Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Out of Mind, Out of Sight

Season 1, Episode 11, Aired 5/19/97

Episode Summary

An invisible force is attacking the students and teachers at Sunnydale High. Buffy and the gang must find a way to stop this unseen menace, and determine why it seems to be centering its attacks on Cordelia.

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Cast & Crew

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Sarah Michelle Gellar

Buffy Anne Summers
Nicholas Brendon

Alexander 'Xander' Harris
Alyson Hannigan

Willow Rosenberg

Fan Episode Reviews (32)

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The girl who wasn't there

8.0

"Great"

By joxerlives, Jan 10, 2012 Report Abuse

Out of sight, out of mind;

The Good;
One of the best allegories yet for High School as hell. Real sense of menace to the knife floating behind Buffy although from what we've seen since it probably didn't pose a real threat to her. Cordelia starts to come more and more into her own here and some funny stuff from Snyder

The Bad;
Not much, very strong episode

Best line;
Cordelia; Oh my god, is she really wearing Laura Ashely?

Worst line;
Willow; Mitch was attacked by a floating bat?
Xander; Maybe it was a vampire bat? (GGRRRoooaaannn!)

Questions and observations:
So, the goverment know what's going on in Sunnydale and are exploiting it to their own ends? We see the beginnings of the Initiative here. A sign of the times that Marcie at the end is training to assasinate cult leaders as this was just after Waco. Nowadays of course she'd be after Osama and co. Interesting that the class are doing The Merchant of Venice, Marcie easily resembles the figure of Shylock.
If you've ever watched the DVD commentary for The Grudge SMG remembers the guy who played Ford in 'Lie to Me' appearing on Buffy but not Clea Duvall. Rewatching the ep you realise that she never has any scenes with visible Marcie so they probably never met. Harmony again, named for the first time. Cordy has passed her driving test to judge by her story of running the girl on the bike over. The scene where the teacher is nearly smothered by the plastic bag is HORRIBLE. First meeting between Giles and Angel. Cordy, Buffy, Willlow and Xander are all knocked out, the start of a grand scooby tradition. Ironically Giles who is so notorious for it stays conscious. Cordy and Buffy are also tied up, another Buffy cliche that will see much use. How exactly does Marcie get Cordy and Buffy to the Bronze? I gotta say, if faced with the choice of being gassed or risking an explosion I'd take explosion every time
If you'll pardon the pun it would have been lovely to 'see' Marcie again, maybe in season 7 Buffy could have been chained up and helpless only for her bonds to miraculously unravel? But if at her new school she's got friends etc won't she become visible again?
I don't know if it's deliberate but the title reminds me of the story where Soviet premier Breshnev is meeting the US President Nixon and during the chitchat he asks where the vice-president Spiro Agnew is? (some form of demon according to Angel and Fred's dad). Agnew was keeping a low profile at the time as he was under investigation for corruption so Nixon replied, "Oh, you know, out of sight, out of mind'. Breshnev looks at Nixon oddly then hurriedly walked away whereupon Nixon's translator tells him that Breshnev's translator interpreted 'out of sight, out of mind' as 'Invisible maniac'
Good ep, 4/5
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high school can be cruel

6.0

"Fair"

By Thestorysofar, May 25, 2011 Report Abuse

Espeacilly when your invisible.

ok so I'm guessing this episode is a metafore for being ignored at school.

So if you go to school in america and no one talks to you and you get ignored then you will turn invisible. I wish someone told me about that when I went to school I wouldn't have made so much of an effort.

I guess if anything else people can take a lesson from this one and make an effort to get out their and be noticed. it's all about confidence. So in this one a girl lives in the school and is invisble. Probably had to be a girl. because if it was a guy he wouldn't be going around bashing people with baseball bats and kicking people down stairs.

also we get to see a different side of Cordelia and see the non bimbo side. Talk about character depth.

Not to bad episode. They should do a spin off show from this one and just have invisible people as the stars. That way they wouldn't have to pay the actors.moreless

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When an unseen force starts attacking people at Sunnydale High, it turns out to be a girl who has turned invisible and the whole thing revolves around Cordelia. Possibly the best episode of the first season...moreless

10

"Perfect"

By Jay-Spacedust, Apr 26, 2011 Report Abuse

This review contains spoilers.

"Out of Mind, Out of Sight" (sometimes known as "Invisible Girl") is an incredible first season BtVS episode. Every since I first saw it, way back when on BBC Two here in the U.K. in the late 1990s, this one really stuck in my mind as what the series was capable of.

After being a secondary character for much of the season, and even being totally absent for several episodes, Cordelia finally gets her chance to shine. And she is in all her b*tchy glory here. Charisma Carpenter plays the role perfectly, and it is interesting to witness Cordelia's first real involvement with Buffy and the gang (I don't use the word "Scoobies"... that word irritates me for some reason... never been sure why! Anyway...). We also get our first glimpse at Cordy's softer, more vulnerable side, in a scene which is played out really well.

The episode has a really intriguing plot. The whole notion of how the girl, Marcie, actually turned invisible (to do with the powers of the Hellmouth!) is slightly brushed over, but amazingly, they not only got away with it, but not make it really matter.
Many 'Buffy' episodes are metaphors about problems growing up and being outcasts (one fellow reviewer nails it by saying it's a "show about misfits"), and the idea of Marcie turning invisible after literally being ignored for so long, is really quite sharp.

Compared with some of the more sometimes outlandish "monster of the week" stories of the first (and even second and third) seasons, this episode plays as more of a mystery, almost more "down to earth" in a way, and I really liked that.
But even more than the interesting plot, it is the dialogue that really makes this episode. So many hilarious episodes (mostly coming from Cordelia), and also some more dramatic moments... the writers were really on form with this one.

