Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Buffy vs. Dracula Rewatch
October 14, 2015 9:55 PM - Season 5, Episode 1 - Subscribe
Buffy meets Dracula, and she and her friends find themselves under his enthralling powers. The encounter leads Buffy to rededicate herself to her Slayer training. A new family member appears.
2) I think the actor who plays Dracula isn't very good. He honestly needed to be older, have some more gravitas to him. He just comes across as a bit dorky, and that really undermines quite a lot of this episode.
Rutger Hauer would've been a good hire.
posted by Pope Guilty at 2:46 AM on October 15, 2015 [4 favorites]
Rutger Hauer would've been a good hire.
posted by Pope Guilty at 2:46 AM on October 15, 2015 [4 favorites]
Yeah, not a fan of this one either. I mean, I do like some of the throwaway lines (Check, no more butt-monkey; Giles talking to himself about not having been knocked out for a change and later trying to go back for his shoe; Buffy have staked a few Lestats) but overall I just never understood why the hell Dracula is meant to be so compelling. They all bluster and bluff and instantly cave and it just doesn't work for me. Though it could be because Drac's makeup makes him look like a mime. And also too young. And really, deeply unsexy.
Another thing I have been noticing during this rewatch, along with the distinct lack of PoC as characters (with Forrest so far as the notable and irritating exception) is the fatphobia. At one point last season Riley is trying to think of something mean to call Buffy and the best he can come up with is fat. In this one, we have Buffy slaying the fat pimply Lestats and Anya's eternal doom visited on someone by making him fat. Yay. Meanwhile, the skinniness of most of the female characters is underscored by wardrobe choices, including braless with spaghetti straps and multiple pairs of leather pants (pink?!?! excuse me while I vomit), clingy knit dresses, etc. Poor Tara is being cast as the fat girl when she is merely closer to normal than the rest of them. It makes me despair, honestly.
Anyway. I am kind of rambling now so I will close by remembering how completely gobsmacked I was at the end of this episode when it first aired. Who the hell was this little sister? WTF? Brilliant place to do that, so full props for that. However, I loathe and detest Dawn and this pretty much does not change throughout the rest of the series. So really, with the exception of a few beloved episodes, it's all kinda downhill from here.
posted by Athanassiel at 4:25 AM on October 15, 2015 [2 favorites]
Another thing I have been noticing during this rewatch, along with the distinct lack of PoC as characters (with Forrest so far as the notable and irritating exception) is the fatphobia. At one point last season Riley is trying to think of something mean to call Buffy and the best he can come up with is fat. In this one, we have Buffy slaying the fat pimply Lestats and Anya's eternal doom visited on someone by making him fat. Yay. Meanwhile, the skinniness of most of the female characters is underscored by wardrobe choices, including braless with spaghetti straps and multiple pairs of leather pants (pink?!?! excuse me while I vomit), clingy knit dresses, etc. Poor Tara is being cast as the fat girl when she is merely closer to normal than the rest of them. It makes me despair, honestly.
Anyway. I am kind of rambling now so I will close by remembering how completely gobsmacked I was at the end of this episode when it first aired. Who the hell was this little sister? WTF? Brilliant place to do that, so full props for that. However, I loathe and detest Dawn and this pretty much does not change throughout the rest of the series. So really, with the exception of a few beloved episodes, it's all kinda downhill from here.
posted by Athanassiel at 4:25 AM on October 15, 2015 [2 favorites]
This was a weird, weird episode. Throws in Dracula for, I dunno, lulz or something, and then throws in a sister out of nowhere? Very strange.
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:12 AM on October 15, 2015
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:12 AM on October 15, 2015
I LOVE THIS EPISODE SO MUCH. Nothing makes sense (why is there a castle in Sunnydale?), Dracula is a giant goober and I laugh myself silly every time I rewatch it. As a serious work of Dracula fiction, yes, terrible, but I can't believe for an instant that they meant it that way. It's a (somewhat) loving parody/piss-take of the very specific tropes that have grown up around Dracula, especially movie Dracula.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 6:16 AM on October 15, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 6:16 AM on October 15, 2015 [2 favorites]
"I've lived in Sunnydale for awhile, you know what I never noticed?"
"The castle?"
"Big honkin' castle."
