2.13 Surprise

[Clare]

2.13 Surprise - Episode #025
Buffy and Angel consumate their love

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

[cyclica]

Pretty good episode, I give it a 6.

It got a bit boring at times, the whole episode is just build up to the next one.

Did you notice- buffy dreams about willow speaking french to a monkey, a refernce to a previous episode where oz said all moneys are french. But buffy wasn't there as that conversation. Her dream was just a crazy coincidence!

[jennf10]

The love lives of the gang are heating up — Buffy and Angel are growing closer, Xander and Cordy are fighting like cat and dog (only with kissing). Oz and Willow arrange a date for Buffy's surprise birthday party at the Bronze the next night. Jenny is visited by her mysterious Gypsy uncle, who warns Jenny to keep Buffy away from Angel. Dru and Spike are assembling an indestructible demon called the Judge, but Buffy manages to steal one of his arms, thus preventing his full assembly and in the process crashes her own party, quite literally. Jenny suggests that Angel take the arm to the other side of the world, but he and Buffy are ambushed by Spike's hench-vampires, and the Judge is re-awakened. The Judge has the power to kill with a single touch, and almost kills Buffy, but Angel saves her. Later that night, in Angel's mansion, Buffy and Angel consummate their relationship. Some dark magic is summoned by this, and Angel runs from his bed into the street, screaming Buffy's name in pain.

My Review:

This was probably one of the best episodes of the season. Buffy and Angel spend Buffy's birthday chasing down an old evil superhero that was very powerful. In the process, they have grown closer, which Jenny Calendar wants to get in the middle of. She knows that Angel must continue to suffer for what he did to her people. She also knows what one minute of happiness will do.

Despite Jenny's efforts, Buffy and Angel end up in a battle that leads to them both going to Angel's home to dry off. Buffy and Angel consumate their relationship, and it leads to the biggest twist in Buffy's history.

Score: 9/10.

[partcynic]

2x13 “Surprise”

Episode Rating = 8

Following one severely disappointing episode and another that was entertaining but hardly high quality, “Surprise” is a welcome palate cleanser that brings S2 back to its strongest asset – its arc. Commencing what may be the show’s most powerful narrative, “Surprise” (and “Innocence”) are landmark moments for the series, and serve as the dividing point between the early “Buffy” era and its transformation into the entity that most people now recognise it as. It’s also worthy for demonstrating the talents of Marti Noxon, who may have been responsible for some big screw-ups later in the show’s lifespan, but could write in a manner second only to Joss if given the time and inclination to do so.

What I Liked about “Surprise”:

- Buffy’s teaser dream is a good way to commence the story, and it succeeds in feeling like it’s the product of someone’s subconscious. The transitions between sets and the trip-hop music helped set the right tone, and there are great references to both the past (Willow speaking French and the monkey pants) and the future (since the dream is indeed prophetic, as Angel does ‘die’... in a way).

- Buffy’s visit to Angel at his apartment is a really good scene, and Sarah Michelle Gellar and David Boreanaz’s chemistry is excellent. The fear, longing and desire all felt very real – and I have to say that I question whether David divorcing his first wife was really due to her inability to deal with his newfound fame, or because he and SMG had become an item. Their acting is almost too good to be fictitious.

- The first school scene is one of my very favourite Buffy/Willow moments, and displays everything I enjoy about their friendship. All of their ‘girl talk’ sounds believable, and it’s sweet to see them confide in and encourage each other. I particularly liked Willow’s stunned reaction to the prospect of Buffy and Angel going to the next level, as well as the callback to “Welcome to the Hellmouth” in ‘carpe diem’ and Buffy’s little pun about Oz hardly being too old, considering her own boyfriend had a bicentennial.

- Willow’s hesitant talk with Oz is adorable, and the two of them make a fantastic, fledgling couple. I can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t be charmed by their interaction, nor smile at the genuine happiness Willow expresses as she says that Oz could go to the surprise party as her date.

- Xander and Cordelia’s relationship is continuing to move nicely – they’re both struggling to navigate the course of their ‘thing’, and Cordelia choosing to prioritise her social standing while Xander suffers in silence are both believable reactions (though I don’t get what’s so bad about Xander – he’s a bit of a doofus, but nowhere near as awful as the other characters seem to perceive him).

- This episode and ”Innocence” have some of my favourite Giles moments, and the library conversation where he determines to continue with the party despite the danger at hand is a great character piece – subtle and simple, but brilliant.

- Following two episodes of absence, it’s good to see Spike and Drusilla again, and their role reversal is in successful contrast to their dynamic earlier in the season (in particular, it’s interesting to note that when Spike was in charge, he was focused on killing Buffy, while Dru sets her sights on destroying the world). As always, their relationship is excellent, and Juliet Landau gets to push the boat out acting-wise, being creepier (her freak-out over the flower arrangement), sexier (dancing at the celebration) and funnier (the hilarious scene with Dalton’s glasses, and later her joyous “Do it again!” after the Judge immolates him) than ever before.

- The development with Jenny is an interesting one, although it bears the marks of last-minute re-writing (as Angelus was originally going to kill Oz, but the writers opted to keep him around and thus rewrote Jenny’s arc to make her the victim. But hey – that change resulted in “Passion”, so I’m not complaining). It’s neat to see her interact with her uncle, and it enabled the episode to further expound upon Angel’s curse and progress the year’s narrative.

- Buffy’s party is good fun, with Cordelia’s too-late “surprise!” and Oz’s fantastic reaction to learning about vampires making me laugh. In particular, I loved how the latter was done – the blasé approach worked perfectly for Oz, and I appreciated how Xander lampshaded the moment with his spiel about the supernatural and Sunnydale.

