Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Recap/S3/E05 Homecoming: Difference between revisions

The Scoobies decide to share a limo for their last Homecoming dance. Scott hasn't asked Buffy, but after some arm-twisting agrees to go. The next day, Scott breaks up with Buffy the next day because he finds her too distracted all the time now, which she admits is true. (Such as rehabilitating Angel in his mansion). She promises to do better, but Scott's fed up.

Buffy is bummed that her entire high school career will come down to one picture on 1/8th of a page, but Willow and Xander tell her that even that won't be there, since she missed getting her picture taken for the Yearbook. They tell her that Cordelia was supposed to give her the message. Buffy confronts Cordy, who couldn't care less, because it's not about herself. That does it. An enraged Buffy decides to run for Prom Queen against Cordy. Meanwhile, Mr. Trick has organised SlayerFest '98, a competition in which it's participants (for a modest fee) get to hunt the two slayers. The competitors include two German brothers working with an older man, Lyle Gorch (from "Bad Eggs"), and Lyle's new bride Candy.

When the limo arrives at Buffy's house, she gets in to discover not Faith, who was scheduled to be the first to be picked up, but rather Cordelia alone, holding a note from their friends saying that they want her and Cordelia to make up on the expensive ride, so they will be forced to spend some time alone together. When the driver stops at their destination, they are surprised to discover not Sunnydale High, but a shack and some woods. The pair fight off their adversaries and run to the school. Meanwhile, Trick is dragged away from his monitor room by two policemen.

Buffy and Cordelia make their way to the library, only to find Giles knocked out and the Gorchs waiting for them. During the fight, Candy is dusted thanks to a spatula that Cordelia acquired. Lyle is infuriated and is ready to kill the two, but Cordelia finally asserts herself and scares Lyle away when the chips are down. Buffy realizes the corsages they got in the limo were electronic tracking devices. She puts them on the German brothers, who target and kill each other with their high-tech equipment, each thinking they're targeting one of the Slayers.

The policemen bring Mr. Trick to the office of Mayor Wilkins, who tells Trick that he needs to control rebellious youth elements during this election year. Mr. Trick, knowing the Mayor means business, agrees to join his administraton.

* [[Bear Trap]]: Buffy, at a warning from Cordy, narrowly avoids getting her foot caught in a bear trap laid by Frawley (the poacher). He moves to shoot them, but Buffy throws the trap at him, causing him to lose his balance and step into another trap.

** [[Brand X]]: Cordelia's attempt to bond with some nerds by mentioning the "[[Star Trek|Vulcian]] [[Pressure Point|Death Grip]]"

* [[Call Back]]: Buffy concedes that she's not popular. But she's not exactly '''[[Damned By Faint Praise|un]]'''popular!

** Mrs. Gorch says she wants to kill Buffy as a "wedding present for what happened to your poor brother."

** Maybe if she [[Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Recap/S3 /E19 Earshot|saved his life]] he'd vote for her.

* [[Cute Clumsy Girl]]: To gather more votes, Buffy cunningly [[Exploited Trope|adopts this persona]] ('accidentally' dropping a folder in front of boys) to chat them up.

* [[Death by Irony]] / [[Friend or Foe]]: As the Gruenstahlers approach the library, the Old Man tracks the girls' movements. Buffy rises from a hiding spot in the corner. She throws a wad of wet toilet paper with the transmitters onto his back, where it sticks. The Old Man gives them new coordinates. The twin in the hall starts firing, and the one in the classroom returns the favor. They both riddle each other with bullets.

* [[Dramatic Gun Cock]]: Buffy with Frawley's pump-action rifle (twice -- no wonder she ran out of bullets).

* [[Failed a Spot Check]]: Cordelia has been raiding the shack for weapons, but all she's found is a spatula. And a telephone, but Cordy ditzes that a spatula would make a much better weapon. Buffy gives her a "get a clue, you dolt" look.

** "The children are our future. We need them. '''I''' need them."

* [[Fur and Loathing]]: Frawley.