Best line Riley ever had. (That and "coffee machines that think")
Even acknowledging that they're going for a parody vibe they could've really benefitted from an older Dracula with a little more gravitas. And I also feel like it's a missed opportunity that Spike didn't get a chance to interact with him.
posted by wabbittwax at 6:54 AM on October 15, 2015
"The castle?"
"Big honkin' castle."
Best line Riley ever had. (That and "coffee machines that think")
Even acknowledging that they're going for a parody vibe they could've really benefitted from an older Dracula with a little more gravitas. And I also feel like it's a missed opportunity that Spike didn't get a chance to interact with him.
posted by wabbittwax at 6:54 AM on October 15, 2015
I've really been looking forward to the season 5 discussion because I wanted to hear the take of people who watched the show when it was originally broadcast. Did they keep Dawn a secret, was a new young tween-friendly character mentioned in advertisements? Did people hate her immediately?
I watched Buffy for the first time in 2008, all in a two month spree on Netflix, and I had zero information about the series other than having seen the movie years before and having heard that there was an (apparently pretty good) musical episode at some point. So when Dawn showed up, I thought it was a redo of the Jonathan plotline from last season, I figured we'd all figure out in an episode or two that she was magical and then she'd go away.
posted by skewed at 10:27 AM on October 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
I watched Buffy for the first time in 2008, all in a two month spree on Netflix, and I had zero information about the series other than having seen the movie years before and having heard that there was an (apparently pretty good) musical episode at some point. So when Dawn showed up, I thought it was a redo of the Jonathan plotline from last season, I figured we'd all figure out in an episode or two that she was magical and then she'd go away.
posted by skewed at 10:27 AM on October 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
Did they keep Dawn a secret, was a new young tween-friendly character mentioned in advertisements? Did people hate her immediately?
Total surprise (except the in-text foreshadowing), as I recall. I wasn't big into the fandom at that point, but I recall people hating her more or less immediately -- well, not after this episode, because we didn't know anything about her, but pretty quickly.
posted by Etrigan at 10:29 AM on October 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
Total surprise (except the in-text foreshadowing), as I recall. I wasn't big into the fandom at that point, but I recall people hating her more or less immediately -- well, not after this episode, because we didn't know anything about her, but pretty quickly.
posted by Etrigan at 10:29 AM on October 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
One of the few things I like about the Buffy Season 8 comics is that apparently after the series finale, Xander went and spent some time with Dracula and now they've got some kind of wary mutual respect going.
posted by Pope Guilty at 10:30 AM on October 15, 2015
posted by Pope Guilty at 10:30 AM on October 15, 2015
I've really been looking forward to the season 5 discussion because I wanted to hear the take of people who watched the show when it was originally broadcast. Did they keep Dawn a secret, was a new young tween-friendly character mentioned in advertisements? Did people hate her immediately?
My cousin had already revealed to me that Buffy was going to have a sister, but hadn't told me why. So not as surprising, but still intriguing!
posted by Cannon Fodder at 11:23 AM on October 15, 2015
My cousin had already revealed to me that Buffy was going to have a sister, but hadn't told me why. So not as surprising, but still intriguing!
posted by Cannon Fodder at 11:23 AM on October 15, 2015
I'd had some uneasy feelings during Season 4 (which I felt was uneven), but this was the episode where I knew that the show that I loved was not coming back.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 12:36 PM on October 15, 2015
posted by Parasite Unseen at 12:36 PM on October 15, 2015
I just never understood why the hell Dracula is meant to be so compelling. They all bluster and bluff and instantly cave and it just doesn't work for me. Though it could be because Drac's makeup makes him look like a mime. And also too young. And really, deeply unsexy.
I always thought this was intentional. Dracula is so built up in myth and gets people fawning over him because of his special skills, but he's really an uninteresting, unattractive dorky vampire.
I hated Dawn at first and am still not fond of the character, but I've come to accept her place in the show. Although I have never accepted Buffy's decision in the finale. Which we'll get to eventually, don't wanna jump the gun.
posted by Mavri at 3:33 PM on October 15, 2015
I always thought this was intentional. Dracula is so built up in myth and gets people fawning over him because of his special skills, but he's really an uninteresting, unattractive dorky vampire.
