Buffy the Vampire Slayer: What's My Line, Part 2 (2x10)

[fajrdrako]

Comments on the second part of "What's My Line", which certainly had some interesting situations.

So Buffy fights Kendra, each believing herself to be The one and only Slayer. Oops.

I wonder if there's a hellmouth in Jamaica. I wonder if we'll ever see Kendra again, or meet up with Sam Zabuto, her Watcher. It's the first time (that I recall) that another watcher besides Giles has been mentioned by name.

1. Why does Kendra have no last name? Why does Buffy think that having no last name is being 'stuck in the 80s'?
   
   
2. Buffy says: "Back off, pink ranger!" Made me laugh.
   
   
3. Love Giles' line: "With Buffy, however, some flexibility is required."
   
   
4. Kendra says, "Mr. Zabuto said all the signs indicate that a very dark power is about to rise in Sunnydale." What, darker than we've already seen? Darker than the Master? Darker than the Anointed One? (Not so hard.) Darker than Spike? Okay, bring it on. Nice foreshadowing.
   
   
5. So Willy takes Angel out of his cage and sells him to Spike. Very cool. I like this.
   
   
6. Spike being flirty:

   Willy: What are you gonna do with him anyway?
   Spike: I'm thinkin' maybe dinner and a movie. I don't want to rush into anything. I've been hurt, you know.

   I love this.
   
   
7. Cordelia says to Norman, "Do you have anything in raisin? I know you wouldn't think so,
   but I'm both a winter and a summer." This is one of her funniest lines yet. I almost feel sorry for poor old Norman the Worm Guy.
   
   
8. So Xander and Cordelia hide in Buffy's basement. Why doesn't Norman follow them? I suppose because he's looking for Buffy: they really aren't his prey.
   
   
9. Wonderful Willy line: "I swear on my mother's grave! Should something fatal happen to
   her, God forbid."
   
   
10. Good exchange:

    Buffy: I don't take orders. I do things my way.
    Kendra: No wonder you died.

    I like the whole contrast of Kendra as militaristic duty-girl, so earnest about her Slayer work, and Buffy's more conflicted attitude. I also like the touch of Buffy being jealous because she thinks Kendra is what Giles would like her to be.
    
    
11. More delightful dialogue between Spike and Drusilla:

    Drusilla: I was dreaming.
    Spike: Of what, pet?
    Drusilla: We were in Paris. You had a branding iron. And there were worms in my baguette.

    
    
12. Love the hints of personal history when Drusilla calls Angel "my Angel" and says "You've been a very bad daddy." Oooh.
    
    
13. So Giles thinks Drusilla is the dark power foreseen by Zabuto. Hmm.
    
    
14. I love Buffy's shock on hearing there is a Slayer's Handbook: "Handbook? What handbook? How come I don't have a handbook?" and Giles' casual summation: "the handbook would be of no use in your case." (Perhaps he lacks respect for the handbook himself? Or simply respects Buffy's independent spirit?)
    
    
15. I hate it when Buffy talks about wanting a normal life.
    
    
16. Love the fight between Xander and Cordelia that ends with them kissing. Classic romantic comedy stuff. Threfore predictable, but such fun. And they are both so horrified! They thought they were in a different sort of story.
    
    
17. I like the way that oz gets excited over his music.
    
    
18. So Order of Taraka Assassin #3 is the cop at the Career Day. Cool. But on the whole, the Order of Taraka doesn't live up to its advance billing. Spike must be disappointed. Maybe an Order gets stale after a few millennia? Turns into scar-guy and worm-guy and bad-shot-cop and lacks its former badass killer qualities?
    
    
19. Why is Kendra so shy and respectful with Xander? I'm not sure he knows what to make of her, after the initial 'pretty girl' reaction.
    
    
20. I liked Xander's line: "Angel's our friend. Except I don't like him." Nicely expresses his mixed feelings.
    
    
21. I missed the 'holy water' label on Drusilla's potion so I was at first confused as to what she was torturing Angel with. Anyway, this all contains interesting hints about Angel's past (especially his shared past with Drusilla) without ever being specific.
    
    
22. Buffy suggests watching "something from the Ringwald oeuvre." I heard this as "Ringworld" and was thinking Larry Niven. Realize now it's Ringwald, as in, presumably, Molly. Whatever happened to her?
    
    
23. Xander made me laugh again: "I am the bug man, coo coo ka choo."
    
    
24. Interesting interchange between Spike, Angel, and Drusilla, with Angel clearly baiting Spike over Drusilla, though we don't know what's behind his comments. Or at least... I don't. I don't think there's something I missed, I think this is more clues towards future developments. Nice scenes anyway of vampire anger and jealosy. I take it that Angel is trying to tease Spike into staking him so his death won't help Drusilla.
    
    
25. Kendra says to Buffy, "We can't stop dis ritual alone!" Why not? Because it seems Buffy isn't strong enough to take Spike down? Because she'll be outnumbered?
    
    
26. Interesting: Eligor isn't just a made-up-Whedon demon, he's one of the Great Dukes of Hell.
    
    
27. Mostly I don't like rites and rituals but I love the way Spike does this. "Restore your most impious, murderous child." Nice. And I love the way the heavy rite gets its own Spikelike twist from dark spell into humour:

    Spike: From the blood of the sire she is risen.
    
    From the blood of the sire, she shall rise again.
    
    Right, then! Now we just let them come to a simmering boil, and remove to a low flame.

    As is typical with Spike, he does it, and he does it right, but he does it in his own way.
    
    
28. And then one of those brilliant, classic Spike moments:

    Spike: It bugs me, too, seeing him like that. Another five minutes, though, and Angel will be dead, so... I forebear. Don't feel too bad for Angel, though, he's got something you don't have.
    Buffy: What's that?
    Spike: Five minutes.

    
    
29. And the exchange between Spike and Buffy is almost heartwarming:

    Spike: I'd rather be fightin' you anyway.
    Buffy: Mutual.

    
    
30. Compared to the rest of the episode I didn't much like the fight scene, but I did like seeing Giles come in with the crossbow. Have we seen him with a weapon before? Not that I recall. I like that.
    
    
31. I couldn't believe that Giles et. alia didn't dig up Spike's and Drusilla's bodies from under the organ and stake them. What were they thinking? That it was better to escape and fight another day? Don't they know you can't leave defeated vampire enemies just lying around? Don't they know they always come back, worse than ever? What lame comic books are those people reading, anyway?
    
    
32. Lovely line from Oz: "I don't do thanks. I get all red. Have to bail. It's not pretty." His whole animal cracker dialogue is cute. Oz is quite endearing, and has developed a personality rather quickly. "All monkeys are French." Seems to me there ought to be something really profound in that.
    
    
33. So Xander and Cordelia fight again and kiss again and it's all quite delightfully according to pattern.
    
    
34. As Kendra leaves she and Buffy have an interesting and friendly conversation, but I don't get a sense they are simpatico even then - it's more like mutual respect.
    
    
35. Of course Drusilla and Spike survive. ...And are we supposed to believe that Drusilla now has her full power and is a dark and dangerous force? I look forward to it.

Comments

Re: part 2

[flautopiccolo.livejournal.com]

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<<I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that the bit about the crackers ended up being improvised as well.>>

I really enjoyed that animal crackers bit.

Marti Noxon mentions in the commentary that the end of the animal crackers conversation was ad libbed. You can see exactly how much was ad libbed by looking at the script (which is also on that DVD).

Re: part 2

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

It's nice to see that they could do that so cleverly. It added so much to Oz's charm.