"Surprise," written by Marti Noxon, episode 25, season two.
"Innocence," written by Jos Whedon, episode 26, season two.
"Becoming,Part One" written by Joss Whedon, episode 33, season two.
"In fact, let's not talk about it at all. It happened."
"I don't understand. Was it me? Was I not...good?"
"You were great! Really, I thought you were a pro."
"How could you say this to me?"
"Lighten up. It was a good time. It doesn't mean we have to make a big deal."
"It is a big deal."
"It's what? Bells ringing? Fireworks? A dulcet choir of pretty little birds? Come on, Buffy, it's not like I've never been there before."
"Don't touch me."
"I should have know you'd not be able to handle it."
"Angel. I love you."
"Love you too. I'll call."
"So it was me. I did it."
"I think so."
"I don't understand."
"The curse. If Angel achieved true happiness, even just a moment of...He would lose his soul."
"But how do you know you were responsible for...Oh." (Buffy, Jenny, Giles)
"You must be disappointed in me."
"No. No, I'm not."
"This is all my fault."
"I don't believe it is. Do you want me to wag my finger at you and say you acted rashly? You did, and I am. I know that you loved him. And he...he has proven more than once that he loved you. You couldn't have known what would happen...If it's guilt you're looking for, Buffy, I'm not your man. All you will get from me is my support and my respect."
For me, this selection of episodes from the end of the second season of BVS speaks to a series that has found itself finally. It's truly funny, it's touching (think Willow and Oz), it's exciting (the fight choreography has gotten better and better), it's surprising (did anyone, other than those who already knew, expect Kendra the Slayer to die at the end of "Becoming"?), and it's uncomfortable and sometimes all too real. The Buffy we see now is a far ways away from the Cordelia-like figure in Angel's flashback (another neat turn, as the show spins its own mythology and history). When Joyce asks Buffy how was her seventeenth birthday, Buffy answers, "I got older," to which Joyce answers, "You look the same to me." If only.
As we said in class, the evil of these last episodes is not in monsters like The Judge, all too easily destroyed (and how does a one Starbucks town like Sunnydale have a port, an airport, and an Army base?), nor even really in the vamps Buffy keeps dusting. So...
1. Your reaction to these episodes, in particular "Surprise" and "Innocence"? What stuck with you and why?
2. Do you agree with my statement above, that the evil in these episodes is not in the monsters? If so, why? And what in these episodes backs this statement, in your opinion? If you disagree, why? And what supports your position?
Everyone write a couple hundred words. Feel free to quote from the dialogue above. Be as specific as you can be in talking about the episodes. Tomorrow, we'll finish "Becoming" and talk.
1) I really liked Surprise and Innocence as a two-part episode. I like they are both aptly named; Surprise referring both to Buffy’s birthday and the reaction to the event that happens afterwards, and Innocence referring to how vulnerable Buffy is against Angelus (Evil Angel). What stuck out for me in Surprise is the reveal of Jenny Calendar’s past because she does not seem to bring anything to the table, other than being Giles’ love interest. The realization on Giles’ face when he realizes what Jenny means in “one minute of true happiness,” and how that refers to Buffy. It stuck to me that Giles is almost like a father figure for Buffy.
ReplyDelete2) I agree that the evil is not the monsters. I think that the evils are jealousy (Willow of Xander/Cordy), feeling not good enough (Buffy), and guilt (Jenny, that she cannot restore Angel’s soul). They are all human emotions; emotions that only people with humanity have. When The Judge touched Angelus, he tells Spike and Drusilla that Angelus has no humanity. Now that Angelus lost his soul, again, he cannot have the human emotions. He will never feel the guilt of hurting Buffy and her friends, nor will he remember all the people he will kill.
I was just glad that the show had finally moved out of its twilight-esk phase with the vampire love theme and the ear-gratingly loud kissing. It was an interesting revelation that angel couldn’t hold on to his soul if he experienced “true happiness,” which I guess relates to the the classic message we get from TV, True happiness only comes from having sex. By the way, I liked the fact that the act of having sex is treated much more maturely than say on jersey shore. It was interesting to see that despite how tough Buffy is physically, she is still incredibly hurt by angelus’s actions against her emotionally. I also really liked how we got to see angel’s backstory like when he became a vampire and when he got his soul back and more. I can’t believe he was stalking Buffy even before she became a slayer. Can he get anymore creepy?