I hated Dawn at first and am still not fond of the character, but I've come to accept her place in the show. Although I have never accepted Buffy's decision in the finale. Which we'll get to eventually, don't wanna jump the gun.
posted by Mavri at 3:33 PM on October 15, 2015
My mom, while I was watching this episode: "Doesn't she fight Dracula every week?" I think she was partially kidding, but moms.
posted by darksong at 5:39 PM on October 15, 2015
posted by darksong at 5:39 PM on October 15, 2015
My mom, while I was watching this episode: "Doesn't she fight Dracula every week?" I think she was partially kidding, but moms.
I know people who totally unironically substitute "draculas" for "vampires".
posted by Etrigan at 5:46 PM on October 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
I know people who totally unironically substitute "draculas" for "vampires".
posted by Etrigan at 5:46 PM on October 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
I've really been looking forward to the season 5 discussion because I wanted to hear the take of people who watched the show when it was originally broadcast. Did they keep Dawn a secret, was a new young tween-friendly character mentioned in advertisements? Did people hate her immediately?
I was young when Buffy was on; I think I was 12 or 13 when season 5 started. So I was old enough to enjoy individual episodes, but not old enough to be able to anticipate season-long arcs, nor the savviness to know Whedon shows were different. When Dawn came in at the end of the episode I was livid; how could they just introduce A WHOLE NEW CHARACTER and say NOTHING about it? Did they think we just WOULDN'T NOTICE? Nobody else I knew at the time watched the show so I didn't have anyone to talk to about it. I promised to watch one more episode in hopes they'd explain it -- and then that one was the Dawn-writes-in-her-diary episode. And I was so pissed that I stopped watching for 2/3rds the season when I heard it would be the last one (on the WB, it was later decided).
Which is ironic in retrospect, because 5 is my favorite season. I really appreciate the bait-and-switch now, but perhaps that's because I fell for it so spectacularly.
posted by lilac girl at 7:25 PM on October 15, 2015 [3 favorites]
I was young when Buffy was on; I think I was 12 or 13 when season 5 started. So I was old enough to enjoy individual episodes, but not old enough to be able to anticipate season-long arcs, nor the savviness to know Whedon shows were different. When Dawn came in at the end of the episode I was livid; how could they just introduce A WHOLE NEW CHARACTER and say NOTHING about it? Did they think we just WOULDN'T NOTICE? Nobody else I knew at the time watched the show so I didn't have anyone to talk to about it. I promised to watch one more episode in hopes they'd explain it -- and then that one was the Dawn-writes-in-her-diary episode. And I was so pissed that I stopped watching for 2/3rds the season when I heard it would be the last one (on the WB, it was later decided).
Which is ironic in retrospect, because 5 is my favorite season. I really appreciate the bait-and-switch now, but perhaps that's because I fell for it so spectacularly.
posted by lilac girl at 7:25 PM on October 15, 2015 [3 favorites]
Has there been any behind the scenes revelations about why they decided to introduce Dawn? I assumed there was pressure from WB to introduce a younger character since the main cast had reached geriatric, unrelatable ages of 20-21.
posted by skewed at 7:30 PM on October 15, 2015
posted by skewed at 7:30 PM on October 15, 2015
Did they keep Dawn a secret, was a new young tween-friendly character mentioned in advertisements? Did people hate her immediately?
I was hardcore into the Buffy fandom at the time - yeah, she was hated immediately by most. She was seen as whiny and unnecessary, and took screen time from the characters we all really cared about.
I remember that there were murmurs about her before the season started? I cannot remember specifics though. But nothing much. Online spoilers for upcoming seasons were in their infancy at the time.
posted by Windigo at 9:08 AM on October 16, 2015
I was hardcore into the Buffy fandom at the time - yeah, she was hated immediately by most. She was seen as whiny and unnecessary, and took screen time from the characters we all really cared about.
I remember that there were murmurs about her before the season started? I cannot remember specifics though. But nothing much. Online spoilers for upcoming seasons were in their infancy at the time.
posted by Windigo at 9:08 AM on October 16, 2015
I'm not the biggest fan of this episode, though I think S5 is great.
