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Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Enemies

Giles: "Demons after money. Whatever happened to the still-beating heart of a virgin? No one has any standards any more."

Dan and I had a bet going during this episode.

He thought that Angelus was really back (and was pissed about it), while I was certain throughout that Angel was faking it to expose Faith. I simply couldn't believe that Angel's first act upon losing his soul again would be to kiss Faith; kill her, yes, but not kiss her. It also felt to me that David Boreanaz's Angelus was just what it should have been – like Angel playing a part very well, but not perfectly.

I liked the scene at the beginning, when Buffy and Angel came out of what must have been an extremely erotic movie and they were actually talking about their problem. Rub your nose in it? When Angel was pretending to be Angelus, he talked about thanking Buffy for sending him to Hell. Fruit basket? Evisceration? Was there truth in that? If they've talked about what she did to him, we haven't seen it.


Now we know that the Mayor is behind the creation of Sunnydale, and all of the bad stuff is going to come down on graduation day. Sounds like this year is going to go out with a bang. The Mayor and Faith make an interesting couple. I sort of didn't know how to take his constant fatherly attempts to interest her in the more wholesome aspects of life, like milk, miniature golf, and getting to bed at a decent hour. The scene in the Mayor's office was like a parody of a girl bringing her boyfriend home to meet her parents. "Try to have her home by eleven." It was sort of funny, but not, if you know what I mean.

Bits and pieces:

— "The girl makes Godot look punctual." Good line. Perhaps a little literary for Buffy, though.

— Oz is blond again. Better.

— Willow has gone through books Giles didn't think she's ready for. Funny to think of Willow as disobedient.


— It was fun the way Joss Whedon used Wesley to get Cordy back into the Scooby gang.

— When the demon was trying to sell the books of ascension to Faith, he mentioned the spines and the "slight foxing." "Foxing" is a rare books term that I first heard when I started working with the old stuff. It's those stains you see on the pages.

— This week's dog reference was Faith's: "See, when I was a kid, I used to beg my mom for a dog." This wasn't the first time Angel was equated with a dog. It seems to happen all the time.

Quotes:

Buffy: "I'm sorry. I just, I don't like getting you worked up like that. We can't actually do any of those things. You'd lose your soul. Besides, I don't even own a kimono."

Cordelia: "I have a paper to write for English and you're English, so I thought ... What? Is it so wrong to be getting an insider's perspective? I study best in a good restaurant, around eight-ish? Think it over?"
Xander: "And on the day the words 'flimsy excuse' were redefined, we stood in awe and watched."

Wesley: "Find anything?"
Giles: "Six course banquet of nothing with a scoop of sod-all as a palate cleanser."

Wesley: "Wait for Faith."
Buffy: "That could be hours. The girl makes Godot look punctual."

Xander: "Well, actually, let's just say I applied some pressure. Or more accurately, that I asked politely, and then, uh, okay, I bribed him."
Buffy: "How much?"
Xander: "Twenty-eight bucks. Does the Council reimburse for that kind of stuff?"
Giles: "Did you get a receipt?"

Willow: "No way. I know what you're thinking and no way!"
Buffy: "You're right. Faith would never do that."
Willow: "Faith would totally do that. Faith was built to do that. She's the do that girl."
Buffy: "Comfort, remember comfort, here?"
Willow: "I mean, please, does Angel come up to Faith's standards for a guy? Let's see, is he breathing?"
Buffy: "Actually, no."

Faith: "You want to listen or you want to die?"
Angel: "As long as you're there, I mostly want you to wriggle."

I enjoyed this one. How about three out of four stakes,

Billie
---
Billie Doux reviewed all of Buffy and Angel, so she knows the plural of apocalypse.

14 comments:

  1. The first time I saw this episode, when Angel kisses Faith I really honestly believed that he had lost his soul again. And I was shocked and probably gasped. It just seemed so strange to see Angel kiss Faith so passionately that I was sure he had to be Angelus. As the episode went on though I began to feel like he was faking it. Angelus just seemed a little bit too in control and going along with Faith's plan a little too easily. He doesn't seem like the type to have a boss or to be controlled, and by the time the reveal happened I had figured it out. But it doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the reveal when Faith realizes she has been played. Very satisfying. Faith really is so ungrateful for the friendship Buffy offered her and the joy she gets out of hurting Buffy really makes it easy to root for her downfall.

    When Faith told Buffy that she isn't ready to kill her yet, I immediately got flashbacks to last season when Buffy told Angelus she wasn't ready to kill him. Most likely intentional writing made to make you fear if Buffy's gentle heart might lead to the season's villain causing irreparable destruction like Angelus did last season.

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  2. Miguel - Just out of curiosity, is this the first time you're watching the series straight through? Totally not judging, I watched it first as reruns and thus have a totally different BtVS experience than a lot of people. Just wondering... ;)

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  3. No it'd not actually. I did start watching Buffy occasionally through reruns and with friends who really loved it, so when I finally saw the series for the first time straight through about 8 years ago I already knew about almost all of the big plotpoints.

