Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Recap/S2/E06 Halloween: Difference between revisions

'''Drusilla:''' Someone's come to change it all. Someone new. }}

 

 

Later that night, Ethan seems much less innocuous as he chants to an evil-looking statue in the back of his shop. At the same time, Drusilla feels that something has changed in the air. She informs Spike that that the time is ripe to attack the Slayer. Ethan's spell takes effect, and everyone wearing a costume from his store turns into the respective persona. Willow becomes a literal ghost, able to walk through walls, Xander a trigger-happy soldier, and Buffy a hapless 18th-century noblewoman.

 

 

The Scoobies, led by Angel and Xander, manage to take refuge in an empty warehouse; however, they're quickly tracked down by Spike and his minions, who are hot on their heels. Just as Spike is about to kill Buffy, Ethan breaks and reveals that the spell is emanating from the statue, which Giles hurls to the floor. Buffy reverts to her old self, and with his minions reverted back to children Spike beats a hasty retreat. The next day, Giles heads back down to the costume shop to confront Ethan, but the shop has been cleared. He'll be back...

 

* [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking]]: Snyder says that Buffy's usual plans for the night will be put on hold. "Halloween must be a big night for you. Tossing eggs, keying cars, bobbing for apples, one pathetic cry for help after another."

** What does he have against bobbing for apples? Does he think it's a [[Murder Simulators|waterboarding simulator]]?

{{quote|"It's strange, but beating up that pirate [[Brick Joke|gave me a weird sense of closure]]."}}

{{quote|'''Willow''': [under her breath] She couldn't have dressed up like ''[[Xena]]''?}}

* [[Bad Boss]]: Spike again sacrifices one of his mooks to get an idea of how the Slayer fights.

* [[Becoming the Costume]]

* [[Bedsheet Ghost]]: Willow's generic ghost costume, complete with "<small>BOO!</small>" lettering on the front.

* [[Bilingual Bonus]]: When Ethan is invoking the power of Janus (in [[Ominous Latin Chanting|Latin]]), this is what he actually says:

{{quote|"Janus, I call forth your spirit. Hear my cause, seize the night for your purpose. Come, appear, and show to us that which is infinite power. The mask is transformed into flesh and blood. Your holy presence curdles the heart. Janus! Take the night!"}}

* [[Crash Into Hello]]: Oz crashing into Willow as she's wearing her ridiculous ghost costume, continuing [[Fate Drives Us Together|the theme]] from "Inca Mummy Girl". Subverted in that with the sheet over her head, Oz doesn't even realise she's Eskimo Girl.

* [[Cringe Comedy]]: Buffy showing up at The Bronze with pieces of straw sticking out of her hair. Cordy snidely compliments her on the "[[Street Urchin]]" look.

{{quote|'''Xander:''' Ma'am, in the Army we have a saying. Sit down and shut the--}}

* [[Department of Redundancy Department]]: "Must have been wonderful," Buffy sighs forlornly. "Put on some fantabulous gown and go to a ball like a princess, and have horses and servants, and yet more gowns."

{{quote|'''Buffy:'''And that's the point. Look, Halloween is the night that not-you ''is'' you, but not ''you'' -- you know? }}

* [[Disproportionate Retribution]]: A pleasant older woman answers her door, unaware that the demon mask-wearing kids have reverted to the real thing. She looks in her basket and apologizes: she's run out of candy. Try saying that with a hand around your windpipe, lady.

* [[Double Entendre]]: Angel tells Buffy that the noblewomen of his time bored him. "I always wished I could meet someone... exciting. Interesting." He's referring to Buffy, but it also explains his attraction to his sire, Darla.

* [[Dramatic Wind]]: Signifies that Ethan's spell has taken hold.

* [[Edible Bludgeon]]: A pair of them in the teaser: Upon being knocked down, Buffy looks up and sees a mook vampire coming at her. She reaches for something. The vamp get beaned with a gourd, and then with [[Fundamentally Funny Fruit|a whole pumpkin]].

{{quote|'''Xander:''' A black eye heals, Buffy, but cowardice has an unlimited shelf life! }}

* [[Escort Mission]]: Snyder's assignment: Take the kids treak-or-treating and return them safe and sound, or you're ([[Running Gag|What else?]]) expelled.

* [[Exact Eavesdropping]]: With Buffy gone, the remaining Scoobies go look for her. Angel points out that she's helpless while under the spell. Only he says it loudly enough that Spike, who's behind a nearby tree, overhears him. Nice one. Spike has assembled a posse of kid-demons, and tells them that "the tenderest meat you've ever tasted" is out there, and all they have to do is find her first.

* [[Expansion Pack Past]]: This is the first time Giles's old nickname (Ripper) is used. It also introduces his shady past.

