The permanence of death and the void left by it, is reinforced for the gang daily because suddenly Jenny isn’t at her computer and can’t be found walking the halls anymore. Where Jenny once was, now she isn’t. And there’s no bringing her back. It’s similar to what happens when a class suffers the lost of a student. The empty desk serves as a reminder that the absence is forever, a concept almost innately alien to the teenage mind. However, once it does sink in, the effect can be profound because it comes with the realization that we are all subject to the whimsy of fate.
IT’S A MYSTERY: Why didn’t Jenny have a cross handy to ward off Angel, knowing he could come into the school anytime he wanted?
OF SPECIAL NOTE: The singer heard during the graveyard scene is Anthony Stewart Head.
When Giles comes home and finds Jenny, Puccini is playing on the stereo.
30. “Killed by Death”
(MARCH 3, 1998)
Director: Deran Sarafian
Teleplay: Rob Des Hotel and Dean Batali
Recurring cast: Kristine Sutherland (Joyce Summers)
Guest cast: James Jude Courtney (Der Kindestod); Andrew Ducote (Ryan); Willie Garson (security guard); Richard Herd (Dr. Backer); Juanita Jennings (Dr. Wilkinson); Denise Johnson (Celia); Robert Munic (intern); Mimi Paley (little Buffy)
Plot: While in the hospital battle a debilitating flu and high fever, Buffy suspects a demon is killing children.
THIS WEEK’S EVIL CREATURE: Der Kindestod, a demon usually invisible to adults, who kills children by straddling them and literally sucking the life-breath out of them.
INTRODUCING: The budding friendship between Giles and Joyce Summers.
ANALYSIS: This episode also reinforces Xander’s new role as Buffy’s primary protector. Previously it was Angel who would stay behind and watch her back, but now that Angel is the enemy, Xander has filled the void.
Xander’s devotion to Buffy creates conflicting emotions in Cordelia, who on one hand does care for Buffy but, on the other, doesn’t like playing second fiddle to anyone. Her growth as a character—without losing that “I should be the center of the universe” Cordelia uniqueness, is particularly evident in this episode. Even though she still shows flashes of her self-centered superficiality, she also now shows that it’s balanced by a sweet, caring side, enabling the viewer to understand why Xander is attracted to her.
THE REAL HORROR: Childhood illness. While unexpected, youthful death is a horror unto itself, prolonged illness is a special kind of horror because it robs a youth of the very vigor and vitality that marks childhood and the teen years. While part of Buffy’s fear of the hospital was the repressed memory of seeing Celia killed, she was also reacting to the idea of being ill and not having all of her faculties to rely on. Although losing one’s physical strength and capabilities would be particularly wrenching for a Slayer, it is just as frightening a thought for any flesh-and-blood teenager who inherently believes himself to be healthy and not subject to the ravages of illness.
IT’S A MYSTERY: Why is the access door to the basement located in the middle of a children’s ward?
BLOOPERS: On the door to the basement, a sign reading BASEMENT ACCESS suddenly appears from one scene to the next.
In the scene in Buffy’s hospital room when she sees Der Kindestod, the clock first reads 2:27, but later in the same scene it reads 2:15.
OF SPECIAL NOTE: James Jude Courtney, who plays the evil Kindestod, is also a professional stuntman. Roughly translated, Der Kindestod means “kid killer.”
31. “I Only Have Eyes for You”
(APRIL 28, 1998)
Director: James Whitmore Jr.
Teleplay: Marti Noxon
Recurring cast: Juliet Landau (Drusilla); James Marsters (Spike); Armin Shimerman (Principal Snyder)
Guest cast: Meredith Salinger (Grace Newman); Christopher Gorham (James Stanley); John Hawkes (George); Miriam Flynn (Ms. Frank); Brian Reddy (police chief Bob); Brian Poth (fighting boy); Sarah Bibb (fighting girl); James Lurie (Mr. Miller); Ryan Taszreak (Ben); Anna Coman-Hidy (girl #1); Vanessa Bednar (girl #2).
Music: “Charge,” by Splendid; “I Only Have Eyes For You,” by the Flamingos
Plot: The spirit of a young man who killed his lover in a fit of passion years ago, forces Buffy to confront her guilt over the loss of Angel’s soul.
