Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The group have all been dealing with their own respected adjustments after the destruction of Sunnydale High, some better than others. Willow has made friends with a fellow witch named Tara, Giles is unemployed whilst Spike has discovered that he can still hurt demons, just not humans.
It's Buffy's 19th birthday and Giles isn't coping with it very well feeling a little out of the loop. So badly in fact that he turns into a demon. Though that turns out to be more or less because Ethan Rayne showed back up, got Ripper blind drunk and cast a spell on him. Prior to that, he introduces himself to Maggie Walsh which doesn't go particularly well as she accuses him of not being a suitable male role model for. We all know that's absolute crap. I'm kinda glad she gets skewered.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. Whilst Giles is coming to terms with Buffy growing up, dating one of the Initiative commandos and you know, being a demon, Buffy and the gang assume that the demon running round has kidnapped Giles, not realising that it's actually Giles himself until it's nearly too late. We also learn that the demon underworld is a'rumbling with the news of the Initiative and something called 314...
A New Man is one of those episodes that seems to get richer over time, particularly with the knowledge of where everything's going, not only in terms of the fourth season, but beyond too. Focusing in on it first, Giles turning into a demon is a very simple metaphor for his alienation from the group, manifested in some stunning make-up work allowing Anthony Head to give a great comic physical performance. His first few scenes as he gets used to his demonic visage are laugh-out-loud hysterical and later on too, chasing after Professor Walsh, growling at her and running after her down Main Street before getting back into the car with Spike as if nothing had happened.
I had forgotten how funny Ethan's re-introduction is and indeed, all of the scenes between Ripper and Ethan, a masterclass in comic timing from both the sadly late Robin Sachs and Anthony Head. Ethan's one of Buffy's great antagonist, more memorable in four appearances than most foes get to be over several. Sadly, this is his final moment in the show, but it's an excellent episode to go out on. The drunken scene between him and Head is just brilliant: "Whilst you were in the restroom, I slipped a poison pellet in your drink. You'll be dead in an hour... Just kidding."
Jane Espenson wrote this episode, so obviously it's great and packed full of quotable lines (which makes picking one to highlight with you all an absolute nightmare). Expanding out to the episode's richness beyond just this story, there's a lot of thematic work going on here and plenty of foreshadowing too. Buffy and Giles' relationship will take some bigger knocks in later seasons, but here it proves to be pretty strong, Buffy knowing intuitively that it's him.
There are also a lot of fault-lines weaving through this episode, mainly through the Scoobies themselves. Willow's lying about her burgeoning relationship with Tara, Buffy's swanning off with Riley all the time, Xander's dating Anya which no-one particularly cares for and Giles is still feeling out of the loop, all of which are ready to be exploited by Spike later on in the season. These ones I remembered. The one I didn't spot? Riley already feeling his masculinity impugned by Buffy's greater strength, skill and authority. It's all there very early on in their relationship, we (and they) just didn't spot it.
Another little cracker of an episode with hilarity, wit and pathos in spades, A New Man is an excellent slice of Buffy doing what Buffy does best, messing with our own knowledge of the characters to further their development. Plus, we don't often get Giles-centric episodes so they're always a joy when they come along, whether it's exploring his Ripper-based past or watching him try and come to terms with change, Anthony Head is marvellous without a doubt.
Quote of the Week:
Maggie Walsh: So, the Slayer?
Buffy: Yep, that's me.
Maggie Walsh: We thought you were a myth.
Buffy: ...Well you were myth-taken.
Inventive Kill: Slight variation on this week as there isn't any killing, but Riley proudly boasts to her of his 17 hostile takedowns. Some nice person over on the Buffy Wikia page for this episode worked out that Buffy has, as a modest estimate, taken down over 100 hostiles up to this point in the series. 106 to be exact, only counting those seen onscreen.
Let's Get Trivial: Anthony Head's previous experience playing Dr Frank N Further in The Rocky Horror Show proved to be invaluable when he had to perform the scene in which he ran after Maggie Walsh because he's extremely comfortable in high heels as a result.
- Becky
You can catch Becky's look at previous episode, Doomed, here.
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Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer: An old friend of Giles', Ethan Rayne, has already shown up and caused chaos on Halloween, leaving an ominous note. 'Be seeing you'.
Oh it's been a while hasn't it? I do apologise for the considerable gap between posts, but it's been a mad couple of months for me. Who knew applying for things would be so much work? Anyway, we are back, we are enthusiastic and we are raring to go. And what better way to kick it all back off again than with one of the best episodes of the (rather excellent anyway) second season run.
The Dark Age finds Giles front and centre as one of his friends from university arrives at the library looking a bit/a lot perturbed. It turns out that a demon they once summoned from the nethers has arrived back in town to take them one by one. Philip (friend at the library) is being pursued by the considerably worse for wear Deirdre, who turns into a puddle of blue goo before the credits hit. Each of Giles' friends share the Mark of Eyghon (said) demon and now all but he and the returning Ethan Rayne are dead. A confrontation with the demon leads to it possessing Jenny Calendar and with Giles out of commission, it's up to the gang to work out how to solve this week's feature creature.
