Lisin June 16, 2014 Share June 16, 2014 Costume shop owner Ethan Rayne casts a spell that transforms kids into their costume personae. Angel and Cordelia try to help as Willow becomes a ghost, Xander a soldier, and Buffy a brainless, helpless 18th-century noblewoman. Spike joins the fun and tries to take advantage of the Slayer's predicament, but Giles breaks Ethan's spell at a critical moment. I love this episode you guys. I mean sure Buffy is super annoying as the 18th-century noblewoman but I love Willow's ghost/"slutty" outfit, I quite like that Xander retains his military knowledge and becomes a bit less useless. This is just all around a really fun episode to watch. We get the Ethan hints about Giles background, there's just so much going on here and it's all great! Plus OZ! Sorry. 4 Link to comment
Loandbehold June 16, 2014 Share June 16, 2014 Plus, the the card he left for Giles, Ethat references The Prisoner. Any show that does that is alright in my book. 1 Link to comment
Dianthus June 18, 2014 Share June 18, 2014 I like Ethan. He's fun. There's some serious gender-bending going on in this ep. For one thing, Buffy saves Xander from Larry's bullying. "Rough day at the office," she says to Angel, re: her messy post-slayage hairdo. "Hi, honey, I'm home!" she gleefully shouts at Spike after Giles breaks Ethan's two-faced Janus statue and, with it, the spell. Angel represents Buffy's high ideals, her desire for love, her reserve. By contrast, Spike represents her love of battle, her sexuality, her wild side and strength. As we mature, human beings must integrate the various facets of their personalities into a cohesive whole in order to live in this world with any semblance of order and peace. We need the masculine and the feminine, the light and the dark. Link to comment
DAngelus June 21, 2014 Share June 21, 2014 (edited) Well, Spike in this episode only attacks because Drusilla tells him that Buffy has been weakened, seems to spring a boner at the idea of her being helpless, recruits an army and runs away at the first chance he gets, so I'm not seeing a whole lot of "love of battle" going on. Pirate!Larry was a more predatory and combative would-be rapist, iMO. (And as for Buffy's "sexuality", she seems pretty into the Angel-kissage, much as it grinds Cordy's, Xander's, and my gears. Just saying.) The episode is all about debunking Buffy's fear that Angel just wants her to be a "meek little girly-girl", but really, it's Willow who loses interest in the Duchess of Buffonia even faster: BUFFY (wrt Private Harris going outside): Surely he'll not desert us! WILLOW (already bored): Whatever. See, unlike those who would rather Buffy be a weak, pale shadow of her true self (oh, hai, Spike!), Willow (and, okay, Angel) love Buffy for who she is. "Oooh, Ripper, you're hurting me." Oh, Ethan, you do so own your raging queenliness, don't you? If only Andrew was half the power bottom you are. In contrast, Buffy keeps trying to get Willow to acknowledge her bisexuality (even telling Will "Come out, you can't hide in there forever"), but alas, Willow just isn't ready. "Wow, you're a dish. I mean, really." Easy, Buffy…let the girl come to terms with the girl/girl thing at her own pace. Such a wonderful episode. Would be a top 20 even if it only consisted of Willow's "Oh, Buffy" look when Buffy hauls out "Ms. Calendar said you were a babe!" and Cordelia's image of Angel as a 20-something layabout, still living at home and not being able to do anything until his parents get home with the car. "Hey, Cordelia. You're like a big cat.""That's my costume." Okay, so more Oz/Cordy scenes would also have been lots of fun, I admit. Edited June 21, 2014 by DAngelus 1 Link to comment
Dianthus June 22, 2014 Share June 22, 2014 Unlike Willow and Angel, Spike doesn't have a soul. The events that cause the change in his alignment haven't happened yet. Buffy chose her costume. She's infatuated with the idea of being a girl whose only "job" is being beautiful. Unlike Willow, she's not too worried about all the advances women have made (such as having the right to vote) since those days. Watching the tape of Buffy's fight, Spike says (with a note of approval), "Baby likes to play." Link to comment
