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Post by Clare on Sept 24, 2008 6:42:30 GMT -5
3.13 The Zeppo - Episode #047
Xander feels like the odd Scooby out, but realises his place after foiling a zombie plot.
Review (also post a score out of 10) and discuss this episode.
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Post by cyclica on Oct 1, 2008 11:59:37 GMT -5
The big xander adventure. I love this episode. Its choc full of great and funny moments, and I love how the 'main' plot about the apocalypse gets pushed into the background, its like they're making fun of a typical episode. I love xander interrogating a zombie while driving, only for his head to come off before he can answer how to disarm the bomb. I loved xander having less fear at the end... and oz leaping out at jack. I love xander walking on the bangel melodrama. One of my all time favourites. I'm giving the zeppo a 9.  |
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Post by partcynic on Jan 23, 2010 12:42:47 GMT -5
3x13 “The Zeppo”
Episode Rating = 6
Another strong episode in a high-quality season, “The Zeppo” keeps up S3’s string of well-structured, dependable stories that are just a little distance from greatness (see also “Faith, Hope and Trick”, “Homecoming” and “Helpless”). Giving the alternately neglected and assassinated Xander a much-needed chance to shine, it’s a memorable second offering from writer Dan Vebber, with the return of the excellent humour he displayed in his exemplary debut “Lover’s Walk”. However, “The Zeppo” can’t quite match the attainments of its predecessor, with too many of its jokes relying on jarring transitions and stereotyped characterisation. Still, these issues don’t detract too much from its achievements, leaving the episode a noteworthy midyear entry.
What I Liked about “The Zeppo”:
- Considering how much has happened to sour Xander’s character over the last year or so (trying to curse Cordy; betraying Willow and Buffy and his nastiness at the latter when she returned to Sunnydale; luring Faith to kill Angel based on no evidence), it was great to have a reminder of his positive traits. For the first time in an age, we got to see him in his lovable loser mode, and as a fundamentally decent guy who’s occasionally hampered by his lack of smarts. Every moment with him was enjoyable, and his developing a greater sense of self-confidence was a worthwhile and important bit of character progression.
- While Cordy seems to be taking a bit too much of an interest in Xander, most of her statements about him were accurate, and the historic antagonism between the two made her a good ‘thematic’ foe.
- Away from Xander’s development, this ep was all about humour, and it provided laughs in spades. Usually, the show struggles when it comes to wacky and/or slapstick gags, but this episode successfully juggled these styles while preserving the series’ typical wit. Xander was treated to some of his best lines in a while, and the bizarre situations he kept finding himself in were agreeably farcical.
- Jack O’Toole was a serviceable bad guy, and appropriately obnoxious in his Neanderthal posturing. It was interesting to see how he could intimidate Xander so easily, and his unfounded reaction to the football incident quickly established his basic character. Throughout the episode, the conflict between he and Xander was good, with particular regard to the unsettling knife scene outside the Bronze, and Xander’s moment of brilliance as he turned Jack’s ‘fear’ statement back on him during the boiler room confrontation. I also thought his death was excellent, and having his menacing statement be cut off as the Oz-wolf pounced upon and mauled him was very funny (not to mention Oz’s line about being “strangely full” in the following scene).
- The other members of the Jackals were personable, and provided lots of humour in their undead antics. The make-up for each character was effective in distinguishing them (especially the burn victim and the guy who had lost half of his face), and they all met their demises in entertaining ways. I laughed out loud at the postbox decapitation, which managed to strike the right balance between gruesome and hilarious.
- It’s good to see Faith again, and in fitting fashion, she feels separate from the Scooby core despite fighting alongside them. Her liaison with Xander fit perfectly with her established character, and the sex was handled with an appropriate amount of joviality (evidenced by Xander’s obvious nerves and the great ‘throwing out’ scene). It was also a good way of adding a twist to the two’s interactions, and will pay off nicely in the future.