ReplyDeleteI think that the most impacting, most real, evil that we in the audience can relate best to is not in the monsters, its in the emotional torture and turmoil happening between the characters, mainly angel and Buffy. From purely a plot standpoint, the monsters are definatly very evil (I mean come on, destroying the world does not get you put on the “nice” list). However, this fictional, unrealistic, evil pales in comparison to the emotional evil/trials that Buffy has to fight against, from growing up, to dealing with angelus, to having responsibilities, and etc.These themes are the parts that the audience can identify with, and the themes are what the audience ends up taking away. However given if, for example, the master had opened the hell mouth last season, Buffy’s relationship problems with angel would have been the least on her mind you know since they’d all be dead. In this sense, I think evil does lie with the monsters.
1) I thought it was especially interesting how these two episodes; “Surprise” and “Innocence” took place in only two days and one night. So much happened in that short span of time that it felt like much more time had passed. I like Buffy’s attitude in “Becoming.” She knows what she has to do, kill Angelus, and she’s not exhaustingly dejected. While she is obviously upset, she can’t kill him at first in “Innocence,” she recognizes her limits and waits until she thinks she had the mental strength to kill him, she stays strong. She has become more mature, and we can see this in her response to Angel being turned into Angelus. It’s fitting that the most traumatic occurrences happen on her birthday because she grows the most in these episodes. As it said at the end of “Innocence” what matters more than the tragic event is how one reacts to it. This set showed Buffy’s resilience.
ReplyDelete2) Yes, I do believe that the real evils are not the physical demons, such as vampires and the Judge, but a dearth of emotions. Buffy isn’t that scared of the Judge and vampires, but she is horrified and hurt when she sees Angel, who is really Angelus, at his home, if you can call it that. He makes her feel awful about herself when she was vulnerable and needed security most. He doesn’t care about her anymore because he doesn’t have a soul again. She has no problem killing the Judge once they find the proper tool, but finding the proper tool to fix emotional damage is much harder.
1) The thing that I really liked about these two episodes is how in depth they go into each characters weaknesses appose to creating the plot around the whole genre on supernatural things. We see each characters struggles with relationships; both connecting with growing up as a teenager. Something else that I really liked is how Willow is finally starting to grow into a strong, young woman. Instead as hiding all the time, her character is trying more risky things and portraying herself as a much stronger character than from the beginning of the show.
ReplyDelete2) I defiantly do agree that the evil isn't the monsters. I believe the real evil in the show is life itself and how man-kind creates the evil. Think about it, becoming a vampire is a cycle. The humans and monsters conflicts between each other has really created the chaos in the show. Also, its the extreme emotions that we feel, and in this case Teenagers face. The internal struggles with finding your identity and love, and relationships with family and friends is what really creates the evil in the show.
1. I'm not sure if it is because of the large number of episodes that we have skipped but this seems like an entirely different show. It is no longer "funny" or "cheesy" but genuinely captivating and gripping. The issues are much more serious and their resolutions harder fought and more difficult to achieve. Furthermore, things are no longer simply resolved. The show does not consist of single episodes strung together to create a series, the battles that are fought are never really over. For the first time we have a constant villain who is forever a looming presence. As John said, the fights are much better choreographed, so smooth, in fact, that it seems as if it is getting harder and harder for Buffy to slay. On the subject of slaying, these past couple of episodes also begin to further muddle the difference between "good" and "evil." Buffy longs for the detachment to simply kill Angel but it is no longer that simple. These episodes also seem to release the tensions that have been building for so long. Cordelia is no longer just a stereotype and Willow's love is confessed. Each character because their own, not just a caricature of a high school student.
ReplyDelete2. I agree that the evil is not entirely monsters, even though monsters do play a part in furthering Buffy's problems. As we said today, the Judge, who in the first couple of episodes would have played a crucial role, is killed in a second. It is not the fight between Buffy and the monsters that captivates us anymore but her love with Angel or the relationship between Xander and Cordelia. The show is almost the complete opposite as it was when it first began: the vampires are now the backdrop to the larger issues that exist in Buffy's life instead of the "petty" teenage struggles being second to that of the Hellmouth. I think that one of the things that supports this is the fact that Buffy has sex with Angel. Not only does she trigger Angel's curse reversal but she has to explain this to Giles, Jenny, and her friends (as if it wasn't bad enough already). Although Angel's transformation is certainly an issue to us it is nothing compared to the emotional effect that it has on Buffy. It is the fact that Buffy, who used to be a strong (both physically and emotionally) young women, now is a teenager who is reduced to tears over a guy. It is the evil in the cruelness of Angel's words that really wounds Buffy, not his violent tendencies.
