Buffy - Season 4 impressions (episode 5)
Nov. 12th, 2005 02:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thalia_seawoodBeer Bad
A summary can be found here or here.
Go Fish taught us that we should not overdose on steroids, Beer Bad teaches us that too much beer can also have severe side affects.
This is overall a light-hearted episode and as such I enjoyed it. The theme of the show is: What would we be like if we simply acted on our instincts?
As professor Walsh says: ... the id works solely out of the pleasure principle.
This made me notice that all vampires - as long as they don't have a soul - seem to be ruled by their id. Want something? Take it. Hungry? Just kill someone and feed. There are no morals involved like "Should I really do this? Will someone be hurt by it?". It's much more simple for them.
Buffy & Parker:
Buffy's day-dreams in the beginning are wonderful. When dream-Parker apologizes to her, I mentally encouraged Buffy to just whack him over the head and be done with him. So great that this is what she does at the end of the episode. :-))
This line totally reminded me of two of my friends:
Buffy: He [Parker] can be really sweet. I'm telling you I think he had intimacy problems because of the death of his father.
Gah. How comes women always find stupid psychoanalytical excuses for their boyfriends - even though it's clear to everybody else they are jerks!
Riley:
Riley comes across as a very reliable guy, he's observant (I think) and he doesn't take himself to seriously.
Xander:
Buffy is quite bitchy with Xander occasionally. Well, I can understand it. She's in a very low mood in the beginning of the episode and sometimes friends have to withstand your bad moods and put up with your crankiness. :-)
The guy with the green shirt is such a jerk to Xander. I can't stand people like this who are in your face condescending, but most likely have done not a single useful thing in their entire life.
Parker:
His speech to Willow made me sick. He just can't be honest for even a single second. His explanation is all screwed up:
Just for one night can't two people who feel an attraction come together and create something wonderful? And then go back to
their lives the next day better for it but never over analyzing it or wanting it to be more than it was? I have. She should too.
Sure, people can do that. The problem is that Parker makes the girls believe that they are Miss Right for Parker and that the sex between them is a completion of true love.
I was afraid Willow would be taken in by his soulful routine, but she's made of stronger stuff. Such fun when she laughs at him.
And what's up with Oz and Veruca? Looks as if he recognises her smell.
Jack, the barkeeper is the reincarnation of Snyder. Snyder disliked the pupils on his school, Jack dislikes the students he has to serve.
Xander: Jack! Jack! We've got a problem. The guys they they're some of the patrons are turning into cavemen
Jack: They've had it comin.
[...]
Jack: You know I've been taking abuse from snot nosed kids for twenty years. They're always coming in here with their snotty attitude,
drinking their fruity little micro brews and spouting out some philosophy like it means a damn thing. Thinking they're different than
us.
Xander: They are now.
Jack: They ain't. That's the great thing about beer. It makes all men the same.
SMG had lots of fun with this episode. The way she delivers lines like Buffy want beer. or Buffy tired. is simply wonderful.
A summary can be found here or here.
Go Fish taught us that we should not overdose on steroids, Beer Bad teaches us that too much beer can also have severe side affects.
This is overall a light-hearted episode and as such I enjoyed it. The theme of the show is: What would we be like if we simply acted on our instincts?
As professor Walsh says: ... the id works solely out of the pleasure principle.
This made me notice that all vampires - as long as they don't have a soul - seem to be ruled by their id. Want something? Take it. Hungry? Just kill someone and feed. There are no morals involved like "Should I really do this? Will someone be hurt by it?". It's much more simple for them.
Buffy & Parker:
Buffy's day-dreams in the beginning are wonderful. When dream-Parker apologizes to her, I mentally encouraged Buffy to just whack him over the head and be done with him. So great that this is what she does at the end of the episode. :-))
This line totally reminded me of two of my friends:
Buffy: He [Parker] can be really sweet. I'm telling you I think he had intimacy problems because of the death of his father.
Gah. How comes women always find stupid psychoanalytical excuses for their boyfriends - even though it's clear to everybody else they are jerks!
Riley:
Riley comes across as a very reliable guy, he's observant (I think) and he doesn't take himself to seriously.
Xander:
Buffy is quite bitchy with Xander occasionally. Well, I can understand it. She's in a very low mood in the beginning of the episode and sometimes friends have to withstand your bad moods and put up with your crankiness. :-)
The guy with the green shirt is such a jerk to Xander. I can't stand people like this who are in your face condescending, but most likely have done not a single useful thing in their entire life.
Parker:
His speech to Willow made me sick. He just can't be honest for even a single second. His explanation is all screwed up:
Just for one night can't two people who feel an attraction come together and create something wonderful? And then go back to
their lives the next day better for it but never over analyzing it or wanting it to be more than it was? I have. She should too.
Sure, people can do that. The problem is that Parker makes the girls believe that they are Miss Right for Parker and that the sex between them is a completion of true love.
I was afraid Willow would be taken in by his soulful routine, but she's made of stronger stuff. Such fun when she laughs at him.
And what's up with Oz and Veruca? Looks as if he recognises her smell.
Jack, the barkeeper is the reincarnation of Snyder. Snyder disliked the pupils on his school, Jack dislikes the students he has to serve.
Xander: Jack! Jack! We've got a problem. The guys they they're some of the patrons are turning into cavemen
Jack: They've had it comin.
[...]
Jack: You know I've been taking abuse from snot nosed kids for twenty years. They're always coming in here with their snotty attitude,
drinking their fruity little micro brews and spouting out some philosophy like it means a damn thing. Thinking they're different than
us.
Xander: They are now.
Jack: They ain't. That's the great thing about beer. It makes all men the same.
SMG had lots of fun with this episode. The way she delivers lines like Buffy want beer. or Buffy tired. is simply wonderful.
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no subject
Date: 2005-11-12 02:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-11-14 08:32 am (UTC)I can't agree about the "worst episode" bit.
For me Gingerbread gets this award. The problem with Gingerbread is that it takes up a really difficult topic (two murdered children) and then moves on to a different difficult topic (witch hunt) and doesn't resolve either in a satisfactory way.
Beer Bad doesn't try to deal with difficult topics. The one issue it does resolve is Buffy's feelings for Parker - and this issue is handled with a nice sense of humour. The day dream sequence in the beginning is wonderfully resolved by the last scene: Parker asking for Buffy's forgiveness and she just looking at him without any expression - and then hitting him over the head. Priceless!
This is an episode I'll rewatch when I'm in a low mood. I'll fast forward through the Neanderthal scenes and just focus on Buffy. :-)
no subject
Date: 2005-11-12 04:49 pm (UTC)I think Riley is a lot smarter (and more observant) than he sometimes gets credit for.
no subject
Date: 2005-11-14 08:14 am (UTC)I suspect he's another character that many fans didn't like.
The way I see him he's fairly smart, but he doesn't make a big production out of his abilities. That's a quality I really appreciate in men.
Don't think he will be my favorite character ever - he's not neurotic or melodramatic enough for this :-)) - but I do like him. I also get a "I want to do what is right." vibe from him.
no subject
Date: 2005-11-13 03:54 am (UTC)SMG had lots of fun with this episode.
This is a trend later in the series, too -- SMG playing some wacky variation of Buffy. It's particularly obvious when the show/her character is going through a dark period.
no subject
Date: 2005-11-14 07:47 am (UTC)It's a fun episode. If I want tragedy, I'll rewatch Passion or Becoming.
But if I want to laugh after a crappy day, I'll watch Beer Bad. Buffy doing wall paintings or crouching in front of the TV demanding the little people come back. Priceless. However, my favorite scene is when she wacks Parker of the head.