|
|
Post by Clare on Sept 26, 2008 11:14:06 GMT -5
6.17 Normal Again - Episode #117
Buffy is stabbed by a demon whose venom makes her think that her life as the Slayer is a delusion.
Review (also post a score out of 10) and discuss this episode.
|
|
|
|
Post by cyclica on May 30, 2009 12:14:29 GMT -5
Ok so the nerds are in their new lair, which looks a lot like their old lair. Andrew decided to attack buffy by summoning a demon with his didgeridoo. Hmm, must be an Australian demon.
From this point on the episode actually gets good. I found the whole idea of buffy really being some girl in an asylum to be fascinating. And as an added bonus, we gets to see both joyce and hank again, and also xander and willow are patrolling for the first time since bargaining.
Unfortunately the episode had to fudge the continuity in order to make sense. So it turns out buffy’s been in an insane asylum before, because she told her parents she fights demons. This doesn’t really tie in with Becoming though, where she tells joyce she fight demons for apparently the second time.
The scene near the end where buffy attacks her friends was great, I really felt the tension. How will they get out of this one? But then tara shows up out of the blue and saves everyone with magic. Lame.
And of course showing buffy still in the asylum at the end makes no sense. But the concept and originality of the main plot are good enough to balance out a few bad scenes.
I’m giving this ep a low 5.
|
|
|
|
Post by partcynic on Dec 29, 2010 11:05:32 GMT -5
6x17 “Normal Again”
Episode Rating = 3
Something must be wrong with me, because this is the third S6 episode I’ve liked more upon rewatching (not that I’m going to change my view on the year as a whole – it’s still sub-par). Perhaps it’s just the comparison effect after the mess that was “Hell’s Bells”, but it was simply rewarding to get an episode that tried to develop the characters, even if it did so by way of some dodgy continuity and melodramatic revelations. Despite its multiple flaws, “Normal Again” is much more worthy of analysis than many shows this season, and its ‘is it all a dream?’ scenario is used a lot more intelligently than the year’s typical style would have you believe.
What I Liked about “Normal Again”:
- Overall, the plot and theme were solid, and I liked how an otherwise clichéd and unoriginal scenario was (somewhat) subverted.
- While the institution story itself required a lot of fudging, I thought that some of the minor details woven into the hospital chat were smart. The idea of Buffy’s death at the end of S5 being the point at which she started to come out of her delusion was clever, as was the statement that her friends had ‘pulled her back in’. The doctor’s analysis of Buffy’s fantasy world was pretty astute, and I liked the sly digs at some of the problems of the last two years (the Key concept and the inconsistencies that Dawn’s arrival created; the total irrelevance of the nerds), as well as the blatant statement that the series had lost its way.
- Buffy’s depression has been so stop-start and/or ignored in favour of sex sessions with Spike that it was nice to get some actual insight as to how she now sees the world. I understood why asylum Buffy didn’t want to go back to the ever-miserable Sunnydale, and this was the first time since the end of “After Life” that I was really able to feel what she felt.
- It’s good to see Joyce and Hank again, and even better that they had a legitimate role in the plot. I felt for Buffy as she saw 1) her mother alive and 2) her parents back together, and they were a powerful incentive to her wanting to ‘recover’. However, knowing that the show was willing to bring Hank back (and that the actor was available), I have to ask why he didn’t make an appearance at some point following Joyce’s death.
- Now that the addiction stuff is over, Willow is becoming a better character. Without every statement and action she makes being twisted to hammer home her problem, she was able to do something constructive, and she was back to being the sweet, supportive character that used to be so likeable. It was a great retro touch to have her actively engage in research again, and her interactions with Buffy were caring yet firm.
- There’s a neat visual contrast between the asylum scenes (cold and blue) and those set in the Summers home (warm and orange), which helps communicate their respective emotions effectively.