THIS WEEK’S SPIRIT: A poltergeist. These spirits are frequently considered harmless ghosts who cause mischief but no real harm because they are generally believed to be the spirits of young people. There have also been reports of malevolent poltergeists. However, according to Giles, a poltergeist is someone who died with unresolved issues, too, and the only way to make the ghost go away is to resolve those issues.
INTRODUCING: The official cover-up of the Hellmouth, when it’s revealed Principal Snyder and the police chief are aware of its existence. Although it was intimated in Episode 14, “School Hard,” that he knew more than he was letting on, it’s now clear that Snyder is fully aware of Sunnydale’s evil underbelly.
Also, new digs for Dru, Spike, and Angel, since their old warehouse burned down after Giles firebombed it at the end of “Surprise” (Episode 25).
ANALYSIS: Although at first it seems this episode will simply be a ghost story, it uses the story of the student who killed his teacher/lover as a treatise on forgiveness. It also offers some intriguing parallels between Buffy and Angel and the earlier ill-fated lovers.
In an interesting twist, the ghost of the student takes over Buffy and the ghost of the teacher briefly possesses Angel. Their reenactment of the tragedy of James (in Buffy’s body) and Grace (in Angel’s) finally brings resolution, enabling the spirits of James and Grace to leave in peace. In a particularly touching scene, Grace/Angel tells James/Buffy that they are forgiven, and that they loved them with their dying breath. For the first time since Angel’s transformation, we sense that Buffy might be ready to start forgiving herself for what happened.
The other brief story line in the episode has Dru, Angel, and Spike moving to a new residence, complete with garden. The tension between Angel and Spike is palpable. After Dru and Angel go off to feed, Spike gets up out of his wheelchair, signifying that a showdown with Angel is now inevitable.
THE REAL HORROR: Guilt. While guilt is an emotion that never dulls with age, like all passions, it seems to be felt more keenly among the uncallused hearts of teenagers. Through the story of James, Buffy finally openly confronts her guilt over having destroyed the person she loved most. Initially she is resistant to the idea that James deserves forgiveness, because Buffy doesn’t feel she does.
IT’S A MYSTERY: How is it possible that Willow has been browsing Ms. Calendar’s computer, when Angel smashed and burned it in Episode 29, “Passion”?
BLOOPERS: In the scene showing James prior to killing himself, he’s listening to a version of “I Only Have Eyes for You” by the Flamingos, which wasn’t released until 1959.
32. “Go Fish”
(MAY 5, 1998)
Director: David Semel
Teleplay: David Fury and Elin Hampton
Recurring cast: Armin Shimerman (Principal Snyder)
Guest cast: Charles Cyphers (Coach Marin); Jeremy Garrett (Cameron Walker); Wentworth Miller (Gage Petronzi); Conchata Ferrell (Nurse Greenleigh); Danny Strong (Jonathan); Shane West (Sean); Jake Patellis (Dodd McAlvy)
Plot: Buffy suspects the Sunnydale swim team is being filleted by a mysterious sea creature.
THIS WEEK’S DANGER: Better living through chemicals. An overzealous coach exposes his athletes to an experimental inhalant in hopes of improving their performance—and succeeds too well.
INTRODUCING: Xander as jock. In order to keep an eye on the school’s quickly disappearing swimmers, Xander tries out for, and makes, the team.
ANALYSIS: One of the more lighthearted episodes, comparatively speaking. “Go Fish” doesn’t do much to advance the characters or second-season story arc, but reestablishes Buffy and her gang as some of the more qui
ck-witted high school students around. After spending most of the Season Two in a state of perpetual angst, it’s nice to see Buffy back in the guise of frustrated high school student.
Buffy and the gang believe that a fishlike monster is killing off members of the swim team. But in an inventive plot twist, it turns out the boys haven’t been killed by a monster, they are turning into monsters—a fact Buffy comes to understand after watching one swimmer rip open his skin to reveal a fish-man—actually, a fish-boy—underneath. She manages to escape Gage and other fish-men with the help of Coach Marin, who later claims ignorance when questioned by Giles.
This particular scene was very out of character for the series. Even though Buffy deals with vampires and monsters, the characters have always come across as real and their reactions to their situations have always rung true. First, the fact that the coach would be so unrattled by the discovery that his swimmers were turning into fish-boys seems incongruous. Although Giles and Buffy dwell in a world of monsters, presumably the majority of people at the school live in blissful ignorance. So the coach should have been in a state of shock or at least severe disbelief. On the other hand, his blasé reaction to the turn of events should have then immediately caused Giles to suspect Marin was in some way involved in whatever was going on.
