Surprise

Surprise
Written by Martin Noxon. Directed by Bruce Seth Green

Original Airdate: January 19, 1998

Plot: On her seventeenth birthday, Buffy decides she wants to take her relationship with Angel to a new level of intimacy. Meanwhile, Dru and Spike hatch a plan to reanimate the Judge who can kill burn the humanity out of any living thing and help them take over the world...

Review

Warning: If you avoid SPOILERS like a gypsy curse, then you might want to turn back now. There are major SPOILERS just ahead for "Surprise."

In short: A nicely done episode.

Being a Trek fan, I am always hesitant about two part episodes on any show--especially those that claim they will "forever change" a show. I generally see these as being a giant set-up into the "what if" so we can hit the big reset button at the end, leaving the audience a bit disappointed. (Of the three modern Treks, DS9 had been the one that most managed to avoid this cliche until the recent end of the Dominion War arc.) So, I came into the Buffy two night event with a bit of excitment and bit of hesitation.

I'm glad to report that part one, at least, lived up to my expectations and beyond. It had all of the strenghts that makes Buffy such a strong show. And while one of my major complaints last week about Bad Eggs was there was way too much going on, there was just as much development going on here. The main difference was that since it is a two-part episode, there can be a large number of plotlines none of which get the short end of the stick. Overall, I thought there was a good balance struck here. You had the tension of Spike and Dru's latest plan to destroy Buffy and Angel coupled with the tension of just who is Jenny and why is she watching over Angel to the romantic tensions between Angel and Buffy, Xander and Cordy, and Willow and Oz. And while some of these got a bit more screen time than others, each was given a moment to sparkle and shine and really add something to the plot overall.

I've got to admit that I really enjoyed the return of a new, healed, and very evil Druscilla. I like the way that the assembling of the pieces of the Judge had enough time to develop and be dramatic so that his first appearance on screen was very suspenseful. It's nice to see that our heroes are fighting to keep in step with Dru's plan instead of her being behind and playing catch up. Of course, the obvious questions that arise are if armies couldn't stop the Judge, what makes us think that Buffy and the crew can. I have some feelings about how this might turn out in part two. Most of them involved either a sarcifice by Jenny or Angel's curse being lifted and then his surrending his soul to stop the Judge. Not sure what will happen there, but that's just my two cents.

I've got to admit that I liked the fact that Spike is still recovering from whatever happened to him at the end of WML, part two. It raised that episode a bit in my estimation since there are consequenes to what happened in the church. And it was good to see Dru as a stronger vampire without necessarily restoring her sanity too much. She is still chilling here but there is a much more evil chill to it. I hope we see a lot more of it in part two.

So, that plotline is pretty much moving forward at a good pace. The other threads are just as involving and interesting to watch. We had the issue of Buffy's b'day and with that change, a desire to take her relationship with Angel to a whole new level. It was nice to see her talking about it with Willow and also nice to know that it didn't turn out to be just a dream, like I thought it might be. Watching them explore what is going on together and then making the decision together. I like the idea that Buffy actually has a thought process of wanting to be intimate with Angel and considers all of the consequences with Willow before she actually does sleep with him. I think it's also nice that Angel seems willing to talk about them as well. It's nice to see them not just jump into bed. Last week's conversation set this sequence up rather well.

I just wonder what kind of unintended consequences will come up in part two. We saw a hint of those in the cliffhanger (and was it just me or did Angel get dressed pretty quickly! :-) ) and I think we will see more. I wonder if Buffy will end up having to face the very real possibility of having to take Angel out in part two.

I just throw these things out there.

Next up in the old development department wsa the whole Willow/Oz relationship. I had complained last week that he was conspiciously absent. But he's back here. I loved the sequences where Oz and Willow decide to go out. Probably the funniest moment in the show for me was the line about, "That's what I like--you're unpredictable." The whole scene was sweet and fun and really seemed to ring true. I like the way developed last night and hope to see it continue. And Oz's reaction to the vampire thing was also hilarious. I love his wry, sarcastic humor. It's a good compliment to Xander.

Speaking of Xander, I really felt with him on his whole relationship with Cordy. Not a lot of screen time was devoted to this, but the two or three moments we got worked well. I had said I was tired of this relationship, but looking back I realize I was tired of it being just used for a quick laugh or a yuck. If it delves into depths like this--with Xander being hurt and bitter as he tries to understand just what is going on there, it works for me.

So, overall, there is a lot of nice development going on here. I am anxious to see what part two does with all of the plot threads and how they come together. Hopefully, it will all work out well.

As long as they avoid that reset button, I will be a happy, happy camper.

Rating: 8.0 (could drop or go up depending on part 2!)

Next up: The Judge is in town and looking to set up court.

"We could grind our enemies bones to make our bread...oh wait, we already did that."

--Xander

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