Angel coming back at the end of S3.3 seems fast for Reactors, but for OG fans, Angel was gone for four months due to the Summer break, so it didn't seem so fast. Plus there was the contractual obligation of David Boreanaz being a featured actor in the title sequence, so they had to pay him whether Angel was in Hell, or Sunnydale.
I'm glad you mention that Faith is living in poverty. We don't get much information about her life before she was called, but I get the impression that poverty and deprivation is nothing new to her. Buffy has experienced a lot of trauma since becoming the slayer, but I suspect Faith never had a comfortable life to begin with.
I think Buffy noticed the details, her overeating, the crappy motel room... She has softened up to Faith, later helping her like an older sister when she was a bit hostile at first.
Lol I think you're the second reactor I've seen who has asked why there's a "knife" in Snyder's office. I guess letter openers are just absolutely ancient 😂
The lie Xander said to Buffy in 2x22 might also have led to Buffy thinking Willow wouldn't understand her in early season 3. Because she still thinks Willow would rather see Angel dead than with a soul again, because that's what Xander told her. He had his reasons and they might not all be selfish, but he hurt Buffys and Willows relationship with it in the long run. Buffy might have had an easier time to turn to Willow for support if she had known how much Willow was invested in giving Angel his soul back.
This one is a thing that's never really added up for me. Buffy KNOWS Willow cast the spell, because she saw it work. So she surely knows that Willow didn't send that message, because if she'd felt that way she wouldn't have still been trying the spell - at risk to herself. If she wanted Angel dead, she wouldn't have gone to the effort, let alone risked herself.
@@Ylyrra they said before Willow should try it as a last resort if Buffy fails. So, it is also a "let's safe the world" thing. And with that message from Xander, especially after Angels people attacked everyone, including Willow, it sure is plausible for Buffy to believe that is all it was.
Yes! I also loved Tyler’s comment about how the have both been through things but buffy has a lot of support structures around her (even though buffy isn’t leaning on them at the moment) whereas we see that Faith’s instinct is to be self reliant too rather than go to Buffy for help. I also like that when Buffy sees this in faith it makes her want to be open with and turn towards her support structures in being able to talk about what she went through with angel
Showing some love for Mr Trick (and his actor)! It mirrors Spike and Dru’s entry (also ep.3 but last season), with a more modern and fun vampire wanting to depart from the traditional, hierarchical vampires. But the show’s not retreading old territory, he’s completely different, very in his time, interested in using the modern human world to his advantage. The motif of BtVS vampires often being weaker for getting stuck in the past is also echoed in the vampire Faith dances with. Sometimes audiences miss how Buffy knows he’s a vampire, which is fair because she does have some intuition as a slayer and you could say it’s just that, but she also uses context clues that someone is stuck in the time period they were bitten. In the first episode she clocks a vampire because he’s dressed like he’s from the 80s, and in this one it’s because he is straight from the disco era. It’s a nice little detail in the world, which helps give some context for vampires who don’t pose much of a threat to Buffy, and ones that are more adaptive and so might pose more of a challenge to her. And it gives us a chance to see how individual personalities really affect what kind of vampire you get. Faith is also great, but that almost goes without saying.
The way Xander treats Cordelia in this episode really annoys me, and very much makes it seem like a one sided relationship. While she has changed and developed out of what seems like genuine feelings, I get the sense that she is just a placeholder for him, just a female he can be with until someone he really wants comes along, and at this point I started hoping Cordelia would decide she deserves better, which is funny given how much I hated that character when the show began. She really is a good example of how this show slowly develops characters throughout. Willow is another good example, as we start to see some shade to this character that was formerly only presented in a positive way, and that makes her seem more flawed and human.
Yeah, completely agree. It’s not surprising for his character at this point. He liked her more when she seemed more unattainable. The more she clearly likes him the more passive he is towards her. We’ve seen him kiss or and hold her hand so far in season 3, but it’s as if he barely notices she’s there most of the time. Cordelia is so much more than he deserves!
A recurring theme, I think, with Xander, is that he's not happy with himself and has fallen into the common (particularly for men) trap of thinking that getting into a relationship will fix everything. He takes Cordelia somewhat for granted not, I don't think, because he doesn't care about her, but because dating her hasn't made him feel like less of a fuckup and he can only conceptualise this as her not really being The One.
Something to keep in mind about Faith is that she’s clearly in a different economic class than Buffy. She lives in a hotel instead of a house she owns, she speaks in a working class Boston accent. There is a metafictional relationship with Buffy. Joss Whedon claimed his first draft of the Buffy spec script was titled “Betty the Immortal Waitress.” The recharacterizarion of the Slayer as an upper middle class high school cheerleader from Los Angeles appears to have occurred when he was updating the concept to sell to studios-to appeal to the target middle class teen girl demographic. In fact, some of Buffy’s more annoying traits in the film may have come out of Whedon’s resentment for how he was forced to change his protagonist. But what this suggests is that Faith is in fact more similar to how Joss Whedon imagined the original Slayer. In fact her story arc could be an indication of where an earlier version of the “Vampire Slayer” storyline could have gone.
I never knew that. Cool. I wish the show had more commentary about the working class being oppressed by capitalism. What a beautiful missed opportunity!
@@tananario23 No, but their families and parents do and that is a reflection of their economic status. Rich high school students live in really nice houses, in really nice neighbourhoods bc their family can afford that. Poorer or lower class high school students live in poorer area, in less safe neighbourhoods. It’s pretty basic common sense … 👀
I love Willow's characterisation here, because it's giving us such interesting, realistic shades to her positive, wholesome traits. She's a very capable overachiever, but the 'shade' side is that she expects quick progress and quick fixes. There's a quiet arrogance there that she knows best, and she has a tendency to make unilateral decisions or impose her will if she feels other people aren't doing enough, even if she doesn't have all the information. Don't get me wrong, I adore her, but she's absolutely flawed and I love to see that play out in these subtle ways.
She loves a quick fix and the other thing you notice in this episode is that she is not very comfortable being able to “sit with” the fact that Buffy seems to be in a tough space or feeling negative emotions. She is almost uncomfortable/ avoidant about feeling negative emotions.
@@kirrisolly-slade1313 When these episodes are watched back, there are so many character traits on display that fully inform later seasons that are kinda glossed over on a first viewing. It's why I don't particularly mind last episode on repeat viewings, I suppose.
@kirrisolly-slade1313 That's pretty normal, actually. The whole point of negative emotions is to avoid them when you can. At least with the exception of anger, which is more complicated.
I like that you said 'impose her will'. Buffy sometimes calls Willow 'Will' and names are important in this show. ('Buffy' ironically suggests a vacuous cheerleader, 'Angel' suggests great power for good or evil, and one does not have to be Freud to see the sexual and violent overtones of 'Spike'.)
I was going comment last video about how when I was 17 I ran away from home and that episode hit me personally. When I returned home after being gone 3 months I had everyone making me feel guilty for how i made them feel but no one really considered why i did it or how i felt. Soon after everyone acted like it never happened and we never spoke about it again. I would have loved to hear you lash out on the gang lol It was the only episode where I disliked a lot of characters and how they reacted. 😊
This is what we in the fandom have dubbed ‘The Active Slayer’. When Buffy died Kendra was called and she became ‘The Active Slayer’. No slayer has been resuscitated before. So while Buffy still has her powers the line has actually run through her to Kendra and then on to Faith after Kendra’s demise. Faith is one of my favorite characters ever in any series/book. Shes a complex dynamo.
or at least no slayer has been resuscitated and it's been recorded with two slayers then being active. Could very well have happened before - and pre-industrial era we'd have had big issues with information sharing.
Cordelia was Buffy's Shadow Self in S1, but Buffy outgrew her and Cordy's character developed into her own person. Faith is Buffy's Shadow Self in this episode.
Angel returning seems a lot quicker when watching via streaming vs watching it live and having to wait MONTHS for it. Also we had no clue he was returning so it was more of a shock
I remember being a little confused at the time as most people who followed the show seemed to know he was coming back / hadn't been written out both from the press and that he was still in the titles and had a cameo every episode.
Modern viewers have the luxury of binge watching. We had to wait at least a week and sometimes more. Today’s viewers can’t recreate to emotions created for us.
Was so excited to see your introduction to Faith! As usual, great insights on the metaphors and storytelling choices, she does offer a great foil for Buffy. I was also glad you caught the way Faith was eating might indicate she had experience going hungry. There are definitely moments dropped in this episode that hint at a traumatic past ("my dead mother hits harder than that" right before she starts beating a vampire to a pulp is another interesting moment). Can't wait to see what else you think of the character as the story continues 😁 As for Xander lying to Buffy, I completely agree he took autonomy from Buffy. I get frustrated with the narrative that says he was protecting her so it was the right thing to do. While it is entirely possible some of Xander's motivation there was to protect her (some of it was wanting Angel dead for his own reasons), it would be a controlling type of protection. Buffy deserves more respect than that, she deserves all the information and the opportunity to act based on that knowledge, she has earned that respect time and again. She's not a child that Xander needs to withhold information from to "protect" (and, incidentally, to push things in the direction he wanted from the beginning: Angel dead.) Xander also, earlier in that same episode had thrown Jenny's death callously in her face and Giles' saying she just wanted to forget about it to "get her boyfriend back", when from Buffy's perspective she was presented with the possibility of saving the life of someone she loves (Angel is not Angelus, Angel was essentially dead and Buffy felt responsible for that death), which she would have fought to the death for anyone in that room. And then, in this moment where he lies about the spell, he had the opportunity to take back his callous self righteous tirade and show Buffy that they were there with her... Instead he chose to double down on his preference of Angel's death. Some have argued that could have increased Buffy's sense of isolation, potentially contributing to the spiral that made her run away. Maybe if Buffy had known she had friends fighting in her corner with her that night, maybe she wouldn't have felt quite so alone. I think that moment was one of Xander's worst.
In terms of too soon, you might want to consider that you're 'binging' the show. For people who watched the show when it aired Angel has been gone for months at this point.