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ReplyDeleteI was surprised to see how dark these episodes got. These episodes were like Buffy the Vampire Slayer written by Slyvia Plath. A lot of the themes in this episode reminded me of the Bell Jar, for example, the whole idea that sex changes you and the fact that both Esther and Buffy felt trapped in their chosen life path and could see their other options in front of them and tortures them both. Joss Whedon is no Slyvia Plath, but I think the overlap in thematical content shows that there is definitely a universally felt feeling towards what is feels to be a teenager, specifically for a female. In this episodes I think the story pushes past the campy elements of the show that sometimes hold it back and gets to something very real and effecting.
ReplyDeleteI agree, and I briefly mentioned my thoughts above, the idea that in these episodes it got to the core of every issues that may have been alluded to in previous through tales of demons and vampires. These episodes explored the self doubt that plagues adolescence, and the quote above when Buffy insists that everything is her fault and Giles must be disappointed displays that. No one can be that confident and sure of themselves all the time, even if they do have as much strength and power that Buffy has. Buffy does have her flaws, and I think as the series progresses more and more of them are coming out and Buffy is having to confront them head on, as the well being of her community depends on her doing so.
1) “Surprise” was really created to set up all of the action that comes about within “Innocence” such as showing Oz and Willow interacting, Buffy and Angel growing extremely close by saying I love you, as well as Cordelia and Zander possibly on the verge of entering into a real relationship. Within “Surprise” I would have to say Willow and Oz’s awkwardly adorable interaction was something that I enjoyed very much. It really displayed Willow’s shy personality, as well as some of Oz’s, which we don’t know much about yet. Then in “Innocence” I found the part when Giles and Buffy were examining the rifle/big gun and Giles stuck up for Buffy wanting Ms. Calendar to go away very powerful. The fact that Giles would send away someone whom he is practically in a relationship with to please Buffy shows his love and affection for Buffy.
ReplyDelete2) I think I do agree with your statement and it is proven by the lack of action/fighting that actually takes place within these episodes. It is like you pointed out in class, the Judge was so easy to kill, it shows that the monster wasn’t suppose to be the vocal point within these episodes. Angel’s attempt at killing Buffy from the inside out by playing with her emotions is suppose to be the key point since the episodes show more of Buffy dealing with the pain of losing Angel. At the start of the episodes we see the love that Buffy and Angel have growing immensely to the point where they share an intimate moment and say they love each other, then we see the other extreme of the hatred Angel has for Buffy now that he is a true vampire again. These extremes mess with Buffy’s head, along with Angel trying to play with her emotions also.
My reaction to Surprise and Innocence … I have quite a few reactions just because there is so much going on.
ReplyDeleteBuffy v Angel arc: See, this is what happens when you have sex before you’re 18. Angelus is probably one of the cruelest characters in the show. He doesn’t try to kill her or hurt her using force. He just wants to play with her, and because they loved each other, he is able to hurt her very easily. Angelus even told Spike in order to kill her, you have to love her.
Xander & Cordy arc: Unhealthy relationship. Willow says “You’d rather be with someone you hate than be with me.” They don’t seem to like each other that much (the argument could be made that they hate each other), and yet they make out in broom closets.
Willow & Oz arc: Can I just say Oz is amazing? Willow really does seem to like him, but right now her thoughts are all confuzzled due to her past feelings for Xander and he gets that. She wanted to kiss him, and no doubt she truly wanted to for some time, but she wanted to kiss him then because she was upset with Xander. Oz understood that she needed to step back and evaluate. In that scene, he was probably the most mature and level headed of all the Scooby gang.
2. The evil, while enhanced by magic, is much more human than it has been in the past. A lot of the action seems to be of the mental of fisticuffs variety. Angel isn’t just summoning demons to kill Buffy and the gang: he’s hurting Buffy using her emotions. Likewise, she can’t just stake Angel (well, she won’t) because she loves him. There’s no big ugly blue guy to shoot a bazooka at this time.