Angel suddenly arriving to save Giles, Willow and Xander from being gassed near the peak of the episode, does seem a little too convenient (even though he had promised to deliver a book to Giles earlier in the story), but such an otherwise strong episode, I could easily forgive this.
The climax is exciting (and one of the show's more genuinely menacing), and I like the final scene, with Marcie taken away by the Feds to the secret assassin school full of invisible pupils, is really good. I disagree with some who complain that this was never followed up on; I think part of the fun of the series is that you never knew who was going to come back and who wasn't; sometimes it was good to have a nice teaser that didn't necessarily mean there was going to be some kind of follow-up.

Personally, I would say that "Out of Mind..." is a strong candidate for the best episode of the season (the only rival for me personally, is 'Witch'); I'm a little surprised that such a sharp episode only holds a (still respectable) 8.5 rating (as for April 2011). Personally, I think it is one of the best episodes from the early seasons, and give it a solid 10/10.moreless

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Please do take out the ending.

8.0

"Great"

By WolfgalX, Apr 26, 2011 Report Abuse

Okay, I love this episode. I'm not even kidding when I'd say it's one of my favorites of season 1. Which I know makes me a total idiot and subject to flaming beyond human imagination, but hear me out.

This episode is not really about invisible people. It's about being seen. It goes back to that question, "If a tree falls in a forest, and no one is around, does it make a sound?"

If you aren't noticed, are you really there? Since Angel can't see his own reflection, does he exist? All of this may sound stupid. "Of course he exists! He's standing right there!"

Except he can't see it. It's been hundreds of years since the man was able to look at himself. (One wonders how in the world he does his hair, but that's another question)

The girl in school thought no one else could see her. Cordelia was being seen, but what everyone was looking at wasn't her. Yes, the explanation for the invisibility was a bit easy. And the ending, which suggested a longer plot was going to develop, was never returned to. But that's not the point of the episode. The point is to show how other's perception (and our own), can change ourselves.moreless

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Season 1, Episode 11.

9.0

"Superb"

By Wanted23, Apr 26, 2011 Report Abuse

Wow. This show has been awesome in its first season so far. All that's left is the season finale. First off, let me just say, Mitch was freakin' hot! Dang! And it's just a little weird that everybody in that school dies. Marcy Ross, a girl that nobody paid attention to, has become invisible. I liked seeing Cordelia in need of help and when she said she never saw Marcy in her life. LMAO. And I liked when she said it sucks to be that lonely and Buffy asked, "So you read about the feeling?" LOL. I felt sympathy for Cordelia in this episode, even though she was still her normal, conceited self despite everything. Good episode.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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Trivia
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- Buffy the Vampire and Smallville are often compared to each other; both first airing on the WB network, both dealing with high-school life, supernatural happenings and metaphors for growing up, and having a number of similar themes. So a strange coincidence is (when counting Buffy's double-length Pilot as one entity), episode 10 of both Buffy and Smallville have storylines that revolve around an invisible enemy, and themes of it being caused by people being ignored. Edit
- Just before Harmony falls down the stairs she has a purple backpack slung over her right shoulder, but it is gone when she tumbles down the steps. Edit
- At the very end of the episode as the invisible girl gets taken along a corridor by FBI agents, look towards the top of the screen, you can see a boom mike creep in as the agent says his line, then is withdrawn. Edit
Notes
ADD NOTES
- This episode marks the first time in the Buffy cannon where the federal government, this case the FBI, is very much aware of the existence of supernatural forces and is attempting to use them. This would later become a major plot point in the fourth season. Edit
- Featured Music: Siciliano by Johann Sebastian Bach - Flute melody that Marcie plays Edit
- This episode will affect the rest of Cordelia's life as she had her first major encounter with the paranormal, and became more involved with the Slayer and her friends. Edit
Quotes
ADD QUOTES
- Giles: I'll research all the possibilities, ghosts included. But Xander, if you're not doing anything, would you like to help me? Xander: What, so there's homework now? When did that happen? Buffy: It's all part of the glamorous world of vampire slayage. Xander: Well, what part do you have? Buffy: Gonna find out what I can about Mitch. This attack wasn't random. Xander: Well, I want that part. Buffy: Fine. You can do it. Ask around, talk to his friends. Talk to Cordelia! Xander: Talk to Cordelia? (to Giles) So, research, huh? Edit
- Harmony: Ow! Oh, my ankle! I think it's broken. Buffy: What happened? Snyder: (to Buffy) Hey! Who's the principal here? (to Harmony) What happened? Edit
- Cordelia: (giving her acceptance speech) Ask not what your school can do for you, ask "Hey! What am I wearing to the Spring Fling?" Edit
Allusions
ADD ALLUSIONS
- Visual: (written on the blackboard behind Mrs. Miller) To every man his little cross. Til he dies. And is forgotten. This comes from Samuel Beckett's play, Waiting for Godot, in which two men wait in vain for the ambiguous title (non)character. Edit
- Buffy: It's pretty much "Crush! Kill! Destroy!"
  An android killer in the 1960s sci-fi show Lost in Space pursued the astronauts saying only "Crush! Kill! Destroy!", which Buffy says here, referring to the fact that monsters usually don't communicate ideas. Edit
- Cordelia: God, is she really wearing Laura Ashley? Laura Ashley is a home furnishings and clothing designer that is apparently below Cordelia's high standards. Laura Ashley creations are typically up-scale and often feature floral prints. Edit