Okay, I know I hit the spoiler button at the top of this review. And I'm sure that most of the people reading this have already seen the show, anyway. But, if you don't know what happens in this episode, and in it's conclusion "Innocence," PLEASE stop reading. "Suprise" sets up the biggest storyline of the season and, arguably, of the entire Buffyverse. Without "Suprise" and "Innocence" the next five seasons of the show would be completely different. And I doubt that there would even be an "Angel" spin off. Watch these episodes BEFORE you read any spoilers, if you can. Trust me.
"Suprise" revolves around two parties: Buffy's 17th birthday bash and Dru's "Let's End the World" celebration. Yes, Drusilla's recovered from that vampire-illness thing and is back on her feet. Spike, sadly, is not. Thanks to that fight with Buffy at the end of "What's My Line? Part 2," Spike is confined to a wheelchair. His recovery is slow going and he'd really rather leave Sunnydale for greener, not-so-populated-by-Buffy-and-Angel, pastures. Dru, however, is determined to have the party to ends all parties. Literally. She's reassembling all the dismembered pieces of the Judge, a big, blue demon guy who can incinerate people with a wave of his hand. The Judge is going to end humanity... With a little help from Drusilla. (Spike's going along with the plan, too, of course. But, he's mainly in it to amuse Dru. Destoying the world plots tend to bore him.) No weapon forged can hurt the Judge and he hates human feelings. Even Spike and Dru's affection for each other disgusts him. He's eager to start wiping out Sunnydale.
Meanwhile, Buffy's having nightmares about Dru killing Angel. Worried, she goes to his apartment to check on him and they share yet another passionate kiss. They're relationship is moving to a more intimate level and they're both feeling in love and (relitively) happy. With Buffy's 17th birthday approaching, the Scoobies are planning a surprise party. No one wants to let a few prophetic dreams and the threat of the Judge being assembled spoil the celebration, but they're all pretty concerned. And they'd be REALLY worried if they knew that Jenny was actually a gypsy and part of the clan who cursed Angel with a soul. She's been spying on Angel this whole time, monitoring his behavior and moods. It seems Angels' curse comes with a loophole. If he experiences a moment of total happiness, Angel looses his soul and reverts to his evil former self, Angelus. Well, after a long night of fighting monsters and hiding in the sewers, Buffy and Angel return to his apartment and finally sleep together. Angel, having no idea that his curse can be removed, has that moment of pure happiness and suddenly he's not feel so well...
I don't know where to start with the great things about this episode. From Angel giving Buffy that ring for her birthday, to Oz's reaction at seeing a vampire get dusted for the first time, to discovering the secret of Jenny's past, to the cool, moody music playing at Dru's party... it's just all brilliant. And who doesn't smile when Willow comes bouncing into the library and hugs Buffy, squealing, "It's happy birthday Buffy!" Also, I love how Spike keeps Dru's mood swings under control with such indulgent ease. Dru starts freaking out about her floral arrangements, ripping them apart with her bare hands as she shrieks. Spike, calm in the face of her frenzy, simply murmurers, "Let's try something different with the flowers." Most of all, though, I love that Angel goes bad. What a great twist! The hero of the show is now a villain. And it was sleeping with Buffy that made him turn evil. I love a lot of things about BTVS, both before and after this episode, but no other storyline will match the drama of this one.
There aren't really a lot of problems in this episode. The only I can come up with is Buffy's mom. I mean Joyce doesn't even buy presents and get cake for Buffy. She did offer to take Buffy on a shopping trip, but that hardly seems the same. She also wasn't at the party at the Bronze. (Was she even invited?) Anyway, I think Joyce should have made more of an effort. It's sort of nit-picky, but it's the only thing I can think of.
My favorite part of the episode: Oz asking Willow out on a date. "See, I like that you're unpredictable."
"Suprise" revolves around two parties: Buffy's 17th birthday bash and Dru's "Let's End the World" celebration. Yes, Drusilla's recovered from that vampire-illness thing and is back on her feet. Spike, sadly, is not. Thanks to that fight with Buffy at the end of "What's My Line? Part 2," Spike is confined to a wheelchair. His recovery is slow going and he'd really rather leave Sunnydale for greener, not-so-populated-by-Buffy-and-Angel, pastures. Dru, however, is determined to have the party to ends all parties. Literally. She's reassembling all the dismembered pieces of the Judge, a big, blue demon guy who can incinerate people with a wave of his hand. The Judge is going to end humanity... With a little help from Drusilla. (Spike's going along with the plan, too, of course. But, he's mainly in it to amuse Dru. Destoying the world plots tend to bore him.) No weapon forged can hurt the Judge and he hates human feelings. Even Spike and Dru's affection for each other disgusts him. He's eager to start wiping out Sunnydale.
Meanwhile, Buffy's having nightmares about Dru killing Angel. Worried, she goes to his apartment to check on him and they share yet another passionate kiss. They're relationship is moving to a more intimate level and they're both feeling in love and (relitively) happy. With Buffy's 17th birthday approaching, the Scoobies are planning a surprise party. No one wants to let a few prophetic dreams and the threat of the Judge being assembled spoil the celebration, but they're all pretty concerned. And they'd be REALLY worried if they knew that Jenny was actually a gypsy and part of the clan who cursed Angel with a soul. She's been spying on Angel this whole time, monitoring his behavior and moods. It seems Angels' curse comes with a loophole. If he experiences a moment of total happiness, Angel looses his soul and reverts to his evil former self, Angelus. Well, after a long night of fighting monsters and hiding in the sewers, Buffy and Angel return to his apartment and finally sleep together. Angel, having no idea that his curse can be removed, has that moment of pure happiness and suddenly he's not feel so well...
I don't know where to start with the great things about this episode. From Angel giving Buffy that ring for her birthday, to Oz's reaction at seeing a vampire get dusted for the first time, to discovering the secret of Jenny's past, to the cool, moody music playing at Dru's party... it's just all brilliant. And who doesn't smile when Willow comes bouncing into the library and hugs Buffy, squealing, "It's happy birthday Buffy!" Also, I love how Spike keeps Dru's mood swings under control with such indulgent ease. Dru starts freaking out about her floral arrangements, ripping them apart with her bare hands as she shrieks. Spike, calm in the face of her frenzy, simply murmurers, "Let's try something different with the flowers." Most of all, though, I love that Angel goes bad. What a great twist! The hero of the show is now a villain. And it was sleeping with Buffy that made him turn evil. I love a lot of things about BTVS, both before and after this episode, but no other storyline will match the drama of this one.
There aren't really a lot of problems in this episode. The only I can come up with is Buffy's mom. I mean Joyce doesn't even buy presents and get cake for Buffy. She did offer to take Buffy on a shopping trip, but that hardly seems the same. She also wasn't at the party at the Bronze. (Was she even invited?) Anyway, I think Joyce should have made more of an effort. It's sort of nit-picky, but it's the only thing I can think of.
My favorite part of the episode: Oz asking Willow out on a date. "See, I like that you're unpredictable."