by Field, Mark
SPIKE
I'm in trouble, Buffy.
BUFFY
I can help you.
SPIKE
I could never ask. Not after...
BUFFY
It's different. You're different.
SPIKE
I could never ask.
The harsher-sounding Buffy, dressed in black, then comes in to tell him to take steps to help himself. That tough love advice comes from the real Buffy, as we see from the fact that she’s wearing black for the remainder of the episode. Similarly, as I’ll discuss below, Anya takes steps to help herself only after Buffy’s intervention.
Anya’s story actually begins in the opening scene, though she’s not in it. Dawn’s advice to Willow in the teaser describes someone who has no self:
DAWN
My advice to you is do exactly what everyone else does all the time.
WILLOW
Got it.
DAWN
Do what everyone else does, wear what everyone else wears, say what everyone else says.
WILLOW
OK.
DAWN
People may say something to you you don't understand. Just don't be afraid to keep your mouth shut and pretend like you know what they're saying.
When Buffy and Xander return to the house and learn that it was Anyanka who summoned the demon, Buffy tells him that she’s been thinking about the problem of Anya since the summer. We can be sure that she also considered her duty with respect to Willow in STSP. It’s pretty clear Willow understood that too, in light of their conversation at the end of STSP:
BUFFY
I have a confession to make. I thought it might be you. With the flaying.
WILLOW
I know.
BUFFY
I wanna be the kind of person that wouldn't think that. Xander never thought it.
WILLOW
He did, a little. Heck, I did a little. Xander has the luxury of not saying it, but you're the slayer. You have to say stuff like that.
This, I think, helps explain Willow’s sympathy for Anya throughout the episode.
Buffy’s sense of responsibility for the dead frat boys must be all the greater because she let Anya’s behavior drop after Anya reversed the spell on Ronnie in BY. We should remember the lessons of Innocence and Passion; Buffy does.
When Buffy mentioned Xander’s lie in Becoming, I literally jumped up off the couch and shouted at the TV. Finally! This was a hotly debated topic on the internet for years but it seemed the writers would never bring it up again. Not only did Drew Goddard use it at exactly the right moment (93 episodes and 4.5 years later!), but he made it clear that Buffy viewed Xander’s previous betrayal and his current hypocrisy as stemming from precisely the fact that he had cheered her on to kill the man she loved. Think back to the sword fight in Becoming 2. Angelus told Buffy that she had “no weapons…no friends… no hope.” It wasn’t that her friends were not physically present. It was that if those whom she called friends were willing to cheer her on to kill the love of her life, then they weren’t really friends at all.
I had never seen anyone articulate this aspect before, despite reading hundreds of comments on this topic. Among other things, this cast a whole new light on Buffy’s decision to leave Sunnydale at the end of S2 and her reaction to her friends at the start of S3. It also speaks volumes about Buffy’s character that she never said these words until Xander forced her.
Buffy’s use of the phrase “I am the law” should bring to mind Faith’s very similar statement in Consequences: “You know in your gut we don't need the law. We *are* the law.”
There’s a crucial difference between the two, notwithstanding the similarity in the words used. In context, Faith said it in order to avoid responsibility. Buffy said it as a way of accepting her responsibility in the course of her duty. It’s the burden each Slayer has faced from the beginning (word used advisedly):
BUFFY
It is always different! It's always complicated. And at some point, someone has to draw the line, and that is always going to be me. You get down on me for cutting myself off, but in the end the slayer is always cut off. There's no mystical guidebook. No all-knowing council. Human rules don't apply. There's only me. I am the law.
This is another key point of the season, tied in with the seasonal themes, the problem Buffy posed at the end of Help, and the solution Buffy will adopt to her seasonal problem.
Although Xander told Anya that Buffy was not coming as part of an “intervention”, I think that’s exactly what it was. Buffy gave Xander a head start, and she looked to Willow for an alternative.
When she arrived at the frat house, her actions can be seen as shock therapy, perhaps. I believe Buffy knew that something drastic had to be done to get Anya to change (compare the real Buffy’s “tough love” advice to Spike earlier). I interpret Buffy’s action in the fight as letting it go on as long as possible so that Anya would understand the reality of it. Then she told Anya she was sorry and stabbed her. That moment was, thematically, the death of Anyanka. Note that Anya had been in demon face before the sword, but was in human face after. (Drew Godard, DVD commentary.)
