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8.4
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Principal Wood gives Buffy a bag of items that used to belong to his mother, the Slayer Nikki Wood. The bag contains various items including weapons, a book, and a strange sealed box. Opening the box leads to enchanted shadow puppets and a chance for Buffy to gain incredible power. Now she must decide whether the power is worth the price.moreless
  • Revelations and ravishment

    8.0
    "Great"
    The Good;
    Buffy's trip to see the Shadowmen finally answers a lot of the questions we've had concerning the Slayer over the years. Plus bad boy Spike is finally back! The Shadowcasting scene is suprisingly creepy.

    The Bad;
    How convenient that in the ep where Buffy is going to be 'knocked up' by the Shadowmen's pet demon she just happens to wear a skirt for the first time in ages?

    Women good/men bad;
    So, the first Slayer wasn't a volunteer after all? How ironic that the Slayer, the symbol of female empowerment is actually based on the subjugation of women, the Shadowmen chaining a young girl to the earth and forcing their will upon her for their higher purposes. If it was anyone but Joss you'd think this was misogynistic but here Buffy once more shows that the modern Slayer has overcome the need for patriarchal domination, she chooses to be the Slayer and will only work with them to save humanity, not under their control. Her breaking the staff could be construed as a phallic symbol? One thought that has been suggested to me before is that vamps are undead and are therefore a travesty of life. Women are the lifegivers so the Slayer's vamp sense is based upon that, that they are almost allergic to something that is against nature? Also possible that a female was selected to be the Slayer as their uterus makes them capable of accepting the demon just as they would a child.

    Jeez!;
    Chloe's death is horrible

    Kinky dinky;
    How long have you got? Buffy is multiply penetrated by the demon and refers to herself being 'knocked up' and 'violated' which is normally CC's job. We discover why Buffy and Faith (and it's hinted a couple of the Potentials) have this dark and kinky sexual side to them, that the Slayer was created in a whirlwind of rape, bondage, impregnation, dark magic and female enslavement. We now know why Buffy and Faith have a thing for older men (the Shadowmen/Watchers) with (as Spike comments) 'a little demon in them' like Angel, Spike, the Mayor, Dracula, Wood (son of a Slayer), the Immortal. You wonder if Dawn will develop the same tastes, she share's Buffy's blood and she's already had a crush on Spike and Justin? I never bothered to count but I think this is the last time Buffy gets sexually assaulted in the series, off the top of my head that makes seven (Xander in The Pack, twice by Larry in Halloween, by Cam and then the entire mutated swimteam in Go Fish, by Spike in Seeing Red) If we don't count The Master and presuming her and Drac was consensual. Borders on Got-fic.
    Anya still seems to have the hots for Spike but he's not interested.
    Spike; "You're like a dog with a bone"
    Anya; "Well a girl get's hungry!"
    Spike; "It's MY bone!"
    of course you could just suspect that she might be trying to make Xander jealous after his date with Lissa in last week's ep. Wood describes HIMSELF as cool and sexy and Buffy agrees adding he's a snappy dresser. Spike thinks the tension between him and Wood is jealousy over Buffy but he's mistaken.

    Captain Subtext;
    You could interpret that fact that Buffy is actually made stronger by the Shadowmen forcing themselves upon her as a metaphor for the power of female sexuality? Buffy mentions to Wood that Willow has been 'experimenting' a remark she seems to take exception to. When Spike tells Buffy about saving Anya from the demon he says he 'Beat him off' before thinking of a better phrasing.
    Note the gentle, intimate gesture of the third Shadowman stroking his hand down Buffy's cheek even after their violent conquest of her that preceded it. What's more Buffy actually let's him do it, it's almost a fatherly moment of affection between them. (Her Slayer side born of the Shadowmen, her Buffy side born of Hank and Joyce?). Kennedy's rejection of Willow having seen her darkside is reminiscent of how CC rejects Angel in season 4 having seen the things he did as Angelus when she was a higher power. Interestingly having been rejected by her girlfriend Willow makes her way to Buffy's bed and suggests that Buffy use 'kisses' (and Twinkies) to motivate her and the others.