1. In the episodes that we have been watching for the past two days have shown a more serious side to the show. Bigger issues are faced as Angel changes and the show grows darker. The conversation between Angel and Buffy that is quoted at the top of the blog stuck out to me the most. We see a very vulnerable side of Buffy during this conversation. Any girl could understand the feelings of betrayal and hurt that would come with Angel's words. I really felt the urge to slap him. Those words are any girl's nightmare, that after she sleeps with him he will leave her. This is a very human moment for Buffy even though Angel is farther from human than he has ever been in the series. Angel's transformation is at the worst timing for a girl's self-confidence and self esteem. This was a moment that any body could understand and feel along with Buffy.
ReplyDelete2. I can definitely see that the real issues of the show are not the monsters. Buffy was able to get rid of the judge with one blow of heavy army weaponry, but her personal problems are not as easily vanquished. She can't shove a stake into her problems to make them turn to dust. Buffy has to deal with adolescence head on. She acts as though she is tough and can handle anything, but in reality she deals with the same insecurities as every other teenager. Buffy always feels as though the burden of the world is on her shoulders and she blames herself when anything goes wrong. She blames herself for Angel's transformation and Giles has to tell her that she has his complete support. Buffy is scared and she doesn't want to admit it. Her vulnerability has been shown a lot more in this season as she grows up and faces the monsters inside of her.
1. I remember hating Jenny so much after discovering her role in everything. In the first few seasons I was a huge Bangel shipper and blamed her for everything. But now when I watch Angelus in season 2 I just feel frustrated with the whole situation. I don't agree with the curse, it punishes an innocent human not the evil vampire. There's not really a way to punish someone with zero humanity, once you add in that humanity it's a completely different person. I also love Becomings pt 1 because of all the Vamp 4 backstory. I love the old flashbacks, the 4 are all so badass and amazing. We kind of skipped over the Spike/Dru stuff, but the whole crazy-evil thing is why they are a perfect couple.
ReplyDelete2. Buffy has been through a lot already, and it's not over, but the most heartbroken I've seen her is when Angel talks to her as if she is nothing to him. It may not be her favorite part of life but it is true that for the past two years she has felt important, because she is. And Angel tore away the last thing that was occasionally good for her. The fight didn't hurt her but the words did. However, I still think the demon in Angelus is what's hurting him. To be monstrous is to be inhuman and that's exactly what Angelus is. The most dangerous demons in Sunnydale are the psychological demons. And much like the psychological ones manifest into actual ones, the the actual ones can create psychological ones. How literal everything is in the Buffyverse can be very confusing when it comes to bad and good, but for the most part the mystical bads put the human ones on pause.
1. My first reaction to Surprise and Innocence is just to feel really bad for Buffy. She finally let her guard down, tried to have some fun at her birthday party, tried to get closer to Angel, and it all just went horribly. It shows how she can never be really happy either; she always has to be the slayer, even on her birthday. I also started to like Giles more (not that I didn't like him before, I just like him more after seeing these two episodes) because he seems to understand Buffy's struggle a little more; when he tells her that he understands at the end of Innocence and early in Surprise decides that she should have a birthday party, even with everything that's happening. He tells her: "All you will get from me is my respect and support." This shows what a good person Giles is. I also like that we got to see more of Oz and Spike, two characters that I really like. Oz is such a nice guy, and Spike had some funny moments, especially in Becoming Part 1. I like these episodes, but they definitely take a darker turn and have some really upsetting themes. What Angel does to Buffy is awful and sometimes hard to watch. When he walks away and says: "Love you too. I'll call you." it's awful because he no longer believes it. While there are positive things in these episodes, the awful moments stuck with me more.