{{quote|"I like to think of it less as a friendship and more as a solid foundation for future bliss."}}

** Buffy telling Giles to get a life, suggesting that he go to this place where "you sit in the dark, and there are these moving pictures, right? And the pictures tell a story."

* [[Failed a Spot Check]]: Willow explaining that they have to go get Giles, telling Cordy to sit tight. Cordelia sneers, "Who died and made ''her'' the boss?" Behind her, Willow walks straight through a wall. Buffy sees this over Cordy's shoulder, and her eyes go wide.

** Averted with Angel noticing that Buffy's door is open.

* [[Fish Out of Temporal Water]]: An SUV rounds the bend with its headlights on, and Buffy cowers behind Xander. A DEMON!!

{{quote|'''Willow:''' That's not a demon. It's a car.

'''Buffy:''' What does it want? }}

* [[Foreign Cuss Word]]: Willow's line, "Wild on me equals spaz" was cut when the episode was shown on the BBC because in the UK, "spaz" is an offensive term often used to describe a handicapped or disabled person.

* [[Forgotten Friend, New Foe]]: In the shop, Giles and Ethan have their reunion. Giles greets Ethan by name. "Hello, Ripper.", Ethan snarks. He asks if Giles isn't pleased to see his "old mate."

* [[Friendly Neighborhood Vampire]]

{{quote|'''Cordelia:''' Oh, he's a vampire. Of course! But the cuddly kind. Like a Carebear with fangs?}}

* [[Halloween Episode]]

* [[Hidden Depths]]: "Everything's switching. Outside to inside." Giles reveals his inner Ripper, Willow shows her leadership skills, Xander his future potential as a [[Badass Normal]], and Buffy the vulnerability she hides beneath her perky persona. Cordelia of course remains Cordelia.

* [[I Just Want to Be Normal]]

{{quote|'''Buffy:''' Dates are things normal girls have. Girls who have time to think about nail polish and facials. You know what I think about? Ambush tactics. Beheading. Not exactly the stuff dreams are made of.}}

* [[It Was Here, I Swear]]: Giles reenters Ethan's store, which has been cleaned out. He finds a card that simply says, "[[We Will Meet Again|BE SEEING YOU]]"

* [[It's a Long Story]]: Back at the house, Angel's baffled as to what's going on. Cordelia gives him the skinny: "They don't know who they are, everyone's turned into a monster, it's a whole big thing. [bright smile] How are you?"

* [[Let Us Never Speak of This Again]]: Buffy trying to apologize for the Larry incident. "Do you '''mind,''' Buffy? I'm trying to repress."

* [[Linked-List Clue Methodology]]: In the library, Willow and Giles lay out the backstory again. He asks what her costume is, and she tells him she's a ghost. Warily, Giles examines her fetish-wear and asks, "The ghost of what, exactly?" Willow covers herself up and gets defensive, describing Cordy's catsuit for some perspective. This points them to a clue, namely that Cordy didn't change. Willow says that Cordy got her costume at Party Town, but the rest of them got theirs at a new place, "[[Eureka Moment|Ethan's]]." Giles' glaring eyes indicate that he recognizes the name.

* [[Macho Masochism]]: Xander feeling cheated at Buffy not allowing Larry to turn him into hamburger.

{{quote|'''Buffy:''' OK, then I promise, from now on I'll let you get pummeled.

* [[The Matchmaker]]: [[Exploited Trope|Exploited]] by Buffy while attempting to stall Giles. During this dizzying exchange, Buffy is surreptitiously beckoning to Willow to come in, but she's too slow. Finally, Giles has had enough, and Buffy blurts, "--Miss Calendar said you were a babe!" (Willow looks at Buffy all "I can't believe you just went there.")

{{quote|'''Buffy:''' She said that you were [[Waxing Lyrical|a hunk of...burning...]][[Bad Liar|something or other]]. }}

** [[Percussive Maintenance]]: Speaking of stuff [[Armoured Closet Gay|not coming out]] (yet), Larry helpfully dislodges a Dr. Pepper with his head when Buffy slams it into the machine.

* [[Offscreen Teleportation]]: Ethan's body vanishes as soon as Giles turns his attention to the statue.

* [[Ominous Multiple Screens]]: Spike reviewing a tape of Buffy's fight at the start of the episode. The images play on a [[Portal (series)|GLaDOS]]-style halo of TV sets mounted on the factory ceiling. (Angel later sends them crashing through the floor in "Surprise".)

* [[Plot Hole]]: When Buffy and Angel move to the kitchen, they find the door open. A vampire has gotten in. This isn't possible as a vampire can't come in uninvited.

