I Was Made To Love You

I Was Made To Love You
Written by Jane Espenson
Directed by James A. Contner

Original Airdate: February 20, 2001

Plot: A mysterious girl named April shows up in town, looking for her boyfriend, Warren. It turns out that April is a robot created by Warren to be the ideal girlfriend, who he summarily dumped when he met the "perfect" real girl.

Review

Warning: If you reading SPOILERS for the latest episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "I Was Made To Love You" will send you into defense mode, I strongly suggest you turn back now. There are major SPOILERS just ahead...

In short: Mixed.

There's an old saying that in comedy, timing is everything.

I'd argue that in network programming, the same adage applies. After all, it seems as though the major revelations and "event" episodes seem to happen during three big months a year--November, February and May. Also, let's face it, if you're watching a show, it seems a bit odd to see a Christmas-themed episode in, say, the middle of July. So, there are just certain ideas and episodes that seem to happen in certain months and times of the year.

Like Valentine's Day, which was celebrated by many last week.

But on Buffy, Valentine's Day has never been a huge deal. (Yes, it served as the catalyst for BBB, but it's not something that is observed each year) Not in the same way that Buffy's birthday has been on the show or even Halloween (which has now been the basis of at least two episodes for the series). This is probably because each year, February is when the story arch of the season is gearing up and getting into full swing. Indeed, ever since season two, the February episodes have served as a chance to put the arch into full speed ahead mode, all the while turning up the dramatic intensity. This, of course, leaves little time for the usual romantic, mushy episodes that a lot of shows churn out about this time of year. But, leave it to Buffy to, at last, turn out an episode in February centered around love and/or relationships. Again, I'll admit that there is the season two classic BBB, but that was more of a character exploration of the Xander and Cordelia than an episode that examined the fragile nature of romantic relationships.

"I Was Made To Love You" was an examination of the fragile nature of romantic relationships. And we saw relationships in various stage, giving us an interesting contrast of viewpoints.

We saw the beginning stages of romance with Joyce and her date with Brian. We had Buffy and Ben doing the whole beginning relationship dance--highlighted by the awkward attempting to give the phone number and see if Buffy is up for coffee scene (which brings to mind the quote from Willow to Angel so many years ago about coffee not just being a drink). We saw the middle point of relationships--as seen by the couples of Xander and Anya and Willow and Tara. And we saw relationships that were in the dying stages with the whole April/Warren relationship We also got to see the dark side of relationships with Spike's continued obsession with Buffy and just how far he's willing to take that.

The most successful of these were the portrayal of obsession as seen in Spike's new-found love for Buffy (and his attempts to cover it up to the Scooby gang) and Joyce's nervousness about going out on a first date with Brian. Both of these plotlines were entertaining and interesting--especially Joyce's turning to her daughters for dating advice. From beginning to end, I enjoyed the Joyce storyline a great deal. Her initial nervousness, her asking the time every minute, her worry of what to wear and then the giddy joy of returning home when it had gone well and freaking out Buffy were all extremely well done. Also, to see Buffy be supportive and to want something nice for her mom was superbly done. (I loved the line at the end about how it was nice to see there are still some guys who do things right.)

This plotline was contrasted by Spike's obsession with Buffy. Seeing him show up at the party and then later the Magic Box to deny to the Scooby gang he loves Buffy was funny. It reminded me a lot of how dances went in junior high school and the whole, "I don't like her" kind of arguments that you had back then. And this plotline was also good because we got to see the Ripper make an appearance. Giles's dark warning to Spike to get over Buffy and move on was absolutely chilling--and had it not been for the final two minutes--would have been the most compelling scene of the entire episode. It's nice to see Anthony Stewart Head get to channel the dark side of Giles--a side we've not really seen since season three's "Band Candy." (Also written by Jane Espenson, if you're wondering).

And to a lesser extent, I liked the budding romance of Ben and Buffy--or better yet the way nipping that potential romance in the bud worked out. It's nice to see Buffy realize that maybe it's time to get to be happy with Buffy and then enter into a romantic entanglement rather than rushing into something and ending up hurting herself and the other person. Of course, I've also got to admit that I don't see much on-screen chemistry between Buffy and Ben. Which may be the point really. It did seem that, at times, Buffy was trying to force herself into a new relationship with the next available guy--whether she truly liked him or not. So, to see her move from that to accepting that now isn;t the right time was nicely done.

