Classics: BtVS 2:7 - Lie to Me

Overall Rating: 9.3

Joss Whedon actually wrote this episode - when he is the author, the quality of, at the very least, the dialogue and characterizations dramatically improve. But this marks the first featured Buffy episode and one of the very best of the second season. This episode is marked by a rare collision of deep drama, wit, and emotionally potent themes that almost anyone can relate to...with teens just being teens (in remarkable circumstances, granted) in such organic and believable ways.

Plot Synopsis:

Buffy is tracking Drusilla late in a silent playground as she stalks and menaces a helpless young boy. Before she can intervene, the boy is rescued by Angel. She watches as her undead flame has words with Drusilla and assumes the worst about their relationship (thanks in part to some very overtly sexual behavior from Drusilla). The next day at school, however, a new arrival at Sunnydale High brightens her day. He's an old friend from Hemery High named Billy Fordham (a.k.a. Ford), and he immediately finds Buffy and her friends and fits right into their group. In fact, they take such a shining to him (especially Buffy) that he joins them at the Bronze that night and all seems to be going very well. He even catches Buffy dusting a vamp in the alley behind the club and admits that he knows about her calling - a fact which greatly excites Buffy. A very likable guy knowing what she does and not running scared or foolishly wanting to be "danger man" and get himself in trouble? Romantic potential with someone who actually has a pulse? These things are alien to Buffy.

Angel, however, is far less impressed with Ford. Perhaps partly because he's a tad jealous, but also because Ford's arrival seems a bit too convenient and perfect for Buffy, Angel has doubts. He asks Willow to research Ford on the web and she discovers that he's not a student at Sunnydale High as he claims. Angel then tracks Ford to a club run by vampire worshipers - the Sunset Club. With this disturbing information in tow, Angel drags the slayerettes to the club the next night and spends their entire outing tearing them apart verbally (as well he should). Buffy, meanwhile, is out with Ford patrolling near Sunnydale High when a pair of vamps attack. Buffy kills one of them and Ford claims to have dusted the second, but that very vampire assaults the library and steals one of Giles' books. This information comes to Giles' attention when Buffy calls him away from a monster truck rally (Ms. Calendar dragged him there against his will. :) ) to report on their encounter.

Ford, meanwhile, fleas to cut a deal with Spike. If Spike agrees to turn him into an 'immortal,' he'll deliver the slayer into a trap along with a dozen or so lost souls from his vampire worshiping hangout as a meal offering for Spike and his weakened beloved Drusilla. Spike agrees, though it's pretty clear to anyone with half a brain that he has no intention of turning Ford. Angel is one step ahead of Ford, though. He goes to Buffy, who is a little consumed with jealousy over his apparent flirtation with Drusilla. Angel explains the whole ugly story of how he'd driven Drusilla completely insane just after his vampire transformation and then turned her as well, thus explaining their familiarity. He then warms Buffy about Ford's activities and the now much wiser Buffy is not fooled when Ford invites her to the Sunset Club at 9 PM for a special surprise. She shows up before sunset and confronts Ford.

Ford reveals that he has terminal cancer and doesn't have much time. He needs to be transformed to 'survive.' Buffy tries to explain that becoming a vampire doesn't preserve who you are - that you die and a demon takes over your body - but Ford is desperate and therefore intransigent. By the time Buffy is through arguing and trying to save the lives of the deeply misguided vampire cult assembled in this trap, it's too late. The sun is setting and the exit automatically locks, trapping them all inside this club that was once a bomb shelter and is thus under ground, making escape impossible.

Right on schedule, Spike and Drusilla arrive and begin feasting on the lemmings Ford provided, but Buffy manages to deflect an attack by Ford rather easily and then gets to Drusilla and threatens to dust her. Spike, wanting to protect his pet, lets the surviving vampire nuts go and Buffy locks Drusilla and Spike in the bomb shelter with Ford. His plan having failed, Ford tries to bargain for his transformation, but when Buffy arrives at the club the next day, she finds his lifeless body. Later that night, she mournfully visits the grave site with Giles and laments the increasing complexity of her life. She doesn't know who she can trust anymore, let alone who to love or hate. Giles tries to reassure her that it's all a part of growing up, but Buffy begs him to tell her things will get easier some day.

