Buffy
The Vampire Slayer
First
Date
original airdate: 02/11/03
Last
Week
Kennedy and Willow get cozy, but Willow becomes Warren after
Amy casts a spell on her. Spike and Buffy go The Initiative's
underground base to help Spike with his malfunctioning chip.
Ten
Second Recap
Xander and Buffy get first dates (just in time for Valentine's
Day) while Willow and Kennedy continue their woo making. Xander
dates a pop star. Buffy investigates Principal Wood…romantically.
The mystery behind Principal Wood is revealed and a new conflict
arises.
Another
week and a few more steps towards the final confrontation.
As much as I'm enjoying the shows this season, I do miss those
"monster of the week" shows where the entire storyline was
contained in a single episode. Now everything is so bogged
down in relationships and The First that you have to actively
pay attention rather than just sitting back and enjoying the
show as mindless fun.
Not to
say that this week's Buffy offering wasn't enjoyable, because
it was. While the commercials heavily promoted Ashanti, who
I'm guessing is some kind of pop singer, the episode largely
revealed details about Principal Wood. I'd guessed a few weeks
ago that he was somehow related to Kendra, the Slayer that
preceded Faith. Put another check mark in the Michael was
wrong column.
Jonathan
is back as The First and it looks as if The First gave him
a haircut.
Last
week I talked about the aspects of The Killer in Me
that used old Buffy characters and plotlines in new context.
This week it is just assumed you remember Xander's bad luck
with women. It becomes a running joke that Demon women think
he is hot and want to kill him. In case you've forgotten Xander's
previous affairs, I've prepared this study guide.
Anya:
Vengeance demon responsible for tormenting men for centuries.
On the plus side she really seemed to be into sex in her first
few seasons and remains the hottest of Xander's women.
Natalie
French: Xander's teacher had many good qualities. She was
hot, invited students over to her house and served them alcohol.
Down side was that she was also a bug and Xander wasn't the
only student she'd brought home for "dinner." A bug I can
forgive, but not one that fools around with other teens.
The Pack:
Xander and some punk Sunnydale students were once possessed
by the spirit of hyenas. The gang was responsible for killing
the principal of the school. While sex was never shown or
really mentioned, my own mind prefers to think there were
a few happy nights in the dog house.
Willow:
Xander and Willow never really explored their relationship
beyond friends but they did share a kiss or two. She later
came out of the closet and turned evil. Is there any one among
us that hasn't happened to?
Ampata
(Inca Mummy Girl): Ancient murderer and the source of the
line "His penis got diseases from a Chumash tribe." Any
date that results in a new disease is not a date to be proud
of. (Emails began pouring in about
this mistake almost immediately after this review was posted.
"His penis got diseases from a Chumash tribe"
is a reference to season 4 when Xander, on one of his first
day's as a construction worker, inadvertently uncovered
the 'old Sunnydale mission' and in the process of releasing
all the old vengeful Native American spirits, contracted
syphilis. I'm not sure why I got my wires crossed on this
issue but it's been a few years and I'm getting old. I apologize
to the collective Buffy fans. Instead, Ampata just tried
to suck the life out of Xander which isn't a bad thing at
all. -Michael)
Cordelia:
Beautiful, sexy and smart and not evil! On the other hand
she did once wish that Buffy never came to Sunnydale and created
an alternate reality where everyone died. I give her a C+.
Giles
is back to touching things with no explanation as to why
he went so long without touching anyone. Maybe he's never
been a touchy guy and I've just never noticed. Still though,
no hug for Buffy?
As
predicted, because it shakes up the status quo, Buffy made
the decision to remove Spike's chip between the end of last
week's episode and this one. This adds new storyline possibilities
for Spike to explore and should tie in well to the information
that is revealed in the closing minute of the show.
Two
things did bother me this week that seemed out of character.
First, a new Slayer in training arrives from China and speaks
no English. Giles plays the goofy American role of talking
to her loudly and making comical language mistakes. Subtitle
jokes have been done to death but they still get the occasional
laugh. I just thought Giles was more suave than that.
Second,
Principal Wood looks surprised when he sees Spike become
a vampire, but only a few minutes before he was looking
in his rear view mirror at Spike.
As I
understand it vampires cannot be seen in mirrors (according
to a recent Angel episode), so does he not notice
that the guy in his back seat is invisible? Maybe it has
to do with Spike's soul, but it stuck in my head nonetheless.
Next
week Anya dates Ja Rule!
Line
of the Week:
Andrew: "*Sigh* Captain Archer."
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