From the opening credits you know something's a little bit wrong with this episode. Suddenly the familiar clips of the characters and past episodes are inter-sliced with shots of Jonathan. You know... The guy who once tried to shoot himself back at Sunnydale High in season three and was almost eaten my Xander's mummy girlfriend back in season two? Jonathan the perpetual outsider and poster boy for the uncool is suddenly the central figure of... well... Everything. Clearly there's magic afoot. This is a hilarious episode, which introduces a new "magic can alter everyone's perceptions" premise and builds on the character of Jonathan. If you plan to watch any of BTVS seasons five or six, I suggest you see this episode.
The plot of "Superstar" is really pretty simple. Jonathan is the now the ultimate in super-coolness and can do anything. No one in Sunnydale seems to find this odd. In fact the Scoobies are thrilled to have his help on their cases. Riley and the Iniataive are happy to have the "big gun" around to help. People are desperate to hear him preforming at the "Bronze." Jonathan's everyone's hero. When a strange monster starts attacking people, though, Buffy begins to get suspicious. The creature seems to have a link to Jonathan. As she investigates, she realizes that this reality is wrong and it's up to her to put things back to normal.
The heart of the episode rests on the continuing joke that Jonathan is suddenly the center of the universe. It revolves around his character's insecurities and continued desire to be part of the Scoobie gang. So there's nothing that he isn't taking credit for or being involved with. You have to laugh at all the crazy Jonathan-stuff. He starred in the "Matrix." He has his own trading cards. His face is on cereal boxes. He's a medical doctor. He invented the internet. He's lecturing the Initative on Adam's uranium core. He's a master chess player. He's intimidating Spike. He's helping Buffy fight vampires. He's a jazz musician. He's an object of desire for everyone who meets him. He's signing his books and he's on TV. It's all pretty hilarious if you know and love Jonathan.
There are a lot of good parts to this episode. I like that Jonathan really is trying to be friends with the Scoobies. Giving Buffy and Riely advice and chatting with Giles. He really doesn't think that he's taking advantage of them, which will help explain his horror and surprise when things go so wrong in season six. Jonathan just doesn't see the consequences of his actions until its too late. Also, I think it's interesting that Spike yelps "Hey, you can't do that" when Buffy starts reasserting herself and throws him against a wall. It's as if on some level, he knows that things are wrong here and everyone is just playing a part. And I love Xander setting Giles' ancient text on fire. "Xander, don't speak Latin in front of the books."
"Superstar" also sets up a lot of stuff for the coming seasons of BTVS and "Angel." There's the running "world of shrimp" jokes, which always make me laugh. Plus the episode highlights Jonathan's desperate need for acceptance and for a place to belong. It drives his character and will help motivate his dark turn in season six. The episode also introduces the concept of magic shifting reality. In season five of BTVS and in seasons four and five of "Angel," this idea will be the focus of larger story lines so it's cool to see it playing out here.
On the downside, I imagine that this would be a very difficult episode to follow if you didn't know who Jonathan was. He appears in seasons two and three as a student at Sunndydale High, and he will play a large role in seasons six and seven when he's part of the Trio. But, if you're seeing "Superstar" with no back story, it will be tough to understand all the jokes. Also, I wish that the Scobbies had just allowed Jonathan to be part of the group in the end. So much pain could have been avoided if they'd just seen his desire to be one of them and given him a place to belong, before he hooked up with Warren and Andrew...
My favorite part of the episode: The Jonathan swimsuit calender.
The plot of "Superstar" is really pretty simple. Jonathan is the now the ultimate in super-coolness and can do anything. No one in Sunnydale seems to find this odd. In fact the Scoobies are thrilled to have his help on their cases. Riley and the Iniataive are happy to have the "big gun" around to help. People are desperate to hear him preforming at the "Bronze." Jonathan's everyone's hero. When a strange monster starts attacking people, though, Buffy begins to get suspicious. The creature seems to have a link to Jonathan. As she investigates, she realizes that this reality is wrong and it's up to her to put things back to normal.
The heart of the episode rests on the continuing joke that Jonathan is suddenly the center of the universe. It revolves around his character's insecurities and continued desire to be part of the Scoobie gang. So there's nothing that he isn't taking credit for or being involved with. You have to laugh at all the crazy Jonathan-stuff. He starred in the "Matrix." He has his own trading cards. His face is on cereal boxes. He's a medical doctor. He invented the internet. He's lecturing the Initative on Adam's uranium core. He's a master chess player. He's intimidating Spike. He's helping Buffy fight vampires. He's a jazz musician. He's an object of desire for everyone who meets him. He's signing his books and he's on TV. It's all pretty hilarious if you know and love Jonathan.
There are a lot of good parts to this episode. I like that Jonathan really is trying to be friends with the Scoobies. Giving Buffy and Riely advice and chatting with Giles. He really doesn't think that he's taking advantage of them, which will help explain his horror and surprise when things go so wrong in season six. Jonathan just doesn't see the consequences of his actions until its too late. Also, I think it's interesting that Spike yelps "Hey, you can't do that" when Buffy starts reasserting herself and throws him against a wall. It's as if on some level, he knows that things are wrong here and everyone is just playing a part. And I love Xander setting Giles' ancient text on fire. "Xander, don't speak Latin in front of the books."
"Superstar" also sets up a lot of stuff for the coming seasons of BTVS and "Angel." There's the running "world of shrimp" jokes, which always make me laugh. Plus the episode highlights Jonathan's desperate need for acceptance and for a place to belong. It drives his character and will help motivate his dark turn in season six. The episode also introduces the concept of magic shifting reality. In season five of BTVS and in seasons four and five of "Angel," this idea will be the focus of larger story lines so it's cool to see it playing out here.
On the downside, I imagine that this would be a very difficult episode to follow if you didn't know who Jonathan was. He appears in seasons two and three as a student at Sunndydale High, and he will play a large role in seasons six and seven when he's part of the Trio. But, if you're seeing "Superstar" with no back story, it will be tough to understand all the jokes. Also, I wish that the Scobbies had just allowed Jonathan to be part of the group in the end. So much pain could have been avoided if they'd just seen his desire to be one of them and given him a place to belong, before he hooked up with Warren and Andrew...
My favorite part of the episode: The Jonathan swimsuit calender.