What I Disliked about “The Zeppo”:
- Of all “Buffy” episodes, this one is perhaps host to the largest amount of mood whiplash, and not in a good way. While I understand that the goal here was to create humour by combining a deliberately over-the-top apocalypse narrative with the light-hearted Xander plot, things went overboard. No matter its intended function, the apocalypse sub-plot failed entirely for me, and the characters were ridiculously grave in their treatment of the situation (like Giles snapping at Buffy for making a joke; Willow’s hug with Xander outside the magic shop; the narration prefacing the final scene; and the general, ultra-ominous atmosphere). I’m all for witty meta-commentary and turning the show’s premise on its head, but there’s contrast, and then there’s overkill.
- This isn’t really a problem, but I’d like more clarity as to Cordelia’s motivations. I know she’s upset with Xander for betraying her, but the way she stalked him about town made it seem like she still had some interest in him, no matter how nasty she tried to be.
- Despite being humorous, the Lisette character was annoying. She felt like the stereotyped, one-dimensional ‘bad date’ you’d get in an episode of “Friends”, and whining about being bored in the middle of a knife fight was unreal.
- If Jack had to wait eight months for the “stars to align” so he could resurrect his friends, how was his own grandfather able to raise him only two weeks prior? After all, it seems that they were using the same spell, so the same rules should apply.
- If there’s an easily-accessible spirit guide lurking around, shouldn’t we have heard about it before? Even if it would have refused to help, some kind of previous reference would have been nice.
- There are scant words to express how much I disliked the Buffy/Angel scene at the mansion. Again, I know that the goal was to satirise the unconstructive melodrama that’s defined their interactions during the season, but all it really did was highlight just how much their angst is holding them (and the show) back.
Do I like this episode more or less than the last time I watched it?
As is the tendency, I feel the same. I think the prior grade I gave this episode was fitting – it’s a bold attempt at providing meta-commentary on the show’s typical formula, and would be amazing if it were just dialled down a bit. However, the frequent lapses in taste and style are compensated for by some excellent jokes and the best development we’ve had (or will have) for Xander, rescuing him from the ‘loathsome’ pile and setting the stage for his increased maturity. As such, I’m awarding “the Zeppo” a respectable score of six out of ten.
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Post by cyclica on Jan 29, 2010 18:46:45 GMT -5
This is a xander-centric episode, and like with all xander episodes, this one is hilarious, and is one of my favourite eps from season 3. For some reason it always amused me that the 'previously on' segment at the start consisted solely of quentin telling giles he's fired. The entire recap took just a single second in duration, and it's not like it's relevant to the episode. What's the point? Like I said before, there's a load of great xander scenes in this ep, some of my favourites being- xander and oz discussing coolness, xander loosing his virginity to faith, xander getting jack to disarm the bomb, and the newly confident xander ignoring cordy's jibes at the end of the episode. Up until the last few scenes he spends the entire ep acting like the 'goofy xander' from the replacement rather than himself, but that's ok, since he does eventually become cool in the end, after having saved everyone's lives all by himself and choosing not to tell them about it. However the main reason I love this episode isn't xander and his jokes, it's the subplot about buffy and the gang saving the world, and how this plot mocks the clichés the show has established. An apocalypse is obviously a huge deal, but in this ep it's almost in the background, pointing out how over-used the idea has become and how little impact an apocalypse now has on the show. I loved the conversation at the end, with all the characters beaten up, talking about the big fight that we didn't get much of a look at. But the highlight of the episode for has to be xander walking in on yet another melodramatic bangel scene. Overall I still love this episode, it has a highly entertaining main plot, with an even better subplot. I stand by my 9. ... Though I'm bumping it down to a low 9 because I did find a few flaws upon rewatching. They're all pretty minor, but enough to bring the episode down half a point. - Giles said at one point that his research is hampered because his 'sources have dried up'. What sources? I was under the impression everything he knew came from books, which he still possesses, it's not like they were taken away after he was fired. - Really minor point but- during a scene in the library, oz transforms into a werewolf completely silently while buffy and giles are talking. I thought the transformation was painful enough to cause a person to scream? Certainly that's the case in other episodes. - The 'car girl' is