I have mixed feelings about Dawn. I really, REALLY hated her presence at first because it changed the status quo - and not just the current status quo, but everything in the past, too. It actually bothers me that we don't know how everyone remembers the last four years of their lives that we just saw, because the complexity of even the smallest changes can have huge repercussions; there must be some kind of change of relationships. I mean, sure, Willow will screw up majorly and try to erase Tara's memory, but that was just of one fight, and we see the damage that causes. This is FOUR to FOURTEEN years of rewritten memory. My memories are precious to me, and it makes me shudder to think of every one of them being changed. Also, I'm an only child and very happy about it (used to have nightmares about my parents having another child), so it was specifically upsetting for 15-year-old me.
This doesn't quite get brushed under the rug, but I'm not sure it gets treated with the intensity of life betrayal it deserves. For the fan, it's like sequels (or prequels) ruining the original material. In the end, I think the story was quite compelling, but I honestly think changing everyone's life memories might be the most brutal thing the series does. Not to drag Angel the series into this, but the writers go to this same well at the beginning of S5, but flipped (I won't be more specific), and it's similarly disturbing and hard to sort out what the characters remember, but at least there are some actual personality changes/regressions due to changed memories.
Riley is weird here, though I like Buffy nailing him with the football, and his deferential relationship with Giles (I'd have like to have seen more scenes with the two of them, because Riley has been damaged by crappy adult role models and he and Giles might actually have some interesting things to talk about, but maybe I just want to see more scenes with anyone and Giles). Naturally, the "chick pit" and everything Giles says about it is my favourite part of the episode.
The reference back to drama class by Willow in the teaser is interesting, as after "Restless" apparently she still hasn't given up on the notion (so, she's likely maturing and getting stronger, but is also casually using magic to burst things into flame, which will become dangerous, but her friends don't realize it yet; Buffy, impressed instead, calls it "witch-fu"). Her inside joke with Tara highlights their privacy, but also makes their relationship the only one in the teaser to appear to be in a good place (Riley insulting Buffy, Xander saying "Anya, embarrassing me in public! Who saw that comin'?").
I agree that Willow scanning Giles' books should have at LEAST had a throwaway callback line to "I Robot, You Jane," but maybe they wanted us to forget that episode existed; there's a mention of Amy the Rat later, so we know the continuity checkers still exist. The scene where Willow panics about both having to keep a secret and Giles leaving ("personally, I can't get through the day without a little hairy eyeball") is really, really sweet (so is the one with Buffy at the end), and a little sad on rewatch knowing what's to come. Giles' dream in "Restless" has clearly given him England FOMO; he wants to resume his life. Who can blame him, except the viewers who love him? (Kind of fitting that Anthony Stewart Head basically made the same choice as Giles did in S6, but luckily he came back for most of S7.) As others have said, the magic shop is a great way to bring him back with a purpose and a new hangout location.
I think the scene in the graveyard where Willow tries not to tell Xander the secret she broadcasts she has is a callback to the scene in the graveyard where Willow is going to tell Buffy a secret, but instead says she looked at her SAT booklet a minute early. Maybe not deliberately. Buffy also practically says "bored now" with Dracula. Xander's mockery of him is funny, especially the Sesame Street reference, and then later, the "Unholy Prince...bator." Xander being mind-controlled gives him some fun and different acting bits. Riley's one-punch-drop to Xander is pretty much exactly the same as Angel's in "Enemies," and it's kind of sad both are played for laughs. Giles didn't get knocked out this time, but Xander did again. No wonder they snap at each other. Everyone has brain damage.
"There was no penetration." Nicely done with that one...as annoying as Riley's jealousy is, everyone kind of acts jealous and weird once Dracula is in the picture - Tara, for a moment, Xander to Anya's "neck cleavage"...
I agree there was a major missed opportunity not having a scene between Spike and Dracula, or getting to actually find out any backstory.
posted by ilana at 10:26 AM on October 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
I have mixed feelings about Dawn. I really, REALLY hated her presence at first because it changed the status quo - and not just the current status quo, but everything in the past, too. It actually bothers me that we don't know how everyone remembers the last four years of their lives that we just saw, because the complexity of even the smallest changes can have huge repercussions; there must be some kind of change of relationships. I mean, sure, Willow will screw up majorly and try to erase Tara's memory, but that was just of one fight, and we see the damage that causes. This is FOUR to FOURTEEN years of rewritten memory. My memories are precious to me, and it makes me shudder to think of every one of them being changed. Also, I'm an only child and very happy about it (used to have nightmares about my parents having another child), so it was specifically upsetting for 15-year-old me.