* [[Hypocrisy Nod]]: Cordy checking out her "competition" for Homecoming Queen. There's Holly ("Nice girl, [[Brainless Beauty|brain-dead]]. Doesn't have a prayer.") and Michelle. ("[[Really Gets Around|Open to all mankind]], especially those with a letterman's jacket and a car.") She turns worriedly to Xander: "''She'' could give me a run."

* [[Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique]]: Buffy holds the gun on Frawley and quickly extracts information from him on who the other players in the game are.

* [[Locked in a Room]]: Buffy gets into the limo and finds only Cordelia sitting inside. When Buffy asks where Faith is, Cordy merely hands her a letter. It's from their friends, saying that they're not riding with them because their group dynamic is more important than who wins Homecoming Queen. It ends with, "The limo was not cheap -- work it out." Things aren't off to a good start, as Buffy notices there's two corsages, and Cordy snits, "I took the orchid."

* [[Mercy Lead]]: The limo stops, and Buffy and Faith finds themselves stranded in the woods. A TV and VCR are set up nearby, with a sign that says, "Press Play." Well, why not? Mr. Trick appears on the screen, welcoming Buffy and "Faith" to SlayerFest '98. He explains that they have "exactly 30 seconds--[checks his watch] no, that's 17 now--to run for your lives."

* [[Mission Control]]: The old man communicates to the twins via [[Earpiece Conversation|earpiece]].

* [[Moment Killer]]: Faith noticing Scott -- newly single and ready to mingle -- dancing with some new girl. She saunters up to the couple and coos, "Scott? There you are, honey! Good news -- the doctor says the itching and the swelling and the burning should clear up, but we gotta keep using the ointment." She turns to his date and says, "Hi!" with a bright smile. Then she walks away.

** Buffy and Cordelia realizing that they're wearing tracking devices on their wrists.

* [[Picture Day]]: The Scoobies' Yearbook photographs. Cordelia puts on her best rictus grin; Xander smarms; Oz is characteristically deadpan. Willow initially has a winning smile but switches to a confused expression when the photographer takes too long--this is the face he captures.

* [[Secret Keeper]]: When Buffy drops by the mansion to see how Angel's feeling, she reveals that she's been keeping mum about his reappearance to Giles and the others.

* [[Status Quo Game Show]]: One of the Dingoes is about to announce the winner for Homecoming Queen when Buffy and Cordy show up, still dirty and disheveled. Devon announces that they have a tie as the camera zooms in on Cordy and Buffy. The winners are -- Holly and Michelle! Cordy and Buffy look at each other in disgust and walk out together as one of the winners chokes, "[[Trying Not to Cry|I promised myself I wasn't gonna cry!]]"

* [[Super Window Jump]]: The old man orders the twins to open fire on the shack as Buffy and Kulak continue to fight. They're wrestling for the gun when a grenade flies in and rolls onto the floor. Buffy grabs Cordy, and the pair leap through a window. Kulak follows suit, but his window is shuttered tight, so [[Deconstructed Trope|he bounces back into the room]] and lands beside the grenade again. BOOM.

* [[This Page Will Self-Destruct]]: Played with. As soon as Mr. Trick's video greeting concludes, a shot rings out from Jungle Bob's rifle, causing the video monitor to explode.

* [[The Triple]]: The Mayor thinks Allan's nails could be cleaner. Allan says that he washed them, but the Mayor admonishes him, "After every meal and under your fingernails. Dirt gets trapped there. And germs. And mayonnaise."

* [[Villain Team-Up]]: Mr. Trick, realizing the Mayor means business, agrees to [[Demoted to Dragon|work for him]] willingly.

* [[Written in-In Infirmity]]: When Buffy is standing in front of the white board in the library, you can see a bandage on her left hand. Sarah Michelle Gellar cracked a bone while filming an earlier scene, and had to take it easy with that hand for much of the episode.

* [[You Have No Idea Who You're Dealing With]]: Stung by Cordelia's airy dismissal of her ("Just because you were Guacamole Queen when you were 3..."), Buffy lays down the gauntlet.