Taking away a hero's best pieces always makes for a good story.
It would be easy, so easy for this episode to make Buffy's loss of strength a punchline. But the tone is much darker.
One thing Buffy as a show often struggles with is convincing the viewer of *danger* -- it's a long running serial and most of us don't buy into bluffs of killing off major characters midseason. Some of the weaker Buffy episodes rely on knocking Giles unconscious (seriously, how doesn't he have major brain damage by now?) in attempt to establish peril, but this episode uses a much more effective trick. Buffy's vulnerability, while also a driving force to make her get more creative in slaying, is much more powerfully reflected in a more mundane arena: walking in public while woman.
I've mentioned in other reviews my favorite Buffy episodes are those that reflect horrors of our own world. Buffy's apprehension to walking home alone at night easily lends itself to the fear almost any woman feels. The simple act of it is cast as a frightening thing, and it's damn effective.
Let me be clear at this point that, while I find the above a scathing reflection of patriarchal evils, I don't believe Buffy is feminist media. A feminist piece would not just portray a society that is hostile to the average woman, place our protagonist in it, and pull her out, but would rather feature a hero who fights against the machinery of such a society. Buffy is there, Buffy is upset on her own behalf, but in the end she does nothing about it, and nobody else feels a need to either. Let's also not forget this show is in the middle of convincing us there is nothing wrong with a 1000 year old demon starting a relationship with a girl at 16 (sorry but we can't ignore it).
Nevertheless, bits of wisdom leak into this episode. What pushes it from an 8 to a 9 for me is Buffy's outrage with Giles -- a lesser show would've had her let him off the hook, but she quite rightfully is furious that he robbed her of autonomy, an act we shouldn't take lightly even in the face of his repentance.
The meddling of the council also is a stronger element in this episode -- the episode quite astutely posits that prestigious institutions that pride themselves on "impartiality" are usually in fact too far removed from the lives of the people they see fit to control. They insist on a cruel test in the name of tradition, believing what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and they are more or less rebuked.
It would be easy, so easy for this episode to make Buffy's loss of strength a punchline. But the tone is much darker.
One thing Buffy as a show often struggles with is convincing the viewer of *danger* -- it's a long running serial and most of us don't buy into bluffs of killing off major characters midseason. Some of the weaker Buffy episodes rely on knocking Giles unconscious (seriously, how doesn't he have major brain damage by now?) in attempt to establish peril, but this episode uses a much more effective trick. Buffy's vulnerability, while also a driving force to make her get more creative in slaying, is much more powerfully reflected in a more mundane arena: walking in public while woman.
I've mentioned in other reviews my favorite Buffy episodes are those that reflect horrors of our own world. Buffy's apprehension to walking home alone at night easily lends itself to the fear almost any woman feels. The simple act of it is cast as a frightening thing, and it's damn effective.
Let me be clear at this point that, while I find the above a scathing reflection of patriarchal evils, I don't believe Buffy is feminist media. A feminist piece would not just portray a society that is hostile to the average woman, place our protagonist in it, and pull her out, but would rather feature a hero who fights against the machinery of such a society. Buffy is there, Buffy is upset on her own behalf, but in the end she does nothing about it, and nobody else feels a need to either. Let's also not forget this show is in the middle of convincing us there is nothing wrong with a 1000 year old demon starting a relationship with a girl at 16 (sorry but we can't ignore it).
Nevertheless, bits of wisdom leak into this episode. What pushes it from an 8 to a 9 for me is Buffy's outrage with Giles -- a lesser show would've had her let him off the hook, but she quite rightfully is furious that he robbed her of autonomy, an act we shouldn't take lightly even in the face of his repentance.
The meddling of the council also is a stronger element in this episode -- the episode quite astutely posits that prestigious institutions that pride themselves on "impartiality" are usually in fact too far removed from the lives of the people they see fit to control. They insist on a cruel test in the name of tradition, believing what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and they are more or less rebuked.
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