4.14 Goodbye, Iowa

[Clare]

4.14 New Moon Rising - Episode #070
As Adam begins killing, Riley suffers a total breakdown.

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

[cyclica]

This episode deals mostly with what happened in the previous ep, in my mind these 2 episodes feel like a two-parter. I give it a 5.

This was an ok episode, but a bit overly emotional for me. The plot with riley not knowing good from evil was ok, but I was more interested in seeing the new baddie adam. It turns out he is part human, part machine and part demon, which makes him like a more threatening version of frankenstein's monster.

For some reason adam needs to get his information from floppy disks in this episode, whereas in later episodes he doesn't. Why floppys, didn't they have cd roms back then? And why did they go in and not come out? Not that these tiny details bother me, but I notice these things.

Another thing that interested me- tara intentionally sabotages willows' find-the-demon spell. A nice set up that will pay off in 'family' in season 5.

[partcynic]

4x14 “Goodbye, Iowa”

Episode Rating = 3

Another Initiative-based arc episode, another relentless parade of mediocrity. Going beyond what I would have initially thought possible, the writers somehow managed to make an episode even less exciting than “The I In Team”, though the fact that these eps are a two-parter in all but name hardly makes this surprising. Overall, “Goodbye, Iowa” basically serves as a reminder of all of S4’s weaker aspects, being heavy on the Initiative (intellectually interesting in concept, but emotionally flat) and Riley (a palatable but one-dimensional character whose main purpose is being a romantic plot device for Buffy), and ignoring or sidelining the individuals who form the show’s heart. On top of that, there’s very little plot here, and the story drags interminably with little in the way of humour, emotion or character development. Pretty much everything falls under the umbrella of ‘passable’, making for an ep that’s watchable, but hardly conducive to intense analysis/discussion.

What I Liked about “Goodbye, Iowa”:

- As in the previous episode, there are some nice humour moments scattered about. Stuff like Spike goofily giving Riley’s ‘murder plan’ the thumbs-up; Giles and Anya bickering; Buffy’s “yummy sushi pyjamas”; Xander’s confusion over the “retinal scan”; and the aborted make-out plan were all a little humorous, and a welcome respite from the otherwise grim tone.

- As a concept, I like Adam. His make-up and prosthetics are well-done, and he pays homage to Frankenstein’s monster without being a direct replica of its prior exploration in “Some Assembly Required”. Personality-wise, I enjoy his cold, scientific detachment coupled with his intelligence and amorality, and I think that if he had been handled properly, he could have been a very complex bad guy.

- It’s cool to have a couple of nice all-Scooby scenes (such as the initial chat at Giles’ and the subsequent hide-out in Xander’s basement), and Giles, Xander and Anya felt like they actually belonged there instead of having been forced in.

- After a season-long hiatus, it was good to see Willy and his bar again.

What I Disliked about “Goodbye, Iowa”:

- In general, the episode was drab and slowly paced.

- I like Marti Noxon’s writing most of the time, but she has a tendency to characterise Buffy as a shrill romantic heroine, and makes her melodramatically flounce about as a result (“I’ll tell you how happy all this death makes me”; the “now let GO of me!” in the bar; the tearful, anguished stare as Riley is taken away). It’s grating given that this isn’t her usual behavioural style, and it detracts from the supposed drama she was supposed to convey.

- More than any other episode this season, this one placed emphasis on Riley, and what should have been a highly traumatic time for him. In the space of a few hours, everything he thought he knew about the Initiative and his purpose in life was revealed to be a lie, and this should have resulted in some harrowing and emotional scenes. However, Marc Blucas just isn’t up to snuff as an actor, and he lacked the range/depth necessary to make the audience connect with Riley’s struggle (he’s especially weak in the bar scene, and the moments in which he attempts to be macho). That said, Marc’s hardly helped by Riley’s one-dimensionality, as the writers haven’t given the audience a reason to care about the character beyond the fact that Buffy’s dating him.

- Forrest continues to be an annoyance, and his constant complaining about Buffy usurping his place in Riley’s affections makes him seem creepy and deluded. His corny ‘manly’ posturing is also irritating (“I see a demon – it dies!”) – the rest of the Initiative’s men may be equally flat and stereotyped soldiers, but at least they’re not constantly sticking their noses in where they’re not wanted.

- More info on the Initiative’s schemes would have been welcome. The news that Riley et al had secretly been given drugs in their food seemed to come from nowhere, and would have benefitted from some foreshadowing (unless the ‘vitamin’ Riley took last episode was supposed to be a hint).

- Willow and Tara’s scenes were badly done. The first has painfully written dialogue (how many times did they say the word ‘spell’? Use a synonym, please), and the magic they perform in the second one would have been pointless even if Tara hadn’t sabotaged it. At least in “Same Time, Same Place” Willow was smart enough to have an actual map of Sunnydale present (which would allow them to pinpoint the location of the monsters they were looking for). In addition, the director needed to monitor Amber Benson more closely – we know from later eps that she can act decently, but she’s awkward and unbelievable here.

- Buffy and Xander were able to infiltrate the Initiative remarkably easily. If this institution is supposed to be a heavily guarded secret, you have to wonder why no-one was monitoring the lift via the CCTV camera we know is installed inside, and why they didn’t notice that an ‘enemy’ and total stranger had just come strolling in.

- As previously stated, I like the concept of Adam, but the execution is poor. He’s appropriately unnerving in his introductory conversation with the young boy, but his potential gets flushed during the Initiative confrontation. His sci-fi chat about harmonic servers (etc) bored me, and things like inserting floppy disks into his chest were too cheesy to take seriously (plus, wouldn’t he have to take the first one out before inserting the second?)

- If Spike is supposed to be a badass who has taken on Slayers and won, it’s hard to believe that three demons would be able to trounce him so thoroughly in a fight.

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

Less, but I acknowledge that its flaws are more a continuation of the arc’s fundamental problems (as established in “The Initiative” and “The I In Team”) as opposed to brand-new issues. If anything, this type of ep is the hardest to review – if something is at either extreme of the quality scale, you can at least engage emotionally and heavily praise/critique it, but an ep that’s just 42 minutes of ‘okay’ is much tougher to dissect. As such, the best I can give “Goodbye, Iowa” is a shrug and a rating of three out of ten, as well as my silent gratitude that Faith will be reappearing soon, and giving the season its fire back.