7.16 Storyteller

[Clare]

7.16 Storyteller - Episode #138
Andrew annoys the Scoobies by filming a documentary on them and Sunnydale High is rocked by outpours of student violence due to the influence of the seal in the basement.

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

[partcynic]

7x16 “Storyteller”

Episode Rating = 5

I’d chalk this episode up to be a surprise, at the very least. If you’d told me at the start of S7 that one of its best offerings would be Andrew-centric, I’d probably have raised an eyebrow and asked what you’d been taking, but by some miracle, writer Jane Espenson was able to work within limited confines and turn “Storyteller” into a memorable, successful episode. Given how slow most of S7 has been, this came as a breath of fresh air – it’s fast-paced, humorous, and develops Andrew more than any other edition he’s appeared in. It’s not necessarily that anything was spectacular, but almost every moment was a good time, and there was both a discernable theme and a plot, which dovetailed to a logical conclusion. It’s interesting to note that with this ep, Jane has now penned the three strongest shows of the season (so far) – she clearly remembers what “Buffy” used to be, and it’s nice to have at least one person remember the classic era.

What I Liked about “Storyteller”:

- The episode has an interesting and novel structure thanks to the ‘video diary’ approach. There’s a great cyclical feel to having it both open and conclude with Andrew delivering a monologue in the bathroom, and the contrast between the two sequences is powerful and lets you see just how much he’s developed.

- Many of the individual moments related to Andrew and the camera are fun. The Masterpiece Theatre intro; Andrew tailing Buffy around the graveyard; the soft-focus, slow-mo sequence with Buffy, Spike and Anya; the re-imagined history with Dark Willow; and Spike pretending to be furious were excellent, and provided both levity and an intriguing window into Andrew’s thought process.

- The dialogue is consistently humorous, and features a decent amount of wit. As with “Same Time, Same Place”, there wasn’t really anything you’d remember once the show was done (though Anya’s “why can’t you just masturbate like the rest of us” is unforgettable), but the humour was instrumental in keeping the tone light and pace brisk.

- Jane Espenson appears to be well aware of the season’s flaws, and used Andrew to make fun of them. I loved the open mocking of Buffy’s terrible speeches, as well as Andrew’s reaction to Willow and Kennedy kissing. Although its explicit purpose was to provide a questionable ‘he’s gay’ joke, it also worked as an implicit acknowledgement of how little chemistry Alyson Hannigan and Iyari Limon have.

- The impromptu therapy session with Andrew, Anya and Xander was excellent, and the discussion about the failed wedding was sorely needed. Anya and Xander have been in limbo ever since their break-up, and it was rewarding to see them deal with some of their issues. Granted, this should have happened quite some time ago, but I’m really glad we got it (and Andrew watching the talk on tape and mouthing Anya’s part was sweet).

- Most of the material at the school was decent. After the non-stop talking about the threat posed by the Seal and the First, it was good that we saw some actual consequences, even if there was no real reason given for them occurring now. The invisible girl Buffy encountered was a fine bit of continuity; the exploding student provided a cheap laugh; and the Seal turning people violent and/or into Bringers worked. The basement sight gag with the pig and Wood’s “I hope that’s not a student” was also very funny.

- The episode’s theme (‘life is not a story’) was good, and worked excellently with Andrew’s character. Having the character film the Scoobs gave him something meaningful to do and properly integrated him into the plot, and permitted some cool fourth-wall references. Having Andrew tape himself managed to succeed by capitalising on Tom Lenk’s wooden acting (as is this context, it’s believable that he’d be uncomfortable and awkward), and there were almost none of the annoying pop culture ref jokes that have made his scenes such a drag to sit through. The final few scenes played out very well – Sarah Michelle Gellar was very believable in the basement sequence (and Buffy’s speech was competently written and grounded in reality for once), and Tom Lenk sold Andrew’s acceptance of his evil actions and repentance for them.

What I Disliked about “Storyteller”:

- Though the Andrew stuff worked (for the first time ever), it is a bit problematic that we’ve had a whole ep devoted to him. While I had no problem watching it, I’m not emotionally invested in his story, and dislike how 1) he has wasted countless time that could (and should) have gone towards meaningful development for the important characters; and 2) that his supposed comedy value has led to the writers whitewashing his status as a thoughtless would-be rapist and murderer (though they did take steps to addressing that here). Just imagine that Andrew had never been brought back, and instead Xander was the one with the camera. I think that the basic idea could have played out fairly similarly, except that it would have developed a core character instead of a peripheral one.

- Some of the jokes really misfired. The ‘magnetism’ archvillain piece, the ‘we are as gods’ scene(s) and the redone versions of Jonathon’s death (“GET OUT OF MY BRAIN!!!!”) were awful. I cringe every time I watch them, and they sully what was otherwise a strong episode.

- The ‘tension’ between Wood and Spike is uninteresting, and I can’t say I’m looking forward to the payoff. Spike has been a huge time-sucker this season, and it’s annoying that every other plot seems focused on him.

- The show really needs to work out how to use its characters. Everyone besides Buffy and Spike is suffering from a lack of real development (and even B/S have had little substantial material), and you’d be forgiven for thinking that Xander, Willow, Anya and Dawn had ceased to exist.

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

I still enjoyed it a lot, and think it’s one of the best episodes of S7 – though my previous score of five out of ten stands. It’s hard to come up with much to criticise about this, as it has no glaring problems besides the two or three bad jokes and the Andrew focus. If this got some edits and switched him out for Xander, I’d probably up this a bit, possibly to a ‘7’ or ‘8.’ Still, that doesn’t detract from the nice amount of quality here, and “Storyteller” is certainly one of the show’s best offerings from S6/7.