The Good;
Everything with demon Giles but I also adore the scene where Giles and Ethan get drunk together.
The Bad;
Couldn't Giles just write 'I am Giles' on a big piece of paper? Or is the point that he's too embarrassed?
Best line;
Walsh; We thought you were a myth
Buffy; Well you were myth-taken.
Knocked out;
Giles comments that he has a tendency to get knocked on the head.
Jeez!;
Mucus!
Kinky dinky;
Giles comments that Ethan and Giles are older than him and 'Not as attractive'. Riley says that he likes it when Buffy is in charge.
Calling Captain Subtext;
The whole Giles/Walsh scene and him scaring her later. Willow and Tara's rose magic session is filled with Sapphic hints. Giles calls the Initiative commandos 'nancy'
Giles thinks Ethan is telling him he's very attractive. He's actually talking to the waitress but I know what we all thought for a moment.
Guantanamo Bay;
The Initiative are tapped into the emergency telephone system and Riley has a key to open every shop in Sunnydale. He also has the power to haul Ethan off to indefinite detention at the end of the ep. Again this is all pre-War on Terror, Joss appears pretty prescient.
Where's Dawn?
How did she and Joyce celebrate Buffy's birthday?
Missing scenes;
Loved to have seen this;
Waitress (looking at Ethan's note) "You're not Roger Moore!"
Ethan; "Yes I am. Tell her Ripper"
Giles (drunkenly) "What? Oh, he's not Roger Moore"
Apocalypses; 5, Riley comments that he needs to learn the plural
Questions and observations;
Unfortunately the last time we'll see Ethan Rayne although he does return in the comics. Very nice to have a Giles-centric episode as we haven't had one in a while. Riley has personally killed 11 vamps and 6 demons. According to Boo's figures however here's the rest of the scoobs.
Kills:
Buffy: 74 vamps, 26 demons, 5 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot
Giles: 5 vamps, 1 demon
Cordy: 3 vamps, a demon
Will: 4 vamps
Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human
Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie
Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans
Xander: 5 vamps, 2 zombies, a demon, a demon
Anya: a demon
As Buffy birthday's go this one is actually pretty successful? But does anyone really ever get suprise parties like that? I heard that Robin Sachs is actually an expert martial artist and that Peter O'Toole's wife left her husband for him. Anya still working on her humanity, Buffy refers to Riley as her boyfriend for the first time. First hints of something sinister in the Initiative. Tara back, yay! Byebye to Giles' Citreon. Magic shop again. We already see that Buffy won't blindly follow orders like Riley will. The motel Ethan stays in looks the same one as Faith used to stay at.
Marks out of 10; 7/10
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EDIT
Episode Summary
At Buffy's 19th birthday party, Giles has a realization. He is an unemployed, middle-aged man hanging around with a bunch of teenagers. He feels even worse when he finds out that he is the only one who doesn't know about Riley and the Initiative. Feeling useless and insecure, he runs into Ethan Rayne, but the confrontation ends in drinks at the local pub rather than the usual fisticuffs. The next morning, Giles looks in the mirror and sees a massive Fyarl demon looking back at him.moreless
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James Marsters
Spike
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Sarah Michelle Gellar
Buffy Anne Summers
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Marc Blucas
Riley Finn
Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions
See All-
Trivia
ADD TRIVIA- In the scene where they are all in Giles' apartment doing research trying to find the demon, Willow is wearing a shirt with a rainbow on it, and rainbows are a symbol of gay pride. She was fond of wearing rainbows in Seasons 1 & 2 as well. Edit
- When Spike is trying to out run the Initiative Humvees he makes a ninety degree right turn with them following. A moment later Spike makes another hard right turn as one of the Humvees spins around. Though filmed separately, its the exact same corner. Edit
- When Giles tears off his front door there should have been damage to either the door, the door frame or both, yet the door simply comes off. Look closely, all that was done by the effects staff was the hinge pins were removed. Edit
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Notes
ADD NOTES- Though Giles was seen to have torn off his front door, when Riley arrived later, it was closed and he simply opened it up as normal. Edit
- In a chat at Raven's Realm (a former BtVS fan site), Jane Espenson (who wrote this episode) had this to say about what happened to Spike after he crashed the car: "That was cut... for time. In fact, he got out of the car injured and he said 'I can kill demons. I can crash cars. Things are looking up!' It's too bad this got cut. It was a nice moment. And now you know..." Edit
- This marks the final appearance of Robin Sachs as "Ethan Rayne" on the series. His appears again in the video game Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds, and once more in the comic book adaptation of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8. Edit
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Quotes
ADD QUOTES- Demon Giles: If you can't find third gear, don't try for third gear. Spike: I'm doing my best, I don't know if I'm driving this thing or wearing it. Edit
- Demon Giles: You help me a-and I don't kill you. Spike: Oh, tremendously convincing. Try it again without the stutter. Edit
- Willow (referring to the demon): It stole Giles' car! Xander: Why would a demon want to steal a car? Anya: Why would a demon want to steal that car? Edit
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Allusions
ADD ALLUSIONS-
Riley: You're really strong. Like Spider-Man strong.
In the comics Spider-Man is a man who was bitten by a radioactive spider and hence gained the strength of a spider along with the ability to stick to walls. Buffy's superhuman strength certainly rivals that of Spider-Man but it would be awfully cool to be able to "stick to stuff" as she put it. Edit -
Ethan: Oh, religious intolerance. Sad there. I mean, just look at the Irish troubles.
Ethan refers to the situation in Ireland caused by the religious differences between the Catholic Irish and the Protestant British and Northern Irish. The simmering terrorist war that resulted was referred to as simply the Troubles. Giles' rejection of Ethan's worship of chaos isn't quite the same. Edit -
Giles: I felt like Theseus and the Minotaur in the ... labyrinth.
The Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur tells of how the man Theseus was able to find his way through the labyrinth by spooling out string that he could follow out. Theseus killed the Minotaur who was half man/half bull. Edit
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Riley: You're really strong. Like Spider-Man strong.
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