beginning | blinding torment | boils | lies | making me bitter | evil compounds evil | blah blah bity blah

 

 

 

 

 

Okay, that was about equal parts protecting me and copping a feel, right ?

 

season two   >  becoming 2

 

We pick up where we left off--Kendra dead, Buffy hovering over her, various people unconscious in various locations, Angel still alive and still in leather, Giles being dragged to the mansion and a police officer pointing a gun at Buffy. Buffy, pissed that the cops won't let her check on her buds, escapes. An APB is put out on our heroine as she runs in her conspicuous shiny coat. Run Buffy, run!

 

Buffy does run, and she does find a change of clothes, including the undercover accessory of choice, the stocking cap [and really shiny lipgoss! -SP]. She finds Xander in the hospital halls, and visits unconscious Willow. One would think the police would catch her there, standing out in the open like that, but maybe the hat threw 'em. Cordy comes trotting in, miraculously knowing where to find them all, and there are more hugs. Xander goes to call Oz, Cordy calls herself a coward and I find myself disappointed in Xander for not slamming her with a "running like a girl" joke like she slammed him in Go Fish, but I suppose it really wasn't the time for that. The eventually realize that Giles is nowhere to be found. Poor Giles.

 

want to torture you. I used to love it. It's been a long time. I mean, the last time I tortured somebody, they didn't even have chain saws.

 

Not poor Giles because he got knocked out again. He's used to that. Poor Giles because now he has to endure Angel's "I'm a bad ass and I love torture" schtick. Hasn't the man suffered enough? Basically Angel wants to know how to do the spell, and Giles would rather play with chain saws than give it to him. I am loathe to point out here that if they had just done this stuff at his apartment, the spell and the research, that none of this would have happened because the vampires wouldn't have been able to get in, so I won't.

 

I've had a really bad day, okay? If you have information worth hearing, then I am grateful for it. If you're gonna crack jokes, then I'm gonna pull out your rib cage and wear it as a hat.

 

Buffy can get in to Giles' apartment, and apparently so can Whistler, seeing that he's standing right there. In Giles' apartment. Being coy with Buffy and being generally useless and cryptic with his "what are you going to do" approach. Buffy leaves in disgust, and I can't blame her. If TPTB are going to continue to stick their noses, if they have them, in places they totally don't belong, shouldn't they at least send down someone a tad more useful, even if he is amusing, than Whistler? Considering they messed up and sent the little lust bunny her toy that is currently attempting to end the world?

 

Buffy's magical hat of non-recognition quits working just as she passes a police car. The policemen try to stop her, but lo and behold, Roller boy hath come to kicketh some ass. He doesn't want the world to end, see. He likes having his food deliverable and fast. He likes dog racing, for some unexplained reason… at least I think he likes dog racing. Anyway, he likes the world, thanks. And he hates Angel. So he thinks they should hook up. Spike warns her that Angel's got her Watcher and Buffy invites him over [let's be really clear here; she invites Spike, the killer vampire who keeps trying to kill her, into her house. And then leaves him alone with her mother.]. I guess we all should've seen where this relationship was going, shouldn't we have? But Buffy, still hating him, takes him to her house. Her mother pulls up, freaks out, refuses to believe that Buffy plays the skins in a band and sees Buffy dust a vampire.

 

She is understandably the opposite of non-plussed. What follows is a hilarious scene of Spike and Joyce attempting to make small talk in the living room while Buffy updates Willow on the phone. Who, by the way, has regained consciousness. I forgot to mention that. See, Xander confessed his love to the unconscious Willow after getting his girlfriend out of the room, Willow woke up and asked for Oz, and Oz walked right on in. How long you been standing there, Oz-y boy? Not long enough, apparently, or he mistook that teen lust for platonic devotion. Which it might have been. I mean, I took Willow's smile at Oz's forehead kiss for love before, and we all see how wrong I was there.

 

 

You hit me with an ax one time. Remember? Uh, 'Get the hell away from my daughter!'

 

So we're all conscious again and happy, except for Giles, who is being tortured by Angel. Buffy and Spike agree to back each other up when Buffy gets to the mansion and Buffy agrees not to kill Dru for some trumped up reason or another. I think it's because Spike gallantly says no deal without Dru and he promises to leave the country and its okay, since he'll be killing people out of her sight, and Buffy feels compelled to keep her promises to demons and murderers. I guess that's an admirable trait to have.

 

Joyce and Buffy get into a verbal rumble once Spike leaves [well, sure, because Joyce thought she'd cured Buffy of vampire slaying after institutionalizing her way back when. I wonder why we didn't see any flashbacks of Angel and Whistler looking in on Buffy in her straightjacket.], the gist of which is that Buffy's kicked out. Not really, but since she was going to run away anyway, this gives her more ammo when she comes back. Not that she used it effectively, but she had a lot on her mind, the poor dear. So she walks to save the world. Again.

 

Xander catches up with her outside of the Mansion with a rock. It's a noble gesture, my man. He also tells her that infamous lie which was lamely brought back up this season, the one where he says Willow told Buffy to kick Angel's ass when really she wanted Buffy to stall so she could try to restore his could again. Willow does the spell, she gets possessed by something and let's just pretend that that's what really happened to her character, sort of like in that Woody Allen movie where the boy just turned conservative because he had a blood clot cutting off the oxygen in his brain? Yeah, sort of like that. She's not a crackwhore, she's got oxygen issues! The thing possessed her and cut off her oxygen supply. She can't think clearly! And Giles would never really have told Angel the key to the ritual was his own blood, he was tricked! It all ties together…truly. Somehow. I assure you.

 

[No! It was Jenny who got Giles to talk. But she must have done it in a sacred, revered way, just as she came back as the First in a holy way. Since after all, ME wouldn't have her come back and do anything that would sully her poor dead character's name, right? ME doesn't do things like that. -SP]

 

So the soul is restored, but not before Xander takes Giles and runs for the hills or the longest fight Buffy's ever had against a single vamp that involved her dropping her stake and fighting like a ninny. Stake him and move on Buffy, you've got an Angel to kill. She eventually takes my advice and stakes the lame lackey. And not before Buffy finally gets to Angel, but too late, mon cherie. He pulled the sword. Now he must die. Restored soul or not.

 

They have swords. They fight. There is much leaping and shoving and taunting and then it looks like Buffy's beat. Spike really wasn't much help after all, he only took care of Drusilla, the bastard. But when the chips are down, who do you call? Buffy! That's right, you call yourself. And you kick your ex-boyfriend's ass. You kiss him and tell him you love him right before sticking a sword through him. And then Sarah McLachlan plays on the soundtrack and you slowly walk home, pack some things, leave a letter for your mother hopefully laced with things to make her feel guilty, don the overalls of sadness, check on your friends from a distance and hightail it out of there.

Au revoir, Miss Summers. Enjoy your summer.

 

 

 

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