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Buffy the Vampire Slayer: What's My Line? Part 2

Buffy: "I've had it. Spike is going down. You can attack me, you can send assassins after me – that's fine. But nobody messes with my boyfriend."

When we last left our heroes, Buffy was battling Kendra, Angel was trapped in an impending daylight situation, and Cordelia was about to get icked by the Bugman, coo coo ka choo.

Angel goes almost literally from the frying pan into the fire, or vice versa, and is tortured with holy water before Spike nearly sacrifices him to restore Drusilla to health. Angel tortures really well, doesn't he? Three gorgeous vampires, twisted sexual references, male semi-nudity, what's not to love?

This is the episode where the Angel/Drusilla/Spike triangle really takes off. I particularly enjoy Angel taunting Spike by implying that Spike isn't satisfying Drusilla sexually. It is interesting that Drusilla is into torture but Spike is not; Spike just wants to kill Angel. One must draw the line somewhere, I suppose.

Buffy sees Kendra's advent as her chance at a normal life, but later, Buffy realizes that Kendra has much less of a life than Buffy does. Perhaps this is why Buffy is more accepting of her "job" at the end of this episode.


Fantastic ending. There is a wonderful melee, Angel is chained up with his shirt off, everybody does a little slaying, Buffy and Kendra bond, and Spike and Drusilla are left for dead. At least until the end, when we see a rejuvenated Drusilla carrying Spike's broken body out of the church. Gee... do you think they'll be back?

Lots and lots of bits and pieces:

— Willow and Xander both have honeys now. Everyone is dating. Life is good.

— Buffy calls Kendra rookie, honey, percepto-girl, John Wayne, she-Giles, and my favorite, Pink Ranger. Spike wins, though; he calls Drusilla "my black goddess, my ripe wicked plum."

— Xander gets a little buggy revenge. "You and bug people, Xander, what's up with that?"

— Oz takes a bullet for Willow, which is an amazingly romantic thing to do so early in their relationship. Their exchange about the cookie animals is adorable. "I mock you with my monkey pants."

— Spike and Dru each carried the other during this episode.

— I really want to read that Slayer handbook. Either that, or get the t-shirt.

— There are 43 churches in Sunnydale.

— Kendra's watcher's name is Mr. Zabuta. (I'm guessing on the spelling there.)

— Buffy looks rumpled in this episode. Beautiful, but rumpled.

— Drusilla talks a lot about food. I wonder why? Does she really miss being human?

— In this week's hair report, loved Kendra's. And Oz's is now brown. Many of Oz's hair changes during the run of Buffy the Vampire Slayer were due to Seth Green's various movie roles.

— Obligatory dog reference: Xander to Cordelia: "You licked his hand like a big dumb dog," Drusilla says to Angel, "Bad dog." And Buffy warns Kendra not to watch the movie on the plane if it's about a dog or Chevy Chase.

Quotes:

Kendra: "We can return to your Watcher for our orders."
Buffy: "I don't take orders. I do things my way."
Kendra: "No wonder you died."


Xander: "Who sponsored career day today? The British Soccer Fan Association?"

Buffy: "Angel. He's Drusilla's sire."
Xander: "Man, that guy got major neck in his day."

Buffy: "When this is over, I'm thinking pineapple pizza and teen video movie fest. Possibly something from the Ringwald oeuvre."

Four out of four stakes,

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

42 comments:

  1. Kendra's accent is hilarious. One minute it's Jamaican, then Irish and occasionally Canadian. Along with Dru's cockney this was really the season for atrocious accents.

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  2. I still don't believe Dru's is supposed to be Cockney. It's so unlike any English accent I've ever heard, it may as well be German. Kendra's was another abomination. Why they didn't just hire actors with real accents is beyond me. Hardly anyone can do accents properly, and it's almost always a distraction. Mind you, Buffy without James Marsters would unthinkable. Oh, sod it... I forgive the whole lot of 'em. Now, let's get our plates up them apples and pears, so we can take a butcher's at me new trolleys and titfer.

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  3. Dru's accent seems a bit like Australian, doesn't it?

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  4. While Buffy was great in nearly every way, there was not a single good accent in the lot. Oh well -- just another thing to enjoy.

