Monday, April 19, 2010

Classics: BtVS 2:16 - Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered

Overall Rating: 7.5

This one certainly has some amusing moments, but the main strength of the episode is in its two messages and its showcasing of Xander as a morally outstanding young man.

Plot Synopsis:

Things are going well for Xander and Cordelia. That is until the plastics at Sunnydale get word of the relationship taking a turn for the more serious and begin cutting Cordelia out of their empty little circle. She's built her entire young life around the desperate scramble for popularity and the price for being with Xander seems too high. So when Xander gives her a silver locket and asks her to go steady formally, she breaks up with him (rather cruelly...and on Valentine's Day...poor Xander). He spends the next day at school feeling like he's in living hell as the entire student body mocks his unpopularity. It drives him far enough that he finally goes to Amy - the same Amy who was a victim of her mother's witchcraft in the third ever BtVS slayer - and blackmails her into helping him perform a love spell with the goal of making Cordelia want him desperately so he can exact vengeance by turning her down.

Meanwhile, with Valentine's Day passing, Giles warns Buffy that Angelus has a pattern of being extraordinarily cruel to the women in his life. He encourages her to stay off the street, but trouble finds her anyway. Angelus leaves her a chilling note along with long stemmed roses. He, Spike and Drusilla discuss ways to torment the Slayer - Spike wants him to rip out her lungs (right to the point, eh Spike?), but Angelus plans to send a cruel message instead. During this scene we see Spike and Angelus competing for Drusilla's affections and Spike apparently losing the fight and getting very jealous.

Once Xander puts the love whammy on, he heads to school confident that he's going to toy with Cordy and then break her heart just like she broke his. Unfortunately, the spell backfires dramatically. Cordelia is unaffected, but every other woman with whom he comes into contact instantly desires him. It's fun at first, but Xander soon realizes (when Buffy, Willow, Amy, Harmony, Ms. Calendar etc. all start fighting for his attention) just how big a mess he's made and he throws himself on Giles' mercy. Giles is of course furious, but goes to find Amy to stop the spell. At this point, Buffy makes a second attempt to seduce him and he admirably resists her affections, driving her to dangerous anger before she is turned into a rat by Amy.

Cordelia isn't having much fun either. The girls at Sunnydale attack her from every direction, livid with her for dumping Xander! She tries to flee from school, but gets surrounded by angry teenaged girls (eeeeekke!!!) until Xander pulls her from the mob and heads to Buffy's house to hide. When Joyce hits on Xander, Cordelia demands an explanation and Xander admits his work with witchcraft...even admitting the spell was intended for her, not the rest of the universe. Angel choses this moment to break into Buffy's window and pull Xander out and onto Buffy's front lawn. He decides he's going to use Xander to send his message - that is until Drusilla knocks him down and defends Xander - whom she calls "a real man." She wants to turn him into a vampire, but the mob of dozens upon dozens of women from Sunnydale arrive just in time to beat back Drusilla and drive Xander back into Buffy's basement. Giles and Amy manage to reverse the hex she put on Buffy (leaving her human, though admittedly, naked...LOL), and then reverse the love spell just before Xander gets trampled to death by the horde.

Writing: 6.0

Although there are a number of highlight worthy moments in this episode, and I do find it genuinely entertaining on a number of levels, I don't think the script lives up to Buffy's usually strong standards for crisp character-driven dialogue nor is the plot all that interesting or challenging. It's a nice fluff episode thematically, but a plot that forces you to break characters and put people in awkward (to the audience) situations just for the shock value isn't really my kind of thing. The strength of the episode is Xander (and Cordelia), and we'll talk more about that in the message portion of this review.

Acting: 7.0

Nicholas Brendon was fabulous in this episode, and even when acting out of character, Juliet Landau is awesome. I wasn't finding David Boreanez all that convincing this time around, nor were SMG or Alyson Hanigan on top of their craft this week (they weren't BAD....I just think they were a bit uncomfortable with the script). Charisma Carpenter had a number of very nice moments as well - she can really do the wounded puppy look well and she got to break it out to great affect at least twice in this episode. It's a mixed bag weighed down by some truly AWFUL acting by many of the guest actors and extras.

Message: 9.5

However! The double-barreled blast of morality delivered by this episode makes it a sentimental favorite of mine. It is wonderful to watch Cordelia grow up in a meaningful way (and not become the adult version of a queen bee), and wonderful that Joss and company are willing to make a statement against the unhealthy clique-driven social structure in high schools today. They don't quite get at the real source for the catty, self-destructive behavior of women in particular in this episode, but the first step to recovery is admitting there's a problem and this certainly accomplishes that.

And even more impressive - Xander hits rock bottom - does something stupid and vengeful and once again, the Buffyverse smacks him down in a very Catholic way...after which he spends the entire episode atoning for his mistake by being the good person he is and not giving in to any of the women after him - even Buffy (his long-held crush) or Willow (his life time best friend who holds real deeper feelings for him). Many men in Xander's place would have done something they later regretted. We applaud Xander for being an imperfect, but genuinely caring individual! Good show!

