Buffy: Lie to Me

Ford: "A couple of days, and we'll get to do the two things every American teen should have the chance to do: die young, and stay pretty."

Ford, Buffy's "giant fifth grade crush," arrives in town from L.A. and begins hanging out with Buffy... unfortunately, with some dire ulterior motives. Jason Behr, who plays Ford, did a terrific job. I despised him and felt sorry for him all at the same time. It's also easy to feel sorry for, and empathize with, the Goth kids who think that becoming undead is going to solve all their problems.

Lying is a major theme here (hence, the episode title). It isn't just Ford lying to Buffy; Angel also lies to Buffy about Drusilla, and he talks Willow into lying to Buffy about researching Ford. Angel's truth is worse than lies; he is a much more romantic character when the gory details are only left to the imagination. What Angel's previous self did to Drusilla is so diabolical that it took my breath away.

Spike and Drusilla just fascinate me. Spike's passion for her, her fragility -- they're such three-dimensional villains. Spike touches Drusilla in an interesting and unusual way; he puts his palm flat on her chest or on her stomach, as if he were checking her breathing or the state of her pregnancy. This is especially interesting because she doesn't breathe and isn't pregnant.

The final scene with Giles and Buffy in the graveyard talking about truth and lies as she is waiting to stake Ford is just exceptional. It always gets to me.

Bits and pieces:

-- It is established that vampires are not warm, like humans. Ford says that Angel's hand is cold.

-- Angel and Spike (and a vampire wannabe in the Goth club) are dressed identically in red and black in this episode, while Buffy and Drusilla both wear white. David Boreanaz' Angel looks more vampiric than usual here; in Willow's room, he is noticeably very pale, with red lips and black hair.

-- Drusilla was reportedly killed by a mob in Prague; the "idiot mob" in Prague was mentioned in "School Hard."

-- Spike keeps his word to Ford.

-- The actor in the movie at the Sunset Club is Jack Palance.

-- We hear the voice of Willow's mother off camera, but we don't see her.

-- Xander calls Angel "Dead boy," and "Bossy the cow."

-- Monster truck rally. Jenny, what were you thinking? Jenny is clearly in the driver's seat in the Giles/Jenny relationship, although perhaps she shouldn't be.

-- Drusilla says to the little boy: "What will your mummy sing when they find your body?" Ooooooooh.

-- Cordelia identifies more with Marie Antoinette than with those cranky peasants.

Quotable quotes:

Cordelia: "I just don't see why everyone's always picking on Marie Antoinette. I can so relate to her. She worked really hard to look that good, and people just don't appreciate that kind of effort. And I know the peasants were all depressed..."
Xander: "I think you mean oppressed."
Cordelia: "Whatever. They were cranky. So they're, like, let's lose some heads. That's fair. And, and Marie Antoinette cared about them. She was gonna let them have cake."

Angel: "Things used to be pretty simple. A hundred years, just hanging out, feeling guilty, I really honed my brooding skills. Then she comes along."

Xander: "Angel was in your bedroom?"
Willow: "Ours is a forbidden love."

Ford: "Wow. Cold hands."
Xander: "You're not wrong."

Ford: "Would I be imposing?"
Xander: "Only in the literal sense."

Spike: "Oh, I'm sorry, baby. I'm a bad, rude man."

Chanterelle: "This is a beautiful day. Can't you see that?"
Buffy: "What I see is that, right after the sun goes down, Spike and all of his friends are going to be pigging out at the all-you-can-eat moron bar."

Excellent. Four out of four stakes,

Billie