Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 2, Episode 13 Review: Surprise

Surprise
Original Airdate: January 19, 1998
Writer: Marti Noxon
Director: Michael Lange

This two parter comes at a pivotal point in the series’. For a superficial if not irrelevant reason today, this was the last time “Buffy” would air on Mondays, so it had to pack a punch to get the viewers to move to another night. However, the more substantial reason is the growing pains Buffy goes through, as she loses her virginity to Angel and deals with the aftermath. The show could’ve continued to have Buffy simply fight monsters of the week and nothing else, but that could eventually devolve into a series that would be better fitted among lame Saturday morning cartoons, and “Buffy” had ambitions for more. Frequently this episode and “Innocence” are cited as the “mission statement” of the show, and it’s easy to see why: this is the beginning of “Buffy” as we know it.

The growing intensity of Angel and Buffy’s feelings was designed to set us up for the major fall in the second half of the story. As all relationships go, this one has reached a critical mass: something has to happen to these characters and both Buffy and Angel are aware of it. Of course, the impending doom always hanging over their heads has to move things along, as The Judge does in this episode. They could possibly never have a “next time” to have that happiness true love affords. Nonetheless, Joyce’s cryptic “Do you really think you’re ready” in Buffy’s dream adds an air of doubt that she can handle this new complexity in her relationship. Some teens in relationships feel this way, and the translation into supernatural allegory works extremely well.

Those who know character arcs involving romance can attest to the fact that having the long simmering romance consummated often blows the years of anticipation. Sam & Diane on “Cheers” is one of the more frequently cited occurrences. This placed the writers in a difficult position: how were they going to address this pressing issue while maintaining the compelling drama. Angel’s agony at the end of the episode dashes any hopes of this being the start of a new, happy level in their relationship, but rather gives us something far more interesting.

Another couple on the alternate side, as a non-couple, is Xander and Willow, branching off into separate relationships with their feelings left unaddressed. Xander is still trying to get Cordelia to admit openly that they are an item. Their relationship is based solely on lust rather than genuine interest in each other, which is easy to understand considering who we’re dealing with (if I had a girl who looked like Cordelia pining over me in high school, I’d throw my intuition out the window too!) Meanwhile, Willow is still yearning for her best friend. Buffy is right when suggesting that Willow has to stop waiting for him to realize who he has under his nose and move on, especially with a new guy who has a good report with her. The introduction of Oz and the hints of their upcoming relationship may have upset some Willow/Xander shippers, but in retrospect, their love was the tight bond of friendship rather than a romantic one. Regardless, these two relationships are heading to major crossroads as well.

Oz’s connection to the group is cemented when he witnesses Buffy staking a vampire at The Bronze (which apparently rents out to private parties of a handful of people). His reaction is interesting, as he had some suspicion. Giles has said in the first episode that many rationalize away whatever supernatural thing they come in contact with, but Oz didn’t. He felt something wasn’t right, but his level head and common sense prevented him from considering that monsters were real.

As Oz becomes more a part of the gang, Jenny’s past threatens her status, like Giles’ did in “The Dark Age”. This episode reveals Jenny’s secret, that she is a part of a gypsy family that had one of its revered daughters murdered by Angel when he was Angelus. Despite his recent heroism, Jenny’s uncle charges her to keep Angel miserable to uphold the curse the gypsies placed upon him. It does explain her sudden arrival in Sunnydale after the events of “Angel”, as the gypsy mother must’ve sensed that Buffy and Angel’s relationship became more serious.

However, Jenny’s resolve has wavered as she has grown attached to members of the gang and as Angel saved her life. It’s never said what Jenny was planning to do to keep them separate, which makes her bringing Buffy to the place where a bunch of vampires are stealing a piece of The Judge a bit sinister. That is rather silly to believe that she would conspire with vampires, but that interpretation will later prove to be divisive with her and the rest of the group. Had she been more open to the group, the tragedy would’ve likely been avoided, but where’s the fun in that?

While fans have known since the epilogue of “What’s My Line, Part Two” that Spike and Dru survived, the gang doesn’t discover this information until this episode. Their absence could be explained simply as them laying low and collecting pieces of The Judge to serve as the usher of Spike and Dru’s reign of terror. Spike’s limited mobility also keeps him from action he’s used to or likes. However, he is still doting over Drusilla, making sure her coming out party is as glorious as she wants it to be.

Buffy’s apparent ability to see the future through her dreams illuminates some of this. It is through this that she first gets the impression that Drusilla is still alive. As for the dream itself, it’s hard to interpret completely, since some elements were thrown in because it’s a dream sequence and they are by nature weird (hence Willow and the monkey, a reference to their conversation in “What’s My Line, Part Two”). Joyce’s appearance dropping the dish validates this source of information when Joyce does that in reality. This makes the threat on Angel very real for Buffy, which only pulls them closer together.

The Judge is the MacGuffin of the episode, but he is a rather impressive one. At full strength he could kill someone by looking at them! Even shortly after his assembly can he incinerate poor Dalton. But his formidability and lethal nature ultimately serve to drive Angel and Buffy together more than even a Spike and Dru confrontation. It could be, considering the commentary for “Reptile Boy”, that that monster was meant to be the figure in this episode.

This episode is another piece that is critical to the development in the series, more than the “What’s My Line?” episodes. Buffy is growing up with this major life changing event, and the writers have clearly raised the stakes of the series with it. Things will never be the same for the show and its characters, and it makes for some great drama.

Overall Score: 9/10