|
|
Post by Clare on Sept 26, 2008 11:02:40 GMT -5
6.11 Gone - Episode #111
Buffy rediscovers her appetite for life after the nerds accidentally turn her invisible.
Review (also post a score out of 10) and discuss this episode.
|
|
|
|
Post by cyclica on May 30, 2009 12:03:24 GMT -5
Buffy becomes invisible, and uses her new power to become a jerk. That’s about all there is in this episode. She pulls pranks on people, has sex with spike in front of xander (how stupid must xander be to not notice what’s going on there?) and gets a haircut, because spike likes her long hair and she wants to annoy him. This isn’t the same buffy from earlier seasons, nor is this the same buffy from earlier this season. Or even the same buffy since the last episode. Had the writer never seen the show before?
This episode gets a 4 if only because it’s good to see buffy in a lighter mood, and willow not messing around with magic. The only highlight of this whiole episode was jonathan on the phone, pretending to be ’nobody, no one you know’.
Oh and the invisible gun, like the rocket launcher and the freeze ray, will never be seen again, regardless of how useful it would be against bad guys in later eps.
|
|
|
|
Post by partcynic on Nov 27, 2010 11:23:24 GMT -5
6x11 “Gone”
Episode Rating = 4
Coming after the miserable parades of suckiness that were “Smashed” and “Wrecked”, “Gone” was lumbered with what was probably one of the most thankless roles in the show. With those two eps being especially poor additions to plots that were already slow, repetitive and happy to ignore character consistency, it would have been a tough proposition to make an edition that could be good without completely disregarding what had come before. Miraculously, “Gone” somehow managed to make the best of a dire situation, wisely aiming for fluffy comedy and even managing to incorporate some bona fide character development in the process. As such, it ends up being more of a legitimate episode than many of the connectors we’ve gotten this season, and one that’s actually grown on me over time.
What I Liked about “Gone”:
- As sad as the thought is, it was fantastic to have an episode that followed the proper template for a standalone. The story here progressed several character arcs, with Buffy in particular making a bit of progress (even if it was figuring out what didn’t work for her), and did so in context of a single story with an interesting theme – and for S6, that’s a big achievement.
- The episode was smart in that while it utilised a similar concept to “Out of Mind, Out of Sight”, it kept the plot, theme, invisibility mechanism and character responses to said invisibility completely different. I loved how Xander’s first response to ‘seeing’ Buffy was to ask if she’d been feeling ignored lately, as well as her prompt answer that it “wasn’t a Marcie deal”.
- Although the invisibility gun is similar to the freeze ray and time disrupter in owing more to comic books than the Buffyverse , I liked that a supernatural justification was given for its abilities. Knowing that the diamond the nerds stole had mystical powers helped make the gun more believable, and built nicely upon the S4 concept of mixing magic with technology.
- There’s a respectable amount of humour here, and big chunks of it are funny. I enjoyed all of Buffy’s tricks (particularly swiping the traffic warden’s cart, and teasing Doris with the mug), and it was fun to see her in an (all-too-rare) upbeat mood. For some reason, I was also amused by the way the invisible fight scene was filmed, and the early stuff with Doris’ visit was decent too (and a believable example of the show dealing with an appropriate, grown-up issue).
- The nerds were generally okay in this episode. While their dialogue continues to be over-reliant on pop culture refs (and Tom Lenk can’t act his way out of a paper bag), their behaviours were actually relevant to the plot, and there was arc progression in both Buffy learning their identities and Jonathon’s increasing concern about Warren’s ethics. They even have some genuinely funny moments (Jonathon’s “nobody you know” on the phone; Warren mangling ‘nemeses’; and the smoke bomb and locked door), which was a first for them this season.
What I Disliked about “Gone”:
- Spike’s behaviour at the start has him right back in molester mode, and having him forcibly fondle Buffy despite her protestations (just as in the last episode) was offensive and misogynistic. It’s hard to believe that series that calls itself feminist is going down the ‘she says no repeatedly, but she secretly wants it, so it’s okay to do’ route, and the characters are behaving so erratically that the writers’ stated aim for this story (that Spike is a bad guy preying on a vulnerable Buffy) isn’t being portrayed.