As much as I have some issues with Willow, I do like that she said "I'm sorry" when Buffy tells her and Giles what happened. As for The Lie - some folks think Xander made a strategic decision to not tell her the truth. But I think if he had thought about it beforehand, he would just not have said anything. He did start to tell her - and then changed his mind at the last moment and made something up, saying Willow said "kick his ass" - that's not something Willow would have saud, that's pure Xander.
In regards to you discussing Xander's lie. Xander is one of those characters that no matter how crappy he is the fandom will do mental gymnastics to justify his actions. Him lying to Buffy doesn't even serve the narrative purpose it was designed for. Buffy had already decided she was going to kill Angelus. The only reason they even tried the spell at all is because it was seemingly Jenny's dying wish. But once Angelus killed Jenny she's made up her mind that Angel was gone. Of course she was still hesitant because Angelus is basically wearing Angel's face. But any hesitation she had was gone after Kendra was killed and Giles was taken. Then Whistler was also involved. Like Buffy was there to kill Angelus, she knew what was at stake and he pulled that sword pretty much as soon as she got there. Xander lying doesn't even serve it's narrative purpose. (But please keep his lie in mind going forward. Seriously if you think it's annoying now.) Then think about Buffy running away. Despite everything that happened Willow was always on Buffy's side, and did her best to empathise with Buffy about Angel. Buffy knew she could always at least turn to Willow is she needed to. But thanks to Xander putting words in Willow's mouth from Buffy's perspective even Willow has no sympathy now. Had Xander not done that Buffy may have stayed with Willow or at least kept in contact with her. His lie wasn't about the greater good, he hated Angel the second he heard his name from Willow, and he hated him before he found out he was a vampire, so as you said his decision was very much rooted in jealousy. I also think its disingenuos for Xander defenders to use what happened to Jesse in the first two episodes as justification for Xander's behavious because Jesse is never mentioned ever again after The Harvest. Willow and Xander's best friend from childhood just never exists after that episode, so i disagree 10000% when people use Jesse's death to justify Xander's actions because neither Xander or Willow mentions him again. Xander has some good moments. He really does, but allot of his crappier traits just overshadow those moments, and it's frustrating because the pieces for a really good character arc are actually there had the writers actually addressed his negative traits. He doesn't need to be a perfect character, but the writers could have done so much better. Edit: as i know its coming. When the lie was told Buffy had no idea Willow was trying the spell again. From the way Buffy discussed the spell working at the last minute and the fact she couldn't possibly have known Willow was trying the spell again it left me with the impression she was talking about the first attempt at the spell before they were attacked in the Library. Also Xander legit could have chosen to just say nothing at all, rather than putting words into Willow's mouth and damaging Buffy and Willow's dynamic/relationship, he could have just not passed any messages along at all.
I like your comment about how things don't just go away (like Buffy's guilt over killing Angel). This is really one of Buffy's strenghs as a show, and certainly wasn't common in TV at the time: all of the characters' actions have consequences, and they are not just swept under the rug. It makes for much more compelling storytelling.
The title - Faith, Hope & Trick - has a double meaning. We are introduced to Faith, Scott Hope and Mr. Trick. Buffy has faith in a new ally. Buffy has hope for a future love interest. Giles plays a trick on Buffy to get her to open up about "killing" Angel.
Faith!!! One of my favorite things about this episode is to take notice of her on the dance floor at the start of the scene she first shows up in before The Scoobies notice her. Not all shows do that.
Regarding Trick’s comment about the death rate in Sunnydale making DC look like Mayberry: in the mid-90’s (when this episode came out) the murder rate in Washington DC was _astronomical_. I just looked it up: In the city, with the exception of 1995, every year from 1988 to 1996 saw more than one murder per day (reference: the “crime in Washington DC” Wikipedia page). I lived not too far from the city around that time; one of my memories from that time was leaving a club in a bad part of town late at night with some friends. There was a group of folks who I assume lived in the area sitting on a stoop nearby. When a car backfired, my friends and I turned to look. When I looked back, everyone on the stoop had dropped to the ground or taken cover; full fight or flight response. It was just the barest hint of what their lives were probably like on a day to day basis, and it (clearly) stuck with me.
In terms of slayer training, don't forget that Kendra said she was given to her watcher as a baby. Slayers mostly get trained from a young age so that they're already prepared if/when they get called. Buffy was an exception that didn't know about any of it until she got called.
Yay! Welcome, Faith!!! And welcome back, Angel! That's some way to make an entrance XD I love how Giles has been handling things. Last episode, he was the one who understood that Buffy would be more comfortable in a more intimate setting, and he was the one standing up to Snyder. And here, he found a way to get her to talk, without pushing. He's the best dad. Since we're comparing Buffy and Faith, I like to point out that Buffy was also beating a vamp to a pulp in "Ted", and it was Giles telling her that it was time to stake him. They really are very similar.
In my experience of working at my local movie theater, whenever someone asked me, "Just give me a diet soda" it meant, "Whatever diet soda you have is what I want." So they don't care if it's diet coke or diet Pepsi, they just want whatever the diet one is. Like diabetics know they're having a diet soda, most places don't carry both diet coke and diet Pepsi, so whichever you have, they'll take.
This season is wild. From the first episode to how it progresses to the last. By the last episode these first 3 seem so far away. This is one of my favorite seasons. I have said before that i don't know how you can not binge it. I've seen the whole series about 8 times and i still have trouble stopping it between episodes. Although i enjoy your take on it through the eyes of how things are now. Taking care of mental health wasn't as big in the 90s. But misogony was. That high school boy trope. With the acception of a few things Xander was hilarious in the 90s. His jealousy of angel, the nudity comments, all of it was funny. Just like american pie. That movie was hilarious back then and now hmm not so much. So much of it was so wrong. These boys got away with so much just because they were "boys being boys".
15:41 love how willow doesnt raise her hand and just grins 😊 17:42 love your thoughts here. For characters who have shown a lot of empathy in the past, willow and xander really are brushing past buffy's trauma in the last ep and this one, and it's frustrating. Willow comes around and you can see she's guilty about it after the reveal in the end. Lets hope xander has this turning point, too.
I believe that Angel being back so soon was studio interference, for one he was popular among the audience and also they had to pay him so just as well use him (or choose not to pay him and have him leave to do something else). Then it also fits so well in that the moment Buffy is about to let go of that trauma he immediately comes back to light that flame again. Also and I'm not seeing this as a spoiler since it is never mentioned in the show itself, Buffy had to watch her first watcher commit suicide to protect her (or he had been turned and spilled the beans) some time before we see her in S1x01.
The read on Faith/Buffy this episode is actually one of Buffys privilege and Faiths lack there of (Faith devouring the food when no one's looking, talking about her dead mother nonchalantly, having to scrape by in the dingy motel where the owner is trying to trade sexual favors to allow her stay, etc)
Yes and no. That's all absolutely true but I think the episode is focused on neither Buffy or Faith really knowing what the other has been through and so they're both jealous of the other one.
They had to bring Angel back pretty quick because David was still full-time main cast and they did about enough dream sequences. Otherwise, they could have waited to bring him back probably when you least expect it. Like they may or may not do with other guest stars on the show. 🤔
Originally Angel was supposed to be in the hell we saw in the premiere episode Anne. Buffy didn’t save him. Then months later her comes back somehow. But days were years. Months…like 8….is a lot of years!!
They rarely ever try. At some points Willow does but only occasionally. Xander never tries to see Buffy as anything other than his prize (he'll never get). Her emotional well-being/ psychological health not high on his male-dar. And not JUST because he a kid/teen. It's his whole outlook on life. He hides from "drama" & lashes out if it affects him even a little.
Thanks for elaborating on the last episode. I expected you to get into it more at the time but I guess you didn’t want the video to be too long. I knew that you didn’t approve though, for sure. I wonder if the way Buffy’s friends talk about their experiences all cutesy or for the sake of the audience (Scooby Gang stuff) and that when writing the zombie episode it just didn’t occur to anyone how messed up their treatment of Buffy was. We didn’t talk about victim blaming back then and behaviour like that was more normalized, unfortunately. I think the writers don’t see the connection and how it reflects on the character of the “Scooby Gang” … buts it’s not the first time something like this happens in the show and the audience is basically gaslighting into believing it is okay. “ANGEL BUTT ON SCREEN” 😂😂😂 Agreed, same feeling lol.
That episode pissed me off, her friends and her mom too were kicking her down when she was already mentally destroyed. Giles was the only one who treated her with kindness. At the end of the episode Willow jockingly tells Buffy that she has to work for her forgiveness and Buffy agrees. The way they treated her was the cruellest I've seen them be and then it was like nothing happened. No wonder she didn't confide in them.
Absolutely agree about Xander, he removed Buffy's choice and it wasn't from a place of genuine concern, it was his typical jealousy. Again, I realize he is supposed to be a teenager but he pulls the "But I'm the nice guy" shtick while always choosing selfishly. Its okay for him to make stupid choices (Bug teacher, Inca Mummy Girl, Love Spells) but no one else. He cannot step outside of his selfish wants to see others points of view, especially the women in his life. Also it really bothers me how everyone treats Buffy like she is a downer, like look how much death she has to see on a daily basis, how the hell do you do that and remain perky? I don't even know how doctors and nurses do it. But we weren't really talking about trauma, ptsd, and mental health as strongly in the late 90s as we do now. At the end of the day even though Willow, Xander, and Giles are adjacent to it, they still do not have the burden of her fate. They can technically move away and have lives elsewhere. She can never stop being the slayer unless she dies. How do you remain upbeat with that knowledge? Then she had to kill her bf, her first true love, her first person she was intimate with. Like I think she earned being a bummer for a bit.
Early season three seems to deliberately push how far Xander and Willow can be oblivious to others' feelings without making the characters unsalvageable; there are multiple moments where they almost come across as the real antagonists, at least on an emotional teen-drama level. Their self-centredness is very close to being out-of-step with the broadly selfless characters we met in season one, but I think there's an interesting thread to tease out about how these two former losers adjust -- sometimes badly -- to the first taste of acceptance, love, and power they experienced in season two during the ongoing Angel crisis. Buffy has been forced into very adult experiences since the age of 15, culminating in working to support herself and make rent in LA amidst trauma and grief. Cordelia and Oz are also kids, but their personalities notably don't lead to the almost absurd levels of buried resentment and obliviousness that Xander and Willow exhibit in some of these episodes. The fanbase sometimes speaks of "Buffy vs. the Scoobies" but it really tends to be Buffy vs. Xander-and-Willow with the significant others getting dragged along for the ride and Giles observing from the perimeter with various levels of approval.
