Overall Rating: 7.5
Lots of cute interactions between the scoobies and a horror concept that, while not original, was done very well and included a nice message about facing one's fears to overcome them.
Plot Synopsis:
The Gyst: After booting a ground ball in a little league game, a ten year old named Billy Palmer is savagely beaten into a coma by his high strung coach. Because this is the hellmouth, his nightmare realm is made manifest in the real world as he astral projects himself into the lives of the Scoobies. Buffy must investigate his story and help him face his fears to free the town from a string of horrifying nightmares that get progressively more dangerous as time passes.
Buffy's Nightmares: Buffy has the most important (and most interesting, from a psychological standpoint) nightmares in the group. First, after the standard "OMG there's a test and I don't know anything about this class!" dream, her father - divorced from Joyce for over a year but separated much longer - arrives to inform her that the reason for their estrangement was Buffy's bad behavior and the stress it caused. He tells her he wants nothing more to do with her and leaves with more words of discouragement. Next, she finds herself in a graveyard facing the freed Master, who easily captures her and buries her alive. Finally, she emerges from the grave a vampire - barely managing to hold herself together long enough to reverse all of this damage.
The Scoobies: Willow's worst fear, evidently, is to be caught in the public eye and unable to perform. She is thrust on stage with a world class tenor and doesn't know the words. Xander has the archetypal "at school in your underwear" dream and then conjures up a terrifying clown from his childhood, which he proudly punches in the nose, declaring him "a lousy clown!" Giles manages to get himself lost in the stacks of his library and then finds, to his horror that he can no longer read!
Other Nightmares: Cordelia's worst nightmare, apparently, is an intractably bad hair day. Wendell Greer starts the parade of nightmares with a vision of his huge (and now dead, through no direct fault of his own) spider collection attacking him in class. A classic "tough guy" has his Mom show up and start smooching him in front of his gangsta bros (LOL) and of course, Billy is persued by a mostrous creature that represents his kiddy league coach. Other manifestations include a swarm of gigantic bees, a doctor who finds his hands horribly deformed, and track star being hauled out of school by her parents, who apparently don't approve.
Writing: 8.0
All of the dreams are cleverly written to be appropriate to their characters and some, particularly Buffy's dreams, are psychologically very interesting and shed light on the people involved. In classic BtVS fashion, the horror elements are well done despite perhaps being well worn TV tropes. The fact that the horrors are accompanied by a scared-looking child definitely increases the creepiness factor, for example. And we can generally relate to the kinds of nightmares they chose to illustrate, which is a plus. In particular, I applaud the writing of the scene between Buffy and her conjured nightmare image of her father, which you will see highlighted below.
Acting: 7.5
Sarah Michelle Gellar had the best material this time around, and did solidly with it, though I kind of wish she'd hit the terror harder when confronting The Master and realizing her vampire transformation. Jeremy Foley (Billy) was pretty solid in his role, capturing the cold distant terror of a child's experience when faced with being assaulted by an adult they trusted skillfully.
Message: 7.0
There are two messages on which to comment in this episode. The problem of over-competitive coaches and parents in childhood athletics is well documented in today's news media. We do have to be careful to avoid turning sports into a social club, rather than a proving ground for young people to gain confidence through hard work and discipline...that said, we must be always watchful to make sure they don't turn into a life and death struggle for people this young. It's supposed to be fun to test yourself and give your all for a cause greater than yourself. It's not going to teach long-lasting life lessons to torture children over the outcomes of a game.
The more important message that follows, however, deals with the need we all have to face our fears head on, rather than hiding from them. The slayer is, of course, well familiar with facing her fears and is thus the natural role model for a child confronting his abuser. Even Xander, who is not perhaps the brightest bolb in the box, intuitively gets the message when he turns on his childhood nemesis - the clown of doom! - and knocks him out cold. It portends Xander's transformation from gawky, awkward teenaged dork to heroic everyman.
Highlights:
WILLOW: We're going to be practicing our active listening today.
XANDER: Ooh. Fun. Sounds active. Remind me again...what exactly is active listening?
BUFFY: The homeworl? For this class? Chapter five?
XANDER: What?
WILLOW: Yeah. Ms. Tichler demonstrated it yesterday? With you?
BUFFY: She was in that blue sweater?
XANDER: Oooohhhhh! The navy blue angora...(LOL)
(Ms. Tichler arrives and we can see why Xander would be distracted by her feminine wiles)
MS. TICHLER: Alright class, let's do a little work on the active listening exercises in chapter five. (Xander looks up and holds his hands to his ears) Very good, Xander; that's the spirit! (LOL)
CORDELIA: You don't know where the test is, do you? (Buffy looks confused) I'm not surprised; you've cut class almost every time we've had it.
BUFFY: Well...I was there the first day...
CORDELIA: It's in here.
BUFFY: I haven't been to class, done any of the reading, or studied the textbook. How am I going to pass this test?
CORDELIA: Blind luck? (LOL)
DAD: Buffy, let's sit down, shall we? I'm here early because I had something I needed to tell you. About why your mother and I split up.
BUFFY: You always said it was because you'd grown so far apart...
DAD: I know that's what we've told you, but I think you're old enough to know the truth.
BUFFY: The truth? Was there another woman?
DAD: No, no, no...it was nothing like that.
BUFFY: Then why?
DAD: It was you.
BUFFY: Me?
DAD: Giving birth to you, raising you, watching you turn out nothing like we imagined...you don't know what it's like.
BUFFY: Huh?
DAD: You get into trouble - start fights - it's all very stressful. But not altogether surprising for a girl who thinks only of herself.
BUFFY: (crying) Why are you telling me all of this?
DAD: You know, I don't think it's very mature to get all blubbery when all I'm trying to do is tell you the truth. I think we owe each other that much, don't you? Speaking of which, I don't get much out of these weekends. So what do you say we just...stop doing them. OK? (He pats her on the knee with a look of disappointment - she's still in tears) I sure thought you'd turn out differently. (CHILLING)
XANDER: Well, we'd better figure this out quickly. Or else we might face more hairy, creepy...crawly spiders! (he runs his fingers up Willow's back like a spider and she slaps him across the forehand)
WILLOW: Stop it, Xander!
XANDER: It's funny if you're me! (LOL!!)
WILLOW: Xander, what happened to your...(class erupts in laughter as we see Xander in his boxers)
XANDER: I don't know...I..I...I was dressed a minute ago! It's a dream. It's gotta be a dream! Wake up (pinches himself)...ow! Gotta wake up (pinches himself again)...OW! AAAHHH!!!! (flees the scene)
XANDER: Remember my sixth birthday?
WILLOW: Oh yeah...(giggling)...when that clown chased you and you got so scared you wet your...oh...(the clown appears and brandishes a knife)
XANDER: Run! (They turn to run, but Xander suddenly thinks better of it and turns to face the clown. As it approaches, he punches it in the nose and it collapses) You were a LOUSY CLOWN! Your animal balloons were pathetic. Anyone can make a giraffe! (ROTFLSHAD!!)
GILES: Buffy, I need you to hold it together a little while longer. If we wake Billy up, I believe this will all go away. Can you do that?
BUFFY: Yeah. I think so. But we'd better hurry. I'm getting hungry.
XANDER: That's a...joke...right? (heh)
WILLOW: When Buffy was a vampire, you weren't still attracted to her, were you?
XANDER: Willow, how can you even ask...I mean...that's really bent! She was...grotesque!
WILLOW: Still dug her, huh?
XANDER: I'm sick...I need help.
WILLOW: Don't I know it! (LOL)
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