What I Disliked about “Normal Again”:
- As with “Hell’s Bells”, this episode’s sequencing feels off. This ep could easily have happened in the first half of the season, and nothing in Buffy’s story/development would have changed. If memory serves, I think I once read that this was originally intended to be episode seven, and it’s a shame it wasn’t kept that way (if only because we would have been saved from Spuffy).
- The material with the nerds was as uninvolving as ever. Despite being brief, their scenes still featured predictable, unfunny pop culture jokes, and we weren’t told enough about their new scheme for it to be interesting. In terms of the character dynamic, it makes sense that Jonathon is having issues with the group, but his upcoming ‘betrayal’ of Warren should have happened several episodes ago. At this point, his staying with the Trio makes little sense for the character, and isn’t conducive to an engaging plot.
- Though it was consistent with “Life Serial”, Andrew’s arbitrary ‘summon demons via musical instruments’ powers are silly. I’m assuming they deliberately chose to have him use a didgeridoo for extra absurdity.
- The stinger demon looked plastic and cheap, and I think his costume could have been more imaginative than a dilapidated poncho. I would have also liked to know more about his powers – would being injected with his poison cause bizarre hallucinations in everyone, and would different people have different ‘trips’? Was there a specific reason that Buffy’s involved a mental institution, or was that just the poison working in conjunction with her painful memories?
- The revelation that Hank and Joyce had sent Buffy at a mental institution was a blatant retcon that fails to sit with established canon. It’s impossible to believe that this course of events actually happened, and is yet another example of the characters being twisted to suit the plot. By inserting it as fact, the show has created a large number of issues. Firstly, it’s nonsensical that Buffy’s parents would just ‘forget’ what had happened, and you also have to wonder why Joyce was never concerned when Buffy made constant jokes about ‘saving the world from vampires’ and was horribly upset by her forced hospitalisation (in “Killed By Death”); nor why they never discussed Buffy’s institutionalisation when Joyce was confronted with the reality of vampires and Slayerhood at the start of S3.
- The show is trying to make Xander sympathetic, but I can’t see him as anything but an ass. He deserves no pity when he hurt and humiliated Anya so badly, and did so only because he was too much of a coward to tell her about his misgivings in the eight-or-so months he had between proposing and the wedding. In addition, the dialogue in his self-pitying chat with Buffy and Willow was hackneyed (“there’s this hole deep inside me”), and it’s hard to believe his audacity in still wanting to date Anya.
- Spike and Buffy continue to be an eternal mystery, as their personalities and the nature of their relationship change from episode to episode. I wasn’t impressed by Spike’s ‘martyr’ speech (note how he completely ignored his role in coercing her into sex and preying upon her psychological vulnerability), though I will say I got a bit of joy from seeing Xander punch him in the early graveyard scene.
- In case I haven’t stated it enough over the last few reviews, Dawn drives me up the wall. She seems to be a character who takes one step forward and three back, and her sour-faced comments about Buffy not wanting her around were played out in “Dead Things” and “Older and Far Away”. Once again, the writers chose to have her behave in a spiteful, self-centred manner – it’s fine for her to be stung by the news that Buffy’s perfect reality doesn’t feature her, but she should also be aware that her sister’s under the influence of a powerful, hallucinogenic demon-drug, and thus isn’t wholly responsible for her actions.
- Tara’s appearance at the Summers house smacked of deus ex machina, and was an easy road out of the tricky situation that had been established. It felt like there was a missing scene between Willow seeing her at the university with another girl and her arrival at the house, and her motivations for showing up aren’t clear. I’m assuming that she wanted to chat with Willow about what she’d seen and let her know she was still single, but couldn’t she have just phoned (and perhaps had Dawn answer just before Buffy attacked, meaning that she’d overhear and would have a reason to rush to the Summers house)?
- The ‘oh, Sunnydale’s real after all – or is it?’ ending was pathetic, and a cheap way of throwing one last shock into the story.
Do I like this episode more or less than the last time I watched it?
