OTH: Buffy the Vampire Slayer- "Lessons" / "Beneath You"
Starting the last season off with big promises.
Season 7, Episode 1
Aired September 24, 2002
Directed by David Solomon
Written by Joss Whedon
Synopsis: Buffy is taking Dawn out to practice slaying, proving her revelation at the end of last season wasn’t a fluke. It takes Dawn an attempt or two, but she and Buffy tag team a new vampire, which pleases big sister with Dawnie’s skills. However, something else is on Buffy’s mind, as Sunnydale High is reopening years after the Mayor’s ascension. It turns out that Xander is in charge of construction for the new campus, and he promises that things are going smoothly. He even shows Buffy the blueprints, revealing that the Hellmouth’s old location, underneath the library, is now where the principal’s office is going to be. Great sign, right? Buffy rides with Xander to Dawn’s first day of school to inspect the school and meets Principal Wood, who’s deceptively young, attractive, and aware of Buffy. Strange, but Dawn has no interest in lingering on this, as she wants to start off her first day of school without her sister trailing her. Fair enough, right? Buffy decides to stick around and explore the new school, just to be safe, and her suspicions rise when she sees a basketball dribbling on its own. She races and sees that a student picks it up, so alright, no biggie. She goes to the restroom and finds a talisman, picking it up curiously. A rookie move, Miss Summers, which proves itself when a bloodied-up girl appears, blames her for her death, and says that she can’t save Dawn before evaporating. Buffy rushes to Dawn’s class and warns her that they need to go home, but can’t let the words out of what she saw, which results in her embarrassing Dawn and confusing the students. Soon enough, though, a student who asks Dawn for a pencil stabs her in the eye with it, or so she thinks, as she can’t find the student and her classmates think that there’s something wrong with her family. Dawn excuses herself as she tries to sulk in the bathroom (the same women’s room Buffy was in earlier), but even that doesn’t work out as planned when she hears a startling noise followed by another girl sobbing. Dawn creeps over and meets the girl, Kit, who saw something disturbing herself. Dawn has Kit come out of the stall, but they’re soon followed by a trio of dead people, and are then pushed into the ground by a group of hands. They fall down into the basement and meet the boy with the basketball, Carlos, who ran into a dead janitor. The dead people Dawn and Kit saw earlier return, who tell them that everyone who goes to Sunnydale High dies and they’ll be no different. Fortunately, Dawn knows what’s up and calls her sister. Buffy is actually meeting with Principal Wood, who reveals that he’s read her record at the request of the school board, but before she can let him finish where that’s going, she promises to come find Dawn and her new friends. Buffy finds her way down, and runs into the dead people, each of which died while Buffy was on duty and wasn’t able to save her, and they demand that she leaves their resting place. She starts fighting them, but runs into something more disturbing- Spike. Something is off with Spike, though, as he’s talking to himself and is almost kind of mumbling, but he reveals important information to her, that what Dawn is dealing with are talisman spirits, who can hurt and be hurt, and will be destroyed if the talisman is taken care of. Buffy calls Xander to destroy the talisman as she tries to find Dawn. She arrives just in time to help the three students fight, which soon proves pointless as Xander easily finds and breaks the talisman. The spirits disappear and Buffy takes the kids back to their class. She runs into Principal Wood again, who’s impressed with how well Buffy handled these students, as the other two have records nearly as massive as hers. He offers her an outreach job at the school, which she graciously accepts, happy to no longer have to work at Doublemeat Palace.
Sounds good, right? Well, we’re seeing signs that something’s about to go down throughout the episode. Willow is recuperating in England with Giles, where she has a vision where she sees the Hellmouth in person, warning him that not everything of this earth is good. We also spend time with Anya and Halfrek at a coffee shop, where Hallie reveals that other vengeance demons are noticing Anya’s sloppy work and are prepping for something big that’s bubbling up, older than the Old Ones. But most notably, the episode ends with Spike having a run down with a bunch of familiar faces, as Warren Mears, Glory, Adam, Mayor Wilkins, Drusilla, the Master, and Buffy herself take turns to remind him that Spike’s quest for his soul wouldn’t come without risks or sacrifices. It’s all about power, after all.
We’re definitely in a last season. There are plenty of callbacks to moments past, from the explosive opening scene in Istanbul, which almost mimics the pilot’s opening moment with Darla at the high school, to the return of familiar, beloved antagonists at the end. Similarly bringing everything back together at Sunnydale High feels right, returning us to the chaos and magic of the early seasons.