    Guantanamo Bay;
    The Shadowmen are supremely ruthless, the Watcher's Council haven't changed much in all that time. Buffy's almost callous treatment of Chloe shows her going the same way. How the Shadowmen then treat her wakes her up to how she's been behaving and makes her much more human from now on. She comments to the Shadowmen that by giving her more power they're making her 'less human'. All along The First has been saying it's not about right and wrong it's about power. But Buffy rejects the power for what is right, as Wood remarks she's 'redefining the role'.
    Some people say that this is Buffy at her nastiest but I sympathise with her, when you see the scene with her walking around at the start guarding over the sleeping potentials she just looks so concerned and loving. She's mad at Chloe for leaving them in the lurch, she shouts at everyone else because they've got to bring their game up and indeed Spike, Willow and Anya do as a result of her harraunging. I'm actually mad with Dawn, Xander etc for letting poor Buffy have to bury Chloe alone. Kennedy is much more to blame than Buffy calling Chloe 'maggot' but she doesn't seem to give a damn. And she even shouts at Amanda when she gives her cute little wave to Woods.
    More anti-French racism which was popular in the US at the time. Buffy of course is right, not all the girls will make it, tragic but true.

    Scoobies in bondage: Buffy in chains as she's ravished by the demon.
    Buffy: 9
    Giles: 4
    Cordy: 5
    Will: 4
    Jenny: 1
    Angel: 4
    Oz: 1
    Faith: 3
    Joyce: 1
    Wes: 1
    Xander; 3
    Dawn; 4
    Spike; 3

    Scoobies knocked out: Buffy by the Shadowmen, Will and Spike by the demon, Dawn and Kennedy by Willow

    Kills: one demon for Spike, the big bad is back!

    Recurring characters killed: 14, poor Chloe

    Sunnydale deaths; poor Chloe
    104

    Notches on Scooby bedpost: do we count Buffy and the Shadowmen's pet demon as sex? It's definitely metaphorical rape but is it actual? There's certainly plenty of penetration of her mouth and under both the front and back of her skirt (all bases covered?). She graphically shudders, writhes, groans, gasps, bucks and moans like an enthusiastic porn star faking it, screaming in pleasure/pain and all the time straining against her chains (as Anya puts it 'the pleasure moment/Shiver me timbers'?). Watching her almost feels voyeuristic, if this wasn't Joss you'd scream "Exploitation!". However this is Joss and the power this gives her allows her to break her chains, the First Slayer saying the Slayer derives power from pain, the whole 'women experience pain differently' concept coming to the fore again.
    Buffy: 4 confirmed; Angel, Parker, Riley, Spike. 3 possible, Dracula+RJ+Shadowman's demon(?)

    What the fanficcers thought;
    A LOT of fic has Buffy being treated nastily by the Shadowmen etc as her comeuppance for treating her friends and family so nastily but as always, forgiveness is big in the Buffyverse and it all ends happily. One in particular where the Shadowmen keep Buffy as their slave but in the follow up we find she's been faking all along in order to give herself a mini-break from the responsibilities of Sunnydale. Another where she travels back through time Quantum Leap style, inhabiting the body of every Slayer through history and gaining power by enjoying their greatest sexual experience (and meeting Faith doing the same along the way)


    Questions and observations;
    Why doesn't D'Hoffryn come to kill Anya himself? Buffy comments on the Hellmouth's propensity for coming to a climax around May, when the series finale is due. Spike says he's more or less unique as a vamp with a soul (except for Angel). Buffy and Dawn refer to Grandma, the first ever reference to the Summer's grandparents who are presumably deceased. Dawn more and more starting to take on the role of junior Watcher and helps organise the Scoobs with Buffy gone. Buffy asks Anya what she actually does, she later shows us when she helps Willow figure out the spell to bring Buffy back. The return of Black-Eyed Willow and Kickass Spike. When Buffy says she wants the old Spike back is she voicing the opinion of many fans? Here we finally understand what Dracula meant when he referred to the darkness within Buffy and what Adam was referring to in Restless when Buffy says "I'm not a demon" and he replies "Is that a fact?"
    Note that the bag which Woods' gives her is the same one she get's the mud from in 'Restless' after which she gives her 'primitive' (or stripper?)leer after giving herself an impromptu facial. According to the Shadowmen Buffy is the Hellmouth's last guardian which indeed she is although in a different way to which we initially understand it. Will mentions 'Bring it on' a movie featuring both Eliza Dushku and Clare Kramer.
    Isn't it an awfully big demon they recieve in return for tiny little Buffy? (I remember the idea of a mass substitute from the old Transformers comics). Willow's "My latin sucks" line may be because AH apparently hates all the latin she had to learn for all the magic on the show. Note when Spike is talking to the demon before fighting in the alleyway there's 'Beware of the dog' sign behind him. Willow says that she sucked power from the most powerful person nearby which was Kennedy. Note that Dawn takes a lot longer to recover consciousness than Kennedy, maybe Slayer healing?
    So if the bag belonging to Wood's mum wasn't passed down does that explain why the Slayers of the 80s and 90s started to grow beyond the Watcher's control, they weren't subjugated by the Shadowmen's power? And is this why Buffy was never found to be trained until she was 15?
    Marks out of 10; 8/10 certainly LOTS to write about
    moreless
  • The origins of the first slayer.