It's a TV show, Boreanaz is in a main role for the season, he's in the credits in every episode. Not hiring him back for a whole season would be the same as firing him. Episodes 1 and 2 he appears in dreams. How many more episodes can he appear in dreams without getting boring?
I know you are far from done with Buffy, and you have other shows on your plate but your insight and analysis of themes and such is so great and I think you would have an incredible time with Hannibal. It is gory but so cinematic and thought-provoking. It would be incredible to hear your thoughts on the show
re: Xander's comment: agreed it was selfish and damaging to the group's bond, but of the variables you talk about, one of them was that we didn't know the spell was going to work at that point. Buffy had to go in whole hog regardless.
Fantastic analysis and reaction. It’s a first time with Faith and it will be a pleasure to listen to your reactions to the Faith and Buffy experience. On your call back to Xander and what is called The Lie In Becoming, Part 2. It’s not an action to have an answer but to be the bookend to the eternal question that is … Are all lies immoral? Can there be any moral lies? Who defines that a lie is justified and who defines justification? The journey for Buffy is not just physical but also emotional and mental. Starting in Lie To Me and to Xander talking to Buffy before the final battle, the concept of truth, lies, and deception of reality by falsehoods was one of the foundations of Season 2. In Lie To Me we were presented choices with no defined answers. The Xander lie is the bookend to the debate that has been going in Western Civilization since The Enlightenment. The motivation for Xander is not the reason but the examination of the morality of the lie. In its most simple… are all lies immoral? If a lie is moral, why is it morally correct? If an immoral action causes a moral outcome, then is morality outcome based or universal truth based ? So The Lie, how the Buffy fandom calls it, has answers based on the individual and their beliefs in if truth is constant or can change to fit the desired outcome.
It's funny but I didn't realise Angel came back so early in the season. I could have sworn this episode was like number 5. Thing I would point out though is it felt a lot longer. Having the time gap between the end of season 2 and season 3 airing, although only about 20 days for us, we had a bit longer with Angel being gone if that makes sense? Regarding Xander telling Buffy vs not telling her? I still say he did the right thing, but for predominantly the wrong reasons. I hated him at that moment first time around. It's only afterwards looking at it objectively that I can give him a modicum of credit and say it was the right thing to do. "She could have fought defensively, she couldn't have fought differently" yes, but the idea was to stop him from awakening Acathla. Now here's the deal, Buffy is still dealing with the underlings when Angel king Arthur's the sword and starts the /inevitable/ awakening of Acathla. When she starts the fight with Angel, it is already too late and his fate is sealed... hmm, now I'm having second thoughts. Would she have still fought aggressively and in the same way knowing that as soon as the sword was pulled, she had to kill him? Would knowing there was a chance and it had just gone make her better prepared mentally for what she had to do at the end as she would know it could happen at any point in the fight? Or would it have crushed her? Seeing that hope of a happy outcome vanish with her knowing there was nothing she could do, and the realisation she has to now kill him hitting her whilst she is still fighting for her life? Perhaps that realisation hitting at the end of the fight was still the best time for it. Dammit Xander. With Willow though, I'm not so sure that look of guilt was at the part she'd played in causing Buffy to kill Angel instead of Angelus. I think it was guilt at the realisation that she's been giving Buffy a hard time without fully understanding the traumatic experience Buffy went through killing Angel. She had been dealing with Buffy from the perspective that she'd had to kill Angelus, which is tough sure, but no where near as tough as having to go through getting Angel back and having to kill him. I think to give Willow some credit, had she known this then she wouldn't have been pushing Buffy to be happy again.
Not Xander's call to make. That's ALL it comes down to. He was asked to relay a message. He can choose not to carry the message, that's his choice and his right. It is NOT his place to change someone else's message. It NOT his place to decide what Buffy does or doesn't need to know in a fight to the death. The reasons, whatever they are, don't change that. The results, whatever they are, don't change that. You rob someone of agency, you aren't their friend. You change someone's words, you aren't their friend. If you pretend to be their friend after doing those things to them, without them ever knowing, you aren't their friend. Pretending to be people's trusted friend when you aren't and you've betrayed that trust makes you not a nice person. It's really really simple. Anything else is a reach, and even that is patronising AF and saying "Xander knew better than Buffy", because y'know, CLEARLY he knows more about being a slayer than she does, because...? Xander is either afraid Angel will come back and he'll never have "a shot at Buffy", or charitably he's worried she might not "have what it takes" to kill Angelus because of her feelings for Angel, and she proves him wrong by results, because she's willing to even kill Angel to do her job. He wasn't just wrong to not give her the choice, he was wrong about what she's made of.
@@Ylyrra Wow, that felt personal. For the record, it is possible to lie to a friend out of love. When I was a lot younger, I told my best friend I liked them, just after they started seeing a mutual friend. It caused her pain and confusion at a time she should have been excited and happy, so I told her it was just the shock and a pang of jealousy at not seeing her so often. "I take it back, forget I said anything, I'll be fine". I wasn't fine, it wasn't shock, but hearing the relief in her voice as she asked if I was sure and then thanked me? Yeah, I made the right call to lie to her. Your analysis at the end is missing option three and four. 3, Xander didn't want to burden Buffy with false hope and so chose not to tell her. 4, Xander's hatred of Angel and desire to see him killed for the things he did as Angelus is what motivated him to not speak. You're breaking it down to Xander being jealous or Xander not believing in Buffy's ability. That's two very negative options which don't really fit imho. ****SPOILERS**** Honestly? I think it was option 4 which made him choose not to tell her, but with some of 3 thrown in to justify it to himself. The only time this is referenced again is later on when it is Xander trying to protect someone who has blood on their hands, it's used as a mirror of how it's only ok to put down a murderer if Xander wants justice against them, otherwise "it's complicated". But I still say he did the right thing, just not for the right reason.
@@Marwolaeth01 Hate to break it to you, but the relief you heard in your friend's voice was relief at not having to deal with you putting your emotional labour on her to sort out, or that you weren't a complete psycho about it. Your story is all about you. That's EXACTLY Xander's problem, he's putting his needs and wants first, and dressing it up as doing it favours for other people. The HONEST thing to do is say "Uh yeah, sorry for the inappropriate timing, I should have kept my mouth shut. I do have a thing for you, now isn't the time, it's my problem to sort out but I'm just explaining in case I seem a little weird while I deal with my head in making sure I treat you as a friend only." But sure, tell yourself for however many years that you did her a favour by telling her a lie she knew was a lie and accepted because it was the only palatable option you left her where she didn't have to worry that you might be one of those guys who turn nasty.
@@Ylyrra no wait, I’m meant to tell her the whole truth and let her have agency aren’t I? There’s no excuse ever to lie to a friend. I hope you realise you come across as a very “men are toxic” person? You gave Xander only two terrible reasons which scream of bias. And of course my story is about me. It’s a story about my life! That’s why I know the only reason I told her in the first place was because she was telling me about her and “Bob” and that she wasn’t sure if she was doing the right thing, and that “hey isn’t this crazy but over the last few months I thought I was developing feelings for you”. To which my response was I wish they’d been real. That resulted in a brief conversation where she wanted to know if I meant it, the second conversation came a few hours later when I wasn’t stuck at work and she’d had time to get herself worked up over it all. So sorry but not some psycho who threw his issues at her at the wrong time. Life isn’t black and white. And we’ve been friends for over 20 years. We have discussed that night a few times and so I know what she was thinking at the time. Or at least what she says she was thinking, unless she lied to me to spare my feelings? And you know what? If she did then that’s ok, because that’s what friends do sometimes.
Faith Hope & Trick a pivotal episode with the introduction of Faith many fans absolute favourite from the entire Buffyverse. Some great scenes in this when Faith says 'don't you find slaying makes you really hungry and horny' and all the Scoobies turn to face Buffy. Faith is of course totally different to Buffy in being outgoing and streetwise and sexually overt, and we can see Buffy's jealously in the gang engrossed with Faith's stories. The Mayor is was mentioned first in S2, but we had not seen to this point. We see Faith's propensity for pure violence when needlessly pummelling the vampire when Buffy needed help, a trait of her character. At the end we see Buffy place The Claddagh Ring on the spot Angel was killed, and he is restored from Hell. It only gets better and better from here, this is a great Season.
Hi! :) Love your reactions! This may come from out of nowhere but if you ever do another movie again soon, I would really love to see your reaction and analysis of "The Sixth Sense" from 1999 if you haven't already seen it! Love from Sweden! :)
Would like a comic book scene of a flashback of Joyce thanking Xander for saving Buffy’s life. I think it could be really sweet. And a bit awkwardly funny.
Buffy does a lot of "this should have been at least a half-season, but we'll do it in an episode" (Angel's return, Anne, Kendra), especially in these early seasons. I'd complain about it, but I like the show as a whole package enough that it makes sense to me.
I think that the people of Sunnydale get over things quickly, overall. Plus the gang is beyond happy to have their friend back. Annnd I also think that the big issue in last episode is, too true, the gang was lashing out, but also there seemed to be a wall between Buffy and the gang.. both sides lashed out in the last episode (Buffy mostly rightly so as she was on the receiving end) but whatever the root, it helped them move passed that hurdle. Like you said though, Willow and Xander seem to be pushing the issue. Lol
Love your commentary as always! Wonderfully insightful and please don't feel like you need to hold back on moments when the characters are frustrating you. Especially with regards to the gang's behavior in this and last episode, anger is deserved. It was out of line and deeply upsetting. Also if you want to check out a highly entertaining and deep analysis of the show, you may want to watch the passion of the nerds episode guide. Lots of fun by itself but he also does a lot of deep research into the show that I think you'll appreciate.
