| Episode No. | Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 2, Episode 7 |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Joss Whedon |
| Written by | Joss Whedon |
0:02 : This episode doesn’t feature the “Into every generation…” intro. From here on in, we’ll only point it out if it features.
0:26 : Drusilla approaches the young boy. This is the first time we see her alone, and it doesn’t happen again until the season finale. It seems Spike usually keeps her inside for her safety, which makes his security seem seriously lacking…
0:26 : The young boy is played by youngster Will Rothhaar, who had been working in the industry since the age of four. He later went onto guest roles in Grimm, The Rookie and, more recently, NCIS: Origins. The boy is named James in the credits.
0:40 : Drusilla sings a song her mother once sang to her: ‘Run and catch / The lamb is caught in the blackberry patch‘. She’ll sing it numerous times, in particular when siring Darla and nursing her in Reunion.
1:21 : Another reason that Dru doesn’t come out solo; it very much seems here that Drusilla is surprised to see her sire. Has Spike not told her he’s in the vicinity? Sounds just like him actually, now that we mention it…
1:59 : For a second it looks like Drusilla is back in her past, talking to Angelus, but then she senses his soul and his love for Buffy. She even refers to him as her ‘dear boy’ a nickname she also calls Spike and it’s also a name she may have heard Darla call Angelus.
2:10 : Drusilla tells Angel that Buffy has no idea what’s to come. She’ll also appear to Buffy in her prophetic dream in Surprise. She can also smell the Slayer on Angel, something she’ll say to Spike in Fool for Love.
2:27 : Buffy sees Angel and Drusilla from a nearby vantage point. This is the first time she becomes aware of Drusilla.
5:16 : Whoa! Buffy is actually in history class!
5:38 : Please note that when Cordelia is speaking about Marie Antoinette, Xander can’t take his eyes off her…
6:30 : Jason Behr plays Billy Fordham, aka Ford. He’s perhaps best known for his role as Max Evans in Buffy‘s Network partner Roswell for three seasons. He also played Sarah Michelle Gellar‘s boyfriend in 2009’s The Grudge.
7:10 : Ford says that he’s transferring from Hemery High in Los Angeles, Buffy’s former school. We later learn this is a fabrication and he has no school records, which means he shouldn’t be on campus…
7:10 : …which brings us to our next point: can complete strangers just walk onto a high school campus? Or is this a reflection of the more innocent times of the Nineties?
8:01 : Cute character moment: Willow’s reaction when she (belatedly) realises just what Divinyls‘ “I Touch Myself ” was all about…
10:06 : Both Angel and Xander are jealous of Ford’s close bond with Buffy. In fact, we’re struggling to think of a time other than this where they actually agree on anything!
10:30 : Yes, despite the vicarious smooching at the end of the previous episode, Buffy tells Ford categorically that Angel is not her boyfriend. Kind of. Ish. Believe it or not, this is actually a step in the right direction…
11:46 : So, Ford knows Buffy is the Slayer and claims he knew in Los Angeles? That’s fine, but surely he’s come to the Hellmouth to be turned regardless? Is it just coincidence that Buffy moved to Sunnydale? Did he know she was there? Did he learn about the Slayer from the Sunset Club patrons..?
12:08 : This is a different bedroom than the one we saw Willow in during I Robot, You Jane, and is a studio set rather than a location. It’ll be seen again in Passion.
12:50 : The underground Sunset Club. Described in the script as ‘dark, fairly Goth and very lively. It’s like a giant underground bunker done up for permanent Halloween.’
13:01 : Actor Jarrod Paul portrays Marvin, aka Diego in this episode. He was a recurring star on Monk as the title character’s obnoxious neighbour. He later worked more behind the camera, producing, writing and directing.
13:30 : The only other member of the Sunset Club that speaks in the episode, Julia Lee‘s character, named Joan in the script, aka Chanterelle, will move to Los Angeles and change her name to Lily. Buffy will encounter her again in Anne.
14:00 : The film playing behind Ford is 1973’s Dracula, with Jack Palance in the title role.
14:43 : Willow invites Angel into her bedroom, an act that will have unfortunate consequences for her in Passion.
15:44 : This is actually the first proper conversation between Willow and Angel. She can tell by talking with him how much he loves Buffy and that’s all she needs to trust him. They form quite the bond over the years ahead.
16:17 : Willow’s mother can be heard calling for her from off-screen. The voice artist is not credited.
17:21 : Buffy’s line about there only being one Willow in the world is certainly a joke, but it’s an ironic one considering Doppelgangland.