    6.5
    "Fair"
    Though we've technicly met her before, more then once in fact this is really the first episode where we get some true insight into how the first slayer was made, her origins. Thanks in part of Robin and his mother, though what he brings Buffy and the gang has been passed down through the generations. Robin brings what can only be described as shadow puppets, and it sounds totally lame I know but that's kind of what they are. They tell the story of the first slayer but when used open a portal basicly through time which Buffy jumps through without hesitating.

    Inside she meets the first watchers and learns what they did to make the first slayer. They took a girl and forged her with the pure essencence of a demon and they plan to do that again. They offer Buffy the same thing but she declines.

    After the gang gets her back through Willow, tapping into dark magics that once again cause her to hurt and scare those around her, and Spike, who taps back into his darker side, Buffy worries that maybe she made the wrong choice. That maybe she should have accepted the power and it is clear why she is worried. The last scene of the episode is a sweeping army of ubervampires, thousands probably more. Probably a lot more.moreless
  • "It's started, hasn't it" - Principal Wood

    9.0
    "Superb"
    This episode would seem to be a throwaway one, before the Caleb arc begins, but it's important in terms of the finale, and significant in the final development of Buffy's character. It's also important thematically: in a series all about power we see Buffy dithering with her power and lambasting others for not having it, or for not using it, or for having lost it (telling Anya that she's chez Summers because she's scared she is of no use to the Slayer). It's no wonder that Buffy rejects her friends to hang with Principal Wood ("so much cooler than Snyder") as she believes that he is important and can be helpful, unlike her loser friends. Just as Spike rejects Anya, Buffy rejects Wood as a suitor so that he can be a more powerful ally. But she seems embarrassed by what she has to show him and sums it up: "The First is coming, and then look at us: the army. We've got a bunch of fighters with nothing to hit, a Wicca who won't-a, and the brains of our operation wears oven mitts."

    We've been here before as Buffy, puffed up with her responsibilities, rejects her friends only to find out that she needs them. Didn't she tell the first slayer in Restless: Now give me back my friends? As ever, the gang are useful in their non-Slayer way. Willow casts the spell, Spike kills the demon, Anya helps with her knowledge of magicks, Dawn translates the Ancient Sumerian and Xander mends the once again broken house. Another person using power unwisely is Kennedy. We see Buffy's premonition dream of Chloe crying, and Kennedy, in her Sergeant Major role, calling Chloe a maggot and then Chloe's dead. It's not hard to draw conclusions, but Kennedy doesn't seem to feel any responsibility, indeed despite her bravado during Willow's transformation into Warren, she is freaked out by Willow's dark side as Willow drags power from Kennedy during the spell. Is she flipped out by her own power or by Willow's? In a series, and a specific episode, about the Slayer line, it would have been interesting to see some past Slayers. Who was the chosen one between Nikki Wood in 1977 and Buffy Summers twenty years later? More questions: the issue of Wood seemed to be solved he's a good guy, but now we're back to ambiguity. Is he hanging with the Scoobs out of a desire to help or because he wants to get nearer to Spike in order to take down his sworn enemy? Just as Willow turns black-eyed doing the spell, Spike gets his black coat back in order to kill the demon and Wood gets the proof he needs.

    Wood does become useful, although not in the way Buffy originally thinks. Nikki's box of tricks takes the Slayer to Ancient Sumer, or rather the desert where Buffy found out that "death is [her] gift" and where she now meets the original Watchers, the men who created the First Slayer.

    In the first Slayer, the Buffyverse has its own creation myth (and starts the religious theme that carries on through the rest of the season). The Slayer was born of pain, the line began with a violation. Buffy's special power has always been to think for herself. A Slayer with friends and family? Check. A Slayer who dates vampires? Check. A Slayer who resigned from the Watchers' Council? Check. As ever, she changes the paradigm: just as she rejected the autocratic Watchers Council, she rejects the Shadow-men's plans. Interesting that she wanted Spike to show his demon side, but she wasn't prepared to get a little demon in her herself. She does not want, as she said in the last ep, to fight evil with evil. Buffy may think she is the only girl in all the world, but she is fighting the same fight as her friends. Her, Willow's and Spike's power is rooted in darkness, they have to control it (just as we have to control our anger, our passions, our own power). Andrew too has to confront and control his dark side and we know that Robin Wood is about to avenge evil with evil. Moreover, Buffy has always worried about her humanity (in the earlier series this was manifested in her desire to date and shop) and to become less human is a price she's not willing to pay to beat The First. She is not passive ("do not fight this," the Shadow-men tell her), she does not allow herself to be violated and she breaks the ties that bind, quite literally in this case as she smashes free of her shackles (her female bondage?) and breaks the phallic staff, telling the Shadow-men that they have nothing to show her. She is the boss now, she will make her own power, not take the compromised version that they offer her. As ever, she will find her own ways of doing things, she is her own General. And this is vindicated as we finally see what it is that is beneath and ready to devour: in the last episode one superslayer would not have killed all the CGI-vamps, many normal slayers did.moreless
  • The One Where Buffy Gets an Apocalyptic Vision