Buffy surely remembered the experience in OAFA when a sword through the chest failed to kill Hallie, an incident Anya expressly mentions afterwards. IMO, Buffy suspected that Anya was attempting suicide by cop as a cry for help and pushed it just far enough to force her to change (with some help from Xander and Willow). Anya wanted to die – she lay unmoving on the floor as Buffy raised the sword over her (Drew Godard, DVD commentary).
I personally had underestimated D’Hoffryn and thought of him as less threatening than he was revealed to be in this episode. I guess the pimp can seem sympathetic until one of his “girls” tries to leave, and the dialogue here certainly supports that characterization of D’Hoffryn. He converted Anya’s attempt at selflessness into a horrifying punishment – killing her only friend in the story, killing her vengeance demon side in metaphor – leaving Anya to find her true self on her own.
Trivia notes: (1) Selfless was Drew Goddard’s first ever script. (2) Joss provided the dead frat boys story and wrote the X/A scene at the end. (3) Aud – which gets pronounced “odd” by Anya so we can get the joke – was an actual Norse name of an early settler in Iceland and the wife of Olaf (really). (4) Spike remembered that Dru saw stars even indoors, which she did in Innocence. (5) Spike’s line “scream Montresor all you like” refers to Edgar Allen Poe’s story The Cask of Amontillado. Montresor walled up Fortunato in the basement in order to kill him, and Fortunato screamed Montresor’s name to no effect. (6) There was a revolution in Russia in 1905, but it failed. (7) Halfrek referred to the “Winter Mansion” in connection with that revolution, presumably meaning the Winter Palace. That palace featured in the 1917 Revolution, but not in 1905. (8) Anya’s claim that workers would overthrow absolutism and lead the proletariat to revolution succinctly summarizes the stated goals of the Communists. (9) Buffy says that Anya chose to become a vengeance demon twice. It was actually three times, though Buffy had no way to know that – Anya demanded her powers back at the beginning of Doppelgangland. (10) Willow got the talisman to summon D’Hoffryn in Something Blue. (11) In Anya’s flashback, Xander said that he just wanted a happy ending, which is what he said when everyone discovered that he summoned Sweet in OMWF. (12) Anya’s mention of coconuts also refers back to OMWF. (13) Marti Noxon and David Fury sing the mustard song in the background of the flashback. (14) Joss wrote Anya’s song in the flashback. (15) Anya Christina Emmanuella Jenkins was the name Anya gave the Council in Checkpoint. (16) Anya’s phrase “I’ll never tell” refers back to the song she and Xander sang in OMWF. (17) All of Kali Rocha’s scenes for the season were shot on 1 day, which shows how far in advance episodes were plotted. (18) Just to complete the point I made in my essays on The Wish and Doppelgangland, I’ll mention here the issue of Anyanka’s pendant. One potential weakness in my interpretation of The Wish as a daydream i
s the existence of her pendant as a real item. While there’s plenty of evidence in those S3 episodes that Anyanka needs her pendant as her power source, there’s evidence to the contrary in the episodes from Entropy through Selfless. In those episodes no amulet or pendant is ever mentioned, nor is she ever shown relying on one, even when she’s acting as a vengeance demon. More significantly, the whole ending of Selfless makes no sense if there had been one. Nobody would have needed D’Hoffryn to reverse the deaths of the frat boys and to expel Anyanka from the Order – they could have just smashed her pendant as Giles did in The Wish. Thematically, of course, Anya had to ask – to wish, actually – rather than have her pendant smashed involuntarily.
Him
The question you should be asking about Him is “who’s the ‘him’”? There’s an obvious “him” in Him: R.J. But the entire teaser focuses on Spike. It begins with Spike moving into Xander’s apartment, and then shifts to Dawn and Buffy discussing Spike. The teaser always sets up the episode. Thus, I think we need to see the title as referring to Spike as well. There are several clues to this effect throughout the episode:
The focus on R.J.’s coat (the magical effect of the coat might also suggest, perhaps, some meta-commentary on Spike fans); like William, R.J. was a poet before he became cool (note the look on Spike’s face when Lance mentions poetry); Dawn tells Buffy that she “knows R.J.’s soul” after Buffy has twice emphasized Spike’s soul to Dawn; and Anya tells Willow “I looked into him and saw his soul”, just as she did to Spike in Beneath You.
