Halloween
Written by Carl Ellsworth
Directed by Bruce Seth Green
Original Airdate: October 1997
Plot: Ethan Raynes, the local costume shop owner,
casts a spell that transforms the people into the costumes they're wearing. Xander becomes a soldier,
Willow a ghost and Buffy a 17th century damsel who doesn't remember she's the Slayer.
Review
Warning: If SPOILER info makes you feel not quite yourself, I'd recommend
turning back now. SPOILERS for Buffy's "Halloween" are just ahead....
In short: Amusing, fun and diverting.
If there were ever a show that was absolutely ripe for a Halloween
episode, it's Buffy the Vampire Slayer. A show that regularily deals with
Halloween images of horror, vampires, demons, and monsters is one that
could and should deliver a killer (no pun intended) Halloween episode. Of
course, the show wouldn't be Buffy without the trademark humor we've come
to know and love as well as a balance to those grisly images we see on
screen each week.
So, my hopes were high.
And for the most part the show delivered. It had exactly the
right blend of humor and horror. It also had the usual Buffy twist on the
old legend. If you've watched any of those B horror flicks, you know that
funky stuff always happens on Halloween. And you'd assume that it would
be a vampire field day and that Buffy would be working overtime. But the
one thing Joss and company do so well is toy with our expectations.
Instead of being a night of partying, killing, and violence by the vamps,
it's kind of a night off. Sort of like Christmas for undead if you will.
I like the little touch there. It's nice to see.
Of course, having the night off doesn't mean things are going to
be quiet for Buffy. After all, this is Sunnydale and we've got a new
villain in town. And I've got to admit it that so far, I love Spike. He's
such a dicotomy and it came to the surface so well in Halloween. On the
one hand, we've got a villain who is willing to stalk Buffy and even
sacrfice some of his troops to learn her weaknesses in fighting style but
is impulsive enough to disgregard vampire belief in taking Halloween off
to go after Buffy and kill her while he can. I love that. It's such a
great thing to get to see a villain take direct action, which is where
Spike is so much different than the Master. The Master was forced to stay
underground and send his minions after Buffy while Spike is able to be a
bit more hands on, if you will. I only hope that this tactic doesn't
prove to be a big Achille's heel to the show since it means that unless
Buffy slays Spike at some point, they will have to keep coming up with
ways for him to get away. And let's face it, his escape here was a bit
lame.
But, Spike's plotline was just one small part of the overall
canvas the was this episode. And while at first, I wondered why so much
time was being spent on the whole issue of costumes, looking back at the
episode as a whole, I can understand what it was done. It made for a
satisfying episode because it gave us a little of everything.
For one thing, it continued the trend of episodes in season two
with Buffy's disatisfaction with her life as Slayer. The scene with
Buffy, Angel, and Cordy really highlighted this. I loved seeing Cordy
throw herself at Angel. It makes you wonder if they are trying to set up
some kind of relationship there. Personally, I'd have to give it a big
thumbs down at this point. Not that it wouldn't be fun, but it just
doesn't seem right. It works here in isolation because it helps us to
learn more about Buffy's dissatisfation with her life as the chosen one,
but I think as an ongoing plot, it would get old quickly.
Seeing the gang's choice of costumes was great. The theme of
being something you aren't was so great. And it carried over in their
transformation. Xander suddenly becomes gutsy and bold, after be defended
by Buffy earlier in the episode, he must step into the protector role.
Willow who is trying to hide her femininity is forced to step out and show
it off as a ghost. She's also called upon to be the voice of reason in
the group when it all goes to hell. And finally, Buffy is transformed
into the exact opposite of her normal self. Instead of the normally
confident, self-assured Slayer we've seen, we've got her instead playing
the role of the stereotypical female in those horror flicks. I liked the
way it all worked out and it was really great when the spell was broken to
hear her tell Spike, "Honey, I'm home." Truly a great moment.
And just as we saw different sides to the regular Scooby gang, we
really got to see a new side of Giles. A strong, scary, violent side.
I'm am intrigued by it and want to know more. Espeically about the
nickname Ripper. What does that mean? Why is he called that? And the
final scene was just chilling with Giles looking at the camera. To see
Anthony Stewart Head pull off what he did in this episode was amazing. Do
I smell an Emmy nod here?
About the only things that weighed the episode down, was the
ending. I've alluded to how Spike just ran off earlier. The other part
was the relative ease of breaking the spell. No matter how I look at it,
it's a letdown. It was too easy and seemed to only come when the script
had got to a point where it had to end and they took an easy out. I've
come to expect a great deal more from Buffy in this case. It's usually
endings of the shows that make me sit up and go, "Woah!" Joss is a master
of playing with our expectations and it seemed as though he didn't go far
enough here.
But, I won't allow that to mar what was an otherwise exceptional
episode.
So, I guess that about wraps it up except for a few small
things...
--Xander's line about getting more candy was a scream. I loved
the scenes with the Scooby gang and the kids. Those were a hoot.
--Will we see Ethan again? He obviously is connected to Giles
somehow. But how? Oh, I hate unaswered questions. But then again, I
love them....
--So, when will Willow actually meet Oz? Or is this "Who's that
girl?" theme set to continue all year?
Well, that's about it for now. If you like Buffy, you'll love
Halloween. Someone asked recently what might be a good episode to
introduce a new fan to Buffy. I have to say Halloween might be a good one
to try.
My rating: 8.0 (out of 10.0)
Next up: Buffy and Cordy in a race for homecoming queen...and Mr. Trick's
got a few tricks up his sleeve.
"When it comes to dating, I'm the Slayer..."
--Cordelia
Review Copyright 1998 by Michael T. Hickerson. All Rights Reserved.
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