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Post by Clare on Sept 26, 2008 9:49:34 GMT -5
5.07 Fool For Love - Episode #085
After nearly being killed while on patrol, Buffy pays Spike to recount how he murdered two previous Slayers.
Review (also post a score out of 10) and discuss this episode.
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Post by cyclica on Feb 9, 2009 17:23:51 GMT -5
An enjoyable episode showing spike's past, its full of great scenes like, well every single flashback. (although I hated the line 'hes called william the bloody because of his bloody awful poetry' - its an unnesseccary past reference and it makes no sense).
I also loved seeing the gang making riley's patrolling more difficult. But the best part for me was how well this episode fit into 'darla'. It was like 2 halves of the same story, each complete in its own way but you have to see them both to get the full picture. Awesome writing there.
Fool for love gets an 8 from me.
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Post by partcynic on Aug 9, 2010 11:00:48 GMT -5
5x07 “Fool For Love”
Episode Rating = 9
The best ep from the first half of S5, “Fool For Love” is also one of its parent year’s biggest successes, washing away the icky soapiness of earlier episodes and instead serving up 42 minutes of memorable drama and character insight. Like “Prophecy Girl”, “Innocence” and “Passion” before it, “Fool For Love” is able to traverse a huge emotional distance, and it manages to be harrowing despite having no outwardly tragic events happen. Instead, it’s the implications of minor occurrences that have the power, and this edition’s Spike focus provides both Buffy and the viewers with a fascinating narrator for some incredibly important material.
What I Liked about “Fool For Love”:
- I love the initial set-up for the story, as well as how the characters react to it. After so many years of Buffy triumphing, it was a timely reminder that the character isn’t invulnerable, and that even one mistake in battle could cost her her life. It was also important that the vampire that almost killed her was totally normal, and Riley’s bewilderment that such a creature could hurt her was probably a good mirror of the audience’s response.
- The brief scene with Dawn is fine. She’s mildly funny, and manages to be childish without being irritating – and Buffy’s last gesture to her (the brief hair-stroke) felt more genuinely affectionate than anything we’ve been shown before.
- By far, my favourite aspect of S5 is its exploration of what it means to be a Slayer, and this is one of that narrative’s most important stories. Discussion of what a Slayer is and what her power means is something the show has long been lacking (not that that was a problem – S2-4 dealt with other, equally important things), and I loved the discussion about death wishes. Spike’s explanation of Slayer psychology makes perfect sense, and you have to hand it to the writers for clearly making such an important foreshadow, without making it obvious that Buffy would indeed die by the year’s close.
- Buffy’s scene with Giles was good, and I liked his statement that if the other Watchers were anything like him, they’d find documenting their Slayer’s death too painful.
- As “Family” is Tara’s ‘spotlight’ episode, “Fool For Love” is Spike’s, and it goes a long way towards alleviating the issues caused by his frequent, tacked-on presence throughout much of seasons four and five. While not minding the chipped Spike, my favourite was always badass Spike, and it was thrilling to have so many things we’d heard the character discuss actually occur on screen. Ever since he first mentioned it in “School Hard”, I’d wanted to know more about the Slayers he murdered, and the flashbacks to China and New York didn’t disappoint. The battles were colourful, visceral and exciting, and it was brilliant that just as Buffy had almost died because of random bad luck, such events also led to the demise of the other Slayers.
- Away from the violent aspects, it was interesting to see the human William, and the contrast between he and Spike was amusing (yet you could also trace the path that would lead William to become Spike). The jokes about his poetry and ‘railroad spikes’ were smart and rewarding continuity references, and the parallels between Cecily/William and Buffy/Spike powerfully done. Even though I don’t typically sympathise with Spike, I could understand how stung he was by the “you’re beneath me” repudiation, and it made his subsequent rage very understandable.
- Drusilla is one of the best characters the show has come up with, and I was pleased to see her again. As always, she was disturbing, sexy and funny, and the chemistry between she and Spike was excellent. I also liked having Angel(us) and Darla back, and the synergy between this ep and “Darla” was masterful – both eps make total sense when watched on their own, yet the viewer gains so much more understanding by seeing them together.
- The editing between the New York flashback and Spike’s chat with Buffy in the alleyway is great, and the fluid transitions between past and present create a sense of danger and unease.
- Although it was a little frustrating to be dragged away from the Buffy plot for the sub-story with Riley and the Scoobs, their minor roles were entertaining. There was some neat humour and a cool action sequence with the exploding mausoleum, and it was refreshing to have Riley back in his old leadership role.
- I’m really enjoying seeing Harmony. She’s not the type of character who could sustain prolonged focus, but she works fantastically in brief snippets, and ticks boxes for both humour and sexiness.
- The movement in Joyce’s arc is good, and it made sense that she chose to avoid upsetting her daughters by delaying the announcement of her return hospital visit. I really felt for Buffy once she learned the news, and tried to present a strong veneer despite feeling very frightened. The strongest emotional moment came soon after, when she went to sit on the porch and encountered a gun-wielding Spike, only for his anger to dissipate the moment he saw something was wrong. Sitting beside her and giving her those awkward (but well-meant) pats on the back was one of the nicest Spuffy moments, and a perfect ending to the episode.