    The fight scene at the end of this is fantastic, although Cordelia and the bugs always makes me laugh. Love how the music swells when she and Xander kiss. Hilarious.

    PS - Paul: love the end of your comment! ;-)

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  5. Haha...looks like Sarah (Buffy) is trying to make sure Kendra doesnot watch 'Funny Farm'.

    I actually love how Oz is introduced in the series. In the last episode when Willow comes and sit near him, his expression is the perfect 'Oh its her. I cant believe it'. And in this episode the quote..
    WIllow: How is your hand
    Oz: Suddenly painless.

    They are adorable together...

    Minor spoiler alert... I am SO glad Spike didnt die in this episode as was originally intended!!

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  6. Good episode. I completely forgot about Xander and Cordelia pairing up. I like their bickering. And it's good for Xander to have a love interest. And Willow too! I love Willow and Oz. so sweet.

    Liked the ending also, Drusilla all back to being nice and strong carying Spike away.

    One question though, do they ever explain why Drusilla was physically weak? I know she's all mad and a little nutty up there (which is why I love her) but I don't remember ever getting an explanation for why she has been physically weaker than other vampires up until now. Is she sick?

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  7. Miguel, as a newbie, I don't think I'm supposed to be this far ahead of the rewatch, but when you see the first of a two parter, no one really thinks anyone could resist watching the second episode, right?

    Anyway, I thought Drusilla was supposed to be so weak because of the mob in Turkey (?) that supposedly killed her. I could be wrong though...

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  8. I love Angel, Spike and Drusilla together. Now there's a good idea for a spin-off series! (Well it would have been back in 1998, they've probably all aged a bit too much by now!)

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  9. There's so much I love about this episode I don't know where to begin... the only thing that bothers me is Kendra's accent which is very stilted.

    Dru's torture of Angel is hands down my favourite scene with Dru so far. I think this is because we get a glimpse of how the remains of her human side feels about Angel, how deeply the person he killed hates him and how much he destroyed her.

    'my mummy ate lemons raw she said she loved the way they made her mouth tingle, Her favourite was custard, brandy pears and pomegranates...'

    Her simmering rage when she tells Angel after he tries to apologise.

    'bite your tongue, they used to eat cake and eggs and honey until you came and ripped their throats out'

    I just love her weird and very old fashioned descriptions of her family's food preferences, talking of their pleasures in life effectively makes them more alive to the viewer. I also really feel for her, Angel wants to say sorry but its not something that can ever be forgiven. While I can't say I'm exactly rooting for Dru (she's a crazy killer now), I find it hard to feel sorry for Angel either.

    Spike demonstrates again that he makes good on bargains, paying Willy for coming through with Angel. We also learn that he was not into torture 'I'll see him die soon enough, I've never been much for the pre-show', unlike what we know of Angelus and now Dru.
    He's is visibly jealous when Dru asks to have time with Angel before the ritual, and with good reason as later on Dru's 'Shhhh.... bad dog' to Angel when he taunts Spike about being unable to satisfy Dru suggests that a part of her does not hate Angel at all... very twisted indeed.

    My other favourite moment is the exchange between Oz and Willow – I just love Oz, the way he drops the nicest compliment - 'you've the sweetest smile I've ever seen' - casually into the conversation about the monkey animal cracker is just so damn charming.

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  10. Like Annie, I love the scene at the end between Oz and Willow. He is so sweet with her and the dropped in compliment always makes me smile.

    The vampire love triangle is so much fun to watch. These three together have fantastic chemistry and it is easy to see the history they all share.

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  11. Pure buffian delight. So many witty lines, Xander and Cordelia's 2 kisses were LMAO (ya, put the OTT music to push the effect guys !); Kendra is cool, but I hate her accent.

    "Can you say stuck in the 80's?" "You hair is...brown." "Sometimes." "Was that a demonstration ?" "Kendra killed a bad light."

    I'm good !" You sure are Buffy !

    I can take that every "week"; pure buffian delight. Not lostian, but still very enjoyable. And they put a lot of effort in the final fight. Good stuff. Lots of smiling during the watch. (And I haven't cheated; waited 2 days.)

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  12. I don't mind Kendra's accent. I guess it's because English is not my first language, so I never know when it sounds off.

