Eeeeeeeeeeeeek!!!!!!!! *ahem* I'm sorry, my gut reaction to this episode gets out from time to time. The slayer/watcher relationship is a sacred bond of trust, but I suppose for most slayers, it does not reach so deeply as it does for Buffy. Giles has become like a father to her - in part because she comes from a broken home and in part because Giles' approach to handling Buffy is very unconventional (and IMHO, superior) as the Watcher's Council makes clear. When he actively betrays Buffy - no matter the intent - it is TERRIFYING. This is what horror is made of. Bravo!
Plot Synopsis:
After sparring a bit with Angel, Buffy heads to school to engage in some concentration exercises with Giles. All seems normal until, after her lessons, Buffy heads out to patrol and is nearly killed with her own stake by a run of the mill vamp. Naturally freaked, Buffy tells Giles of her shortcomings (including some very inaccurate knife tossing) and Giles assures her that it's probably just some sort of flu and she'll recover soon. Fears momentarily assuaged, Buffy looks forward to an annual outing with her father (the ice-capades) and her friends discuss plans for a party. Unfortunately, when she arrives home, she learns that her father can't make the annual ice excursion. She feebly asks Giles to take her instead, but Giles has bigger things on his mind. As he begins her training with seeing stones once again, she falls into a trance and he injects her with some sort of drug!
The next day at school, Buffy sees Cordelia getting treated roughly by an obnoxious guy and tries to intervene, getting a bump on the head for her troubles. Now horrified, Buffy begs Giles for answers. Where once her calling was viewed as a curse, Buffy has come to realize that she can't be a normal person again - she has come to define herself by her strength and her slayer duties and if those are taken away, she can't fathom how she'll go on - knowing what she knows. Giles promises that in due time, an answer will present itself, but his nervous eyes don't give Buffy any comfort.
Meanwhile, in an abandoned boarding house outside of town, Giles and Quentin Travers (watcher's council bigwig) discuss the upcoming Cruciamentum (a time-honored, barbaric ritual test of a slayer's wits and courage without her powers). Giles expresses his disdain for the test and Quentin assures him that it's been done this way for a thousand years and many slayers benefit from the confidence it gives them. Giles is unconvinced, but reluctantly agrees to continue in his prescribed role. We see Quentin and other council lackeys giving a hogtied vampire pills that apparently he needs to relieve severe headaches.
Things go wrong, however, when, shortly before her planned test date, Buffy's foe escapes, converts one of the council underlings to a vampire and kills the other guard. The good news is that this gives Giles all the pushing he needs to tell Buffy the truth about the test. The bad news is that it results in her mother's kidnapping. Kralik (the vamp) eerily talks to Joyce about his problem with mothers (stemming from child abuse at the hands of his own) and assures Joyce that Buffy will be here soon and that he'll turn her into a vampire so she can feed on her own mother.
Buffy, unaware of the danger, is walking home from a reassuring night spent with Angel when she is nearly caught by Kralik...rescued at the last second by Giles (leading to the aforementioned admission about the test). Buffy, not able to trust Giles with anything at the moment, goes home with Cordelia, realizes that her mother has been taken, and storms off to the boarding house to save her mother. A long, drawn out (and very frightening) battle takes place at the house, culminating with Buffy killing Kralik with holy water when he takes his pills. Giles arrives just in time to stake the other vampire and he and Buffy return home alive. Unfortunately, the council is furious with Giles for informing Buffy of her weakened condition. They fire him for being too close to his charge and Buffy warns them to leave town before she regains her powers.
The Skinny:
SABR Matt: The horror in this episode works two different ways (and they dovetail together nicely). First, we have the betrayal of what passes for a father/daughter bond between Buffy and Giles. Whatever we may think of Quentin Travers' misguided notion that a father's love renders a watcher useless and unable to defend his slayer, he is correct that Giles does indeed love Buffy like his own daughter. What he does here is indeed a deep violation, and it comes from the one person Buffy trusts the most in the world. Her reaction to this realization is very painful to watch because everyone in the audience is feeling the same sense of loss.
