|
|
Post by Clare on Sept 24, 2008 9:20:24 GMT -5
4.03 Harsh Light of Day - Episode #059
As Spike returns and hunts for a mystical ring, Buffy gets closer to Parker.
Review (also post a score out of 10) and discuss this episode.
|
|
|
|
Post by cyclica on Oct 9, 2008 15:15:21 GMT -5
I like this episode, though I can't say I love it. I give it a 6.
Spike and harmony make a funny couple, but really they wouldn't be together. Spike was in love with dru the last time we saw him, I can't see him being attracted to a valley girl. And why did they have to say dru left him for a fungus demon? Why not the choas demon who was mentioned in lovers walk? Though I did like how spike chose not to let buffy know he was there... and they just run into each other at a party. That was great.
Anya returned (somehow knowing where giles lives, and that xander would be there). She wants to have sex with him to put him out of her mind, but the opposite happens. She still has much to learn about life as a human.
As for the main plot, about buffy and parker... meh. To me it felt like a story they had to do, because its part of the college life, but I could have lived without seeing it.
|
|
|
|
Post by partcynic on Apr 9, 2010 10:37:59 GMT -5
4x03 “The Harsh Light of Day”
Episode Rating = 8
After the witless stupidity of “Living Conditions”, “The Harsh Light of Day” is like a blast of fresh air, blowing away the rank after-effects of its predecessor and restoring my faith in the season. Interestingly, it shares similarities with “Living Conditions” in being relatively light on plot, but compensates for this by being heavy on theme, development, meaning and wit. It’s also interesting structurally, featuring three conceptually similar mini-stories that only overlap at the end – the first of its kind for the series, and a good example of the show successfully adjusting to the loss of its former focal location. Although this episode could do with a few brief pacing tune-ups, pretty much everything in it works, and it ends up being the second-strongest ep from the first half of the season (the number one obviously being “Hush”).
What I Liked about “The Harsh Light of Day”:
- This is very important episode with regard to Buffy’s development, being the first time in almost three years we’ve seen her interact romantically with anyone not named ‘Angel’. I think the writing portrayed her believably, being somewhat shy and nervous around a new guy (after all, she’d just come out of a major relationship that didn’t have a clearly defined emotional termination), but still having some assertiveness. Her reaction to getting the cold shoulder after sleeping with Parker was appropriate after what happened in “Innocence”, and I really felt for her as she waited for a phone call that would never come, and then found Parker flirting with someone else. It was especially sad that her first response to being used and rejected was to blame herself, and her little chat with Willow was a nice display of her continued vulnerability.
- As strange as it sounds to be saying this, Parker worked well. The actor played him with the right amount of nuance, so that the first time the audience hears him give his speech about his father’s death, he seems genuine, but suspicion grows as the episode progresses. It’s especially effective in the scene where he’s seen feeding another freshman girl the exact same lines, which reveals just what a manipulative sleaze he is. However, it’s also good that he’s comparatively smart in his actions (giving the girls the power and the choice, albeit illusory ones), which was more rounded and interesting than having him be a boorish thug, and prevents Buffy (or the series) from disregarding her own actions.
- On first viewing, it was a pleasant surprise to have Anya back (as was the implication that she was now going to stick around), and the writers appear to have struck a balance between the person she was in S3, and the being she would go on to become. Much like in “The Prom”, she was played for humour and emotion, and succeeded in both fields. Moments like telling Giles to go away (in his own home!) so she could talk to Xander; her eagerness to know what their relationship status was; the entirety of the seduction, and her bewildered “Okay?!” after Xander was fine with her supposedly being over him were all funny, while simultaneously having substance. Anya’s obvious feelings for him coupled with her lack of understanding what they mean and difficulty expressing herself are very endearing, and this complexity makes her a great recurring figure (it’s just a shame this depth would quickly be done away with).
- As a side note, Xander is coming on leaps and bounds. His reactions to seeing Anya naked (and her ensuing come-ons) were funny, but he also displayed maturity in how he initially handled the situation (great continuity reference to Faith, too). In addition, while he was too brusque with her during their brief encounter at the university, it wasn’t done to be cruel or disrespectful, and it’s good that the issue is dealt with in the next couple of episodes.
