Tabula Rosa
Written by Rebecca Rand Kirshner
Directed by David Grossman
Original Airdate: November 13, 2001
Plot: Tara confronts Willow about the "forget" spell and makes Willow
promise to go a week without using magic. Willow quickly breaks this vow by
casting a spell to help Buffy forget she was in heaven and Tara to forget
her anger and frustration with Willow. However, the spell backfires and the
entire Scooby gang loses their memories, just as a demon loan shark shows up
at the Magic Box to collect on Spike's outstanding debt.
Review
Warning: If you don't know any spells to wipe SPOILER information for the
latest episode of Buffy, "Tabula Rosa" from your mind and you haven't seen
the episode yet, you might want to think about turning back now. There are
major SPOILERS just ahead...
In short: A lot to like, a lot to dislike.
Well, I suppose that it was bound to happen. After the new heights
of brilliance Buffy reached last week with "Once More With Feeling" there
was bound to be an episode that felt like a letdown.
It happened back in season two, when Buffy reached new heights of
greatness with "Innocence." The next week, "Phases", while good, just
wasn't up to par with the brilliance we saw from "Innocence." (The good
news there is Buffy reached a high point again quickly with "Passions" and
with the exception of the horrifically bad "Killed by Death" never let down
for the rest of the season.) I can only hope the same thing will happen
here.
Like "Phases," "Tabula Rosa" had a lot of things to like about it.
But it also had some things that weren't quite up to snuff.
Overall, I will come out and say I liked what the storyline was
trying to do.
On just about any other show, I would worry that after the major
revelations and plot-progressing developments of last week, that the series
would back away from the huge, life-changing, show-affecting revelations we
got last week. But this isn't any other show. This is Buffy. And just like
in real life, there are consequences to every action and every decision.
And thankfully, we got to see the consequences dealt with here.
One of the big ones was seeing Giles' decision to leave and his
following through on it. Of course, we all know this was brought about by
Anthony Stewart Head's desire to have the role cut back a bit to spend more
time with his family. But I think the writers gave his exit the quiet
dignity it deserved. If there was one thing that was distracting about
"Bargaining" it was how quickly Giles left and how little emotional impact
that had on the Scooby gang. Here, it was given the emotional impact that
it deserved. I think part of that is seeing Buffy's reaction. Giles has
become a father-figure to Buffy and she is now being forced out of the
comfort of her nest. Joss Whedon has stated over and over again that this
year is about the Scooby gang growing up. And as much as I hate to say it,
being forced out of the comfort zone we have due to our parental figures is
part of it. And so, Giles leaving makes perfect sense. And it all felt
right--from his refusal to back down to Buffy's indignation and disbelief
that he would actually leave her. Her feelings of abandonment by Giles were
right on as was her anger at the Scooby gang conference called to make the
big announcement.
This part of the plotline rang extremely true and is a credit to
Anthony Stewart Head and Sarah Michelle Gellar for carrying it off so well.
Another plotline that had a good emotional resonance to it was the
one involving Willow and Tara.
One thing I found interesting about this plotline was how apparently
tortured Tara was by the decision to confront Willow about the issue of
Willow overusing magic. Yes, she found out last week, but it apparently
took a day or so for Tara to come out and discuss this with Willow. I
liked how this unfolded because it showed the depth of the love and the bond
between these two characters. Instead of reacting in anger immediately, as
I think most of us would like to do when we feel betrayed, Tara took the
time sort through some of her initial anger and to come to Willow and talk
to her. Yes, she was still angry, upset and betrayed, but she wasn't in the
fury of the moment and would say something she'd regret. Also, seeing the
reluctance that Tara used as she tried to bring up the subject and then the
passion she had once it was brought into the light was nicely done. I've
got to give a lot of credit to Rebecca Rand Kirshner for writing the script
in that way and also to Amber Benson for really delivering a great
performance.
And seeing Willow bargain to stay with Tara also worked. Again, it
echoes her decision to bring Buffy back. We're seeing Willow as far more
impulsive than she used to be. She's saying whatever it takes at that moment
to get things done. We saw it in Bargaining and we see it here. In both
cases, Willow tries to justify her actions--actions that were taken out of
good, if somewhat misguided intentions. Tara's line that Willow is trying to
re-make the world as Willow wants it to be was dead on the money. I'm sure
there are those of us out there who have, at various points in our lives,
imagined how we'd like things ideally to be--oh, what if I'd only said this?
Or done that? It's an easy trap to fall into of analyzing ourselves to
death. Luckily we don't have the power that Willow literally does to reshape
the world to her own image. Or to at least try to do so.
It's a dangerous thing, as we saw in Tabula Rosa.
Because there's always the danger something can go terribly wrong.
As it does here.
Willow decides that both Tara and Buffy have things that they would
be better off not having memories of. Believe me, I can completely
understand this feeling. It would be wonderful if there were a way to erase
all the pain and hurt our friends and loved ones face. But what Willow is
missing is that the pain and hurt go hand in hand with the joy and happiness
we feel. We have to have one to have the other. And as sad as it may sound,
pain and sorrow make the people we are who they are. As a friend, we may
want to help them out, but it may not always be what's best for that person.