    It should be noted that "What's My Line 1 & 2" mark the debut of Buffy veteran and second-in-command Marti Noxon. I do appreciate her work on the show and think the disapproval (to put it lightly) she received from fans during the show’s run got way out of proportion. She’s a good writer.

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  13. Loved this episode for all the same reasons as everyone else. Buffy being stalked by a "police officer" was a nice touch. I guess law enforcement is really not for her - she is better working outside the law. It is an interesting question to think about - how would Buffy make a living after school? Or do slayers never live that long?

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  14. An ignorant American am I; never noticed Spike or Dru's accent fails. That said, Bianca Lawson's...Jamaican?...accent is TERRIBLE. I understand they were trying to illustrate that one needn't be American to be the Slayer, but, I mean, c'mon.

    This episode was good with some cute character moments. We have Buffy's jealousy over Kendra, the oft-mentioned Willow/Oz cuteness, the Xander/Cordelia smoochies (!!!) and some really great lines: "Two Slayers" "No waiting" Plus shirtless David Boreanaz. Everything is better with shirtless David Boreanaz.

    drnananmom - I think it's been established that only the rare Slayer makes it past 20 or so. Doesn't it seem like The Watcher's Council would have some sort of pension plan set up? They seem to be able to afford an unlimited supply of ancient books and tweed jackets.

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  15. Like everyone else, I disliked Kendra's accent, but thoroughly enjoyed everything else about this episode. This is one of the great ones. Spike, Dru, and Angel are incredible together. I especially noticed how much I loved Dru this time around. Normally, I am so impressed by Spike that I don't notice Dru as much, but during this rewatch, I am really noticing and appreciating her. Landau does a fascinating job with the character.

    Being a romantic at heart, I love all of the coupling up the characters are doing. Oz and Willow are the best! Xander and Cordy are a fun match, and the love Spike has for Drucilla is really touching even if it is creepy. I liked Buffy and Angel a lot here, too. Where was Jenny for Giles? I guess she is still pushing him away after her bad experience.

    There were so many hilarious lines in this episode that I couldn't keep track, but the one that really had me on the floor was when Spike said something about "Rebecca from Sunny Hell Farm and her mates"! That line gets me every time.

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  16. Ha ha, Sunbunny, I must be an ignorant Scottish woman then because I didn't notice a problem with Spike and Dru's accents either and I really should (okay, Spike's is a bit off in School Hard but other than that it never registered as a bad accent at all). I didn't know where Kendra was supposed to be from, so googled it yesterday and was surprised to see that many thought Spike and Dru to have bad accents.

    I'm happy to hand wave any accent discrepancies amongst the old vampires anyway, they've been around and accents tend to evolve, Angel's lost his (which is a relief because though his Irish accent was 'okay' it was not nearly good enough to be a permanent feature of his character).

    Kendra's accent should have been better but I'll take the bad accent over the message that all Slayers come from North America, its better to show Slayers in the context of the world rather than one nation.

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  17. I am compelled to mention that on a special feature somewhere, one of the producers (I think not Joss) says that Kendra's accent is actually perfect--it is the regional dialect of a sparsely populated section of Jamaica, and Bianca Lawson worked extensively with a dialect coach for the role. For what that's worth. :-)

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  18. hmmm, I think it is the delivery of the accent that makes is sound so off, it doesn't come of as natural, but forced, its like she's having to think about it too much.

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  19. Josie, I took the thing about Kendra's accent being from a tiny region of Jamaica as tongue in cheek, although maybe I was wrong. :) I remember hearing it, too, but I don't remember where. Of course, I've listened to every commentary on Buffy and Angel more than once.

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  20. I really loved this episode, especially the Dru/Spike/Angel moments. The final scene of Dru carrying Spike was awesomely foreboding...

    I also really loved the too brief Willow/Oz moment at the end. Even with brown hair, I still love Seth Green.

    I was actually a little confused with Kendra's origin story. I liked that she became a Slayer because Buffy died (even if only briefly) but it seemed like she had been training since she was a little child. Does that mean that Giles knew Buffy was going to be "his slayer" even when she was a little girl? Obviously once he met her it made since that he would adjust the traditional training routine based on her personality but is it because western culture doesn't accept the existence of demons/vampires that watchers don't get in touch with their slayers earlier? I'm glad Buffy has a life and friends but Kendra definitely showed the advantages to having a little more knowledge and skills. I really loved Buffy's jealousy and watching the two of them become friends and work together. Are they going to be pen pals now? I hope we see Kendra and even her watcher again...

