Buffy - More Season 2 impressions (episodes 11 - 14) // More thoughts on vampires in the Jossverse

[thalia_seawood]

Watched 4 more episodes since my last LJ entry, so here's my take on them.


Ted
A surprisingly effective episode. Of course, the odds are high that any potential date of people close to Buffy is evil. So it's not a big surprise that he turned out to be a robot with very strange programming... Still, the episode has some powerful moments and makes some good points.

E.g. we see that Buffy in many ways is still a child. She has problems understanding that adults have relationships, too, and the thought of her mother being together with anyone but her father, makes her both jealous and angry.

I have to admit that I was shocked when she "killed" Ted. At first, I actually thought this was all just one extended nightmare Buffy was experiencing.

The reaction of Buffy's mother to this is heartwrenching to watch. She tries to stand by her daughter, but can't bear to look at her anymore.

This episode also gets a price for understated horror: Xander opening the wardrobe in Ted's flat is a very neatly filmed moment. We don't see what's in the wardrobe, but my imagination delivered the details quite nicely.

Angel having to listen to Buffy's whining about her mom having a boyfriend is funny.

And seeing Giles and Jenny getting back together is nice; I liked how shooting him in the backside made her feel better about what happened between them. I guess, it's hard to be angry at someone when you've shot them by accident - especially when they then also look slightly ridiculous. :-)

My favorite quote is by Giles: Uh, uh, Buffy! I-I believe the... subtext here is, is, rapidly becoming, uh, (clears his throat) uh, text.



Bad Eggs
A fun episode without any deeper merits. But yes, it made me laugh out loud a couple of times.

Favorite moments:
- Xander and Cordelia bitching at one another indirectly during the sex education class.
- The cowboy parody in form of the Gorches brothers.
- Xander boiling the egg he's supposed to take care off. Very practical approach...



Surprise & Innocence

What can I say. These episodes give us an excellent plot twist and David Boreanaz gets the chance to show that his acting covers a wider range than just looking mysterious and broody.


The initial dream sequence is quite powerful. I love all the imagery in the dream; as always Drusilla is creepy!


Willow and Oz are fun to watch:

Oz: I'm gonna ask you to go out with me tomorrow night. And I'm kinda nervous about it, actually. It's interesting.
Willow: Oh. Well, if it helps at all, I'm gonna say yes.
Oz: Yeah, it helps. It-it creates a comfort zone. (Willow smiles) Do you wanna go out with me tomorrow night?
Willow: (cringes and slaps her hand to her forehead) Oh! I can't!
Oz: Well, see, I like that you're unpredictable.
[...]
Willow: No, it's fine! Well, you could be m... my date.
Oz: (nods) All right. I'm in. (smiles)

Willow smiles back, and after a moment indicates she has to go. Oz nods to give her leave. She starts away, smiling widely.

Willow: (to herself) I said 'date'.


Cordelia has changed already quite a bit, even though she's not aware of it herself. For one thing she doesn't seem to be ashamed any longer to be seen with the "Buffy Gang" in the school corridors. She also is fine with going to Buffy's birthday party and actually helps with the preparations. Also the smile she gives Xander after their kiss in Innocence right before Willow catches them together is sweet.


Do we know why Drusilla is having a party? Does she have birthday/deathday on the same day as Buffy? Or is it just a party in honor of the Slayer?


Julia Landau is absolutely wonderful as Drusilla in these episodes. My particular favorite, though, is watching Dru during the party preparations. And, of course, when she threatens Dalton. Wow, just wow! I love how she moves and smiles and pouts and threatens in a way that's both girly and sexually come-hither.


Regarding Drusilla: She reminds me a lot of River from the show Firefly. If River got turned into a vampire, she would act a lot like Drusilla, IMO. They definitely share the madness combine with a certain playfulness. They even look quite similar and move in a graceful way.
There are more parallels in as far as they both have someone who takes care of them: Spike in Drusilla's case; Simon in River's case. Both Spike and Simon search for a cure for them, but only Spike has been successful so far.


Spike manages to look good even with scars in his face. (The Phantom of the Opera could take lessons in self-esteem from Spike.)


