one down
a review of buffy the vampire slayer episode, "two to go"
original Philippine TV premiere, may 12, 2003
Monday, May 12, 2003
11:34pm
buffy rantage!
I blinked. Twice actually. I could not fucking believe it.
But then again, thinking about it - she'd already successfully
metamorphosed into an uber-cool witch from being the nerdy hacker in previous
seasons. Not to mention having a girlfriend after Xander and Oz. (Now, that's
a 180.)
So really, it must not come as a surprise anymore - Willow dyeing
her hair black. Willow wanting to kill Dawn. Willow killing Rack. And skinning
Warren, btw.
Boy, do things change fast or what.
And before anybody else was even ready for more, it was Alyson
Hannigan in all black and Sarah Michelle Gellar with her shorter blonde hair
(sure, she's had it for a long time, since "Gone", but still not
used to it, though) - right at each other's necks, with Willow screaming "super
bitch" at Buffy's face (but I must say, that sorta felt good, it kinda
did…) and Buffy wanting to show Willow what being a Slayer really meant.
Oh. The. Fucking. Rage.
I was like… Alyson Hannigan could kick? I must say, I was
utterly amazed - I have never seen Willow *fight* as in *fight* before…
partly because I probably hadn't seen VampWillow in Season 3. But everything
else taken into consideration, season five onwards… I mean, she was just…
Willow. The best friend. The hacker. The witch, but not witch in a sense that
it's harmful (except during the Glory days, I guess again.) In the end, she
was just… Willow. Old Reliable, remember?
There lies the problem, actually. The very heart of it. Everything
was because Willow was tired of being *just* Willow.
She'd said it herself - it's all about POWER.
Still, the episode blew me away. Willow shooting lightning from
her hands was almost enough to make me temporarily forget about Tara's death…
but, er, not quite completely. I still miss her, somewhat terribly.
And it was really embarrassing, as I was watching in somebody
else's house - julie's of course - I was practically shooting fists in the
air in time with every fist of Willow's in Buffy's face - she had it coming,
you know, she really really did. Not that she's been bad best friend and all
(or okay, I do have an ish with best friends, but hello, totally beside the
point?), it's just that… Willow was partly right:
WILLOW: (scoffs) Oh, please! This is your pitch? Buffy, you
hate it here as much as I do. I'm just more honest about it.
WILLOW: You're trying to sell me on the world.
WILLOW: The one where you lie to your friends when you're not
trying to kill them? And you screw a vampire just to feel? And insane asylums
are the comfy alternative? This world? Buffy, it's me. I know you were happier
when you were in the ground. The only time you were ever at peace in your
whole life is when you were dead. Until Willow brought you back.
WILLOW: You know, with magic?
Willow's bitterness about her best friend's somewhat betrayal
of her - by not telling her the real feelings inside of her, basically - is
ever so clear in this episode.
Her feelings of grief also partly showed - to confess, I hate
the way Joss made Willow's grieving so violent, and if it weren't for the
inherent sexiness of Evil Willow with all that mojo, I wouldn't know how I
would've dealt with the whole death ish with Tara.
Anyway, the killer line was:
WILLOW: ...the only thing I had going for me ... were the moments
- just moments - when Tara would look at me and I was wonderful. (grimly)
And that will never happen again.
And despite all that evilness surrounding her, I can't help
but sympathize - in the end, she's just another sad girl who didn't know how
to deal.
Willow trying to kill Dawn. I must say, she must've really gotten
irked by Dawn trying to understand her grief - if there's one thing grieving
people couldn't take, it's the fact that some people try to situate themselves
in similar shoes. People who mourn *like* to think their mourning is somewhat
unique.
So there. But still, I did think it was kinda cruel of Willow
to remind Dawn and rub in the whole former Key status, you know? I may love
Willow's character, but not to *that* extent. I may be biased when it's about
Buffy, but Dawn's… Dawn, you know? Fragile.
WILLOW: You miss her?
DAWN: (shocked) Yes.
WILLOW: Did you cry? (Dawn still looking shocked) Of course you did. I get
that.
WILLOW: I understand the crying, you cry because you're human.
But you weren't always.
DAWN: (hurt) Yes, I was.
WILLOW: No, please. You're telling me you don't remember? You used to be some
... mystic ball of energy. Maybe that's why you're crying all the time, Dawnie.
'Cause you don't belong here.