What I found to be a mixed bag about “Fool For Love”:
- The scenes with Riley and the gang patrolling are good, but ignore characterisation in favour of comedy. Willow and Xander should know better than to noisily munch on crisps and shout while vamp-hunting – perhaps it would have been better to have Anya being the more clueless one.
- The flashback to South America was mostly great, but I strongly disliked that it was used as an opportunity to retcon Spike’s past in support of the Spuffy story. If he really did have feelings for Buffy during S2, it might have been good for them to actually be hinted at any point between then and “Out of My Mind” – perhaps he could’ve enjoyed kissing her in “Something Blue”? As the situation stands, this change is merely an example of the characters being twisted to suit the plot.
What I Disliked about “Fool For Love”:
- As with so many S5 episodes, the interior scenes have a sickly yellow tinge to them. I don’t know if there was a problem with the director of photography or whether the film quality was simply reduced as a budget cut, but the show just doesn’t look as aesthetically good as it used to.
- Riley’s arrival and saving of Buffy are fortunately timed. It’s certainly plausible that they may be out patrolling together, but it’s annoying given that the same trick was used only a couple of episodes ago.
- A few stylistic decisions strike me as being cheesy. Moments like Spike’s slo-mo sweep through the Boxer Rebellion crowd (though this was more due to the music than the visual); sticking his head out of the New York subway window and yelling; and the fast pan to his ‘hard’ face in the present-day alleyway were distracting, and took my attention away from the depth of the story.
Do I like this episode more or less than the last time I watched it?
Give or take a couple of nitpicks, I enjoyed it just as much as I’ve always done. “Fool For Love” is one of only a handful of classic-tier eps from the final three seasons (the others being “Buffy Vs Dracula”; “The Body” and “OMWF”), and one of the last occasions in which the show was able to transport its viewers to a deep emotional territory. It’s fascinating to have so many interesting gaps in Spike’s history filled, and the insight comes in the context of a story arc that’s hugely important to both the Buffy character and the series mythology. With so much depth and an intellectually stimulating theme, I’m happy to give “Fool For Love” a nine out of ten, as well as the crown for being my favourite episode of S5.
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Post by cyclica on Oct 12, 2010 15:03:46 GMT -5
- The brief scene with Dawn is fine. She’s mildly funny, and manages to be childish without being irritating – and Buffy’s last gesture to her (the brief hair-stroke) felt more genuinely affectionate than anything we’ve been shown before. I liked how she found buffy's wound to be cool, and then retracted that and pretended she found it gross. and I loved the discussion about death wishes. Spike’s explanation of Slayer psychology makes perfect sense, and you have to hand it to the writers for clearly making such an important foreshadow, without making it obvious that Buffy would indeed die by the year’s close. Agreed. Though I don't really beleive that buffy has a death wish as spike says. Perhaps what makes her different from other slayers is that she has friends and family to give her more of a reason to stay alive, well moreso than the slayers who sacrificed all of that in order to be more effective slayers. Like kendra did. And therefore her death wish isn't as strong, or maybe isn't there at all. - Buffy’s scene with Giles was good, and I liked his statement that if the other Watchers were anything like him, they’d find documenting their Slayer’s death too painful. Agreed. - As “Family” is Tara’s ‘spotlight’ episode, “Fool For Love” is Spike’s, and it goes a long way towards alleviating the issues caused by his frequent, tacked-on presence throughout much of seasons four and five. While not minding the chipped Spike, my favourite was always badass Spike, and it was thrilling to have so many things we’d heard the character discuss actually occur on screen. Ever since he first mentioned it in “School Hard”, I’d wanted to know more about the Slayers he murdered, and the flashbacks to China and New York didn’t disappoint. The battles were colourful, visceral and exciting, and it was brilliant that just as Buffy had almost died because of random bad luck, such events also led to the demise of the other Slayers. It was great to see spike's past, especially as it 'sorted out' all the little bits of info about his past we've been given over the years, and played them in order, giving us a complete picture of everything we knew about his past up to that point. Though I did find the 'story of spikes coat' just a little bit cheesy. - Away from the violent aspects, it was interesting to see the human William, and the contrast between he and Spike was amusing (yet you could also trace the path that would lead William to become Spike). The jokes about his poetry and ‘railroad spikes’ were smart and rewarding continuity references, and the parallels between Cecily/William and Buffy/Spike powerfully done. Yep. Shame that 'he's called william the bloody because of his bloody awful poetry' line got stuck in there though. If spike made some cakes, and you thought they were pretty bland, would you tease spike by calling him 'william the pretty'? I was happy with 'bloody' being a reference to him being a killer. - Drusilla is one of the best characters the show has come up with, and I was pleased to see her again. As always, she was disturbing, sexy and funny, and the chemistry between she and Spike was excellent. Agreed. Except for one scene. Now that we've got a chance to see what the slime/antlers demon looks like, I find it very hard to beleive that dru would want to date him. I also liked having Angel(us) and Darla back, and the synergy between this ep and “Darla” was masterful – both eps make total sense when watched on their own, yet the viewer gains so much more understanding by seeing them together. It's possibly