    3.6
    "Bad"
    Absolutely awful. It seems as if all the characters we know and love have suddenly been replaced by bitchy clones! Buffy acts like a holier-than-thou bitch throughout, Xander's just annoying with his unnecessary quips and it seems Willow only speaks through Kennedy now.

    Who does Kennedy think she is? She was responsible for Chloe's death. Yes, the First goaded her into hanging herself but Kennedy certainly didn't help things by ridiculing Chloe in front of all the other potentials. She shows absolutely no remorse for her actions later on and why is she suddenly leader of the potentials? Just because she's making out with Buffy's best friend makes her think she has the right to talk down to the other slayers-in-training and be a complete bitch to Buffy, who could easily throw her into a nest of Bringers if she wanted to.

    Principal Wood's little box of goodies is hardly anything special. It takes ages for the main point of the separate dimension to actually reach the audience. Buffy's vision is intriguing but the bad FX are so corny you're left thinking "where's the budget gone?" instead of "how can Buffy fight all those uber-vamps?"

    The demon subplot is well done but slightly pointless. It does make for a cool scene though when the camera swishes around Spike as he grabs his coat and swings it on. Followed by him stalking through Sunnydale High where Wood asks him "nice coat. Where'd you get it?" to which Spike replies "New York". A brilliant precursor to the thrilling Lies My Parents Told Me episode.

    Get it Done is a massively un-even episode which has some serious problems whilst all the characters seem to of had personality transplants. As well as the annoyances mentioned at the beginning of the review, when did Dawn suddenly become She-Giles?moreless
  • Sin

    8.0
    "Great"
    Okay, this episode was good, if you only focus on the parts that aren't confusing, stupid, bad, or filled with deep-seated lesbian undertones. (I mean, cummon, Buffy's begging Willow for it, always coming into the bedroom while Willow's injured, in bed... helpless..)

    My point- this episode explains it. Three ancient, primordial men realize that there are demons. They also realize that they need somebody to fight demons. So, why not take demon-essence (CGI black cloud, it looks very cool), implant it in a Ayla-esque* chick, who will then fight the demons for them. They can then let their Staffs have a rest, sit back on the couch, drink beer and watch football with their feet up, while The First Slayer does that thing Slayers do. Slay.
    *Chrono Trigger

    Oh, they set it up so that when one Slayer dies, another is called, yada-yada-yada.

    But hey, men, why not give yourselves ultimate fighting power? Why? Okay, sure, you might die or turn evil or something, that's why. Hey, why not give it to some other guy? So at least, if something bad happens, it's not a chick kicking your ass? (Here's my point-) Two words: Original Sin. *
    *The First is the Original Sin, no? I never really understood WTF TF was...

    Once upon a time, Eve committed the first sin, by eating the fruit of the forbidden tree, and then tricking Adam into eating it. So, by default, women were more susceptable to evil because they naturally are inclined to be dark-spirited. Who would be more likely to survive being sprayed with evil, demon essence, women or men? (Hint: Women)

    Hence, we have a male-dominated society*, just because the men realized that if women were given power over men (ie, the apple), they'd just screw it up.
    *I mean pre-1900's. Eventually, we will revert to our normal, masculine world. .. Maybe..?

    Hey, is it just me, or are the women on this show a lot bitchier and evil then the men? Sure, Warren was portrayed as 'the bad guy', but then how righteously evil was Willow? No matter how low Spike hits, Buffy always aims for balls. The Mayor was a peach compared to Faith. Angel, evil, Buffy, murderer. Ben contrasted to Glory! Anya and Xander! The point is, women are evil (at least in this television reality.)