Joe Hellandback June 13, 2018 Share June 13, 2018 (edited) On 16/06/2014 at 4:53 PM, Lisin said: I love this episode you guys. I mean sure Buffy is super annoying as the 18th-century noblewoman but I love Willow's ghost/"slutty" outfit, I quite like that Xander retains his military knowledge and becomes a bit less useless. This is just all around a really fun episode to watch. We get the Ethan hints about Giles background, there's just so much going on here and it's all great! Plus OZ! Sorry. I don't find her annoying, it's nice to see her play something other than a wisecracking badass, shows SMGs range. On 16/06/2014 at 5:45 PM, Loandbehold said: Plus, the the card he left for Giles, Ethat references The Prisoner. Any show that does that is alright in my book. Spoiler As did the balloons at the Initiative. On 18/06/2014 at 11:12 PM, Dianthus said: I like Ethan. He's fun. There's some serious gender-bending going on in this ep. For one thing, Buffy saves Xander from Larry's bullying. "Rough day at the office," she says to Angel, re: her messy post-slayage hairdo. "Hi, honey, I'm home!" she gleefully shouts at Spike after Giles breaks Ethan's two-faced Janus statue and, with it, the spell. Angel represents Buffy's high ideals, her desire for love, her reserve. By contrast, Spike represents her love of battle, her sexuality, her wild side and strength. As we mature, human beings must integrate the various facets of their personalities into a cohesive whole in order to live in this world with any semblance of order and peace. We need the masculine and the feminine, the light and the dark. In an episode which deals with the difference between memory and identity (a common theme in Joss' works) and the rise of female equality. And she has to wait until her cookies are done. On 21/06/2014 at 8:55 AM, DAngelus said: Well, Spike in this episode only attacks because Drusilla tells him that Buffy has been weakened, seems to spring a boner at the idea of her being helpless, recruits an army and runs away at the first chance he gets, so I'm not seeing a whole lot of "love of battle" going on. Pirate!Larry was a more predatory and combative would-be rapist, iMO. (And as for Buffy's "sexuality", she seems pretty into the Angel-kissage, much as it grinds Cordy's, Xander's, and my gears. Just saying.) The episode is all about debunking Buffy's fear that Angel just wants her to be a "meek little girly-girl", but really, it's Willow who loses interest in the Duchess of Buffonia even faster: See, unlike those who would rather Buffy be a weak, pale shadow of her true self (oh, hai, Spike!), Willow (and, okay, Angel) love Buffy for who she is. "Oooh, Ripper, you're hurting me." Oh, Ethan, you do so own your raging queenliness, don't you? If only Andrew was half the power bottom you are. In contrast, Buffy keeps trying to get Willow to acknowledge her bisexuality (even telling Will "Come out, you can't hide in there forever"), but alas, Willow just isn't ready. "Wow, you're a dish. I mean, really." Easy, Buffy…let the girl come to terms with the girl/girl thing at her own pace. Such a wonderful episode. Would be a top 20 even if it only consisted of Willow's "Oh, Buffy" look when Buffy hauls out "Ms. Calendar said you were a babe!" and Cordelia's image of Angel as a 20-something layabout, still living at home and not being able to do anything until his parents get home with the car. Okay, so more Oz/Cordy scenes would also have been lots of fun, I admit. Agreed on the more Oz/Cordy time, I've never even read a shipper fic between them. I never considered the dialogue between them to have any significance. On 22/06/2014 at 2:20 PM, Dianthus said: Unlike Willow and Angel, Spike doesn't have a soul. The events that cause the change in his alignment haven't happened yet. Buffy chose her costume. She's infatuated with the idea of being a girl whose only "job" is being beautiful. Unlike Willow, she's not too worried about all the advances women have made (such as having the right to vote) since those days. Watching the tape of Buffy's fight, Spike says (with a note of approval), "Baby likes to play." Yeah, just as he saw her the first time. Halloween The Good; Pretty much everything, great ep, love the alternate Scoobies, the Xena ref, the first appearance of Ethan and Ripper, the fight in the pumpkin stall at the beginning, Dru and Spike back, Oz, Larry, Cordy in her pussycat costume, Willow getting 'Sexy and Wild' (love her strutting