Choices

Choices
Written by David Fury
Directed by James A. Cotner

Original Airdate: May 4, 1999

Plot: Buffy and the Scooby gang decide to put a kink in the mayor's ascension and take the battle to him...

Review

Warning: There are major SPOILERS for the latest episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, "Choices" just ahead. Choose whether you want to see them or not..

In short: A solid return from repeats....

Coming to this review, I find myself in a similar quandry as I did about this time last year with "I Only Have Eyes For You." Namely, while both IOHEFY and "Choices" are solid, entertaining episodes of Buffy, I'm not sure if I'm going to give them too much credit for being good simply because it's the first new offering out of a long set of repeats.

So, while I will say that I really, really did like Choices a great deal, I see it as being easily the episode that could fall the farthest in my season ending wrap-up. But that's in the future...

Let's focus on the here and now...

And the here and now is a solid offering of Buffy. I won't go out on a limb and say it's a perfect one or even one that will end up in my top three of the season, but I think it's a solid offering. And one that, for the most part, does an admirable job of setting up events for the final run of three episodes (or four, depending of if and when they show Earshot...)

It certainly attempts to juggle a lot of on-going plot threads while having a self-sustained story. David Fury is to be commended for an offering that could easily have lacked focus but yet it doesn't. Part of that credit has to go not only to a solid script but also able direction by James A. Contner. When the focus of the story could easily have wandered or gotten hopelessly off track (such as the Zeppo, for example), instead it continued to move forward at enough of a pace to keep me interested.

And for the most part, I liked what I saw.

I especially enjoyed seeing the Scooby gang go on the offensive an taking the fight to the Mayor. That worked particularily well since it's motivated by not only events we've seen in Buffy's life all season but also since the show started. She's never been overly thrilled by her role as Slayer and it's impact on he rlife (or lack thereof) and so to see her try to find a way out to have a normal life is exactly in keeping with the character we've come to know and love. This has been especially contrasted all year long by Faith who enjoys the role of Slayer too much, even to the point of killing for the sake of killing and giving into her passions (such as her seduction of Xander in the Zeppo). One point that can be argued is that Faith has become the same or worse than the evil she is fighting against. I enjoyed seeing Buffy rationalize that if she can stop the Mayor, Sunnydale should be safe long enough for her to leave and have a normal life. This is made espeically more painful a decision to see on screen as Buffy gets accepted by a relatively prestigious school in Northwestern.

Taking the battle to the Mayor seemed like the right thing to do--espeically as it was only hoping to knock out one part of his plan and not stop his ascension outright, just yet. I'm coming to like the Mayor a bit more each time I see him. He's certainly not the on-screen presense that Spike was, but he's got something that is imminently more watchable now. He's more like a coiled snake--looking harmless but waiting to strike at just the right moment. I think it will be really interesting to seem him pushed over the line and lose his cool veneer in the season finale, if that happens. (And let's face it, Buffy standing in the way of his ascension is probably going to tick him off...)

Seeing the plan go from idea to execution to going wrong was nicely done. One thing I liked about Fury's script was that it not only gave us obvious consequences of the actions taken (the taking of the box with the ugly little creatures in it) and well as the unintended consequences of the actions (Willow's falling into the hands of the Mayor and the gang having to give the box back to save her). In fact, hving Willow fall into the Mayor's hands, while a bit cliched at first, worked rather well over, namely because of the scene in the library with everyone arguing over whether or not to give the box back to get Willow back. In many ways it reminded me of conversations last year about whether or not Angel had to be slain--especially the blow-up in the library from the Becoming, Part One. Each person's arguement worked well as it seemed to come out of their character. It was nice to see Wesley used fairly well as the outsider who is willing to consider the bigger picture while the rest of the gang is blinded by their love of Willow. It's nice to see Wesley serving as a different viewpoint rather than the butt of jokes or held in disdain as he has been at some points this year. I still am not going to jump on board as a Wesley fan, but I liked him here. Seeing Oz's reaction of knocking over the urn and forcing the decison was also nice. Seth Green did a good job in the sequence of conveying the emotions of the scene without saying a word. It was easily one of the best scenes of the show.

Of course, it all set-up the confrontation in the cafeteria and the first face-to-face meeting of Buffy and the Mayor. (I'd honestly forgotten that she'd never actually met him on a personal level until now). Overall, it was nicely done and I found the give and take between the Mayor and Angel to be rather believable. It also echoed some statements made last year by Xander. It's nice to see that kind of nod to previous continuity. Also, it may be setting up Angel's departure from Sunnydale a bit. I am sure the Mayor's comments won't be the straw that makes him up and leave, but it may influence his decision.

So, overall, I liked the choices that had to be made in the episode. Some of which were made, but others of which I think were set in motion. I think we are aslo seeing the consequences of certain choices. As much bravado as she shows, I'm beginning to wonder just how thrilled Faith is with her choice to back the Mayor. You almost get the feeling that she is beginning to think she's backed the wrong horse. This was evident in her hesitation to leave the cafeteria, I think.

About the only thing that really stuck out like a sore thumb was Snyder's role. When we first saw him investigating the drugs and the apparent drug sale in the beginning, I smelled that it would somehow come into play later. And to be honest, I really, really thought that it might come into play when Xander and Oz were assembling ingredients for the spell. It seemed as if this would be a perfect plot twist for Snyder to catch them with what appeared to be drug related items and then take them. Also, having heard rumors that Snyder isn't long for this world this year, I figured he might go down to the bugs. But, alas, not.

But, overall, this is the only thing that bugged me (no pun intended) in what was a rather enjoyable story. It remains to see how it holds up under repeated viewing or as the season finale looms closer. But for now, I'm satisfied.

Well, that's about it except for a few small things...

--Willow worked well here. Seeing her be a bit more assertive was nice. Her lack of fear facing Faith, stealing the pages and going along was nice. Also, her decision to stay while seeming a bit strange at first, worked well. It also sets her up to stay next year. I'm surprised that she didn't mention Oz as part of the decision making process.

--Once again, Seth Green did great. He stole the show with his scene in the library, I think. Oz is getting better and better after being mostly wasted earlier this year. Also, the friendship between he and Xander is one of the show's late season pleasures to see.

--So,Cordy's taken a job, eh? It may go toward explaining why she's been so nasty all season....I'm interested to see where this goes...

--When do we get Earshot? Anyone have any ideas?

Well, that's about it. Like I said, there was a lot to like here. But some things pulled it out of the pefect range.

My rating: 8.0 (out of 10.0)

Next up: Prom time in Sunnydale....

"There's something you don't see every day...well, unless you're me."

--Buffy