ridiculous. At one point jack has a knife to xander's throat, and she's like 'can we go for a drive'? How oblivious is she? And later on she witnesses bob being resurrected, and doesn't react at all until bob goes to hug jack. Like bringing someone back from the dead happens all the time, but a hug is terrifying. - Cordy spends the whole episode pointing out how useless xander is to the team, yet the fact that she is equally useless is never brought up. - Giles seeks help from the 'spirit guides'. Who are they, and if they are so powerful/knowledgeable, why has no one sought their help before or after this episode? - Why do buffy and the gang want to keep xander out of danger this one time, but he's a part of the gang in every other episode? What makes this threat so much worse than all the others he's faced? - Just how did the hellmouth become open anyway? And how did it become closed again at the end? Why would they encounter the 'hellmouth monster' from prophecy girl again, is it living in hell, and just sitting there at the entrance to the hellmouth the whole time? And why is the hellmouth so small? In PG there was an earthquake, and when the monster came through it was implied that the hellmouth was ripping open, and would presumably continue to get bigger, allowing the whole world to be pulled into hell. But in this ep, although we don't get to see the hellmouth, it's implied that it's just a 'hole' in the library, not even big enough for that one demon to get through. |
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Post by partcynic on Jan 30, 2010 12:59:48 GMT -5
Yeah - most of the Xander material here is great. The ep did a good job of showcasing his positive aspects, which partly made up for how bad he'd been earlier in the season. Ah - this is where we diverge. Like you, I appreciated the concept of turning the show's typical story on the head, but it was too overdone for me to enjoy. I thought that in pushing Buffy at al to such ridiculous extremes, the humour was lost, since their behaviour was based on caricature and not their true personalities. In addition, I think it's questionable how much of a cliche the apocalypse plot is. In the show's run so far, we've had 3, one of which was basically a non-issue ("The Harvest") and another in which the end of the world was just window-dressing for developing Buffy/Angel ("Becoming"). That doesn't give this ep many real tropes to play on - I think the gang's blase reactions to the apocalypse in "Doomed" are both more reflective of who they are and funnier than what's presented here. Oh, and I hated the Bangel scene. Xander walking in was humorous and refreshing, but the rest was so blown up it made me want to throw things at the screen. Agreed. She was completely stupid, and a waste of time considering that she didn't do anything. That isn't really a valid counterpoint, though. Cordelia was able to hurt Xander because he actually cares about the Scoobs and his place in them. While she indeed worked with the gang, Cordy was never a true, fully-fledged member, and she maintained a group of outside friends. If someone told her that she's useless to the Scoobs, she'd probably shrug it off instantly. Yep - that's a big contrivance. I think it goes a bit beyond a minor problem, since it's the justification for the episode's main plot and character development. |
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Post by cyclica on Feb 7, 2010 15:54:08 GMT -5
- If Jack had to wait eight months for the “stars to align” so he could resurrect his friends, how was his own grandfather able to raise him only two weeks prior? After all, it seems that they were using the same spell, so the same rules should apply. Maybe there's more than one way the stars can align in order for the spell to work? Or maybe the grandfather had to wait for the alignment of stars in order to make some resurrecting potion, which he made a big batch of, and jack used some of it later on, offscreen. I didn't think the episode was over the top at all. Though you're right about the apocalypse not being much of a cliche at the time, perhaps cliche was a poor choice of word. But I do think the idea of an apocalypse was being overused, even by this point and certainly when looking back over the whole show. I loved how the show drew attention to how ridiculous they can be together, but if you're a big bangel fan I can see why you might not like that scene. That's true, but still I kept expecting xander to bring it up, it seemed like something he'd say. |
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Post by partcynic on Feb 14, 2010 9:05:53 GMT -5
Yeah - this one's just a matter of individual tolerance. I just found the repeated "this is the worst thing EVER" statements and some of the characterisation (Giles shouting at Buffy for making a flippant remark) rather iffy, when the story wasn't developed enough to justify such action.
Well, I'm not a Bangel fan (okay, I like them in S2, but that's about it), and I still found it annoying. I guess it flows from the earlier point about differing tolerances for what this ep portrays.
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