Into the Woods (Marti Noxon)
Alas not the musical or the children’s book but a Marti Noxon blood boiling special. I apologise in advance for getting so cross.
Riley is the fourth major male character who gets to leave Sunnydale without having to die.
It starts off okay with Joyce and the all-clear and the nice scene with Xander, Anya and Dawn: “Well, we could play that game again, Life. That was fun.” “For you. You always win.” “Well, we can make a wager this time. You can give me real money. That would be different.” “And after we teach her to gamble, maybe we can all get drunk!” “I don’t think the bar would serve her, but we could bring something in. Strawberry schnapps taste just like real ice cream.”
Then there is the sex bit. Then there is scene in the Magic Box setting up the events in Triangle. All okay: amusing and/or reasonable.
Good line from Giles: “No longer a victim of crass holiday commercialization, I’m…a purveyor of it.”
Then one of many hard to believe scenes: why doesn’t Riley kill Spike? I know the real answer is that James Marsters is very popular and he’s funny and sexy and not Marc Blucas. But in terms of drama: why does he stake him and not kill him?
I do believe that I never praise James Marsters as Spike but he is great. In this episode he has the funny “are you naked under there?” and the smirking at Riley, the subsiding terror of nearly dying, the frankness of “sometimes I envy you so much it chokes me” and he is charismatic throughout. Despite all Spike’s dreadful behaviour, he’s a charmer.
Spike is right: of course, Riley is not Buffy’s long haul guy but that isn’t her fault: right guy, wrong time. It happens.
The scene between Buffy and Riley is well acted and what Riley says is so wrong that Buffy can only respond negatively. Riley says the vampires needed him in a way that Buffy didn’t: say what? They are desperate not needy. Even vampires are humiliating themselves when they sell themselves like this. It is not a healthy transaction.
I do believe that he believes what he’s saying except when he asks her to hit him which is just odd to me (perhaps I’m sheltered). Does he think if she hits him that means she cares? Does he want her to hurt him? I dunno.
She rightly refuses to accept his ultimatum and that would be okay if the episode ended there. But then we have to put up with the intervention of Xander which is the scene that makes me want to thump the screen, just like the Xander scene in Dead Man’s Party because if there is anything I like less than patronising Xander it’s self-fucking-righteous Xander.
“You shut down, Buffy. And you’ve been treating Riley like the rebound guy. When he’s the one that comes along once in a lifetime. He’s never held back with you. He’s risked everything. And you’re about to let him fly because you don’t like ultimatums?” He’s the one who comes along once in a lifetime? Oh please.
And then there is the scene with Buffy running, running, running – running after the man who took up with whore vampires because she wasn’t giving him what he needed. And what he needed was validation of himself as a man with a woman to look after. Fuck. Off.
The episode is partly redeemed by Xander’s speech to Anya which at least shows he was listening to himself.
Is it me or are Marti Noxon’s scripts incoherent? Characters do and say things that have an effect on others when they shouldn’t. And things happen that make no sense. New Moon Rising is a good example of this.
Post-season three I have no use for Marti Noxon. I even have little use for her during two of her season three scripts (“Dead Man’s Party” and “Beauty and the Beasts”). While I don’t find “New Moon Rising” that incoherent, “Wild at Heart” is nearly ruined (thank god for Alyson Hannigan) by the trademark Noxon disjointedness. The woman can go from zero to maudlin in under 10 seconds.
See, I’m incensed by the Buffy-Riley ultimatum scene and only confused by the scene with Xander. While I actually don’t blame Riley for leaving Buffy, he is being a selfish, hypocritical prick about it. Yes, Buffy did cut herself off emotionally, but hello! she was dealing with a sick mother. Riley does the same thing and starts visiting vampire prostitutes, but Buffy is expected to forgive him? Whatever.
Xander’s speech…I have no idea where that comes from. While he seems to like Riley, his displaying that much support for a love interest of Buffy occurs to me as wildly out of character. I tend to think that he is projecting a lot of what he thinks about himself and his affection for Buffy onto Riley.
And as sweet as Nick Brendon is in that last scene with Anya, I just don’t buy it. I think that Xander believes what he is saying, but I could never see Xander and Anya’s relationship as anything very serious.
OK, I’ve been thinking really hard, but I’m still puzzled. Who is the fourth male character to leave? Angel, Oz, Riley, and…? Are you including Giles in this count even though he leaves later on?
And I meant to say before, who makes plastic, wood grain stakes? Riley should have beat him up or killed him instead of that stupid mislead. Noxon was just desperate for an act break.
Wesley. Okay, maybe not in the credits major but still important to the Buffyverse.
If you care enough to look, this is how much I disliked Dead Man’s Party.
You know what (else) bothers me about this (and the opening of Triangle) is at what point did Xander and Riley become so chummy that Xander cared so much about HIM (and it does seem to be a care of Riley rather than a care of Buffy). Thinking about it now, friendship beyond the primary characters is something that doesn’t seem to be treated seriously (maybe it’s too complicated to introduce this added layer of relationship) – I think maybe if we’d seen Xander and Riley building a friendship then Xander’s intervention may have been more effective.
But without that it’s just annoying, inappropriate and wrong.
There are hints of them bonding. They roughhouse at the beginning of “Family” (which I think you meant) and they share a moment at the end of “The Replacement” when Riley tells Xander that he knows Buffy doesn’t love him. But you’re right — the writers never suggested that Xander liked Riley enough to stage the elaborate intervention that he attempts in this episode. And Xander does not have a great track record of liking Buffy’s love interests.
A bit of dialogue that I like from this episode:
So that’s what young folks are calling it these days…
Enjoying your commentary, as always. Here’s a perspective on self-righteous Xander. Maybe he’s not self-righteous. Maybe he’s still in love with Buffy. He wants so badly to BE Riley that he puts himself in Riley’s shoes, and at that point, he has to want her to love him. Xander doesn’t give a hoot about Riley – he wants his beloved Buffy to be the kind of girl who can love a normal guy, thus leaving hope for Buffy to love him. He’ll never be over her.
Alissa (ap, right?): that is a really interesting take on Xander’s behaviour and it does make sense. I still don’t like his attitude though.
Stephanie: that is rather clever dialogue (Marti can write that well). I can imagine Bible study invoking a few “oh gods”.
Pingback: 30 Days of Buffy: Day 7Let's Fold Scarves | Let's Fold Scarves
Pingback: 30 Days of Buffy: Day 12Let's Fold Scarves | Let's Fold Scarves