WILLOW: Wanna go back? End the pain? You'll be happier. I'll
be happier. We'll all be a lot happier without listening to the constant whining.
DAWN: (tearful and angry) Willow, stop...
WILLOW: (mock-whining) "Mom!" "Buffy!" "Tara!"
"Waah!" It's time you go back to being a little energy ball.
WILLOW: No more tears, Dawnie…
Okay, I admit, *that* was kinda scary and everything. But, in
defense of Willow, people say a lot of things they don't mean when they're
in grief. That much, I know.
Willow on top of a trailer truck (killer scene, really.) Willow
killing Rack. (Couldn't get over, sorry.) She was so goddamned powerful, it
was scary, but sexy scary. *grin*
And the face-off with Buffy. ULTIMATE.
BUFFY: I don't want to hurt you.
Willow punches Buffy. Buffy flies backward a long way, crashing into a magazine
rack against a wall. The geeks look even more scared. Xander looks alarmed,
moves in front of Dawn.
WILLOW: Not a problem.
Willow starts toward the guys again. Buffy gets up, now wearing
her kick-ass expression. She strides over to get in front of Willow again.
BUFFY: I said I didn't *want* to.
Buffy backhands Willow. Now it's Willow's turn to fly backward,
crashing into a glass display case. Crash, tinkle, broken glass and wood and
merchandise everywhere. Willow lands in a heap on the floor.
BUFFY: Didn't say I wouldn't.
Willow gets up, but Buffy strides up behind her and grabs the
back of her jacket, throws her back away from the door. Willow slides across
the floor, comes to a stop by the stairs leading up to the loft.
Buffy stands there, ready.
Willow gets up and faces Buffy. It's a showdown. Zoom in on Willow's face.
Zoom in on Buffy's face.
WILLOW: So. (smiling) Here we are.
BUFFY: Are we really gonna do this?
WILLOW: Come on, this is a huge deal for me! Six years as a side man, and
now I get to be the Slayer.
BUFFY: A killer isn't a Slayer. Being a Slayer means something you can't conceive
of.
WILLOW: (sighing, shaking her head) Oh, Buffy. You really need to have every
square inch of your ass kicked.
BUFFY: Then show me what you got. And I'll show you what a Slayer really is.
And the mother of all showdowns, indeed. Never thought Buffy
and Willow would go this far, but then again…
Let me just mention right here Buffy's preoccupation with "crossing
the line" - which meant killing people. On the other hand - as you can
see, I am trying my goddamned hardest to rationalize everybody's motives here
- Buffy didn't want to lose Willow to that "line". Probably her
reaction because of what happened between her and Faith.
Buffy and Faith. Faith the other Slayer. Whether obviously or
as subtext (I'm not quite sure as I didn't get to watch Season 3 myself),
Buffy cherished Faith as a friend. But then, Faith killed Alan Finch by accident
- a human - and Buffy's morals in conflict with her relationships just didn't
work out too well, because Buffy always chose morals over everything else
- fucken righteous, but then again, couldn't criticize people for their principles,
right?
When Faith killed Finch, it was from that point that their relationship
turned ugly.
And obviously, Buffy didn't want the same thing to happen to
her relationship with Willow, who was her best friend and all, six years,
you know? Thus, her obsession with keeping Willow's hands bloodfree. After
Warren, that is.
But Willow's just unstoppable I guess. I mean, not even Anya
could stop her (which kinda frustrated me, to a certain degree).
That is, until Giles came back, with his new hair and dark mojo
and all. Wow. This is the first time I actually was impressed by Giles' presence,
no offense.
Subplots. Spike and his trials. I mean, James half-naked and
bloody as hell - not that I didn't welcome it, you know? *grin* It's always
welcome, actually. Missing Amber was difficult as it already was, I'm kinda
thankful for Spike's cameo appearance.
Anya and Xander. Somehow, I kinda feel sorry their relationship
turned that ugly too. It just surprised me how helpless Anya was, despite
her vengeance demon status. I kinda expected her to be a lot stronger than
that, but I guess, all that, plus Buffy's helplessness, too, btw, just kinda
builds up the whole picture that Willow's all too powerful now.
And eventually, it would all boil down to the "powerless
one" - namely Xander - as the only one who has the power to stop her
from ending the world.
Yes, irony is ironic that way.
All in all, Two to Go isn't as magnificent as Once More With
Feeling, but I definitely liked it.
You gotta see evil sometimes.