Learning about Jenny's real identity was a big surprise. I definitely didn't see that coming. The revelation isn't unreasonable, though, and actually makes a lot of sense. It also helps that the actress has the appropriate gypsy look. :-)


Oz learning about vampires and Buffy's vampire killing activities: Love his (non)-reaction.
Of course, he took it so well that I'm now worried that he has some secret identity himself and is used to this kind of thing. Oz definitely seems to be a nice guy, but I have to bear the "dating-jinx" in mind. So far *everybody* that has been dated by Buffy and people close to her (Giles, Willow, Xander, her mother) has made bad experiences. Even Cordelia and Jenny have been hit by the dating-jinx when you consider Reptile Boy and Giles' darker past. So if Oz is a normal person, he would be the exception to the rule.

Angel's reunion with Drusilla and Spike is wonderful. And Angel kissing Spike on the forehead is... interesting. :-)

Since it's late and I'm tired I won't go into the rest of these episodes into any more detail. Just so much:
- Buffy's heartbreak was agonizing to watch. (Sarah Michelle Gellar does a great job in all of these scenes.)

- Felt bad for Willow when she found out about Xander and Cordelia, though I think it's good for her that she knows. She never has a chance with Xander anyway, IMO.

On a side note: I can't see Xander and Willow together as humans. However, if they were both vampires I could *so* see them as a couple. In fact, they would be a lot like Spike and Drusilla then. E.g. Spike and Xander are both quick-witted and fast with words.

- Loved the final scene between Buffy and Giles when he tells her he does not blame her for what happened.

- Oz explaining to Willow that he won't date her before she is in love with him (and not Xander) is sweet.




More thoughts on vampires in the Jossverse

1) Degrees of Humanity
I found these quotes from the episodes Surprise & Innocence particulary interesting:

Judge (regarding Spike & Drusilla): You two stink of humanity. You share affection and jealousy.
Spike: Yeah. What of it?

Judge (regarding Dalton, the learned vampire): This one is full of feeling. He reads. Bring him to me.
[Side note: Seems I would make a very human vampire. Poor Dalton. Killed by his love for books...]


Judge (regarding Angel): This one... cannot be burnt. He is clean. (removes his hand)
Spike: Clean? You mean, he's...
Judge: There's no humanity in him. (turns and goes)


This suggests to me that vampires retain different levels of humanity.

So Angel is the least human of the vampires after he has lost his soul again - and he's quite proud of it, too.

Spike and Drusilla, on the other hand, feel strong human emotions. From what we've seen so far they are devoted to one another and not ashamed of this either. E.g. Spike isn't bothered by the Judge's accusation; he follows his own rules. He also doesn't mind that Drusilla gives him all kind of nicknames, e.g. "kitten" or "baby" that clash with his tough boy image. He doesn't care one wit what others think about his relationship with Drusilla.
I was wondering why they are still so human.
Maybe it's because Drusilla was a good person before she was first driven crazy and then turned into a vampire. In fact, it's quite impressive that after all that Angel did to her family she still tried to hold on and become a nun.
selenak showed me a flashback episode about Spike becoming a vampire. Looks like he was quite a soft-hearted person as well before he was transformed.

As for Dalton, I find it *very* interesting that a love for books seems to provide an anchor to humanity as well. Spike, by the way, also appears to love books and not only movies/TV. At least he uses quotes several times. Does this mean he's anchored to humanity in more than one way?


2) The Purpose of Souls
After seeing Innocence I get the impression that in the Jossverse the soul equals the conscience.
The soul definitely is not responsible for the emotions:
- Spike and Drusilla feel emotions just fine without a soul.
- Angel feels hateful towards Buffy after his soul has been returned to him.
- etc.

But without his soul, everything that's evil in Angel comes back to the surface unhindered. He's vicious and smart at the same time and therefore all the more dangerous. It seems his soul has kept his vampiric demon at bay; now that it's gone, his inner demon has free reign again and makes good use of Angel's knowledge and cleverness.

Comments

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Ted: some people hate this episode, but I never did. I basically agree with your judgment, plus the entire incident takes on a new relevance in season 3. The reminder that Buffy with her 16 years is in many ways still a child is particularly poignant as it comes so soon before the rest of her childhood gets hammered out of her in an incredibly cruel way.

Giles' quote quickly became a fan favourite and a motto for any Joss Whedon show.*g*

Cordelia: yes, and it continues. Regarding the Cordy/Xander relationship, the way she smiles at him is our first hint she feels more than just hormones. I have to say that many years later, and several pairings for both of them later, theirs is still my favourite romantic pairing for Cordelia.

Drusilla and River are both the murderous Ophelia type Joss is fond of, yes.

