Out of My Mind
Written by Rebecca Kirshner
Directed by David Grossman
Original Airdate: October 17, 2000
Plot: Riley begins exhibiting strange health problems--including his heart beating so fast that it could give him a heart attack and kill him. The only hope for a cure is at the hands of Initiative doctors, but Riley refuses treatment.
Meanwhile, Spike has his own ideas on who the Initiative doctors should help and Harmony continues to "flee" from Buffy.
Review
Warning: If reading SPOILERS for the latest episode of Buffy will make your
heart beat faster and be a possible health risk, I advise that you seek the
proper medical attention in advance or turn back now. There are major
SPOILERS just ahead for "Out of My Mind."
In short: Some long-term hints wrapped up in an predicable package.
I am honestly beginning to think that no one at the WB actually watches
the episodes of Buffy or Angel when they're putting together the promos that
run each week. Last week, we got an Angel episode where the preview focused
entirely on the subplot (of course it was a subplot that featured lots of
Angel and Darla without much on) and this week on Buffy we got a preview
that while it focused on most of the what the episode was, it missed the
large majority of what made the episode enjoyable. Certainly I'd have been
far less hesitant going into the episode if I'd known there was a Spike
subplot. Heck, I think the promoters would have been far better suited if
they'd focused on Spike rather than Riley. It certainly would have made a
lot of people feel a lot more positive about the episode to start with.
But, all that said, I was able to put aside my preconceived notions and
sit down and really watch the episode based on its own merits.
And while I didn't out and out love the episode, which was Rebecca
Kirshner's first Buffy effort, I am intrigued enough to want to see more
from her as a writer. (I didn't absolutely adore Marti Noxon's writing at
first either but soon warmed up to her when she began to produce some
blockbuster episodes. I just hope Ms. Kirshner's doesn't give us a "Bad
Eggs" along the way).
One thing that Kirshner handled rather well was the A and B plotlines.
She gave each storyline enough time to be interesting and to get your
attention without feeling like the other plotline was getting the short end
of the stick. It's a delicate balance and I think she did it rather well
here. (I've not seen any of her old show Freaks and Geeks, so I'm not sure
if this is a carryover from working on that show).
I have to admit my favorite plotline of the show was that involving
Spike. It was nice to see our favorite vampire finally see his chance for
some redemption (in the form of getting that nasty chip out of his head).
Personally, I was really, really hoping this would work out for him. The
defanged Spike has lost his edge a bit and I want to see him get it back. I
want to see him be a threat to Buffy and company again as he was in season
two (at least before Angel fell). And let's face it--James Marsters is just
so good at being evil and a bad-ass that it'd be nice to see him go full
tilt again.
There has to be a way for Spike to get the chip out of his head. And it
certainly seems as though this plotline is being set up a bit--what with our
finding out the Initiative still exists in other areas of the country.
(Certainly this brings up a long-term plotline question--now that the
Initiative knows for a fact that "Hostile 17" is still out there and has
attacked the Initiative, will they come back after Spike with a renewed
vengeance?). I'd certainly not mind seeing Spike get the chip out of his
head.
I think the reason I liked this plotline so much was that it got the
little things right. There were some many isolated good Spike scenes and
moments that it all added up to a great storyline. Seeing Spike sitting in
his crypt watching Dawson's Creek (which is an irony considering the last
five minutes!) to seeing Spike's hilarious disbelief that Harmony could be
a nemesis for Buffy to seeing Spike's arrogance and attempts to get the chip
out of his head, it all worked well.
The only part of this plotline that didn't strike me as great was the
fact that in the end, Spike wasn't cured and still has the chip in his head.
I hate to say it, but that ending was a bit too predictable for me. I can't
honestly say what I'd like to have seen, but that wasn't it.
Then, there's Harmony, who really needs to meet a pointy piece of wood,
as soon as is humanly possible. She's gotten to be really annoying,
especially here. I liked her a bit in Real Me mainly for the dialogue
between herself and Xander. But here she seemed too whiny and annoying. I
cannot believe that Spike put up with her--especially since we've seen that
she can push him too far and he will stake her (in "Harsh Light of Day"). I
can only hope that whenever this season's big villain rolls into town, that
Harmony tries to take him or her on and loses. I'm ready for her to go.
As for the ending of the Spike plot, we'll get to that in a few
minutes...
