Here we are, at the episode that changed the direction the series was going to take. Instead of having season after season of endless monster of the week goofiness, we get a show that's powerful, dramatic, funny, action-packed, and gut-wrenching. It all began here. On the commentary of this episode, Whedon himself states that this is the first time the writers realized what they were capable of. I'm so happy they never looked back. You'll probably notice that I have no complaints about this episode, which is true. I tried hard to find something worth nitpicking over, but simply put this material deserves the first 100 I've given out.
It begins with Spike hilariously making fun of The Judge, who's just sitting around doing much of nothing. Right away I notice that this is shot differently than most BtVS episodes. There's this one particular shot where we see only half of Drusilla's face, with Spike and the Judge in the background. I really like this, it's unusual and refreshing to see. Whedon is definately a competent director who likes to take risks. Thankfully his risks usually pay off.
Angel is still on the ground crying out Buffy's name when a hooker asks him if he needs help. He quickly stands up and says "the pain is gone," and then bites her and blows her cigarette smoke out of his mouth; Angelus is back! I love how Whedon uses The Judge to confirm that Angel isn't simply playing a game here. The Judge touches him and nothing happens, so we know he's lost his soul. I also love the chemistry between Angelus, Spike, and Drusilla. It is naturally added right on top of the great chemistry Spike and Drusilla already have. Angelus quickly reveals his intentions: he wants to hurt Buffy like her hurt Drusilla. This will be accomplished in three steps. Step one is using his position as her lover to emotionally shatter her, which he does in this episode. Step two involves killing off all her friends and family until she has nothing left aside from herself, which he begins doing in "Passion" (2x17) and continues doing in "Becoming Pt. 1" (2x21). Then step three will be to kill her, which he tries to do in "Becoming Pt. 2" (2x22). This guy is seriously sick, cruel, and evil.
All the acting this episode is first rate. I especially love the entire sequence involving Willow discovering Xander and Cordelia's relationship. Willow manages to be angry, cute, and disgusted all at the same time. Alyson Hannigan is a fantastic actress! I'm really happy that Willow doesn't shut down and go in cry mode but instead 'accepts' their relationship in light of their current crisis. She still says that Xander has "gross emotional problems" though. Jenny gets a good scene with her uncle as well. He gives an interesting speech about vengeance being a living thing rather than something 'traded,' like commerce.
Joss Whedon can sure be cruel to his characters sometimes. We really see Buffy get torn apart in the big scene at Angel's place. Angelus says the cruelest things anyone could possibly say to Buffy after what they'd been through. She dissolves into pain and SMG's acting is perfectly gut-wrenching. This was tough enough, but Buffy gets beat up even more later on. After frighteningly choking Willow, Angelus kisses Buffy and violently throws her against the wall. Angelus shares with Spike, "to kill this girl you have to love her." This wave of emotional attacks cripples Buffy so when the group is trying to figure out what to do in the library and Giles asks Buffy what she knows about the previous night, she can't take it and is barely able to hold herself up as she runs home crying. I love that Willow can see why Buffy is in so much pain and tells Giles to "shut up." When Buffy gets home she lets it all out in a very painful scene to watch. She touches the cross Angel gave to her back in "Welcome to the Hellmouth" (1x01) and recoils in pain onto her bed where she curls up in a fetal position, crying and weeping. We've never seen Buffy in this much pain before.
This emotional breakdown is followed by a haunting dream. In it she recalls her romantic sex from the previous night when the dream shifts to a cemetary where Angel tells her that Jenny Calendar is involved with what happened. This leads to the fantastic scene where Buffy charges into the Computer Lab, grabs a hold of Jenny's neck, and violently throws her back onto the table and demands for answers. Buffy finds out that it was her fault, not Jenny's. Giles then follows with a perfect reaction to discovering that not only Buffy had sex with Angel (and I think Giles knows he was her 'first') but that it also caused the loss of his soul.
Continuity appears again here when Xander reminds everyone of his experience during "Halloween" (2x06). He uses his army knowledge gained in that episode to obtain a rocket launcher that Buffy can use to destroy The Judge. While Xander and Cordelia are in the army base, Willow and Oz are in the van. They share a cute scene here where Oz rejects the opportunity to kiss Willow because he knows the only reason she wants to kiss him is because of Xander's betrayal. I also love the "freeze frame" anology. This restraint on Oz's part is what really causes Willow to love and begin a seriously relationship with him. This relationship is solidified even further in the next episode when she finds out Oz is a werewolf, yet doesn't care.
Right before the final confrontation at the mall, there's a small scene in which they are opening up the rocket launcher case and Jenny walks in asking if she can help. Buffy says, "get out." Jenny replies, "I just want to help." Giles then sternly answers, "she just said get out." This proves, once again, that Giles' allegiance is first and formost to Buffy. This is another big step on his path of becoming her father figure. Buffy gains a lot of respect for him right here.
It's showtime. Buffy and the Scooby Gang come into the mall, Buffy calls The Judge "smurf," and they get set up to have the big showdown. The Judge is chain-zapping all kinds of people when Buffy shoots him with a dinky arrow. He says, "You're a fool. No weapon forged can stop me." Then Buffy cunningly answers, "That was then. This is now," and pulls out the rocket launcher. He tilts his heads and says, "what's that?" Rocket flies, Joss Whedon is jumping up and down yelling "YES!" on the set, and The Judge is blown back into pieces. This is simply pure satisfaction.
The resulting fight with Angelus is very personal and ends with Buffy not being able to kill him and settling with kicking him where it hurts. In a moment like this I'm always worried that there won't be any consequences from letting him live. This is a Joss Whedon show, though, so no worries of that happening. The biggest consequence of letting Angelus live here is Jenny Calendar's murder in "Passion" (2x17).
There is a really touching scene between Giles and Buffy in his car right before the end of the episode. Buffy is heart-broken and saying "this is all my fault." Giles replies with "if it's guilt you're looking for, Buffy, I'm, I'm not your man. All you will get from me is, is my support. And my respect." This naturally warms Buffy's heart and renews her to be able to move forward from here.
This leads to the final scene with Buffy and her mom. Joyce asks, "Did you have fun?" Buffy replies, "I got older." Joyce then responds, "You look the same to me." This is an important point. Buffy feels as though she's lost her innocence, but Joyce is trying to tell her that, even with whatever she's been through, she's still an innocent. It's important to note how supportive Joyce is without even knowing what's bothering Buffy. It is so reassuring to know that Buffy has her mom and her friends to rely on when everything goes bad. That's what makes "Becoming Pt. 2" (2x22) even more painful than this episode: her family appears to abandons her and her friends can't understand her.
Joyce letting Buffy take comfort in her arms, all nice and cozy, is the perfect end to this fantastic episode. The series is now operating on all cylinders and never calms down all the way through S7. This is the moment the show went from good to fantastic and meaningful. The season is gearing up. Here we go!
