Innocence (Joss Whedon)
Is this the first 10/10 episode of BtVS?
David Boreanaz is a revelation as Angelus (as we must call Angel when he’s bad); he is clearly having a lot of fun in his role: taunting Spike, flirting with Drusilla and being really, really mean to Buffy. The scene at his apartment when she meets him for the first time since that “one moment” is gut wrenching. SMG shows off her undoubted talent as she negotiates Buffy’s path of humiliation, shame, guilt, pain and disappointment that Joss Whedon has laid out for her.
But it may be SMG’s show, but it’s Alyson Hannigan as Willow who has the moments in the episode that are simply sublime: the look on her face as we see her discovering what Xander and Cordelia have been up to:
the pain in her voice as she realises the truth about Xander’s platonic feelings for her:
the first to realise what had occurred between Buffy and Angel (“Shut up, Giles”), and yet another awesome scene with Oz, Seth Green is marvellous here, but AH’s face says it all: “this boy is the one”:
I could quote it all but here’s the best bit “It’s like, it’s like freeze frame. Willow kissage.”
We discover that Angel is the real deal baddie because he’s smokin’.
I’m starting to warm to Spike as he shows his vulnerable side as he watches helplessly as Angel and Dru rekindle their pervy past.
Xander’s eyebrow does an amazing thing when he gets a plan:
Urgh, reviewing the programme as I write this means I have to revise this to a 9/10 – I have just been reminded of the Buffy/Angel sex scene with added heavy breathing by Joss Whedon – it brings back awful memories of Where the Wild Things Are.
I feel sorry for Jenny – she did conceal her real identity from Giles and Buffy but she did that because of her loyalty to her family. It is sad to be made a scapegoat for something you couldn’t have known would happen. Buffy’s inaction at the end of the episode costs Jenny dear. While Andy is forgiving of Buffy’s leniency, the subsequent deaths that occur because of her behaviour anger me, “give me time”, she says, time that others don’t have.
The double ending with Giles in the car and Joyce and the old film are just lovely (“I got older”).
“I knew it! I knew it! Well, not ‘knew it’ in the sense of having the slightest idea, but I knew there was something I didn’t know. You two were fighting way too much. It’s not natural!”
“No. It just means that you’d rather be with someone you hate than be with me.”
“One moment of true happiness, of contentment, one moment where the soul that we restored no longer plagues his thoughts, and that soul is taken from him.” – I like sex, love it even but I’m not entirely happy with the idea of coitus as being true happiness – plus it places a terrible burden on Buffy’s loss of her virginity which is unfair (but totally dramatic!)
“But she’s so cute and helpless. Really a turn-on.” – oo, evil!
“This is great. There’s an unkillable demon in town, Angel’s joined his team, the Slayer is a basket case. I’d say we’ve hit bottom.” “I have a plan.” “Oh, no, here’s a lower place.”
“To kill this girl – you have to love her.”
OK – here’s my defence of Buffy – she’s a sixteen year old who within a few hours has gone from “knowing” that she was in love to being humiliated and confused by what happened to Angel and WHY it happened. Regardless of the “she alone can stand against the vampires…” nonsense I don’t get how under these circumstances anyone of her age can do anything BUT give in to her feelings. She let Angel go because she couldn’t do anything else and the repurcussions of her actions were not an issue to her and shouldn’t be an issue to anyone else.
To even consider that she is any way REALLY responsible for the murders that Angelus later commits…well…that would be wrong!
How soon we forget – it was Buffy’s birthday “surprise” – she’s seventeen.
She could have killed him and that would have ruined the rest of the season (and three and the spin off). I didn’t say she was responsible for the murderers but her inaction does cost others dearly (only Angelus is responsible). JW makes Buffy carry a heavy burden and who can blame her for how miserable she is by season six and seven.
One of the best. The (rather tastefully done, IMO) sex scene with the heavy breathing doesn’t bother me, so I’d still give it 10 of 10.
At the church where I sing, they have a hallway with architecture similar to the scene where Angelus kills Jenny. I have to admit, when I go down that hallway on Thursday nights (because most of the lights are out), I inevitably think of that scene where Angelus kills Jenny, and the hair on the back of my neck stands up.