OTH: Buffy the Vampire Slayer- "Normal Again" / "Entropy"
Things get worse before they get better.
Season 6, Episode 17
Aired March 12, 2002
Directed by Rick Rosenthal
Written by Diego Gutierrez
Synopsis: Buffy patrols a neighborhood with newly rented houses hoping to find the Trio's new location. She comes close, as Jonathan falls asleep while on guard duty, but Warren and Andrew notice right in time as they intend to send her away. It's Andrew's turn to distract the Slayer, so he calls up a demon to fight Buffy. Of course she wins, but it stings her before she leaves, and we cut to a quick shot of Buffy in a mental hospital being injected with a similar-looking needle. Before we return to figure what this is about, we see Willow at school the next day, trying to figure out how to ask Tara back out, but her hopes are squandered when she sees Tara walk with and kiss another girl. At home, Willow tells Buffy about how her bad luck, but before Buffy can say anything, they have a surprise guest- Xander comes home after being away for a few days. Despite how angry they should be at him for leaving Anya, his best friends are still overjoyed to see him return. Xander asks if his ex-fiancé is in town, noticing that her things are packed and the Magic Box is closed, but Willow tells him that Anya left town shortly after being left at the altar. Xander intends to find her as soon as he can, as he hopes that they can restart their relationship, which Buffy and Willow shoot down as stupid and selfish right off the bat. Good for them. Buffy will see her long-time bffs later that evening as Willow and Xander intend to surprise her as she patrols, but Buffy catches up with Spike first. When they arrive, Xander takes no time to make his feelings known about Spike, who retorts by poking fun of Xander's wedding escapades, or lack thereof. Xander is in no mood to hear this from someone he doesn't respect like Spike and punches him, which triggers Buffy's earlier reaction as she returns to the mental ward inside her mind, where Buffy's doctor reveals that her history of vampire slaying is all an illusion inside her mind, and is then welcomed by a familiar pair of faces- her parents. Yes, the late Joyce and distant Hank Summers are back to pick up their doctor after six years of her being locked up. The doctor reveals that Buffy has created whole scenarios in her mind after all this time, imagining characters, monsters, and a whole town outside of LA that she inhabits, even going as far as to create a sister later in the story, despite how it must have damaged the continuity. Joyce and Hank try their best to bring Buffy back to reality, assuring her that none of this is real and that she's an only child. Back to reality, Buffy snaps out of it and tells the Scoobies (now consisting of Willow, Xander and Dawn, as Anya is MIA-post wedding, Tara is still detached, and Spike only joins intermittingly) what's going on, as they go off to research while Buffy stays put and tries to clear her head. After a return to her mind, Willow arrives and shows that they found a perfect match for the demon who stung Buffy, which does indeed give whoever it stings hallucinations, as Xander and Spike are out to search for it. The positive side is that its needle can also offer an antidote when broken up and formed into an elixir. Willow then takes the opportunity to relieve Buffy of her mind, and assures her that she's not crazy and hasn't been institutionalized. This is when Buffy drops a bombshell, though- she was, when she first started seeing vampires, and her parents couldn't deal. Willow is horrified to learn, but she takes it in stride and races down to the basement when Xander and Spike return with the demon, who doesn't give up his needle without a fight. It takes her a few hours to create the elixir without magic, but Willow comes over to Buffy in the morning and hands it to her in a coffee cup. Before she drinks it, Spike comes in to check up, but Buffy isn't interested in seeing him. This causes Spike to have a meltdown where he delivers a speech stating that Buffy's inability to commit has been unfair to both of them, and if she won't tell her friends about them, he will. Right now, the relative bliss of her mind looks good, so Buffy pours the antidote in the trash as we hear the doctor tell her that Buffy needs to do anything that will make her healthy. Xander soon lets himself into the house, although he doesn't receive a welcome from any of its inhabitants. He heads into the kitchen where he sees a quiet Buffy, who immediately attacks him and throws him into the basement with a gagged Willow. She then comes into Dawn's room and notices her packing to go to Janice's. Buffy leans towards her sister and tries to get her to join their friends, but Dawn is scared and tries to escape, which doesn't go well. Buffy eventually grabs a hold of Dawn and brings her into the basement, when the demon escapes its trap. When it starts coming to the Scoobies, we see Tara let herself into the house, but can't find anyone. She enters the basement and sees everyone tied up as the demon starts attacking, which causes Tara to use a spell to untie Willow, Xander and Dawn, and another to throw a shelf full of paint at the demon. Buffy is still hallucinating, though, and trips Tara from the stairs. As the others team up to fight the demon, we return to Buffy's mind, as Joyce sees her struggling daughter and tells her to fight against her Sunnydale fantasy and stick to those who are real and love her. Buffy thanks her mother, as she knows what she has to do and returns to reality to kill the demon before it does any damage. Buffy's friends return to her as she asks for more of the antidote, which Willow happily agrees to conjure up, as we return to the fantasy one last time, as her doctor declares her gone.