- The whole magic addiction plot has been a trainwreck, and what’s especially problematic is that it won’t go away. It’s at least been reduced from an A-plot to a C-plot, though the time it ate up was still annoying. Buffy’s comments about Willow being a drowning victim continue to show that the writers have chosen to ignore Willow’s past development, and the ‘will she or won’t she cast a spell’ scenes at the Summers house and the Espresso Pump were trivial. On top of that, I also hated her touchiness when Xander implied that she was responsible for Buffy’s invisibility. I get that she doesn’t want to be blamed for something she didn’t do, but it’s not like her prior actions didn’t give the others multiple reasons to suspect her.
- While I don’t advocate violence in real life, I have to say that I was hoping someone would shake some sense into Dawn every time she appeared. I understand her being upset with Buffy and Willow (and she has every right to feel that way), but as I’ve stated multiple times before, there are ways for her to display anger without resorting to bratty fits. The character’s hissing and terrible lines about “get[ting] me into another car accident” weren’t emotional, funny, insightful or interesting to watch, and her behaviour with invisible Buffy was even worse. Instead of asking Buffy what had happened or making a suggestion about how they could deal with things, she just shrieks and squeals before running away. Sure, there may be some real-life teens who’d behave that obnoxiously, but I wouldn’t want to watch them on TV either.
- When the nerds were planning to sneak into the women’s spa, why were they wielding their gun in public? Wouldn’t it have been better to turn themselves invisible beforehand (perhaps in their van), rather than doing it in broad daylight, in full view of anyone who was walking nearby?
- It was good for Xander to finally get out of the Magic Box and do something, but does he no longer have a job? It’s equally troublesome that all he and Anya seem to do now is have repetitive chats about the wedding (which add nothing to the plot, and waste their screentime), and I’m also confused as to why the Magic Box never seems to have any customers. Has Anya running things been that bad for business?
- Doris overreacts to invisible-Buffy’s taunts. It’s fine that she was creeped out by what was happening, but would anyone really tell their co-workers that their mug was talking to them, or (even worse) inform their supervisor that they were hearing voices? Wouldn’t it be more likely that she’d tell him she was feeling unwell, and take leave for the afternoon?
- Shouldn’t Xander have seen through Spike’s ‘push-up’ excuse, especially when someone was giggling behind him, and he was blatantly trying to bat an invisible force away?
- It’s strange that no one is disturbed by the disembodied voices chatting in the arcade, nor the presence of half-visible objects in the middle of the street (when Willow’s going over things with the spray paint).
Do I like this episode more or less than the last time I watched it?
Maybe I’m getting soft, but I liked it quite a bit more. After the last two miserable excuses for “Buffy” eps, it was great to have a lighthearted show that made me laugh at a couple of points, and while this is quite flawed, most of its problems are holdovers from other parts of the seasons as opposed to anything new. Considering that “Smashed” and “Wrecked” left this with practically nothing to work with, it’s impressive that it managed to be so enjoyable, and it’s wonderful that the ‘theme + plot = humour and character development’ formula got to be applied one more time. Though there’s still too much nonsense with Dawn and Willow’s addiction, “Gone” is definitely an ep I have a newfound appreciation for, and I’m consequently awarding it a four out of ten (my third highest mark for a S6 ep).
|
|
|
|
Post by cyclica on Jan 16, 2011 16:23:59 GMT -5
I loved how Xander’s first response to ‘seeing’ Buffy was to ask if she’d been feeling ignored lately, as well as her prompt answer that it “wasn’t a Marcie deal”. Continuity! Woo! Now I think about it... shouldn't dawn have become invisible at some point in s6? - There’s a respectable amount of humour here, and big chunks of it are funny. I enjoyed all of Buffy’s tricks (particularly swiping the traffic warden’s cart, and teasing Doris with the mug) I would have found those scenes funnier if it was one of the nerds pulling those pranks. It was completely out of character for buffy, especially at this point. - While I don’t advocate violence in real life, I have to say that I was hoping someone would shake some sense into Dawn every time she appeared. I understand her being upset with Buffy and Willow (and she has every right to feel that way), but as I’ve stated multiple times before, there are ways for her to display anger without resorting to bratty fits. The character’s hissing and terrible lines about “get[ting] me into another car accident” weren’t emotional, funny, insightful or interesting to watch, and her behaviour with invisible Buffy was even worse. Instead of asking Buffy what had happened or making a suggestion about how they could deal with things, she just shrieks and squeals before running away. Sure, there may be some