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fajrdrakoSuddenly it's like watching a whole other show.
It looks like Buffy, it sounds like Buffy, but it's all raised to a whole new level. Not just the presence of Spike - though that's the most startling new development - but the whole orchestration of the piece, as if suddenly they figured out what they were doing. Suddenly the actors can act, the fighters can fight, the pacing works, the characterization is in place. And my big complaint that the vampires were boring and dorky is wiped away from the first moment Spike opens his mouth.
It's the best episode yet, not only just better than the rest, but phenomenally better - I checked the writers: David Greenwalt, who did "Teacher's Pet", "Angel", and "Nightmares" - okay, two out of three isn't bad. Directed by John Kretchmer, who did "The Harvest", my least favourite episode of all. But the direction this time was remarkable. Well. Don't know how to add it up, but I'll look for his name again.
1. The first thing we see of Spike is his shoes and his long coat and his dark car. My first thought: "It's Captain Jack Harkness." Then - still not knowing - "Could this be Spike?" It could be. It was. A vampire who drives a car and smokes - things we've not seen vampires do before. But we've already established (in Willow's comments on Sheila) that smoking is a sign of real badness. Assuming we didn't already know this from X-Files. Spike reeks of civilization (rather than the animalism of other vampires) but it's civilized evil, decadence, and arrogance.
I like this.
Spike's first words: "Home sweet home." Looks as if he's planning to settle down in Sunnydale.
2. The introductory scene of Buffy with Snyder and Sheila, being set up as Snyder's victim. The
most troublesome students in the school. Buffy seems so mild and sweet compared to Sheila, who doesn't care. Sheila seems like a vampire waiting to happen.
3. Willow: "I'm a rebel." Love it. And Xander's bad, bad shirt. The dialogue here is reasonably silly, but fun.
4. Spike comes to visit the Anointed One. Love the way Spike isn't impressed - "You're the
anointed guy. I read about you." Where, in the "Vampire Daily News"? "Do you know what I find
works real good with Slayers? Killing them." Clearly, he's very practical. "Yeah, I did a couple Slayers in my time. I don't like to brag. Who am I kidding? I *love* to brag!" So much characterization in just a few lines.
I like it that Giles later confirms that Spike "did a couple Slayers".
5. One of the things that makes Spike so much more impressive here than all the other vampires is that he's the only one who doesn't have the characteristic vampire lisp due to their funny teeth. Well, he has it, a little, but not too badly - it doesn't make him sound silly. (Why do I think of Lord Grey?)
6. Then Drusilla walks in. I love Drusilla. I didn't expect that. She and Spike have so much
personality. They are strange and sensuous and scary and fascinating because of the implication
that they have thoughts and feelings and lives - they aren't just blank slates for Buffy to kill. They are both vampires and people. It particularly gets me when Drusilla says, "Spike, I'm cold," and he gives her his coat. Simple, but raises them both to such a level - making all the vampires we've seen to this point look irrelevant.
5. Drusilla: "I can't see her, the slayer, I can't see her." Very scary. All her vampire-naivete - "Are these nice people?" Brilliant. I love it that she and Spike look as if they're going to kiss, but don't.
6. Wonderful scene change:
7. Good mother/daughter conversation:
8. Joyce: "What I don't want is to be disappointed in you again." Oh, yeah, really, put on the
pressure, why don't you. Poor Buffy!
9. Good Xander line: And while I'm whittling, I plan to whistle a jaunty tune.
10. Sheila: Did you really burn down a school building one time?
Buffy: Well, not actually one time.
This exchange makes me think of "Kenny blew up the school" from the Doctor Who episode "School Reunion", with, no coincidence, Anthony Stuart Head. Small TV world.
11. Great Willow line: "You're just not focused. It's Angel missage." I love the way Willow
encourages the Buffy/Angel relationship. Some friends might not.