*** [[Fridge Horror|Did|they kill it?]]

* [[Pre-Ass-Kicking One-Liner]]: As soon as Giles shatters the statue, we cut to the warehouse, where Xander's gun has reverted to a toy. The mini-demons are kids again. Spike looks around, confused, and then Buffy's wig comes off in his hand. Uh oh. Buffy, now her old self, gets up, and, with a sunny smile, starts [[She's Back|kicking Spike's ass]]. "Hi honey. I'm home."

* [[Princess for a Day]]: Buffy plans to dress like a noblewomen to suit Angel's tastes. "Call it a blast from his past."

* [[Promise Me You Won't X]]: Buffy calling to Willow to come out and show off her new costume. Willow reluctantly obeys ("Promise me you won't laugh?"): her hair is up, and she's wearing makeup, a black leather skirt, and a [[Bare Your Midriff|midriff-baring]] brown top. Va Va ''Voom''.

{{quote|'''Xander:''' I ''hope'' you mean "like the wind."}}

* [[Reset Button]]: Averted. Xander gains the knowledge and skills of an experienced soldier after Ethan's spell. This is handy in later episodes.

* [[Reveal Shot]]: We open on a pumpkin stand. The camera pans down to reveal a sign informing us that Halloween is two days away, and a jack-o'-lantern. --Hey, where's the [[Batman Cold Open]]? Aha, ''here'' it comes. Buffy comes flying into the frame and lands on her derrière, smashing the jack-o'-lantern.

* [[Ritual Magic]]: Ethan, clad in ceremonial robe, chanting to a bust of Janus in the back room of his shop. Ethan anoints his own eyelids and forehead with some grease, and declares that himself [[Order Versus Chaos|a servant of chaos]]. Nothing ominous about ''this'' at all.

* [[Security Cling]]: Buffy spend such of the episode sidling behind Xander. Later, when the lights go out in the house, Buffy reflexively grabs Cordy, who snits, "Do you ''mind''?"

* [[Sensei for Scoundrels]]: Xander pacing up and down and giving his children a Patton-style speech on how to scam extra candy.

* [[Shaped Like Itself]]: Oz complimenting Cordy's attire, consisting of a unitard with cat ears and drawn-on whiskers. "You're like a big cat."

* [[She Cleans Up Nicely]]: The effect Buffy was going for. Inverted with Willow's purposely trashy outfit.

{{quote|'''Ethan:''' Oh, and we all know that you are the champion of innocents and all things pure and good, Rupert. It's quite a little act you've got going here, old man.}}

* [[Smash Cut]]: Willow noting that it's too bad they can't read up on Angel in the Watcher diaries. Buffy, in a mischievous tone, agrees that it's too bad, as Giles keeps them in his office with his personal files, and that stuff is private. "Most importantly, it would be wrong." Cue to Willow and Buffy cat-burgling their way into Giles' office.

** Drusilla sensing that "someone new" is about to turn Halloween on its head. Creepy music swells, and we cut to Ethan in ceremonial robes, reciting a paen to his Janus bust.

* [[Suspiciously Specific Denial]]: Buffy stealthing her way toward Giles' office in search of his files. She paws around carefully and darts her eyes left. Then right. Coast is clear. She starts to stride toward the office, but Giles suddenly calls to her from the book cage, startling her.

{{quote|'''Giles:''' [notices her] Buffy! Excellent.

'''Buffy: Nothing!''' --Hi! }}

* [[Try to Fit That on A Business Card]]: Buffy, Lady of Buffdom, Duchess of Buffonia!

{{quote|'''Oz:''' Actually, he's just going by Devon now.}}

* [[Upper Class Twit]]: Aristo-Buffy.

** Also one of the worst in the show; it's especially obvious here that there's literally no reason for Buffy to just let him get away.

* [[Wait Here]]: Though to be fair, this version of Buffy can be forgiven for not trusting Angel with a face like that. She'd rather stick with "the man with the musket."

{{quote|"Chunky and creamy. Oh! No, sorry, that's peanut butter."}}

* [[We Need a Distraction]]: Buffy making U-turns around Giles to prevent him from spotting Willow inching toward his office. "Look at ME when I talk to you!"

* [[What the Hell Is That Accent?]]: SMG's attempt at an English accent. Suddenly, David Boreanaz's Irish brogue doesn't seem so bad.

* [[Wig, Dress, Accent]]: Buffy rounds out her costume with an appropriately humongous brown wig.

** Played for laughs as the girls are perusing the Watcher Diaries for hot babes from Angel's time. Buffy finds one who's particularly "coiffed." Willow notes that this lady was probably "a noble-woman or something" and that being pretty was her job. Then clearly, Buffy retorts, "''this'' girl was a workholic."

* [[You Must Be Cold]]: Soldier!Xander puts his army shirt around Cordelia's shoulders; she's so pleasantly surprised she doesn't even snark at him.

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[[Category:Recap]]

[[Category:Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Recap]]