This doesn't quite get brushed under the rug, but I'm not sure it gets treated with the intensity of life betrayal it deserves. For the fan, it's like sequels (or prequels) ruining the original material. In the end, I think the story was quite compelling, but I honestly think changing everyone's life memories might be the most brutal thing the series does. Not to drag Angel the series into this, but the writers go to this same well at the beginning of S5, but flipped (I won't be more specific), and it's similarly disturbing and hard to sort out what the characters remember, but at least there are some actual personality changes/regressions due to changed memories.
Riley is weird here, though I like Buffy nailing him with the football, and his deferential relationship with Giles (I'd have like to have seen more scenes with the two of them, because Riley has been damaged by crappy adult role models and he and Giles might actually have some interesting things to talk about, but maybe I just want to see more scenes with anyone and Giles). Naturally, the "chick pit" and everything Giles says about it is my favourite part of the episode.
The reference back to drama class by Willow in the teaser is interesting, as after "Restless" apparently she still hasn't given up on the notion (so, she's likely maturing and getting stronger, but is also casually using magic to burst things into flame, which will become dangerous, but her friends don't realize it yet; Buffy, impressed instead, calls it "witch-fu"). Her inside joke with Tara highlights their privacy, but also makes their relationship the only one in the teaser to appear to be in a good place (Riley insulting Buffy, Xander saying "Anya, embarrassing me in public! Who saw that comin'?").
I agree that Willow scanning Giles' books should have at LEAST had a throwaway callback line to "I Robot, You Jane," but maybe they wanted us to forget that episode existed; there's a mention of Amy the Rat later, so we know the continuity checkers still exist. The scene where Willow panics about both having to keep a secret and Giles leaving ("personally, I can't get through the day without a little hairy eyeball") is really, really sweet (so is the one with Buffy at the end), and a little sad on rewatch knowing what's to come. Giles' dream in "Restless" has clearly given him England FOMO; he wants to resume his life. Who can blame him, except the viewers who love him? (Kind of fitting that Anthony Stewart Head basically made the same choice as Giles did in S6, but luckily he came back for most of S7.) As others have said, the magic shop is a great way to bring him back with a purpose and a new hangout location.
I think the scene in the graveyard where Willow tries not to tell Xander the secret she broadcasts she has is a callback to the scene in the graveyard where Willow is going to tell Buffy a secret, but instead says she looked at her SAT booklet a minute early. Maybe not deliberately. Buffy also practically says "bored now" with Dracula. Xander's mockery of him is funny, especially the Sesame Street reference, and then later, the "Unholy Prince...bator." Xander being mind-controlled gives him some fun and different acting bits. Riley's one-punch-drop to Xander is pretty much exactly the same as Angel's in "Enemies," and it's kind of sad both are played for laughs. Giles didn't get knocked out this time, but Xander did again. No wonder they snap at each other. Everyone has brain damage.
"There was no penetration." Nicely done with that one...as annoying as Riley's jealousy is, everyone kind of acts jealous and weird once Dracula is in the picture - Tara, for a moment, Xander to Anya's "neck cleavage"...
I agree there was a major missed opportunity not having a scene between Spike and Dracula, or getting to actually find out any backstory.
posted by ilana at 10:26 AM on October 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
I agree there was a major missed opportunity not having a scene between Spike and Dracula, or getting to actually find out any backstory.
I've come to think of that as the writers all but shouting "All right, fanfic up!"
posted by Etrigan at 10:52 AM on October 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
I've come to think of that as the writers all but shouting "All right, fanfic up!"
posted by Etrigan at 10:52 AM on October 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
I *was* pretty sure the offness was that Dracula appeared on Buffy as part of a WB-mandated crossover with a Dracula tv movie but IMDB seems to treat it as coincidence that the actor played Dracula and also Vlad Tepes in Dracula: Dark Prince. I was probably misinformed. The two Dracula with the same actor appeared within a month of each other on different networks.