Second, they paired the vulnerable Buffy with a sexual predator - formerly a sick man, driven mad by an abusive mother, Kralik is the perfect monster to bring out all of the latent (and sometimes not so latent) deep fears women have about their sexual vulnerability. Usually, Buffy's strength leaves her unafraid to walk the streets at night - this makes her somewhat unapproachable to most of the viewers of the show from the female demographics, because there does not exist a grown woman who isn't a little afraid of walking the city streets on her own at night. Here, they expertly trigger those fears in women - even down to her encounter with the possessive jerk hounding Cordelia (and the idiot guys on the street who propositioned her for a lap dance). Almost getting staked by a vamp scared Buffy. Getting pushed around by some wanna-be tough guy at school and objectified by random passers by on the street? That terrified her to the core.
In an episode filled with real fear, you add some truly sensational performances by Tony Head and Sarah Michelle Gellar in their leading roles (amplifying our sense of betrayal, dread and sorrow) and a well-written villain (not to mention well-acted!), you're going to have a very good show indeed. But the fact that Joss Whedon comes down resoundingly on the side of love as a powerful weapon against evil, rather than a hindrance in that fight...and the fact that an outdated bureaucracy triggers the entire chain of events that lead to Buffy's downfall (early warning signs of Whedon's Libertarian streak, perhaps? He does seem to fill his canons with the firm belief that self-reliance is a top virtue and that the ruling class is not to be trusted)...and you've got an instant classic.
Stephanie S.: I disagree with nothing my co-author says in his commentary. I'd only like to add that the theme of adult betrayal extends even beyond Giles; that Buffy's own father fails to make an appearance for her birthday is also a master stroke on the writer's part. Wherever Buffy turns in this episode, the adults in her life are letting her down. I can imagine that this episode really hit home for this series' target demographic.
As you readers might expect, I'm especially drawn to Giles' point of view in this episode. As SABR Matt notes below, Tony Head plays his character's deep personal conflict with such profound emotional power that you can't help but find his role in the plot compelling. Moreover, because the father-daughter relationship between Buffy and Giles is my favorite thing about this show, I love love LOVE that Giles sacrifices his status with the Watcher's Council for Buffy's sake. And as for that moment at the end when Giles starts tending to Buffy's wounds? That sound you just heard was my heart cracking in half.
Writing: 9.5 / 9.5
I do think some of the filler dialogue in this episode is a little flatter than usual. What the heck was with Oz's line "It's not dumb and girly...it's cool. I mean ice...it's water, but not quite." Really? LOL And I still have only fleeting moments where I feel at all connected to Buffy/Angel. Their first scene together does nothing for me (though their second scene is much better). But on the whole, the writing is very effective and the plot is well-conceived, right down to the smallest detail regarding the vampire. They even got some exposition in about this vampire in a way that was not boring. His speechifying was actually quite intriguing.
Acting: 10.0++++++++ / 10.0
WOW! Is all I can say about the layers of subtle acting done by Tony Head. When he's keeping his dastardly secret from Buffy, he plays the discomfort, the guilt and the pain oh so well. His admission was equally masterful - you can hear his sorrow and fear in every word he utters. And SMG manages to play real fear WAY better than some of her other emotional scenes from previous episodes. Even Jeff Kober (Kralk) and Harris Yulin are fabulous here.
Message: 9.5 / 9.5
Love is the most important tool needed to battle the evils of this world and to gain strength to face one's life. The watcher's council has it all wrong, and it's obvious Whedon's team would agree on that point. I also can't help but enjoy the lack of trust this team obviously has for bureaucratic governing bodies.
Highlights:
XANDER: Ice show...a show performed on ice. And where exactly does the party fit in?
BUFFY: Look I know you guys think it's some big dumb girly thing, but it's not! Some of those skaters are Olympic medalists!
WILLOW: My father took me to one of those when I was a kid. He snuck me back stage and...I got so scared that I threw up on Woodstock. (BHAHAHAHAA!! I love you, Willow!)
BUFFY: It's big fun...every year, my father buys me a big box of caramel corn and one of those programs with all the pretty pictures of the...OK, it's a big dumb girly thing! But I love it. (hehe)
XANDER: We're still thinking party, though, right? I mean some of us still love to celebrate the birth of the Buff.
BUFFY: I don't know...I think it's time we put a moratorium on parties in my honor. They tend to go badly. Monsters crash...people die...(too true).