at the end, do you think she got any offers?) the list goes on. Buffy unknowingly impersonating Darla and fainting (but at least she doesn't get tied up) and clinging onto Cordy's arm The Bad; Open to suggestions? Best line; Hard to pick but I'd say; Willow "She couldn't have gone as Xena? Just pipping Giles' "The ghost of what exactly?" upon seeing Will's streetwalker outfit and "You went mental when?" from Cordy Questions and observations: Willow appears to be a Xena fan. Hmmmmm? Callings Captain Subtext! Of course Xena started a couple of years before Buff and without it I don't think we'd have had Buffy. In one ep they refer to the play 'Buffus the Bachae Slayer'. You could say that Spike's fascination with Buffy is evident in his watching the video of her fighting. Love Willow walking through the wall and people's reaction to it. The long tracking shot of Xander transforming into Rambo. Either he reloads offscreen or Xander's rifle has a limitless magazine. Another hint of attraction between Cordy and soldier Xander. Angel wears a blue shirt which is OK but not really him. The Summers house get's trashed for the first time. How does the vamp Angel fights in the kitchen get in without being invited? First appearance of SDH's famous soda machine. We discover that Cordy doesn't know Angel is a vamp. Giles tortures Ethan for info, the Scoobies really seem to have a knack for it. Reputedly Joss fired the writer of this ep afterwards, don't know why he did a good job? (and goes on to write for Xena) Spoiler Where are Joyce and Dawn during all of this? Buffy get's sexually assaulted AGAIN, mauled by Pirate Larry (who really musn't be himself considering what we learn later). Xander tells Cordy she'll never get between Buffy and Angel, well almost. 10/10 afters a couple of false starts season 2 firing on all cylinders Edited June 13, 2018 by Joe Hellandback Link to comment
illdoc June 13, 2018 Share June 13, 2018 13 hours ago, Joe Hellandback said: How does the vamp Angel fights in the kitchen get in without being invited? Actually, I don't think it was a vampire---I think it was some sort of buccaneer with really bad teeth. Link to comment
Joe Hellandback June 14, 2018 Share June 14, 2018 9 hours ago, illdoc said: Actually, I don't think it was a vampire---I think it was some sort of buccaneer with really bad teeth. Also it's been theorized that if it was a vamp created by the spell the normal rules might not apply. Link to comment
Halting Hex June 15, 2018 Share June 15, 2018 On 6/13/2018 at 1:58 AM, Joe Hellandback said: How does the vamp Angel fights in the kitchen get in without being invited? Gold-lamé-vest guy is a SHS student (we see him at the school) and only becomes a "vampire" because of the spell. Loophole enough for me. (And, for all we know, he's been to Buffy's house in his human guise, before this.) Spoiler We never see First!Willow in Season 7, but I'd argue that you could. After all, she "dies" in this episode, thus becoming her ghostly self. 1 Link to comment
lembergwatcher August 22, 2018 Share August 22, 2018 There are tons of Xander-centric fanfiction inspired by this episode. One of the fanfics I do remember is about Xander dressing as Giacomo Casanova instead of soldier and ending up defeating Spike and having group sex with Willow, Buffy and Cordelia. 2 Link to comment
Halting Hex August 22, 2018 Share August 22, 2018 And a few Buffy/Willow fics where Buffy does dress up like Xena, after all. Making for a very happy Gabrielle!Willow, by fic's end. 1 Link to comment
Joe Hellandback September 1, 2018 Share September 1, 2018 On 22/08/2018 at 9:33 AM, lembergwatcher said: There are tons of Xander-centric fanfiction inspired by this episode. One of the fanfics I do remember is about Xander dressing as Giacomo Casanova instead of soldier and ending up defeating Spike and having group sex with Willow, Buffy and Cordelia. Just as long as he's not having sex with his daughters! On 22/08/2018 at 5:06 PM, Halting Hex said: And a few Buffy/Willow fics where Buffy does dress up like Xena, after all. Making for a very happy Gabrielle!Willow, by fic's end. My favourite is still the one where a spell goes wrong (of course) and Willow and CC swap bodies with Gabby and Xena, asking a very puzzled Joxer where they can get a bath. Also love Will and Gabby comparing notes about being the sidekick and the Scoobs watching Xena and noting all the familiar plots that eventually recur on Buffy. Link to comment