12. I like it that Xander dances with both Buffy and Willow.
13. Good Buffiness outside the Bronze:
14. Nice meeting of Buffy and Spike:
15. Sheila remains a vampire waiting to happen. Right. Here they come. Good dialogue between her and Spike:
16. Angel's character reference re Spike: "He's worse. Once he starts something he doesn't stop
until everything in his path is dead." I like this. Three's a reference to Anne Rice later on - I can't help thinking that Spike is like Lestat and Angel is like Louis, whom I always found a dead bore - I like Angel much better). Only Spike has more style, more bite.
17. Love Drusilla with her dolls: "She's a bad example, and will have no cakes today." Eee!
18. More scary dialogue:
19. Clever bit of dialogue:
20. I didn't much like the stuff about Joyce and Buffy and Snyder here. It was a little... too
obvious or something. Joyce must think Buffy is a dolt, taking her to empty rooms and the boiler
room.
21. Giles looks up Spike. "Our new friend Spike. He's known as 'William the Bloody'. Earned his
nickname by torturing his victims with railroad spikes. Very pleasant. Well, here's some good
news: he's barely two hundred. He's not even as old as Angel is." This is a little confusing - I
thought they'd been emphasizing how very, very, very old Angel was at 241. But 200 is a
youngster. Well. Okay. Who am I to quibble.
And then on cue, Spike turns up. He says he couldn't wait. I don't think he was hungry. I think
he was bored.
22. Snyder: "PCP! It's a gang on PCP!" This is very funny.
23. Spike: "Slaaayer! Here, kitty, kittyyy. I find one of your friends first, I'm gonna suck 'em dry. And use their bones to bash your head in." Egad, he's *wonderful*. Every other vampire we've seen so far looks like an amateur in comparison.
24. Buffy: Giles, my mother's in that room. If I don't make it out of here, I know you'll make sure she does.
Giles: Bloody right, I will.I'm a little surprised he capitulates so easily. But... he usually does, with Buffy. Still. From his point of view, surely it's Buffy that's important, not Joyce - regardless of who or what is important to Buffy.
25. Joyce: Don't be an idiot!
Snyder: I'm beginning to see a certain mother-daughter resemblance.
26. Vampire Sheila comes along. Buffy's wise to her - Giles warns her. Good!
27. The meeting between Spike and Angel: it's wonderful. Vampire reunion!
And Spike's wonderful line: "You're not... housebroken?"
28. And just when I thought nothing could make me love Spike more:
29. And Spike seems to have Buffy pegged already: "You don't strike me as the begging kind." I
hope not.
30. Joyce at the attack! Yay! Go, Joyce! Like daughter, like mother. I never expected that. I love it.
31. Good dialogue between Angel and Xander:
32. Love the PCP dialogue between Snyder and the police chief.
33. Lovely dialogue between Joyce and Buffy:
34. Lovely scene: Drusilla is comforting the wounded (in spirit) Spike. He says, "A Slayer with
family and friends. That sure as hell wasn't in the brochure." And I'm thinking: a vampire with
family and friends. That's a new one. Nice reciprocal ironies there.
35. More lovely dialogue:
35. And Spike calls twerp there "the annoying one". Oh yes! If I didn't love Spike already... and then he goes to 'make nice' but making nice isn't Spike's best thing. So he laughs at Anointed and string him up in the cage and exposes him to sunlight. There he goes, up in a puff of smoke, and I'm telling you, if I didn't love Spike already - !
36. Spike:From now on, we're gonna have a little less ritual... ...and a little more fun around here.... Let's see what's on TV.
So nicely self-referential: the show is already more fun, infinitely more fun. It's suddenly shifted into gear.
37. I think this rates 10 out of 10 - okay, maybe nine and half because of the school scene with Buffy's being an idiot with her mom and the sour lemonade. Also, the problem I had with some of the female characters a decade ago started to show itself here - something I'll probably refer to later on.
But Spike is pure gold all the way. And he's all the better with Drusilla.
It looks like Buffy, it sounds like Buffy, but it's all raised to a whole new level. Not just the presence of Spike - though that's the most startling new development - but the whole orchestration of the piece, as if suddenly they figured out what they were doing. Suddenly the actors can act, the fighters can fight, the pacing works, the characterization is in place. And my big complaint that the vampires were boring and dorky is wiped away from the first moment Spike opens his mouth.