In a pleasant change of pattern, I like it quite a bit more. Going back and reading my previous critiques of this ep, I realised that I had the emphasis all wrong – while each of the complaints I listed are significant issues, it also has a number of things going for it that other S6 shows can’t provide. No matter how sloppily it many have been written and framed, “Normal Again” is at least instrumental at lifting Buffy out of her yearlong depression, and did so via the classic “Buffy” formula of taking a well-worn narrative device, turning it on its head, and using it to develop the characters. The improvement from “Hell’s Bells” (which unlike this ep, took a cliché and played it as a cliché) is marked, and while “Normal Again” won’t be troubling the best eps of the show any time soon, I’m happy to bump up its grade to a three out of ten.
|
|
|
|
Post by cyclica on May 28, 2011 14:31:53 GMT -5
- While the institution story itself required a lot of fudging, I thought that some of the minor details woven into the hospital chat were smart. The idea of Buffy’s death at the end of S5 being the point at which she started to come out of her delusion was clever, as was the statement that her friends had ‘pulled her back in’. The doctor’s analysis of Buffy’s fantasy world was pretty astute, and I liked the sly digs at some of the problems of the last two years (the Key concept and the inconsistencies that Dawn’s arrival created; the total irrelevance of the nerds), as well as the blatant statement that the series had lost its way. - Buffy’s depression has been so stop-start and/or ignored in favour of sex sessions with Spike that it was nice to get some actual insight as to how she now sees the world. I understood why asylum Buffy didn’t want to go back to the ever-miserable Sunnydale, and this was the first time since the end of “After Life” that I was really able to feel what she felt. - It’s good to see Joyce and Hank again, and even better that they had a legitimate role in the plot. I felt for Buffy as she saw 1) her mother alive and 2) her parents back together, and they were a powerful incentive to her wanting to ‘recover’. ^ Agreed to all. However, knowing that the show was willing to bring Hank back (and that the actor was available), I have to ask why he didn’t make an appearance at some point following Joyce’s death. Yep. I don't know how he could have fitted in, but I would have liked to have seen him. It's bizarre how often he's mentioned but never appears, even after joyce's death. The show makes him out to be a jerk, for seemingly no reason beyond men=bad and women=good. Actually, I'm almost surprised the original actor agreed to come back, given how his character has portrayed. - Though it was consistent with “Life Serial”, Andrew’s arbitrary ‘summon demons via musical instruments’ powers are silly. I’m assuming they deliberately chose to have him use a didgeridoo for extra absurdity. I kinda liked how demons could be summoned in different ways like that. It's not like using incantations and spell ingredients makes any more sense. Why not a magic musical instrument? - The stinger demon looked plastic and cheap, and I think his costume could have been more imaginative than a dilapidated poncho. I would have also liked to know more about his powers – would being injected with his poison cause bizarre hallucinations in everyone, and would different people have different ‘trips’? Was there a specific reason that Buffy’s involved a mental institution, or was that just the poison working in conjunction with her painful memories? I assumed it was some combination of the two- the demon's supernatural poison preys upon someone's memories and created the 'world' from there. So yes different people would have different trips, but the end result would be the same. - The revelation that Hank and Joyce had sent Buffy at a mental institution was a blatant retcon that fails to sit with established canon. It’s impossible to believe that this course of events actually happened, and is yet another example of the characters being twisted to suit the plot. By inserting it as fact, the show has created a large number of issues. Firstly, it’s nonsensical that Buffy’s parents would just ‘forget’ what had happened, and you also have to wonder why Joyce was never concerned when Buffy made constant jokes about ‘saving the world from vampires’ and was horribly upset by her forced hospitalisation (in “Killed By Death”); nor why they never discussed Buffy’s institutionalisation when Joyce was confronted with the reality of vampires and Slayerhood at the start of S3. Yeah I have to ignore the whole 'buffy's been in an asylum before' thing, otherwise many moments of the