the best crossover I've ever seen on television. I especailly love how from spike's point of view, angelus seems to be unhappy spike killed a slayer because angelus is jealous, but if you watch 'darla' you can see it's actually because he got his soul back and is opposed to killing now. The only tiny nitpick I have is that we get to see the flashbacks from the POV of angel, darla and spike, but never dru. I guess it's enough that she appears in everyone else's flashbacks, but I would have liked to see something from her point of view. - Although it was a little frustrating to be dragged away from the Buffy plot for the sub-story with Riley and the Scoobs, their minor roles were entertaining. There was some neat humour and a cool action sequence with the exploding mausoleum, and it was refreshing to have Riley back in his old leadership role. I agree, though I prefered the scenes with all the scoobies to the one of riley acting alone. As an anya fan, I loved how she was (finally) on equal standing with willow and xander during a patrol. - I’m really enjoying seeing Harmony. She’s not the type of character who could sustain prolonged focus, but she works fantastically in brief snippets, and ticks boxes for both humour and sexiness. Yup. - The scenes with Riley and the gang patrolling are good, but ignore characterisation in favour of comedy. Willow and Xander should know better than to noisily munch on crisps and shout while vamp-hunting – perhaps it would have been better to have Anya being the more clueless one. By this point the gang have notched up so many wins, it would make sense that they would be a bit cavelier about patrolling - The flashback to South America was mostly great, but I strongly disliked that it was used as an opportunity to retcon Spike’s past in support of the Spuffy story. If he really did have feelings for Buffy during S2, it might have been good for them to actually be hinted at any point between then and “Out of My Mind” – perhaps he could’ve enjoyed kissing her in “Something Blue”? As the situation stands, this change is merely an example of the characters being twisted to suit the plot. I don't get how dru knew spike had feeling for buffy, years before actually he had them. I'm guessing dru was just angry about spike taking buffy's side during the fight at the end of s2. ................. I'm sticking with my 8 rating. Even though I love this episode, it just doesn't have the same replay appeal as many other eps. Everything that was there was great, but I think the problem was that there seemed to be something missing. There was no threat to buffy after the first fight, no mystery to solve, no advancement in the overall dawn/glory arc, and most importantly very little from the scoobies. The first time I watched this ep I felt it was over too quickly, like the real story hadn't begun yet. But I have to award extra points if only for the brilliant way the ep crosses over into 'darla'. Everytime I have an s5 marathon I have to interrupt it after watching this ep so I can watch 'darla' and finish the second half of this story. And that scene/conversation between buffy and spike in the alley was very well done. "You think we're dancing?" "That's all we've ever done" Of all the good 'conversation scenes' in the show, this one is right up there with buffy telling giles to 'lie to me'. |
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Post by partcynic on Oct 18, 2010 10:52:05 GMT -5
I don't know if it's a death wish in the literal sense, but more along the lines of an increasing tiredness with what the Slayer is required to do. Back in S1, the world was black and white and Buffy's issues with her calling were mainly due to it interfering with her desire for a 'normal life'. As time's gone on, she's accepted her duties, but her issues have changed to slaying being a neverending stream of tasks where a decisive 'win' is impossible, and that her right to a reasonable existence is either downplayed or outright disrespected (like by the monks violating her life to accommodate Dawn). Knowing that slaying is always going to be an uphill battle (and one that gets continually murkier, as the world is no longer so simple and defined in terms of all-good/all-evil), I don't doubt that she would start wanting an out, even if she wasn't specifically desiring death.
I can't say that bothered me. I liked seeing how Spike got all of his stuff (it was cool that even the eyebrow scar was given an origin). The only thing I didn't like came much later on, when they made the super-obvious coat reference in "Lies My Parents Told Me".
Yeah - I wasn't hugely fond of that. Though 'bloody' can still reference him being a killer - its meaning would have just changed over time.
Agreed. All so good.
Doesn't she have mind-reading powers?
But there was tons of advancement of the Buffy/meaning of being a Slayer arc, which is is the only consistently high-quality story in S5. Knowing that, I'm not fussed about the things you mentioned, especially the bit about Glory/Dawn - they had a major (and not very good) focus only two eps ago, and I'm not bothered by seeing little of the Scoobies if the the rest of the story is good. If anything, forcing the others into this one diluted it for me.
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Post by cyclica on Oct 20, 2010 15:04:46 GMT -5
Doesn't she have mind-reading powers? I don't think so. If she could read minds, she wouldn't have needed to 'turn into' jenny to get info out of giles at the end of season 2. |
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Post by partcynic on Oct 21, 2010 12:57:48 GMT -5
Yes - but she was able to 'skim' Giles' mind and realise that Jenny was the key to getting info from him. I imagine that she'd be able to do the same with Spike and pick up on his feelings for Buffy.
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Post by cyclica on Oct 22, 2010 14:55:54 GMT -5
I thought she had to concentrate to get that power to work, and have the other person co-operate, she couldn't read spike's mind unless they went through the same 'ritual' she and giles went through.
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