7.13 The Killer in Me

[Clare]

7.13 The Killer in Me - Episode #135
After kissing Kennedy, Willow finds herself transforming into Warren. Meanwhile, Buffy is faced with an important decision regarding Spike’s chip and the gang suspects that Giles may be the First.

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

[partcynic]

7x13 “The Killer In Me”

Episode Rating = 3

This episode could define the term ‘mixed bag’ as far as it relates to “Buffy”, consisting of a handful of good scenes surrounded by material that appeared to have had no thought put into it. I wouldn’t normally expect much from a Drew Z. Greenberg episode, but I will give him kudos for the Willow/Kennedy development – it’s just that the majority of what we were shown was problematic, and if you’re going to be penning an episode that refers heavily to S4, it might be a good idea to sit down and actually watch S4. It’s theoretically interesting to have a S7 edition re-explore the Initiative and the Wicca group while using the three-parallel-stories concept of “The Harsh Light of Day”, but the writing here isn’t up to snuff, and the large slips and errors undermine what could have been interesting sub-plots.

What I Liked about “The Killer In Me”:

- The opening scene was entertaining. It had a good amount of humour (Rona stuffing Molly in the boot of the car; Buffy having told the girls about the hokey-pokey and ‘rasta-mama’ spirit guide), and it’s amusing that the potentials were at their best when they were offscreen. In fact, let’s just give the thumbs up for their absence.

- It’s hard to buy Buffy’s sudden knowledge of the Willow/Kennedy dynamic (how and when did she find out about them?), but teasing Willow about ‘tea’ was fun, and it’s nice to see the characters behaving like long-time friends.

- Buffy’s phone call to the flower shop was amusing, and I loved that Riley had dubbed Spike ‘assface’ in his subsequent orders.

- Willow and Kennedy’s Bronze date was good, and dealt with some important character development bits (how Willow’s parents reacted to her coming out; and her current view of love and relationships). I really liked Willow saying it was one woman who made her realize she was gay (I’d been concerned that the writers might try and ignore her heterosexual past with a cursory “I always knew” comment), as well as her accidental present tense reference to Tara. Kennedy was also pretty good – her dialogue was nicely written, and had the right mix of young flirtatiousness and mature insight (though many of her statements were at odds with her general behaviour; and also her actions at the end of this episode).

- I loved how the story initially appeared to just be about Willow feeling guilty for killing Warren (though not even she appeared to believe that was really the case), and the reveal that it was actually all about Tara was excellent. Willow’s feelings of guilt/grief at betraying Tara’s memory were very believable, and the metaphor of her turning into Warren was elegant, as well as a nice build on the ‘Willow’s subconscious causes problems’ idea from “Same Time, Same Place”.

- The final few scenes with Warren-Willow were solid – her re-enactment of the day Warren shot Buffy and Tara was creepy (buying the gun; and later calmly marching down the street), and her breakdown in the garden gave Alyson Hannigan something substantial to do for the first time in almost half a season. She did a wonderful job (to the point that I wish we hadn’t had all of those cuts to Adam Busch), and produced some of her most believable acting since S5. The second kiss to break Amy’s spell worked both in the basic narrative and in terms of theme/character development, though it happened a bit too quickly, and made Kennedy look crass for hitting on someone who was openly grieving for her former partner.

What I found to be a mixed bag about “The Killer In Me”:

- The mini-story with the lesser Scoobs and Giles was okay. It’s sad to see Anya and Xander reduced to such nothingness (less so Dawn, but even she deserves better), but the characters had a few funny lines, and behaved reasonably given the news they got. However, Andrew continued to suck away screentime, and the sequence felt like it was created to fulfil contractual obligations and fill time as opposed to being constructive or meaningful. Still, I give minor credit for doing away with the awful ‘is Giles the First’ thread, though the failure to tie it up completely (by explaining exactly how Giles got away) was pretty annoying. This whole thing could have been dealt with in about thirty seconds, and having it dragged out over six/seven episodes is ridiculous (and a waste of Tony Head’s time).

What I Disliked about “The Killer In Me”:

- Why were the potentials being taken on a vision quest that Giles once said was for long-established Slayers? And what kind of advice could the spirit guide have given the girls? Wouldn’t it have taken forever for everyone to get seen, given that it required hiking out into the desert, waiting there for hours, and appeared to be something only one individual could do at a time?

- The Buffy/Spike material was boring, and didn’t need a third of an episode to be dealt with. It makes sense that the chip would eventually deteriorate (since it was technological and not magical), but the story was slow and full of plot holes. Besides Spike’s unintentionally funny ‘fits’ (James Marsters’ Shatnerian posturing and shouting is hilarious), little of interest happened, and continuity should have been better adhered to. Even if we don’t take the dialogue from “Primeval” literally, the government needed to have done more to destroy/seal the Initiative complex; and Spike’s mentioning being drugged to dull the pain of the chip didn’t fit with what we were shown in “The Initiative”. On top of that, the underground scenes were badly filmed (there’s spooky-dark, and then there’s ‘impossible to see’), with a tacked on monster battle that was only there to meet the show’s fight quotient, and Spike predictably having a pain-fit at the worst possible moment.

- While I liked the Riley joke, how much military clout does he (as a branded deserter/traitor) have to command all those men? And what exactly were they doing lurking in the Initiative ruins – wouldn’t it have made more sense to go to Buffy’s home? How did they know where she was, why didn’t they help during the fight, and why did they wait to restore the power instead of doing it instantly?

- We didn’t need a cliffhanger regarding the status of Spike’s chip. It would be nice if an episodic television show would actually resolve its episodic plots. I have nothing against cliffhangers when they’re done appropriately (i.e. at a pivotal point to increase tension), but they’re annoying when used all the time.

- While the writing in the scenes that were solely Willow/Kennedy was fine, the acting from Iyari Limon wasn’t. She and Alyson Hannigan have very little chemistry, making their characters’ relationship feel fake and hard to believe. She also struggles during Kennedy’s confrontation with Amy, where she tries for forceful and confident and looks more like a petulant child.

- The Wicca group stuff was an epic failure. It was poorly paced and dragged, as well as making no sense. Why did Willow decide to go to the campus Wiccans (whom she mocked a few years ago and would have no reason to keep track of) instead of picking up the phone and speaking to the coven witches in England? And why were she and the leader acting like they knew each other, when the leader wasn’t actually in “Hush” or any of the other S4 Wicca group scenes?

- Poor Amy has really gone through the ringer. Not satisfied with the ludicrous twisting of her character into a hardcore addict, she’s now become a vengeful, power-mad sorceress. How does she know about Kennedy and the potential Slayers? Why’s she never mentioned again or dealt with (wouldn’t Kennedy tell Willow what had really happened)? Why was she complaining that Willow was always stronger and more admired magically when we were consistently shown that Amy was much more powerful (and Willow had even stated that)? Amy’s pretty amazing if she can teleport Kennedy through space and time with a snap of her fingers.

- The plot thread with Robson calling the Summers house was iffy. Why’s he only calling Buffy now, when he could presumably have done so several episodes ago? How did he survive the Bringer attack? Why does he think she’ll have seen Giles, or know where he is? Have any other Watchers thought to contact her (after all, they can’t all have been killed when the Council headquarters were blown up)?

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

I feel the same. I liked about eighty percent of the Willow/Kennedy plot and thought the Giles story was amiable fluff, but most of this episode was pretty sad. However, like multiple other eps this season, parts of the story did have promise, and I was able to watch most of it without cringing too badly. Therefore, I’ve opted to keep “The Killer In Me” at its old score: a weak three out of ten.