choices

Choices
5/4/99
guest stars: Kristine Sutherland (Joyce Summers), Harry Groener (Mayor Wilkins), Alexis Denisof (Wesley), Eliza Dushku (Faith), Armin Shimerman (Principal Snyder)
written by David Fury
directed by James A. Contner

Synopsis: not yet written.

    review:     First off, I had issues right when this episode started. Buffy getting into Northwestern? Not a chance.
     I've finally come to the conclusion that Buffy is a terrible Slayer. Don't get me wrong. She used to be good. She was probably one of the best. But somewhere along the line, she's lost it. Probably because she spends all of her time mooning over Angel. And tonight, she was faced with a choice. She had a key to the mayor's ascension. The mayor had Willow. Immediately, Buffy decided to make a trade. No thought into it whatsoever. No matter that by giving the box back, she puts thousands of lives at risk, while by keeping it she risks one. It was not certain that Willow would have died. But Buffy was unwilling to even take that risk. And in her position, she has to. They could have gotten Willow back without given up the box. Or, at the very least, they could have tried. They could have bluffed the mayor. They could have gone in on a rescue mission. They were not condemning willow to a certain death by keeping the box. They were risking it. The choice was not 'willow dies or everyone dies', the choice was 'risk willow's death or risk everyone's death.' And without so much as a backwards glance, Buffy risked everyone's death. They got the box out, why couldn't they get willow out too? It bothers me that no one in the gang even considered this option except Wesley, and he was villainized for it.
     That being said, I didn't think this episode was all that good anyway. However, it was not meant to be the first episode after a long string of reruns, that was obvious so I can't hold too many points against it. One of the weakest points in the show is the B/A dynamic. They've been beating this dead horse for the entire season. The "we can't be together/we're gonna be together" storyline is remarkably reminiscent to anything Days of our Lives does. I have no interest in this couple whatsoever and if I didn't know that Angel was leaving the show it would probably make me stop watching. This episode personified what has been wrong with this season: everything is build up. build up to the finale, build up to the spin-off, build up, build up, build up. anyone remember when stuff used to actually happen in each episode? Buffy dating Angel was the worst thing that has happened to her. She used to be a take charge, go get 'em, never say die spunky heroine. Now all she does is whine. If I can go one episode without hearing Buffy whine I'll be happy. She is swiftly becoming one of the most annoying characters on television.
     And right now people are saying 'why do you still watch this program?' I like the supporting characters. Even though they should have killed her, I love Willow. She is swiftly becoming a very valuable ally. Although she should have hightailed it out of there a bit earlier, perhaps. Still, when was she gonna get another shot at looking at those books? She becomes more Jennyish all the time. Loved the outfit. Also, I was totally right about her going to UC Sunnydale. Of course she will. She can't just go back to a normal life and do normal things after all she's seen and done. She'd be bored to death anywhere else. It was the right decision to make.
     Xander still rocks. Giles is a pretty cool guy too. Although he went down a little in my estimation for not at least considering the fact that Wesley is right. I like Wesley. I hope he survives. I think that faith will go insane and comatose after the ascension, and Wesley will take her back to England and continue as her watcher, hoping for her recovery. That way the door is open for their return but it's not necessary. Snyder is a neat guy. I still think he's got a part to play on the side of good. He obviously doesn't know anything about the mayor. 'Why can't you just be dealing drugs like normal kids?' poor Joyce is clueless. But if Spike is indeed a regular next year, maybe he'll bring some spice into her life. I do like Joyce this season. One of the few characters I like more. Faith manages. I think, at the end, she was wavering in her decision to be evil for a minute. But, she stuck to it. She made her bed, and now she has to lie in it. And in the end, I think she's gonna be the one to destroy the mayor. Not to stop him, but to take his place. The mayor is cool. Such a good-hearted bad guy. and he was so totally right on the money about B/A. That was a good speech. He just can't help imparting that fatherly wisdom even if he doesn't want to kill them all. What a wise man. if it wasn't for the whole 'out to destroy the world' thing, he'd be a pretty decent guy.
     Cordelia and oz were finally given some meat. That was good. Charisma especially made the most out of her limited screen time. And Xander is getting better. His barbs are hurting her a lot more. Obviously, she's hiding a lot of pain. The look when Xander told her he was going off to save lives suggests that she misses feeling important. She went back to her normal life after fighting evil, and found that there wasn't all that much there. Seth green was great with the smashing of the pot. good to see him lose his cool once and a while.
     I like Angel. I like David Boreanaz. He can be a real bad ass when he tries. like when he's not all mushy with Buffy. And I can tell that he knows it's over. He just hasn't figured out how to tell her. I look forward to his new show mostly since it will be Angel without Buffy. Truthfully, I think they should kill Buffy off and move the entire cast to Angel. That would be a good show.
     Overall, it wasn't a bad showing but the fact that the supremely annoying Buffy is the main character brings it down. 7/10

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