So what if this whole show came from the mind of a distressed teenage girl? Everything from the self-fulfilling prophecies to the late addition of a sibling dynamic, and what if the show even pokes holes at some elements, like asking what did Adam even want? Wouldn't that just be crazy?
If anything, it's surprising that it took six seasons to hit an idea like "Normal Again", as Whedon and co love to play with post modernism, but at the same time, it may have been for the best to wait for 1- the characters in the series to be as well-defined as possible without overstaying their welcome and 2- right around the darkest moment in the show's run, for as devastating of an effect as possible. And I think now's as good of a time as ever as to give Buffy another moment with Joyce, don't you?
The idea behind “Normal Again” makes sense. The show’s core trio want to return to normal, although their idea and expectations for normal differ in terms of scale and possibility. Willow’s desire is the simplest to obtain, to enjoy her rehabilitation and embrace Tara, although she’s met with a roadblock of her own, one which will resolve itself soon enough. I skip over this since the episode doesn’t spend too much time on Willow’s wants after the first act, nor does it spend more time with Xander’s. Although his is dubious, as he wants to get back with Anya and ignore this whole wedding fiasco, although this seems highly, highly unlikely. Thankfully, Buffy and Willow say as much, as they try to make Xander aware that it’s highly unlikely that Anya will want to get back with him at all, let alone a step below their prior engagement. The clock never restarts, it resumes.
But even that kind of reconciliation is more possible than what Buffy is imagining, and liking more and more. And it’s this urge to give up her destiny and go back to a normal life that drives the episode. While I don’t think “Normal Again” does a good enough job of making it seem like the visions in Buffy’s head are the real deal, it does make them look almost desirable. Maybe not 100%, as we see Buffy missed out on the past six years of her life, but the idea of returning to her parents, still together and invested, without the burden of protecting the world from the unimaginable and the anchor of the times she’s died, seen loved ones perish, and all the sacrifices she’s made. Maybe this is what heaven was for Buffy.
As appealing as this must be for Buffy, though, this isn’t for her. She’s meant to save the world, again, and be there for her friends and sister. Or, at least, she’s meant to when she’s not trying to beat them up like in the last act. That was freaky, but pretty cool, a memorable way to end a memorable episode.
