Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 2, Episode 22 Review: Becoming, Part 2

Becoming, Part 2
Original Airdate: May 19, 1998
Writer: Joss Whedon
Director: Joss Whedon

As the first part begins it, the second part completes the collapse of everything Buffy cares about. It fits the theme of Buffy’s desire to lead a normal life and the conflicts that has with her calling. In part one, it started to erode with Angelus’ crew attacking Buffy’s friends. They take it a step further in this episode by having Buffy get expelled, suspected for murder, kicked out of her home and forced to send the person she loves to hell all in a matter of hours. In addition to that, the episode also presents several pivotal moments in other character arcs which will be evident throughout the series.

Resolving the Angelus storyline had to end only one way. While many shows would’ve forgiven and forgotten, it would’ve cheapened all the bad things that happened. Any shot of things going back to the way they were ended when Jenny died. Since the show became a hit, Joss Whedon found himself with a lot more creative freedom to plunge to the depths of this tragedy. Unlike the first season, it wasn’t going to end happily with the loose ends tied up or toned down. In the first season, renewal was unknown since all twelve episodes were shot before it premiered.

The episode starts with Buffy being arrested under suspicion for Kendra’s murder and soon afterwards fleeing the scene. Buffy as fugitive is a great dynamic for this episode, as it is all about the loss of the support systems in Buffy’s life and how Buffy is defined as an individual. Her allies are out of commission or turned their backs on her and everyone else, besides Spike, is out to get her. How can she function and save the world, and what does that do to her psyche?

This is reinforced with Whistler’s appearance in Giles’ apartment. In part one he remarks about how a person can only control how they react to the big moments in life, rather than the big events themselves. That determines who you are. This episode takes that self-exploration route down a dark path, with the idea that the major event is losing everything but yourself.

Buffy’s desperation eventually leads her to ally herself with Spike. To have mortal enemies working together for a common goal is always interesting. With that, the obvious point of their alliance must be addressed: she invited Spike into her home! While it may have been expected for some like Angel pre-“Innocence”, Spike doesn’t have a soul, and could easily reenter the Summers’ household whenever he wants and do whatever he wants there. Had things played out differently in the end, Buffy would’ve likely gotten Willow to do a recanting spell as they did in “Passion”, but that detail got lost in the panic of the final battle.

Spike’s angst has been simmering all season and this episode gives us the long anticipated pay-off, which doesn’t disappoint. Angelus’ constant teasing, with the desired result of driving Spike crazy, only proves to be the downfall of Angelus’ plans. It makes sense for Spike to want to side with Buffy even if Drusilla wasn’t part of the equation. Despite “talking big”, Spike ultimately likes humanity, and plunging that into hell seriously jeopardizes his lifestyle. This decision, like many of those in this episode, serves as major turning point for the character.

Kendra’s murder, in addition to one of Angelus’ vamps waiting for her at her home, forces Buffy to tell her mother the truth. Some of Joyce’s comments about her daughter’s calling draw parallels to a kid coming out to his or her parents, “Have you ever tried not being a slayer?” being the most obvious one. “Buffy” has a big gay following, so it’d make sense they would touch on gay subtext eventually, but to draw that parallel is a noticeable tribute to that fan base that will keep the franchise alive for years to come.

Spike and Joyce’s scene in the living room was a riot, one of the few instances of humor in the episode. Recalling “School Hard” makes the silence even more uncomfortable. However, the Joyce and Spike dynamic would become one of the more fun ones on the show. In some way, they are a good example of opposites attracting.

It’s understandable that Joyce is shaken by the reveal, not to mention Spike & Buffy speaking of murder and death with their seasoned response to it. Joyce, like many not involved in the gang’s activities, would naturally dismiss the supernatural goings on with some kind of reason. Unfortunately, she has yet to have the exposure to the supernatural her daughter has and considering the high stakes, Buffy doesn’t have time to sit her down and explain it all. This has been simmering since the beginning of the series, and this is the boil over point. What should’ve been a frank, modest discussion only explodes amidst the chaos, further changing the mother-daughter relationship.

Snyder’s behavior towards Buffy is explained in this episode. As “I Only Have Eyes For You” set up, the mayor placed Snyder as principal for control. Considering Buffy is the slayer and the strong hints that the mayor is evil, it makes sense that Snyder would pounce on Buffy at every moment in hopes that it could get her expelled. While it may have been more practical for them to just hire an assassin to get her out of the way, it makes sense from a political perspective to stay low profile.

Xander’s emotional confession to the comatose Willow recalls their whole relationship to this point. Willow has been disappointed that Xander’s overlooked her for the more glamorous Buffy and Cordelia and he’s been largely oblivious to this. However, seeing Willow in her most vulnerable state (which Joss Whedon has said was always a good choice for drama on the show) made him realize what he missed. To make it even worse, he realizes this too late, as she’s moved on to Oz. Eventually, they’d realize their love was actually a deep friendship, but it doesn’t diminish the impact of this complication.

The cruelest moment of the episode not involving our heroine was Drusilla’s interrogation of Giles to uncover how Angelus can summon Acathla. Jenny’s death is still fresh in the viewer’s mind, and this scene rips open the old wounds better than a chainsaw. This is another great example of the finale recalling the previous episodes to reinforce the culmination of everything we’ve seen this season.

Willow’s toying with witchcraft has been played with occasionally and almost came into fruition in the previous episode. However, her second attempt at the spell, with “resolve face”, is a milestone for the character. Somehow during the spell she connects with something and in a possessed state completes the spell in front of the spooked Cordelia and Oz. Some have theorized that this is Jenny acting from beyond, which is possible, but negates the achievement of that moment.

One moment that was never properly capitalized was Xander’s decision to place his animosity towards Angel over his feelings for Buffy by not telling her Willow planned to try the restoration spell again. Perhaps this was a writing decision to make sure she didn’t have a glimmer of hope through the whole episode, but this should’ve caused major tension between Xander and the rest of the group later, as well as a solid foundation for where his arc would go.

Xander not telling Buffy about Willow’s second attempt makes the ultimate sacrifice even harder than it was going in to the final battle. Considering Buffy was ready to kill him before to protect the world, the sudden twist where Angel is restored only after Acathla begins to wake brings back the tragedy of their romance to the forefront. She was ready to kill Angelus, but never expected it that way. In a nice bookend, both Darla and Buffy say “close your eyes” before they change Angel.

While I’m not a Sarah McLaughlin fan, the choice of “Full of Grace” to close the episode resonates so powerfully, as if what happened wasn’t enough. Buffy had to give up literally everything she cared about to save the world and that song fits the mood perfectly. If you don’t feel like your heart has been ripped to shreds, maybe this show isn’t for you.

This season of Buffy showed massive amounts of growth from both the writers and actors and this episode is another great example (the 3^rd perfect 10 of this season). This episode alone shows Buffy suffer devastating loss culminating in the tragic pay off the Angelus storyline. In addition to that, several characters experience life changing events that will be defining elements to their characters. Doing that much with one episode is a major achievement, one of “Buffy’s” best.

Overall Score: 10/10

Season 2 Average: 7.45