Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 2, Episode 14 Review: Innocence

Innocence

Original Airdate: January 20, 1998

Writer: Joss Whedon

Director: Joss Whedon

As “Buffy” was designed to be a feminist response to the blonde girl who always got slaughtered because she had sex in horror films, Joss Whedon had to be very careful to show the ramifications of Buffy’s first time without placing her in a role they wanted to avoid. They pull it off, due in part to having Buffy’s pain be psychological rather than physical and the rest of the cast stepping up their game for the darker material. This episode exposes a new depth to the series and the characters and is largely responsible for setting the mold for what was to come.

Having Buffy and Angel together is all well and good, but as mentioned in the previous review, the “Sam & Diane” factor often makes for uninteresting drama. Their relationship has always had a star-crossed quality to it. He’s a vampire. She’s the slayer. How could it work? The solution to keep them apart once they had no other option but to consummate the relationship is brilliant, and becomes a key piece of their storyline as well as Angel’s character, which will continue to be developed through his spin-off.

One moment of “true happiness”, presumably his orgasm with Buffy, whom he loved, turned him back to his old self. Of course, it would make sense for the gypsies to tell Angel this, since the guilt over what he has done would make him do everything possible to avoid unleashing that terror on the world again and by doing so, suffer for it. However, the gypsies’ code of vengeance isn’t logical, and they must’ve assumed he would be miserable forever and dwell in his demonic sins. Obviously something intervened to make Angel a changed man that the gypsies failed to acknowledge when it was cast. Enyos, and presumably those who cast in a century earlier, knew there was a way to reverse the curse, but proper boundaries were never placed.

A reasonable question brought from the return of Angelus would be why he doesn’t kill Buffy outright. As it is explained, Angelus is dramatic in his murderous work. He took pleasure in destroying Drusilla’s life and making her insane before turning her into a vampire, so it would make sense that he would make a production out of destroying what once made him feel human instead of killing Buffy as if she were just another victim.

Whedon boiled down the concept of these episodes to “I sleep with my boyfriend and now he won’t call me.” Unfortunately a lot of guys take advantage of women, sleep with them, and then treat them like trash or just another conquest the next day. Angelus is the ultimate example of the jerk ex-lover who takes that moment of vulnerability and exploits it to inflict the maximum amount of pain. He is excessively cruel, reducing his night with Buffy into a triviality and exposing it to everyone in hopes of humiliating her. There had to have been a lot of anticipation for Angelus showing up considering how he’s been built up in the past, and David Boreanaz makes it worthwhile (although some of his delivery in this episode is overdone).

It’s worth revisiting Buffy’s exchanges with Kendra from “What’s My Line, Part 2”, where they argue whether a slayer should be detached or connected to others. While the slayer is supposed to be isolated as a key to her strength, Buffy has forged tight bonds with her friends, mother and Angel. In an interesting juxtaposition, her bond with Angel causes her heartbreak, but her friends provide her with the strength to save the day.

With the idea that Angel’s soul may never be restored, Buffy has to prepare to kill him and unfortunately her personal ties to Angel kept her from doing it in this episode. Had Kendra been involved, she wouldn’t have had an issue doing it. These connections Buffy has with other characters become crucial pieces of the season and series, making this episode the fitting starting point of that theme.

Of her friends, it makes sense that Willow is the only one who can truly empathize with what Buffy’s going through. Buffy is living the dream romance that Willow had wanted for herself. With her recent discovery of Xander and Cordelia, the heartbreak is as real as Buffy’s, albeit not as intense.

Willow finding Xander and Cordelia making out makes up for all the instances where it was obvious that they were together but Willow somehow dismissed it. I’m not sure they could’ve pulled off a scene like this earlier in the series. Willow telling Xander that he would rather be “with someone [he] hate[s], than be with [her]” is simply gut wrenching, and before they can recover from that, Willow is in the middle of a three way stand-off with Angelus.

At first, Giles remains characteristically the clueless father figure, oblivious to the fact that his slayer is growing up. Ultimately he shows his unyielding support of her, even giving Jenny the cold shoulder. The best example of this is at the end when Giles drives Buffy back to her home after failing to kill Angelus. His sincerity is assuring in this time of crisis, and is another example of the maturing of the show.

In a nice call back, one that would be used in not enough future episodes, Xander uses his military prowess earned from his brief possession in “Halloween” to commandeer and teach Buffy to use a rocket launcher. It makes sense for them to use modern technology to blow The Judge apart since their research deadlocked them with the standard “no weapon forged”.

Jenny’s lack of disclosure to those she’s befriended leaves her in the dog house, where even Giles isn’t standing up for her. It certainly doesn’t help her case that she is inexperienced with the gypsy practices that are responsible for the curse and she’s completely useless to find a way to give Angel his soul back. This response must’ve been what they were foreshadowing in “The Dark Age”, but this pay off is far more interesting.

While The Judge was a MacGuffin of sorts in the previous episode, in this episode he serves a story device to tell Spike and Drusilla that Angelus has truly returned and he’s not merely playing along as a spy. Also, rendering him useless by the end of the episode explicitly shows that the “Big Bad” of the season isn’t him, but Angelus.

The Master from the first season was largely isolated from the rest of the cast until the finale (the dream in “Nightmares” doesn’t count). Now we see the new trend that will be used through the end where the “Big Bad” is an element that’s tangible to Buffy and her friends. It makes for better drama to have the heroes have a personal interest in the villains than simply preventing an apocalypse because ultimately these clashes serve to develop the characters.

In the “What’s My Line” episodes, they established Spike’s jealousy towards those who caught Drusilla’s attention, then a captured Angel. Now that Angelus has arrived, Drusilla’s flaky nature has her moving closer towards him, a reality that Spike clearly doesn’t like. This love triangle proves to be particularly powerful, as it sets up some major moments towards the end of the season and down the road.

Spike even can’t go with Dru and Angelus on their mission to destroy the people at the Sunnydale mall. One must wonder what was going through his head as he sat in a hidden corner of the factory when the gang arrived looking for them. It would probably be for the best, as Spike’s humanity, the most apparent of any no soul vampire, would make him a good target once The Judge came to full strength. The Judge called their human feelings in the previous episode, but it’s clear that Spike’s feelings for Drusilla are far stronger than vice versa.

Oz, as some fans reviled initially, wisely turns down Willow’s advances to make-out. By preferring to wait until Willow is ready for someone other than a rebound guy, it makes Oz far more endearing. TV fans can be a territorial bunch, especially when it comes to romances. Oz’s plan of patience is the best way to make nice with those wary of a new guy coming in to Willow’s life, and it feels very natural.

This is the most important episode of the series to date and as creator Joss Whedon has argued, possibly the most important episode they’ve ever done. This episode finds a new maturity to the show, as some relationships are left in shambles, while others grow closer. It is the beginning of “Buffy” as we know it.

Overall Score: 10/10