Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 2, Episode 17 Review: Passion

Passion
Original Airdate: February 24, 1998
Writer: Ty King
Director: Michael E. Gershman

While this may have been highly controversial among fans when it aired, now it stands as one of the best episodes of “Buffy”, continuing the milestones since the middle of the season. The show goes through another growing pain: the first death of a recurring character who wasn’t a villain. Killing off a character can be dangerous for a show. Those who seek comfort in their weekly series may cry foul at such a shake up, but it is necessary for shows like “Buffy”, that frequently deal with death in arc based storylines. Other times it can be a desperate maneuver to shock audiences and garner some of its old buzz. However, this time the death makes sense in terms of the characters and the plot and it is executed (so to speak) perfectly.

They made it clear that Angelus liked to toy with his victims rather than killing them right away. He’s relished dismissing the relationship Angel once had with Buffy and leaving notes that tell her he’s watching, but that can only go so far where the big bad is concerned. They had to show Angel was a true villain, not one Buffy could ignore or who would “never chip in for gas”. Someone had to die to prove that. Originally, that was Oz, a safe choice considering his role was limited to this point. However, fan appreciation of Oz, as well as implied back stage bad behavior, turned Jenny into the first major casualty of Buffy’s gang.

Obviously, this episode resolves Jenny’s estrangement from the main group. While Giles picked Buffy to side on after Jenny’s secret was revealed, his feelings for her remained. Jenny and Giles speaking in the classroom early in the episode showed that need for reconciliation. Buffy, still reeling from her own heartbreak, saw it too and allowed Jenny to resume her relationship, albeit not going so far as to forgive her completely.

“Surprise” and “Innocence” revealed Jenny’s motivation for coming to Sunnydale and acquainting herself with the gang: she was a descendant of gypsies Angelus killed and they wanted her to keep him from experiencing perfect happiness. While she followed orders more out of obligation to family than passion, that secret caused her to fall out of the graces of the rest of the group. She would have to make up for her mistake somehow. She ultimately does so by siding with her new friends and love. Her attempt to find a way to restore Angel’s soul serves as a redemptive final act. This choice is shown in her tombstone, reading her alias rather than her gypsy name.

The scenes where the characters react to Jenny’s murder are the most potent of the series thus far. To show Buffy and Willow breaking down from Angelus’ point of view, with little dialogue audible, was a great touch. It’s interesting how effective this scene is considering it’s shown from the perspective of a monster.

Xander gets off easy as far as Angelus torment is concerned, but he can’t keep quiet after Jenny’s death. While he never liked Angel, largely out of jealousy for his romance with Buffy, he kept it to himself because he was friends with Buffy, and later to avoid hurting her further. The lack of discretion foreshadows the collapse of Buffy’s world that began when Angelus returned.

Giles arguably gets the worst of it among those alive. Angelus’ staging of his apartment, with the idea that the reconciled couple would get to have their first night together, is so perfectly done that makes the reveal nothing short of crushing. The addition of the operatic music only intensifies the scene. This goes beyond any cruel act Angelus has done so far.

Detachment is a major theme of this season. The characters struggle to control their passions to do what is necessary, or what is smart. Buffy’s said her emotions give her an advantage in a fight, but they are also a major liability as Giles warns her in the episode. She couldn’t kill Angelus in “Innocence” because of her connection to Angel, and Jenny’s death becomes symbolic of what that lack of detachment can do. Now she knows she has to fight him and that the man she loved is gone. However, she stops Giles from doing it knowing his reckless attack will kill him.

Ironically, Giles lets his passions interfere with his judgment. He would’ve gotten himself killed had Buffy not intervened, as Angel let him have those first few swings with the lit baseball bat (which looked cool regardless). This episode does a better job at showing Giles as a flawed human being than his own episode did earlier in the season. The scene where Buffy punches Giles after they leave the burning building is just perfect.

While Boreanaz may have overdone Angelus in “Innocence”, he hits all the right marks in this episode, as Angelus gets to do the things he loves most. He is a master manipulator, playing obsessed hunter, heartbroken ex and brutal killer extremely well. It makes Jenny’s death scene particularly thrilling and shocking. He graduates from a good minor villain to one worthy of the title “Big Bad”.

It’s unlikely that Angelus knew, but unceremoniously telling Joyce that he slept with Buffy further chipped away at the mother-daughter relationship. The bond between them has gotten increasingly strained as the season’s progressed, as it becomes harder for Buffy to keep her secret from her mother. Buffy even contemplates telling her when she realizes that her mother could potentially be in danger because Angel has a standing invitation.

Spike continues to argue over how to deal with Buffy and her friends, supporting a swift kill rather than “leaving gag gifts on teacher’s bed”. Toying with Buffy will only get her “brassed off” as he puts it. However, Angelus will do whatever he wants and with his advances towards Drusilla serve to intensify the feud between them.

Things in Sunnydale are now a lot darker. In the beginning, Buffy and her friends have a night of fun without a care towards what Angelus is planning. Willow’s even looking forward to being a substitute for Jenny if she is late (how a junior could substitute a class is not clear, but hardly noteworthy for this episode). By the end, such nights of fun are on hiatus and Willow gets to teach the class under the worst circumstances.

This episode sets a major precedent for the show. What could’ve been a disaster is made irrelevant by amazing writing (except for the out of place “Faster Pussycat” reference), direction and acting. It’s surprising Ty King wrote this episode after the disappointing “Some Assembly Required” and that he never wrote another episode. Things are very bad for the characters and hope is lost, symbolized with the floppy disk falling between the crack of desk and filing cabinet, but it makes for great television.

Overall Score: 10/10