Unlike "Nightmares" [1x10], "Out of Mind, Out of Sight" tells a coherent story. It's not the deepest story you'll see on Buffy and it has a metaphor that is a little too transparent in places, but it largely succeeds at what it sets out to do and develops a character in the process. While it succeeds in offering us something worthwhile, it still struggles in terms of those ever important details such as pacing, subtlety, and depth. I was really digging this one until around the midway point, which is where it started losing steam. Speaking of details, how about I give you some of my own?

What would happen to a person so ignored they literally disappeared? It's as if the collective indifference around them wished it to happen, and it did. "Out of Mind, Out of Sight" explores this concept and does a decent job at bringing in a couple characters, namely Cordelia and Buffy, along for the ride. A classroom scene early in the episode sets up the events to come quite nicely. Cordelia gives an ironic little rant about how "the outcasts of society" simply need to get over themselves, while Willow rebuttals with a more sympathetic outlook. This is all relevant to the plot at hand and gets us thinking about whether or not we should feel sorry for Marcie. If so, does that empathy extend to revenge on those that ignored her? By the end of the episode we find out Marcie is completely insane. This sadly makes these questions less relevant than they otherwise could have been.

There's an interesting scene early on in the hallway where Xander and Willow share an inside joke with each other, leaving Buffy feeling out of the loop. Xander even unknowingly criticizes Buffy for missing and enjoying school coronation events. I really appreciate how the episode draws attention to Buffy's loneliness and loss, which contrasts with both Cordelia and Marcie – two girls who we find out both suffer from different variants of loneliness. Marcie tries to quell this feeling with revenge, Cordelia by surrounding herself with others to feel popular and wanted, and Buffy by sacrificing to make a difference even if those around her fail to notice it. Buffy even gives us an example of her often selfless nature by genuinely smiling after seeing Cordelia getting all dolled up for the coronation. It says great things about her when she shows such appreciation in seeing someone else enjoying that which she wants and cannot have.

In addition to getting that beautifully subtle moment from Buffy, there's a wonderful scene a bit later that finally gives Cordelia some much needed depth. After Buffy pokes fun at her superficiality, Cordelia responds by revealing that "I can be surrounded by people and be completely alone. It's not like any of them really know me. I don't even know if they like me half the time. People just want to be in a popular zone. Sometimes when I talk, everyone's so busy agreeing with me, they don't hear a word I say." Buffy follows this up with another nice beat in which she agrees with Cordelia and admits that even before the Slayer gig she sometimes felt the same way. Cordelia genuinely thanking Buffy and gang for their help at the end of the episode is a perfect grace note for what turns out to be the first step towards a better (but always tumultuous) relationship between them. They're not quite there yet, though, a fact Cordelia's boyfriend reminds us of in the final scene.

Not to get lost in the action, Angel pays Giles a visit and gets a moment of reflection (har, har) of his own. This moment is where he tells Giles that having no reflection is an overrated pleasure, hinting at the fact that he's, in actuality, a lonely creature that feels perpetually damned. It was great to see Angel and Giles finally have a moment to bond a little, particularly because of how these moments resonate in light of events to come.

While the first half of "Out of Mind, Out of Sight" does a pretty nice job at using its plot to draw parallels to the characters, things begin to slide downhill quickly after that point. With the exception of a scene or two, the last half of the episode is drearily paced, repetitive, and fairly boring. It's actually quite a shame, because it's like Whedon had this great concept for an episode but the actual script just came up short. The writers didn't quite seem able to add in that extra layer of pathos, emotion, and depth.

While Marcie's plight is somewhat intellectually fascinating (as described above), it's just not very emotionally fascinating. I would have very much appreciated Marcie's motivations to be fleshed out a bit beyond 'I was ignored, woe me, psycho time!' Rather than anyone actually learning anything from Marcie's actions, the episode just writes her off as a lunatic who gets wisped away by a couple convenient FBI guys in an overly comical conclusion. This is all a bit of a shame, because it almost all came together for me.

Despite my notable qualms with "Out of Mind, Out of Sight," it definitely does enough right in terms of theme and character to be a worthwhile effort. I really loved seeing Cordelia actually become a real character (rather than a walking, talking cliché) and taking that first step towards integrating with the Scooby Gang. I also appreciated how Marcie's situation is, at least early on, used as a point of reflection for Buffy. In the end it let the good will it had built up slowly slip away. It's a mixed bag overall, but one I'm willing to carry along with me for all the tasty bits inside. It also ends up being one of S1's better entries.