It's the best episode yet, not only just better than the rest, but phenomenally better - I checked the writers: David Greenwalt, who did "Teacher's Pet", "Angel", and "Nightmares" - okay, two out of three isn't bad. Directed by John Kretchmer, who did "The Harvest", my least favourite episode of all. But the direction this time was remarkable. Well. Don't know how to add it up, but I'll look for his name again.
1. The first thing we see of Spike is his shoes and his long coat and his dark car. My first thought: "It's Captain Jack Harkness." Then - still not knowing - "Could this be Spike?" It could be. It was. A vampire who drives a car and smokes - things we've not seen vampires do before. But we've already established (in Willow's comments on Sheila) that smoking is a sign of real badness. Assuming we didn't already know this from X-Files. Spike reeks of civilization (rather than the animalism of other vampires) but it's civilized evil, decadence, and arrogance.
I like this.
Spike's first words: "Home sweet home." Looks as if he's planning to settle down in Sunnydale.
2. The introductory scene of Buffy with Snyder and Sheila, being set up as Snyder's victim. The
most troublesome students in the school. Buffy seems so mild and sweet compared to Sheila, who doesn't care. Sheila seems like a vampire waiting to happen.
3. Willow: "I'm a rebel." Love it. And Xander's bad, bad shirt. The dialogue here is reasonably silly, but fun.
4. Spike comes to visit the Anointed One. Love the way Spike isn't impressed - "You're the
anointed guy. I read about you." Where, in the "Vampire Daily News"? "Do you know what I find
works real good with Slayers? Killing them." Clearly, he's very practical. "Yeah, I did a couple Slayers in my time. I don't like to brag. Who am I kidding? I *love* to brag!" So much characterization in just a few lines.
I like it that Giles later confirms that Spike "did a couple Slayers".
5. One of the things that makes Spike so much more impressive here than all the other vampires is that he's the only one who doesn't have the characteristic vampire lisp due to their funny teeth. Well, he has it, a little, but not too badly - it doesn't make him sound silly. (Why do I think of Lord Grey?)
6. Then Drusilla walks in. I love Drusilla. I didn't expect that. She and Spike have so much
personality. They are strange and sensuous and scary and fascinating because of the implication
that they have thoughts and feelings and lives - they aren't just blank slates for Buffy to kill. They are both vampires and people. It particularly gets me when Drusilla says, "Spike, I'm cold," and he gives her his coat. Simple, but raises them both to such a level - making all the vampires we've seen to this point look irrelevant.
5. Drusilla: "I can't see her, the slayer, I can't see her." Very scary. All her vampire-naivete - "Are these nice people?" Brilliant. I love it that she and Spike look as if they're going to kiss, but don't.
6. Wonderful scene change:
Spike: [referring to Buffy] Is she tough?
Buffy: [referring to her hairbrush] Ow!
7. Good mother/daughter conversation:
Buffy: What can you really tell about a person from a test score?
Joyce: Whether or not she's ever going out with her friends again.
8. Joyce: "What I don't want is to be disappointed in you again." Oh, yeah, really, put on the
pressure, why don't you. Poor Buffy!
9. Good Xander line: And while I'm whittling, I plan to whistle a jaunty tune.
10. Sheila: Did you really burn down a school building one time?
Buffy: Well, not actually one time.
This exchange makes me think of "Kenny blew up the school" from the Doctor Who episode "School Reunion", with, no coincidence, Anthony Stuart Head. Small TV world.
11. Great Willow line: "You're just not focused. It's Angel missage." I love the way Willow
encourages the Buffy/Angel relationship. Some friends might not.
12. I like it that Xander dances with both Buffy and Willow.
13. Good Buffiness outside the Bronze:
Vampire: Slayer!
Buffy: Slayee!
14. Nice meeting of Buffy and Spike:
Spike: Nice work, love.And then he says he'll kill her.
Buffy: Who are you?
Spike: You'll find out on Saturday.