lembergwatcher November 3, 2018 Share November 3, 2018 Halloween (at least it's first half), like no other ep of the second season, convinced me that the three female Scoobies (B, W, C) had a serious thing for Angel. The only reason they didn't become rivals eventually was probably because Willow didn't want to betray Buffy's friendship while Cordelia had no desire to get her ass kicked by the Slayer. Spoiler Xander. Giles. Angel. Oz. Willow drooled for each and every one of them. Too many boys for a girl who was kinda gay IMO... Link to comment
Halting Hex November 4, 2018 Share November 4, 2018 Eh, I think Willow's just being a good friend, here. And Cordy's in competition mode, that's all. She seemed more into Angel in Never Kill A Boy on the First Date than here, IMO. Honestly, I think Buffy's doing more drooling over Willow than Willow's doing over anything. Dressing her up in that sexy "club girl" outfit (which had to be Buffy's own clothes, rather than anything they bought at Ethan's, since Willow is still Willow once the spell hits; all she gets from Ethan-costuming is ghostly-ness) and then telling her to "come out" and that "Wow. You're a dish." Well, those abs certainly are; Alyson Hannigan had to go to "ab boot camp" to prepare for the ep. Yum. Link to comment
Joe Hellandback November 5, 2018 Share November 5, 2018 On 04/11/2018 at 12:06 AM, Halting Hex said: Eh, I think Willow's just being a good friend, here. And Cordy's in competition mode, that's all. She seemed more into Angel in Never Kill A Boy on the First Date than here, IMO. Honestly, I think Buffy's doing more drooling over Willow than Willow's doing over anything. Dressing her up in that sexy "club girl" outfit (which had to be Buffy's own clothes, rather than anything they bought at Ethan's, since Willow is still Willow once the spell hits; all she gets from Ethan-costuming is ghostly-ness) and then telling her to "come out" and that "Wow. You're a dish." Well, those abs certainly are; Alyson Hannigan had to go to "ab boot camp" to prepare for the ep. Yum. I think 'Club girl' is rather generous? Happy hooker would be more appropriate. Plus don't forget CC Spoiler doesn't give up on Angel entirely, see Ats s3. Link to comment
Halting Hex November 5, 2018 Share November 5, 2018 See my other comments for "the ghost of what, exactly" Willow is dressed as. (Imagine Buffy wearing that to school?) As for CC, that's for later. I'm in the now, here. Link to comment
lembergwatcher February 5, 2019 Share February 5, 2019 So, Ripper!Giles tells Willow to "get out" of Ethan's Costume Shop because he doesn't want the girl to witness an extreme violence (and probably hear some foul language) or he's afraid Ethan will spill the beans Spoiler about the days of their troubled youth? Or he doesn't want Willow to intervene which is quite impossible since Willow, you know, happens to be the ghost at the moment. And, of course, I "like" Angel expressing his class hatred for noble women. Quote Angel: I hated the girls back then. Especially the noble women. Buffy: (nods) You did. Angel: They were just incredibly dull. Simpering morons, the lot of them. I always wished I could meet someone... exciting. (looks her in the eyes) Interesting. Oh, come on, you little Robespierre. One might think those noble girls lined up desperate to get your attention. Grow up already, Angel boy. Spoiler As it turns out, noble ladies were very hard to find in the circles where Liam hung out... I like the episode Spoiler (well, except for the slight Willoz foreshadowing). What I love even more are some pieces of Xillow fanfiction inspired by this ep. Like the one in which our crazy kids lose their virginity to each other less than two hours after the whole Halloween ordeal. Bite the dust, Guitar Boy. Link to comment