Anthony Head has been the quiet stalwart of the cast so far, only really getting one chance to display any major depth to Giles during Halloween when he kicks the crap out of Ethan. There was a nice interplay there, hinting at something lurking in Giles' past that he isn't keen to see let out. An inner demon, literally speaking, is a really effective way to get under the character's skin and see him unable to make the clear-headed decisions he's usually known for as both he and the woman he loves with are pursued by the demon. It's also the first major insight into the 'hates the world ticking time bomb' Giles that we will later see more of in the sublime Band Candy.
It's also an important episode for Buffy's development. In the second season's theme of growing up, this is the moment in which you realise your parents aren't so dull or boring as you might think, that they too had a life before they started taking care of you and one day, you are actually going to have to fend for yourself. Giles' parental figure hasn't really been challenged in Buffy's eyes just yet, but here she is forced to confront his past as a hard-drinking, black magic performing bad guy whilst also having to solve the mystery herself. It's a big step for their relationship, one which is never quite as smooth as people tend to remember; there's an inbuilt reliance between the two of them on them staying within their roles, the slightly wayward daughter and the stern but fair father. When that balance is rocked, sparks fly.
The chemistry between Head and Gellar has always been one of the best elements of Buffy, perfectly capturing that surrogate father/daughter dynamic and one in which the audience invests a huge amount. I still remember feeling the same sense of betrayal writ over Buffy's face when Giles answers the door all drunk and dismissive. However, it's a necessary moment in their relationship, one that won't really be put to the test in the same way until later seasons, and both actors handle it brilliantly. It also proves to be a stronger relationship than either of them realise as Buffy defies him at every turn to try and save his life, jeopardising hers regularly in the process.
Elsewhere, it's one of the first major Scooby moments for Cordelia as she jumps into help Giles in his hour of need because she cares. Always skirting around the inner circle, Cordy seems to join in out of a genuine, if not vocalised, desire to help and it's at this point that she starts becoming more actively involved in the Slayerettes. Note in particular, the chemistry with Xander at this point; it's the classic "we hate each other so obviously we're going to kiss at some point." We also get another hint to Angel's dark side as the demon in him is just dying for a fight, and gets one, when Willow figures out that Eyghon will jump into the nearest dead person.
It's another good 'un as we draw ever closer to where the season really takes a plummet in the light and fluffy stakes. Next week, it's careers advice...
Quote of the Week: Giles - Wonderful. You work on your muscle tone while my brain dribbles out of my ears...
Let's Get Trivial: Sarah Michelle Gellar's stunt double does some odd grunting in this episode. Speaking of which, SMG'S stunt double is Sophia Crawford, who was also the stunt double for the Pink Ranger. Go go 90s kids.
- Becky
You can go all the way back to read Becky's look at previous episode, Lie to Me, right here.
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Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Spike has arrived in town with a determination to kill the Slayer, Cordelia is still vying for Angel's affections and the Scoobies have various issues of their own to contend with.
Halloween finds the gang forced into taking around groups of children on a trick-or-treating mission around Sunnydale and having to dress up too, they get their costumes from a new shop in town, Ethan's. Setting up one of the best minor running gags in the series, Buffy mournfully observes that this was supposed to be her night off as demons and vampires don't really go in for Halloween though assumes it will still be a quiet night. However, Ethan turns out to have other plans, casting a spell that sees his customers transform into the costumes that they are wearing. Spike catches wind of this and spies an opportunity for mischief.
In last week's review, I did give you an advanced warning that there would be much enthusiasm in this post because Halloween is one of my favourite episodes, possibly number one on that list (which I'm sure will appear here one day). It was one of the first episodes I possessed on VHS and whilst I was still struggling with parental approval/sneaking into the lounge to watch episodes on BBC2 when my parents didn't realise, I watched Halloween a lot. And for me, it typifies everything that Buffy the Vampire Slayer is about; there's empowerment in there (for both genders), witty, endlessly quotable dialogue and a plot hinged on such a simple yet intelligent plot. What happens when you get to be someone else for a night?
I'm a sucker for episodes in series that upset the status quo, placing characters in situations they never usually find themselves in or completely changing who the character is in the first place, as in Halloween. And what dawned on me this time was that Halloween isn't just a throwaway monster-of-the-week, but an episode that is crucial for the development of the characters, particularly the central four of Buffy, Xander, Giles and Willow. Played by the late, great Robin Sachs, Ethan Rayne becomes one of Buffy's best sporadic villains; each episode he appears in advances the show in some way, be it character or revelations. He's also a writer's dream character because he literally worships chaos which means pretty much anything could happen once he shows up. In this case, it's a manifestation of 'be careful what you wish for' that sees Buffy, Xander and Willow become the costumes they wear for Halloween, a 17th century noblewoman, a soldier and a ghost respectively.
