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| Writer: | David Greenwalt |
| Director: | Scott Brazil |
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| - | Review |
There's a whole lot to love about this episode. We finally get Angel's story explained after a shocking moment in Buffy's bedroom (very well acted by SMG, by the way). The relationship between Angel and Darla is exposed (and Darla is much more in character here than she was in "Welcome to the Hellmouth" [1x01]). Darla's attack on Joyce was actually very creepy, although at this point viewers are sure that they'd never kill off a character like Buffy's mother, so I wasn't that worried when I first saw this.
Additionally creepy was Angel darting across the wall earlier in the same scene with Darla at The Bronze. David Boreanaz's acting is significantly improved here, and when he talks about his history and the curse to Buffy it's completely convincing. Angel staking Darla at the end turns out to be incredibly significant in retrospect, but still meaningful without the knowledge we gain in future episodes of BtVS and AtS. Darla uses guns to fight Buffy which is very fun to see. The way the gunfire flare lights up Darla is a cool effect and was put to max use in that scene in The Bronze.
This is the episode that really hits off the Buffy and Angel relationship. You can feel the romantic tension when these two are talking in Buffy's bedroom which really sets up the hesitation to kill Angel when she has the chance after diving for the crossbow. Overall it's a great episode that held my attention from start to finish and is my favorite episode from S1.
| - | Minor Pros/Cons (+/-) |
| Pros: | |
| + | Cockroach party at The Bronze! |
| + | Joyce's reaction and nuanced faces when first seeing Angel in her house with Buffy. |
| + | I loved Giles' explanation for how he always knows everything about whatever they're facing. "You weren't here from midnight until six looking it up." |
| + | I seriously love these brief training sessions between Buffy and Giles. |
| + | The diary speech (see last quote below)! |
| + | Xander's jealousy of Buffy's boyfriends continues; he jumps at the opportunity to kill Angel. |
| + | I like The Master more than usual here. |
| + | The cross scar left on Angel's chest from kissing Buffy. |
| Cons: | |
| - | The Three. Very dumb. |
| - | Darla never reloads her gun when she really would have needed to. |
| - | Foreshadowing |
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| - | Quotes |
| BUFFY: | (sees her diary's been disturbed) My diary? You read my diary? That is *not* okay! A diary is like a person's most private place! I... You don't even know what I was writing about! 'Hunk' can mean a lot of things, bad things. And, and when it says that your eyes are 'penetrating', I meant to write 'bulging'. And 'A' doesn't even stand for 'Angel' for that matter, it stands for... 'Achmed', a charming foreign exchange student, so that whole fantasy part has nothing to even do with you at all... |
| ANGEL: | Your mother moved your diary when she came in to straighten up. I watched from the closet. I didn't read it, I swear. |
| BUFFY: | Oh! Oh... |
| - | Score |
| 95/100 | A |
A sharply written episode consisting of zero major mistakes. Usually develops characters in a meaningful manner and is a joy to watch on repeat viewings. Near perfect, but not quite there.
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| - | Comments (14) |
| 1. | AngelusAug 14, 2006 (Mon) | |
| I was watching this epi the other night and when the gang was in the hospital visiting Joyce, Buffy said something that didnt make sence. Xander: you were lucky. Buffy:no..I was dumb. I invited him into my home even after I knew what he was. ..or something like that. As far as I can tell..she didnt know what he was when they were running from the 3 and she let him in (and even then he didnt really get an invite. I think she said COME ON! as they were entering the house but its hard to tell). Anyone else catch this? Other than that..great episode. |
| 2. | -xJun 21, 2007 (Thu) | |
| Yeahhh that confuses me. i was watching this episode about 3 or 4 days ago( cos i have chicken pox) and yeahh i noticed. COMPLETLY CONFUSING! but over all i love this eipsode cos its the BIG spin off of the Bangel love. its ment to be!. Love them together. and love the chem. Ohhhh and i gota laugh at Xander. hizz such a cutie, the big crushh izz cute. |
| 3. | dru-dzillaJun 28, 2007 (Thu) | |
| I totally caught that too. I was watching it a couple weeks ago (cuz I have the box set) and thought it was strange she'd say that. i love her with Angel, such a perfect match. |
| 4. | DanielleJul 12, 2007 (Thu) | |