ReplyDelete2. I agree that the true evil in these episodes isn't in the monsters, like the judge, who is defeated pretty easily with a rocket launcher. They make a big deal over him, everyone's so worried, and then he's gone, pretty comically. The big showdown isn't with him, but with Angel. The judge is going to destroy the world, supposedly removing everyone with any humanity. But what Angel does to Buffy is what I really struggle with. He doesn't physically harm her as much as the judge could, but what he does to her emotionally is so awful, that's the part that's really hard to watch. The judge can talk about destroying the world and be evil, and it doesn't bother me that much, he's not the horrifying thing in this episode. Angel's evil and manipulation is truly disturbing, maybe because it's closer to real. The judge wants to destroy humanity, a sort of stereotypical movie villain goal. Angel's behavior is a more extreme version of what can and sometimes does happen in relationships. It's really sick and I think what he says to Spike about having to love Buffy to destroy her shows this. It's not the violence or dangerous monsters that endanger the slayer, but her own emotions.
1) As a whole, these three episodes were definitely steps up in drama and definition than its processors. The big parts include Buffy and Angel's night together, Angel losing his soul, and the death of Kendra. Surprise and Innocence, specifically, elaborated on the effects of losing virginity, and therefore losing innocence. In reality, the after effects don't really tend to be akin to losing one's soul, but it definitely changes the relationship of the two participating. I feel like the metaphor for the whole "losing your soul from the happiness of having sex" is there, but to be honest, I can't quite find its meaning. The themes so far have been pretty liberal, so the obvious translation would be odd to be valid. All I can really get is the fact that sex is a really big deal for teens. In Surprise, what I just mentioned probably stuck out to me the most. In Innocence, Oz and Willow's van conversation really got me. What got me was that Oz wanted to wait for the perfect time for their first kiss, and really wanted it. It's just really refreshing. In "Becoming", what got me was the fact that Angel couldn't move the sword, I've forgotten why, so I'm wondering now.
ReplyDelete2) I definitely agree with the statement, but I will acknowledge that the monsters are still evil, because on that shallow level, they are generically evil. However, the actions committed by Angel are the true evils of the episodes. Because we view Angel as "the human vampire", or "the human evil", all of his actions are amplified- when he kills people, when he talks, and when he tortures Buffy. This signifies the evils of our lives that are all too real- harming others, mentally, spiritually, and physically.
1. i completely agree with you that these most recent episodes we've been watching are so far from the pilot. we see Buffy, such a different person from how we first perceived her, seeming so grown up in her relationship with Angel. growing in both physical strength and emotional experience, Buffy appears to be more of a believable heroine. she's no longer the ditzy Cordelia wanna be, she's becoming comfortable in who she is and is allowing herself to be loved for it. also, Angel's commitment to Buffy becomes so evident though "Surprise" when he gives her the matching promise ring before he is supposed to go off to hide the evil dude's arm.
ReplyDeleteanother thing that really stayed with me through these episodes was Jenny Calendar's secret agenda. her secret mission to keep Angel under her people's curse leads to her urging the two young lovers to be apart. i found myself torn, not knowing whether to support Giles and Buffy's indignation towards her, or to beg them to forgive her when they find out her true identity. she was just trying to do the duty set upon her by her people, but she got too involved and attached so that when her concealed motive was finally disclosed, all her friends could see was her betrayal.
2. like i mentioned briefly above, Buffy has really grown up emotionally though these episodes. i agree with your theory that the monsters aren't truly the darkest evil, and as i mentioned in class today, things get so much harder for Buffy when they get personal. we see an example of the horrible evils of emotion when, before Buffy knows Angel has turned, as he toys with her emotions saying she "wasn't good [in bed]" and more things attesting to the notion that he never cared about her. even he knows that "the only way to kill this slayer is to love her," and he believes that if he can just get inside her head and toy with her heart enough, she'll crack and be his for the easy kill. little does he know that Buffy can hate just as strongly as she can love, although we see her inability to complete the execution (not without seriously hurting his...ego). although emotional attacks seem to be the hardest to counter, Buffy will learn and, as always, will prevail.
Relationships between the characters are becoming more and more complex, and that is why the show has gotten better. The characters aren’t one-dimensional anymore, as we are beginning to see them develop into many-sided people. Willow isn’t just the shy and awkward braniac like she was before. She stands up to Xander about him and Cordelia, and has the guts to ask Oz to kiss her. Xander is becoming more complex with his girl problems. He has feelings for Cordelia, Buffy, and Willow at the same time. And after Angel gets transformed back into a normal vampire, Buffy is depressed. What stuck with me in the episodes about the Judge was the scene where Buffy is about to kill Angel but doesn’t. I’m not surprised Buffy didn’t kill him, but I thought it was interesting how he knew she wasn’t going to kill him.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the evil is not in the monsters. If it was, than it wouldn’t be so easy to kill the Judge. The evil is in how much Buffy suffers because she is the slayer. The whole situation with Angel leaving while they were in love and abandoning Buffy is evil, and how she has to kill someone she was in love with a few days earlier. To have to go through that and be 16 is a lot more captivating for the audience than a blue guy with horns who zaps people.