Joe Hellandback March 23, 2019 Share March 23, 2019 On 2/5/2019 at 9:06 PM, lembergwatcher said: So, Ripper!Giles tells Willow to "get out" of Ethan's Costume Shop because he doesn't want the girl to witness an extreme violence (and probably hear some foul language) or he's afraid Ethan will spill the beans Hide contents about the days of their troubled youth? Or he doesn't want Willow to intervene which is quite impossible since Willow, you know, happens to be the ghost at the moment. And, of course, I "like" Angel expressing his class hatred for noble women. Oh, come on, you little Robespierre. One might think those noble girls lined up desperate to get your attention. Grow up already, Angel boy. Hide contents As it turns out, noble ladies were very hard to find in the circles where Liam hung out... I like the episode Hide contents (well, except for the slight Willoz foreshadowing). What I love even more are some pieces of Xillow fanfiction inspired by this ep. Like the one in which our crazy kids lose their virginity to each other less than two hours after the whole Halloween ordeal. Bite the dust, Guitar Boy. My theory was always that Xillow occurred at; Spoiler the end of Grave so I'm happy that Oz got there first, Okay, heard this on ASR, that Alexis Denisoff played the vamp who videotaped Buffy at the beginning of this ep. Can anyone confirm? Link to comment
lembergwatcher March 23, 2019 Share March 23, 2019 12 minutes ago, Joe Hellandback said: Okay, heard this on ASR, that Alexis Denisoff played the vamp who videotaped Buffy at the beginning of this ep. Can anyone confirm? Well, I don't know. Here's the vamp: and here's Denisof: Feel free to compare. Link to comment
Joe Hellandback March 24, 2019 Share March 24, 2019 9 hours ago, lembergwatcher said: Well, I don't know. Here's the vamp: and here's Denisof: Feel free to compare. Possibly but I can't believe I haven't heard this before? Link to comment
Halting Hex March 24, 2019 Share March 24, 2019 IMO, there's a similarity around the eyes, but the vamp actor's chin is more tapered. Alexis has a stronger jaw. But JMO. Link to comment
Halting Hex June 12, 2019 Share June 12, 2019 Quote GHOST OF HOOKERS PAST: We're friends! DUCHESS OF BUFFONIA: Friends of whom? This puts me in mind of this bit from the pilot: Quote CRYPTIC GUY: Let's just say…I'm a friend. BUFFY: Well, maybe I don't want a friend! GORGEOUS-BUT-ANNOYING: I didn't say I was yours. I realize that this is likely just an indication that Joss gave this script a rewrite, but within the story, it gives me warm feelings to think that Buffy (even in her Janus-altered state) is subconsciously remembering her first encounter with Angel as she "meets" Willow here, and bearing in mind the lesson that "friends" aren't necessarily your friends, specifically. Even moreso if you care to put on the 'shipper goggles and see an equivalence being drawn, but that's probably OT. Back in the realm of canon-pairings, I just realized that Buffy's late arrival at the Bronze after the teaser might be for the very "coffee date" being discussed at the end of Reptile Boy. Because, once Buffy has sulked off, Cordelia returns and offers Angel a cappuccino. I mean, I know many people drink many types of coffee for many reasons, but even so. Link to comment
lembergwatcher June 12, 2019 Share June 12, 2019 3 hours ago, Halting Hex said: I just realized that Buffy's late arrival at the Bronze after the teaser might be for the very "coffee date" being discussed at the end of Reptile Boy. I thought it was obvious from the very beginning. Willow's scolding of Angel in the previous ep had to have some effect. Will's over-enthusiasm for Bangel was quite suspicious sometimes. Link to comment
Halting Hex January 28, 2021 Share January 28, 2021 So Riley Lynn loved this one, declared it her favorite of the series so far, and she's even now shipping Buffy/Cordelia! (Along with all the conventional couples, of course. But that "clinging" that Lady!Buffy was prone to gave Riley a few ideas. Along with Cordy in the catsuit, I'm sure.) It's not as if she's gotten on the Wiffy train, but it's a start. However, she did have one question: if Snyder thinks so little of Buffy, why is he trusting her to take care of the little kids? It's one thing to stick Buffy on banner-making duty for Parent-Teacher Night as a disciplinary measure; the worst Buffy's liable to do is run out of teal in the middle of a word. But the (soon-to-be) mini-demons are actual children with actual parents, and the school is responsible for their safety. If that crazy Summers girl starts another fire or something, Snyder's getting hit with a major lawsuit, and we know he doesn't like the idea of that. Fair point, I think. Myself, I just noticed that Buffy totally swiped Xander's soda. I mean, maybe she didn't see him put the coins in the machine before he and Larry squared off, but that Diet Dr. Pepper didn't come from nowhere. Buffy's slamming Larry into the machine may have triggered the release mechanism, but Xander's the one who primed the pump with his hard-earned shiny nickels. Great, Buff…humiliate the guy and snag his drink. FFS. (To be fair, Buffy does give the drink to Willow, so she's probably just carried away at the thought of courting the redhead. But still. Poor form, Buffy. The Harris clan isn't made of money, you know.) Link to comment