earlier seasons wouldn't make sense. Although, previous seasons aside, it was clever that buffy could beleive this world was real, otherwise she would wake up in an asylum, realise it's a dream straight away, and try to find a way out, and there wouldn't be as much emotional resonance. Both this story and the previous 'joyce discovers buffys slayer side' storyline are good, it's a shame they contradict each other, and that this one has to be ignored for the 'greater good'. - The show is trying to make Xander sympathetic, but I can’t see him as anything but an ass. He deserves no pity when he hurt and humiliated Anya so badly, and did so only because he was too much of a coward to tell her about his misgivings in the eight-or-so months he had between proposing and the wedding. I really don't like how buffy and willow just take xander back, as though anya was and always will be just a comic relief demon to them, no matter how much progress she's made or how much she helps the gang. It doesn't seem realistic that buffy and willow would act this way, it's as though they are merely saying the lines the writer puts into their mouths, and the writer is giving xander special treatment just because he's been on the show from the beginning. Well anya's been on the show for 3 years now, her character should be treated with more respect then that. And I'm not happy about her being missing from this episode either.  - In case I haven’t stated it enough over the last few reviews, Dawn drives me up the wall. Really?  This is the first I've heard about it! She seems to be a character who takes one step forward and three back, and her sour-faced comments about Buffy not wanting her around were played out in “Dead Things” and “Older and Far Away”. Once again, the writers chose to have her behave in a spiteful, self-centred manner – it’s fine for her to be stung by the news that Buffy’s perfect reality doesn’t feature her, but she should also be aware that her sister’s under the influence of a powerful, hallucinogenic demon-drug, and thus isn’t wholly responsible for her actions. ^ Agreed, this was one of my least favourite episodes for dawn. - Tara’s appearance at the Summers house smacked of deus ex machina, and was an easy road out of the tricky situation that had been established. It felt like there was a missing scene between Willow seeing her at the university with another girl and her arrival at the house, and her motivations for showing up aren’t clear. Yep. Hey why not have it be anya who shows up, to find buffy and talk about the events of the wedding, or to get buffy to make a wish? - The ‘oh, Sunnydale’s real after all – or is it?’ ending was pathetic, and a cheap way of throwing one last shock into the story. As a way to 'get us thinking' it's fine, but in the context of the story it makes no sense. They might as well have ended with buffy pulling off her face and be revealed to be an alien in a mask. Do I like this episode more or less than the last time I watched it? In a pleasant change of pattern, I like it quite a bit more. Cool.  It's certainly not a great episode, but within season 6 it's one of my favourites. I'm sticking with my old 'low 5' score. |
|
|
|
Post by partcynic on May 29, 2011 15:41:21 GMT -5
Lol! I agree with all of these points. Yep. I'd be willing to offer the benefit of the doubt and wonder if the actor was simply unavailable when they were filming the end of S5/opening of S6, but it's more likely that they trashed the character just so Buffy could be forced to suffer more. Agreed. If this ep had had (for example) Joss writing, it would certainly have been one of the best (as opposed to better) offerings of S6, but even then, there's no way it would ever sit comfortably in the series' canon. I'm in full agreement regarding Buffy and Willow's reactions to Xander. I understand that they're going to be the people most likely to sympathise with him, but some solidarity with Anya would have been nice too. I think Buffy has one line in which she gently points out the ridiculousness of his position, but aside from that, it's plain sailing. Then again, Xander has a near-permanent 'dodge the bullet' card. He gets away with things no other character would be permitted to ignore, and that's always been annoying. I didn't mind Anya being absent here, though. Her not being about made sense in context of the character and the plot, and the screentime she gets in the next episode makes up for the lack of it here. Shocking, I know.  Cool. I like that it's at least apparent why I'm no fan of the character here. Lol again - though the sad thing is, that would still have been better than the actual ending. |
|
This is the first I've heard about it!