15. Sheila remains a vampire waiting to happen. Right. Here they come. Good dialogue between her and Spike:
Sheila: Who are you?
Spike: Who do you want me to be?
Sheila: Did you see...
Spike: ...those two losers who thought they were good enough for you? ...You got something a whole lot better.
16. Angel's character reference re Spike: "He's worse. Once he starts something he doesn't stop
until everything in his path is dead." I like this. Three's a reference to Anne Rice later on - I can't help thinking that Spike is like Lestat and Angel is like Louis, whom I always found a dead bore - I like Angel much better). Only Spike has more style, more bite.
17. Love Drusilla with her dolls: "She's a bad example, and will have no cakes today." Eee!
18. More scary dialogue:
Drusilla: The stars will align, and smile down on us.Then we see Sheila, and understand why Spike was urging Drusilla to eat. Wonderful moment.
Spike: And then, God, this town will burn.
19. Clever bit of dialogue:
Giles: For three nights the unholy ones scourge themselves into a fury, culminating in a savage attack on the night of St. Vigeous.But everyone's dialogue sounds tame after Spike and Drusilla.
Xander: Does anybody remember when Saturday night meant date night?
Cordelia: You sure don't.
20. I didn't much like the stuff about Joyce and Buffy and Snyder here. It was a little... too
obvious or something. Joyce must think Buffy is a dolt, taking her to empty rooms and the boiler
room.
21. Giles looks up Spike. "Our new friend Spike. He's known as 'William the Bloody'. Earned his
nickname by torturing his victims with railroad spikes. Very pleasant. Well, here's some good
news: he's barely two hundred. He's not even as old as Angel is." This is a little confusing - I
thought they'd been emphasizing how very, very, very old Angel was at 241. But 200 is a
youngster. Well. Okay. Who am I to quibble.
And then on cue, Spike turns up. He says he couldn't wait. I don't think he was hungry. I think
he was bored.
22. Snyder: "PCP! It's a gang on PCP!" This is very funny.
23. Spike: "Slaaayer! Here, kitty, kittyyy. I find one of your friends first, I'm gonna suck 'em dry. And use their bones to bash your head in." Egad, he's *wonderful*. Every other vampire we've seen so far looks like an amateur in comparison.
24. Buffy: Giles, my mother's in that room. If I don't make it out of here, I know you'll make sure she does.
Giles: Bloody right, I will.I'm a little surprised he capitulates so easily. But... he usually does, with Buffy. Still. From his point of view, surely it's Buffy that's important, not Joyce - regardless of who or what is important to Buffy.
25. Joyce: Don't be an idiot!
Snyder: I'm beginning to see a certain mother-daughter resemblance.
26. Vampire Sheila comes along. Buffy's wise to her - Giles warns her. Good!
27. The meeting between Spike and Angel: it's wonderful. Vampire reunion!
Angel: I taught you to always guard your perimeter. Tsk, tsk, tsk. You should have someone outI love all of this - the implications of both mutual respect and mistrust between Angel and Spike. Of course Spike isn't gullible and isn't gulled. I love it that poor Xander is just hanging under Angel's arm through all this. And I like Xander's line: "Undead liar guy."
there.
Spike: I did. I'm surrounded by idiots. What's new with you?
Angel: Everything.
Spike: Yeah. Come up against this Slayer yet?
Angel: She's cute. Not too bright, though. Gave the puppy dog 'I'm all tortured' act. Keeps her off my back when I feed!
And Spike's wonderful line: "You're not... housebroken?"
28. And just when I thought nothing could make me love Spike more:
Buffy: Do we really need weapons for this?
Spike: I just like them. They make me feel all manly.
29. And Spike seems to have Buffy pegged already: "You don't strike me as the begging kind." I
hope not.
30. Joyce at the attack! Yay! Go, Joyce! Like daughter, like mother. I never expected that. I love it.
31. Good dialogue between Angel and Xander:
Xander: So, when you gave him my neck to chew on, why didn't you clock him before he had a chance to clock you?You think? Couldn't Spike have just drunk his fill, and then turned on Angel? I'm not sure why he didn't. (Back to my earlier theory: he wasn't hungry. This, for him, is all sport.)