- This is my single favourite post-S3 Spike appearance, and it’s a reminder of how awesome he was when not castrated by the chip (and then by Buffy). His dialogue was excellent throughout (especially in his interaction with Harmony, where the contempt he holds her in is incredibly obvious; and then in the way he gleefully torments Buffy about Parker and Angel), and James Marsters does a brilliant job of conveying a man who’s trying (and failing) to deal with his own wrecked relationship.
- Harmony is the best she’s ever been, having become far more interesting and sympathetic as a vampire than she ever was as a person. She had a great combination of humour (“Blondie bear”), sex appeal (the bed scene where she’s flirting with Spike) and emotion (her response to his cruel treatment; indicating that she did have genuine feelings for him); and I’m looking forward to seeing her again in the future.
- The Buffy/Spike fight is nicely choreographed and has some decent action.
- I really like the cinematography and overall ‘vibe’ of the final scene. I felt for each of the three women (Buffy; Anya; Harmony), and it was a lovely way of highlighting the connection between their stories without being too obvious about it.
What I Disliked about “The Harsh Light of Day”:
- As always, the main characters get life-death leeway that minor ones don’t (Willow only needing a plaster despite having her neck bitten and being drunk from for several seconds; Spike not instantly bursting into flames when Buffy ripped the ring from him).
- After the Glove of Mynhegon and Balthazar’s amulet, I’m over random super-powerful artefacts lying around Sunnydale (you have to constantly ask why people haven’t gone after them before). Though at least the Gem of Amara was in a sealed underground crypt.
- Xander should be more careful when dealing with visitors. Inviting someone in at night when he doesn’t know who’s at the door is just asking for trouble.
- If Spike was eager to avoid Buffy, why did he take Harmony to a party on the campus of the college Buffy attends? Does he not know she’s studying there, or did he figure it would be safer than going to the Bronze?
- Xander turning Giles’ TV on just in time to see the news report about the collapsed road was fortunate.
- Although fun, the climactic fight needed redoing. Firstly, while act three closes with Spike punching Buffy in a busy student area, the people have all mysteriously evaporated when act four opens. In addition, Xander’s arrival is abrupt and plays zero role in the struggle; Spike really shouldn’t have shown Buffy the Gem on his hand (letting her know just what she needed to wrench from him); and an open drain being right next to him after he lost the ring was very contrived.
- Whoever made the decision to cut Buffy’s line that she was trying to prove she was over Angel to herself needed to be given a talking to – it was crucial to understanding her motivations, yet got inexplicably removed.
Do I like this episode more or less than the last time I watched it?
Most of Jane Espenson’s episodes have matured like fine wine, and “The Harsh Light of Day” is another one that I’ve gained steadily more appreciation for as time’s gone by. That said, I’ve always liked this one (it reassured me that S4 was going to be fine after one ep that was good but hardly great, and another that was among the worst the show had done at that point); it has everything I want from “Buffy” in abundance, and is remarkably self-assured (and even brave in risking upsetting the ‘Buffy and Angel forever’ crowd), ranking among my favourites from S4. As such, I’m happy to give “The Harsh Light of Day” a strong score of eight out of ten.
|
|
|
|
Post by Twisted Slayer on Apr 18, 2010 11:49:32 GMT -5
10/10
What I Liked about “The Harsh Light of Day”:
1) It's important to Buffy's development sexually.
2) It's the first time that Buffy has any romantic involvement since Angel broke her heart, which shows that she was finally able to let someone else in, but she was hurt once more.
3) Parker's actor played the part well, making the results of his actions seem more believable.
4) Spike tries once again to kill Buffy, and, it was a great coincidence that he happened to try when he was wearing a ring that makes the vampire wearing it invincible, which also helps Buffy because she gives it to Angel.
4B) But Angel smashes the ring, which wastes Buffy's efforts in 'The Harsh Light of Day.'