    And in case my comments haven't clued you in, I think I've legitimately become a Buffy fan now. I was leaving my school yesterday and there was a piece of broken wood on the ground. It looked like a piece of smashed furniture and it was splintered and sharp. I picked it up because I figured it wasn't a good thing for curious little hands to grab but my initial thought was "someone could get staked with this..." Thanks for pulling me in and helping me get to awesome episodes like this one! :)

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  21. a.m.'s a convert! Yay!

    I don't know when it's stated or if it just becomes obvious at some point (and I don't think this is a major spoiler or anything), but the Watcher's Council appears to know which girls *might* eventually become slayers; there are always several "waiting in the wings". Which one is called seems to be up to fate.

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  22. We got a.m.! *cheer* *laughs evilly*

    It's definitely on the commentary for the ep that Kendra's accent was perfect. Whoever it was kidding or freaking lying. My grandma's maid is Jamaican and she has a very heavy accent that sounds NOTHING like this.

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  23. The audio on this video is TERRIBLE, but I found it oddly applicable to our conversation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZQCACRlCZU

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  24. Hey !

    Woah !

    Hold on ! Not so fast ! Take it easy ! Excuse me ! *cough*

    I'm converted TOO ladies and gents !!!

    LOL

    Seriously ? I REALLY love the scooby gang. And the witty dialogues.

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  25. celticmarc, you were converted a long time ago and I've been enjoying your comments ever since:) I was just trying to illustrate the moment when I went from being a casual viewer who was participating in this "re-watch" to someone who is thinking about the Buffy-verse in her real day to day life...

    And sunbunny that video was hilarious! "You're starting to go Irish!"

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  26. People don't like Marti Noxon? Hmm. She wrote some of my favorites and none of my least favorites! I don't get it.

    Kendra's accent is really, really weird, but I have grown to love it. Sort of like I have grown to love the sound of my boyfriend clearing his throat all the time, even though it is probably annoying to other people :) As for Spike, I was shocked when I found out that JM is not English. Shocked!

    Sunbunny, I have also always wondered why the Watcher's Council doesn't pay the Slayer. Maybe since they don't usually live to adulthood? Or, like Kendra, they are "kept" by their watcher. Or, most likely, it is because they believe they own her.

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  27. a.m. -- I loved your story about finding the "stake!" It made me laugh. I'm glad you're enjoying the show so much. For me, it is just beginning to hit its stride and the best is yet to come.

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  28. People didn't like Marti Noxon? I tend to think of the series as a cohesive whole. I don't really consider who wrote an episode in my assessment of that episode unless it's Joss or Jane Espenson. I looked up the list of writers last night and realize I love Tim Minear's work on Angel. Marti wrote one of my favorite 15 episodes but that's it. Still, hers are rarely bad and generally quite entertaining. In your faces fans from ten years ago! haha

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  29. The Marti Noxon love/hate thing, if I'm remembering correctly, was a season six thing. She was co-executive producer in season six because Joss Whedon was wrapped up in Firefly, and a lot of the more controversial season six story elements were attributed to Noxon. So if you loved season six, Noxon is terrific. If you didn't, voila. And I won't say more -- I don't want to venture into spoilerdom. :)

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  30. Oh well that explains it! I ADORE season six so I guess that makes me a Marti Noxon fan. :)

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  31. Re: Marti Noxon: Ahhh...The Controversy... no need to say more, Billie! I also ADORE season six, sunbunny. I can never decide whether season five or six is my favorite, maybe because I tend to think them as one "super-season" containing many of funniest and most emotionally resonant episodes of the entire series, in my opinion. But, looking back, Marti Noxon wrote very few of those.

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  32. Newbie report:

    Hey, good news for Buffy! She wanted a way out and now she's got it! Another slayer steps up. Let's see if all that angst was just a ploy for sympathy.