real-life teens who’d behave that obnoxiously, but I wouldn’t want to watch them on TV either. Agreed, dawn was a pain in this episode. - It was good for Xander to finally get out of the Magic Box and do something, but does he no longer have a job? It’s equally troublesome that all he and Anya seem to do now is have repetitive chats about the wedding (which add nothing to the plot, and waste their screentime) Agreed. Those wedding chats were a waste of time for both of them. and I’m also confused as to why the Magic Box never seems to have any customers. Has Anya running things been that bad for business? I assume all the customers are off-screen, and there's no reason for us to see them. Aside from to make the show look realistic I mean. - Shouldn’t Xander have seen through Spike’s ‘push-up’ excuse, especially when someone was giggling behind him, and he was blatantly trying to bat an invisible force away? Ha, that scene was terrible! I kept expecting xander to shout out 'Buffy! Knock it off! I know it's you' or something like that. - It’s strange that no one is disturbed by the disembodied voices chatting in the arcade, nor the presence of half-visible objects in the middle of the street (when Willow’s going over things with the spray paint). Well I'd buy that no one noticed the voices, or assumed they were coming from someone nearby. And a half-vanished traffic cone from a distance looks like a half-broken traffic cone, it's not worth going over and investigating. Maybe I’m getting soft, but I liked it quite a bit more. After the last two miserable excuses for “Buffy” eps, it was great to have a lighthearted show that made me laugh at a couple of points, and while this is quite flawed, most of its problems are holdovers from other parts of the seasons as opposed to anything new. Considering that “Smashed” and “Wrecked” left this with practically nothing to work with, it’s impressive that it managed to be so enjoyable, and it’s wonderful that the ‘theme + plot = humour and character development’ formula got to be applied one more time. Yup. I’m consequently awarding it a four out of ten (my third highest mark for a S6 ep). Hah, how sad.  ...I stand by my 4 too. |
|
|
|
Post by partcynic on Jan 17, 2011 19:06:28 GMT -5
To be fair, I think there's more to it than that. In fact, this is one of the only S6 eps that goes beyond pure surface. Very. Wasn't that the whole point? Being invisible led Buffy to feel liberated from all of the heavy expectations placed upon her, and she responded by doing things she wouldn't normally do. She then realised that her newfound freedom had a cost and sobered up, which is completely in character. It was about much more than that. Self-damage is a classic abuse victim response (and in the Buffy/Spike story, the writers want Buffy to be the victim) - you try to make yourself unappealing to your abuser so they'll leave you alone. In this case, Spike made reference to how much he loved Buffy's hair, and that coupled with Buffy's feelings of powerlessness at not being able to get rid of him (and the disastrous meeting with the social worker) led her to try and seize control by hacking off the object of his affection. In theory, yes. Perhaps she could also become mute. ;D It'd have been great if he did - and a more interesting outcome than the one we got in "Entropy". |
|
|
|
Post by cyclica on Jan 18, 2011 13:29:51 GMT -5
Wasn't that the whole point? Being invisible led Buffy to feel liberated from all of the heavy expectations placed upon her, and she responded by doing things she wouldn't normally do. She then realised that her newfound freedom had a cost and sobered up, which is completely in character. I understand that that's what they were going for, they just didn't do a very good job of it. The way it looked to me was that buffy had spontaneously developed a new personality. There was no reflection on how becoming invisible might give buffy an opportunity to change to a new lifestyle which she might enjoy more, or use her new ability to fulfill her desires. She just immediately starts pulling childish pranks on people without caring how those people feel, or that she could be noticed. SMG's voice acting was a factor too, making buffy too bubbly too soon. It was about much more than that. Self-damage is a classic abuse victim response (and in the Buffy/Spike story, the writers want Buffy to be the victim) - you try to make yourself unappealing to your abuser so they'll leave you alone. In this case, Spike made reference to how much he loved Buffy's hair, and that coupled with Buffy's feelings of powerlessness at not being able to get rid of him (and the disastrous meeting with the social worker) led her to try and seize control by hacking off the object of his affection. Well ok. When angel became angelus he broke buffy's heart, tried to kill her and killed jenny, buffy responded by kicking him in the balls. When spike was kind of a pest, buffy cut her hair to shoo him away. Meh. |
|
|
|
Post by partcynic on Jan 18, 2011 18:30:58 GMT -5
Come on - you're being willfully obtuse here. You can't strip situations of all their context like that and compare them as though they're the same thing. If anything, this argument makes Buffy's S2 actions sound pathetic, not the ones in "Gone".
|
|