THE REAL HORROR: A win-at-all-costs attitude. Anybody who has ever so much as attended a high school sporting event knows that pressure to win. For coaches, it may mean keeping their jobs or not. For the athletes, it’s either a matter of ego, or their ticket to college. And for the school, winning means prestige and—though boosters and game attendance—money. Although the pressure is often greatest at the collegiate level, high school athletes also can feel the heat.
Stories of performance-enhancing drugs are commonplace, so this episode merely heightens a prevalent reality of modern-day athletics.
IT’S A MYSTERY: How exactly did the coach use steam to impart fish DNA the athletes? And how did he have the knowledge to do so?
Since when does Sunnydale High have such direct access to the city’s sewer tunnels, which apparently run directly under the school?
33. “Becoming” (Part I)
(MAY 12, 1998)
Director: Joss Whedon
Teleplay: Joss Whedon
Recurring cast: Seth Green (Oz); Juliet Landau (Drusilla); Bianca Lawson (Kendra); James Marsters (Spike); Armin Shimerman (Principal Snyder)
Guest cast: Julie Benz (Darla); Nina Gervitz (teacher); Zitto Kazann (Gypsy man); Jack McGee (Doug Perren); Max Perlich (Whistler); Richard Riehle (L.A. Watcher); Shannon Welles (Gypsy woman); Ginger Williams (girl)
Plot: The story of Angel “becoming” a vampire at the hands of Darla. Also how, as Angelus, he waged a reign of evil and terror, and how the vengeful Gypsy reinstated his soul so Angel would suffer eternal torment for his deeds, is interwoven with Buffy’s determination to kill Angel once and for all.
THIS WEEK’S DEMON: Acathla, an ancient demon capable of opening up a whirlpool that draws everything in this world into the demonic reality beyond, where all nondemon life would suffer eternal torment.
INTRODUCING: Angel’s biography.
ANALYSIS: By presenting Angel’s full, two-hundred-years–plus story, series creator Joss Whedon is able to show Angel as both victim and criminal. Just as Buffy is conflicted in her emotions, loving the Angel that was and despising what he has now become makes for some serious dramatic conflict.
The fact that Angel eventually loses his soul because of the love he and Buffy share, makes his transformation back to Angelus a tragedy of Greek proportions. And it makes their final confrontation inevitable. There is no way Angelus can let Buffy go. They both cannot live—one must die.
Since the time of Angel’s transformation, Buffy often has been portrayed as more preoccupied and less quick-witted than she was previously. The result has been to put herself and others in danger over the course of the second half of the season. But in this episode, her preoccupation and obsession with Angel finally proves fatal.
Using Angel as a decoy she knows Buffy can’t resist, Drusilla ambushes the library. Xander and Willow are injured, Giles is kidnapped, and Kendra is killed by Dru, leaving Buffy to wallow in a sea of regret and guilt.
THE REAL HORROR: Not being able to turn back the hands of time. Everyone has regrets, but errors in judgment made as a teenager seem to resonate more and take on greater importance. In the world of the Slayer, errors in judgment can prove fatal, as demonstrated by Buffy’s relationship with Angel.
If Buffy had it to do all over again, she wouldn’t. But she can’t, so now she’s left to deal with the fallout of her misbegotten passion for Angel, the guy from the ultimate wrong side of the Hellmouth tracks.
IT’S A MYSTERY: All right, just how old is Angel? In Episode 14, “Some Assembly Required,” Angel stated that he was 241 years old. And according to the Watcher diary in Episode 18, “Halloween,” Angel was eighteen years old in 1775—prior to becoming a vampire—which means he was born around 1756. However, in this episode Angel was bitten by Darla in 1753, years before his previously established birth.
Beyond that, in Episode 7, “Angel,” it was established that Angel’s soul had been restored sometime in the twentieth century, circa the 1920s. However, in this episode it’s revealed to have taken place in 1898.
BLOOPERS: During the scene in which he’s killed by Drusilla, Doug’s hand moves on and off the statue from one shot to the next.
OF SPECIAL NOTE: Julie Benz reprises her role as Darla for the first time since the “Angel” episode.