After viewing a few probably-not-the-best episodes of three first season of Buffy, I wrote it off until after it had ended and started airing in syndication. One of my friends in college was a diehard who spent a lot of time trying to get me to watch it, and I would tease her: "isn't that the show where they magicked in a Cousin Oliver about halfway through so they could still have RELATABLE TEEN DRAMA?"
posted by elr at 11:35 AM on October 16, 2015
After viewing a few probably-not-the-best episodes of three first season of Buffy, I wrote it off until after it had ended and started airing in syndication. One of my friends in college was a diehard who spent a lot of time trying to get me to watch it, and I would tease her: "isn't that the show where they magicked in a Cousin Oliver about halfway through so they could still have RELATABLE TEEN DRAMA?"
posted by elr at 11:35 AM on October 16, 2015
This doesn't quite get brushed under the rug, but I'm not sure it gets treated with the intensity of life betrayal it deserves.
The Rick and Morty episode "Total Rickall" does a pretty good job of demonstrating the correct response to learning that you've had your memories twisted by supernatural means. Sadly, instead of that, we got a season of Buffy trying to protect Bumbles McGuffin, followed by the two more seasons of the writers failing to do anything interesting with kid sister.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 12:06 PM on October 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
The Rick and Morty episode "Total Rickall" does a pretty good job of demonstrating the correct response to learning that you've had your memories twisted by supernatural means. Sadly, instead of that, we got a season of Buffy trying to protect Bumbles McGuffin, followed by the two more seasons of the writers failing to do anything interesting with kid sister.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 12:06 PM on October 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
By the way, can someone please explain Xander's "Bator" thing to me? Never understood that.
posted by Athanassiel at 1:24 PM on October 16, 2015
posted by Athanassiel at 1:24 PM on October 16, 2015
By the way, can someone please explain Xander's "Bator" thing to me? Never understood that.
Masturbator.
posted by Pope Guilty at 2:02 PM on October 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
Masturbator.
posted by Pope Guilty at 2:02 PM on October 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
A few years ago I read an essay that argued that Buffy was a soap opera at heart, and with supernatural explorations of common soap tropes.
There were a ton of examples, but the two I remember is that Angel is the Good Guy Gone Bad and Dawn was The Sister Out of Nowhere.
posted by creepygirl at 9:18 AM on October 17, 2015 [2 favorites]
There were a ton of examples, but the two I remember is that Angel is the Good Guy Gone Bad and Dawn was The Sister Out of Nowhere.
posted by creepygirl at 9:18 AM on October 17, 2015 [2 favorites]
So I had completely different experience than other folks here, with the Dawn spoilers: I was getting news about it all summer. When WB sent out a casting call for the part of Dawn, one of our morning drive-time DJs did a segment on it — she was super grossed out by how the character was supposed to be both a younger sister to Buffy and also a potential love interest for Xander.
It seemed to me like I read a lot of articles that summer with Joss saying, basically, we're introducing a sister for Buffy; everyone will act like she's been there all along; we'll explain it as we go.
When this episode finally aired, I was so primed for Dawn that Dracula seemed like a distraction. I was kind of like Milhouse asking when they were going to get to thefireworks factory sister.
posted by Banknote of the year at 2:37 PM on October 18, 2015 [3 favorites]
It seemed to me like I read a lot of articles that summer with Joss saying, basically, we're introducing a sister for Buffy; everyone will act like she's been there all along; we'll explain it as we go.
When this episode finally aired, I was so primed for Dawn that Dracula seemed like a distraction. I was kind of like Milhouse asking when they were going to get to the
posted by Banknote of the year at 2:37 PM on October 18, 2015 [3 favorites]
Question so Buffy is the vampire slayer and Dracula is one of the most famous vamps and ever they had ZERO INTEL ON HIM TILL HE SHOWED UP?
posted by miss-lapin at 3:54 AM on February 21, 2016
posted by miss-lapin at 3:54 AM on February 21, 2016
The sister out of nowhere is more sitcom (which is how I took it) The general trope for any sitcom where the youngest child gets too old for antics is suddenly to collapse one in from elsewhere. Dawn fits that mold but with Buffy tries to do that with supernatural subversion. Doesn't work but worth a shot.
posted by miss-lapin at 3:57 AM on February 21, 2016
posted by miss-lapin at 3:57 AM on February 21, 2016
The Rick and Morty episode "Total Rickall" does a pretty good job of demonstrating the correct response to learning that you've had your memories twisted by supernatural means.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 6:06 AM on October 17, 2015
Eponysterical!
Also, I was absolutely about to make the R&M reference. Dawn is a parasite who has infected everyone's memories obviously.