Joe Hellandback January 28, 2021 Share January 28, 2021 2 hours ago, Halting Hex said: So Riley Lynn loved this one, declared it her favorite of the series so far, and she's even now shipping Buffy/Cordelia! (Along with all the conventional couples, of course. But that "clinging" that Lady!Buffy was prone to gave Riley a few ideas. Along with Cordy in the catsuit, I'm sure.) It's not as if she's gotten on the Wiffy train, but it's a start. However, she did have one question: if Snyder thinks so little of Buffy, why is he trusting her to take care of the little kids? It's one thing to stick Buffy on banner-making duty for Parent-Teacher Night as a disciplinary measure; the worst Buffy's liable to do is run out of teal in the middle of a word. But the (soon-to-be) mini-demons are actual children with actual parents, and the school is responsible for their safety. If that crazy Summers girl starts another fire or something, Snyder's getting hit with a major lawsuit, and we know he doesn't like the idea of that. Fair point, I think. Myself, I just noticed that Buffy totally swiped Xander's soda. I mean, maybe she didn't see him put the coins in the machine before he and Larry squared off, but that Diet Dr. Pepper didn't come from nowhere. Buffy's slamming Larry into the machine may have triggered the release mechanism, but Xander's the one who primed the pump with his hard-earned shiny nickels. Great, Buff…humiliate the guy and snag his drink. FFS. (To be fair, Buffy does give the drink to Willow, so she's probably just carried away at the thought of courting the redhead. But still. Poor form, Buffy. The Harris clan isn't made of money, you know.) I just can't believe that's her real name? Link to comment
Halting Hex January 28, 2021 Share January 28, 2021 Lol. Spoiler Shh, that's a spoiler for two years on. Albeit I'm fairly sure "Lynn" is her middle name and she's keeping her surname private, logically. Lynn's not as much of a family name here as it is on your side of the Pond, I don't believe. But it should be fun to see her reaction come 4.01, it's true. Link to comment
lembergwatcher January 29, 2021 Share January 29, 2021 21 hours ago, Halting Hex said: However, she did have one question: if Snyder thinks so little of Buffy, why is he trusting her to take care of the little kids? It's one thing to stick Buffy on banner-making duty for Parent-Teacher Night as a disciplinary measure; the worst Buffy's liable to do is run out of teal in the middle of a word. But the (soon-to-be) mini-demons are actual children with actual parents, and the school is responsible for their safety. If that crazy Summers girl starts another fire or something, Snyder's getting hit with a major lawsuit, and we know he doesn't like the idea of that. Maybe his sadistic desire to make that crazy Summers girl miserable no matter what the cost got the best of Spoiler stupid little troll? Maybe he thought the benefits (i.e. miserable Buffy) outweighed the cost (possible lawsuit)? Spoiler Besides, Snyder's patron Mayor Wilkins obviuosly had enough power and influence in the ol' SunnyD to sweep anything under the rug. Link to comment