Oz: I see you learned the ways of the Jossverse.*veg*

The morning after scene: it took me years before I could watch it again, because SMG and Joss made me hurt for Buffy so much. Of course, this experience colours all of Buffy's relationships from this point onwards.

Angel's reunion with Spike and Dru and the forehead kiss: the scene that launched a thousand slashfics. (And s/m het Angel/Dru, if the later wasn't already launched by Angel's taunt in "What's my line" about Spike being unable to give Drusilla what she needs.) Angel/Spike is a quite popular fanfic pairing, mostly consisting of bloodplay and dominance/submission hate/desire stuff, and that was years before the subtext became sort of text. *v.v.v.eg*

Xander and Willow: not saying anything, no.

Yes, the soul basically is the Überich whereas the soulless vampires are pure id. Which can be, but doesn't have to, monstrous. I have to say though that fondness for books and movies does not equal ties to humanity. Angel, in soulless form, is an afficiniado for opera, ballet and paintings. In season 3 we meet a vampire who is a computer freak. And so on. My own theory is that the degree of monstrousness depends on the pent-up issues you have before getting sired. The young man who was to become Angel (his original name was Liam) wasn't a monster, but he had quite a lot of those. As Darla tells him in a flashback, "what we were informs everything we become".

[thalia-seawood.livejournal.com]

Oz: I see you learned the ways of the Jossverse.*veg*

Yes, and after I watched "Changes" yesterday, I can see that the "Buffy (Dating) Jinx" has now extended to Oz. I'm very glad he survived this episode. :-)

Xander and Willow: not saying anything, no.
Ah, so there is more to come in that direction. :-)
Anyway, if little me imagines what they would be like as vampires, Joss would have done so as well. If "Buffy" was my show, I would definitely explore that path. In Star Trek, they had the Mirror universe to explore the dark side of the characters. It would be very cool if they did something like that in "Buffy".

Angel/Spike is a quite popular fanfic pairing, mostly consisting of bloodplay and dominance/submission hate/desire stuff, and that was years before the subtext became sort of text. *v.v.v.eg*

Hm. I wouldn't mind reading some stories for them, but I'm not really keen on dominance/submission stories. My favorite pairings in fiction (be it het or slash) are pairings of equals. This doesn't mean that both have to be good at the same things, but in the end, I want there to be a balance of abilities and mutual respect. Are there any good Angel/Spike stories in that direction as well?

My own theory is that the degree of monstrousness depends on the pent-up issues you have before getting sired.

Yes, makes sense. Drusilla comes across as a deeply fractured personality, for example, and she definitely had issues before her death.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Yes, Joss did. It's a season 3 episode called "The Wish" which gave us our (first) canon AU on the show. Something like the Mirrorverse. You'll love it.

There are Angel/Spike stories in that direction, but they're all later season stuff, so you can't read them yet. Which makes canonical sense - in season 2, they're really not in a position of equals (Angelus is the Big Bad of the season, obviously), and in ye olde nights, there was a very clear hierarchy. Spike was the youngest and lowest in that hierarchy, and the only person ever to be an equal to Angel and dominating him if she wanted to was Darla.

If you keep with the shows, however, you'll get to the point where you can watch, err, read the pairing of equals stories about them.*g*

[juonetar.livejournal.com]

Omg, I had forgotten the poor Dalton! I felt so bad for him. I think I even contemplated Spike/Dalton/books geek slash.

Angel/Dru/Spike of the Season 2 is so delicious. Damn, I think I have to buy some Buffy dvds at some point.

[spikendru.livejournal.com]

I continue to be blown away by yur unspoiled insights. Just . . . wow!

Of course, he took it so well that I'm now worried that he has some secret identity himself and is used to this kind of thing. Oz definitely seems to be a nice guy, but I have to bear the "dating-jinx" in mind. So far *everybody* that has been dated by Buffy and people close to her (Giles, Willow, Xander, her mother) has made bad experiences. Even Cordelia and Jenny have been hit by the dating-jinx when you consider Reptile Boy and Giles' darker past. So if Oz is a normal person, he would be the exception to the rule.

Bwahaha! Biting my tongue now.

On a side note: I can't see Xander and Willow together as humans. However, if they were both vampires I could *so* see them as a couple.

You . . . must be as prescient as Dru!

[thalia-seawood.livejournal.com]

You . . . must be as prescient as Dru!

I do share her interest in tarot cards. *g*
I'm good with predicting people's moves in real life, so if I can guess chemistry etc. in a TV series that shows these characters are very well drawn by both writers and actors.