| i thought it was weird that buffy would say 'i invited him into my home even after i knew what he was who he was and i didnt do anything about it'. She didnt know he was a vampire when she first invited him into her home , but still it was kinda romantic the way they both delt with it so calmly at the end of the episode. i thought it was weird that buffy would say 'i invited him into my home even after i knew what he was who he was and i didnt do anything about it'. She didnt know he was a vampire when she first invited him into her home , but still it was kinda romantic the way they both delt with it so calmly at the end of the episode. |
| 5. | buffyholicOct 4, 2007 (Thu) | |
| This is a great episode. Another one of my favourites. The chemistry between Buffy and Angel is awesome, you can really feel the heat between the two. I love Darla, she and Angel are great together. Willow is still very cute. Her speech of death scales in a vampire is a hoot. Also, her little training session is very amusing. |
| 6. | EmmaJan 20, 2008 (Sun) | |
| I really liked this episode but the gun thing annoyed me, just because vampires never try using guns on Buffy after this, and that would def be the easiest way to kill her. Good fight though. |
| 7. | NixJan 20, 2008 (Sun) | |
| Vampires don't try using guns on Buffy, but humans do (with very near success). (But yes, that is a hole: you'd think one of the more with-it vamps, like Mr. Trick, would have tried: and Faith is definitely with-it, so why she also sticks to traditional nothing-newer-than-1750 Slayer weapons I have no idea.) |
| 8. | sivJun 5, 2008 (Thu) | |
| Buffy/Angel ship is the best. |
| 9. | DAug 7, 2008 (Thu) | |
| With the simple fact that Buffy did NOT actually invite Angel in and what was mention before about her stating even though she knew what he was, this episode is very uneven definitely does NOT deserve an A. It's a "D" episode! |
| 10. | bufSep 5, 2008 (Fri) | |
| buffy says she invited him, and after she knew what he was she didnt do anything about it. two seperate thoughts |
| 11. | MadiOct 4, 2008 (Sat) | |
| Buffy does actually give angel an invite. she says "come on! get in!" get in being the invite. |
| 12. | EmilyFeb 1, 2009 (Sun) | |
| Ok- a few things to clear up. One- I also thought Buffy didn't invite Angel in, but when I rewinded, I heard her say, "Come on, get in!" Two- In the hospital, she meant to say that she let him in and didn't do anything about uninviting him after she found out what he was. Furthermore, I think Darla's use of guns was Joss's way of showing how desperate she was to kill Buffy and gain the Master's approval. And Nix, I don't think it would be fair to use guns in this show because that's not what the show is about. I think the two instances I remember with guns besides for this one is Warren, when he killed Tara and injured Buffy, and Jonathan, when he tried to kill himself. Those two make sense, one because Jonathan was trying to commit suicide, and Warren is more like a "modern" bad guy as opposed to other big bads, like vampires and Glory and The First. And even with being modern, he waits till the end of the season to use a gun. I also wanted to say that I love this episode- it was done extremely well, David's acting was unbelievable ( I wanted to cry for him when he asked Buffy if she knew what it was like to have done the things he did and to care), Sarah was also amazing, and the plot was awesome. I like how Angel's history is told. I'd give it a perfect score. |
| 13. | jarppuFeb 1, 2009 (Sun) | |
| The direct quote of Buffy talking about inviting Angel is: "No? I invited him into my home. Even after I knew who he was, what he was, and I didn't do anything about it... 'cause I had feelings for him, because I cared about him." So she definitely says she invited him before she knew he was a vampire. Nevermind what she meant to say, it's still a goof. I used to like this episode, but on repeated viewings I noticed so many goofs and inconsistencies that it is hard to even watch this episode anymore because the episode simply doesn't make any sense. |
| 14. | SamOct 29, 2009 (Thu) @ 7:08pm | |
| I love, love, love this episode. It's the best of S1 and it's on my Top 25 Buffy episodes. In fact, the writing and production values are not at all indicative of the weaknesses from the season--the only typical S1 flaw is the cheesy blast of music when Angel jumps out Buffy's window after his vampiric nature is discovered. All the relationships are beautifully diagrammed here, and it also contains Buffy's first "oh snap" diss at the end. It's a real beauty-- DARLA: Do you know what the saddest thing in the world is? BUFFY: Bad hair on top of that outfit? That gets me laughing every single time. Cheers, David Greenwalt, to the first A-grade episode of the series! |
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