WILLOW: But this is your 18th! That's big...you can vote now!
BUFFY: I think I'll choose to spend this one in quiet reflection.
XANDER: Well where is it written that quiet reflection can't include cake and party hats? (aww)
BUFFY: You know it's not just fun...some of these performances are really amazing.
GILES: I think we should start with the reflecting stone again.
BUFFY: I mean you should see Brian Boitano's Carmen...it's life changing. He doesn't actually play Carmen, but...
GILES: I think we need to focus, right now. Try to find the tiny flaw at its' core...
BUFFY: It's the kind of thing a father would take his daughter to...or if they were free...their student...or...slayer? (aaaawwwwwww....it just breaks your heart into a million dust-sized pieces!)
BUFFY: OK! I just got swatted down by some no-neck...and rescued by CORDELIA! What...the hell...is going on here? (feel her fear rising)
GILES: I'm sure it will correct itself in time, Buffy...
BUFFY: You're not getting the full picture here! I have no strength...I have no focus...I throw knives like...
GILES: ...a girl? (ouch)
BUFFY: Like I'm not the slayer anymore.
GILES: (looking everywhere but in Buffy's eyes) I assure you, Buffy...that in due time...we'll get to the bottom of whatever's behind this...anomaly.
BUFFY: (desperate to believe him) Promise me...
GILES: (awkwardly) Yes...(wow...)
QUENTIN: Ruppert, I know you are concerned for your slayer, but this is how things have been done for a thousand years! The cruciamentum is not easy for anyone - but it's a time-honored tradition. Every time a slayer turns eighteen.
GILES: It's an archaic exercise in cruelty. To lock her in this tomb...powerless...defenseless...and then to unleash...that on her? If any of you on the council still had contact with a slayer, you'd see that, but I'm the one on the ground day after day.
QUENTIN: Precisely why you can't be the one to make this decision - you're too close to the situation to be objective.
GILES: I don't agree.
QUENTIN: Look, a slayer is not just physical strength and skill...she must have cunning and instinct and a confidence borne of self-reliance. When this is all over, she'll be better for it!
GILES: Or she'll be dead for it. (ooooh)
ANGEL: Buffy, you couldn't be boring or helpless even if you tried.
BUFFY: I wouldn't be so sure. Before I was the slayer, I was...well I don't want to say shallow...but...well let's just say a certain person who shall remain nameless...we'll call her Spordelia (LOL!)...looked like a classical philosopher next to me.
BUFFY: Angel...if I'm not the slayer...then what do I do? What do I have to offer? Why would you like me?
ANGEL: I saw you before you became the slayer.
BUFFY: What?
ANGEL: I watched you...I saw you get called. It was a bright, sunny day outside your school. You came walking down the steps...and I loved you.
BUFFY: Why?
ANGEL: Because I could see your heart. You carried it in front of you for all to see. And I was afraid it would get bruised or torn. I wanted nothing more in my life than to protect it...to warm it up with my own. (Buffy melts into Angel's arms and they hug warmly)
BUFFY: That's beautiful. (romantic moment over) Or taken literally, incredibly gross. (ROTLSHIAD!!)
ANGEL: I was just thinking the same thing. (heh...so were we all)
BUFFY: When I hit him, it felt like my arm was broken, it hurt so much. I can't be just a person, Giles. I have to figure out what's doing this to me.
GILES: (producing his drugs) It's an organic compound of...muscle relaxers and adrenal suppressors. It's only temporary. You'll be yourself again in a few days.
BUFFY: You?
GILES: It's a test, Buffy. Administered to every slayer when she...if...she reaches her 18th birthday. (a lot of young fatalities, I take it) In order to pass, a slayer must face a vampire without her powers. The vampire you were to face - Zachary Kralik has escaped. In his mortal life, he tortured and killed over a dozen women before he was committed to a mental institution for the criminally insane...(Buffy throws the serum at Giles' head and misses badly)
BUFFY: How could you? All this time, you saw what this was doing to me and you said nothing?!
GILES: In matters of tradition, I must answer to the council.
BUFFY: Liar!
GILES: My role in this was quite specific. I was to administer the injections and then direct you to the old boarding house on Bleaker Street.
BUFFY: I can't hear this...I can't hear this now.