SABR Matt's Ratings:

Writing: 10.0

Unlike the previous episode (Halloween), this episode features deeply memorable dialogue, characterizations that are appropriately complex and three dimensional, and a plot that echoes some very real social problems faces by modern youth (in parable form, obviously). It's a touching 'coming of age' story (and that happens to be one of this series' greatest strengths traditionally), it features some of the most memorable exchanges we've seen to date, and it completely lacks any significant weaknesses (the plot doesn't feel rushed or forced as many Buffy episodes have thus far, the characters don't feel simplistic or derivative, and the people - even the bad guys - are genuinely likable here). The great strength, though, is Whedon's use of language, which in this episode I would put right up there with anything crafted by Peter Allen Fields (DS9) or the various lead writers on House. You'll see a very extensive highlight section below reflecting this.

Acting: 8.0

I do have to say that I wasn't all that impressed with Jason Behr (Ford) from the acting side of things. He started off pretty well - he was able to play the likable new arrival and there was some definite chemistry between Ford and the various scoobies, but when the script called for him to deliver a likable and dramatic villain speech - when he needed to make us feel for him as the antagonist to give us that gut punch that would have put this episode completely over the top, he failed. I hate to say it, but he comes across pretty flatly, and when he gets eaten by Spike and Drusilla, no one I know who's seen the episode is shedding any tears for poor Ford. I actually chuckled at his attempt to bargain his way out of death, and I don't think that's the emotional response Whedon was going for.

Having said all of that, the regular cast was outstanding this week. Sarah Michelle Gellar, in particular, shows her finer skills with a vengeance - this has to be one of the greatest acting comebacks since the dawn of the performing arts. As bad as SMG was at attempting to play a dilettante in Halloween, she was phenomenal this time around. Alyson Hannigan and David Boreanaz actually had some oddly refreshing chemistry as well when they teamed up to unmask Ford. And James Marsters (Spike) and Juliet Landau (Drusilla) are always a hoot, especially together.

Message: 9.5

Admittedly, the whole concept of someone selling their soul for immortality has been done a thousand times, but compared to the usual banal story about vampire worship (*cough*Twilight*cough*), Ford's quest to be transformed is notably better executed - I think perhaps because Whedon was not afraid to come down with hammer-handed authority on the side of good. For a guy who claims not to believe in God, Whedon's stories sure are chock full of strong values centered on the infinite worth of the soul, and the ways in which a soul may be corrupted or lost. In fact, I might accuse Mr. Whedon of still holding a basically Judeo-Christian belief system when it comes to the value of penance (which will be on display a bit later this season), the evils of trying to play God and cheat death, and the value of life (Ford, in an effort to save himself, tries to give up a dozen other people - morally no different than serial murder - and Buffy hammers him over this deeply despicable choice).

Stephanie S.'s Ratings:

Writing: 10.0

These days, many teens must navigate their lives without the confident guidance of their parents, who've abandoned their responsibilities to play in the wilds of "self-actualization" or whatever other buzzwords people use to put a pretty gloss on pure selfishness. As a matter of fact, the popular culture encourages adolescents to band together in peer groups and ignore the wisdom of their elders. The result? The crass consumerism and narcissism that fill the void left by the flight of self-absorbed adults leave many teens casting about for a genuine sense of purpose.

It is the above state of affairs that Whedon so brilliantly captures in his depiction of the vampire-loving cult in this episode. I don't imagine that Whedon, being a liberal, is fully cognizant of the source of the American teen's anomie, but that in no way reduces the emotional impact when Ford observes bitterly that his compatriots are "sheep" who have embraced vampirism because they are "lonely" or "bored." Personally, I can think of very few moments on television that have leveled so devastating a critique at our own anti-child society.