First of all, Buffy who is suffering from major longing to be someone else after spying Cordelia drooling over Angel in The Bronze. She's not confident in herself, that she could be the type of girl that Angel would like. After sneaking a look at Giles' secret Watcher Diaries, Willow and Buffy see the kind of girl from Angel's time and when the opportunity arises for Buffy to dress up as someone equally 'coiffed', she takes it. Therefore when Ethan's spell takes hold, she becomes completely helpless and forgets all of her usual violent tendencies. Sarah Michelle Gellar clearly has a ball playing this version of Buffy who says things like "I want the man with a musket" and screams 'a demon!' at passing cars. Not only does it completely subvert everything that Buffy is, it also makes her realise that actually, she's ok with being the girl who thinks about beheadings and ambush tactics, even if it does mean a bad hair day once in a while. In short, she finds the confidence to be herself, something which is affirmed by Angel at the end of the episode.
For Xander, issues of masculinity and confidence in the face of Buffy's superiority has been an internal conflict from the very beginning. It flares up again here after Buffy takes down Larry after he picks on Xander. Naturally, Xander goes off in a huff and picks the most masculine costume he can think of, a soldier, and whilst in this guise he gets to rescue the girls and beat up Larry. It's at this point his future relationship with Cordelia is hinted towards and his strength of relationship with Willow is affirmed. Not because he's become more manly, but because he has become more confident in himself. It won't be the first time that Xander goes through this crisis and it is a series long journey to realising that he is the supportive role of the group, the watcher in all but name. This soldier trip is just the beginning of that. He also gets some crucial military knowledge which stands him apart from the rest of the gang and gives him something unique to contribute, calling on this when necessary for the rest of the series.
However, in this episode, it's perhaps Willow and Giles who undergo the biggest changes, the ones who will develop most as a result of the unmasking that takes place. Character development for Giles hasn't really existed up until now, something which didn't really occur to me until rewatching these early episodes. Not a huge amount is known about Buffy's watcher aside from his sense of responsibility towards his role and towards Buffy herself. Ethan constantly stands as a symbol of what Giles could have become had Ripper been the identity he took into adulthood, rather than of Watcher. His arrival in Sunnydale kickstarts revelations about Giles' past, particularly about the darkness of the character that hasn't really been seen up until now. Rather than being beaten up, it is Giles inflicting the violence, Giles going to extraordinary lengths to protect Buffy and her friends. The character will go much darker in the future (The Gift anyone?), but this is the first time that we as an audience get to see any of that.
Willow's future darkness isn't at all apparent yet, rather, like the other teenage characters, this is about her finding the confidence to be herself. Buffy and Willow's friendship feels at its most real here, their conversations about Buffy's relationship woes and Willow's confidence issues ring true for anyone who happens to have been a teenage girl. Buffy would never succeed in getting Willow to dress sexy, despite her persuading skills, as Willow doesn't see herself in that way. Her self-image is manifested in her costume, a ghost, incorporeal and inconsequential. However, the events of the episode force her to take on the leadership role usually reserved for Buffy in the sexy clothes that she previously rejects wearing (though with no reason to worry - look at those abs!). When she returns to herself at the end of the episode, she throws off the costume and strides across the street, completely comfortable in her body and once again catches Oz's eye. If you ever doubted, Willow is awesome and well on the way to discovering that for herself.
Even with all of this going on, Halloween is just a massively fun episode with a wicked sense of humour. Note Cordelia's costume for example; she's a cat and catty with it, insulting everyone she can and in this episode, she offers a distinct contrast to the three who do change with their costumes. On a symbolic level, Cordelia doesn't need to transform into anything else because she's completely comfortable in her own skin. Elsewhere, Spike gets some cool moments; 'Well this is just... neat." Then there's the various expressions that David Boreanaz gets to pull as he reacts to the double whammy of the amorous Cordelia and the helpless Buffy.
The only minor problem with the episode, and it is minor, is the convenience of the ending, which does feel a little over-egged. This is particularly the case with how long it takes Spike to gets to Buffy's neck once he has her pinned down. Although killing Slayers is a big thing for Spike so it makes sense he would take his time, it does get a bit silly towards the end as Giles takes an equally long time to smash the statue and end the spell. It's also odd that Buffy actually lets Spike just run off without even attempting to pursue. Though I suppose with that dress, sprinting was probably going to be an issue. And the episode was never really about the battle with Spike anyway, it's about the battle each character has with themselves.
After the disappointment that was Reptile Boy last week, I'm really happy that Halloween was every bit as good as I remembered it to be and so much more besides. Not to mention the excellent timing of getting this post out to you all actually on the 31st October.
Happy Halloween everyone! Be seeing you.
Next Time: Lie To Me
Quote of the Week: Buffy - "You know what? It's good to be me."
Inventive Kill: Buffy stakes a vamp with a Joe's Pumpkin Patch scene. Even Spike comments on her resourcefulness.
Demonology 101: This is just to say how cute are those mini-demons?!
Sunnydale Who's Who: Larry is played by Larry Bagby III who you may also recognise from Halloween classic Hocus Pocus in which he also played a teenage bully, four years prior to his appearance in Buffy. Tubular.
- Becky
You can read Becky's look back at Reptile Boy here.
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