Reminder, in 3-1 Lily’s boyfriend aged almost 100 years in hell in one day our time. And Angel has been gone around four months our time (13 weeks of the summer plus this is week 3 of the fall, so 16 weeks), so 16 x 7 days = 102 days x 100 years = so Angel had spent around 10,200 years in hell (if my math is right, and Angel’s hell has the same time frame as Buffy’s hell in 3-1). How would your sanity be after being tortured 10,200 years in Hell?
Except there's multiple dimensions, and there's no universal time rate change as far as we know. That is a pretty big assumption on the time rate, I think it is more likely that each dimension has its own time rate. Spoilers... If I recall correctly, Giles mentions the possibility of centuries. Meanwhile, in Angel, we will have two other examples of different dimensions with other time rates. Lorne's home dimension appears to be very close to our dimension's time flow, as about the same amount of time seems to pass there as in LA. And then we have a dimension where a baby is taken into another dimension and comes back weeks later grown to a teen - clearly time passes faster in that dimension, but it is some number of weeks turning into years - that's way different than a day turning into decades. So we actually have no idea exactly how long Angel was gone. Angel hasn't told us, and he'd be the only one who knows.
Multiple slayers must be trained while the actual Slayer lives, then one of the trainees is called when the Slayer dies. There has to be a buffer system to the slayers, otherwise you'd have to wait a decade or more before you get another Slayer, right?
Great reaction, as usual. I appreciate your honesty about what you do and don't like (e.g. Angel coming back too early). Some reactors pretend they like everything, which can feel a little bit fake.
Assuming buffy and faith are the same age ,which i think they are. I don't think they actually say. But you're right buffy has been through a lot. She was 15 when she was tapped and faith was 17 or 18. Buff has years on her. Not just angel but the master and dying in season one. Plus everything that happened before sunny dale. She grew up way too young.
they never mention Faiths age anywhere so it have always been an item of discussion, some fans even see Faith as being older than Buffy. Interestingly however Eliza is 3 years younger than Sarah and we see Faith being called 3 years after Buffy so IMHO she is 2-3 years younger than Buffy but play/pretending to be older (like she does with so much else). Spoilers below so beware. There is also the issue with what happens in Helpless that shows that Slayers are not called at or above 18 since that ceremony is done IF the Slayer survives to be 18. So my guess is that Slayers are called at 15 or 16 at most.
I think Faith's 17. That was Eliza Dushku's age at the time and without going into details due to spoilers, a later episode implies she's under 18 and younger than Buffy.
@@Henrik_Holst that's true but in one with kennedy she says she's 20 as a potenial. Maybe just a plot hole? I still think faith is supposed to be around 17 like buffy at this point.
Sorry if im being annoying since I asked this once already, I promise it’s the last but are you planning on watching Gingerbread again here? I’d be ok with you just rewatching on your own and giving us a recap of if your feelings on the ep have changed, but of course it’s on you
I don't think everyone was insincere in their feelings towards Buffy last episode... they felt that she had "ruined their lives"... but they've had months of healing from that pain and hurt, they were angry last episode, and probably more angry at the hurt being brought back from where it was healing. So they've bounced back because they were merely reliving the trauma, not still experiencing it. To them it's "ok, we had an argument, we fixed things, we've moved on", but not for Buffy. Also it isn't just that it isn't healthy for things to "go back to how they were" but that they *can't*... they've all moved on, and Buffy missed all that. She doesn't fit back in the hole they're making for her because she's not the same shape, but also because the hole they're making isn't the same shape. It's really good writing. Please do keep ragging on Xander, your reasoning is always spot on, and please do keep pointing out that the apologists are wrong, why they're wrong, and that they're being wilfully obtuse about it. His behaviour isn't ok. You don't ever "protect" a woman by denying her agency, that's just infantilising someone.
To explain to you ... Buffy has died.. so she is not THE slayer.. is "just" a slayer.. when buffy dies no other slayer will come after her.. when faith dies.. a new one is chosen.. so basically she is not even The slayer in the slayer show .. xD
I disagree about Xander. I realize he was wrong in lying and thatcher did put himself first and take Buffys autonomy away. I'm on board with that, but I don't think he meant up with Buffy with the intent to be deceptive. His performace tells me it was a split second decision he made to lie, most likely out of fear and worry for Buffy's safety. I don't think he had time to really think through in the moment that he wanted Angel to die (even if he had said as much earlier). I think the truth is, that Buffy was safer not stalling. I think stalling honestly, could've have gotten her killed. Also the portal was opening so after Angelus triggered the portal no amount of stalling would've changed the outcome, only make it more dangerous. At the end of the day, I don't even think Xander wants Angel to die, he thinks he does sometimes and there is valid reasoning for that IMoO, but at the end of the day given what we've seen from Xander when push comes to shove he steps in to fight with the team, to save people. On some level he I think he knows Angel is on their side, and that there are safety in numbers - so given the opportunity I believe Xander would choose to save Angel in fight. Angelus, is another matter.
Excellent analysis. The motivation for Xander and the much debated Lie is not the question. The discussion is one of the philosophical arguments of Season 2, the morality of lying. Is all lying immoral? Are there acceptable lies? Who defines what is acceptable and is responsible for the consequences? Having Xander not tell Buffy about Willow and the spell allows the more powerful discussion on if a lie is ever justified. Not having a clear answer is the point and always be.
I too was unhappy with Angel's return, but that's mainly because I don't like him, lmao. I think Willow's reaction when Buffy tells them what happened shows that Willow really didn't think Buffy was dealing with more than killing Angelus. I mean, after all that he'd done, it shouldn't have been traumatizing, but realizing now what actually happened puts Buffy's sadness in a new light. Hopefully, this means that she'll be a little less pushy about getting Buffy to move on!
I don't think Slayers are really "trained" by their Watchers like a martial artist. Her power and skill seems to be more elicited by the Watcher than instilled. After all, how much value is there in sparring with a middle aged academic going quarter speed? I think they are more like a predatory cat with built in instincts...a tigress with an opposable thumb and a three digit IQ. The Watcher teaches principles, tactics, weapons, lore etc.
I love that as soon as Faith was beating on the vampire senseless, that you 180'd and said "oh she has trauma." Like yep haha. You saw it right away before her story even came out.
Season three is the season I let down the Buffy show, mainly because of the quick resurection of Angel. It felt like a gimmik, a cash grab, a cheap trick. Thankfully, I caught some episodes from season 6 that convinced me there was more to see. Now, with your reactions, I find some qualities I never saw in this season. But for me, Buffy is all about season 5 to 7. Good show before that. Great then.
One of the deeper flaws of the show is that it constantly treats supporting characters as supporting characters when it comes to their struggles, hyper focusing on Buffy's problems and Buffy's perspective because she's the main character while disregarding or making light of the supporting characters issues while giving all the weight to Buffy's issues. They are all deeply traumatized kids as well, but since they aren't the main character they don't get the same focus that she does so on the rare occasion when it lets the supporting characters like Xander and Willow vent their own problems it leads to many in the audience getting annoyed at them for being actual people instead of just Buffy's side kicks.
Xander is a bigot. He is a bigot about vampires. Which would usually be justified - they are evil - except that it is obvious that Angel is not a regular vampire, and Xander cannot see it due to his bigotry. The one thing bigots hate the most is when a woman of their group, especially a woman that they like, dates someone of the hated group. I believe this is the source of Xander's animosity (which extends not only to Angel, but also to Buffy). It is more than just jealousy.
Faith's line "My dead mother hits better than that" rather economically offers insight into her character
Angel coming back at the end of S3.3 seems fast for Reactors, but for OG fans, Angel was gone for four months due to the Summer break, so it didn't seem so fast. Plus there was the contractual obligation of David Boreanaz being a featured actor in the title sequence, so they had to pay him whether Angel was in Hell, or Sunnydale.
I'm glad you mention that Faith is living in poverty. We don't get much information about her life before she was called, but I get the impression that poverty and deprivation is nothing new to her. Buffy has experienced a lot of trauma since becoming the slayer, but I suspect Faith never had a comfortable life to begin with.
I think Buffy noticed the details, her overeating, the crappy motel room... She has softened up to Faith, later helping her like an older sister when she was a bit hostile at first.
Lol I think you're the second reactor I've seen who has asked why there's a "knife" in Snyder's office. I guess letter openers are just absolutely ancient 😂
My dad used to have one shaped like a pretty little Japanese sword with its own little bamboo wood sheath.
Nowadays we just worry our mail might contain a virus. At least we never need to stab it.
Tell me you're young without saying it 😂
@@gungho1284 I have the exact one (probably) 😁🗡
@@peterd9698 Stab it? Lol, no. That's not how you use a letter opener. It's to slide under the flap of the envelope to cut it open.
The lie Xander said to Buffy in 2x22 might also have led to Buffy thinking Willow wouldn't understand her in early season 3. Because she still thinks Willow would rather see Angel dead than with a soul again, because that's what Xander told her.
He had his reasons and they might not all be selfish, but he hurt Buffys and Willows relationship with it in the long run. Buffy might have had an easier time to turn to Willow for support if she had known how much Willow was invested in giving Angel his soul back.
This one is a thing that's never really added up for me. Buffy KNOWS Willow cast the spell, because she saw it work. So she surely knows that Willow didn't send that message, because if she'd felt that way she wouldn't have still been trying the spell - at risk to herself. If she wanted Angel dead, she wouldn't have gone to the effort, let alone risked herself.
@@Ylyrra they said before Willow should try it as a last resort if Buffy fails. So, it is also a "let's safe the world" thing. And with that message from Xander, especially after Angels people attacked everyone, including Willow, it sure is plausible for Buffy to believe that is all it was.
I loved how your understanding of Faith evolved throughout the episode! So excited to see your reaction to her going forward!
