fajrdrako | Buffy the Vampire Slayer (2x16) - Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered...

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A Valentine story. Aired in February. Of course. 1998.

Interesting to see Amy again. I liked this plot: again, a clear variation on 'beware what you wish for' and 'be careful when you mess with magic". The best Xander-centred story since "The Pack" - and no, I'm not sure which one I prefer.

This was a good portrayal of Giles. I like seeing him use magic.

Xander is (understandably) defensive:
Xander: Okay, big yuks. When are you guys gonna stop making fun of me for dating Cordelia?
Buffy: I'm sorry. But never.
And really, Xander has invited this treatment.
And then Buffy says to Xander: "Sorry to say, Xand, slaying is a tad more perilous than dating." In her case, that isn't exactly true.
So Cordelia's former friends are being bitchy to her. Since she'd been bitchier than any of them in the past, this is hardly surprising. Harmony is at last named. (I have no idea why Harmony is significant, but people keep mentioning her to me. Don't tell me.)
Time to hand in assignments. Xander doesn't seem to have high aspirations for his: "This time I'm ready for you. No 'F' for Xander today. No, this baby's my ticket to a sweet D-minus." "At least it's done," he's thinking, as I have thought many a time. And Amy hands in an invisible paper. Her mistake was in letting Xander see it.
Willow is cute, being all excited about saying "My boyfriend's in the band." Nice to see her happy with Oz.
But Buffy's feeling jaded:
Buffy: Valentine's Day is just a cheap gimmick to sell cards and chocolate.
Amy: Bad breakup, huh? [Amy's not dumb!]
Buffy: Believe me when I say, 'uh-huh'.
So Giles is so worried about Angel that he wants Buffy to say hidden and protected. Uh-oh. And he doesn't want to talk to Jenny.
So vampires celebrate St. Valentine's Day too. Interesting irony - demi-demons celebrating a saint's day? Well, why not? Spike gives Dru a necklace and Angel gives her a fresh heart - "I found it in a quaint little shopgirl." Heh. And oh, his oneupmanship with Spike: "I know Dru gives you pity access, but you have to admit it's so much easier when I do things for her." I love the way their conversation matches their personalities:
Spike: You would do well to worry less about Dru and more about that Slayer you've been tramping around with.
Angel: Dear Buffy. I'm still trying to decide the best way to send my regards.
Spike: Why don't you rip her lungs out? It might make an impression.
Angel: Lacks... poetry.
Spike: It doesn't have to. What rhymes with lungs?
Willow says to Xander: "Oz has his cool hair today. I think I'm a groupie!" Nice to see her happy.
So Angel stalks Buffy. And Joyce. Scary.
And Cordelia tries to break up with Xander. His distress is perfect: "Do you know what's a good day to break up with somebody? Any day besides Valentine's Day! I mean, what, were you running low on dramatic irony?" So Xander, in desperation, turns to a life of crime:
Xander: Blackmail is such an ugly word.
Amy: I didn't say blackmail.
Xander: Yeah, but I'm about to blackmail you, so I thought I'd bring it up.
Amy: What do you want?
Xander explains: "I intend revenge. Pure as the driven snow." Revenge has become an interesting theme in the show: the desire of Enyos and the Gypsies for revenge against Angel, Angel's desire for revenge against Buffy.
The Buffy comes on to Xander and Xander gets scared. Then Amy. Then the others. Uh-oh. And Willow waiting in his bed, and not ready to take rejection lightly. "It's time for me to act like a man - and hide."
Love the conversation where Jenny is trying to reconcile with Giles and keeps being distracted by Xander. "Rupert, we need to talk. Hey, Xander. Nice shirt. Look, Rupert, I know that you're angry at me, and I don't blame you, but I am not just gonna go away. I mean, I care far too much about you to... Have you been working out?"
I thought the scene were Buffy comes after Xander was very funny. And Amy's revenge - "Before thee let the unclean thing crawl!" - she turns Buffy into a rat. Oh dear.
I thought Diana was goddess of chastity, not love. (Wandering train of thought: is there a similar god of male chastity? Or does Diana cover both genders?)
So Oz hits Xander for his treatment of Willow and Giles is mad at Xander for setting the whole thing up and Buffy's a rat and all the women want a piece of Xander (is Larry around anywhere?) and, really, can it get any worse for Xander?
Apparently.
Willow gets scary.
I like the way Buffy's house has become a haven of safety. Except it isn't.
Lovely bit of dialogue with Cordelia, though:
Cordelia: Why has everyone gone insane?
Xander: Insane? Is it so impossible for you to believe that other women find me attractive?
Cordelia: The only way you could get girls to want you would be witchcraft.
Xander: That is such a... Well, yeah, okay, good point.

Cordelia's not so dumb. Well, not in this instance.
In the progression of "getting worse for Xander": Angel. Drusilla. And Drusilla is at her scariest: "Don't fret, kitten. Mummy's here." As if he was one of her dolls.
I take it that Angel and Drusilla, faced with the girlish mob, decide to go away rather than feast on the crowd? Vampires in general here seem to like solo victims.
Amy reverses the spells in the nick of time.
Good speech from Cordelia to Harmony and friends: "You're a sheep. All you ever do is what everyone else does just so you can say you did it first. And here I am, scrambling for your approval, when I'm *way* cooler than you are 'cause I'm *not* a sheep. I do what I want to do, and I wear what I want to wear. And you know what? I'll date whoever the hell I want to date."
So things calm down and everyone is happy, except maybe Willow (doesn't she prefer Oz any more?) and Buffy, who can't forget Angel. I think the appearance of Angel and Drusilla was the best thing about this episode.