    Dru to Angel: "You've been a very bad Daddy." So this is the second reference that Angel sired Dru. And yet from other spoilery comments, I get that that is problematic?

    Um, tied up Angel is hot. Am I allowed to say that?

    The animal cookie conversation was so cute.

    "I mock you with my monkey pants."

    Yay Woz!

    So Xander and Cordelia are an item, now? Is she an insect or something?

    So Kendra teaches Buffy to embrace her slayerness because that's who she is. Yay! I hope that's the end of the moping and whining.

    The best part of the episode was Dru carrying Spike out of the burned-out rubble. Awesome!

    Anybody have any guesses on how Kendra got on an airplane with no passport, no identity and not even a last name?

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  33. Yay for the return of the newbie report! I was worried you'd given up, pucklady.

    Angel is always named as Dru's sire. It's Spike that's the problem; the writers weren't staggeringly consistent on who sired him.

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  34. I just got behind. I newbie'd part one, too.

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  35. pucklady,

    you won't be a newbie when we'll start season 3 !

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  36. Buffy newbie here. I was deeply immersed in Bones when the re-watch began so I've been marathoning this week to catch up.

    I tried to watch Buffy on my own last year and only got a few episodes in before giving up. When I saw your re-watch announcement I decided to give it a try. Season 1 was a bit of a slog, but you all were so encouraging that I kept going (also this is the site that convinced me to try Justified so I trust your judgement.) My interest has steadily built since the "Angel" episode, but this two parter brought me into the fold for sure. It seems like everyone has settled into their characters and the chemistry between them is really sparking.

    I'm off to watch "Ted" now, still a few episodes to go to catch up and really talk to you all. Can't wait.

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  37. Jane, you made my day.

    And season one is indeed a bit of a slog. We keep saying "it gets a *LOT* better" and I keep imagining newbies going, yeah, sure, I Robot You Jane, uh huh.

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  38. Guys, we caught another one! :)

    Jane - how weird is it to go from watching DB as Booth to DB as Angel? He was so so young and tiny in season one!

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  39. "I Robot You Jane"

    Sweet memories LOL

    What we can do when we forgive characters that we love.

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  40. "I Robot You Jane" - darn, I missed my chance to snag a clever user name.

    sunbunny - it is really jarring to move from Booth to Angel. Mostly because DB has really come into his own as an actor, imo. He was very pretty as Angel, but I like my guys with a little more mileage so Booth will probably remain my favorite - not so brooding.

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  41. My daughter and I have reached this point as of today. My thoughts so far: I like Ms. Calendar and I am sad that it seems as though she is being written out after being possessed a few episodes ago. I suspect she will be back but probably in a reduced role until disappearing eventually. I liked Giles having a girlfriend in her, so it made me very sad to see her distance herself from him.
    This two-parter was interesting. The biggest problems for me were that the Order of Taraka apparently was supposed to sound like really menacing bounty hunters, but none of them were very frightening. The bug-man was especially silly. All you have to do to kill him is step on him when he's in bug form? And no one thought of that already? I did like the police woman suddenly pulling a gun on Buffy, like a Terminator. That took me by surprise, which is always a good thing. I was glued to the TV during that scene.
    One thing I do have to mention, though. Watching this, my daughter said she thought Kendra was more interesting than Buffy and thinking about that, I have to agree. I would rather this show have been Kendra the Vampire Slayer. She was better-looking, tougher, and I thought a story of her starting all serious, constantly slaying and having no friends or fun, and learning to open up and be a person with a life would be more fun to watch than SMG constantly whining about how she has no choice but to be a slayer. No disrespect to Sarah Michelle, but I've never had a particular soft spot for her. She is okay in every respect, but outstanding in none. She is pretty, but not beautiful. She is tough, but no kick-ass. She is interesting, but not fascinating. She can act well enough sometimes, and other times, she is completely unconvincing.
    I know I sound really harsh, and I apologize for that. I am enjoying the show enough to keep watching it, but I don't think I'm ever going to be completely hooked on it. It really says something when I begin rooting for the bad guys over the hero, but at this point, if Spike and Dru (the villains) are more interesting than the hero, there's a fundamental problem. So far, Supernatural is better in every possible way.

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  42. JBA, I'll be interested in what you think of the rest of season two. :)

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