Yes! I also loved Tyler’s comment about how the have both been through things but buffy has a lot of support structures around her (even though buffy isn’t leaning on them at the moment) whereas we see that Faith’s instinct is to be self reliant too rather than go to Buffy for help. I also like that when Buffy sees this in faith it makes her want to be open with and turn towards her support structures in being able to talk about what she went through with angel
Showing some love for Mr Trick (and his actor)! It mirrors Spike and Dru’s entry (also ep.3 but last season), with a more modern and fun vampire wanting to depart from the traditional, hierarchical vampires. But the show’s not retreading old territory, he’s completely different, very in his time, interested in using the modern human world to his advantage. The motif of BtVS vampires often being weaker for getting stuck in the past is also echoed in the vampire Faith dances with. Sometimes audiences miss how Buffy knows he’s a vampire, which is fair because she does have some intuition as a slayer and you could say it’s just that, but she also uses context clues that someone is stuck in the time period they were bitten. In the first episode she clocks a vampire because he’s dressed like he’s from the 80s, and in this one it’s because he is straight from the disco era. It’s a nice little detail in the world, which helps give some context for vampires who don’t pose much of a threat to Buffy, and ones that are more adaptive and so might pose more of a challenge to her. And it gives us a chance to see how individual personalities really affect what kind of vampire you get.
Faith is also great, but that almost goes without saying.
The way Xander treats Cordelia in this episode really annoys me, and very much makes it seem like a one sided relationship. While she has changed and developed out of what seems like genuine feelings, I get the sense that she is just a placeholder for him, just a female he can be with until someone he really wants comes along, and at this point I started hoping Cordelia would decide she deserves better, which is funny given how much I hated that character when the show began. She really is a good example of how this show slowly develops characters throughout. Willow is another good example, as we start to see some shade to this character that was formerly only presented in a positive way, and that makes her seem more flawed and human.
Yeah, completely agree. It’s not surprising for his character at this point. He liked her more when she seemed more unattainable. The more she clearly likes him the more passive he is towards her. We’ve seen him kiss or and hold her hand so far in season 3, but it’s as if he barely notices she’s there most of the time. Cordelia is so much more than he deserves!
A recurring theme, I think, with Xander, is that he's not happy with himself and has fallen into the common (particularly for men) trap of thinking that getting into a relationship will fix everything.
He takes Cordelia somewhat for granted not, I don't think, because he doesn't care about her, but because dating her hasn't made him feel like less of a fuckup and he can only conceptualise this as her not really being The One.
When you paused the video just as Buffy was about to let slip that she'd died to her mum, I nearly screamed at the computer 😂
Did you nearly get a funny-aneurysm? :p
Something to keep in mind about Faith is that she’s clearly in a different economic class than Buffy. She lives in a hotel instead of a house she owns, she speaks in a working class Boston accent.
There is a metafictional relationship with Buffy. Joss Whedon claimed his first draft of the Buffy spec script was titled “Betty the Immortal Waitress.” The recharacterizarion of the Slayer as an upper middle class high school cheerleader from Los Angeles appears to have occurred when he was updating the concept to sell to studios-to appeal to the target middle class teen girl demographic.
In fact, some of Buffy’s more annoying traits in the film may have come out of Whedon’s resentment for how he was forced to change his protagonist.
But what this suggests is that Faith is in fact more similar to how Joss Whedon imagined the original Slayer. In fact her story arc could be an indication of where an earlier version of the “Vampire Slayer” storyline could have gone.
I never knew that. Cool. I wish the show had more commentary about the working class being oppressed by capitalism. What a beautiful missed opportunity!
Since when do high school students own houses??!! 😂😂 Trying to force class distinctions is odd.
@@tananario23 No, but their families and parents do and that is a reflection of their economic status.
Rich high school students live in really nice houses, in really nice neighbourhoods bc their family can afford that. Poorer or lower class high school students live in poorer area, in less safe neighbourhoods.
It’s pretty basic common sense … 👀
Now I can’t get “It’s a me a Willow” out of my head.
I love Willow's characterisation here, because it's giving us such interesting, realistic shades to her positive, wholesome traits. She's a very capable overachiever, but the 'shade' side is that she expects quick progress and quick fixes. There's a quiet arrogance there that she knows best, and she has a tendency to make unilateral decisions or impose her will if she feels other people aren't doing enough, even if she doesn't have all the information. Don't get me wrong, I adore her, but she's absolutely flawed and I love to see that play out in these subtle ways.
She loves a quick fix and the other thing you notice in this episode is that she is not very comfortable being able to “sit with” the fact that Buffy seems to be in a tough space or feeling negative emotions. She is almost uncomfortable/ avoidant about feeling negative emotions.
@@kirrisolly-slade1313 When these episodes are watched back, there are so many character traits on display that fully inform later seasons that are kinda glossed over on a first viewing. It's why I don't particularly mind last episode on repeat viewings, I suppose.
@kirrisolly-slade1313 That's pretty normal, actually. The whole point of negative emotions is to avoid them when you can. At least with the exception of anger, which is more complicated.
Very insightful. This is so important for Willow's character.
I like that you said 'impose her will'. Buffy sometimes calls Willow 'Will' and names are important in this show. ('Buffy' ironically suggests a vacuous cheerleader, 'Angel' suggests great power for good or evil, and one does not have to be Freud to see the sexual and violent overtones of 'Spike'.)
I was going comment last video about how when I was 17 I ran away from home and that episode hit me personally. When I returned home after being gone 3 months I had everyone making me feel guilty for how i made them feel but no one really considered why i did it or how i felt. Soon after everyone acted like it never happened and we never spoke about it again.
I would have loved to hear you lash out on the gang lol It was the only episode where I disliked a lot of characters and how they reacted. 😊
Or only ever mentioned in terms of "that thing you did to us that we've decided to forgive you for".
'Disco Dave' the vampire's sped up dancing was even better than the original speed. Thank you for this gift. 😂
This is what we in the fandom have dubbed ‘The Active Slayer’. When Buffy died Kendra was called and she became ‘The Active Slayer’. No slayer has been resuscitated before. So while Buffy still has her powers the line has actually run through her to Kendra and then on to Faith after Kendra’s demise. Faith is one of my favorite characters ever in any series/book. Shes a complex dynamo.
or at least no slayer has been resuscitated and it's been recorded with two slayers then being active. Could very well have happened before - and pre-industrial era we'd have had big issues with information sharing.
That'd make a great fanfic! Maybe there were lots of sisters at one time on different continents... (thought bunnies jumping)
Cordelia was Buffy's Shadow Self in S1, but Buffy outgrew her and Cordy's character developed into her own person. Faith is Buffy's Shadow Self in this episode.
Remember, slayers tend not to live very long. Buffy is a massive outlier in the Slayer line. Experienced, mature slayers aren't really a thing.
Angel returning seems a lot quicker when watching via streaming vs watching it live and having to wait MONTHS for it. Also we had no clue he was returning so it was more of a shock
I remember being a little confused at the time as most people who followed the show seemed to know he was coming back / hadn't been written out both from the press and that he was still in the titles and had a cameo every episode.
Modern viewers have the luxury of binge watching. We had to wait at least a week and sometimes more. Today’s viewers can’t recreate to emotions created for us.
Was so excited to see your introduction to Faith! As usual, great insights on the metaphors and storytelling choices, she does offer a great foil for Buffy. I was also glad you caught the way Faith was eating might indicate she had experience going hungry. There are definitely moments dropped in this episode that hint at a traumatic past ("my dead mother hits harder than that" right before she starts beating a vampire to a pulp is another interesting moment). Can't wait to see what else you think of the character as the story continues 😁
As for Xander lying to Buffy, I completely agree he took autonomy from Buffy. I get frustrated with the narrative that says he was protecting her so it was the right thing to do. While it is entirely possible some of Xander's motivation there was to protect her (some of it was wanting Angel dead for his own reasons), it would be a controlling type of protection. Buffy deserves more respect than that, she deserves all the information and the opportunity to act based on that knowledge, she has earned that respect time and again. She's not a child that Xander needs to withhold information from to "protect" (and, incidentally, to push things in the direction he wanted from the beginning: Angel dead.)
Xander also, earlier in that same episode had thrown Jenny's death callously in her face and Giles' saying she just wanted to forget about it to "get her boyfriend back", when from Buffy's perspective she was presented with the possibility of saving the life of someone she loves (Angel is not Angelus, Angel was essentially dead and Buffy felt responsible for that death), which she would have fought to the death for anyone in that room. And then, in this moment where he lies about the spell, he had the opportunity to take back his callous self righteous tirade and show Buffy that they were there with her... Instead he chose to double down on his preference of Angel's death. Some have argued that could have increased Buffy's sense of isolation, potentially contributing to the spiral that made her run away. Maybe if Buffy had known she had friends fighting in her corner with her that night, maybe she wouldn't have felt quite so alone. I think that moment was one of Xander's worst.
In terms of too soon, you might want to consider that you're 'binging' the show. For people who watched the show when it aired Angel has been gone for months at this point.
As much as I have some issues with Willow, I do like that she said "I'm sorry" when Buffy tells her and Giles what happened.
As for The Lie - some folks think Xander made a strategic decision to not tell her the truth. But I think if he had thought about it beforehand, he would just not have said anything. He did start to tell her - and then changed his mind at the last moment and made something up, saying Willow said "kick his ass" - that's not something Willow would have saud, that's pure Xander.
In regards to you discussing Xander's lie. Xander is one of those characters that no matter how crappy he is the fandom will do mental gymnastics to justify his actions.
Him lying to Buffy doesn't even serve the narrative purpose it was designed for. Buffy had already decided she was going to kill Angelus. The only reason they even tried the spell at all is because it was seemingly Jenny's dying wish.
But once Angelus killed Jenny she's made up her mind that Angel was gone. Of course she was still hesitant because Angelus is basically wearing Angel's face.
But any hesitation she had was gone after Kendra was killed and Giles was taken. Then Whistler was also involved. Like Buffy was there to kill Angelus, she knew what was at stake and he pulled that sword pretty much as soon as she got there. Xander lying doesn't even serve it's narrative purpose. (But please keep his lie in mind going forward. Seriously if you think it's annoying now.)