1. The part that sticks with me most in Surprise is the ending, which leads us to the next episode with a real cliffhanger. It’s the scene in which the fighting is over for the night and Buffy and Angel return to his place, where they make love for the first time. After this, and once Buffy is asleep, Angel wakes up in a panic and runs from his home, appearing to be in serious pain and shouting Buffy’s name. These notable scenes are significant for a couple reasons: for one thing they show a huge step forward in Buffy and Angel’s relationship. They make a big decision that shows just how much they care about each other. For another thing, these scenes stick out because something is terribly wrong with Angel and until the next episode, nobody knows what. It’s always scary when something bad happens to a character you’ve grown attached to. Of course, the characters of BVS get into trouble all the time, but this is different: this is life changing.
ReplyDeleteWhat sticks with me most from Innocence is the unveiling of Jenny Calendar’s true identity: a gypsy spy sent to keep Buffy and Angel apart and make sure the curse her family put on the formerly treacherous Angelus stuck. This surprised me because Ms. Calendar seemed like such a sweet, benevolent woman with a genuine desire to help out Giles, Buffy and the gang. Although her true identity wasn’t exactly evil, it was still very different from who she said she was. It just goes to show that everyone has secrets, and even the most seemingly normal people might not be who they say they are.
2. Although the monsters were responsible for some of the evil in the last few episodes, I agree that they didn’t make up the majority of it. Almost harder to handle than the monsters for Buffy were her emotions. Never before had she felt anything for the vampires and demons she slayed. Now all of a sudden she has to go up against a man/vampire she loves more than anyone in the world, and that’s extremely hard for her to deal with. The episodes demonstrate this by spending a lot of time displaying the emotions Buffy is facing. The monsters, such as The Judge, seem easier and easier to kill, while her conflicting feelings for Angel just get harder and harder to deal with.
While the show has retained much of its lighthearted tone, the incredibly serious and morbid nature of the episodes we watched has continued to surprise me. Episodes such as “Surprise” display the conflict between the relative innocence of a teenager and their somewhat dystopian reality. “Innocence” captured a similar aspect of teenage life, although in a much greater capacity. Angel’s actions towards Buffy display many of the overbearing fears of young adults, particularly girls. Such fears are often exacerbated in the show, and serve to illustrate the impact that such actions have on young adults, regardless of their outward appearance, strength or fortitude.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the evil in the series is not found within the monsters. The show often attempts to depict the inward struggle encountered by teenagers during their development into young adults, and this struggle is often concerned with the near ubiquitous conflicts regarding self-image, conformity and discovering oneself. While the monsters often serve as the apparent evil in the series, Angel’s statements toward Spike in which he shares his discovery on how to defeat Buffy exemplify the superficial nature of the monsters in the series. Although they divert our attention from the incredible inward conflicts Buffy is facing, they serve as a reminder that many things, particularly in the teenage years, and not outwardly what they appear to be.
1. Surprise and Innocence both lose most of its cheesiness and humor for a much more serious and dark tone. The reason for this is the fact that the evil is personified by someone we as viewers have an emotional connection to and has weaseled his way into our hearts. Before this episode all the vampires could be killed without the emotional repercussions and vanish into dust without a second thought. But it is clear this battle has a much more emotional toll on Buffy. The most memorable part for me was Buffy’s conversation with her mom in which she says darkly that although she may not look older, the recent events have aged her greatly. They have literally made her grow up and see the world in a different, sadder way.
ReplyDelete2. While technically the fight may be between Buffy and a vampire, there is a much deeper fight between things that are not monsters. Surprise and Innocence tell the story of Buffy and the battle of love. She has to fight with her own emotions to kill the thing she loves because if she doesn’t, what she loves will eventually kill her. It portrays the struggle of a relationship changed by sex end the humanizing affect it has on her and the dehumanizing one it has on him.