Buffy the Vampire Slayer (2x22) - Becoming, pt. 2

[fajrdrako]

Buffy (2x22) - Becoming, pt. 2

~ ~ ~

Plots thickening. This is a good one. Joss Whedon seems to be setting his stride; though there have been good episodes since the beginning of season 2 - and even before -

I didn't anticipate the ending here, but I like it.

1. So the cops drag Buffy away and she escapes them.
   
   
2. So Willow is unconscious, and the Angel-curse is uncast.
   
   
3. I like Cordelia's line: "I ran. I think I made it through three counties before I realized nobody was chasing me. Not too brave."
   
   
4. Good Angel line: "The last time I tortured somebody, they didn't even have chainsaws."
   
   
5. "Smoochies" is a new word for me with this show. (Compared to other forms of the word like smooch, smooching, etc.) It sounded right when Willow used it. But Whistler? Is he supposed to talk like Willow?
   
   
6. Whistler says, "You gotta be ready." I look around for Captain Jack Harkness.
   
   
7. Lovely line from Buffy to Spike: "Let me clear this up for you. We're mortal enemies. We don't get time-outs."
   
   
8. And then with every word out of Spike's mouth I love him more.

   Spike: I told you. I want to stop Angel. I want to save the world. [I note, with pleasure, that Spike calls Angel "Angel" not "Angelus".]
   Buffy: Okay. You do remember that you're a vampire, right?
   Spike: We like to talk big. Vampires do. 'I'm going to destroy the world.' That's just tough guy talk. Strutting around with your friends over a pint of blood. The truth is, I like this world. You've got... dog racing, Manchester United. And you've got people. Billions of people walking around like Happy Meals with legs. It's all right here. But then someone comes along with a vision. With a real passion for destruction. Angel could pull it off. Goodbye, Picadilly. Farewell, Leicester Bloody Square.

   "Happy Meals with legs." Cracks me up. Spike is my hero.
   
   
9. And then Spike's climactic line: "I want Dru back." Joss Whedon has a sense of romance second to none.
   
   
10. Unlike me, Buffy is not impressed. "The whole earth may be sucked into Hell, and you want my help 'cause your girlfriend's a big ho? Well, let me take this opportunity to *not* care." Oh, Buffy, Buffy.
    
    
11. It still gets better:

    Buffy: I hate you.
    Spike: And I'm all you've got.

12. Does Xander really call Willow every night to talk about his day? Every night? No wonder Cordelia thinks he's uncommitted to her. So when he says, "I love you," does he mean, "I love you more than Cordelia or Buffy," or does he mean, "I love you as a dear friend I've known forever and odn't want to die." I suppose time will tell. And Oz's appearance cuts short any current revelations that might or might not happen. Interesting use of ambiguity in all these relationships. (By "all" I mean Willow, Xander, Cordelia and Oz, in their various combinations.)
    
    
13. Good (typical) Willow/Oz dialogue:

    Willow: My head... feels big. Is it big?
    Oz: No. It's head size.

14. A rock band with Spike? That is lame. That is as lame as Buffy has ever managed. Even Xander couldn't manage an excuse as lame as that.
    
    
15. So then Joyce actually sees Buffy kill a vampire and Buffy confesses: "I'm a vampire slayer." No wonder Joyce looks a little stunned. Shoplifter? Poor student? Murderer? Now - vampire slayer?
    
    
16. I like Willow's line, "I know my name and who's President and how many fingers."
    
    
17. One of the saddest lines is when Buffy says of Giles: "I just wish he was here to tell me what to do."
    
    
18. Joyce and Spike sit side by side in the living room, feeling awkward. Best Scene Ever. In the history of television, maybe.

    Joyce: Have we met?
    Spike: You hit me with an ax one time. Remember? 'Get the hell away from my daughter.'
    Joyce: Oh.

19. Then Spike and Buffy come to an impasse in negotiations:

    Buffy: Forget about Drusilla. She doesn't walk.
    Spike: There's no deal without Dru.
    Buffy: She killed Kendra.... I can't believe I invited you into my house.
    Spike: ... This deal works for me one way. Full stop. Me and Dru for Angel.

20. And Joyce's worst moment yet (despite a history of clueless moments): "I mean, have you tried not being a Slayer?" To close to the classic 'coming out as gay' scenario, or even (from X-Men), "have you tried not being a mutant?" Lamer even than Buffy's "in a band" line.
    
    
21. And Buffy is a little peeved with Joyce, too: "You thought I was guilty? Jeez, feeling the love in this room!" And Buffy's bottom line: "Cops can't fight demons. I have to do it."
    
    
22. So then they fight and Joyce says one stupid thing after another, ending with an ultimatum. "You walk out of this house, don't even think about coming back!" Uh-oh. She's going to be sorry she said that.
    
    
23. Willow thinks she can still do the curse. Well - of course she can!
    
    
24. Resolve face: I like it.
    
    
25. Willow tells Oz that Cordelia will fill him in on what's going on. I would not trust Cordelia to tell anyone what is going on. It's not that she has a problem having a grasp of reality. It's that her priorities are not other people's priorities. He'll get a rant about make-up and vampire clothes. (Mind you, next to Cordelia, Spike and Dru have the best sense of style in the show.)
    
    
26. Giles is being tortured by Angel. (Bad vampire mode.)

    Angel: You know, I can stop the pain. You've been very brave... but it's over... Now let me make it stop.
    Giles: Please!
    Angelus: Just tell me what I need to know.
    Giles: In order... to be worthy...
    Angel: Yeah?
    Giles: You must perform the ritual... in a tutu. Pillock!

    This reminds me of Mal Reynolds being tortured by Niska. Hero-stuff. (I do love Giles in heroic mode.)
    
