would really like this to all be over with, once and for all. To get rid of Angel and never have to think of him again.   Remember, she spent the teaser trying to give him a message that she was ready for their final showdown, and in the cafeteria scene, she said she was ready and able to kill him.  It's been some time since "give me time", after all.  And no matter how much she knows that slaying Angel might pain her, I think a part of her would really, really like to just be free…

But Xander is too willing to fight her, rather than try to persuade her.  And Giles feels obligated to support his Slayer (his emotional attachment to Buffy aside, a functioning Slayer is his freaking job, after all…a multigenerational legacy, for which he's trained his whole life) and so rather twists himself into a pretzel with his "curing Angel seems to have been Jenny's last wish", thus putting (he hypothesizes) Jenny and (he assumes) Buffy on the same side of the question, and making himself feel better about supporting Buffy here.

Leaving it to Xander to, once again, flub his chance, by getting shrill and dismissive with his "Yeah, well, Jenny's dead", which is obviously not going to win Giles over.  Instead of trying to bury Ms. Calendar (pun!), why not find a way to counter Giles's argument instead?

Here, let's imagine someone a bit more sensitive having a go at it:

Quote

GILES:  Curing Angel does seem have been Jenny's last wish.

CORDELIA:  Yeah, until Angel hunted her like a dog and killed her for fun.  I'm thinking that probably changed her mind about curing him.

See, you can let "Jenny's wishes" be a part of the debate without automatically conceding the point.  Way to go, Perspective Guy.

As I've said, I'm 100% on Xander's side on the issues.  He just doesn't do the best job of making his point.  That doesn't mean we have to demonize (pun!) B/W/G for disagreeing with him.  As a wise woman once said, "you don't have to be so confrontational about it. Other viewpoints than yours may be valid, you know."

3 hours ago, lembergwatcher said:

And who cares about Kendra, her life and her dreams, when Buffy's once-in-a-lifetime love is at stake?? 

Whilst Kendra's fate is truly of the suck, given that she isn't even in town, much less dead, at this point, I'm not sure we should condemn anyone in the argument for not considering the impact of their decision on Kendra, specifically, here.  It's like saying that Buffy doesn't care about the Xander-shaped sacrifice.  Everybody knows that if Angel isn't stopped, he'll keep on killing.  The question is less "whether" than "how", IMO.

3 hours ago, lembergwatcher said:

That's the reason why I generally dislike the first part of Becoming, after all...

I think it's great that everyone's so passionate, that they all matter to each other this way.

Spoiler

Beats the hell out of "I'm the Slayer and you have to fall in line!" as Bitchy will later attempt to "win" these sort of confrontations.  Just saying.

Edited January 20, 2019 by Halting Hex

[lembergwatcher]

7 hours ago, Halting Hex said:

Actually, Willow doesn't get involved in this part of the discussion.  Indeed, she never really presents a point of view, discussing the practical possibilities of her performing the Ritual of Restoration and then mostly retreating into shock when the Big Scooby Fight erupts.

But she takes Buffy's side eventually (as their later phone conversation strongly indicates).

Spoiler

Just the way Willow will continue to do nine times out of ten.

 

7 hours ago, Halting Hex said:

And then there's the part of all this that nobody else seems able to get…a good part of Buffy, IMO, would really like this to all be over with, once and for all. To get rid of Angel and never have to think of him again.   Remember, she spent the teaser trying to give him a message that she was ready for their final showdown, and in the cafeteria scene, she said she was ready and able to kill him.

I never really believed Buffy truly intended to finish Angel(us) off. But that's JMO. Sure, she said she was ready and able to kill him but... those are just words. The promptness with which Buffy changes her mind the moment she learns about the spell somehow proves her true intentions are at odds with her words.

 

7 hours ago, Halting Hex said:

And Giles feels obligated to support his Slayer

But that's a gentle paraphrasing of the term "Buffy's lapdog". He supports Buffy's questionable proposal not because she's right and the Ritual of Restoration itself is the right/good thing to do, but because Buffy happens to be his Slayer (i. e. favorite child). Kinda immature for a grown man (and supposed "father figure" of the Scoobs) from where I'm standing. 

 

7 hours ago, Halting Hex said:

As I've said, I'm 100% on Xander's side on the issues.  He just doesn't do the best job of making his point.

Well, I couldn't agree more. But why not apply the same principle to Buffy as well? Because I don't remember her trying to find a way to counter Kendra's arguments regarding Angel/Drusilla case in What's My Line, Part 2. What I do remember is her telling Kendra something like: "Follow my lead or get out of the way! My boyfriend comes first!"