Given these clues, we should see the story of R.J. and the jacket as an allegory of Spike. Not just Spike and his duster, which we haven’t seen since Seeing Red, but in the more general terms of an entire persona. The point of the magic jacket was that it made the wearer cooler, more attractive, more dominant than he actually was. That’s why we saw Lance – poor Lance went from star jock on campus to pretty much where Xander was in S4, complete with pizza delivery shirt. We all understood that this is what would likely happen to R.J. once they burned the jacket.
Now let’s translate this into Spike. He’s putting his past behind him; that’s both the story of getting his soul and the metaphor played by the soul in the series. Just as we saw with Lance and anticipate for R.J. using the metaphor of the letterman’s jacket, putting his past behind him means that Spike will now reveal his true underlying self. Spike is no longer the same “person” that he was.
Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying that Spike will necessarily be like Lance. That’s one possibility, of course, since the human William wasn’t much. But just as Angel was neither Liam nor Angelus, it’s possible that Spike will be somewhere in the middle also. Later episodes will show us where he’s headed.
There’s probably another message as well: that Buffy’s no longer obsessively attracted to Spike as she was last year. She couldn’t be – that Spike no longer exists. Whatever Buffy thinks or feels about Spike will be based on his new persona, not his old one.
The dialogue is careful to emphasize that Buffy’s feelings toward Spike are unclear. In her conversation with Dawn, she’s unable to articulate just why she’s helping Spike, but she knows it’s the right thing to do:
DAWN
Last night, you said you weren't helping Spike out of pity. What is it?
BUFFY
It's a good question. (sips her drink through a straw)
DAWN
Is sitting there drinking soda some kind of a Zen non-answer?
BUFFY
(puts sunglasses on top of her head) No, I just... I don't know what I'm feeling. I think I can't stand him, but sometimes...
DAWN
You love him?
BUFFY
No. I—I feel for him.
DAWN
Feel what, exactly?
BUFFY
(shakes her head) Dawn...
DAWN
No, I'm—I'm just trying to understand. I mean, none of it makes sense. First you say Spike disgusts you, but secretly you two are doing it like bunnies. And then Spike says he'd die for you, but he tries to rape you.
BUFFY
(sighs) For the record, Spike knew how wrong it was. That's why he went away.
DAWN
But to get a soul? Like that would make him a better man? Xander had a soul when he stood Anya up at the altar. And now he says he still wants her? I just don't think it's the school basement that's making people crazy.
BUFFY
(sighs) I should really get back. You comin' with?
Buffy’s actions speak at least as loud as her words – she now has Spike sharing an apartment with her metaphorical heart, albeit with her heart expressing some well-founded, uh, reservations.
Buffy’s forgiveness policy also extends to Anya. Anya, like Spike, doesn’t want to admit that she needs help and doesn’t want to accept it, but Buffy helps anyway:
ANYA
… Now please go away. (takes ice and dish towel into the other room, picks up a knocked-over chair) Look, I don't need anyone's help. Or, OK, clearly I do, (sits in chair) but I don't want to need anyone's help, so stop helping. (starts making an ice pack with the ice and towel)
BUFFY
I get it. After last week, you feel you need to be all renegade and broody. Taking yourself out of the loop—
ANYA
I need to figure out who I am. (puts ice pack on her leg)
BUFFY
Another, something bad is happening. I don't want my friends out there alone right now, OK?
I think there are two important ideas to take away from this. One is that the Xander/Anya relationship, in which the two are obviously conflicted, continues to parallel that of Buffy and Spike. The other is that this uncertainty is, in both cases, important to the seasonal arc, particularly on the question of what it means to have a soul.
