Into the Woods

Into the Woods
Written and Directed by Marti Noxon

Original Airdate: December 19, 2000

Plot: After Joyce's successful surgery, Buffy looks forward to some time to reconnect with Riley. However, this plan quickly goes awry when Spike tells her of Riley's secret, sending Buffy spiraling out of control with anger and lashing out at the Scooby gang and Riley. Meanwhile, the army approached Riley with an opportunity.... Review

Warning: If you can't see the SPOILERS for the trees, you might want turn back now. There are major SPOILERS just ahead for the latest episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "Into the Woods."

In short: Pivotal.

A couple of years ago, J. Michael Stracyzenski--the creator and genius behind "Babylon Five"--responded to critics who said that his show was getting too action driven instead of character driven by writing an episode that moved the critical storylines forward not by any spectacular space battles but instead by one-on-one confrontations between many of the main characters. The episode in question was superbly done--full of rich dialogue and superlative drama.

In many respects, it seems that is the type of episode that Marti Noxon chose to create for her first directing effort for Buffy. And, for the most part, she succeeded. As many of you know, I'm a long-time fan of Marti's and I really think she got season five off to a great start with "Buffy vs. Dracula." So I have to admit that I was looking forward to seeing her next offering with "Into the Woods."

And, for the most part, she delivered.

The episode certainly brought a lot of long term issues that have been bubbling under the surface to a head. Certainly we finally got to see Riley stand up for himself--not only with Buffy but also with Spike. Yes, we had his emotional outburst a few weeks ago (that is played almost every week in the "Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer" segment) about Buffy letting him into her life, if she got around to it. And we have seen him be upset at Spike over his being in Buffy's house and sniffing her clothes. But in most cases--especially those with Buffy--he's always backed down. He's never come close to expressing the alienation he feels to her. In fact, we as the audience know about it only because he confessed it to Xander early this year. And it's been interesting to watch this season that as Buffy has become more interested in who she is and what her role as Slayer should be and caring for her mom, how she's alienated Riley more and more. And to see him not only put up with it, but accept it has been interesting. Indeed, I found there to be an interesting paralled in the scene where Buffy and Riley are dozing off to sleep here and the scene in "Buffy vs. Dracula." Early on, Buffy couldn't sleep and be comfortable with Riley without getting off some extra energy by taking out some vampires. Here, it is Riley who can't be comfortable without getting his jollies as it were at the hands of a vampire sucking his blood. Indeed, to see the lack of comfort when it comes to cuddling and being emotionally intimate after being physically intimate was very telling. And it made the fight later in the episode that much more interesting--and overdue.

I've never been a huge Riley fan. I admit it. But I have to be honest that the way Joss and company have utilized him this year has made him a bit more interesting. Also, I think setting up the conflict of Riley being torn between the life he loves as a demon fighter and the woman he loves in Buffy was nicely done. And I will admit that Marc Blucas did a pretty good job with some of the material he was given in "Into the Woods." Certainly seeing him confront Spike was nicely done, though I'm not sure I bought everything about the fight with Buffy.

First of all, I've got to question the intelligence of any guy who tells a girl who has superhuman strength to hit him.

I do buy the fact that Riley has been worried about not being dark enough for Buffy. Indeed, his jealousy over Dracula's thrall over Buffy earlier this year and then Angel's influence on Buffy was nicely realized. Blucas could have played this as the jealous, spurned lover but never did. He hit the right notes based on the dialogue given and made Rileys' conflict at having to choose between the two things he values most in life that much more interesting. I like the fact that Buffy is willing to set up characters like this and then take chances with them . Indeed, if you'd told me a year ago that Riley's departure would turn out to be this interesting and I'd devote this much of review to it, I'd been hard pressed to believe you. But it's good when the writers can do good work with a character like Riley--who let's face it, not a lot of fans are ga-ga over. But I've got to admit that while Riley did have some strong moments, he wasn't the strongest character portrayed. Buffy played a pivotal role in the storyline and Sarah Michelle Gellar continues to deliver strong, intelligent, well-crafted performances. There were lots of moments throughout the episode that I found myself strongly reminded of "When She Was Bad" with Buffy withdrawing from her friends. Indeed, the entire fight with the vampire coven in the alley and the burning of the vampire brothel really brought that out. It's nice to see Buffy take a walk on the dark side. It's certainly scary to think that she can be like Faith at times.