When it really matters Buffy herself chose to bulldoze in rather than discuss her POV with the others most of the times. Or she just does the things her way even despite her friends' objections (like she did in When She Was Bad or Reptile Boy). Unlike Xander, Buffy is pushy enough to have everything her way 99% of the time. It's kind of strange when Buffy is allowed to punch Giles in the face to prove her point (Prophecy Girl), but Xander is expected to engage in the long Kennedy/Nixon-styled debate everytime Giles, Willow or Buffy disagree with him.

 

7 hours ago, Halting Hex said:

That doesn't mean we have to demonize (pun!) B/W/G for disagreeing with him.

I'm not demonizing W/G for disagreeing with Xander. I just have issues with them following Buffy no matter what

Spoiler

in 99 per cent of cases.

 

7 hours ago, Halting Hex said:

I'm not sure we should condemn anyone in the argument for not considering the impact of their decision on Kendra, specifically, here.

OK, not specifically at that moment. Though I dare say Kendra's fate was sealed the moment

Spoiler

the useful part of

the gang decided to take Buffy's side and focus on curing Angel, rather than defeating him and his minions...

Edited January 21, 2019 by lembergwatcher

[Halting Hex]

11 hours ago, lembergwatcher said:

But why not apply the same principle to Buffy as well?

Because, as we say, the show isn't called Xander, the Vampire Slayer's Pal.  It's Buffy, not Xander, who will be the one taking action, so it's she who's the fulcrum, the one whose decisions get argued.  Buffy has the ability to take action on her own, so she doesn't need to win any debates, she can be "rash and impetuous" ("it's a flaw", as she admitted to Ford) if she thinks she's right and others are wrong.  High-handed and insensitive perhaps, but as a matter of practical politics, there will always be those who need to win debates and those who have the ability to act independently of others. Unfair though that might seem.

Sucks to be Xander in that case, it's true…but OTOH, Xander doesn't have to fight for his life in the cemetery every night.  Xander isn't the one whose death at age 16 is the subject of an inescapable prophecy.  So, yeah, Xander got the short end of the "getting to make the ultimate decision" stick…but Buffy gets the short end of other sticks. And so it goes.

And, as a result, Xander develops a skill at "Machiavellian" tactics such as enlisting Giles to invoke the authority that Xander himself does not possess.  (As in Angel and Reptile Boy.  

Spoiler

And arguably the upcoming Revelations, although we don't see the X/G conversation about arranging for the intervention, the way we see Xander unilaterally make statements that Giles supports in the other two examples.

)

Mind you, Xander may not be consciously aware that he's doing this (and Buffy hardly always obeys Giles, as the soon-to-be-purple area of his jaw attested in Prophecy Girl, for one), but still it would seem that X would have been better served to try to reinforce Giles as being against the idea of the spell, as the G-Man initially was, rather than sulk until the tide has turned and only then jump in with "everyone here is a crazy person."  Which, again, great line…but not the best strategy, I'm afraid.

Remember that at the start of the scene, both Giles and Buffy are really rather against Willow risking herself by trying the spell ("Will, I don't want you putting yourself in any danger"), regardless of the possible benefit to Angel.  That would have been the time for Xander to join in, being on the same side of the discussion as B/G, rather than let Willow win them over and then have to take on everyone at once.

Quote

XANDER:  Look, Will, I hate to pile on here, but I gotta agree;  this isn't worth the risk.  I mean, I know I was never Angel's biggest fan in the first place, and I know we all wish that what's happened the last few months (looks at GILES) hadn't happened.  But…(looks at BUFFY) it did happen, and the last thing any of us want is for something to happen to you, too.  So let's just leave the Rituals to Ritual Guy (indicates GILES) here, okay?  I mean, he's gotta earn that paycheck somehow.  Those snazzy tweed suits ain't cheap, y'know?

So, I think Xander just basically missed his chance to get the decision to go the way he would have liked (he does have a pretty good track record of getting his way when he isn't directly clashing with Buffy, after all) and so I have trouble working up any righteous anger on his behalf, correct though I think he may be.  I grant you, he may have been too revolted by the very idea of curing Angel to be on his best game (or perhaps he was just too distracted by how smoking hot Cordy's rack looked in that red sweater…we've established that Xander likes a good sweater, after all…), but he wasn't and them's the breaks.  He'll live.

(Apparent broken wrist and possible concussion aside.  Although the general disaster that befalls the gang at episode's end does rather make his case for him, thin solace though that may be.)

Edited January 21, 2019 by Halting Hex

[lembergwatcher]

10 hours ago, Halting Hex said:

Remember that at the start of the scene, both Giles and Buffy are really rather against Willow risking herself by trying the spell

The extraordinary ease with which both change their minds makes me question the sincerity of B/G initial opposition to Willow's proposal. At least, Buffy's stance.