Then think about Buffy running away. Despite everything that happened Willow was always on Buffy's side, and did her best to empathise with Buffy about Angel. Buffy knew she could always at least turn to Willow is she needed to. But thanks to Xander putting words in Willow's mouth from Buffy's perspective even Willow has no sympathy now. Had Xander not done that Buffy may have stayed with Willow or at least kept in contact with her.
His lie wasn't about the greater good, he hated Angel the second he heard his name from Willow, and he hated him before he found out he was a vampire, so as you said his decision was very much rooted in jealousy.
I also think its disingenuos for Xander defenders to use what happened to Jesse in the first two episodes as justification for Xander's behavious because Jesse is never mentioned ever again after The Harvest. Willow and Xander's best friend from childhood just never exists after that episode, so i disagree 10000% when people use Jesse's death to justify Xander's actions because neither Xander or Willow mentions him again.
Xander has some good moments. He really does, but allot of his crappier traits just overshadow those moments, and it's frustrating because the pieces for a really good character arc are actually there had the writers actually addressed his negative traits. He doesn't need to be a perfect character, but the writers could have done so much better.
Edit: as i know its coming. When the lie was told Buffy had no idea Willow was trying the spell again. From the way Buffy discussed the spell working at the last minute and the fact she couldn't possibly have known Willow was trying the spell again it left me with the impression she was talking about the first attempt at the spell before they were attacked in the Library. Also Xander legit could have chosen to just say nothing at all, rather than putting words into Willow's mouth and damaging Buffy and Willow's dynamic/relationship, he could have just not passed any messages along at all.
So the watchers were on retreat while Buffy and Faith were processing trauma.
I like your comment about how things don't just go away (like Buffy's guilt over killing Angel). This is really one of Buffy's strenghs as a show, and certainly wasn't common in TV at the time: all of the characters' actions have consequences, and they are not just swept under the rug. It makes for much more compelling storytelling.
The title - Faith, Hope & Trick - has a double meaning.
We are introduced to Faith, Scott Hope and Mr. Trick.
Buffy has faith in a new ally.
Buffy has hope for a future love interest.
Giles plays a trick on Buffy to get her to open up about "killing" Angel.
I love your comment about empty cups in tv shows. It annoys me when I can tell that the coffee cups have no weight. I thought it was just me though. ❤
Faith!!! One of my favorite things about this episode is to take notice of her on the dance floor at the start of the scene she first shows up in before The Scoobies notice her. Not all shows do that.
Regarding Trick’s comment about the death rate in Sunnydale making DC look like Mayberry: in the mid-90’s (when this episode came out) the murder rate in Washington DC was _astronomical_. I just looked it up: In the city, with the exception of 1995, every year from 1988 to 1996 saw more than one murder per day (reference: the “crime in Washington DC” Wikipedia page).
I lived not too far from the city around that time; one of my memories from that time was leaving a club in a bad part of town late at night with some friends. There was a group of folks who I assume lived in the area sitting on a stoop nearby. When a car backfired, my friends and I turned to look. When I looked back, everyone on the stoop had dropped to the ground or taken cover; full fight or flight response. It was just the barest hint of what their lives were probably like on a day to day basis, and it (clearly) stuck with me.
I love your reactions because even though Ive seen Buffy countless times, you truly do bring new insights.
In terms of slayer training, don't forget that Kendra said she was given to her watcher as a baby. Slayers mostly get trained from a young age so that they're already prepared if/when they get called. Buffy was an exception that didn't know about any of it until she got called.
Buffy's friends once again demonstrating why Buffy didn't feel like she could turn to them in 2x22 (and are confused why)
Because Buffy thinks the world revolves around her?
@@xrey83 because they have the depth of a teaspoon when it comes to emotional intelligence.
@@CallumboMagumbo says the Buffy stan who has a biased POV.
Yay! Welcome, Faith!!! And welcome back, Angel! That's some way to make an entrance XD
I love how Giles has been handling things. Last episode, he was the one who understood that Buffy would be more comfortable in a more intimate setting, and he was the one standing up to Snyder. And here, he found a way to get her to talk, without pushing. He's the best dad.
Since we're comparing Buffy and Faith, I like to point out that Buffy was also beating a vamp to a pulp in "Ted", and it was Giles telling her that it was time to stake him. They really are very similar.
In my experience of working at my local movie theater, whenever someone asked me, "Just give me a diet soda" it meant, "Whatever diet soda you have is what I want." So they don't care if it's diet coke or diet Pepsi, they just want whatever the diet one is. Like diabetics know they're having a diet soda, most places don't carry both diet coke and diet Pepsi, so whichever you have, they'll take.
This season is wild. From the first episode to how it progresses to the last. By the last episode these first 3 seem so far away. This is one of my favorite seasons. I have said before that i don't know how you can not binge it. I've seen the whole series about 8 times and i still have trouble stopping it between episodes. Although i enjoy your take on it through the eyes of how things are now. Taking care of mental health wasn't as big in the 90s. But misogony was. That high school boy trope. With the acception of a few things Xander was hilarious in the 90s. His jealousy of angel, the nudity comments, all of it was funny. Just like american pie. That movie was hilarious back then and now hmm not so much. So much of it was so wrong. These boys got away with so much just because they were "boys being boys".
15:41 love how willow doesnt raise her hand and just grins 😊
17:42 love your thoughts here. For characters who have shown a lot of empathy in the past, willow and xander really are brushing past buffy's trauma in the last ep and this one, and it's frustrating. Willow comes around and you can see she's guilty about it after the reveal in the end. Lets hope xander has this turning point, too.
It’s funny I always notice the empty cup in this episode too.
They do that in other shows too. It's very obvious when cup is empty. It always bothers me.
Ohh my God, such great comments! Dying to see your other reactions through Buffy episodes. Hugs from Spain!
Notice Willow didn’t raise her hand when Buffy says to raise your hand for ew lol
I love Willow's crush on Giles lol.
And Xander only half-heartedly raised his hand, then put it down lol
39:00 He knew something was going on. So he fished.
Notice Willow did not raise her hand "if eww" when Faith was said Giles was cute.
4:40 You paused it when the ring dropped and didn't see the subtitle for the song lyric "I live the numbness now."
I believe that Angel being back so soon was studio interference, for one he was popular among the audience and also they had to pay him so just as well use him (or choose not to pay him and have him leave to do something else). Then it also fits so well in that the moment Buffy is about to let go of that trauma he immediately comes back to light that flame again.
Also and I'm not seeing this as a spoiler since it is never mentioned in the show itself, Buffy had to watch her first watcher commit suicide to protect her (or he had been turned and spilled the beans) some time before we see her in S1x01.
The read on Faith/Buffy this episode is actually one of Buffys privilege and Faiths lack there of (Faith devouring the food when no one's looking, talking about her dead mother nonchalantly, having to scrape by in the dingy motel where the owner is trying to trade sexual favors to allow her stay, etc)
Yes and no. That's all absolutely true but I think the episode is focused on neither Buffy or Faith really knowing what the other has been through and so they're both jealous of the other one.
They had to bring Angel back pretty quick because David was still full-time main cast and they did about enough dream sequences. Otherwise, they could have waited to bring him back probably when you least expect it. Like they may or may not do with other guest stars on the show. 🤔
I was looking forward to your thoughts on Faith and you didn't disappoint.
Originally Angel was supposed to be in the hell we saw in the premiere episode Anne. Buffy didn’t save him. Then months later her comes back somehow. But days were years. Months…like 8….is a lot of years!!
i love your videos so much! they make the show so fresh for me even after watching it so many times
There are a few episodes like that. They make me mad as Buffy’s friends don’t seem to understand how she’s feeling
They rarely ever try. At some points Willow does but only occasionally.
Xander never tries to see Buffy as anything other than his prize (he'll never get). Her emotional well-being/ psychological health not high on his male-dar. And not JUST because he a kid/teen. It's his whole outlook on life. He hides from "drama" & lashes out if it affects him even a little.
Thanks for elaborating on the last episode. I expected you to get into it more at the time but I guess you didn’t want the video to be too long. I knew that you didn’t approve though, for sure.
I wonder if the way Buffy’s friends talk about their experiences all cutesy or for the sake of the audience (Scooby Gang stuff) and that when writing the zombie episode it just didn’t occur to anyone how messed up their treatment of Buffy was.
We didn’t talk about victim blaming back then and behaviour like that was more normalized, unfortunately. I think the writers don’t see the connection and how it reflects on the character of the “Scooby Gang” … buts it’s not the first time something like this happens in the show and the audience is basically gaslighting into believing it is okay.
“ANGEL BUTT ON SCREEN” 😂😂😂 Agreed, same feeling lol.
That episode pissed me off, her friends and her mom too were kicking her down when she was already mentally destroyed. Giles was the only one who treated her with kindness. At the end of the episode Willow jockingly tells Buffy that she has to work for her forgiveness and Buffy agrees. The way they treated her was the cruellest I've seen them be and then it was like nothing happened. No wonder she didn't confide in them.
Love your intro jam session!!! That song…. Never gets old.
Absolutely agree about Xander, he removed Buffy's choice and it wasn't from a place of genuine concern, it was his typical jealousy. Again, I realize he is supposed to be a teenager but he pulls the "But I'm the nice guy" shtick while always choosing selfishly. Its okay for him to make stupid choices (Bug teacher, Inca Mummy Girl, Love Spells) but no one else. He cannot step outside of his selfish wants to see others points of view, especially the women in his life. Also it really bothers me how everyone treats Buffy like she is a downer, like look how much death she has to see on a daily basis, how the hell do you do that and remain perky? I don't even know how doctors and nurses do it. But we weren't really talking about trauma, ptsd, and mental health as strongly in the late 90s as we do now. At the end of the day even though Willow, Xander, and Giles are adjacent to it, they still do not have the burden of her fate. They can technically move away and have lives elsewhere. She can never stop being the slayer unless she dies. How do you remain upbeat with that knowledge? Then she had to kill her bf, her first true love, her first person she was intimate with. Like I think she earned being a bummer for a bit.
So glad you have now been introduced to Faith! She is such an interesting character. Looking forward to more analysis of this season.
Totally got chills when you showed Angel laying there and your "whaa?!". Such a good shoow!