As for the plotline with Riley, I've got to admit that it worked better
than I'd thought it would but it still fell far short of what it could have
been. It felt like in main ways the writers are opening the door for Riley
to leave the show. Certainly after his confession of last week that Buffy
doesn't love him, that door was nudged open. This week it's been pulled
wide open by revealing that Riley can go back to the Initiative (which seems
odd since he betrayed them last year. Even if he has been cleared of all
charges, it'd be pretty likely that no one from the Initiative would ever
trust him again). And that they would like him to come back. (Again, based
on the whole fact that he betrayed them last year and sold-out to the enemy,
I find that a bit of a stretch).
And certainly we knew that Riley would be hard-headed at first and then
eventually come around to be cured. That was certainly never in much doubt
in the show. And it hurt the final few minutes of the show because it became
a bit too predictable when it had the chance to really step up and take a
chance or throw an unexpected curve at us. (At least in terms of the main
plotlines of the week).
And my other main beef is that while Buffy did get to show concern and
caring for Riley in the episode, she still came off as a bit cold toward
him. Certainly this showed through in the final sequence where after
professing that she needed him by her side to fight the evil, she ran off to
see how her mother was doing. Also, the writer's consistent strides to
insure that Buffy doesn't tell Riley she loves him seemed a bit cold.
Especially considering what he was going through and how much he needed her.
On one hand, it bothered me to see Buffy come across as a bit cold but on
the other, it certainly sets up a rift between them and points toward
Riley's heading back to the Initiative.
And while there was the scene in the cave where Buffy revealed she's
shared more of who she is with Riley than anyone else, it still came across
as a bit selfish. And I think not having Buffy say she loved Riley or at
least cared about him really hurt that scene.
But, all of this certainly set up the final few minutes, which I've got
to admit were a bit of a shocker. (Again, it's certainly ironic that Spike
was earlier watching Dawson's Creek because this scene was something I'd
expect more out of Dawson than Buffy). The site of Spike and Buffy
passionately kissing was a four-alarm scene. Namely because I was hoping
against hope that it wasn't real. Thank goodness it was only a dream by
Spike. But it certainly does set up some interesting future
questions--namely is Spike attracted to Buffy in a romantic way? It
certainly would be interesting from the sort of Florence Nightingale
standpoint where a patient can fall in love with the nurse. That could be
argued since it has been Buffy and crew who have nursed Spike back to health
and protected him for the past year. I guess we'll have to see where this
goes.
If it ends in Harmony getting staked, I will be extremely happy.
But, while I will admit that for the most part the main plotlines were a
bit hit or miss, the one thing that did hit was the long-term plotline
set-up. Namely with Dawn.
I have to admit I sat up and took notice in the scenes when Joyce and
Dawn were together. And to see Joyce's fainting spell when she began to
realize that things weren't right and wondered who Dawn was worked nicely.
I did wonder is this was a momentary lapse and Joyce doesn't remember it or
if she does and just hasn't said anything about it to anyone.
Also, seeing Dawn look panicked that her secret was out worked well. I
can only
Well, I guess that about wraps it up for now except a few small things.
--Willow's getting more and more powerful. And Tara is getting less and
less self-assured. I wonder if somehow Tara is feeding off Willow's powers.
We certainly saw a bit of Tara's lack of self-worth in the burned out
Sunnydale.
--Speaking of burned out Sunnydale High, why haven't they torn it down
yet? Seems like it'd be a bit of a hazard.
--I loved Buffy's reaction to the training room. And her comment about Q
was nicely done. (And yes, being a Trek fan my first assumption was that it
was about our favorite letter villain played by John DeLancie!).
--Xander's making the shelves and Giles' comments that Xander is good at
that kind of work seem to foreshadow some things. I wonder if Xander will
go into construction or a contracting type of business in the future.
Well, that's about it for now. I'm really torn on this episode. Parts
of it I liked, parts of it I didn't. Again, it reminds me of how I felt
about Marti Noxon's first offering--What's My Line way back in season two.
If Rebecca Kirshner follows Marti's learning curve in terms of great
stories, we are in for a heck of a ride.
My rating: 7.0 (out of 10.0)
Next up: Is Dawn supposed to be there? Buffy's not sure...
"Q--from James Bond, not Star Trek"
--Buffy
Review Copyright 2000 by Michael T. Hickerson. All Rights Reserved.
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