Angel: I told you. I couldn't make the first move. I had to see if he was buying it or not.
Xander: A-and if he bit me, what then?
Angel: We would've known he bought it.
32. Love the PCP dialogue between Snyder and the police chief.
33. Lovely dialogue between Joyce and Buffy:
Joyce: Principal Snyder said you were a troublemaker. And I could care less.And Buffy's rather astute question:
Buffy: About how long till this wears off and you start ragging on me again?
Joyce: Oh, at least a week and a half.
34. Lovely scene: Drusilla is comforting the wounded (in spirit) Spike. He says, "A Slayer with
family and friends. That sure as hell wasn't in the brochure." And I'm thinking: a vampire with
family and friends. That's a new one. Nice reciprocal ironies there.
35. More lovely dialogue:
Drusilla: You'll kill her, and then we'll have a nice celebration.I love the way Drusilla combines the eerie, the macabre and the mundane.
Spike: Yeah, a party.
Drusilla: Yeah. With streamers... and songs.
35. And Spike calls twerp there "the annoying one". Oh yes! If I didn't love Spike already... and then he goes to 'make nice' but making nice isn't Spike's best thing. So he laughs at Anointed and string him up in the cage and exposes him to sunlight. There he goes, up in a puff of smoke, and I'm telling you, if I didn't love Spike already - !
36. Spike:From now on, we're gonna have a little less ritual... ...and a little more fun around here.... Let's see what's on TV.
So nicely self-referential: the show is already more fun, infinitely more fun. It's suddenly shifted into gear.
37. I think this rates 10 out of 10 - okay, maybe nine and half because of the school scene with Buffy's being an idiot with her mom and the sour lemonade. Also, the problem I had with some of the female characters a decade ago started to show itself here - something I'll probably refer to later on.
But Spike is pure gold all the way. And he's all the better with Drusilla.
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no subject
Date: 2008-03-13 02:12 am (UTC)(I'm using a spoiler free icon, just for you!)
no subject
Date: 2008-03-13 02:33 am (UTC)So glad you enjoyed. Do you agree with my comments? Or am I way off base on stuff?
(I'm using a spoiler free icon, just for you!)
Aww - very kind! thank you.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-13 02:46 am (UTC)It's hard to say anything without being spoilery! I've really enjoyed reading your reactions -- my boyfriend Cricket is a huge Whedon fan, but less of a Sarah Michelle Gellar fan, so while he's watched and loved Angel and Firefly, he's only started watching Buffy in the past year with me. He really likes it now, and although he's been spoiled for a lot of stuff by friends, there are still surprises, which makes me happy.
Spike is his fav, as well.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-13 02:48 am (UTC)And now you know why Spike was the runaway favorite character. He had class, and the relationship with Druscilla was absolutely fabulous.
Although for macabre and mundane, wait until you meet the mayor!
no subject
Date: 2008-03-13 02:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-13 03:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-13 03:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-13 03:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-13 03:19 am (UTC)Well, why don't you?
The more the merrier!
Glad you're enjoying this.
And... nice icon you have there.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-13 03:35 am (UTC)I need to get my hands on the DVDs...
no subject
Date: 2008-03-13 03:42 am (UTC)The story is that JM wanted this job really bad, and so he didn't wear underwear. :) If you look REAL close, purely for research purposes, you can tell.
Oh, note that he knocks down the Welcome to Sunnydale sign. That will have added significance later.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-13 04:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-13 04:31 am (UTC)*...is reading this.*
no subject
Date: 2008-03-13 04:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-13 04:44 am (UTC)Small TV world.
Also love injokes and references. Many things I love. You know what else I love? Going around saying "I told you so". Well, not really. But I love when the Jossness falls on your head and you realise things. Like how good this can be.
I don't think he was hungry. I think he was bored.
I don't think it's a spoiler at this point to say "I think he suffers from mild ADHD".