Halting Hex June 10, 2022 Share June 10, 2022 (edited) Quote GILES: I'll have you know that I have very, many relaxing hobbies. BUFFY (skeptical): Such as? GILES (a beat): Well, I, uh, enjoy cross-referencing. Oh, sure, "Ripper". We may not know all of your (apparent) dark past, but I'll be really shocked if you and Ethan spent those long nights back then just hanging around the card catalogue. Unless "cross-referencing" is slang for something far naughtier. (I had never noticed this mislead until Lexie, in a frazzle at episode's end, wondered how her "sweet Giles" who enjoys cross-referencing, was now beating Ethan bloody. Nice subtle work.) And speaking of Giles's "old chum": Quote ETHAN: I don't wish to blow my own trumpet, but… ME (in a smutty mood): Oh, please. You probably loved blowing your "trumpet" when you were younger. It's just that you're not that supple, these days. And speaking of Gay dudes: Quote ANGEL: I hated the girls back [in 1775]. Especially the noblewomen. Simpering morons, the lot of them. I always wished I could meet someone exciting. Yeah, I see what you did there, bro, with the switch to the neutral pronoun. I know what that means. I've read Taylor Swift's interviews, you know. (One time, Taylor referred to "the person I would have children with", which is really going a long way to avoid saying "man".) *************************************** On a more-serious note, I see I haven't mentioned in this thread my favorite line from the episode, which I consider one of the most-beautiful lines in the series, showing the character's true caring heart. Yes, I'm talking about Cordelia, of course: Quote LADY BUFFY (terrified of Angel): He's a vampire! CORDELIA: What? (turns to Angel). She's got this thing— (stops herself, turns back to Buffy, soothing). It's all right. Angel is a good vampire. He would never hurt us. LADY BUFFY (still scared): Really? CORDELIA (still soothing): Absolutely. He's our friend. No, I'm serious. Remember, Buffy lies a LOT and not very well. Cordelia's caught her at it before. So when she hauls out "Angel's a vampire" in the bathroom in Act I, Cordy just thinks this is another of Buffy's stupid lies, that she's trying to scare Cordelia off because she knows she's no match for her in the "snare Angel" sweepstakes. "When it comes to dating, I'm the Slayer" and so on. But when the weirdness happens and now Buffy somehow believes her own silly lie and is terrified because of it, what does Cordelia do? Snot something about "karma" and walk away smirking? No, she plays into Buffy's delusion and comforts her. And I don't think it's because she liked the earlier clinging, nice though that visual was. As I've written elsewhere, "Anybody who calls Cordelia 'mean' can fight me." Spoiler Of course, what makes this different from other similar Beautiful Lines of BtVS (Buffy telling Jenny in Prophecy Girl "When [Giles] wakes up, tell him…I don't know. Think of something cool, tell him I said it." or her telling Jenny in Passion that "I don't want [Giles] to be lonely; I don't want anyone to", or Xander trying to stop Willow from despairing in Lovers Walk with "I won, right? Kicked [Spike's] ass?") is that this is loaded with absolutely vicious foreshadowing. I mean, "ANGEL IS A GOOD VAMPIRE. HE WOULD NEVER HURT US"??? "Absolutely. HE'S OUR FRIEND"?? Ouch. I've seen the rest of S2, after all. And now I can't listen to those lines, as lovely as they are, without also flashing on future lines, such as "No, really. I thought you were a pro" and "But she's so cute and helpless. Really a turn-on" and "Sorry, Jenny. This is where you get off" and so forth. And to think that Joss had all of those in mind when he touched up Ellsworth's script with this, just as he knew what was coming when he had Buffy challenge Angel to that fight in WSWB. When I saw this in Lexie's vid, I stopped the player and let out a strangled cry of "Whedon!!" Such a mix of beauty and pain. Damn your genius, Joss. Edited June 10, 2022 by Halting Hex Link to comment
lembergwatcher June 12, 2022 Share June 12, 2022 On 6/10/2022 at 7:35 AM, Halting Hex said: ANGEL: I hated the girls back [in 1775]. Especially the noblewomen. Simpering morons, the lot of them. I always wished I could meet someone exciting. I don't think it was too wise of Angel to make hints about his supposed homosexuality to a girl he wanted to have sex with... Then again Spoiler since I've seen the rest of the season 2, I guess it wasn't Angel who wanted to have nothing in common with the 18th century women, but rather vice versa, women avoiding Liam on the grounds of him being lazy and smelly drunk fuck and total disappointment in life. 1 Link to comment