18:28 : The blonde female vampire is uncredited onscreen, but she’s listed elsewhere as actress Julie Michaels. She worked with Patrick Swayze on Road House (1989) and would later win Emmy awards for her work as a stunt-coordinator on both the big and small screen.
20:26 : The guy dressed as a vampire in the coffin, who waves as Xander and Willow walk past, is head make-up designer Todd McIntosh in a cute cameo.
20:51 : Angel snaps at Chanterelle for her naivety. If Spike hadn’t walked through the door later, she might have remembered Angel – though three years later, when they meet again in Blood Money, it’s Spike she recalls, not him.
21:38 : Angel has a funny moment here: he bluntly tells Willow and Xander that the Sunset Club patrons know absolutely nothing about the way vampires look, live and dress – just as a customer goes past the trio wearing exactly the same thing Angel is wearing!
23:01 : Giles once again has the wrong information. According to Watcher records, Drusilla was killed in Prague. Since we know this happened in 1997, it’s possible the report hasn’t got to him yet, but as Buffy tells him, reports of her death have been greatly exaggerated.
23:11 : Jenny, who remember is later revealed to be a Romany gypsy, a descendant of the clan that cursed Angel with his soul in 1898, doesn’t seem to know who Drusilla is here, despite Dru being one of the three vampires that massacred the clan the same night. Also she says that Angel is supposed to be one of the good guys – her lie of omission is actively withholding information about the enemy here that could save their lives. And yet she says nothing…
23:11 : …which makes her betrayal in Innocence even worse. Of course, there’s enough reliable evidence from the writers that the secret of Jenny’s past wasn’t conceived of until the making of that episode – which causes all sorts of issues with Jenny’s behaviour in retrospect.
23:23 : The female vampire Ford claimed to have killed breaches the library and steals a book. This will be explained later…
23:57 : It’s now Spike’s turn to be jealous, now of Angel.
25:18 : Ironically, it’s only now that Ford approaches that he checks his security!
25:25 : He also has a great line in the same moment: “It’s called security, people! Or have we finally found a restaurant that delivers?”
25:44 : The female vampire, who’s not seen after this episode, gives Spike the book she stole from Giles’ office. It’s the du Lac manuscript that is the key to unlocking Drusilla’s cure – which we’ll find out in What’s My Line?
28:23 : Buffy tells Angel that she loves him – but doesn’t trust him – for the first time.
28:37 : Angel tells her about his stalking, abuse and torture of Drusilla. He believes that his treatment of her is the worst thing he ever did as a monster. Angelus, on the other hand, believes her to be his greatest masterpiece.
28:48: : We’ll see more of Angelus’ obsession with Drusilla in various flashbacks in Becoming, Fool for Love, Dear Boy, Darla and A Tale of Two Families.
29:42 : There’s a lovely moment here where the camera comes out from Buffy and Angel to a shot from the outside looking in. It’s remarkably effective, giving the sense that we’re eavesdropping on their private conversation.
34:45 : Absolutely fantastic comedic timing here where Buffy interrupts her own very serious and life-saving speech to condemn Diego’s dorky outfit.
36:06 : Buffy tells Ford that when sired the human personality is gone and a demon sets up shop in the body. She’s explaining, in her own way, the same thing Giles warned Xander about in The Harvest in regards Jesse.
38:00 : This entire sequence between Sarah Michelle Gellar and Jason Behr is quietly heartbreaking. It’s an extremely close and subtle performance. It’s a genius moment, summing up the theme of the episode with every beat. They both prove why they’re the leads of their own series in this moment.
39:20 : Chanterelle is bitten by Spike here, which certainly seems to put her off vampires. While she doesn’t refer to Spike by name, she remembers this encounter and recalls it to Angel in Blood Money.
40:36 : Does it seem odd to anyone else that Buffy gets her hands on Drusilla here, has her right at the end of a really pointy stake… and then throws her aside to escape? Wouldn’t she have taken advantage of the moment and disoriented Spike by taking out Dru? What else does she gain from keeping her alive? It’s really not worth the future heartache or violence.
41:28 : Spike and Ford’s hilarious exchange about being trapped:
43:26 : Why would Spike and Drusilla still make Ford a vampire and give him what he wants when they get nothing out of it, save perhaps Buffy’s pain?
43:47 : The final lines between Buffy and Giles are beautiful, played with heartfelt warmth by Anthony Stewart Head and Sarah Michelle Gellar. Giles’ drawn out, ridiculously happy lie, is one she so much wants to believe, but she knows, as we all do eventually, that real life just doesn’t work like that and that the stories we’re told as children aren’t always as black and white as they seem… One of the best moments between the two in the entire series!
The Watcher's Guide 