Acting: 8.0

I have nothing to add on this dimension, as my co-author and I are in complete agreement. I particularly love Gellar's performance in her climactic scene with Ford.

Message: 10.0

Not only does this episode stand as disturbing snapshot of post-modern adolescent alienation, but it also shows us - again unintentionally - the terrible consequence of our culture's inability to face suffering. Of course, in the real world, no one is running off to join the ranks of the undead to avoid pain, but people are trying to prey upon the unborn - or are seeking out fatal doses of morphine - for just about the same reason. Ford's willingness to drag a group of hapless teens to destruction in order to seize a chance at immortality and thus avoid a horrific death is indeed despicable (to use my co-author's word), but as a Catholic, I can't help but feel pity for Ford as well - pity because he, like so many others, has lost a sense of the Cross - a sense that even God knows what it means to suffer and die. Ford is, in short, our society's post-Christian tragedy writ small.

Check out the highlights after the jump!



Highlights:

JENNY: It's a secret!
GILES: What kind of secret?
JENNY: The kind that's actually a secret! You know, where I don't actually tell you what it is?
GILES: I think it's customary that when two people go out together, they both have some idea of where they're going.
JENNY: Oh, come on! Where's your sense of adventure?
GILES: It's just...how will I know what to wear?
JENNY: (playing with his tweed jacket collar) Do you actually own anything else?
GILES: Well...not as such, no...but...
JENNY: Look, Ruppert (laughing), you're going to have to trust me on this one, alright? (LOL...they're so cute together)

XANDER: Hey, it's me. If Angel's doing somethin' wrong, I wanna know. 'Cause it gives me a happy! (LOL - poor jealous Xander)
BUFFY: Mm, I'm glad someone has a happy.
XANDER: Aw, you just need cheering up. And I know just the thing! (does a wild move) Crazed dance party at the Bronze!
BUFFY: I dunno. (crosses her arms, depressed)
XANDER: Very calm dance party at the Bronze? (Buffy gives him a glum look) Moping at the Bronze.

WILLOW: So, you two were sweeties in fifth grade?
BUFFY: Not even. Ford wouldn't give me the time of day.
FORD: Well, I was a manly sixth-grader. I couldn't bother with someone that young.
BUFFY: It was terrible. I moped over you for months. Sitting in my room listening to that Divinyls song 'I Touch Myself'. (She realizes how what she just said could be taken and casts a nervous look at Xander and Willow. Of course, I had no idea what it was about.

XANDER: (sarcastically) This is Ford, my bestest friend of all my friends! Jeez, doesn't she know any fat guys? (BWAHAHAA!!!)
WILLOW: (realizes) Oh, that's what that song is about?! (ROTFLSHIAD!! wow...I love Willow. :D)

WILLOW: Buffy, Ford was just telling us about the ninth grade beauty contest, and the, uh, swimsuit competition.
BUFFY: Oh, my God, Ford, stop that! The more people you tell, the more people I have to kill. (Hee!)
FORD: You can't touch me, Summers. I know all your darkest secrets.
XANDER: Care to make a small wager on that? (snerk)

FORD: Just make sure you're ready when I say. True believers only.
CHANTARELLE: (smiles) I can't wait!
DIEGO: Right, whatever, I still think I should be in on the plan.
FORD: Diego, you gotta trust me. (He sees a scene from a Jack Palance vampire movie playing on the TV.) A couple more days and we'll get to do the two things every American teen should have the chance to do: die young, and stay pretty. (He looks spaced out as he mouths the words of Jack Palance in the movie.)
JACK: So... You play your wits against mine. Me, who commanded armies hundreds of years before you were born. Fools! (deeply creepy - and I knew a lot of kids in high school and college who said words very similar to this - though obviously they weren't courting real vampires, they were just wishing they could stop time and worshiping death)