Season 6, Episode 18
Aired April 30, 2002
Directed by James A. Contner
Written by Drew Z. Greenberg
Synopsis: The Trio are taking a night off and riding ATVs, but their dumb luck causes them to crash into each other, right as Buffy is chasing down some vampires. They escape in time as Buffy gets down to business, when Spike arrive and offers his help. The two defeat the vampires right away, and he asks if Buffy has thought about his ultimatum from earlier, which has her admit that she isn't worried about what her friends think of their history, since everyone forgives Buffy for nearly killing them. Whatever, Spike's too cool to keep sulking, so he disappears as we cut to the next day. Willow finally follows through on her plan from the previous episode and asks Tara if she wants to get coffee, which she happily accepts. As for that girl she embraced in the previous episode? Red herring, Tara is riding solo. So she has that going for her, while Xander's about to have something else happen when he comes back to his apartment and finds Anya. He's simultaneously relived to see the woman he loves and humiliated at recalling what he did to her, but now he has the opportunity to do what he's been hoping for. So Xander apologizes for walking out, only to fumble up his words. Anya can tell what's happening and asks if he still wants to get married, which Xander says yes, eventually, when they're ready. Not a good answer, and we see her vengeance demon face return behind her back as she wishes him dead. Nothing. Anya keeps wishing more gruesome things to happen to her ex fiancé, but he's looking as normal as ever. She walks out frustrated and meets up with Halfrek, who informs Anya that her wishes won't work for herself, and her best bet is to try to secure a wish out of one of their friends. So the next day, Anya catches Willow and Tara as they get coffee, finds Dawn at the Magic Box, and meets Buffy outside of her house and talks to them about her ex, but no one seems to hold any grudge or wish Xander any harm, which makes them all useless to her. At Buffy's house, though, she sees Xander again, but rebuffs his attempts to talk to him. Buffy herself tries to stand in Xander's way so Anya can have some space, but she trips on a garden gnome, which is suspicious, since it's so not hers or Joyce's style. But checking the broken gnome, she sees a camera, which Xander suspects might be Spike's doing. She goes down to his crypt, but Spike has no knowledge of the camera and is insulted by the insinuation. Buffy realizes that he's right and agrees to move on when Spike reminds her that his love for her is real, and while she won't deny that, Buffy insists that it remains one-sided and that he needs to accept it. She's right, but Spike doesn't want to hear that and kicks her out. Buffy has Willow try to encrypt the camera, although they and Xander all assume who's really interested in spying on them, while Anya sulks some more with Halfrek, who once again is correct that Anya picked a fool's errand to squeeze a wish out from one of Xander's friends. Her options are limited, but a surprise choice walks in as Spike is looking for something specific. Hallie suggests that Anya ask him, as Spike is notoriously ambivalent (at best) to Xander, but it goes against Anyanka's code to only do revenge for women. It's not an official rule, though, and Hallie is once again right when she says that men deserve vengeance too, sometimes. So Anya pulls out one of Giles' bottles of Jack Daniels as she lets Spike vent about this mystery woman, while trying to return to the pain and humiliation she feels over Xander. Spike doesn't quite make a wish for her, but he's saying the right things, including how he admires Anya's straightforward attitude. We then return to the Summers household, where Willow breaks into the camera's firewalls and sees that the Trio aren't just keeping tabs at their house, but also the Doublemeat Palace, the Bronze, Buffy's most frequently patrolled graveyards, Willow's classes, and Xander's construction site. They find a couple more cameras set up, but it takes a moment for Willow to connect. By the time she does, she hits up the Magic Box's camera right as Spike and Anya start hooking up. Xander is mortified, while Buffy tries to hold back tears. Worse yet, Dawn arrives shortly after they start seeing this, and she notices not only what Spike and Anya are up to, but Buffy's reaction. She and Xander storm out, and Dawn follows her sister to the back porch as they talk about this secret Buffy has been keeping from her. For once, Dawn understands and doesn't make a big deal out of Buffy keeping this a secret, since she'd want to do the same, too. As for Xander? We see him head over to the magic shop with an axe in hand, and when he arrives, Xander wastes no time to lay into Spike. Despite the stakes and his dislike of Xander, Spike does nothing to stop the fight, not able to stop the chip in his head. Anya and Buffy come to stop Xander instead, but he's still upset at both of them for what he saw. Anya takes the chance to dig into her ex and calls him pathetic and childish, which Xander can only reply to with scorn for whoever could sleep with Spike. The vampire's reply? He was good enough for Buffy, which Xander scoffs at, until her reaction proves Spike right. Disgusted, Xander roams off as everyone remains upset, Buffy even dropping the stake she walked over with. The episode ends with Tara returning to the Summers house and reminding Willow of how hard forgiveness is, and how she's not even sure if she's capable of putting the work in to trust her again. So how about they don't even bother, and just start the good stuff back up?
