Home | About | Wallpapers | Links
Episode 3.10: Amends | Episode 3.12: Helpless
Characters:
| Buffy | Angel | Xander |
| Willow | Giles | Cordelia |
| Oz |
Overall (6/10)
Buffy:
We start out with Buffy's mom trying to show an interest in Buffy's night-job. This is used to contrast Willow's mom's hands-off approach to parenting as seen later in the episode.
Unfortunately, her mom runs across a couple of dead kids. Craziness ensues.
This episode is actually notable in that the S3 theme of the fight against authority is again brought up. Through Joyce and the efforts of MOO, the parents of Sunnydale attempt to "take back" the town from the powers of their kids. This is shown through the locker-search at school and the literal burning of their own children.
Of course, it all ends up being a spell, and people conveniently forget that Joyce outed Buffy as the Slayer.
Buffy is true to form in this episode. She gets discouraged after her mother questions the effectiveness of her methods, but she gets a pep talk from the New and Improved Angel to keep her motivated.
And can I mention how much I love Buffy's silent stare-down of the bully at the beginning? She doesn't need to say anything. Her reputation speaks for her, and the bully backs down pretty darn quickly.
Angel:
Angel has a brief scene. He's still trying to figure things out after the whole suicide thing of the last episode. Apparently, he and Buffy are in a place where they can hug, though the actual nature of their relationship is up in the air at the moment. It's typical S3 back-and-forth.
Angel actually does give Buffy good advice. This is, perhaps, one of the biggest differences between S2 Angel and S3 Angel. S2 Angel was absolutely horrible at talking to Buffy, and it got to the point where I wondered what the hell was up with their romance. S3 Angel is much better at handling Buffy's issues and telling her what she needs to hear.
Xander:
Xander is still dealing with guilt-issues over the Willow-kissage. He's also still refusing to take responsibility for what he did, though.
We finally get to see Willow's mom, Sheila, in this episode. Her mom is an intellectual academic who barely pays any attention to her daughter. In fact, she regards her daughter as an age group and responds to Willow in a sterile, scientific fashion.
It does help to understand Willow a bit more. Obviously, we see where her brainy tendencies come from. We also see that she doesn't have the support of her mother when it comes to her social life. And given her mother's stand-offish nature, it comes as no surprise that Willow is a bit inept socially.
It's interesting that, in this fight against authority, Giles is firmly on the side of the kids, much like he will be at this season's end.
Cordelia actually gets something useful to do. It's interesting that she at first appears to be affected by the demon's spell in her warning to Buffy. But we see later on that she was going to Buffy's house for help. Obviously, while she is vocal against the Scoobies, she still recognizes that they're the ones to turn to in a crisis.
Oz gets to show off his computer skills. He also gets to attempt to save the day. And then he doesn't get to do much.
The plot is very thin. The whole "fairy tales being real" concept is interesting. But I can't help but wonder why Giles, Buffy, Xander, etc. weren't affected by the demon's spell as well.
There's a demon, see, that makes people do weird things.
Not an arc episode, though the Mayor does make an appearance.
This episode gets a lot of criticism, and I can't really see why. Yes, the plot is rather thin. But I like that it hints at the main theme of the season, and it has a lot of truly funny moments. It's not great. It's standalone. But standalone episodes are often fun and a welcome break from the arc of the season. Let's also not forget that Amy turns herself into a rat in this episode (In a famous instance of poor-planning). Her eventual return to human form in S6 is a major turning point for Willow's development in that season.
Special performance award goes to Sarah Michelle Gellar for the awkward-looking "tied to the pole" fight scene at the end.
6 out of 10. The humor bumps it up a point for me.
"Come fill me with your black, naughty evil!"
The confrontation between Willow and her mom. It's one of the funniest things I've ever seen Willow do.
Another Cute Willow wall. I had some issues with the text. The bulk of the wallpaper is very dark and evil magicky, but I with Willow's facial expressions I couldn't have a very serious-looking font. So I chose something a little silly to make a contrast in mood. Yeah, me trying to be all fancy. Anyway, my tribute to Willow's adorable scene.
Credits:
Caps: Screencap Paradise
Textures: Shattered
Fonts: Babelfish (Link)
Brushes: Twirl2 by kuschelirmel, Spotted Swirl Brushes by LeeDeeYa
*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 3.10: Amends | Episode 3.12: Helpless
Home | About | Wallpapers | Links