    So this is my second time watching it straight through. It's been so long though that I'm really enjoying my rewatch and seeing eisodes and scenes that i had nearly forgot about. Obviously since I started on pace with everyone in the Buffy rewatch and am now in Buffy season 4, angel season 1. Self control is not my strong suit.

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  4. Miguel - I'm having a hard time sticking to the schedule too. Since I started this re-watch, BTVS feels like an entirely new show in many respects. Now my day doesn't seem complete without a Buffy fix! And yes, thanks to Billie for this.

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  5. SLIGHT FOXING! Sorry, I got really excited. I totally forgot about that line. Just like shwarma, it's a teeny, tiny Buffy reference stuck in The Avengers. Who loves Joss? We love Joss.

    Wouldn't a man as germphobic as the Mayor keep his dairy products refrigerated? That milk sitting out in a pitcher majorly grossed me out.

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  6. Good episode, I especially like the sting on Faith. It is chilling how well Angel can play Angelus, no wonder Buffy freaked out a bit. I'm glad it makes Buffy take a step back because the way her and Angel were behaving is just insane, and a bit annoying.

    I find it strange that I just can't stand them together, because as individual characters I think they're great.

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  7. Sunbunny, milk from evil cows has different properties than milk from good cows. Evil cows run at a higher body temperature, so their milk is best kept at room temperature to discourage evil bacteria, which--as we all know--prefer cold environments.

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  8. Because I think Angelus is more fun to watch than Angel, I like this episode. The first time I saw it, I believed he had turned and was angry that the writers had gone back to last season so easily. I should have had more faith (tee hee).

    I always see this episode as the beginning of the end of season three. Everything and everyone is being set up for the finale -- and it's being done beautifully.

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  9. This episode really makes me hate Faith. Did they go to far with her by making her delight in the thought of torture. I was so glad when Buffy started giving her attitude right before the reveal.

    I was really bothered when Faith seemed to assume that by having sex with Angel, she would turn him to Angelus. I hate how everyone seems to assume that sex causes Angel to lose his soul when it is really a moment of pure happiness that does the trick. I highly doubt that Faith could bring him a moment of pure happiness!

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  10. @Josie - milk from evil cows, bwa-ha-ha -sploosh - That's the sound of non-evil milk shooting out of my nose as I read that! This wasn't my favourite episode and I think it's because I have such a poor memory that I thought Angel had gone evil. Buffy gets tortured enough and having him turn again was just mean. I was already miffed by the time it turned out to be a scam and I understand Buffy's need for some time alone. I also wish that Faith wasn't as evil as she seems. I like Faith but a bad childhood isn't an excuse for torture. I could give her wanting the mayor as a father figure, source of comforts but torturing Buffy puts her in the truly evil camp.

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  11. I was torn on the Angel transformation, on the one hand it felt like a repeat and since Buffy has already had to send him to hell once it didn't seem like the stakes could get much higher. (Pun not intended, but I'm not sorry.) On the other hand, like ChrisB, I do think Angelus is more fun to watch.

    There were some nice bits of acting from Angel, Buffy, Faith and Giles that really made the twists in the story work for me. I even found Faith more sympathetic in this one which is a first. I'm really looking forward to the rest of the season now.

    Also, I love Willow:
    "Buffy, I too know the love of a taciturn man."

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  12. Jane, I am so glad you quoted Willow. That has to be one of the greatest lines, and I didn't even remember it from other viewings. I have a feeling it is easy to miss.

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  13. Again, another serious and funny episode of Buffy! There were so many parts to love.

    The mayor is so well written/acted. He's everything I hate about politicians with a little extra demon added in. sunbunnny, I'm glad you mentioned the milk because I was thinking the same thing. Of course, the candy dish should have bothered him too--all those strangers putting their fingers on candy you might eat! Ugh! :)

    I really wasn't sure about Angel/Angelus. I was thinking that he should have totally bitten Faith when he first was "changed" and it seems to me like the last time he had some memory loss immediately after the event, plus the whole story line was frustrating me (This AGAIN?!?!). So when I realized that it was a fake out, I was relieved but also disturbed, like Buffy. She's probably more worried about the whole kissing Faith thing, but I would have been more concerned about how easy it was for him to say all those nasty things to her...

    I also kept thinking that Faith was getting better (not great) but better at faking out Buffy and the gang, but I guess the gang (Buffy, Giles, Angel, and even the red-eyed demon in black) was still superior.

    Giles was hilarious, too. (I especially loved the virgins comment.) And I enjoyed the demon's respect for ancient texts but, as always, Willow wins. I'm glad her new found confidence has stuck around. I loved her conversation with Buffy where she was full of confidence and knowledge (which is usually the case, but this time it wasn't book knowledge but love knowledge). And even after all that, the best is the quote about "the love of a taciturn man." Thanks for getting it in there, Jane.

    Even without much Spike, I have really enjoyed season 3 and now I can't wait until graduation day!

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  14. >>> Willow has gone through books Giles didn't think she's ready for.
    >>> Funny to think of Willow as disobedient.

    Yeah, but then again - she's disobeying by studying more than she's supposed to. That seems like a very Willow kind of disobedience.

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