GILES: Buffy, please...
BUFFY: Who are you? (ooouch...but we all understand...) How could you do this to me? (she starts welling up)
GILES: Buffy, I'm deeply sorry...
BUFFY: You stuck a needle in me! You poisoned me!
CORDELIA: (arriving with tragic timing) What's going on? Oh no...is the world ending? I have to research a paper on the Bosnian conflict, but if the world's ending, I'm not going to bother.
GILES: Buffy, you have to listen to me. Now that I've told you everything, the test is invalid. You'll be safe now. Whatever I have to do to deal with Kralik...
BUFFY: I don't know who you are...
CORDELIA: Did something take her memory? He's Giles, Buffy...Gi-les! He hangs out here a lot. (Buffy makes to leave)
GILES: You can't walk home alone, Buffy. It's not safe.
BUFFY: Cordelia, will you please drive me home? (wow...and big ouch for poor Giles)
CORDELIA: Of course...but if the world doesn't end, I'm gonna need a note.
KRALIK: Mother! Can I call you mother? (Joyce is tied up in the tomb's lock box) My mother...was a person with no self respect. So she tried to take mine. When I was ten years old, she got the scissors...you wouldn't believe what she did with those! But...she's dead to me now! Mostly because I killed and ate her (creeeeeepy...), but also because I know I won't be alone much longer. I'll have your daughter! I won't kill her, I'll just make her like me. Different...she'll go to sleep, and when she wakes up...your face will be the first thing she eats. (wow) I have a problem with mothers. I'm aware of that. (holy crap this villain is written well...and is the perfect choice for the episode where Buffy is vulnerable)
GILES: (upon seeing Quentin) I was just trying to reach you.
QUENTIN: I was on watch at the testing ground.
GILES: Then you know what's happened.
QUENTIN: Yes...
GILES: He's killed Hobson and made Blair one of his own. It would seem your perfectly controlled test has spun rather impressively out of control, wouldn't you say?
QUENTIN: It changes nothing. (really????)
GILES: Then allow me. I've told Buffy everything.
QUENTIN: That is in direct opposition to the council's orders.
GILES: I know, but interestingly, I don't get a rat's ass about the council's orders. There will be no test.
QUENTIN: The test has already begun. Your slayer entered the playing field about ten minutes ago.
GILES: (horrified) Why?
QUENTIN: I don't know. But we have no business (trying to stop Giles from leaving, but Giles scruffs him by the collar)
GILES: This is not about business! (and he leaves - awesome!!)
QUENTIN: I wanted to congratulate you, Ms. Summers. You passed the test. You showed extraordinary courage and creativity under pressure.
BUFFY: (bitterly) So I get a gold star?
QUENTIN: I understand you're angry with me.
BUFFY: You understand nothing. I recommend you leave town before I get my strength back.
QUENTIN: You think the test was unfair.
GILES: I think we're done here.
QUENTIN: We're fighting a war here, Ms. Summers...
GILES: You're waging a war - she's fighting it. There is a difference. (yes...yes indeed)
QUENTIN: Rupert, please...
GILES: She's passed your test. Now I suggest you get out of here.
QUENTIN: We're not done...Buffy passed...you didn't. I have recommended to the council and they've agreed. You're to be relieved of your duties as watcher. You're fired, Rupert.
GILES: On what grounds?
QUENTIN: Your emotional connection to your charge has rendered you incapable of making impartial decisions on her behalf. You have a father's love for the girl, and that's useless to us. Now it would be best if you had no further contact with the slayer.
GILES: I'm not going anywhere.
QUENTIN: Yes, well...we didn't expect you to comply with that recommendation. However, if you interfere with her new watcher - countermand his authority in any way - you will be dealt with. Are we clear on that?
GILES: Oh, we're clear.
QUENTIN: Congratulations again, Ms. Summers...
BUFFY: Bite me. (LOL)
BUFFY: I just...can't wait to get my strength back...(struggles to open a jar of peanut butter)
XANDER: Can I give you a hand with that, little lady?
BUFFY: You are enjoying this way too much.
XANDER: C'mon...admit it...sometimes you just need a big strong man! (he can't open the jar either...LOL) OK, is this welded on? Willow, can you give me a hand? (ROTFL!)
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