WILLOW: Oh! (opens the door) Angel! What are you doing here?
ANGEL: I wanted to talk to you.
WILLOW: (looks around) Oh, well...Well?
ANGEL: I can't. Unless you invite me, I can't come in.
WILLOW: Oh! (nervous) Well, okay, I invite you. To come in. (She turns around as he comes in, and a look of horror appears on her face when she sees her bra just lying there on her bed out in the open. She quickly rushes over, grabs it and stashes it. - ROTFL...Willow = ridiculously cute)
ANGEL: I-if this is a bad time, I...
WILLOW: No! I just... I'm not supposed to have boys in my room.
ANGEL: I promise to behave myself. (hee)

ANGEL: I just wanna find everything I can. Records, affiliates, I'm not
even sure what I'm looking for yet.
WILLOW: (types) Good. What's the name?
ANGEL: Billy Fordham.
WILLOW: Uh, Angel? If I say something you really don't wanna hear, (faces him) do you promise not to bite me? (heh)
ANGEL: Are you gonna tell me that I'm jealous?
WILLOW: Well, you do sometimes get that way.
ANGEL: You know, I never used to. (sits on her bed) Things used to be pretty simple. A hundred years, just hanging out, feelin' guilty... I really honed my brooding skills. Then she comes along. Yeah, I get jealous. But I know people. And my gut tells me this is a wrong guy.
WILLOW: (nods) Okay. (turns back to the laptop) But if there isn't anything weird... Hey, that's weird.
ANGEL: What?
WILLOW: I just checked the school records, and he's not in them. (Angel stands up) I mean, usually they transfer your grades and stuff, but he's not even registered.

BUFFY: Willow! What's up?
WILLOW: Nothing.
BUFFY: Do you wanna hang? We're cafeteria-bound.
WILLOW: (jumpy) I-I-I'm gonna do work in the computer lab on school work that I have, so I cannot hang just now. Hi, Ford. (LOL...such a bad liar you are, Will)
FORD: Morning.
BUFFY: Okay, Will, fess up.
WILLOW: What?
BUFFY: Are you drinking coffee again? 'Cause we've talked about this.
Willow is surprised and happy that an explanation for her nervousness has presented itself, and laughs out loud.
WILLOW: It makes me jumpy. I have to go. Away. (hurries off - Willow just makes me want to leap through the TV screen and pinch her cheeks until her whole face is numb...LOL)

WILLOW: The only thing I could track down was this address. The Sunset Club. Still didn't find anything incriminating.
ANGEL: He leaves no paper trail, no records, that's incriminating enough.
XANDER: Yeah, I'm gonna have to go with Dead Boy on this one.
ANGEL: Could you *not* call me that? (LOL)

WILLOW: (wearing a colorfully striped shirt) Boy, we blend right in.
XANDER: In no way do we stick out like sore thumbs. (hee)
AANGEL: Let's look around. You guys check out downstairs.
XANDER: Sure thing, Bossy the cow! (LOL...Xander...not an Angel fan, that much is for sure)
WILLOW: Okay, but do they really stick out?
XANDER: What?
WILLOW: Sore thumbs. Do they stick out? I mean, have you ever seen a thumb and gone, 'Wow! That baby is sore!' (LOL)
XANDER: You have too many thoughts.

CHANTARELLE: Don't be ashamed! It's cool that you're open to it. We welcome anyone who's interested in the Lonely Ones. (Angel comes down the stairs behind them.)
WILLOW: The Lonely Ones?
ANGEL: Vampires.
XANDER: Oh! We usually call them the nasty, pointy, bitey ones.
CHANTARELLE: So many people have that misconception. But they who walk with the night are not interested in harming anyone. They are creatures above us. Exalted!
ANGEL: You're a fool. (no beating around the bush here)
CHANTARELLE: You don't have to be so confrontational about it. Other viewpoints than yours may be valid, you know. (Hehe...Whedon damns his own beloved moral relativism - it makes me giggle)

ANGEL: These people don't know anything about vampires. What they are,
how they live, how they dress...(A young man dressed exactly like Angel comes down the stairs behind him and looks him up and down before continuing on. Angel clears his throat. - LOL...funny moment)