I don’t recall them complaining about suffering from exposure to the supernatural but suffering from the fear of not knowing what happened to Buffy.
Early season three seems to deliberately push how far Xander and Willow can be oblivious to others' feelings without making the characters unsalvageable; there are multiple moments where they almost come across as the real antagonists, at least on an emotional teen-drama level. Their self-centredness is very close to being out-of-step with the broadly selfless characters we met in season one, but I think there's an interesting thread to tease out about how these two former losers adjust -- sometimes badly -- to the first taste of acceptance, love, and power they experienced in season two during the ongoing Angel crisis.
Buffy has been forced into very adult experiences since the age of 15, culminating in working to support herself and make rent in LA amidst trauma and grief. Cordelia and Oz are also kids, but their personalities notably don't lead to the almost absurd levels of buried resentment and obliviousness that Xander and Willow exhibit in some of these episodes. The fanbase sometimes speaks of "Buffy vs. the Scoobies" but it really tends to be Buffy vs. Xander-and-Willow with the significant others getting dragged along for the ride and Giles observing from the perimeter with various levels of approval.
Every TV show and movie that I watch, I am distracted by the pretense of full/hot coffee cups. 😆
It's a TV show, Boreanaz is in a main role for the season, he's in the credits in every episode. Not hiring him back for a whole season would be the same as firing him. Episodes 1 and 2 he appears in dreams. How many more episodes can he appear in dreams without getting boring?
I know you are far from done with Buffy, and you have other shows on your plate but your insight and analysis of themes and such is so great and I think you would have an incredible time with Hannibal. It is gory but so cinematic and thought-provoking. It would be incredible to hear your thoughts on the show
re: Xander's comment: agreed it was selfish and damaging to the group's bond, but of the variables you talk about, one of them was that we didn't know the spell was going to work at that point. Buffy had to go in whole hog regardless.
Fantastic analysis and reaction. It’s a first time with Faith and it will be a pleasure to listen to your reactions to the Faith and Buffy experience.
On your call back to Xander and what is called The Lie In Becoming, Part 2. It’s not an action to have an answer but to be the bookend to the eternal question that is … Are all lies immoral? Can there be any moral lies? Who defines that a lie is justified and who defines justification? The journey for Buffy is not just physical but also emotional and mental. Starting in Lie To Me and to Xander talking to Buffy before the final battle, the concept of truth, lies, and deception of reality by falsehoods was one of the foundations of Season 2. In Lie To Me we were presented choices with no defined answers. The Xander lie is the bookend to the debate that has been going in Western Civilization since The Enlightenment. The motivation for Xander is not the reason but the examination of the morality of the lie. In its most simple… are all lies immoral? If a lie is moral, why is it morally correct? If an immoral action causes a moral outcome, then is morality outcome based or universal truth based ? So The Lie, how the Buffy fandom calls it, has answers based on the individual and their beliefs in if truth is constant or can change to fit the desired outcome.
It's funny but I didn't realise Angel came back so early in the season. I could have sworn this episode was like number 5. Thing I would point out though is it felt a lot longer. Having the time gap between the end of season 2 and season 3 airing, although only about 20 days for us, we had a bit longer with Angel being gone if that makes sense?
Regarding Xander telling Buffy vs not telling her? I still say he did the right thing, but for predominantly the wrong reasons. I hated him at that moment first time around. It's only afterwards looking at it objectively that I can give him a modicum of credit and say it was the right thing to do. "She could have fought defensively, she couldn't have fought differently" yes, but the idea was to stop him from awakening Acathla. Now here's the deal, Buffy is still dealing with the underlings when Angel king Arthur's the sword and starts the /inevitable/ awakening of Acathla. When she starts the fight with Angel, it is already too late and his fate is sealed... hmm, now I'm having second thoughts. Would she have still fought aggressively and in the same way knowing that as soon as the sword was pulled, she had to kill him? Would knowing there was a chance and it had just gone make her better prepared mentally for what she had to do at the end as she would know it could happen at any point in the fight? Or would it have crushed her? Seeing that hope of a happy outcome vanish with her knowing there was nothing she could do, and the realisation she has to now kill him hitting her whilst she is still fighting for her life? Perhaps that realisation hitting at the end of the fight was still the best time for it. Dammit Xander.
With Willow though, I'm not so sure that look of guilt was at the part she'd played in causing Buffy to kill Angel instead of Angelus. I think it was guilt at the realisation that she's been giving Buffy a hard time without fully understanding the traumatic experience Buffy went through killing Angel. She had been dealing with Buffy from the perspective that she'd had to kill Angelus, which is tough sure, but no where near as tough as having to go through getting Angel back and having to kill him. I think to give Willow some credit, had she known this then she wouldn't have been pushing Buffy to be happy again.
Not Xander's call to make. That's ALL it comes down to. He was asked to relay a message. He can choose not to carry the message, that's his choice and his right. It is NOT his place to change someone else's message. It NOT his place to decide what Buffy does or doesn't need to know in a fight to the death.
The reasons, whatever they are, don't change that. The results, whatever they are, don't change that.
You rob someone of agency, you aren't their friend. You change someone's words, you aren't their friend. If you pretend to be their friend after doing those things to them, without them ever knowing, you aren't their friend. Pretending to be people's trusted friend when you aren't and you've betrayed that trust makes you not a nice person.
It's really really simple. Anything else is a reach, and even that is patronising AF and saying "Xander knew better than Buffy", because y'know, CLEARLY he knows more about being a slayer than she does, because...?
Xander is either afraid Angel will come back and he'll never have "a shot at Buffy", or charitably he's worried she might not "have what it takes" to kill Angelus because of her feelings for Angel, and she proves him wrong by results, because she's willing to even kill Angel to do her job. He wasn't just wrong to not give her the choice, he was wrong about what she's made of.
@@Ylyrra Wow, that felt personal. For the record, it is possible to lie to a friend out of love. When I was a lot younger, I told my best friend I liked them, just after they started seeing a mutual friend. It caused her pain and confusion at a time she should have been excited and happy, so I told her it was just the shock and a pang of jealousy at not seeing her so often. "I take it back, forget I said anything, I'll be fine". I wasn't fine, it wasn't shock, but hearing the relief in her voice as she asked if I was sure and then thanked me? Yeah, I made the right call to lie to her.
Your analysis at the end is missing option three and four. 3, Xander didn't want to burden Buffy with false hope and so chose not to tell her. 4, Xander's hatred of Angel and desire to see him killed for the things he did as Angelus is what motivated him to not speak. You're breaking it down to Xander being jealous or Xander not believing in Buffy's ability. That's two very negative options which don't really fit imho.
****SPOILERS****
Honestly? I think it was option 4 which made him choose not to tell her, but with some of 3 thrown in to justify it to himself. The only time this is referenced again is later on when it is Xander trying to protect someone who has blood on their hands, it's used as a mirror of how it's only ok to put down a murderer if Xander wants justice against them, otherwise "it's complicated". But I still say he did the right thing, just not for the right reason.
@@Marwolaeth01 Hate to break it to you, but the relief you heard in your friend's voice was relief at not having to deal with you putting your emotional labour on her to sort out, or that you weren't a complete psycho about it. Your story is all about you.
That's EXACTLY Xander's problem, he's putting his needs and wants first, and dressing it up as doing it favours for other people.
The HONEST thing to do is say "Uh yeah, sorry for the inappropriate timing, I should have kept my mouth shut. I do have a thing for you, now isn't the time, it's my problem to sort out but I'm just explaining in case I seem a little weird while I deal with my head in making sure I treat you as a friend only."
But sure, tell yourself for however many years that you did her a favour by telling her a lie she knew was a lie and accepted because it was the only palatable option you left her where she didn't have to worry that you might be one of those guys who turn nasty.
@@Ylyrra no wait, I’m meant to tell her the whole truth and let her have agency aren’t I? There’s no excuse ever to lie to a friend. I hope you realise you come across as a very “men are toxic” person? You gave Xander only two terrible reasons which scream of bias.
And of course my story is about me. It’s a story about my life! That’s why I know the only reason I told her in the first place was because she was telling me about her and “Bob” and that she wasn’t sure if she was doing the right thing, and that “hey isn’t this crazy but over the last few months I thought I was developing feelings for you”. To which my response was I wish they’d been real. That resulted in a brief conversation where she wanted to know if I meant it, the second conversation came a few hours later when I wasn’t stuck at work and she’d had time to get herself worked up over it all. So sorry but not some psycho who threw his issues at her at the wrong time. Life isn’t black and white. And we’ve been friends for over 20 years. We have discussed that night a few times and so I know what she was thinking at the time. Or at least what she says she was thinking, unless she lied to me to spare my feelings? And you know what? If she did then that’s ok, because that’s what friends do sometimes.
For the vast majority of fast-food places in the U.S. with drive-thrus, the only diet soda they have is Coke.
Ooh I've been looking forward to this one!
Faith Hope & Trick a pivotal episode with the introduction of Faith many fans absolute favourite from the entire Buffyverse. Some great scenes in this when Faith says 'don't you find slaying makes you really hungry and horny' and all the Scoobies turn to face Buffy. Faith is of course totally different to Buffy in being outgoing and streetwise and sexually overt, and we can see Buffy's jealously in the gang engrossed with Faith's stories. The Mayor is was mentioned first in S2, but we had not seen to this point. We see Faith's propensity for pure violence when needlessly pummelling the vampire when Buffy needed help, a trait of her character. At the end we see Buffy place The Claddagh Ring on the spot Angel was killed, and he is restored from Hell. It only gets better and better from here, this is a great Season.
Hi! :) Love your reactions! This may come from out of nowhere but if you ever do another movie again soon, I would really love to see your reaction and analysis of "The Sixth Sense" from 1999 if you haven't already seen it! Love from Sweden! :)
Willow was a bit pushy in this episode, but she didn't have the context.
Would like a comic book scene of a flashback of Joyce thanking Xander for saving Buffy’s life. I think it could be really sweet. And a bit awkwardly funny.
