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Episode 3.04: Beauty and the Beasts | Episode 3.06: Band Candy
Characters:
| Buffy | Angel | Xander |
| Willow | Giles | Cordelia |
| Oz |
Overall (5/10)
Buffy:
And we're finally moving on from S2 recovery.
Buffy's getting a little discouraged. Her favorite teacher doesn't remember her. And she's not going to be in the yearbook. As was stressed last year, Buffy places great importance on having a normal life in addition to her Slaying.
However, she suddenly finds herself on the periphery of life, so she decides to do what she must to make life let her in. She runs for Homecoming Queen against Cordelia.
Let's also note her conversation with Angel. Even though he's back, she still makes the decision to try to get on with her life without him. As we saw last year, she associates Angel with her Slayerness. Instead of deciding to get back together with him immediately, she decides to stick with Scott, the normal guy. Of course, this doesn't work out.
Scott is comparing S2 Buffy to S3 Buffy. And, yes, S3 Buffy isn't as full of life as she was previously. So he dumps her, which also affects her decision to run for Homecoming Queen.
As it is, she doesn't seem upset at losing Scott, per se. She seems more upset that Scott, a normal guy, rejected her. It drives home the point that she's not normal to her, which is something she's desperately trying to get away from.
In the end, she and Cordy get caught up in Trick's Slayerfest '98, and Buffy puts her Slaying skills to good use.
Angel:
Angel is recovering remarkably well from his centuries in hell. Actually, his rapid recovery is something that always bothered me, but I understand that the show couldn't have an animal-like Angel for half a season.
Anyway, he's a bit more clothed now. Gotta feel sorry for the guy. I'm sure he remembers the events of last year now. So he remembers going all evil on Buffy, and then he remembers Buffy killing him. He spends a long time in hell, probably with thoughts of Buffy running through his head. Then when he gets back, finally, she's moved on (Or at least is attempting to move on.)
Xander:
What the hell? My first and remaining thought on the Xander/Willow development.
True, we saw last year (Especially in Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered), that Xander doesn't feel as strongly for Cordy as she does for him. However, this year, he seems to have grown some affection for her. Notice his missing her in Anne, and then we see him several times speak of her in an endearing way.
However, he suddenly makes with the Willow kissage? This from the guy who was painfully oblivious to her crush last year?
Despite this, I'll allow that this could be in character for Xander. We see him do something similar in S2's When She was Bad. We see, time and time again, that he's ruled by his hormones. And given that we do know that Xander doesn't feel as attached to Cordelia as she does to him, I'll concede that he could start making with the Willow kissage.
I don't like it, though.
Now, while I'll make allowances for Xander, I absolutely cannot see Willow doing this.
Yes, we know that Willow's had a long-standing crush on Xander. And, yes, while she has a boyfriend, it's reasonable to assume that her crush on Xander still lingers.
However, Willow is crazy about Oz. Witness in Becoming Pt. 2 when she's coming out of her short coma, she whispers Oz's name, not Xander's. And we've seen so far this season that Willow is very devoted to Oz. Add onto that the fact that we've seen almost no hints of Willow's past attraction to Xander this season and Willow's participation in the kissage seems to come out of the blue.
I've tried to make sense of where Willow's coming from here, but I just don't see it. So I'm just gonna assume that Willow got hit with some wacky spell that's making her act completely out of character from here until Lover's Walk.
Giles gets very little to do in this episode. He gets a cute moment at the dance where he plays a joke on Willow and Xander. Giles...playing a joke...wow, how far he's come.
But other than that, he's mainly there to show support for Buffy.
Cordelia is the other main player in this episode besides Buffy.
It's interesting to see how much Cordelia has grown since her introduction. She now openly hangs out with the Scoobies, despite the blow to her popularity. However, she is still Cordy, and she wants to be Homecoming Queen. It's an uphill battle for her, though, as she's not quite as popular as she once was thanks to her new social associations.
I think her heart-to-heart with Buffy was very telling. She asks Buffy why she wants to be Homecoming Queen when she has the Slaying. Cordelia seems almost envious of Buffy here, as if she wishes that she had some kick-ass Slayer-skills like Buffy does.
Indeed, we see this again when she threatens Gorch in the library. She enjoys playing the tough girl. I get the feeling that Cordelia enjoys the action and adventure that being with the Scoobies offers her, but that she wishes she were more capable a fighter so she could do more. As it is, she settles for remaining popular instead.
Another interesting point is brought up in that heart-to-heart where Cordelia mentions that she thinks she loves Xander. As I mentioned above, Cordelia seems to feel true affection for him, whereas he doesn't quite feel as strongly. This doesn't bode well for their relationship.
As a sidenote, I love her version of the Vulcan Death Grip.
Oz gets very little to do in this episode. Unfortunately, as the cast gets larger, we see that oftentimes characters just don't have much to do in episodes. This is one of those cases.
Buffy and Cordelia face off to become Homecoming Queen. Trick hosts Slayerfest '98. Stuff happens.
Well, Trick is the principle baddie here.
And we finally get the introduction of the Mayor. And who doesn't love the Mayor? We get a tiny hint of foreshadowing when the Mayor tells the deputy mayor that he has "all his faith". This is ironic as Faith is the one who ends up killing the guy later on in the season.
We also get the alliance of the Mayor and Trick.
It's nice to finally get past the S2 fallout. This episode places us firmly in S3. It's wonderful to watch Cordelia and Buffy go head-to-head. Unfortunately, the nonsensical Willow/Xander stuff brings this episode down quite a bit.
Special performance award goes to Charisma Carpenter for her leet spatula fighting skills.
5 out of 10. Minus a point for the Willow/Xander kissage. Not just cause I didn't like it but because it makes no sense.
Buffy and Cordelia's heart-to-heart in the cabin.
Cordy doesn't get enough wallpapers. This is just a fun little thing. Nothing too complicated.
Credits:
Caps: Screencap Paradise
Textures: Misplaced Moments
Fonts: Ravie
Brushes: None
*Some resources were used that I can't identify. All resources are generally linked to on the links page, but if you recognize an uncredited resource let me know so I can note it with the actual wallpaper.
Episode 3.04: Beauty and the Beasts | Episode 3.06: Band Candy
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