Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Teacher's Pet...

[fajrdrako]

I watched this a week ago, but haven't got around to posting about it yet. And now... looking at my notes...

1. I like the title. Very much. Best thing about the episode, probably.



2. On the whole, didn't much like the episode. It reminded me very much of the Smallville episode "Heat", where Clark Kent had a sexy-seductive teacher who used her wiles (and her pheromone superpower) to trick Lex Luthor into marrying her, so she could kill him for his money. She didn't intend to eat him, but that's the main difference in the story. Clark, of course, saved him. Probably the Smallville writers stole from Buffy, but I don't think it's a new plot anyway.
   
   As Smallville episodes go, "Heat" was redeemed by its slashiness. This episode of Buffy didn't have that to recommend it.



3. So what did it have? Lots of Xander - not my favourite character. I did like his dream at the beginning, where he cast himself as the hero saving and winning the girl. I think I liked dream-Xander better than real-Xander. He was at least more creative.



4. Doctor Gregory was really, really nice. This made me certain he wouldn't survive the episode. He didn't.



5. Actually, I think that was my main problem with the episode. It was very, very predictable. Xander's dream had to be a dream. Buffy's relationship with a really nice teacher who understands her has to be doomed. The too-sexy-to-be-true teacher has to be man-eater and since she's giving lessons about praying mantises, well, that's what she has to be. She has to prey on one of Buffy's friends, of course - I might enjoy it more if she preyed on Buffy, but that isn't likely here. So. Xander, the fall guy. And of course Buffy has to save him. If i Look over the show - were there any surprised? (Considers.) No.



6. Good line. Buffy: "You mean, 'great' in a bad way?" Followed by:

   Doctor Gregory: Imagine what you could accomplish if you actually did the...
   Buffy: ...the homework thing.



7. Blayne looked like a red-shirt in Star Trek too. He was too annoying to survive unscathed.



8. I really liked Angel here. The bit about his coat? Wonderful. Fork Guy was more interesting (if that's the right word) than Miss French. Maybe 'intriguing' is a better word.



9. I liked it when Buffy and Willow called Xander "young" and "so terribly innocent".



10. I like it that Giles calls Doctor Gregory "civilized".



11. I liked Claw Guy being afraid of Miss French. Reminded me of the Weevil seeing Beth in the Torchwood episode "Sleeper".



12. "Heal" was funny. I sitll find Mr. Flutey sinister, but amusing,



13. Eating crickets. Ugh.



14. Wonderful Giles moment: "Wasn't here, didn't see it, couldn't have stopped you."



15. I like the stuff on Giles' desk.



16. I like the hints of Buffy's attraction to Angel, and Xander's jealousy. "What kind of a girlie name is 'Angel', anyway?

All in all, this is another episode that was so silly and shallow that I'd have stopped watching if people weren't assuring me about how good it gets. I surprised myself by liking Angel this time round; Zander slipped in my estimation; Giles remains adorable and Willow is about the same.

Comments

[janne-d.livejournal.com]

I think I want him to think about himself less.

That's not really something I'd picked up on particularly, so he can't be like that all the time - um, unless I'm just oblivious to that aspect because of other stuff!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I'm maybe being oversensitive about it? Doesn't matter. Xander is as he is. He fits the show nicely; I just so far like other characters more.

[janne-d.livejournal.com]

Sounds fair enough to me - I like the other characters better than I like Xander too. Most of the time, anyway. They all get their "WTF are you doing?" moments and times when I wanted to strangle them. And they all also get their moments of grace and wondrousness. The Jossverse is like that.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I find that real life is sort of like that. Even the people I most love and admire and want to be with have moments when I want to scream, "What are you thinking?"