Reviewed by Adam Bardwell
Rating: 9/10
Good old Joss, yet again he delivers a cracking episode which is thought provoking and offers no easy answers. It also carries though its theme of lying well asking the question of whether some lies are necessary. At the same time this episode is very much about growing up and learning that life is complex.
The complexity of the situation comes from the character of Fond who is best describe as a sympathetic villain. He was an old friend of Buffy's from LA and visits the gang at school claiming to have enrol there. Of course he hasn't and unsurprisingly he has a hidden agenda. This is standard plotting. However, nothing in the Buffyverse is standard - Ford wants to be a vampire for he is dying of brain cancer. This raises an interesting question - is being a vampire a better option than death? That's a tough question, the answer probably has to be that death is the better option but from Fords position the prospect of not dying can be totally understood. Buffy's role in all this is to try and stop he getting a group of wannabe vampires from being killed by Spike who had agreed to trade Fords immortality for Buffy. The fact that Ford doesn't have a problem with this pushes Ford squarely into villains vill. However, as Buffy pointed out Ford seemed to want to be the villain it made what he was doing easier for him.
Ford is a film nut who pictures the event that unfolding in his mind as if it were a movie. This is why he forces Spike to give him 30 seconds to persuade Spike not to kill him. As was previously mention he saw himself as the villain of the piece with Buffy the riotous hero yet he should have known that the hero prevails in 99.9% of movies and that his plan was doomed from the start. Having said that he was turned into a vampire even though Buffy and the vampire wannabes escaped Spike and his minions. Personally, I don't believe that Spike would do this. I did give us a powerful ending with Buffy asking is life gets easier just before slaying Ford but I believe that seeing Spike kill Ford could have worked, been more believable and poignant.
This episode contains some great scenes , my particular favourite is Buffy's recollection of how she listened to 'I touch Myself' (a Divinyls song) and then realising what she was saying assured the gang that she did not know what it was about. This was good enough but for Willow to suddenly realise what the song was about at the end of the scene was not only funny but shows how innocent Willow still was. This scene should be contrasted to her scene with Xander about sex in the season 4 episode "Wild at Heart" to show just how much she has changed! The other top piece of humour is the appearance of the guy dressed just like Angel just as Angel claims that the wannabes no nothing about what Vampires look like.
Angel's revelations about his and Drucillia's past help to keep Buffy and Angel's ride to a normal relationship hard, although Buffy says she loves him for the first time although admitting that she is not sure if she can trust him. Buffy's jealousy of Dru. and Angels of Ford also contribute to this but it is the horror of Angels past which sticks in the mind as highlight of the episode. Although Dru's Insanity is a fun character quirk I'm glad that it was explained - you would have thought she'd resent Angel for it yet by the end of the season the two of them are very close. Its a pity we do not find out much more about Dru. and Angels history. There is are the scenes in "Becoming" but wouldn't it be great to see interact with Darla would Angel seemed to be with all the time he was soulless. Oh and if any Buffy / Angel producer reads this throw in the Master and you'd have an amazing flashback.
This is a top quality episode but I still have a few little problems with it. The first is the reusing of the brain cancer idea from "The Puppet Show" which I can forgive as it serves different purposes in the plots. Ford knowing that Buffy was the Slayer was a bit contrived and needed explaining. He could have seen he bag a vamp. without her knowledge but how would he know that she was The Slayer? Staying with Ford how could he count on Buffy truing up in the bunker? It was sunset pretty soon after she arrived and he did not know that Willow, Xander and Angel had already visited. This again seems a little contrived. These are minor points in reality, the only thing I take issue with really is Spike siring Ford - other than that this is must see TV!
Great Buffy Monment: Giles lying to Buffy at the end.
In a nut shell: A cracking episode with no easy answers and some good twists on traditional plots. It just lacks a little something to be considered one of the all time great Buffy episodes.