 

10 hours ago, Halting Hex said:

That would have been the time for Xander to join in, being on the same side of the discussion as B/G, rather than let Willow win them over and then have to take on everyone at once

All right, can't argue with that... OTOH it always amazes me when people expect 17-year-old Xander to say and act like a reasonable, sober and fair-minded man no matter what, but generally have no problems with 40-plus-something-year-old Giles chosing to drink heavily at home after confronting the ghosts of his troubled past (The Dark Age), blindly believing in Jenny's ghostly presence despite having no evidence to substantiate the claim (I Only Have Eyes for You) or acting like a gullible moron and a hissy fit throwing man-bitch (Becoming, Part 1). 

True, Xander could have joined the conversation a little earlier and expressed his POV in a more constructive manner. But what if the guy had a high opinion of his friends and their intellectual abilities? Too high an opinion of their intelligence, I must say... He hardly expected the other Scoobs to need a reminder that 2+2=4. G, W & B seemed to be smart enough to understand Willow's experience in the field of magic was quite minuscule or next to nothing, which means the redhead was very far from being the right candidate for a spell-casting. Xander probably naively believed that after everything that's happened in the past few months, after Jenny and hundreds of other mostly nameless victims, curing (i. e. helping) friggin' Angel would be the last thing on everyone's mind. Hence his shock and the "righteous anger" the moment he discovered his friends didn't see it that way and therefore allowed two plus two to equal 42 or 57 when it came to Buffy and her twu wuw...    

The library scene wasn't Xander's finest hour, no doubt about it. Then again I don't think this situation brought out the best in all of them. Even though I think B/W/G made themselves look worse to a greater extent than Xander.

Edited January 21, 2019 by lembergwatcher

[Halting Hex]

Various reactors have reached the end of S2; I'm just being slack.

Georgia Corsby and Riley Lynn were both excited to see Kendra again…and both bummed when she was killed off.  (Not full-on Jenny-devastation, but still pretty bad.)  This is not only because they liked Buffy having a friend or because Georgia was speculating that Kendra might be part of the S3 cast…but because they were kind of 'shipping Buffy with her.

Ah, Joss.  Missed opportunity, dude.  Remember, Kendra's not supposed to talk to boys…Buffy could have made Sam Zabuto so very happy.  Sigh.  (And you've been teasing Buffy's lesbianism since Xander hurt her by saying Willow wasn't looking to date her [Buffy];  this way, Buffy could have had her girl and let Willow go her own way.  Dang it.)

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

Georgia's boyfriend, Aaron, is really enjoying snarky sub-villain Spike.  (He's even taken to dyeing his hair, although perhaps not for that reason.)  When Angel failed to get the sword out of Acathla, Aaron broke into a "you weren't worthy!" sing-song taunt before Spike started his.  Now that's getting in sync with the show!

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

You know, for somebody who was all depressed about his upcoming final exams in the teaser ("Why didn't you just let [the vampire] kill me?"), Xander actually seems to be zipping through the test before Angel's Immolation-A-Gram shows up to disrupt things.  Buffy's looking around, confused, but X is marking his spots and moving on.   

We knew you had it in you, kid.  You didn't just get those Ds based on your looks.

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

Hey, Giles!  Willow's on a deadline with the spell, here…would it kill you to keep the book on the proper page and be ready to read?  Instead of marking your place with your thumb and having to open it up every time?  The book's got a spine for a reason; just hold it in your hand and you're good to go.  Sheesh.

I mean, Cordelia doesn't put her herbs on the table and make Willow wait for her to pick them up;  she's already at the ready, already.   When you're chasing Chase in the preparation race, that's…not good, Watcher-guy.

(I guess somebody really wasn't that eager to restore Angel's humanity, after all, huh?  Can't blame him, but in for a penny, in for a pound.  The time to object was in Act II.)

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

Georgia says she knew Kendra was doomed because she gave her lucky stake to Buffy.  Points for noting the necessity of Mr. Pointy, I guess.

That said, Kendra still managed to dust the blonde vampire, which is one more kill than anyone else got in.  (Xander fights well enough, but he doesn't even have a stake;  Giles gets whooped by "Captain Picard".)  So at least one last score for our Jamaican (allegedly) friend.

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

I'm constantly disappointed to see the final scene of Angel taunting Buffy and see that his calling her "Little Miss Ego" didn't actually make air.

I mean, if there was ever a perfect insult…oh, well.