    The other day I was watching the latest Pink music video "Stupid Girls" (I know, I know--! Bad, bad Jimmy!), and it made me realize- women are getting stupid. What has happened to all the women, collectively standing up to men, saying 'We're not going to take it!' Where's the chick running against THE BUSH*? Where's our female Prime Minister? Hell, when you you ladies finally managed to get women into space (Roberta Bondar) in the 80's-90's, that was pretty much the end of femanism, and even then you were out of breath.&
    *No, not Kerry... I mean a real chick.
    &Space jokes are funny.

    How many women are on tv, successful, intelligent, and just suggesting to the young, female audience, to study and work hard, to be just like them? Errrrr, how many sluts in limos, make-up, furs, high heels with pink purses and matching cell phones, are just suggesting (if not out-right yelling) to the young, female audience, to be just like them? (Ms Simpson, Ms Spears, Ms Lohan, Ms Simspon Jr., Ms Pussy-Cat-Doll, Ms Madonna*, Ms Hilton, Ms Jakealope..)
    *Sort of..

    Hence, we will revert, as a society, back into a pre-femanism society, give or take the women's right to vote (but hey, who really gives a crap, as long as they're in the kitchen. am i right?) (You really shouldn't have said 'Oh yes please, Mr. Snake, I'd love to try that apple.')

    The entire mythology of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is based on women who are part evil (part-demon). It certainly explains Joss Whedon's view on women, no? (If not, then hey, I've at least picked my brain for a bit of a sexist rant, by trying to read into a television series' creator, I may have just been seeing what is inside myself, not Joss at all.)

    Screw Flanders Screw Flanders Screw Flanders Screw Flanders!moreless
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  • TRIVIA (2)

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    • Toward the beginning of the show when Spike and Anya are together, Anya says something about calling the house "Slayer Central" and Spike clearly laughs, but when the camera cuts to Spike he has a very serious, not smiley face.

    • When Buffy and Dawn discover Chloe hanging in her room the door behind them was open and the very next second it was closed.

  • QUOTES (17)

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  • NOTES (7)

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    • Although they appear in the episode; Molly, Vi, and Chao-Ahn don't have any lines in the entire episode.

    • This episode marks the death of Chloe, and also the final appearance of Lalaine. She's the 2nd Disney star to die on the series.

    • This episode marks the beginning of the knowledge of Turok-Han/Ubervamp army.

    • 'Get It Done' ties in very well with Buffy's dream in the season 4 finale 'Restless': When Buffy awakes (in her dream), she sees the first slayer chained to the ceiling, and here we are shown that the shadowmen chained the first slayer to the ground while they invoked a demon's spirit into her. The bag that Wood gives Buffy is the same one she pulls mud out of and covers her face with. Also, Buffy tells Adam "We're not demons" and he replies "Is that so?", obviously referring to the Slayer's power which is created with the essence of a demon.

    • The song played in the promo for this episode is "Just a Little Girl" by Amy Studt.

    • Spike still has the leather jacket he always wore before this season; it had been stored away.

    • The origins of the first Slayer and how her power was created are presented in this episode.

  • ALLUSIONS (5)

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    • Andrew: They'll see the big board.
      This is most likely from the Stanley Kubrick movie Dr. Strangelove or How I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb. When the Russian ambassador is invited into the War Room in the Pentagon by the President of the US. General 'Buck' Turgidson says 'but he'll see the big board', referring to the War Room's lighted wall display of the world.

    • Xander: Puppets. That's it! The First hates puppets! Now if we could just airlift Kermit, Fozzie Bear, and Miss Piggy into town.
      Kermit, Fozzie Bear and Miss Piggy are all characters from The Muppet Show, created by Jim Henson.

    • Kennedy: Or you could try all thirty-two flavors.
      When Kennedy says that Willow could try all thirty-two flavors of magic, she is possibly referencing Baskin Robins, the famous ice cream chain that started with 31 flavors of ice cream. They now have many more flavors than that.

    • Chloe: T.T.F.N.
      T.T.F.N: Ta Ta For Now! As explained by Rona, TTFN was the favorite saying by Winnie the Pooh character Tigger. Every time he exited a room, he would exclaim "TTFN, Ta Ta For Now!" Winnie the Pooh is a children's book about a stuffed bear, Winnie the Pooh, and his friends, Tigger, Piglet, Rabbit, Owl, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo, and Christopher Robin. In the book, all the characters were stuff animals except for Rabbit, Owl, and Christopher Robin.

    • Xander: (to Buffy) Jawohl!
      "Jawohl" is a German conjunction that generally has a military connotation. It is usually associated with Nazi soldiers saying it when Hitler or any other superior gave them an order. Xander is implying that Buffy is acting as a dictator.

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