Halting Hex July 11 Share July 11 Trying to get back on the reacting-to-Reactors horse, and I'm checking out the work of The 732 Review Crew, which is three guys from New Jersey (Mikey, Joe and Mike). Apparently "732" is one of the newer area codes in that state. (I'm so old I recall when NJ was just 201 in the north and 609 to the south. Sigh.) Anyhow, the boys point out that beating up Pirate!Larry at the end of the episode probably means that Xander could have done that in Act I, too. It's not as if Pvt. Harris grew new muscles to go along with his big new gun. It's just that Soldier!Xander isn't inhibited by the history of fear that Regular Xander has, because he got beat up by Rodney Munson "every day for five years" and because he's not used to actually getting into fights. But let his inner tiger out of its cage and those muscles that Cordelia is admiring in Act II save Buffy from getting raped in Act IV. (And the good news is that both Buffy and Xander remember this. Will she thank him for that more quickly than she did for the CPR? Spoiler Pardon the pun, but…don't hold your breath, Xander. Not that he's doing it for the thanks, of course. He does it because it's the right thing, nothing more.) The guys also say that Cordelia doesn't believe Buffy when Buffy says that Angel is a vampire because CC is a prisoner of her preconceptions and doesn't adapt. Of course, Xander is just as much a prisoner; he still can't think of Willow as "the kind of girl whose lips I think about", nor did he even notice when a grateful Cordelia was offering "anything I can do" to repay him for saving her at the end of Some Assembly Required, because he simply considers her A Bad Person. (He'd rather date Angel, and I don't mean that in a gay way.) So growth for either of them, whether it's Xander getting "closure" or Cordelia giving Buffy the words of comfort I posted about above, is a good thing. This may be Willow's episode (with her growing more confident in her body and being willing to take charge), but all of the ensemble gets to spread their wings. 1 Link to comment
Halting Hex September 25 Share September 25 (edited) Quote PVT. HARRIS: We must have some kind of amnesia. DUCHESS OF BUFFONIA: I don't know what that is, but I'm certain I don't have it! I bathe quite often. Just as Buffy said back in The Pack, she often bathes. She's actually known for it. Ethan's spell might take away her memories, but her natural affinity for her ablutions remains. (And no wonder she was so stressed when Angel saw her all dirty earlier on. A girl likes to be squeaky clean for her corpse, don't you know?) Quote (Buffy admires the dress at Ethan's) XANDER: Too flashy. I prefer my women in Spandex™ And yet, last episode, Cordelia claimed that Spandex™ was one of her "trademarks". And if Xander prefers her, he's sure doing a fine job of hiding it. I guess the Sunnydale version of "you can put lipstick on a pig" is "you can put Spandex™ on a bitca", huh? Edited September 25 by Halting Hex 1 Link to comment
Halting Hex October 13 Share October 13 On 6/12/2019 at 12:40 AM, Halting Hex said: GHOST OF HOOKERS PAST: We're friends! DUCHESS OF BUFFONIA: Friends of whom? Hmm, I guess Lady Buffy wasn't fibbing about being brought up "a proper lady". Note the correct use of the object pronoun, above. Reactor Georgia points out that when Private Harris sends Lady Buffy with Angel to guard the kitchen and takes Cordelia with him to check upstairs, those are precisely the last pairings that Regular!Xander would have chosen, due to his jealousy over BAngel and disdain for Cordelia. A nice subtle way to show the spell in action. Georgia also finds it very odd when Spike talks to the mini-demons, given that those are only little kids. But apparently any members of the Order of Aurelius who stuck around after Spike flash-fried the Annoying One are still too respecting of tradition to help out: Quote SPIKE: This is our chance! My Pet had a vision, the Slayer will be weak! Let's roll! CAMCORDER-HOLDING VAMP: On Halloween? Oh, no, no, no. Sorry, bro…you're on your own. It's so hard to find good minions nowadays. Sigh. Myself, I'm noting that all of our leads remember what happened (as Xander and Cordelia discuss at the end), so not only do the kids remember trying to kill people, but they also remember that there was this creepy guy with bleached hair around, inciting them. Talk about nightmare fuel! Spoiler Then again, it could just be some innocent poet, transformed by a cursed coat. After all, in Get It Done, we learn Spike's powers are in the coat… Link to comment
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