Buffy Is the Title: When Willy asks Buffy and Kendra if they'd ever consider nude modeling, the script says, "The look they give him is the first thing they have ever shared." I like that this is where the common ground emerges, and I like that the show is acknowledging that they're both beautiful women (albeit through a sleazy character). People sometimes see beautiful women and subconsciously (or not) expect them to be using their looks for a profession, ignoring any other talents or interests they might rather pursue. It's a minor thing but it ties right into this episode's themes: Buffy could be a model just like she could be a police cop, but that isn't who she is.

I can't quite put my finger on the moment she realizes that she doesn't want to let Kendra take over so she can go to Disneyland and have a career, but I think it's part of the realization that she's a better Slayer than Kendra is. She knows they've both learned from each other but also that there's a reason she was Chosen, and that makes it rewarding enough to hold on through the worst parts.

The Buffy and Angel Show: Buffy rescues him from certain death, they pose beautifully in front of a stained glass window together, they convince Kendra that not all vampires should die; really, their work here is done. But they don't  have much screentime together or hold any in-depth discussions about each other, so my work here is done too. There are three (3!) other couples in this episode who need more attention, anyway.

Angel Is More Than a Boyfriend: The plot threads around Angel in this episode are shaky. The vampire necrology rules clearly weren't ironed out yet, and Angel's sole motivation in attempting to taunt Spike into killing him is to stop the ritual which brings Drusilla back to full health. Drusilla's been at full health before; it's obviously not ideal for the good guys but doesn't seem like that much of a crisis. I'm just a little disappointed that Angel didn't come up with anything better than throwing himself to the lions, considering how easily he's shown he can manipulate Spike. (A headcanon that might work here is that it's not Dru's recovery that's the scary part, it's her "coming out party.")

The fic linked at the end of this post is new, and it's inspired by Drusilla's references to her family as she's torturing Angel. What fascinates me about their interactions is the way he hurt her when she had a soul and he didn't, so she hurts him when she has a soul and he doesn't. When they're both soulless, she adores him - that need for vengeance is gone, even though the one who's actually responsible is at hand. Is this a facet of the sire bond? Is she transferring the desire to return the pain onto the "innocent" aspect of Angel because she's incapable of the moral choice that would allow her to enact true justice? How would their relationship look if they both had souls?

Spike and Dru: Odd that even though something like Spike's sire can be retconned so easily, the characterizations of the vampires in this early episode stayed solid until the very end of the franchise. "I've never been much for the pre-show," says Spike, who likes to win and doesn't care how he gets there. Somehow, that offhand remark trips him into a humiliating demonstration of how he'll never actually win against Angel, who remains the object of Spike's girlfriend's obsession.

Even in flashbacks we never get to see much of what Spike/Drusilla was like when both were at 100%. I headcanon she liked to hurt and humiliate him in sex play, and that he wouldn't reciprocate even though he knew she wanted it -- maybe because Angelus wouldn't allow any display of dominance from him. To prove that he was still strong despite being lowest in the Fanged Four pecking order, Spike would have to keep up his habits of violence toward anyone outside their circle, and since that's what he liked doing anyway, it all worked out handily for decades.

Drusilla being weakened is a downer for Spike, since he wants to be in bed with the power, but it gives his ego a boost anyway. Being weakened himself, as he is after this episode, is his worst nightmare. We'll keep examining his downward spiral throughout the season.

Willow and Oz: After Buffy and Angel, these two usually win when I'm ranking Buffyverse couples. I tend not to stay attached when I know a couple won't be the endgame, and I'll ship Willow/Tara too when that comes around, but there's something special about what Oz and Willow have with each other. The innocence, the inherent compatibility of their personalities which still lets through their differences and contrasts. And, of course, I just really love both characters individually, especially in the early seasons.
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I also like how the natural way in which their relationship builds. Romance in fiction usually means dramatic, passionate events, and that's just how I like it, but this is the perfect exception. Okay, sure, he takes a bullet for her later in the episode and that's pretty dramatic. What I mean is the way their mutual feelings develop, as in this script direction: "He smiles. Willow smiles too - not sure what to make of him." It's very organic, appropriate to their age and to Willow's insecurity, especially since she's not over Xander yet.

Xander and Cordelia: Admit it, that scene where they start making out in the middle of a shouting match is prime comedy. Even the reprise at the end of the episode is hilarious. I really don't have any complaints about the way that Xander/Cordy plays out: Enemies to Lovers to Enemies to Friends, I guess you'd call it? Destined to come to an end, but ultimately both are better for having known each other.

I know there's a lot of criticism toward Xander for the kinds of things he says to Cordy in and out of their time dating, and I'm not going to ignore that. He's an asshole. However, Cordy's an asshole too, and I feel like she gets a lot less of the criticism she deserves, so I'm not going to ignore that either. Xander is bitter and horny, Cordelia is selfish and insensitive. Maybe they can help each other grow out of it.