So glad to see the Dawn hate here. As I mentioned before, this was my first-watch, and I was just gobsmacked that they did this. Dawn will never be a person to me, always a ball of energy in human form, and a bratty one at that.
posted by LizBoBiz at 9:26 PM on February 21
posted by Parasite Unseen at 6:06 AM on October 17, 2015
Eponysterical!
Also, I was absolutely about to make the R&M reference. Dawn is a parasite who has infected everyone's memories obviously.
So glad to see the Dawn hate here. As I mentioned before, this was my first-watch, and I was just gobsmacked that they did this. Dawn will never be a person to me, always a ball of energy in human form, and a bratty one at that.
posted by LizBoBiz at 9:26 PM on February 21
This has always felt like one of the weirdest episodes to me, beyond the on-its-face textual weirdness of all of it, simply because so much of it just feels off. Like, it still has some great moments, but so many aspects of it just don't feel like the show that I'd watched four seasons of up until then. Small things, like the beach scene not feeling like something that really goes down in this universe, with the "fun" tone being not the same kind of fun that the show revels in. Willow using the fire spell on the grill (followed by Buffy's "Witch-fu!" comment) felt like very clunky exposition, as did a lot of Riley's lines (summing up Buffy's history with Angel, etc.) Anya's characterization didn't feel quite right, and Spike felt like a wacky neighbor.
Basically, it felt like what would happen if someone from the network handed down a script demanding that the new season start this way because they can really promote the hell out of it, but, you know, written by someone who didn't really "get" the show.
And then tonight, on this latest rewatch, I realized: that's exactly what they were going for. They needed the episode to feel like a result of network retooling because they're ending it with the very "Cousin Oliver" reveal of Dawn. That's the joke.
posted by Navelgazer at 7:09 PM on November 13
Basically, it felt like what would happen if someone from the network handed down a script demanding that the new season start this way because they can really promote the hell out of it, but, you know, written by someone who didn't really "get" the show.
And then tonight, on this latest rewatch, I realized: that's exactly what they were going for. They needed the episode to feel like a result of network retooling because they're ending it with the very "Cousin Oliver" reveal of Dawn. That's the joke.
posted by Navelgazer at 7:09 PM on November 13
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1) This episode is more important than it should be. It establishes Buffy's season long goal of discovering what a slayer is (and also sets off Riley's awful subplot, as well as having Xander resolve to change his fate. Oh and gives Giles a purpose. And introduces Dawn as well!). But to do that it needs to be more weighty than it feels. It seems to want to play for the jokes will simultaneously having a moody feel, like Buffy and the rest of the cast are suddenly existing on parallel shows. In particular, the whole "Buffy sneaking out for fights" thing is super abrupt after season 4. I appreciate that this is a consequence of the spell at the end of 4, but as such it doesn't feel like natural character evolution. It's necessary, as the themes of 5 are far more mature than those of 4, but it feels abrupt.
2) I think the actor who plays Dracula isn't very good. He honestly needed to be older, have some more gravitas to him. He just comes across as a bit dorky, and that really undermines quite a lot of this episode.
3) Riley is an utter, utter jerk throughout this episode. The difference between him here and season 4 Riley is just startling. I mean honestly, telling Buffy she throws like a girl, and being jealous of Buffy as she is clearly under undead thrall. Jeeze, imagine him taking the place of Angel in Prophecy Girl, with Xander coming up to tell him to go save Buffy, and Riley sulking and saying that clearly Buffy loves the Master if she's going to let herself get bit by him.
Ignoring all that, this episode is OK, I guess. There are lots of funny beats, particularly poor Xander's minioning. "the master... bator."
-I gotta say, for all that Spike mocks the gypsy tricks, I feel like being immune to being staked is pretty powerful as it goes.
-Sunnydale beach makes it's return.
-Hello crappy looking prop castle. Is the implication that Dracula brought his own castle with him?
-They're scanning books again! Man, they never learn.
-Joyce invited Dracula in
-"Sometimes you feel like giving up on men altogether" Because Tara and Willow are gay! You get it? They're gay! Sometimes this show forces these jokes a bit...
-"Good show Giles at least you didn't get knocked out."
posted by Cannon Fodder at 11:59 PM on October 14, 2015 [1 favorite]