It’s interesting that after taking most of last season off, not writing the premiere or finale, Whedon is back to set up the show’s last puzzle, bringing the audience back into the dark place the sixth season featured, with little glimmers of hope for a fresh future and some remnants of an end game sprinkled in. His touch is welcome, even if certain bits come off as a little too expectedly cheeky, like Dawn’s preference for Britney Spears.
Still, it allows for an enjoyable return to form, hinting at the previous season’s dark edges without overwhelming the audience. Willow only receives two scenes to keep the audience fresh on where she currently is, geographically and mentally, while Anya only requires one moment of exposition to explain her place at this point in time, while both characters and their ciphers (this time welcomed by the returns of Giles and Halfrek, respectively) prepare us for this season’s impending story, the Big Bad to end all Big Bads.
Instead, the bulk of the episode focuses on Buffy’s need to let Dawn adapt at school along with her curiosity as to Spike’s current state. Both elements trigger a sort of PTSD into Buffy’s mind- the return of Sunnydale High reminding her of numerous travesties that she handled, sometimes multiple on the same day, while Spike’s presence recalls his rape attempt. Just because Buffy survived both high school and Spike’s violent advances doesn’t mean that she can’t still be triggered by her past experiences. She isn’t weak for feeling so, if anything, Buffy is all the stronger for making it out and being able to move to the next mission with relative ease.
Although what I find interesting this time is that Buffy isn’t the only hurt by the lingering trauma of high school. The rebuilt Sunnydale High is haunted by the ghosts of students she wasn’t able to save, which starts what will be one of the season’s most substantive subject matter- despite being the Slayer, Buffy isn’t always right. Here, she recognizes her faults while both the character and the crew recognize the uncomfortable truth, that it’s simply impossible for Buffy to have saved every life in jeopardy. Her batting average is ultimately strong, but casualties still happen. Not every loss can’t sting the same way that Jenny Calendar’s or Tara’s does, but clearly she wishes she can do better.
“Lessons” sets this going with a traditional Buffy structure, offering the show’s balance of wit, heart and pathos, but what stands out is the ending, when a literal murderer’s row of past villains return to prep us for the incoming dread. That’s the good stuff.
Season 7, Episode 2
Aired October 1, 2002
Directed by Douglas Petrie
Written by Nick Marck
Synopsis: Similar to the previous episode’s opening in Istanbul, we see a woman run in Frankfurt from the same kind of hooded figures from that previous episode, but she isn’t able to escape them, being stabbed in the process. Shortly after, she awakens and states “from beneath you, it devours”. This turns out to be a dream of Buffy’s, where she’s awakened by Dawn for her first day of school… *checks notes* her first day of work at school, and she’s nervous, but Principal Wood assures her that she has nothing to worry about, being as young and unstuffy as she is will make her a hit with other students. Doing what, exactly, she’s not sure. But something is happening, as we see the ground shake underneath the school, catching Spike’s attention as he leaves before Buffy comes down to the basement to check on him. We then cut to Willow in England, where Giles has a cab ready for her to return to Sunnydale, although she has doubts about being welcomed, and fears her vision from the previous episode. Giles assures her that even if she isn’t wanted, Willow will be needed, which may not be the pep talk she was expecting, but it’s the truth that she needs and appreciates hearing. That’s it for Willow for this episode, as we return to Sunnydale, where a young woman is walking her dog at night, impatiently waiting for him to do his business. That doesn’t happen, though, as when she looks behind, a giant worm comes out and devours her dog in full. She runs away and right into Xander’s arms, who takes her to the Summers house as she talks about what happens. Buffy is willing to help the woman, whose name is Nancy, but her attempt to round up the gang is useless, since they’re all here- Willow is still in England with Giles, Anya has returned to her life of vengeance, and Tara, well, *starts sobbing*. Or so we think, when another figure enters in- Spike. Dawn and Xander are furious to see him return, and while Buffy is no more pleased, she asks him what he wants, when he admits that he’s not here to apologize but to offer his help, recognizing that something wrong is happening. Buffy decides to have him join her as they try to see what’s up with this worm creature, while Xander is asked to drop Nancy off home, and Dawn has homework duty. Before they go, though, Dawn warns Spike that if he ever lays a finger on her sister again, she’ll burn