5) The fight scene between Buffy and Spike had great moves and showed once more that Buffy is not completely invincible.
|
|
|
|
Post by cyclica on May 12, 2010 16:02:10 GMT -5
Upon rewatching the first two episodes of season 4, it became apparant that the show was being taken in a new direction. With episode 3, they brought back a large number of past characters and pushed the 'adjusting to college life' subplot into the background. I can't help but wonder if this was a deliberate attempt to reassure viewers that the show won't be straying too far from how it was in the early years. Anya's back! The whole anya-likes-xander subplot was hilarious, anya attempting to seduce xander by talking off her clothes and then explaining her plans for sexual intercourse in such a mundane way was just classic. There's also some nice emotional to this subplot- when anya claims to be over xander the next morning, and he respondes with 'ok'. I felt bad for her, while also understanding xander's confusion as to what to do with the situation. It's touching how neither one of them knows what to do next. It's hard to feel too bad though, knowing they will eventually get together. Devon's back! And it's his final appearance, though he wasn't really developed enough for me to miss him. Harmony's back! I liked the reveal that harmony is a vampire (and she's so much more fun now she's evil), though I'm surprised willow didn't know. I mean, her dead body must have been clearly visible after the events of graduation day, and even if the whole gang didn't go back and check if anyone had died, surely they must have read about it in a newspaper or saw on the news. I know the town likes to pretend the supernatural doesn't exist, but if the school blows up, and multiple people die including the mayor and some kids, you'd think the details would be on the news. Even if harmony's name wasn't mentioned, you'd think the gang would want to know who had died and try to find out. But no. Spike's back! Blondie bear! Like I said before, I love how spike and buffy just run into each other at the party. And he and harmony make a very cute couple (especially when she's drawing love messages on his back, and he's telling her to kill antonio bandares), but I'm still not buying why they are together. I mean, I understand that spike was dumped by dru and is dating harmony on the rebound, and harmony is the kind of person who would want to date the 'most popular' vampire/guy in charge, and even put up with some abuse. But it's hard to picture them ever being happy together or even enjoying a first date (if vamps have them), they are just such very different people, who do nothing but make each other unhappy. We're meant to feel bad for harmony, especially when spike tries to stake her, but it just seemed inevitable that it wouldn't end well. I'm glad future episodes would portray their relationship more for comedy, and mostly leave emotions out. That guy buffy liked from the previous episode is back! The buffy/parker subplot is considered the main story, though to be honest it's the story I was the least interested in. We've already seen buffy date a guy who turned out to be evil (and they used a vampire metaphor), and we've already seen her try to get over angel and date a regular guy (scott). The parker subplot isn't a complete rehash, but we have seen this basic story before, and there's not really enough new here to get me interested or invested in. Besides, there was no supernatural element to it, it was just buffy dating a guy who turned out to be manipulative. And while I did feel for buffy, emotion-wise this soap opera story didn't compare to some we've seen in the past, like when she killed angel to save the world, or realised she was prophecised to die. Not that this subplot was all bad. I did enjoy the continuity of buffy still having the scar from where angel bit her (though I didn't notice it during the last two episodes). And I liked buffy pretending she's never dated a brooding guy, and later on finding the idea of her and spike dating to be so ridiculous it's laughable, which it is.  Speaking of spike, I enjoyed the fight at the end, where buffy's heart has just been broken and spike does everything he can to make things worse. This may be the last time we see the good old 'bad spike' you love to hate, and the idea of buffy facing an unkillable vampire was interesting. Minor nitpicks- - Spike is still saying 'ass' instead of 'arse'. - At one point he puts on a necklace, believeing it to be the gem of amara. In the next few shots the necklace keeps disappearing and reappearing. - Xander turn's on giles's tv, and it just happens to be the news, and they just happen to be telling the gang everything they needed to know to find spike? I wish tv's worked like that in real life. - Buffy and spike fight in public, and no one notices? Overall, while I do have a few issues with this episode, I still consider it above average. All three storylines have some emotional resonance with me, though it's all dating related troubles, which don't hold my interest as much as the life-and-death related storylines the show has done in the past (prophecy girl etc). There was also a lot of humour, continuity, and some set-ups for later. Not least of which is the gem of amara, which will play a bigger role in 'In the dark' on angel. I almost want to award an extra point soley for having a story that spans two tv shows, and I'm very happy to say that this is the first of many crossover storylines. Rating this episode on it's own though, I'm sticking with a 6. Oh and it turn's out those chains found in drucilla's trunk in 'beauty and the beasts' did belong to her, and she really was that kinky. |
|
|
|
Post by partcynic on May 14, 2010 8:52:51 GMT -5
That's an interesting point. I think you're right about the overall intention of this ep, though it still managed to do something new with its structure.