15:42 - Notice how Willow smirks, bur doesn raid her hand? 😏
Interesting comments and analisys durin the episode and after watchin the episode. Definitly lookin forward for your reactions to rest of season
Buffy does a lot of "this should have been at least a half-season, but we'll do it in an episode" (Angel's return, Anne, Kendra), especially in these early seasons. I'd complain about it, but I like the show as a whole package enough that it makes sense to me.
I think that the people of Sunnydale get over things quickly, overall. Plus the gang is beyond happy to have their friend back. Annnd I also think that the big issue in last episode is, too true, the gang was lashing out, but also there seemed to be a wall between Buffy and the gang.. both sides lashed out in the last episode (Buffy mostly rightly so as she was on the receiving end) but whatever the root, it helped them move passed that hurdle.
Like you said though, Willow and Xander seem to be pushing the issue. Lol
Love your commentary as always! Wonderfully insightful and please don't feel like you need to hold back on moments when the characters are frustrating you. Especially with regards to the gang's behavior in this and last episode, anger is deserved. It was out of line and deeply upsetting.
Also if you want to check out a highly entertaining and deep analysis of the show, you may want to watch the passion of the nerds episode guide. Lots of fun by itself but he also does a lot of deep research into the show that I think you'll appreciate.
Reminder, in 3-1 Lily’s boyfriend aged almost 100 years in hell in one day our time. And Angel has been gone around four months our time (13 weeks of the summer plus this is week 3 of the fall, so 16 weeks), so 16 x 7 days = 102 days x 100 years = so Angel had spent around 10,200 years in hell (if my math is right, and Angel’s hell has the same time frame as Buffy’s hell in 3-1).
How would your sanity be after being tortured 10,200 years in Hell?
Except there's multiple dimensions, and there's no universal time rate change as far as we know. That is a pretty big assumption on the time rate, I think it is more likely that each dimension has its own time rate.
Spoilers...
If I recall correctly, Giles mentions the possibility of centuries. Meanwhile, in Angel, we will have two other examples of different dimensions with other time rates. Lorne's home dimension appears to be very close to our dimension's time flow, as about the same amount of time seems to pass there as in LA. And then we have a dimension where a baby is taken into another dimension and comes back weeks later grown to a teen - clearly time passes faster in that dimension, but it is some number of weeks turning into years - that's way different than a day turning into decades.
So we actually have no idea exactly how long Angel was gone. Angel hasn't told us, and he'd be the only one who knows.
Multiple slayers must be trained while the actual Slayer lives, then one of the trainees is called when the Slayer dies. There has to be a buffer system to the slayers, otherwise you'd have to wait a decade or more before you get another Slayer, right?
In the 90s, diet cola was the only "diet" on tap.
Fresca.
They make a lot of bold moves in Season 3. I think you'll like it!
Great reaction, as usual. I appreciate your honesty about what you do and don't like (e.g. Angel coming back too early). Some reactors pretend they like everything, which can feel a little bit fake.
Assuming buffy and faith are the same age ,which i think they are. I don't think they actually say. But you're right buffy has been through a lot. She was 15 when she was tapped and faith was 17 or 18. Buff has years on her. Not just angel but the master and dying in season one. Plus everything that happened before sunny dale. She grew up way too young.
they never mention Faiths age anywhere so it have always been an item of discussion, some fans even see Faith as being older than Buffy. Interestingly however Eliza is 3 years younger than Sarah and we see Faith being called 3 years after Buffy so IMHO she is 2-3 years younger than Buffy but play/pretending to be older (like she does with so much else).
Spoilers below so beware.
There is also the issue with what happens in Helpless that shows that Slayers are not called at or above 18 since that ceremony is done IF the Slayer survives to be 18. So my guess is that Slayers are called at 15 or 16 at most.
I think Faith's 17. That was Eliza Dushku's age at the time and without going into details due to spoilers, a later episode implies she's under 18 and younger than Buffy.
She's younger than Buffy. Buffy even calls her "little sister" in this episode.
@@Henrik_Holst that's true but in one with kennedy she says she's 20 as a potenial. Maybe just a plot hole? I still think faith is supposed to be around 17 like buffy at this point.
According to Google lol she comes in at 17 and is 21 like buffy at the end of the series. 🤷♀️
Sorry if im being annoying since I asked this once already, I promise it’s the last but are you planning on watching Gingerbread again here? I’d be ok with you just rewatching on your own and giving us a recap of if your feelings on the ep have changed, but of course it’s on you
@@moramorandobianchi7093 probably will just watch it again and make a video as normal :)
@@TylerAlexander Yay! It'll probably be quite a different experience now with the context!
I don't think everyone was insincere in their feelings towards Buffy last episode... they felt that she had "ruined their lives"... but they've had months of healing from that pain and hurt, they were angry last episode, and probably more angry at the hurt being brought back from where it was healing. So they've bounced back because they were merely reliving the trauma, not still experiencing it. To them it's "ok, we had an argument, we fixed things, we've moved on", but not for Buffy.
Also it isn't just that it isn't healthy for things to "go back to how they were" but that they *can't*... they've all moved on, and Buffy missed all that. She doesn't fit back in the hole they're making for her because she's not the same shape, but also because the hole they're making isn't the same shape. It's really good writing.
Please do keep ragging on Xander, your reasoning is always spot on, and please do keep pointing out that the apologists are wrong, why they're wrong, and that they're being wilfully obtuse about it. His behaviour isn't ok. You don't ever "protect" a woman by denying her agency, that's just infantilising someone.
I'll be interested to hear what you think about Buffy's friends if you make it to season 6. Also Faith's character arc is very interesting.
Wibbily wobbily, timey wimey…
PHYSICS!! Physics, physics, physics, physics!!!
no its not too early, its perfect
No deliberate spoiler, but remember the phrase "The Big Lie".
To explain to you ... Buffy has died.. so she is not THE slayer.. is "just" a slayer.. when buffy dies no other slayer will come after her.. when faith dies.. a new one is chosen.. so basically she is not even The slayer in the slayer show .. xD
I disagree about Xander. I realize he was wrong in lying and thatcher did put himself first and take Buffys autonomy away. I'm on board with that, but I don't think he meant up with Buffy with the intent to be deceptive. His performace tells me it was a split second decision he made to lie, most likely out of fear and worry for Buffy's safety. I don't think he had time to really think through in the moment that he wanted Angel to die (even if he had said as much earlier). I think the truth is, that Buffy was safer not stalling. I think stalling honestly, could've have gotten her killed. Also the portal was opening so after Angelus triggered the portal no amount of stalling would've changed the outcome, only make it more dangerous. At the end of the day, I don't even think Xander wants Angel to die, he thinks he does sometimes and there is valid reasoning for that IMoO, but at the end of the day given what we've seen from Xander when push comes to shove he steps in to fight with the team, to save people. On some level he I think he knows Angel is on their side, and that there are safety in numbers - so given the opportunity I believe Xander would choose to save Angel in fight. Angelus, is another matter.
Excellent analysis. The motivation for Xander and the much debated Lie is not the question. The discussion is one of the philosophical arguments of Season 2, the morality of lying. Is all lying immoral? Are there acceptable lies? Who defines what is acceptable and is responsible for the consequences? Having Xander not tell Buffy about Willow and the spell allows the more powerful discussion on if a lie is ever justified. Not having a clear answer is the point and always be.
Faith said the _true_ slayer.
Buffy is an anomaly.
I too was unhappy with Angel's return, but that's mainly because I don't like him, lmao.
I think Willow's reaction when Buffy tells them what happened shows that Willow really didn't think Buffy was dealing with more than killing Angelus. I mean, after all that he'd done, it shouldn't have been traumatizing, but realizing now what actually happened puts Buffy's sadness in a new light. Hopefully, this means that she'll be a little less pushy about getting Buffy to move on!
I don't think Slayers are really "trained" by their Watchers like a martial artist. Her power and skill seems to be more elicited by the Watcher than instilled. After all, how much value is there in sparring with a middle aged academic going quarter speed? I think they are more like a predatory cat with built in instincts...a tigress with an opposable thumb and a three digit IQ. The Watcher teaches principles, tactics, weapons, lore etc.
Hahaha, I'm the same way about cups and mugs.😂😂
Getting angry at characters because they don’t know how to act?? Seriously? WTF 20:16 Let it go, sweetie. 22:04
I love that as soon as Faith was beating on the vampire senseless, that you 180'd and said "oh she has trauma." Like yep haha. You saw it right away before her story even came out.
Watch the angel tv series
I love how you started reacting to all the episodes now in chronological order not randomly
They never really explain what happened with Angel coming back until his show....so yay something to look forward to lmao 🤣
Why would you spoil something like that?
@@fabianhebestreit3240 I didn’t see it as a spoiler. He knows he’s back and he knows he has his own show.
@@lyssalovesit But he didn’t know if Angel’s return would be explained on Buffy. That is a spoiler.
Season three is the season I let down the Buffy show, mainly because of the quick resurection of Angel. It felt like a gimmik, a cash grab, a cheap trick. Thankfully, I caught some episodes from season 6 that convinced me there was more to see. Now, with your reactions, I find some qualities I never saw in this season. But for me, Buffy is all about season 5 to 7. Good show before that. Great then.
❤🧡💛💚💙💜🤎🖤🤍
One of the deeper flaws of the show is that it constantly treats supporting characters as supporting characters when it comes to their struggles, hyper focusing on Buffy's problems and Buffy's perspective because she's the main character while disregarding or making light of the supporting characters issues while giving all the weight to Buffy's issues. They are all deeply traumatized kids as well, but since they aren't the main character they don't get the same focus that she does so on the rare occasion when it lets the supporting characters like Xander and Willow vent their own problems it leads to many in the audience getting annoyed at them for being actual people instead of just Buffy's side kicks.
“I don’t know if I like that”
Tough.
Xander is a bigot. He is a bigot about vampires. Which would usually be justified - they are evil - except that it is obvious that Angel is not a regular vampire, and Xander cannot see it due to his bigotry.
The one thing bigots hate the most is when a woman of their group, especially a woman that they like, dates someone of the hated group. I believe this is the source of Xander's animosity (which extends not only to Angel, but also to Buffy). It is more than just jealousy.