him alive, which almost startles him. When Buffy and Spike exam the scene of the crime, she notices how he’s changed, but can’t put her finger on how, exactly, nor will he explain it. Still, Buffy isn’t ready to trust him again as even a request for a torch (or flashlight) brings back uncomfortable memories of his attempted rape. We then see Xander drop Nancy off at her apartment, where she offers to call him again. Before they leave, though, the worm from earlier returns and chases them through the hallway. They manage to escape, when Nancy compares the situation to her abusive ex Ronnie, when Xander starts to paint the dots together. While she insists that Ronnie wasn’t the kind of guy to use spells, she did make a wish that he would turn into a worm, and aha. At the same time as Buffy and Spike, Xander and Nancy go to the Bronze and find Anya in the middle of a client, and demand her attention. She admits that rather than just a simple worm, she turned Ronnie into a Sluggoth demon, which is basically the same thing, but Nancy is freaked out and the others demand that she changes them back. While Anya prepares a spiel about her obligation as a vengeance demon, instead her attention turns to Spike, noticing something has changed as she tries to goad him into telling her how. Spike isn’t interested, though, and when she won’t stop pestering him, Spike punches her down. This time, though, Anya has her demon form appear as she fights back, with Buffy, who’s tired of his act, tagging along. However, Spike won’t fight back and instead uses his words, insisting that he hasn’t changed at all. Nancy runs out from all of the freaks (no call for Xander), when she encounters Ronnie the worm outside once again. Buffy and Spike arrive just in time to face him, during which Xander has a heart-to-heart with Anya and convinces her to reverse the spell, even knowing that D’Hoffryn will be furious with her. Unfortunately, right as Anya reverses the spell, Spike stabs Ronnie with a metal spear, and his chip activates immediately. While Buffy races to make sure that he’s safe, Spike has a meltdown and nearly speaks in tongues. Buffy has no patience for this, but Spike leaves her curious as he recalls the line uttered in her dream before running away. When Xander and Anya arrive to find them, Buffy has the two of them stay as she races to find Spike, inside of a church near the graveyard where his crypt was located. Spike continues to speak weirdly as he tries to avoid telling Buffy the truth, but she’s soon able to determine what’s going on, especially when he says that Angel should have warned him- Spike regained his soul. The crazy he’s talking comes from the many voices of the lives he’s taken and feasted upon coming into his mind, on top of the impending evil that has been foreshadowed so far. He knows that he can’t ask Buffy for forgiveness otherwise, which is why he went through the trials to obtain his soul, and burns himself on a cross out of desperation. Buffy watches with tears in her eyes as she’s unable to respond.
Can Spike be redeemed? After two centuries of maiming and feasting on countless mortals, as well as his rape attempt towards Buffy, it seems like a lost cause.
Yet Spike has defied all logic and has found a way to retrieve his soul, potentially disrupting the balance of the planet as a result. Unlike Angel, who was cursed with the return of his soul, Spike fought through deadly battles to reclaim his, and it’s looking like this is partly responsible for the impending doom that was warned in the previous episode, alongside Willow’s power trip from the same period. Thanks a lot, guys.
“Beneath You”, besides the title recalling a memorable tagline from season 5’s “Fool for Love”, is about redemption and amends, if it’s even possible in some cases. Spike’s push to reclaim his soul for Buffy’s sake is the most notable example of this, but it’s present in most of the characters this week.
Xander still feels remorse for walking out on Anya at the altar, but he’s also understandably tired of being the scapegoat for her reckless return to vengeance. Granted, I think they’re both right- Xander is correct that him being Anya’s sob story has run its course, but he hasn’t done much since to prove that he deserve to be forgiven aside from calming Willow down from total devastation, least of all to Anya, who he keeps continuing to say the wrong things to.
Of course, Anyanka is hardly stating a case for heroship herself, but that’s by design. Her return to becoming a vengeance demon represented her dissolution with the mortal world. She tried living it, liked it when she was regularly getting laid, but that’s not her. Or so she says, as we’re seeing that she’s falling below her boss’s quotas, and she bends quickly to reverse Ronnie’s spell when Xander begs her to. It’s not a great look for the once-mighty Anyanka, but do note that she didn’t officially return to the Scoobies by the episode’s end. If anything, she seems worried about D’Hoffyrn’s response to reversing the spell.