BUFFY: Sorry to beep you guys in the middle of...stuff (LOL)...but this seemed a little odd.
GILES: No, you did the right thing. Absolutely.
JENNY: (stops in her tracks) You hated it that much?
GILES: No! But, but, uh, vampires on campus is, could have implications. Very, very grave...
JENNY: You coulda just said something.
GILES: Uh, honestly, I, I've always, I've always been interested in, in, uh, monster trucks. (BWAAAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!!)
BUFFY: You took him to monster trucks?
JENNY: I thought it would be a change!
GILES: It was a change. (snerk)
JENNY: Look, we could've just left.
GILES: Wha-what, and miss the nitro-burning funny cars? No, couldn't have that. (LOL...British sarcasm = funny)

DRUSILLA: You sing the sweetest little song. Won't you sing for me, hmm? Don't you love me anymore? (The bird is lying dead at the bottom of its cage. Spike comes into the room behind Drusilla.)
SPIKE: Darling! I heard a funny thing just now. Lucius tells me that you went out on a hunt the other night.
DRUSILLA: My tummy was growly. And you were out. (to the bird) Come on. (whistles) I'll pout if you don't sing.
SPIKE: You, um, meet anyone? Anyone interesting? Like Angel?
DRUSILLA: Angel.
SPIKE: Yeah. So... (kisses her forehead) What might you guys have talked about, then? Old times? Childhood pranks? It's a little off, you two so friendly, him being the enemy and all that.
DRUSILLA: (to the bird) I'll give you a seed if you sing.
SPIKE: The bird's dead, Dru. You left it in a cage, and you didn't feed it, and now it's all dead, just like the last one. (Drusilla cowers and whines. - I just love the way they write Drusilla's insanity...it's so creepy and delicious)

FORD: That doesn't matter. I've got something to offer you. I-I'm pretty sure this is the part where you take out a watch and say I've got thirty seconds to convince you not to kill me? (smiles) It's traditional.
SPIKE: Well, (slams the book and strides to Ford) I don't go much for tradition. (He grabs Ford by the ear and lifts him high off the ground)
DRUSILLA: Wait, love.
SPIKE: Well?
FORD: Oh, c'mon! Say it! It's no fun if you don't say it.
SPIKE: What? Oh. (rolls his eyes and bobs his head) You've got thirty seconds to convince me not to kill you.
FORD: Yes! See, this is the best! I wanna be like you. A vampire.
SPIKE: I've known you for two minutes, and I can't stand you. I don't really feature you livin' forever. (to Drusilla) Can I eat him now, love? (Drusilla shakes her head no and Spike grimaces)
FORD: Well, feature this: I'm offering you a trade. (Spike turns back) You make me a vampire, and I give you the Slayer.

ANGEL: Do you love me?
BUFFY: What?
ANGEL: Do you?
BUFFY: I love you. I don't know if I trust you.
ANGEL: Maybe you shouldn't do either. (turns away)
BUFFY: Maybe I'm the one who should decide!
ANGEL: I did a lot of unconscionable things when I became a vampire. (turns back, but doesn't make eye contact) Drusilla was the worst. She was... an obsession of mine. She was pure and sweet and chaste...
BUFFY: And you made her a vampire.
ANGEL: First I made her insane. (looks at her) Killed everybody she loved. Visited every mental torture on her I could devise. (Buffy looks away) She eventually fled to a convent, and on the day she took her holy orders, I turned her into a demon.
BUFFY: Well. I asked for the truth.
ANGEL: Ford's part of some society that reveres vampires. Practically worships them. I don't know what he wants from you, but you can't trust him.

XANDER: Angel was in your bedroom?
WILLOW: (nods) Ours is a forbidden love. (LOL!)