Him is bookended by 2 great but relatively dark episodes, and it’s much lighter in tone. There’s lots of humor and some pointed commentary on all the female characters. Anya calls R.J. her best friend, which is how she once described Xander (Hell’s Bells). Willow claims that R.J. is devoted to her, just as Tara was (“I am, you know. Yours.” – Who Are You). Dawn was ready to sacrifice herself, like Buffy was for Angel in Graduation Day 2 and for Dawn in The Gift. Note that Buffy never said she loved R.J., just that he loved her. She was certainly ready for the sex, though.
The reference to so many previous episodes – and there are arguably even more than I’ve mentioned – probably represents continuing commentary on the way the problems one faces before becoming an adult are so much easier to solve once we reach adulthood, similar to what we saw in Help.
It’s pretty clever when Spike turns the angels to face away from him while Xander’s talking to Lance. Keep in mind that Spike’s path is that of a recovering alcoholic, and he sees himself as not yet worthy. He’s now out of his self-imposed prison, no longer suffering from the DTs, and trying to live in the world. We’ll see more of his journey in the next two episodes.
Trivia notes: (1) Xander called Spike “Nimrod”, which is an American slang term meaning a stupid person. (2) The romantic music which begins to play when Dawn falls off the bleachers while transfixed by R.J. is, naturally, the theme from the movie A *Summer* Place. I guess I’m dating myself, but I died laughing when it began to play. (3) Buffy’s old cheerleader clothes were from Witch. (4) Xander mentioned Dawn’s former crush on him, which we saw in Real Me. (5) Dawn’s “no one expects the Spanish Inquisition” comes from the Monty Python routine. (6) Buffy’s reference to Anna Nicole Smith in criticizing Dawn’s behavior at the Bronze may be dated by now, so see the link. (7) Buffy called R.J. “Mr. Wizard”, which was the title of a TV show from the ‘50s and ‘60s, later revived in the ‘80s (h/t Aeryl). It was a science show for kids. (8) Buffy’s denial that she’s under a spell recalls her similar denial in Something Blue. (9) Xander’s flashback reminiscence was to Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered. (10) The split screen sequen
ce of the 4 women is an homage to the TV show Charlie’s Angels. (11) Buffy’s bazooka/rocket launcher is possibly the one used to destroy the Judge in Innocence. (12) Willow began to call on Hecate, the same goddess Amy supplicated for Xander’s love spell in BB&B.
Conversations With Dead People
Conversations With Dead People, the second great episode of S7 – third if you include Beneath You – marks the true beginning (heh) of the season storyline, as Buffy tell us in the opening words: “Here we go.” The season’s Big Bad isn’t officially identified yet, though viewers with a good memory could be pretty sure by now. I’ll hold off until we get confirmation in Never Leave Me.
I’ll begin with a sad farewell to Jonathan, who was a fan favorite notwithstanding his tendency to fantasy and bad decisions. His final words showed real maturity. After all the trauma of Earshot and Superstarand the Trio, he grew up. So, of course, Joss killed him.
As shadowkat pointed out just after Conversations aired, each of the 3 principals got what she perhaps most wished for, and it turned into a nightmare. Dawn got to talk to Joyce, who told her that Buffy would be against her. Willow got to talk to Tara, whose conduit told her to kill herself. Buffy got to voice her anxieties, only to have them reinforced and a new one added regarding Spike.
One thing comes through loud and clear in Buffy’s conversation with Webs, namely her sense of being isolated, alone. Loneliness is the theme of the episode, just as it is of Angie Hart’s song which opens and closes it. Each vignette, including that of Andrew, Jonathan, and Warren, showed an individual who thought s/he was making a connection (in Andrew’s case with Warren, in Jonathan’s case with Andrew), but each was in fact alone.
Buffy tells Webs that she commits, but that’s debatable. Yes, she certainly committed to Angel, but her failure to commit was why Riley left and she certainly didn’t commit in any meaningful sense to Spike in S6 (she does seem committed to encouraging his new-found soul here in S7, but that’s different). It shouldn’t be surprising if she finds committing difficult – she had to kill Angel, she nearly had to kill Willow and Anya, and she may now have to kill Spike. Her role as Slayer makes it tough to commit to anyone, which reinforces the isolation she confesses to Webs.