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Episode 4.09: Something Blue | Episode 4.11: Doomed
Characters:
| Buffy | Xander | Willow |
| Giles | Spike | Anya |
| Riley | Tara |
Overall (8/10)
Buffy:
This episode is all about communication and how those pesky words can get in the way of saying what needs to be said. So Joss, in true Joss-fashion, makes it so nobody can talk.
It starts out with a dream sequence belonging to Buffy wherein we first see the Gentlemen. And then we're quickly shown what Buffy's problem with communication is. Namely, her relationship with Riley isn't progressing. They get caught up in their babble-fests and don't go anywhere.
Their relationship actually has two obstacles that are revealed in this episode. For one is the fact that they haven't kissed, yet. Taking the step from open flirting to a physical relationship seems to be beyond their grasp. Until they can't talk. With no other way to express the fact that they care for each other, they resort to snogging. Obstacle one cleared up.
The next is a much bigger hurdle. They each are living a secret life that they can't talk about to the other. Again, this is revealed during a fight scene. They have to work together without explanation to defeat the Gentlemen. At the end, though, they're unable to find anything to say. Cause stuff is so much easier when you can't talk.
Xander:
Xander, like Buffy, is having relationship issues. So far, his entire relationship with Anya has been built around sex. While Anya obviously feels affection for him, it's been unclear whether he feels the same. And Xander, being such a typical guy, is unable to express his feelings to her, even at her insistence.
But when words are taken from him, Xander's able to prove, through his actions, that he does care for Anya as more than a buckfuddy.
It's interesting that twice in this episode, Xander blames Spike for things that the vampire didn't do. Firstly when Xander has lost his voice, he makes the (ridiculous, as Spike points out) accusation that it's Spike's fault. Later, he'll believe that Spike bit Anya. This is a good precursor to the Xander/Spike relationship wherein Xander never quite trusts Spike and uses him as a convenient scapegoat at times.
Willow gets a new love interest in this episode. Presumably over Oz, she goes to the Wiccan group, but is disappointed by their superficiality. All talk, no spells. Tara does catch her eye during the meeting, though.
Willow seems to recognize a part of her old self in Tara. As Willow is becoming more confident and assertive, she may find herself thinking back to the early days when she was more innocent. Her attraction to Tara can be seen as a representation of her desire to return to those times.
Like Riley and Buffy, Willow and Tara discover each other in the middle of a crisis. Working together, they manage to get out of it.
I'm not going to comment too much on Willow's sexuality. I know there's some debate in the gay community over her suddenly "turning gay" or whatnot. Personally, I think sexuality is a very fluid and individual aspect of oneself. While it may be easy to say that Willow is just bisexual, I'm not in the habit of applying labels to people so if Willow says she's gay now, then she's gay.
Giles' story tends to get overlook by fans in this episode. Which is a shame. Olivia is brought back. We had seen her previously in The Freshman as a girlfriend, of a sorts, for Giles.
We find out, at the end, that they had talked about all the supernatural occurrences that Giles deals with, however Olivia had never believed him. Until the Gentlemen come along as she is confronted face-to-face with the world Giles lives in. After that, she's not sure that she wants to continue the relationship.
Giles loses another thing in his life after this episode as his sometime-girlfriend never reappears. Also notable is that this is the last time we see Giles with a woman. This episode drives home the loneliness of Giles' position.
Backing up a bit, at the beginning, Giles is annoyed by people walking into his apartment without knocking. This is something that will, ironically enough, also plague Spike later on. As it is, these two characters have a great deal in common at this point in time. Giles has just lost his job and current lifestyle (librarian and Watcher) and is not sure how to continue with his life. Likewise, Spike has lost his ability to be a vampire (because of the chip) and he'll spend this season trying to figure out how he can still be evil.
Indeed, the Giles/Spike relationship is promising now, but Spike will ruin it later on in the season.
Spike is now a free-range vampire in Giles' apartment. Presumably, they now believe that he can't hurt anybody. Well, except for Xander.
