4.17 Superstar

[Clare]

4.17 Superstar - Episode #073
Oh, Jonathon! The gang tries to work out why a former high school nerd is now the centre of everyone's universe.

Review (also post a score out of 10) and discuss this episode.

[cyclica]

This episode started off good, seeing jonathan being the hero was fun (plus the opening credits were filled with fake jonathan clips), but after a while it became boring, I just wanted it all to be resolved. And like partcynic said, the demon wasn't all that scary. (Jonathan said it wasn't a demon, just a monster, barely more than an animal... is that a real thing in the buffyverse? Or was he just making it up?)

There were a few good moments, like jonathan in the initiative ("finally they're bringing in the big guns") and jonathan apparantly having lead buffy's life (she gave him the class protector award), but there are bad moments too, like anya being more of a jerk than usual, and hey since when did jonathan get to be so powerful?

Overall its not a bad episode, but not great. I give this ep a 6.

[partcynic]

4x17 “Superstar”

Episode Rating = 5

Every time I’ve watched this, I’ve been left with a rather weird feeling, but it wasn’t until now that I realised why that is. Of all the “Buffy” episodes, this is the one that comes the closest to demolishing the fourth wall, and while the show’s awareness of tropes and willingness to play with them is one of its calling cards, this is one of the times I feel like I’m being condescended to as a viewer. At its core, “Superstar” is an indictment of fans that produce low-quality, derivative works to fulfil their own power fantasies, and while I’m all for critiquing poor writing and mocking Mary-Sues, this ep feels like a below-the-belt punch. I don’t personally believe there’s anything wrong with not-for-profit fanfic, and I dodge the bad stuff by simply not bothering to read any (after all, if I want a good ep of the show, I’ll just watch one). I don’t really see why Joss’ disapproval of a certain segment of fans had to be the plot basis of an entire episode (and a weakly constructed one at that). Thankfully, Jane Espenson is able to keep most of the dialogue light and funny, and the spots of good development are enough to erase the sour taste this episode otherwise leaves.

What I Liked about “Superstar”:

- Qualms about its execution aside, the concept here is cool, and up there with “Hush” and “Restless” in terms of originality and daringness. It took guts to drop the viewer into what was essentially an alternate reality and not even hint at anything being wrong until the halfway point, and I respect that willingness to take risks.

- Overall, the mystery is handled well. Things are off right from the start (Buffy’s first staking was more about luck than skill), and the consequent introductions of the monster (and then Jonathon’s connection to it) came at the right times. It was interesting that Buffy was the only person who seemed to be questioning what was happening, and her slow realisation was well-matched with the viewer’s understanding.

- Jonathon is a decent character, and it’s interesting to see what he’s gotten up to since graduating from Sunnydale High. Credit should also go to Danny Strong, who always does a good job with his acting, and makes his character entertaining throughout the episode.

- It’s great fun to look for all of the Jonathon-related items (the posters, billboards, trading cards, comics, cereal etc). The modified credits were also done in good spirit, and I liked the little callbacks to prior shows (such as Jonathon defusing a bomb, “Zeppo”-style).

- This ep is fine in terms of character development; with Jonathon’s eventual realisation that he had to give up his fantasy life (and deciding to help Buffy, even though it would ultimately be detrimental to him) being a nice bit of forward progression.

- The fallout from Riley/Faith was handled quickly and effectively. The characters all reacted understandably to the situation, and I felt for each of them. I also appreciated that Riley wasn’t made out to be the bad guy (after all, what happened was hardly his fault), and Jonathon’s two conversations with Buffy (at the cafe, and then once the spell was broken) were very well written.

- I liked the contrast between Xander and Riley and their approaches to the reality shift. I thought it said a lot that Xander was willing to dismiss Buffy in favour of maintaining the status quo, while Riley sided with her despite thinking her suggestion was nonsensical.

- Most of the humour is strong, and while I can’t say anything really made me laugh, Anya and Xander both had some memorable lines (like the world of shrimp).

What I Disliked about “Superstar”:

- The logistics of Jonathon’s spell are too much for the show to handle. It’s hard to believe that there’s a spell out there that’s capable of transforming the entire universe, and that it can be successfully performed by someone with little innate power or magical experience (even in S6, Jonathon isn’t that skilled, let alone at this point). Knowing that this is out there, you have to wonder why the Scoobs aren’t bowing before a new god every episode.

- Considering that it was billed as “the worst of everything; everyone’s nightmare”, the monster produced by the spell needed to be stronger and more frightening. As is, we got given something that resembled a generic demon Buffy would usually eliminate before the opening credits – and that made the whole thing underwhelming.

- I like Jonathon, but it bugged me that he got to headline an entire episode when characters that are in sore need of development (Xander/Giles) are being denied screentime. It’s especially frustrating when you think that Xander’s feelings of post high-school inadequacy/worthlessness would have made him the perfect candidate for doing this spell (sure, he knows messing with magic is wrong, but the writers were happy to ignore that in “OMWF”, and turning to magic could have actually been used as a symbol of his desperation). In fact, if the writers had been bold and made him the superstar (and then given him significant development at the end), I’d happily have bumped my score for this ep up a couple of points.

- I felt that the plot took several liberties with other story threads, and used Jonathon’s transformation as a quick-and-easy tool for avoiding exposition elsewhere. For example, we learn a crucial bit of info about Adam here (his power source, and that he can theoretically be stopped if it’s removed), but you have to wonder if the characters would ever have realised this if Jonathon hadn’t done his spell.

- Tara suddenly hanging with the Scooby group was jarring. Although she met Buffy in the previous episode, she’s never encountered the others before, and her shyness would mean that they wouldn’t bond instantly. Her seamless integration also appeared to be a way of dodging issues pertaining to her relationship with Willow – she’s obviously met the group as Willow’s friend, but mightn’t she be a little hurt by not being acknowledged as a partner? I can see her being one-hundred percent understanding/accommodating of Willow’s situation, but the network’s obstinacy about showing a same-sex couple is preventing a large number of interesting issues from being explored.

- There’s a sloppy edit when Willow, Buffy and Tara are walking through the university campus. When Tara says goodbye and heads off, the reaction shot of Willow shows Tara’s lips obviously moving, even though she’s not saying anything at that point.

- Why did the monster randomly turn up on the university campus? And what kind of campus is that deserted at night?

- Once again, Anya is portrayed as being too stupid. She’s funny, but it would be much more satisfying if her humour was accompanied by believable characterisation.

- The bottomless-pit-of-doom in the monster’s cave was rather convenient.

- We’ve now had five or six episodes with a tacked-on Spike scene. I like the character and think that he’s portrayed by an excellent actor, but his current material feels more like the product of contractual obligations than a desire to progress his story.

Do I like this episode more or less than the last time I watched it?

Back when I made my original master list of ratings, I had “Superstar” ranked as a four, but I later decided that that didn’t do justice to its ambition and creativity. While I still think that this ep makes the error of attempting to bite off more than it can chew, I enjoy it as a piece of meta-commentary on fanfic writers, and it has plenty of respectable humour as well as an appropriate resolution for the issues caused by Faith’s liaison with Riley. As such, I’ve bumped it up to a five out of ten, which strikes a better balance in acknowledging its multiple strengths and weaknesses.