Edited May 7, 2021 by Halting Hex

[Halting Hex]

You know, I get that it's important for Angel to see Buffy's being called so he knows the stakes involved…but isn't peeking into a 14/15 year-old girl's bathroom a bit much?  I wonder if he stuck around to watch Buffy shower?

And where is Whistler?  He brings Angel across the country so Angel can react to Buffy…but he's not in the car or in the cemetery to see what effect this had?

I grant you this is probably about Max Perlich having limited availability, as rumor has it that Max was a last-minute hire.  (Which is why he gets "Special Guest" instead of "Special Guest Star" credit.  There's one story that Joss wanted to play the part himself, but was derailed by the fierce bout of the flu he had at that time, but I've never had that fully confirmed.). So understand the practical considerations, but even so.

Spoiler

And of course this only get worse next episode, where since they only have Max for one day, Whistler just hangs out at Giles's place, despite his never having met Giles nor having any reason to suspect Buffy will be coming by there.  (What, Buffy thinks Angel kidnapped Giles and brought him to Giles's own flat?  Seems unlikely.). Sigh.

 

[lembergwatcher]

7 hours ago, Halting Hex said:

isn't peeking into a 14/15 year-old girl's bathroom a bit much?

Depends on the context. If Xander does it, than yeah. If Angel - apparently not.

I'm telling you there are people out there who literally hate Xander for just trying to sneak a peek when Buffy was changing in Never Kill a Boy on the First Date, but that kind of "attention" is totally fine...

7 hours ago, Halting Hex said:

I wonder if he stuck around to watch Buffy shower?

Of course, he did.

[Halting Hex]

Quote

GILES (examining the obelisk):  I assume you haven't tried to open it?

DOUG PERREN:  Open it? (looks, sees that there's an apparent groove near the right edge) Well, I'll be damned.

Yeah, but…when Angel's minions open the tomb at the end of Act II, they don't open the face like a door…they just pry from both sides and the whole front comes off.  So, what's going on here?

a) Angel's too stupid to know how to use a door.

b) Giles was just seeing things; that groove was only a partial crack.  There is no door.

(Okay, the actual answer is that it's a production flub, but play along.)

I think I have to give the dunce cap to Giles here; a door would require hinges and I didn't see any.

Although it's true that "a"

Spoiler

will get a LOT of supporting evidence on Angel's series, down the road.

But that's irrelevant here, I suppose.

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Darcie looked at "Stink Guy" Angel and wondered when he stopped wearing the greasy parkas and got his cool S1 wardrobe, with the velvet suits and the leather coats and such.  I guess since Angel first sees Buffy in early 1996 and she doesn't come to Sunnydale until March 1997, he's got plenty of time to go shopping.

It's just a bit amusing to think of Angel whiling away the hours waiting for Buffy to show up by being all "do I have enough leather?  Maybe I should buy some leather pants…" and so on.

Edited July 20, 2022 by Halting Hex

[Halting Hex]

A clever person (okay, it was I, elsewhere) pointed out that part of the reason Giles just assumes that Buffy is all #TeamSaveMyBoyfriend! and so starts spewing stuff like "curing Angel does seem to have been Jenny's last wish" is because Giles is the only person in the room who hasn't heard Buffy giving a chorus "I'm ready to kill Angel already", which she's been telling to anyone who would listen all episode while Giles is off looking at exciting obelisks with Doug Perren.  (He needs to get a life.  I'd say he should get a girlfriend, but Angel apparently objects to that.)

Xander got a double-dose of "it's Angel-killing time", because he was in the cemetery when Buffy tried delivering her message in the teaser, but she made a point of saying it again in the cafeteria scene, too.  So Xander heard her…and Willow heard her…and Cordelia heard her…and Oz (who?) heard her.  If Snyder had been there two seconds earlier, he would have heard her, too.  (Which could have been dicey, as Buffy actually says "kill", and Snyder already thinks she's a troublemaker without thinking she's homicidal as well.)

So if Giles could get his head out of the Museum, if he actually knew how Buffy's feelings had evolved over the preceding 20 weeks, maybe he wouldn't be all "supporting my Slayer means giving Angel a free pass; my Watcher's duty comes ahead of my own emotions.  I'm sorry, Jenny" here.  Ah, well.

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I'm hardly the world's biggest Oz-fan, but after four episodes away, you'd think that Joss could use him a bit better.  He gets one scene. and fewer lines than Snyder.  (Snyder 3, Oz 2.). Presumably, you're paying Seth Green for a reason. Might wish to do something with him, then.

(There's the chance that Seth got back late from filming Idle Hands, but I'd think it was always agreed he'd be back for the finale, so I don't know why this script is so Oz-light.  To quote the guitarist himself, "Huh.")