- As another of the show’s clever ‘primary plot that actually becomes secondary plot’ devices, the Judge works, and he’s got a decent enough modus operandi, as well as a supposed invulnerability that made him threatening on first viewing. It was also a nice touch to have the actor who played Luke back at the start of S1 return for a new role, and his features were concealed well enough to avoid it being too obvious.

- In the past, I used to think that Buffy and Angel’s goodbye moment at the docks was too sappy, but I’ve warmed up to it now. It actually avoids being melodramatic, and the exchange of rings was romantic and handled fairly elegantly (as with their early scene, it helps that the actors hit all of the right emotional notes – they work incredibly well together).

- Christophe Beck really doesn’t get enough credit for his amazing score work. The Buffy/Angel love theme “Close Your Eyes” is exceptionally beautiful, and heightens the power of all the scenes it accompanies.

- Buffy and Angel’s visit to the factory is tense, and I liked seeing Spike subvert Angel’s notion of heroic sacrifice and inform him that there was “no instead – just first and second”. The twosome’s escape method was a little convenient, but it was dramatic, and set up the closing scene well. As before, the emotion felt real, and I liked that the sex was handled with a cutaway – it was the most appropriate way to include it, and prevented things from feeling unduly exploitative.

What I Disliked about “Surprise”:

- The script makes a fundamental error during Buffy’s post-nightmare chat with Angel, as she states that they can’t know Drusilla’s dead because “we never saw her body”. Since Drusilla’s a vampire, she wouldn’t ever leave a corpse if she died, and Buffy should know this. It’s frustrating when the writers manage to do so many complex things so well, yet slip up with basic canon facts that they’ve had two years to learn.

- Robia LaMorte overdoes Jenny’s ‘suspicious’ behaviour as she plans to drive Buffy to the surprise party. Knowing what her real intentions are, it’s bizarre seeing her so on edge there – toning things down would have helped.

- I like the Judge well enough, but I wouldn’t have minded seeing a different make-up job for him. As is, whenever he appears my first response is not ‘fearsome eradicator of humanity’, but ‘giant Smurf’.

- Dalton and his raiding party have overly good timing (in getting to the one place Buffy and Angel had gone and being able to ambush them before they left), but it’s understandable and necessary in directing the story's progression.

- Angel’s behaviour at the episode's close is rather strange. It’s bizarre that, while experiencing heretofore unknown pain and wanting to wake Buffy, he evidently decided that the best way to approach things would be by taking the time to get dressed, then running dramatically into the rain while shouting for her. Wouldn’t it have been smarter for him to just roll over? Obviously, I get why it happened this way (and I’m glad it did, because the pay-off in ”Innocence” is amazing), but it’s still dumb.

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

A long while ago, I gave this episode a grade of seven, but liked it so much upon rewatching that I shifted it up to an eight. I’m still very fond of it, so my score is staying put, registering the episode as a minor classic. With lots of plot, humour, drama and character insight, “Surprise” is an exemplary showcase in how to write the opening section of a two-parter, and it’s wonderful to think that its conclusion will be even better.

[cyclica]

I'm sticking with my 6 on this one.

Upon rewatching the show and veiwing it analytically, I've gained a new respect for the writing of the couples in the show. Giles and jenny, xander and cordelia, willow and oz, drucilla and spike, all can be at times fascinating, hilarious, adorable, and just plain a joy to watch.

But not buffy and angel. They are a drag, and every scene they are in I just can't wait for it to be over. It's not that they don't have chemistry, it's just that every bangel scene seems to be so filled with drama and angst and deep emotional speeches, I just get tired of it. And this episode is full of it.

I can't really say it's bad writing because it's not that. Perhaps I'm just not the target audience for these kind of scenes (certainly that's how I felt watching the ring scene). It's a shame I couldn't get into the bangel scenes because otherwise it was a great episode.

The judge was an interesting and original character (and I loved it when buffy and angel were caught spying near the end, it was a great 'how are they going to get out of this one?' moment). I enjoyed the revelation that jenny was really the gypsy 'janna' and was spying on angel this whole time (although it certainly didn't seem that way in past episodes). It added an extra dimension to her character and gave her a reason to have scenes with more of the characters other than giles. And like I said before the couples were great. Willow and oz are fun to watch, especially during the scene where oz said he wants to ask willow out and she said she will say yes, but when he asks her out she says no. But my favourite character of this episode has to be drucilla, she's so crazy and yet endearing, threatening to poke a vamp in the eyes.

To sum up, this episode had some great ideas, characters and dialogue. But buffy and angel ruined it for me. :-\

One minor nitpick - I noticed giles telling buffy 'your dreams aren't prophecies'. I thought they were?

[partcynic]

I can't really say it's bad writing because it's not that. Perhaps I'm just not the target audience for these kind of scenes (certainly that's how I felt watching the ring scene). It's a shame I couldn't get into the bangel scenes because otherwise it was a great episode.

That's fair enough. I enjoyed all of the Buffy/Angel stuff, but it would be hard to sit through if you're not into it. I think it does a great job of capturing the intense 'first-love' feelings, though.

But my favourite character of this episode has to be drucilla, she's so crazy and yet endearing, threatening to poke a vamp in the eyes.

I agree. I love Drusilla, and I wish we could have gotten more of her later in the show's run.

I noticed giles telling buffy 'your dreams aren't prophecies'. I thought they were?

IIRC, he meant that her dreams aren't always prophecies, and those that are don't always occur in life in the same way they do in her dreams.