    
27. Angel calls Spike "sit 'n' spin". That is very, very funny.
    
    
28. Spike, also in fine form: "I don't fancy spending the next month trying to get librarian out of the carpet."
    
    
29. Then Snyder expells Buffy. And isn't he enjoying this! I chuckle. ("Demon, demon, bet you're a demon," I mutter inanely to myself. Do you think it's possible this show is getting to me?)
    
    
30. So clever Drusilla gets past Giles' defenses by channelling Jenny. Oooh boy, this is not good. No jokes about tutus this time. I like the way Drusilla seems to like kissing Giles. "I was in the moment." Well. Can't blame her.
    
    
31. Whistler, with a bottle of beer, says: "You know, raiding an Englishman's fridge is like dating a nun. You're never gonna get the good stuff." Huh? Is he talking about beer? British beer is great. It's one thing the British do really, really well. Pub culture and all. Ah, well, what does a demon know about good beer?
    
    
32. Another good bit of good, sad dialogue:

    Whistler: The faster you kill Angel, the easier it's gonna be on you.
    Buffy: Don't worry about me.
    Whistler: It's all on the line here, kid.
    Buffy: I can deal. I got nothing left to lose.

    But Whistler says she has something else to lose - what?
    
    
33. And a bit of not-quite-the-whole-truth on Xander's part:

    Xander: Willow. She told me to tell you...
    Buffy: Tell me what?
    Xander: Kick his ass.

    I love the way different characters have different goals. Does Xander fear that when Buffy finds out what he's not telling her, she'll hate him? I guess he's willing to face that.
    
    
34. Nice Cordelia line: "Stinky herbs are a go."
    
    
35. Good SPike line to Drusilla: "I don't want to hurt you, baby. Doesn't mean I won't."
    
    
36. Great Xander-Giles dialogue:

    Giles: You're not real.
    Xander: Sure, I'm real.
    Giles: It's a trick. They get inside my head, make me see things I want.
    Xander: Then why would they make you see me?
    Giles: You're right. Let's go.

    What I like best is that it's a straightforward and innocent question on Xander's part.
    
    
37. Willow gets spooky. Is she being possessed by the old gypsy woman? or is she doing this on her own?
    
    
38. So Angel recovers his soul and Buffy stabs him. Woo. Quite a scene.
    
    
39. It looks as if the only person sucked into hell by Acathla is Angel.
    
    
40. So Buffy leaves Sunnydale. Well: not much there for her - kicked out by Joyce, expelled by Snyder, she's just killed her boyfriend, and vampires don't come out (much) in summer.

Comments

[gillo]

It's mentioned often enough in multiple episodes of Torchwood and Doctor Who. I love a show that steals from the greats.

RTD purloins with style.

I worship the ground that vampire walks on.

As do many of us. So, you don't ship Buffy4Angel4Evah?

Really?

Wow.

Okay. I look forward to that.

Incredulously. (Better? Really?)

I'd put this pair in my top ten, but at least four, possibly five are ahead of them. (None of which you've seen yet.)

Point. So what, then, was he looking for?

Like many Americans he probably assumes good beer comes icy cold. In cans.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

RTD purloins with style.

The Eroica of the television profession.

So, you don't ship Buffy4Angel4Evah?

Who, me? I'm the person who loved both Mulder/Skinner and Mulder/Krycek. I'm the person who ships Captain Jack Harkness with every passing man, woman and alien. I'm the person who - no, let's not get into the sailslash.

Let's just say I'm flexible when it comes to shipping.

Truly, one of the first Buffy scenes I ever actually saw (as opposed to 'heard about') was a Buffy/Spike sex scene. Impressive. Or at least... made an impression. And, remember, I couldn't stand David Boreanaz at that point, and my aversion to him was one of the reasons I wasn't actually watching that show. So the notion that Buffy could prefer Angel to Spike was downright inconceivable to me. Was the girl nuts?

(Most possibly.)

But of course I really can't comment on this because it's all part of that stuff-about-to-come that I'm trying to forget I ever saw or knew about. Selective memory. Usually I can sort of... block it. It isn't as if I knew much about what was really going on in the stories anyway, back then.

I'd put this pair in my top ten, but at least four, possibly five are ahead of them.

All from Buffy?

Like many Americans he probably assumes good beer comes icy cold. In cans.

Gross.

[gillo]

I'm the person who ships Captain Jack Harkness with every passing man, woman and alien. I'm the person who - no, let's not get into the sailslash.

Let's just say I'm flexible when it comes to shipping.

So you ship Captain Jack with a ship?

I'm boring - Spuffy is always my ship of choice.

But of course I really can't comment on this because it's all part of that stuff-about-to-come that I'm trying to forget I ever saw or knew about. Selective memory. Usually I can sort of... block it. It isn't as if I knew much about what was really going on in the stories anyway, back then.

No. Don't you regret the wasted years?

Me: I'd put this pair in my top ten, but at least four, possibly five are ahead of them.

You: All from Buffy?

Yes indeed. Two episodes from S4, two from S5, one at least from S6, with two more close contenders. One I love from S7 too, though possibly not quite up to this pair.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

So you ship Captain Jack with a ship?

Only if you consider the TARDIS a ship.

Spuffy is always my ship of choice.

That's Spike/Buffy, right?

Don't you regret the wasted years?

Not in the least. It's fun to discover it all now.

[gillo]

Only if you consider the TARDIS a ship.

I suppose it is in a way.

That's Spike/Buffy, right?

Yes, just as Buffy/Angel is Bangel. Back in the day there were serious shipper wars over this, apparently.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Back in the day there were serious shipper wars over this, apparently.

I can believe it. This kind of schism always makes me think of X-Files - I couldn't believe how the Mulder/Skinner folk and the Mulder/Krycek folk couldn't get along.