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Post by Clare on Sept 23, 2008 8:12:13 GMT -5
2.08 The Dark Age - Episode #020
A demon that Giles once helped to conjure comes back to 'haunt' him
Review (also post a score out of 10) and discuss this episode.
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Post by cyclica on Sept 26, 2008 10:57:01 GMT -5
One of the weakest episodes in season 2. This is the episode where we find out giles used to be a rebel when he was buffy's age, and in a way shows why he is so uptight now (he wants buffy to not make the same mistakes he made, and stick to doing good, like slaying). But this ep is kinda dark, they didn't wait long enough after halloween to bring back ethan, and posessed jenny is just weird.
I would just like to mention though- I loved the end scene, where buffy comforts giles, and threatens to play dance music while she trains, just so he can complain about it. That was great.
I gave this episode a 4.
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Post by cyclica on Oct 26, 2009 15:15:24 GMT -5
Upon rewatching this episode, I enjoyed it a little more than before. The giles/jenny interaction is great (Jenny- "Did anyone ever tell you you're kind of a fuddy-duddy?" Giles- "Nobody ever seems to tell me anything else." Jenny- "Did anyone ever tell you you're kind of a sexy fuddy-duddy?" Giles- "Well, no. Actually that, that part usually gets left out. I can't imagine why."), they are possibly the most fun couple to watch on the show.
Ethan was as always a fun villain, and the scoobies couldn't have been better. I especially loved willow leading the research team and breaking up a fight between xander and cordelia. Willow yelling at cordelia was a scene that could never have happened during season 1, it really shows how much the characters have changed. Cordy is pretty much a full member of the scooby gang by this point, as shown by one hilarious scene where buffy gives xander and willow jobs to do, and cordy cheerfully hops in front of buffy and waits for her orders, to buffy's total surprise.
This episode was let down, however, by the main story. As I've said before I'm not totally on board with the 'colourful past' backstory for giles. And they never did explain why the demon was back, or why it would be on a murderous rampage after all this time. Why would it want to kill giles? And why would it go after buffy instead of ethan after he tattoos her, does the demon just hate that tattoo? Surely if it knows ethan, it would go after ethan, and his removing his own tattoo wouldn't make a difference.
I'm bumping this episode up to a low 5. It has some good scenes and lots of humour, but I can't bump it any higher, with the story being the way it is.
More nitpicks-
- If giles knows the demon can infect unconscious bodies, and saw the (bad cgi) pool of demon liquid touching jenny, shouldn't he have known she could have become infected? Maybe he didn't see the liquid touch her... but where else would he be looking, if not at the person he cares most about, or the potential threat that is the liquid?
- When philip was strangled by diedre at the start, he didn't put up any fight at all. Survival instinct?
- I would have thought buffy would be strong enough to rip apart those ropes after ethan tied her up.
- The entrance to giles's house is different in this episode (and the rest of the season 2 I beleive) than it is from season 3 onwards. Though obviously that's a fault with later episodes.
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Post by partcynic on Oct 27, 2009 10:40:35 GMT -5
Onward with comments...
I agree. I loved all of their scenes together - it's a shame that this ep is the last real time we get to see them be 'couple-y'.
Agreed with all. I made similar comments in my now-lost review.
That's fair enough - I think this is a pure case of personal preference. I was actually quite happy that they changed his background - I felt that it gave him more depth, and knowing he'd made big mistakes just like anyone else helped humanise him. I also loved the way it changed his relationship with Buffy, towards one of equals rather than boss and subordinate.
From what I can remember, Eyghon could only be summoned to our dimension, and couldn't manifest there of his own accord unless he possessed a sleeping person and was 'born from within'. I can actually understand him being angry that his power was exploited by mere mortals (leading him to want revenge on them - and being a monster, he's probably not going to be that calm and rational about it). Why he waited until Dierdre died to come back is another matter - unless he could only cross into our world by inhabiting a dead body marked with his symbol, but could then move about as he wanted.
I noticed that too. If the demon had been nursing a grudge aginst Ethan/Giles etc all of that time, it makes no sense that he would ignore Ethan in order to kill Buffy, simply because Ethan no longer had his tattoo.
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Post by cyclica on Oct 27, 2009 17:59:38 GMT -5
I also loved the way it changed his relationship with Buffy, towards one of equals rather than boss and subordinate. I admit I enjoyed that too, especially the 'we have something in common' conversation at the end. Why he waited until Dierdre died to come back is another matter - unless he could only cross into our world by inhabiting a dead body marked with his symbol, but could then move about as he wanted. Why not just inhabit the first guy who died (when they were young) and try to kill everyone then? |
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