He isn't given too much to do besides provide comic relief and help forward Xander and Anya's story, though.
Anya's feeling insecure about her relationship with Xander. Like his relationship with Cordelia, it can be interpreted that she likes him more than he likes her. Indeed, thus far it has been a relationship based around sex. Though Anya has obviously shown some affection for Xander.
She also shows jealousy towards Buffy and Willow. Xander cares about them, and Anya is worried that he prefers them over her. But, of course, once people lose their voices, Xander proves that he does have some feelings for her, leading to much happiness for Anya.
She gets to show her trademark bluntness and lack of social graces. This will be a constant embarrassment for Xander. Of course, the punchline is revealed in S7's Selfless where we find out that she was like that even before becoming a demon.
Kudos for the naughty hand gesture.
Riley is in much the same position as Buffy in this episode. He's wanting to move forward in their relationship. However, words (and his night job) keep getting in the way. Once the Gentlemen settle in town, though, their relationship is jettisoned ahead.
Certainly seeing Buffy kick ass so thoroughly was probably jarring for Riley who, in The Initiative was under the impression that women need to be protected. Yet he seemed excited and alternately impressed by her strength. This is something that'll be explored in the next episode. In fact, Riley's attitude to Buffy's abilities are essential to their entire relationship.
Oh, and I just feel the need to mention that Marc Blucas is very tall.
Tara's first episode. As Willow's character grew more self-assured, the show needed a character they could place in danger. This is partially filled by Tara in S4.
She's shy. She stutters. She's socially awkward. She's a lot like Willow at the beginning of the series. It's no wonder there's an almost instant attraction between the two as they recognize a bit of themselves in the other.
Tara is also a practicing witch, having learned from her mother. We'll find out later that her mother's dead. We'll also learn the reasons for her introverted and nervous disposition in S5's Family.
It must be said that, while Tara may be shy, she's far from passive. After seeing Willow at the Wicca meeting, Tara takes the initiative and looks up Willow's room number to try to find a solution to the voice problem. She also recognizes that Willow is trying to move the soda machine and helps her out without any prompting. And she's quite forceful in her compliment of Willow's abilities at the end (Something even she seems embarassed about). Underneath the quiet exterior, Tara has a brave heart which will become fully apparent in S6.
These creepy dudes sail into town and steal people's voices. They want boobies - er - hearts.
The Gentlemen. Easily the creepiest Buffy baddies ever.
Not an arc episode.
A wonderful episode. I have no complaints, actually. It manages to highlight each of our characters (Though Spike gets shorted this week, but oh well). It forwards several character arcs. It's funny, witty, entertaining. Even without dialogue. It's quite easily one of the best of the series.
So you're probably wondering why I'm giving it 8 out of 10. In my opinion, the truly best of Buffy has an emotional impact. BtVS is at it's best when it's being poignant and making me cry. To me, that is the perfection of the show. That's why the coveted 9 and 10 scores are reserved for episodes that hit those emotional notes. Because those episodes convey the essence of drama that is so important to the series. This episode, while truly wonderful, doesn't affect me emotionally. Therefore, my subjective score is an 8.
Special performance award goes to the guy who played the Gentlemen's victim. Let's give him a hand for a truly marvelous death scene.
8 out of 10.
I would like to point out the exposition scene with the overhead projector as the perfect example of the brilliance of this concept episode. But the most important scene is when Buffy and Riley point their weapons at each other. It sets up their future relationship and is a great way for them to discover the truth about each other.
Everybody does a wallpaper for this scene. I'm just following the crowd. It came out differently than I had planned. It's very pink. But in a magical, lovey sort of way which is quite sweet for Willow and Tara. I love the large shot of them in the background. I desaturated that sucker to make the textures stand out more. And the words, taken from Tara's song in OMWF, can be applied to both the ladies in this particular scene.
Credits:
Caps: Screencap Paradise
Textures: Misplaced Moments
Fonts: Beyond Wonderland (Link)
Brushes: Unknown
*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 4.09: Something Blue | Episode 4.11: Doomed
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