There’s a cut I can’t stand in “Entropy”, right before the last commercial break. After we see Xander, Buffy and Dawn exit the house from the back door, there’s a jump out of nowhere to Buffy’s chest of weapons, which we see open, and then cuts one last time to Xander, who’s walking with an axe in hand. That I don’t mind, but the cut from the backside of the kitchen to the attic, where the chest is supposed to be, rings false. While I understand the narrative point this is meant to offer, there’s no human logic behind it, since we don’t follow Willow or anyone else who could have inspected the chest. It’s frustrating for a show that otherwise has sharp edits and understands the basic functioning of the process quite well.
At least it’s still a good episode, and it brings a possible pairing that I actually quite like to the forefront with Spike and Anya. Here we have a former and current demon, both of which with human ties who struggle to understand the mortal world around them, but still have passion and sex drives. With their centuries of living on the edges of humandom, they’re in some ways more mature than the rest of the Scoobies, even if the others would argue that blunt honesty doesn’t count as maturity (I’m on the fence in that regard).
The thing is that the crew, as well as a significant portion of the audience, doesn’t want to embrace this pairing, which is why Spike and Anya agree right away that this is a one-time fling. Spike is still in love with Buffy, while Anya has other goals in mind. If I was Spike, I’d concede that Buffy admitting that his love for her is real is a victory and move on, but I don’t have his mentality. Especially knowing what will happen next week, I’ll just say that this is a good thing, but even here, Spike’s dedication is suffocating and miserable, almost like Angel at his worst, with few of the positives.
Meanwhile, Anya returning to her vengeful past is a disappointing but understandable example of character development. Not regression, even if it is to some extent, but this is in line with Anya’s persona and makes sense, for better or worse. Xander was the one thing holding her tied to the mortal realm, and when he couldn’t offer her his all, she sees reverting to her past as the only way. It’s shameful to an extent, but this is what Anya knows, and is what she’s good at.
Although now that I think about it, why did Anya fall for Xander, in the first place? The reason she lost her powers is after he and his friends find a way to mess with the wish she granted for Cordelia, because of how Xander scorned her. If he didn’t cheat on Cordy with Willow, Anyanka would still be a powerful vengeance demon and wouldn’t have wasted the past two or so years dating and eventually being dumped by a loser like Xander.
Whatever, Whedon wants to imagine that he can score with women like Charisma Carpenter, Alyson Hannigan, Eliza Dushku and Emma Caulfield, which is why Xander is his character insert. And frankly, I’d let Eliza jump my bones at her command at any time, too. Can’t blame him for that, even if Xander only looks like the worst here.
Watcher's Guidebook:
Goddamn Dawn, no one before Buffy became the Slayer is in her mind, not just you. Does everything need to be about you?
That said, I do like how Buffy questions why Dawn is taller than her.
The doctor Buffy sees in her mind for "Normal Again" is played by Michael Warren, who besides having a fairly impressive history with college basketball played Officer Bobby Hill in Hill Street Blues. That's an almost small world, since that show is a tentative OTH series, which I should talk about some day.
For anyone interested, Noxon is strongly against the ward being Buffy's reality, while Whedon has jokingly called himself pro ward.
Question for my readers- when Anya asks if Xander still wants to marry her, do you think that she’s willing to reconcile with him, or do you think she’s waiting to blow this up in his face?
Back at the beady eyes bit.
"God, what kind of lesbians are you? If you love men so much, go love men!" Emma Caulfield deserves an Emmy for that alone.
Meanwhile, in Los Angeles: In "Forgiving", Gunn, Fred and Lorne find Wesley and try to find out why he betrayed Angel by giving up Connor, and ho boy there's a lot to unpack and I don't feel like pulling out my Angel DVDs on top of my Buffy's, but things don't go well for Wesley when he reunites with Angel. And then in “Double or Nothing”, while Fred and Gunn’s relationship is starting to heat up, something from his past is coming to put a wrench in things. Other stuff happens, but I do think that J. August Richards and Amy Acker have nice chemistry with each other, even if I don’t love a lot of what they have to go through in the show.
Next (Two) Weeks: Sorry, have a lot going on, and the jump between blogs hasn’t made things easy. We're nearing the end of the season, which ends with a string of concurrent episodes. First, something bad happens, and then something worse happens. Honest!