And while all of those plotlines worked for me, it was the main plotline that left me a bit cold.

Certainly, in the past two weeks, we've seen two different characters display obsessive characteristics toward the object of their affection. Last week, we saw Spike knock Buffy out and tie her up to get her attention. This week, we had April, who's single minded obsession with finding Warren led to dire consequences for all involved.

On some level, you can almost feel sympathy for Warren. Loneliness, especially around Valentine's Day, can seem a bit overwhelming at times. But most single people are willing to try the personals ads or the bar scene. Warren seems more content to build his own robot who is perfect for him in every way. What Warren fails to understand is that it's the imperfections that make relationships more interesting. A give and take between two people is what makes it interesting. Having someone who goes along with your every whim isn't exactly what I'd call a relationship. But, sometimes when you're lonely, things can get a bit (for lack of better word) desperate.

And while seeing some of the consequences of Warren's loneliness were interesting, I found the whole April plotline to not be as compelling as I'd hoped. Part of this was that it felt like it was recycled a lot from season two's "Some Assembly Required" (though I will admit that this time around, we got a bit more motivation for the villain of the week). I think a big portion of this was that even though April's wandering around town asking for Warren was amusing, I never saw the threat to it. Sure, we had Warren's reaction--but then again, that could be the reaction of any guy who wants to distance himself from his previous relationships. I think we should have seen April's gradually become more and more agitated at not finding Warren and perhaps taking it out on those she came across. Certainly, the guys who lied to her and said Warren had just been there deserved it. It also might have given the episode a bit more dramatic tension, which it lacked for most of the storyline.

And let's face it, we knew from the beginning that Buffy and the robot would duke it out. Certainly I'd have found it more interesting to see Buffy defeat the robot somehow other than beating the stuffing out of it. If you've ever seen the old Star Trek episode, "I, Mudd" you know there are other ways to defeat an android. And that kind of ending would certainly have been far more unexpected and interesting. To see Buffy use brains over brawn to defeat the robot might have had some greater potential.

I also found the regular Scooby gang's reactions to April interesting.

I see some potential, long-term problems for Xander and Anya. I got the feeling that both Xander and Willow's noticing of April was more one of those things where while you're happy in long-term relationship, sometimes you just happen to notice someone new and different because, well, they're new and different. It doesn't mean you don't love the person you're with...just that you've got hormones like everyone else. It's how you act on them that can be negative. But I think that with Anya and her lack of depth with human relationships, this could spell disaster for Xander. Because Anya may get jealous...and I can't imagine that a former-vengeance demon scorned is a good thing.

Finally, I'd be remiss if I didn't comment on the final scene.

All I can say is--that was just a shocker. I want to thank those of you who'd put up SPOILER warnings about TV Guide. I avoided it and I'm glad I did. The final scene was stunning. Not only because of what it did, but also the acting. Sarah Michelle Gellar was stunning from the gleefulness she had at seeing the flowers to the slow horror coming over her as she saw Joyce on the couch. Indeed, the final line of "Mommy" uttered in the voice of a young child was utterly moving and perfectly done. This has set up some huge events for next week and some huge emotional ramifications for the rest of the season.

It's certainly made the wait for the next new episode seem just a bit longer.

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

--Did anyone else think April looked a lot like Sheri Appleby from Roswell or Katie Holmes?

--I loved the scenes with Xander and Buffy. I like the way this friendship has developed this year. Both scenes of them alone were nicely done.

Xander's line about Oz was probably the best one-liner of the entire show.

--The whole Glory/Ben thing...it raises a lot of questions. I am frustrated by the lack of development...or my perception of the lack of development. I keep having to remind myself that at this time in season three, we had only a vague idea what the Mayor was really up to....so I've got to have patience and faith that it will all come together.

Well, that's it for now. Not the strongest episode of the year, but not the worst. It did some things right and it had some areas that needed a bit more work.

My rating: 6.0 (out of 10.0)

Next up: Saying goodbye to Joyce Summers....