CHANTARELLE: This is a beautiful day. Can't you see that?
BUFFY: What I see is that, right after the sun goes down, Spike and all of his friends are going to be pigging out at the all-you-can-eat moron bar.
DIEGO: Okay, that's it. I think we should gag her.
BUFFY: I think you should try.
DIEGO: She's an unbeliever. She taints us.
BUFFY: I am trying to save you! You are playing in some serious traffic here! Do you understand that? You're going to die! And the only hope you have of surviving this is to get out of this pit right now, and, my God, could you have a dorkier outfit?
FORD: I gotta back her up, D. You look like a big ninny.

SPIKE: When we get there, everybody spread out. Two men on the door, first priority's the Slayer, everything else is fair game, and let's remember to share, people. (LOL)

FORD: Hey, you never give up, do you?
BUFFY: No, I don't.
FORD: That's a good quality in a person. Too many people, they just lay back and take it, but us...
BUFFY: Us? We have something in common now?
FORD: More than you think.
BUFFY: Yeah, well, let me explain something to you. You're what we call the bad guy.
FORD: I guess I am! (chuckles)
BUFFY: (looks down at the people) These people aren't gonna get changed, are they? The rest of them, they're just fodder.
FORD: Technically, yes. But I'm in. I will become immortal.
BUFFY: Well, I've got a news flash for you, braintrust: that's not how it works. You die, and a demon sets up shop in your old house, and it walks, and it talks, and it remembers your life, but it's not you.
FORD: It's better than nothing.
BUFFY: And your life is nothing? Ford, these people don't deserve to die!
FORD: Well, neither do I! But apparently no one took that into consideration, 'cause I'm still dying. I look good, don't I? Well, let me tell you something: (angrily now) I've got maybe six months left, and by then what they bury won't even *look* like me. It'll be bald and shriveled and it'll smell bad. No, I'm not going out that way. I'm sorry, Summers. Did I screw up your righteous anger riff?
Does the nest of tumors liquefying my brain kinda spoil the fun?
BUFFY: (faces him) I'm sorry. I had no idea. But what you're doing is still very wrong.
FORD: Okay, well, you try vomiting for twenty-four hours straight because the pain in your head is so intense, and *then* we'll discuss the concept of right and wrong. (points down) These people are sheep. They wanna be vampires 'cause they're lonely, miserable or bored. I don't have a choice.
BUFFY: You have a choice. You don't have a good choice, but you have a choice! You're opting for mass murder here, and nothing you say is gonna make that okay!
FORD: You think I need to justify myself to you?
BUFFY: I think this is all part of your little fantasy drama! Isn't this exactly how you imagined it? You tell me how you've suffered and I feel sorry for you. Well, I do feel sorry for you, and if those vampires come in here and start feeding, I'll kill you myself! (just awesome)

(At the cemetery, Buffy has tears in her eyes as she lays a bouquet of red roses on Ford's grave. She stands up again and walks back to Giles.)
BUFFY: I don't know what I'm supposed to say.
GILES: You needn't say anything.
BUFFY: It'd be simpler if I could just hate him. I think he wanted me to. I think it made it easier for him to be the villain of the piece. Really he was just scared.
GILES: Yes, I suppose he was.
BUFFY: Nothing's ever simple anymore. I'm constantly trying to work it out. Who to love or hate. Who to trust. It's just, like, the more I know, the more confused I get.
GILES: I believe that's called growing up.
BUFFY: I'd like to stop then, okay?
GILES: I know the feeling.
BUFFY: Does it ever get easy? (Ford suddenly rises from his grave, a vampire just like he wanted, and attacks Buffy. She plunges a stake into his heart with no more effort than swatting a fly. He steps back and looks at the stake protruding from his chest. He looks back up and bursts into ashes.)
GILES: You mean life?
BUFFY: Yeah. Does it get easy?
GILES: What do you want me to say?
BUFFY: (looks up at him) Lie to me.
GILES: (considers a moment) Yes, it's terribly simple. The good guys are always stalwart and true, the bad guys are easily distinguished by their pointy horns or black hats, and, uh, we always defeat them and save the day. No one ever dies, and everybody lives happily ever after.
BUFFY: Liar.