Yes, it'd be nice for Buffy to forget she was in heaven. But it
won't help her to work through and resolve the issues that have been brought
about by this event happening to her. And going through this fire that she
currently faces will only make her stronger.
But Willow's spell--or attempted spell--does have immediate
consequences. Namely, she gets sloppy--another sign that she's getting too
big for her britches so to speak--and causes danger to herself and the rest
of the Scooby gang.
Though I will have to admit that seeing the entire Scooby gang
forget who they are and trying to figure out who they are and how they
relate to one another was nicely done.
Certainly it's not a new plotline. Star Trek: The Next Generation
did the "memories gone" plotline a couple of times--most memorably when an
alien erased the memories so the crew would fight a battle for them. And
seeing the Scooby gang lose theirs led to some nicely done things--such as
Anya and Giles thinking they were engaged, Spike's thinking he was Giles'
son, Spike not knowing he was a vampire and Buffy calling herself Joan. ("I
feel like a Joan.") There was some nicely done stuff there--and it all
worked particularly well. Yes, it was played up for laughs and I loved
Buffy's discovery that "I'm a superhero" and Xander's fainting away, but it
never felt too forced. And one thing of particular note was that certain
people tended to gravitate toward each other. Buffy and Dawn still had the
bond of being sisters while we saw Tara and Willow still attempt to come
together.
And to hear the echo of Willow's classic line in Dopplegangland used
here was a riot.
And seeing everyone's reaction after the spell was broken was nicely
done.
Seeing Buffy retreat farther into herself was nicely done. I have to
wonder if this event won't cause more of a rift between Buffy and Willow.
Willow is now responsible for bringing Buffy back from the dead and now for
trying to erase her memory of these events. If anything, Buffy is
repressing a lot of anger at Willow, I would think. Unfortunately, Willow
has a lot to answer for.
And I have a feeling that things for Willow will get a lot worse
before they get better.
Yes, she lost Tara--at least for now. I've been fairly SPOILER free
so I know Amber Benson isn't gone for good, but what role she'll play in the
rest of the season, I'm not sure about. Willow has now lost the three loves
of her life--Xander, Oz and Tara. And two of the three have been due to her
actions. That's a lot to bear. Plus she's probably ticked off her
best-friend in ways we haven't even seen yet. Yet she did all of this out of
good intentions. I can only imagine the reckoning that's coming when all of
this hits the fan, as I'm sure it all will.
But, as much as I really liked all that was going on in these plot
points, there were some things that took the episode down a bit.
For one thing, while the idea of an undead loan shark seems like a
good idea, the actual execution of the loan shark was a bit too much.
Seeing a demon that actually LOOKED LIKE a shark was far too over the top.
Also, the rubber head was just a bit too much for me. It strained the idea
of credibility a bit too much. I am sure that was part of the joke--look,
it's an actual shark. But it lost the humorous value very quickly.
And I wish someone would explain just why it is that kittens are so
valuable to the demon underworld! Buffy is usually so good at giving us
those explanations and we have yet to hear one!
Next up, the final act was derailing.
Indeed, seeing the plotline of everyone forgets who they are wrapped
up with five minutes left to go, left me wondering what the emotional
resolution would be. And unfortunately, it wasn't well dealt with.
The big problem--the five minute song that were forced to sit
through.
One of the things that made Buffy so strong was that the background
music never brought the show to a grinding halt. I found myself thinking
of Becoming, Part 2 with the superb Sarah McLaughlin song that played over
the final few moments. That song really brought the show to an emotional
close and it really hit the exact emotions that Joss and company were trying
to convey. This time around, while the song did fit the overall theme of
what was happening, it was too forced. Seeing the singer on the show was a
bit too much and it felt like one of the numbers that Leather and the Suedes
did on Happy Days. It grinds the plot to a halt as we say--look, at this
talented singer we've got here. Boy, she sure is good.
Honestly, it felt like nothing more than a way to promote this new
singer. And it brought to mind the fears that we've all had of Brittney
Spears someday appearing on the show. I've been so glad Joss has resisted
this temptation--unless you bring her on as a demon to slay her somehow.
The singers we saw at the Bronze before all got a moment in the sun, but it
never felt as forced or as commercial as it did here.
It's a move that I really, really did not like and I really hope the
show does not repeat again soon.
So, that's about it for now, except a few small things...
--I knew UPN was leaving out details on the preview! They are very
good at that!
--Anyone else catch the reference to "Restless" with Spike in that
suit? Interesting.
--I loved Spike's discovery that he was British through the use of
all the slang.
--The cast all did a nice job with the memories still being gone,
but acting enough in character...
--I loved the little jabs at Angel. "I'm a vampire with a soul."
Those got a huge laugh out of me.
--I hope Spike and Buffy doesn't turn into a Sam and Diane where
they argue and spar the entire episode only to get together at the end and
then repeat the next week.
Well, that's about it for now. Overall, there was some good and
some bad about "Tabula Rosa." It certainly isn't the season's strongest
offering, but I think it will have a definite impact on how things continue
to unfold in season six....
My rating: 7.0 (out of 10.0)
Next up: Amy gets de-ratted....
"I feel like a Joan."
--Buffy
Review Copyright 2001 by Michael T. Hickerson. All Rights Reserved.
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