"It's a gang on PCP!"
You haven't heard us excuse almost anything with this line? It's very useful IRL.
Spike: I just like them. They make me feel all manly.
The word "manly". Very much well-used in this show. Puts things in perspective - on how meaningless it really is.
We thought you'd appreciate Spike for the Annoying One's end if nothing else. He was such a pain to you.
And thus I conclude. I will not rave about Spike. I will not rave about the show. I will sit back and let you go on.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-13 04:44 am (UTC)It's fun to see someone else enter that world.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-13 07:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-13 08:23 am (UTC)b. Like someone already pointed out, Spike and Dru were meant to be one-ep vamps. You can find interviews where James describes the auditioning process and how he and Juliet Landau (who just met in the queue) decided to improv together to get the gig. Joss evidently realized he hit a jackpot there and kept them.
c. Remember how pissy I was several weeks ago when the French started airing Buffy again and I noticed their crap dubbing was butchering characterisation?
Now you've seen it, you'll get my indignation better (http://pagesperso-orange.fr/buffysspirit/buffy/transcripts/s2/03.htm).
no subject
Date: 2008-03-13 08:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-13 08:41 am (UTC)Yes. Told you that you'd recognise moments from KKBB. Not accidental at all.
I like it that Giles later confirms that Spike "did a couple Slayers".
We learn a lot more about that, but not for several seasons.
Iconic moment. They devised it in JM's audition - probably helped clinch the part for him. It's wonderfully unsettling.
This exchange makes me think of "Kenny blew up the school" from the Doctor Who episode "School Reunion", with, no coincidence, Anthony Stuart Head. Small TV world.
RTD is a Joss fanboy. DW and TW are both littered with Jossverse references.
nickname by torturing his victims with railroad spikes. Very pleasant. Well, here's some good news: he's barely two hundred. He's not even as old as Angel is." This is a little confusing - I thought they'd been emphasizing how very, very, very old Angel was at 241. But 200 is a
youngster. Well. Okay. Who am I to quibble.
The dates and ages of both tend to be retconned a great deal. Spike is actually well under 200, even taking his pre-turning life into account. He was born in about 1852/3. And will never quite grow up in some ways.
She's attacked Snyder verbally; now she attacks Spike physically. With an axe. All sorts of wonderful echoes of this moment to enjoy later. Preferably with a mug of hot chocolate and those little marshmallows.
And if you hadn't felt that we really would have had to kill you. It's one of my top ten episodes. Except there are about twenty in my top ten...
There is something about pale-haired men with piercing blue eyes, iconoclastic attitudes and a wonderful line in snark, isn't there? But Drusilla doesn't quite get to be stuffed with straw in a summer-house.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-13 10:19 am (UTC)the implications of both mutual respect and mistrust between Angel and Spike.
One of the most complex and interesting relationships in the entire Jossverse, but I can't say any more on that subject.
Joyce at the attack! Yay! Go, Joyce! Like daughter, like mother. I never expected that. I love it.
One of my favourite Joyce moments and always to be remembered when she's having to appear a little dense for story-telling purposes.
I love the way Drusilla combines the eerie, the macabre and the mundane.
Drusilla is the scariest and most tragic vamp in the entire story in my opinion.
It's suddenly shifted into gear.
Yup. There are a few more less than stellar episodes to come but the good ones will be coming thick and fast soon.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-13 11:57 am (UTC)Yet I love Spike and Angel is ok, but I love Spike. Hmm.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-13 12:27 pm (UTC)Yeah, me too.
Not that I was resistent. I already loved Captain John Hart.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-13 12:27 pm (UTC)I want more!
I need a raise!!
And in a very good cause, too.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-13 12:30 pm (UTC)Yes, and it's the sort of detail that brings the story from 'silly vampire tale' to gripping storytelling.
there are still surprises
I think that's important - which is why I'm still being wary about spoilers. I love surprises!
Sarah Michelle Geller has grown on me. Sometimes she's just okay, sometimes she's quite amazing. She's no Martha Jones - but she's sometimes pretty cool.