4.12 A New Man

[Clare]

4.12 A New Man - Episode #068
Giles' feelings of separation from the group become reality when old enemy Ethan Rayne turns him into a demon.

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

[cyclica]

An episode this funny deserves an 8. Even now after watching it dozens of times over the years it still makes me laugh out loud.

There are tons of good moments, like riley & walsh finding out how many demons buffy has killed (poor riley, he thought 17 was a lot), giles discovering everyone knew about riley being in the initiative (even spike!), ethan making bad-guy comments after giles leaves, only for him to return mid sentance (Oh, bugger! I thought you'd gone!), and demon giles chasing walsh down the street. And it was great finally seeing an episode from giles' point of view.

I do have a couple of slight nitpicks though- why is it that spike can speak a demon language, and can recognise the fearl demon as giles from the way he talks alone? Since when would spike hire demons who don't speak english, when he could easily hire ones that do? Why would he hire demons anyway, I thought vamps and demons hated each other.

And why would ethan help giles by giving him info on 314, then turn him into a demon? A demon which can easily kick ethan's arse. It makes no sense. But its forgivable, given how much fun this episode is, its insights into giles' life, and its plot advancement.

[partcynic]

4x12 “A New Man”

Episode Rating = 7

Jane Espenson is one of my favourite Buffyverse writers (probably in second place after Joss), and although her episodes may not have that immediate ‘classic’ shine, few others can challenge her ability to tell consistently good single-episode stories. “A New Man” is an excellent example of her continued talent, showcasing her witty sense of humour while containing meaningful development for multiple characters and relationships, as well as the seasonal arc. On top of that, the episode features a unique plot and the welcome return of a charismatic and memorable villain, all of which combine to make “A New Man” a great start to the second half of S4.

What I Liked about “A New Man”:

- Giles has always been one of my favourite characters, and it’s hurt to see him floundering around with no real purpose. While that’s admittedly the entire point of his arc this year, he hasn’t been given enough material to justify his continued presence, and we also haven’t been given a proper look at how his displacement has affected him. Thankfully, this episode rectified all of that, and did so wonderfully. The script clearly showed his sense of alienation (the birthday party), frustration at being cut out of the loop (the crypt scene with Willow and Xander), and his increasing concerns about being useless (chatting with Walsh and then Ethan), and then utilised the intriguing ‘turned into a monster’ scenario to make the other characters realise just how important he is to them (and in turn, letting him learn this through witnessing their actions). The development of both Giles and his relationship with Buffy was excellent, and I particularly liked the final scene between them, which showed Giles’ clear concern for her, yet did so with class and respect for her autonomy.

- I don’t think I give the actors enough respect for the stellar work they do (though I’m more than happy to criticise them when they mess up!), so it’s worth complimenting Tony Head on his brilliant work. He pulled everything off, making his character funny and emotional and handling both the dialogue-centred and physically-based comedy with finesse.

- It’s fantastic to see Ethan Rayne again, and he’s certainly among the best minor bad guys the show has to offer. I loved the entirety of his drunken chat with Giles, and he was source of the funniest comedy moments (such as being caught out in the crypt; the poisoning fake-out, and “the stay-and-gloat gets me every time”). It was also interesting that he was somewhat willing to collaborate with Giles in passing info about ‘314’ on, suggesting that he likes chaos/corruption to the extent that he has power and control over it.

- I’m ambivalent about Walsh, but I enjoyed all of her scenes. She was surprisingly amusing in her first chat with Buffy (“we use the latest in high technology... and you poke them with a sharp stick”), and was even a little warm as she teased Riley over his ‘poetic exclamations’ about Buffy. Her material with Giles was also highly enjoyable – it was hard not to feel for him as she claimed that Buffy clearly had no father figure, and his ‘revenge’ later on was delightfully childish (and hilarious).

- The flashes of arc development are neat, and it’s cool to learn about the Initiative’s darker side, as well as Walsh’s connection to the mystery of 314.

- The progression of Buffy/Riley is solid, with Riley in good form for the majority of the episode (though he bores a little when sliding into secret agent mode). The two characters have a pleasant, relaxed chemistry, and it’s fun to watch their flirty exchanges. I also liked Riley’s responses to learning about Buffy’s achievements as the Slayer, and how he admired and respected her strength and assertiveness (shame they completely ignored this in S5). For her part, Buffy is also enjoyable to watch, and it’s nice to see her happy (such as in her cute breakfast chat with Willow).

- It’s good to see Tara make a second appearance, and her characterisation is interesting in that it almost permits Willow to interact with her prior self. The floating rose spell the two attempted was fun (especially its sudden shift to being a flowery missile), and it was good that the mess-up was actually related to the main plot.

- As a general note, the minor characters are all in great form. Spike, Anya and Xander all have some excellent lines, and are funny without overshadowing the episode’s more important players.

- Buffy recognising Giles in demon-form by his eyes could have been really corny (let’s face it – it’s a device that’s beloved by hacks), but the episode managed to pull it off, incorporating some genuine emotion but not pressing the issue.

What I Disliked about “A New Man”:

- In all of the prior S4 episodes, I could at least see a tenuous link between the Anya of S3 and the one presented here, but that’s now gone. I’m all for her being played for maximum laughs, but the writers need to remember that she’s been around for 1000+ years, and should be well aware of the basics of human interaction. Cordelia-style tactlessness is great, but total cluelessness isn’t.

- Although the joke with Giles catching him out was very funny, what was Ethan doing in the crypt in the first place?

- When Giles flees from Xander, he understandably causes a commotion by running through a suburban area in broad daylight. However, how did he manage to get to Xander’s without being spotted in the first place? In a related point, why was Spike moving out of the basement during the day? Wouldn’t it make more sense for him to do so during the evening, when he can actually go outside?

- It’s a bit coincidental that Spike speaks Fyarl (and that Giles just happens to walk past him while mumbling to himself, enabling Spike to realise who he is), but I suppose the reason he gives for knowing the language is plausible.

- I wouldn’t have minded a brief scene showing how Spike managed to evade the military vehicles that were pursuing him. We see a chase and a subsequent crash, but nothing as to how he got away.

- Why did Giles go for Buffy during their confrontation at the motel? It’s fine for him to block her attacks, but actively attacking her would hardly convince her of his true nature. Was his behaviour supposed to infer that he was gradually giving into the Fyarl’s destructive urges (and thus mindlessly fighting)?

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

I like it more, but I think my grade was already fine, so I won’t be changing it. As much as I’ve been enjoying S4, it’s also been markedly patchy in comparison to the high school years, and eps like this one are among the handful of times you can see the show having a totally successful transition into its new setting. With quite a few eps lacking that special “Buffy” je ne sais quoi, it’s heartening to have ones like this that do so much so well, and it’s good to know that once the clumsy Initiative two-parter is out of the way, it’s plain-sailing to the excellent finale. Thanks to its qualities, I’m thus scoring “A New Man” a well-earned seven out of ten, bagging it a place in my top five S4 eps (as of this point).