av Mr Chase » fre mar 26, 2004 4:31
Mr Chase har beställt The Labyrinth Maps of Malta:
41. Revelations
This is much better. I thoroughly enjoyed this episode, well minus the continuing disaster that is Willow and Xander. But aside from that this was quite good. Finally Buffy's not so little Angel secret comes back to bite her in the rear. While she might have planned to tell the others sometime, thanks to guilt-ridden Xander the gang finds out about it before she has a chance. As if the group dynamic hadn't already spun out of control enough when she returned? And this time Giles is *not* in a forgiving mode.
Giles: "Be quiet. I won't remind you that the fate of the world often lies with the Slayer. What would be the point? Nor shall I remind you that you've jeopardized the lives of all that you hold dear by harbouring a known murderer. But, sadly, I must remind you that Angel tortured me... for hours... for pleasure. You should have told me he was alive. You didn't. You have no respect for me or the job I perform."
Ouch, Buffy! That gotta hurt, coming from none other than Giles, probably the only fixed point she has to anchor on in her crazy existence.
The Scoobies have their different reasons for acting to the news the way they did. Mostly they do it because they feel betrayed that Buffy didn't confide in them. Sure, at least Willow and Xander perhaps go a bit overboard because of guilt. But Xander never really liked Dead Boy anyway and he just kicks back to his old pattern. The Angelus thing is also helpful.
Buffy: "You would just love an excuse to hurt him, wouldn't you?"
Xander: "I don't need an excuse. I think lots of dead people actually constitutes a reason."
Intellectually everyone understands that Angel is not Angelus anymore but considering what they all went through personally their feelings are understandable. Previously the knowledge of Angelus's evilness was abstract. After "Innocence" it's tangible. And considering what led to Angel's desouling it's not actually a confidence building measure to see Buffy and Angel in a heavy make-out session. They ought to be wiser than that.
Cordelia: "What gives you the right to suck face with your demon lover again?"
Buffy: "It was an accident!"
Xander: "What, you just tripped and fell on his lips?"
I really liked the dead serious and determined Xander, especially when he was with Faith. You may or may not agree with him and his decisions but I for one think that this is a more mature Xander than the juvenile sneaking-behind-Cordy's-back-to-do-smoochies-with-Willow we unfortunately also get to see. At least he knows how wrong it is:
Xander: "Hey, Giles, here's a nifty idea. Why don't I alleviate my guilt by going out and getting really, really killed?"
Willow too is plagued by guilt. I'm surprised though that none has seen through it by know. Cordelia used to be hyper-sensitive about Xander's relationships with Buffy and Willow but not anymore. That's also a bit unbelievable since I don't think she's suddenly become so vain that she couldn't comprehend the very idea that Willow could steal her boyfriend. Cordy has always been rather insecure (on the inside that is, rarely on the outside) in these matters, especially when it comes to Xander.
Willow is sure a different Willow than the one we are used to. She's actively lying to her friends, for heaven's sake. And the lunge kiss, the little slut! She probably feels as bad as the rest of the gang about Buffy's secret, even if she's been the one to give Angel the benefit of the doubt before, but since she has one of her own now she forces herself to understand Buffy's.
Otherwise we get a small glimpse into Watcherworld. Rogue watcher Gwendolyn Post arrives and plays everyone, Giles included, to perfection so she literally can get her hand on the mitten of Mynhegon. Am I the only one who actually liked her character, in a twisted sort of way? Well I did, and too bad she turned out to be a baddie. Her put-downs were great.
Gwendolyn: "The fact is, there is talk in the Council that you have become a bit too... American."
Giles: "Me?"
Buffy: "Him?"
But she and Giles having tea with tea bags? Please, no true Englishman or -woman would be caught dead using those blasted *things*!
And why didn't Giles bother to check Mrs Post's credentials. Is he going to take everyone's word for it if they just show up and claims to represent the Watcher's Council? But since he's bad at reading their memos maybe we shouldn't be that surprised. He does seem to have issues with them.
The interactions between Buffy and Faith were great, from the synchronized slaying at the beginning to the catfight at the end, yum! But poor Faith has some serious trust issues. She doesn't trust men. She did however allow herself to trust her new female watcher, Mrs Post, and look where that took her. Now Buffy wants Faith to trust her and for a brief second she considers it. But no, Faith trusts only one person now -- herself. And it is bound to get her into trouble. For despite everything that Buffy has done to them, the Scoobies and Giles are her friends. Faith really has no one and retreats when opportunity knocks.
But the danger to the gang is great. Lies, secrets, betrayals, running away -- they are seriously threatening the cohesion and hence their effectiveness as a slayage unit. Buffy's strength as a slayer, when compared to the other slayers before her, is that she's not alone. She has the Slayerettes. At least for now.
Rupert Giles: "I'll be back in the Middle Ages."
Miss Calendar: "Did you ever leave?"