Giles and Objects: Not much for Giles to do in this episode except for his designated Exposition Guy duties. It was cute to see Buffy jealous of Kendra getting his attention, though.

I've got some script quotes for you! Even though the only way to find them anymore is through the Wayback Machine!

Kendra gets a second introduction, since now we know she's not with the Order of Taraka.

          The new slayer radiates poise and intensity. She's a "take-no-guff" gal with a faintly regal air about her.

The moment where Xander keeps hosing Cordy for the sake of the view he's getting was apparently unscripted:

          Cordelia is flailing as Xander TURNS THE HOSE ON HER. She YELLS and fights the water, but it works - the worms                  are washed away. Xander runs to her and lifts her to her feet.

A little cuteness that was cut:

          KENDRA
          I'm not allowed to watch television.
          My Watcher says it promotes
          intellectual laziness.
          BUFFY
          And he says it like it's a bad thing?

Notes:

• Instead of Jonathan, the script describes a "hostage kid" during the Police Cop demo. It's already happened a couple times that he ends up in the Elevated Extra role and I'm surprised they didn't realize sooner that he was a safe bet.
• Sometimes bad CGI is a blessing. I feel very comforted knowing that there wasn’t a real worm crawling across Bug Man actor’s face.
• Kendra is a character in my "Older'verse" AU series. I've often thought that if there was one thing I could go back and revise in my fanfiction before it had ever been published, it would have been my attempt to write her accent. Even the show can't write her accent.
• Buffy making fun of it is of course fine with me, but wtf, does she think it's Spanish? "No kicko, no fighto"?

Links:

• The Watcher's Diary
• Read this post on LiveJournal
• Fic - The Flight of the Pheasant

I’m watching Buffy for the first time in two years. I’m excited. I dug up the summary that I started for this one, but I don’t know what it will become from here. 

Sunnydale High’s student events continue to be the worst, corralling everyone into a Career Week that’s just as meaningless as the Scoobies think it is. Unfortunately, just like the foreign exchange student episode, this one probably reflects some sad reality of American high schools (again, I didn’t go to one so I don’t know firsthand). People expect teenagers to make important decisions about their lives but won’t offer them the tools they need for it. 

Nobody gets anything out of the experience, except that Xander wants to go to “Principal School,” and now so do I. Even Willow and Oz don’t have the career fair to thank for getting them into the same room, since the guys from the Wolfram & Hart software company (come on, you know it’s true) say they've got nothing to do with it.

As a backdrop to Buffy's melancholy over her future, though, it makes sense and I like the way Plot A is constructed over this two-parter and Plot B follows along with it. The one thing that I'm not really keen on is the Monster(s) of the Week(s), who don't really live up to the threat they're supposed to be. I mean, if the Order of Taraka won't stop coming until the job is done, where are they now? I can accept that they were relatively easy kills, since the idea is that they’re replaced each time one goes down, but is there some canon explanation for them never getting replaced after the third one and never mentioned again? 

Buffy Is the Title: The first issue of the Season 9 comics was one of the few written by Joss, which meant it had some of the best dialogue, especially for Buffy. She references this episode while she’s drunkenly fangirling at the cops who have shown up for a noise violation during her housewarming party: “...And I scored best as a police cop! That was what my aptitude scored as!”

I always loved that line just for the sake of its adorable redundancies, but now I kind of appreciate it on another level, too. Who would have thought that Buffy would someday want to share the memories from this dumb career fair? That she’d actually be excited by having something in common with law enforcement? But it’s so true to life, the rose-colored glasses, and the officers are shown dancing with her in the next panel, so clearly they could see what a good sincere heart she has beneath her party fever.

And actually, the episode puts that into focus too. When Xander prompts Willow and Buffy to tell him he's not stupid, Buffy comes through with such solemnity in her expression and voice that it warms me all over. I mean it. So does she.

The Buffy and Angel Show: So, we're all agreed that it's a sign of the fundamental unfairness of the universe that we never got to see Buffy and Angel skate together, right? Especially since David Boreanaz can skate! Oh well, at least Buffy looks great on her own. And I wrote a fic about it, long long ago, linked at the end of this entry.

Since it's a big B/A episode I ought to have a lot to say about them but all of it seems pretty obvious; I swoon where I'm expected to swoon. I did pull out a shooting script quote from the ice rink scene since I liked the way it solidified Angel's emotions:

          Buffy turns his face back to hers. Tenderly runs her fingers along his transformed features. Angel is overwhelmed.              Nobody has ever touched him like this.

Also, I love how they don’t even consider the option that they can go to a skating rink when it’s open. Is it a mirror issue? Trying to dodge the admission fee? Or just another case of habit?

Other than that, I'm actually more interested in Angel himself this time, since it's also an important step in his personal character arc. Therefore, onto a new category...