And indeed a lot of the actions taken here were ones that I could easily have seen Faith taking--especially the parts with enjoying the destruction and lashing out at those who hurt her. And Gellar certainly did hold her own in the confrontation with Riley. I didn't think the scene was anything to really write home about and it wasn't nearly as compelling or heart-rending as when Willow discovered Oz's indiscretion and left last year, but it did work on some levels.

Also, there was Spike who James Marster just continues to get better and better. He certainly seems to have elevated his performances each week after "Fool For Love." And he shone here.

But the person who really stepped up and made the episode superb was Nicholas Brandon. I've been a Xander-fan for a long time and if you asked me, I'd have to say it's a tie as for who my favorite character on the show is--Xander or Spike. But in "Into the Woods," it was Xander who stole the show. His conversation with Buffy about who Riley, what she was and the fact that she had to face up to what she was and had done was superb. Every word rang absolutely true. Indeed, the conversation certainly sprang out of the growing friendship between Riley and Xander--indeed, out of the confession by Riley that Buffy didn't love him--and the entire Buffy/Xander friendship that has grown up the past five years. I found myself thinking to myself--here's the guy who had such a crush on Buffy in high school that he was willing to lie to her to get Angel out of the way, telling her she has no idea what she has. It was amazingly well done and a real moment of maturity for Xander. And a moment of courage as well. Indeed, Buffy could have literally ripped his head off for confronting her so. I like the way Xander has stepped up and shown to be a true friend here. I will be the first to start the campaign to get Nicholas Brendan an Emmy nod. This performance here was certainly worth it.

But the real clincher was Xander's going home and telling Anya how much he loved her. That scene was simply amazing. Again, it had such parallels to earlier in the episode with Buffy waiting for Riley in bed. Instead, here it was Anya. But instead of getting Spike and a dark secret, Anya gets Xander bearing his soul to her. In fact, doing the very thing he had just challenged Buffy to do. It was a compelling moment that was just steeped in pure emotion and easily as compelling as "The Dance" from "Fool For Love" earlier this year. I will probably be thinking about that scene for days--and it will certainly be one that I consider as we have the long wait for new episodes.

So, I guess you can say that I liked the episode. It was enjoyable enough and pivotal. Easily a nice Christmas treat.

So, I guess that's about it except a few small things...

--The beginning of the episode as the gang waited for news. Superbly done. It really ratcheted up the suspense. I'm glad to see Joyce made it through. The scene with Buffy and her mom about the wigs was just a nicely done one.

--Riley's using a fake stake to scare Spike was nicely done.

--Riley's going back to the army didn't ring 100% true. Namely I find it hard to believe they'd just take him back after he betrayed them so. But then again, it did give him an out to leave.

--Honestly, I thought that Joss was going to let Riley stay at the end.

--It's interesting that no one in Sunnydale notices the black helicopters flying in and out.

--Anya once again managed to steal just about every scene she was in--with the exception of the last one where Nicholas Brendan was so good that no one was going to steal it from him.

--OK, I'll say it. We've had episodes focusing on just about everyone else this year BUT Giles and Willow. I've enjoyed them, but I don't want them to get neglected.

Well, that's about it for now. All in all, an enjoyable and pivotal episode. And a nice directing debut for Marti Noxon.

My rating: 8.0 (out of 10.0)

Next up: Repeats for a couple of weeks....

On a personal note, I'd like to take this chance to wish all of you a safe and happy holiday season. May God bless you and your families during this time of year. And I hope Santa is good to everyone! See you in 2001!