Dawn doesn’t have much to atone for, her shoplifting story from last season still largely forgotten, but that gives us a little more time for Willow, who feels deep remorse for her villainess turn last season. While she has less blood on her hands than Spike or Anya, they at least have the excuse of not being mortal, while Willow’s incomparable power had her rip open Warren and sucked Rack’s mana dry*, when she had no business playing executioner. It appears that her time in Giles’ farm in England has done good things for her, and she’s ready to return and atone for sins, whether she’s welcome or not. While I love seeing Anthony Head return as Rupert, these scenes often feel like padding for the story, which is ultimately necessary but not the best way to spend our time.
Now, with Buffy we have something more complicated. Following her encounter with the ghosts of her failures and the surprise return of Spike, she’s trying to return to her duties, like her new job at Sunnydale High and usual slaying obligations. When she meets with Nancy and hears about her giant worm encounter, this gives her another chance to prove her usefulness, but things are once again complicated by the return of Spike, who brings a wealth of emotions out in her. We see her recoil when she gets too close to him, yet they’re still capable of casually getting the job done. She resents letting him into her life but seems to genuinely care about him.
That last point is the most interesting part of the episode and their current point. On one level, Buffy wants Spike gone or dead and can easily make that happen, but she can’t do it. Part of this reads like victim’s remorse, when a subject of abuse struggles to drop their predator entirely and continues to rationalize their actions when not necessary. Abuse is hard to walk away from, especially when it seems that the person who’s hurt you is willing to change.
And give Spike credit, he did change. Buffy noticed it almost right away, and even when they brawled, it was apparent. Spike’s confession is brilliantly acted and directed, a last-minute rule-breaking job by Whedon who insisted that Marsters toned down his emotion, and it’s done in an eerie, dimly-lit sequence in a church between him and Gellar that reads like a precursor of what’s to come this season. Like the show at its best, it’s dynamic for television and offers a subtle composition between the two as they trade what little bit of light is available for darkness. Let’s see where the show goes next.
Watcher’s Guidebook:
The scenes in England are actually shot in Anthony Head’s farm in Bath. I’ve been to Bath and it’s quite lovely, would love to explore it more
(Mr. Head if you’re reading this I would love to visit your farm)What is something Giles knows nothing about? Synchronized swimming.
Buffy warns Dawn to avoid hyena people, lizardy-type athletes, and invisible people, and I’d link to those reviews if my Letterdrop wasn’t seemingly lost to time. Thanks, guys. But I don’t think we need to be reminded of “The Pack”, do we?
“You know, you could still drop out. Only nerds finish high school.”
Who is talking to Spike at the end? Keep in mind that everyone that transformed here is dead in one way or another, even Buffy, who is by all rights alive but is also still recognized as unliving for… reasons. Also note that aside from Buffy and Drusilla, each of these are the Big Bad of their respective seasons. As to why Dru returned instead of Angelus? David Boreanaz was probably busy shooting the other show, and I think that the crew wanted one last moment with Spike and Dru, because who wouldn’t?
Oh hey, the puppy is named Rocky.
“Is there anyone here who hasn’t slept together?” Nancy asks, as Xander and Spike look at each other, aggravated.
Meanwhile, in Los Angeles: “Deep Down” attempts to resolve the cliffhanger Angel ended its third season on, with Angel buried underneath the ocean and Cordelia MIA. The rest of Angel Investigations, minus a Vegas-bound Lorne, try to find the two, along with a moody Connor, who refuses to acknowledge his father. Beware, we’re going to have a lot of daddy issues this season, but at least it doesn’t take long for them to find Angel. Cordy is still gone, though, but in “Ground State”, Angel begins to search for her, using Wesley’s recommendation to find the Axis of Pythia. He meets a thief named Gwen, who is also looking for the talisman, and they team up on their search. It doesn’t work out, as he isn’t able to save Cordy, who’s now a higher power and will likely never return to the human world. Bummer.
Next Week: Willow returns to Sunnydale, and Buffy’s new job proves dangerous. Yay for keeping things vague!
*Leaving this as a spoiler, but in the comics, it’s revealed that Warren and Rack both survive Willow’s reign. Rack kind of makes sense, his powers were a little too strong to let him go so quickly, but Warren’s revival is a little bullshit. I’ll talk about it later in these blogs.