Angel Is More Than a Boyfriend: He's finally taking the initiative to do something on his own and it's awesome. Granted, he's doing it because of Buffy, but now he doesn't need to wait for her to tell him how best to love her. He uses sources only he can use, does things she couldn't do, keeps his secrets out of pragmatism instead of shame. Then he gets attacked by Kendra and Buffy has to come save him, but the right intentions were in place!

A bit before that we get, "I lurk," his explanation for how he knows what's going on at Buffy's school. I'm glad she takes this in stride, as it shouldn't surprise her that he hangs around places where he can absorb some of her daylight life without being seen, but it's a sad (though still funny) moment expressing his dual nature as much as the mirror does.

Welcome Willy the Snitch, a two-dimensional character but a fairly funny and appealing one, and great for establishing mythology and other characters. His first scene tells us a little about Willy but a lot about Angel, who inspires fear as soon as he's recognized. You can't effectively run an underworld bar if you're just automatically afraid of vampires, so what is it about this one particularly? He even knows Angel has a soul! Shouldn't that make him less scary?

There's history there, and it just gets better when Spike comes up and Angel takes responsibility for him, too. From now on Angel is his own man, he's serious business, and I want to hear the stories behind each and every piece of art in his apartment.

Spike and Dru, Dru and Spike: We get another glimpse into what Spike is like in a relationship, and it's both familiar and depressing. Drusilla annoys him, he snaps at her, she whimpers, he's suddenly fawning over her. He doesn't want her interrupting him while he's doing something he perceives as important, but as soon as she shows that he has the power to hurt her -- this is the good stuff. This is what he likes. He takes care of her and their respective roles are reestablished. 

Later we'll see that Spike prefers a woman who can kick his ass, which may seem to contradict his need to be the boss, but with or without his soul we never see him content with anyone but Dru. Why? She <i>is</i> stronger than him, but her madness makes her need help anyway (or appear to need help, which is just as good as far as Spike is concerned). She and Spike are uniquely suited to each other, not because what they have is healthy -- they're evil, healthy is a moot point -- but because she fulfills all of Spike's fantasies at once. She's above him: older, more gifted, closer to the source; but instead of contemptuously rejecting him, she depends on him. Next time he finds a woman above him, this will not work out so well.

I never noticed before that Dru says she needs to change Miss Edith. Apparently her dolls pee.

My Willow Tree: Can't think of anything to say about her here, but fortunately she's got more coming up in the next one, and so does Oz.

Xander and Bus Stations: Xander is apparently not bad with the research - Buffy is singled out as the one whose only real function during research parties is to get the snacks, but the guy who sucks at every subject in school is himself a snack recipient. From what I can remember, that actually tracks throughout the series, and now I'm finding it interesting. Not that I ever thought he was dumb; it's just not a skill you'd expect him to have.

Giles and Objects: After Buffy let Giles believe she was just going home to rest up for the next day, do you think he wondered why she was with Angel when she was attacked by the first Taraka guy? At least she didn't lie about it (as far as we know).

Time for some script quotes! Drusilla sings a little song, and we even have lyrics for it.

          INT. FACTORY - NIGHT
         Speaking of vamps… Here's DRUSILLA - wrapped in a black shawl and looking even paler than usual. She stands at              one end of the long dining table, laying out TAROT CARDS. She is humming, swaying-

          DRUSILLA
          (sings/discordant)
          I HEAR MUSIC AND THERE'S NO
          ONE THERE… ALL NIGHT LONG
          I SEEM TO WALK ON AIR… I
          WONDER WHY, I WONDER WHY…

Kendra gets a pretty badass introduction. I'd object to the animalistic way she's described except that at this point we're supposed to believe she's the Jaguar of the Taraka.

          We stop on an ETHNIC YOUNG WOMAN, her feline, feral eyes getting used to the sudden light. She's a predator, a              hunter, and her name is KENDRA. And as she jumps out of frame, onto the tarmac -

And here's one for Willy the Snitch:

        A solitary stooped figure gives the floor a perfunctory once-over with a stiff broom. This is WILLY, a shifty-eyed                    bottom-dweller. In addition to being the bartender here, he's a small time hustler who moves in the underworld of             the vampires - despite the fact that he is not a vamp himself.

Notes:

• I also come down on the side of shrubs.
• According to the script, the Cyclops Taraka guy is named Octarus.
• Scooby Gang invoked for the first time!
• All the times they made a cemetery out of their limited outdoor set space, and this is the first time I’m noticing how close the headstones are to the road. I guess the bodies are under the pavement?
• Kendra attacks Buffy with a hatchet. I know Slayers are supposed to be proficient with all weapons, but seriously, she thought she was a vampire! What happened to stakes? 

Links:

• The Watcher's Diary
• Read this post on LiveJournal
• Fic - Pair Skating