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Episode 2.09: What's My Line? Pt. 1 | Episode 2.11: Ted
Characters:
| Buffy | Angel | Xander |
| Willow | Giles | Cordelia |
| Spike | Oz |
Overall (6/10)
Buffy:
And we continue with Buffy's bitter streak in this episode. Only, now we get a way for her to get out of the slaying gig in the form of Kendra, the other vampire slayer.
Buffy considers, upon Kendra's appearance, retiring and having a go at that normal life she's heard so much about. However, at the end of the day, she realizes that slaying is a part of who she is. And, while she doesn't embrace this idea, she accepts it...for now.
The deciding factor in this for her is Angel. Angel's in trouble. As the Slayer, she has the duty and ability to save him. She can't turn her back on her calling when he's in danger. This is something of a lead in to the events of Becoming Pt. 2 wherein Buffy does lose Angel and then ditches her Slaying career to be a waitress in LA.
Kendra's appearance gives us an interesting opportunity to contrast two different Slayers. One who was unaware of her calling until she was called. Her watcher promptly threw out the handbook upon meeting her. She plays fast and loose, following her instinct and relying on her friends to help her out.
On the other hand, we have Kendra, who was raised to be a Slayer. She studies. She isolates herself from friends and family. And she's the perfect soldier. Except, she has no initiative. She has to report back to her watcher for orders at every turn. She was taught not to think for herself.
It isn't until Faith's appearance in S3 that we get yet another example of a Slayer. However, the differences between Kendra and Buffy are interesting to watch. There are advantages and disadvantages to each. Notice at the end, Buffy's rushing off with Willy leads to her being captured by Spike.
Angel:
And Angel's spine makes an appearance! I'd heard rumors of its existence, but up till now, I didn't really believe it.
Fittingly enough, he tries to apologize to Dru while she's torturing him. Drusilla, though, being evil now, isn't interested in apologies. However, when Spike comes in, Angel takes a different tact. He knows just what buttons to push to get Spike to dust him. And if Dru hadn't been there, Spike likely would have done just that.
And it's eerily creepy that Angel's confrontation with Spike is reminiscent of the unsouled Angel's taunting of him later on this season. Just from this, we can see who the alpha male of their little vamp group was back in the day.
Note to self: if you torture Angel enough, he'll grow a personality. Handy to know.
Xander:
Xander takes out a member of the Order of Taraka. Seriously, now. This is the group that Angel and Giles were wetting their pants over? Xander (and Cordy) took one out.
Well, that was his manly act for the episode. He also got to smooch with Miss Chase...twice. All the while, protesting and insulting her. Thus we begin the ill-fated Cordelia/Xander romance.
Isn't is adorable that Willow is so oblivious to Oz's attention? Until Buffy lets her in on it, that is. Finally, we get Willow's attention diverted from Xander. Go us!
Unfortunately, besides the adorable Willow/Oz moments, she doesn't have much to do. She does handle herself quite well in the fight at the end, though.
Giles is greeted with the appearance of a more traditional Slayer in Kendra. He and Kendra immediately get along, bonding over research and whatnot. While Willow assures Buffy that she will always be Giles' favorite, that's never actually resolved in the episode.
Of course, we know it's true. But it's something that's just left hanging at the end.
See what I wrote for Xander's section? Cordelia's is pretty much identical. Xander and Cordy were never separated in this episode.
We find out, through Angel's taunts, that pre-souled Angel was banging Drusilla. Looks like, as devoted as the guy is to Dru, she's not quite as loyal to him. Course, we see this played out, both at the end of the season and again when she cheats on him with a chaos demon.
And Spike seems to know this. We see him lose his temper very easily with Angel (course, Spike's not known for being level-headed). If it weren't for Dru, Angel would be dust, and Dru would still be sick. Actually, Spike would probably have been better off dusting him now.
We also get an interesting line from Spike in which he mentions that he isn't so into the "pre-show". Torture doesn't interest Spike. He'd prefer to fight things out and go straight for the kill. Whereas we'll soon find out, Angel was quite the opposite.
At the end, we get the wonderful role reversal. Spike is badly injured from the organ falling on him, and Dru's back to full health. We'll soon see just how well Dru takes care of Spike and compare it to his care of her.
Finally, we get some good Oz stuff. Oz is your atypical underachiever. He's very smart, but isn't interested in applying himself. He plays the guitar, but he'll admit that he doesn't do so very well. He doesn't try too hard at school, and he's definitely not interested in taking up the unnamed software company on their offer.
But he is interested in our Willow! And he's funny and charming, and very sweet. Oz is the essence of cool.
See last episode's plot? Extend it out a bit. We find out that Dru needs Angel's blood to heal herself.
The only niggle I have with this episode is the end. Kendra comes to Buffy's rescue rather quickly considering she had to go all the way back to the school to get the others. Also, how on earth did Kendra find her? Willy didn't say which church Spike was at. He was gonna show Buffy.
Spike's the main bad again. Now and for the last time, really. After this, he's roller-boy.
And thus we get the first part of the arc out of the way. This is actually another lovely Joss mislead. With the introduction of Spike at the beginning of the season, it leads us to believe that Spike would be the season-long baddie. However, we find out in Surprise/Innocence that Angel is actually the main villian.
Not as good as the first part. But, then again, that's typical for two-parters. Special performance award goes to Charisma Carpenter for having maggoty wormy things on her, then getting doused with what I'm sure was cold water from a high-pressure hose. Bet you don't have to do that at your job.
6 out of 10. Better than average. A worthy arc episode. But not as good at the first part.
The final scene wherein Drusilla carries an injured Spike out of the church. It's a perfect set up for the rest of the season, and gives us an ominous warning that hangs over us through the next two non-arc episodes.
And another Drusilla wallpaper. This one turned out better than the previous one, but it's kinda basic. Dru is the only vampire who still looks hot while vamped out. Anyway, Within Temptation seemed an appropriate band with this scene. I wish I could have gotten a better shot of Dru carrying Spike, but it doesn't seem like that could be captured very well.
Credits:
Caps: Screencap Paradise
Textures: Misplaced Moments, Shattered
Fonts: Palace Script MT, Nyala
Brushes: None
Episode 2.09: What's My Line? Pt. 1 | Episode 2.11: Ted
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