Earshot

Earshot
Written by Jane Esponson
Directed by

Original Airdate: September 21, 1999

Plot: Buffy does battle with a pair on demons which causes her to inherit the ability to read minds. With the power, Buffy overhears a person threatening the entire school and must race against time to stop the killer while trying not to lose her own sanity.

Review

Warning: You don't need to be pyschic to overhear the major SPOILERS that are just ahead for the latest episode of Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, "Earshot." If you prefer the silence of not knowing major plot developments or haven't seen the episode yet, please turn back now...

In short: Better than I expected, not all I'd hoped for.

At long last, the "lost" episode of Buffy, "Earshot" has finally seen the light of day. I'm glad we got to finally see it and judge for ourselves whether or not the WB was justified in pulling it at the last minute and holding.

So, to address that controversy, let me say that I can see why the WB pulled the episode back in May. There were some strange similarities between the tragic events in Colorado and those displayed here. Indeed, some of the dialogue that took place might have been offensive or upsetting to those who lost family members or friends in the wake of the awful events out that took place last May. So, on that level, I must applaud the WB for having the sensititivty to delay the episode.

As for the overall delay, I've got to admit that it seemed a bit longer than it had to be. The episode could easily have aired in July as they did with Graduation Day, Part 2. I think the only reason they went ahead and showed GD2 in July was the fact that there was such a huge uproar over it not being shown due to the cliffhanger nature of the story. Overall, I'm disappointed that the WB waited this long to show it, but I am glad they did.

And, I guess in some ways, that Earshot serves as an appetizer for the season premiere that is just a little over a week away....

So, now that I've had my soapbox moment, let's get on to the real reason we're here...to consider just what exactly it is that Earshot brings to the table.

As most of you may already know, I'm a huge fan of writers. And if you've read my thoughts all season long, you'll know I've been a bit disappointed in the offerings by Jane Esponsen. Her two previous offerings of Band Candy and Gingerbread (though I lay much of the blame for how badly Gingerbread turned out at the feet of Thania St. John) left me a bit cold. So, while I had high hopes for Earshot, I wasn't holding my breath as they say...

Which is why on some levels Earshot really surprised me. It had some very interesting ideas and concepts packed into the hour of television. And it showed why Buffy is one of the best realized shows on television today.

That's not to say it was perfect, by any stretch of the imagaination. Nor is Ms. Espenson on par with such writers as Marti Noxon or the great Joss Whedon himself, but overall the episode worked.

On many levels, it worked.

First of all, I enjoyed seeing the fall-out of Angel's acting job from Enemies. The scenes between he and Buffy ran true and worked for me. It also helps give a bit more insight into the break-up that occurs in the Prom a few weeks down the line. You can see a bit of rift developing here between Buffy and Angel (the line of "Just talk to me," really seemed to signal it) and it's one of those things that might have blown past me the first time, but seemed blindlingly obvious in seeing the episode four months later.

Also, I've got to hand it to Ms. Espenson for giving us a script that toyed with our expectations. One thing I've loved about Buffy since I first started watching is the way Joss and company play with the standard monster stories and give them a new twist. That was nicely done here. I think it was interesting to see that Jonathan didn't intend to kill everyone in school but that he really wanted to make a statement about his life and how he felt ignored. I think having Jonathan be a relatively recurring character on the show (sort of like DS9's Morn) worked better than season one's Invisible Girl because at least we had some inside track into knowing who Jonathan was and, perhaps, understanding his plight a bit more. He came off as a bit more sympathetic and that was nicely realized.

What I also liked was the fact that he wasn't out to kill everyone, but that is was, actually the school lunch cook. That worked out pretty well, even if getting to that point was a bit forced. (Xander's being distracted by the Jell-O didn't really click for me and seemed far too much a case of a writer desparately needing to get from point A to point B but not quite knowing how to get there)

And let's face it, Buffy's having the ability to read people's minds worked well, on the surface. In terms of the humerous value of it, it was nicely done. Seeing the inner workings of Giles and Willow and Wesley was nicely done. However, I think the real failing of the script was that it was content to just settle on let's have some funny moments and not dig deeper. We got very one-dimensional thoughts from all the characters that Buffy could overhear. Overall, that bothered me quite a great deal. I feel as though a great deal of potential was wasted here. After all, this might have been a chance to give characters such as Wesley or Cordy, who really didn't get much airtime or development in the second half of the season, a chance to really grow and develop.

I also have one glaring comment which is why can we hear Buffy hear the thoughts of everyone except her mom. That point really bugged me, though I suspect it was done to add to the humerous value of the scene and the timing of it rather than as an oversight.

As for the whole theme of guns in schools and teen suicide, I 've got to give Buffy credit for doing it with intelligence and sensitivity. It's a touchy subject and one that could have easily come off as cliched. But I think that the show hit the right notes there.

So, overall, I've got to admit, it was an enjoyable episode, but that all it really did was whet my appetite for the season premiere....

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

--You'd think one of the things Buffy might do with her power was try to find the Mayor and read this thoughts....maybe get a leg up on the Ascension.

--So, Giles and Joyce slept together...twice. This puts a whole new light on certain rumors for season four I've been hearing...

--Again, Faith affects the show without being seen. I like that.

--The growing friendship between Xander and Oz has been one of the late highlights of the season. The discussion of the basketball game was nicely done...

--This episode also has the theme of Buffy feeling left out due to her Slayer duty....which hadn't been seen in a while.

--No wonder the senior class named her class protector. Her secret seemed to be pretty much shot as she climbed up to the bell tour to stop Jonathan...

--If you've seen the X-Files episode, Blood, (early season two), the last sequence seemed vaguely reminscent of it. (the sequence in the tower)

Well, that's about it for now. Overall, there was a lot to like about Earshot, but also some points that bugged me. But at last, we got to see all of season three....I just wish we'd seen it in order.

Final Rating: 7.0 (out of 10.0)

Next up: A special repeat of Graduation Day...and then the season premiere!