Agreed. I really enjoyed that plot thread.
Good point. I guess that the vampire could have perhaps dragged her away after biting her, and proceeded to have her drink from him elsewhere.
I guess this is more of an idiosyncratic thing, but I didn't have a problem with any of that. As you noted their pairing was consistent with their characterisation, and I never got the impression that we were supposed to buy them as a potential, long-lasting couple. If anything, their dynamic mirrored Buffy/Parker to a 't', and I don't think that knowing the relationship was doomed from the outset diminishes Harmony's pain.
I think it's unfair to dub this a soap-opera story, as it's vastly thematically/developmentally superior to anything a soap would put out (if you want soap, I think "Into the Woods" or "Hell's Bells" are better candidates from this series). In addition, the ideas were quite different from the ones with Angel and Parker, and while the post-sex problems were obviously intended to echo "Innocence", they did something new and told us something interesting about Buffy as a person.
That comparison might be a bit unfair. Both of those were arc-concluding season finales (with "Becoming" being the outcome of a half-season-long story), while this one was just a standalone.
Agreed - I noticed those too.
That's a very good summary.
|
|
|
|
Post by cyclica on May 15, 2010 18:23:35 GMT -5
It’s also interesting structurally, featuring three conceptually similar mini-stories that only overlap at the end – the first of its kind for the series, and a good example of the show successfully adjusting to the loss of its former focal location. Agreed. The first time watching I found the fact that it's three seperate stories to be interesting, but also frustrating. I kept expecting to see the whole gang together, but it never happened. - As always, the main characters get life-death leeway that minor ones don’t (Willow only needing a plaster despite having her neck bitten and being drunk from for several seconds; Spike not instantly bursting into flames when Buffy ripped the ring from him). Yeah the plaster thing was pretty ridiculous now that I think about it. As for spike, maybe older vampires are more resistant to sunlight? - After the Glove of Mynhegon and Balthazar’s amulet, I’m over random super-powerful artefacts lying around Sunnydale (you have to constantly ask why people haven’t gone after them before). Though at least the Gem of Amara was in a sealed underground crypt. Well it could be the influence of the hellmouth, drawing demons into town, who at some point die and leave their posessions behind. Spike really shouldn’t have shown Buffy the Gem on his hand (letting her know just what she needed to wrench from him) I wonder if the gem would have had the same effect on spike if he had put it on his toe, or swallowed it, or something like that. It would have made it a lot harder for buffy to remove. - Whoever made the decision to cut Buffy’s line that she was trying to prove she was over Angel to herself needed to be given a talking to – it was crucial to understanding her motivations, yet got inexplicably removed. Was that a cut scene available on dvd? I still only have the video so I wouldn't know. That comparison might be a bit unfair. Both of those were arc-concluding season finales (with "Becoming" being the outcome of a half-season-long story), while this one was just a standalone. Well ok, but those were just the first examples I could think of. There were some mid-season eps with scenes I found more emotional than the ones in 'THLOD'. Like buffy meeting her 'dad' in nightmares. Or everyone discovering jenny has died in passion. That's a very good summary. Thanks. |
|
|
|
Post by partcynic on May 17, 2010 15:49:07 GMT -5
Unfortunately, there aren't any deleted scenes. I remember reading an interview (or maybe it was a DVD commentary...) with Jane Espenson, where she mentioned that she was a little annoyed about that dialogue being cut. She felt that it compromised Buffy's motivations/development, and I'd be inclined to agree with her.
|
|
|
|
Post by cyclica on May 17, 2010 17:17:32 GMT -5
^ ah ok.
Did she say why the line was cut?
|
|
|
|
Post by partcynic on May 18, 2010 15:04:41 GMT -5
^As far as I know, it was just due to time constraints.
|
|
Speaking of spike, I enjoyed the fight at the end, where buffy's heart has just been broken and spike does everything he can to make things worse. This may be the last time we see the good old 'bad spike' you love to hate, and the idea of buffy facing an unkillable vampire was interesting.