The building used for Hemery High in the flashback to 1996 is the same one used for the Hill Valley Clock Tower in the first two Back to the Future films.
34. “Becoming (Part II)”
(MAY 19, 1998)
Director: Joss Whedon
Teleplay: Joss Whedon
Recurring cast: Seth Green (Oz); James Marsters (Spike); Robia La Morte (Ms. Calendar); Juliet Landau (Drusilla); Armin Shimerman (Principal Snyder); Kristine Sutherland (Joyce Summers)
Guest cast: Max Perlich (Whistler)
Music: “Full of Grace,” by Sarah McLachlan
Plot: As Angel feverishly tries to unleash Acathla on the world, Spike reveals a few plans of his own as he teams up with Buffy to stop world annihilation. Meanwhile, Willow tries again to restore Angel’s soul using the spell left behind by Jenny Calendar.
THIS WEEK’S THREAT TO HUMANITY: Angel as the instrument for Acathla.
INTRODUCING: Joyce Summers, to the world of the Slayer. When attacked by one of Drusilla’s vamp-goons in front of her mother, while on the run from the police who suspect her in Kendra’s death, Buffy is forced to stake the vampire and finally reveals to Joyce her real identity as the Slayer.
REINTRODUCING: Angel with soul. Briefly.
ANALYSIS: One of the biggest dramatic questions of the Season Two was how to restore Angel’s soul and maintain the integrity of the series. Considering all he had done since losing it, not the least of which was killing Jenny Calendar, it seemed as if the series had backed itself into corner.
If Angel had anguished over what he had done to strangers the first time his soul was restored, how would he ever be able to face Buffy and the others, especially Giles, now? And even if everyone could get over that hurdle, how could Angel and Buffy ever pick up where they left off, knowing that it was their love that had unleashed the demon inside him in the first place?
Talk about no-win situations! Whereas the first season’s villain, the Master, was someone everyone could agree on hating, this season was more complex. Even though Drusilla is bad to the bone, she was made insane by Angel. Although Spike had no loyalties but to himself and Drusilla, it turns out he had no more desire to end humanity than your next average-Joe vampire. And the greatest villain was also Buffy’s great love. There would be no easy answers to end this season’s story arc.
With the final episode, the series took some major turns, and some ma
jor risks. The first was the revelation to Joyce that her daughter was the Slayer. In many regards, this opened up the series and created many new story possibilities for the seasons ahead.
It also gives the Joyce Summers character a chance to grow and get out of the “She must be dumb as a post” category, to not notice something strange is going on with her daughter. Now she can be the voice of informed concern and it opens up the possibility of a relationship with Giles, who has become Buffy’s well-defined father figure anyway.
Although we’ve learned that in Sunnydale few things are as they seem, the decision to cast Angel into Hell with Acathla—and, presumably, out of the series, at least for a while—was, in the end, the only logical way out of the “Angel as evil” story line.
With the season finale ending with Buffy on a bus out of town, Whedon sets up the third season to be a different kind of journey for Buffy. In Season One, she had to face her own mortality and come to terms with her destiny. In Season Two she has had to learn sacrifice and what it’s like to love. In the third season, Buffy will have to deal with issues closer to home, such as her mother, and with a hostile principal who obviously knows her identity. In other words, Season Three will see Buffy graduate not only from high school, but from adolescent to full-fledged adult.
THE REAL HORROR: The greater good. In life there are occasions when it’s necessary to do what’s right, as opposed to what would best serve our own interests. It’s never easy and many people simply cannot do it. But in Sunnydale those occurrences take on cataclysmic importance, so Buffy has no choice but to sacrifice Angel and her own happiness for the sake of others.
A sword-wound cannot kill a vampire, so she doesn’t kill Angel. She banishes him to an existence of eternal torment because if she doesn’t, the world would come to an end. Instead, her world does. Sending Angel to the agonies of Hell just as his soul is returned to him, is a loss she may never get over.
The biggest irony is that many of the people she is suffering for, have no appreciation of her sacrifice. Her mother wants her daughter to have a different fate and to ignore her calling. The school principal is looking to keep a lid on the local troubles. Even Xander is more interested in seeing Angel suffer than in what it will cost Buffy emotionally.
The Girl's Got Bite: The Original Unauthorized Guide to Buffy's World Page 21
