Dead Man's Party

Dead Man's Party
Written by Marti Noxon
Directed by James Whitmore, Jr.

Original Airdate: October 6, 1998

Plot: Buffy attempts to re-integrate herself into life in Sunnydale but finds it's an uphill battle. To help out, Joyce throws Buffy a welcome home party which is invaded by an army of zombies.

Review

Warning: If not reading SPOILERS gives you a tingly feeling, then I strongly suggest you turn back now. There are major SPOILERS just ahead for "Dead Man's Party."

In short: A solid, enjoyable episode.

OK, I've got to admit here that I was a bit nervous going into last night's episode. A whole lot of that stemmed from the fact last year started off well only to have a holding pattern episode in the form of Some Assembly Required until we got to the real meat and potatoes of the season in School Hard. And when I heard that this year Joss was using a similar structure to the season--pivotal events happening in episode three, part of me wondered if we'd be given just another holding pattern episode for the second story of the year.

So, imagine my utter relief when Dead Man's Party turned out to not be a holding pattern episode, but one that did what Buffy does best--show some consequences and fall out to Buffy's actions. Just as Anne was last week, Dead Man's Party's strength was that time spent with the characters and their reactions. Face it, we'd have felt cheated if Buffy returned to Sunndydale and everything was hunky-doory again. If she's just been accepted back as part of the Scooby gang with no questions asked, it wouldn't have been as satisfying for us.

Not to say it wasn't a rough ride. But then again, that's what Marti Noxon has in the past shown she can do--take the characters we know and love and put them through an emotional wringer. In the end, we discover a bit more about them from their foibles and weaknesses to their strengths. I said this a few days ago in defense of Noxon and I repeat it here--she's really got a good grasp on what it is that makes these characters tick and for the most part I've enjoyed her work. I only hope we see more of it this year...

Because she really pulls out all the stops with the characters here. I found in interesting last week that Willow hoped Buffy would show up like nothing had happened, but then when she does, Willow is the first to draw away from her. I loved Willow's explanation to Buffy of why she is distant from her emotionally at first--feeling that somehow Buffy betrayed the bond of friendship they have by running away and not being there to share in her triumphs and tragedies. The scene in Buffy's bedroom rang so absolutely true that it was like a kick in the gut. It's also interesting to note that Willow is the first one of the Scooby gang to really come to Buffy and talk about things. I see this as a major continuation of her character, the one who will be angry first but also the first to talk out the differences. We saw this to some extent in Innocence last year with her reaction to Cordy and Xander and we see it here with Buffy. And it all worked.

Next up, you have Xander's reaction. It's got to be hard for Xander because deep down I think he still loves Buffy. But in every season finale he is rejected by her on several levels. In Prophecy Girl it was a literal rejection for a date. In Becoming, it was much more. Buffy not only rejected his help but shunned him by leaving town. It's easy to see how all this would add up to the anger, resentment, bitterness that all came welling out of Xander last night to Buffy. I know that there are some of you out there who will probably hate Xander for this, but I have to be honest that everything he said to Buffy in this episode rang true. I especially loved the double meaning to the line about not being able to bury things because they'll come back to get you. Considering that Buffy is the slayer and things repeatedly come back up to get her, this was a wonderfully done line, replete with Xander irony. Of course, it wasn't his usual funny sarcasm but it did cut to the bone.

I also liked seeing Xander's attempts at sarcasm to Giles upon Buffy's return fail. Nicholas Brendan really brought both of these scenes of well and it's some of his best acting on the show, rivaling what I think it one of his best performances in the Pack.

As for seeing Joyce's reactions, at first, I kept wondering what happened to the Joyce we saw last week and in the Becoming--the one who was overwhelmed, bitter and hateful to just about everyone. Until I realized that she was major overcompensating. Joyce was an emotional rollercoaster all summer and it seems that her emotions are pretty close to the surface in most cases. To see her go from asking about slaying to throwing the party and being adamant about the good china to furious at Buffy it all worked well. Her line to Buffy about consequenes to actions rang true as well and showed that Joss and company aren't ready to take a quick fix, reset button to a happy ending. (Unlike, say for example some of the recent Trek series where the reset button is written in to every supposedly pivotal episode)

I will admit one thing. I'm not sure Joyce's being in on the secret is such a good idea. Dead Man's Party could have happened effectively either way. The jury, for me, is still out on whether her knowing Buffy is the slayer is a good idea.

The only part of last night's episode that felt mildly disappointing was Giles. I guess that I was hoping for a bit more here because I felt that he of all the participants lost the most by Buffy's being away. He seemed a bit more accepting of her return and her place than anyone else did. It might have been that the emphasis was the Scooby gang and Buffy's mom, but it will be interesting to see if or how this pans out in the next few weeks.

And who didn't cheer in the end when he stood up to Synder. Seeing dark Giles was a nice touch and remarkably well done. And it was also nice to get some foreshadowing of things to come with referenes to the Mayor cropping up. I can't wait to see him or her.

So, you've got some really, really good character development. Enough to make a great overall episode--if it's held togehter by an intereting monster plot. And it's here that the show really let me down. The Zombies seemed like such an afterthought to the rest of the show. Also, their leader wasn't around long enough to be interesting. I felt like theis entire plot was tacked on in spots to add tension when there was already enough dramatic tension going on. Of course, last night they repeated one of the best Next Generation episodes of all time, Family, which if you'll remember followed the Borgification of Captain Picard and showed the conseuqences and impact without having a villain of the week plot. I found myself wishing Buffy had done that here and left the zombies for another time, another episode. Because I was really here for the characters and to see how they'd get back to being the Scooby gang again.

Well, that about wraps it up for now, except for a few small things.

--I liked seeing Joyce's friend Pat, though I suspected she was up to something for some reason. I wonder if she was one of the mayor's minions sent to keep an eye on Joyce.

--I wish Pat hadn't died. It might have been interesting to see she and Joyce's friendship develop on screen. Also, poor Joyce. She makes a friend and they either become a zombie or turn out to be a robot...

--Other than his scene in the library, Oz was wasted here. And even the library scene about partying felt like some of the early Angel inclusions last year--we've got to get him in because he's in the credits. I like Oz, don't get me wrong. But I want to see him used effectively as he was last year.

--Again, no previews. Where do I write WB to protest?

--New theme song: Growing on me. OH, and you can see Faith in the opening credits. Thanks to all who pointed that out to me.

--Nightwing?

Well, that about wraps it up for now. Dead Man's Party was dead on in what it needed to be in terms of character development but a bit lacking in the old monster department. But it's still an enjoyable episode...

My rating: 8.0

Next up: Faith comes to Sunnydale....

"Will you be slaying?"

"Only if they give me lip."

--Joyce and Buffy.