A review by Mikelangelo "MikeJer" Marinaro
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This is an extremely fun episode! The main plot is intentionally hokey and really pretty dumb, but all the people involved play it out for maximum laughs and for the most part, it works. With all the heavy themes and emotions running wild over the last group of episodes, it's actually quite refreshing to have one excessively inconsequential 'fun' episode before the heartbreakers, Becoming Pt. 1 (2x21) and Becoming Pt. 2 (2x22), roll in. In only that goal, this episode fantastically succeeds, mostly due to its timely humor. I don't have a lot to say about this aside from a few observations. First up is that Willow should have been replaced as teacher of the Computer Science class by now. It's not that I don't like seeing Willow teaching but rather that it's completely unrealistic. Second of all, I find Cordelia's comment, that winners get special treatment because that's just the way the world works, very intriguing. From my own experiences, this comment seems to be far to commonly true. It's also important to realize that the definition of who is a 'winner' changes during different stages of your life. In high school a 'winner' may be a jock, while in your 30's whoever has the most money is generally considered the 'winner,' regardless of physical appearance. I really enjoyed seeing Buffy beat the shit out of the guy who was trying to take sexual advantage of her in his car. Xander's comment to the jocks later, "I love it when you guys mess with her," is also highly entertaining. It's funny to note that when Buffy doesn't want to turn guys on the guys seem to want to jump on top of her, yet when she wants to be sexually attractive she has trouble. When Buffy goes stalker girl on Gage, the swim team guy, so she can protect him, he seems completely turned off by her. She amusingly admits her sex appeal is on the fritz. This problem possibly stems from the fact that she really is very sexually insecure with herself. Her experience with Angel certainly didn't help at all. This episode bashes all those dumb teachers in high school who think "school spirit" is a matter of life and death, and I adore it for that. When I was in high school I always had teachers telling me I needed more "school spirit" and that I had to attend school assemblies. Thank you Scoobies for helping to show the world how amazingly dumb "school spirit" is. "School spirit" can burn in that pile of books over there titled 'useless.' So there's the gratifying "school spirit" and jock bashing, but the ending ocean scene leaves me feeling odd. I don't know what to make out of that. Anyway, the biggest draw of this episode is the ridiculously funny dialog. The characters have fun with the corny plot and everyone has a good time of it. This isn't blow-you-away material, but it's definately a lot of fun if you're in the non-serious mood.
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| + | Good effects for the gross melted skin. | | + | Willow's confident "I'll crack him like an egg!" She then confronts Jonathan and does 'crack' him into confessing that he peed in the pool. | | + | Love that Gage asks Buffy to walk him home after Angelus bites him and she saves him. | | + | Xander in the speedo is hilarious and quite unusual. All the girls' reactions to seeing this are spot on: Cordelia is impressed while Buffy and Willow are laughing and also seem a bit impressed. Then he jumps in the pool Jonathan peed in and the girls all say, "oh." | | + | Funny use of metaphor: steroids will turn you into a fish person! | | + | Cordelia's ode to Xander when she thinks he turned into a fish monster. |
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- Jonathan getting picked on in the beginning of the episode is another piece in setting up his suicide attempt in Earshot (3x18).
- Willow says, "So... You delved into the black arts and conjured up a hellbeast from the ocean's depths to wreak your vengeance." Jonathan replies, "What? No! I snuck in yesterday and... peed in the pool." Still, Willow's comments about delving into the black arts hints at Superstar (4x17), where he casts a spell to make everyone love him, and his character arc in S6.
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| SNYDER: | I'm not interested in any of that. I'm interested in why, when this school is on the brink of winning its first state championship in fifteen years, you slap a crucial member of that team with a failing mark that would force his removal. Is that how you show your school spirit? | | WILLOW: | Yes. |
| BUFFY: | So something ripped him open and ate out his insides? | | WILLOW: | Like an Oreo Cookie. Well, except for, you know, without the chocolatey cookie goodness. |
| XANDER: | Yeah. The skin's the best part. | | BUFFY: | (to Giles) Any demons with high cholesterol? You're gonna think about that later, mister, and you're gonna laugh. |
| Buffy: | Where's Gage [the guy on the swim team]? | | Xander: | I don't know. He was right behind me, putting his sneakers on. But it's not the Velcro kind, so give him a couple of extra minutes. |
| XANDER: | Not they. We. Me! We have to find an antidote, don't you think? The clock is ticking, people! | | BUFFY: | I wouldn't break out the tartar sauce just yet. | | CORDELIA: | You, you, you. What about me? It's one thing to be dating the lame unpopular guy, but it's another to be dating the creature from the Blue Lagoon. | | XANDER: | Black Lagoon. The creature from the Blue Lagoon was Brooke Shields. And thank you so much for your support! | | BUFFY: | I think we'd better find the rest of the swim team and lock them up before they get in touch with their inner halibut. |
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70
/100
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C+ |
The main plot is likely problematic and/or hokey, but sharp humor and/or character development and relevance keep it afloat. A couple moments may be over-the-top in a bad way. |
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