Highlights:

SPIKE: Fancy it, pet? (a diamond necklace sits on a table in front of Drusilla)
DRUSILLA: Spike...it's beautiful.
SPIKE: Nothing but the best for my girl. (suddenly Angel drops a fresh looking heart onto the table next to Spike's offering)
DRUSILLA: Oh...Angel! It's still warm.
ANGEL: I knew you'd like it. Got it from a quaint little shop girl. (BWAHAHAHAAAAHAHAAAA!!!!!!! It's so twistedly delicious!)

XANDER: Don't flatter yourself, Cordy...I'm not gonna make a big scene. I just want the locket back.
CORDELIA: What? I thought that was a gift!
XANDER: No, last night that was a gift. Tonight it's scrap metal. I'm thinking I can get a pretty penny for it down at the docks.
CORDELIA: You're pathetic!
XANDER: Come on - I'm not gonna add to the Cordelia Chase cast off collection!
CORDELIA: (very reluctantly) It's in my locker.
XANDER: I can wait. (Cordelia goes to her locker, opens the door so as to get out of Xander's view and then takes the locket out from under her sweatshirt and stares longingly at it for a moment before pulling it off)
CORDELIA: (putting on a cold front) Here. Good thing we broke up. Now I don't have to pretend I like it. (this exchange is just very well done)

WILLOW: Sorry...didn't mean to startle you. I wanted to surprise you.
XANDER: Good job!
WILLOW: Don't be so jumpy! I've been in your bed before.
XANDER: Yeah...but we were both in footy pajamas. (LOL...so cute)
WILLOW: Xander, I've been thinking...
XANDER: Willow, stop. I think I know what you've been thinking, but this is all my fault. I cast a little love spell and it kind of backfired.
WILLOW: How long have we been friends?
XANDER: A long...long time. Too long to do anything that might change that.
WILLOW: Friendships change all the time. People grow apart - people get closer...
XANDER: I like this closeness - just the way it is. In fact I could take a few steps backwards and still be cozy! (takes a big step back away from the advancing Willow)
WILLOW: I want you, Xander...to be my first...
XANDER: ...baseman! Please tell me we're talking about baseball here. (Willow moves in on him and tries to kiss him, backing him against the wall of his basement room) I don't want to use force...
WILLOW: Force would be OK...(yowza! LOL)
XANDER: That's it...I'm putting an end to this. It's time for me to act like a man! And hide! (runs out his door...LOL!!)

XANDER: Buff...you nearly gave me a heart attack.
BUFFY: Oh I'm gonna do way more than that.
XANDER: Buffy...for the love of God...don't open that coat.
BUFFY: Why not? It's a party! Don't you want to open your present? (Buffy practically gives Xander a lap dance, ending up when her crotch right over his face)
XANDER: I can't...I don't want to...not like this! Buffy, there were times when even the slightest remote possibility that you might like me were all that sustained me. But you're only here because of a love spell. I mean if I thought you had any idea how much this would mean to me, I would...but...you don't. So I can't.

XANDER: Well, I'm back to being spectacularly unpopular.
BUFFY: Better than everyone trying to axe murder you, right?
XANDER: For the most part. Willow won't even talk to me.
BUFFY: Any reason she should? Xander, this is harder on Willow than anyone. She loved you before you invoked the love mojo.
XANDER: How much groveling do you think it'll take?
BUFFY: I'd say at least a month. I mean...she's going to remember all of this for a long time.
XANDER: You remember, hm?
BUFFY: Oh yeah. I remember coming on to you. I remember begging you to undress me.
XANDER: Buffy, look...
BUFFY: And I remember that you didn't.
XANDER: Come on, Buffy, I couldn't take advantage of you like that? OK, for a minute it was touch and go...
BUFFY: You came through. I won't forget that. (aw)

HARMONY: Hey, watch it!
XANDER: Sorry.
HARMONY: Geez, Xander...I'm glad your mother took time out from working at the drive through to dress you. (turns to address the other plastics) What is his deal? And what is with that hideous backpack?
CORDELIA: Harmony, shut up!
HARMONY: What?
CORDELIA: Do you know what you are, Harmony? You're a sheep.
HARMONY: I am not a sheep.
CORDELIA: You're a sheep! All you do is whatever anyone else wants to do, just so you can say you did it first. And I'm bending over backwards to please people like you? I'm so much cooler, because I'm NOT a sheep! I do what I want, and I wear what I want. And you know what else? I'll date whoever the hell I want, and I don't care what you think. No matter how lame he is. (she walks to Xander and takes him arm proudly - as they walk away she starts freaking out) Oh God! What have I done?
XANDER: It's OK, Cordy...just keep walking.
CORDELIA: They'll never talk to me again!
XANDER: You know they will...everyone wants to be like you, even if you're with me. Besides, if it helps, every time they're around, we can fight a lot.
CORDELIA: You promise?
XANDER: I think I can guarantee it. (very sweet scene and I love Cordelia's gradual move toward maturity and real depth)

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