Teaser
4*1) Teacher's Pet. WHAT'S IN A NAME?: "The phrase 'teacher's pet' refers to a student who appears to receive special treatment from a teacher."--Sophist, Fri, 04/25/03 at 19:55:25
4A) "Xander, you're drooling." (00:01:30) XANDER'S DAYDREAM: "Here we see...[Buffy in the role of] a very stereotypical image of a young woman. She is helpless, in danger; she is dressed skimpily, and she...[has]...blond hair. The male hero of the story rescues her from the Vampire--she simpers adoringly. This is undercut by Xander's rude awakening...[by the real Buffy]...'Xander, you're drooling'. The whole episode is about Xander's rude awakenings as far as stereotypes about women are concerned."--submitted by Rahael
4B) "B.O.?" (00:02:22) POP CULTURE TIME: "The use of the intials BO for offensive body odor was popularized by a pre-televison radio ad for the laundry detergent Rinso White."--submitted by Cactus Watcher
4C) "Is there anything else Ms Rosenberg would like to tell you?" (00:02:35) NAUGHTY WILLOW: Upon reviewing the first season, one can find a variety of clues and asides as to Willow's darker side. Although none of these are serious transgressions, obviously, we have seen it manifest itself through Willow helping Buffy cheat here, and in Willow's computer hacking. All of these manifestations are, of course, a reaction to Willow feeling that she is a nobody. Having special abilities such as these, however, are her quiet way of rebelling, like when she tricked Cordelia into erasing her own classwork in The Harvest. See 2V. Interestingly, this is also the first time we learn Willow's last name, and, by implication, her Jewish heritage.
4D) "You've got a first rate mind." (00:03:18) BUFFY SMART: Numerous times over the past few episodes, we have been reminded of how smart Buffy is, although not in an academic context. Her smarts, also, go beyond mere "street smarts." As Dr. Gregory says Buffy has a "first-rate mind." It is very significant that he recognizes this and compliments Buffy thus, since he is one of the few adult authority figures from whom Buffy will ever receive praise, and his kind words here are what ultimately inspire Buffy in her final defeat of the She-Mantis at the end of the episode. Buffy, having, we assume, never been confirmed of her brain-power by a teacher, never thought of herself as smart before. Note the self-deprecating "God, I'm so mentally challenged!" she says in The Harvest. Dr. Gregory's assertion here is a very important moment in Buffy's development as a human being and future adult. Although the exchange is not mentioned again in later episodes, the confidence Dr. Gregory instills in Buffy here can be seen as having a great effect in all future episodes. Further, this is one of the few examples of an adult character, besides Giles (a little later on in the story), who "gets" Buffy. Thus, we learn here tha not all adult authority figures are bad in the Buffyverse. Although, most are. ;o)
4E) Dr. Gregory is attacked. (00:04:47) THEY KILLED DR. GREGORY!: "The Science teacher sees potential in Buffy that few other of her teachers can see. Symbolically, his 'insight,' in the shape of his glasses, is shattered by Miss French, pointing out to us how stereotypes blind us (see 6W, 21O, 25FFF, and 34FF)." His death also continues the precedent, begun with Jesse, that the wrong people will die on Buffy. Dr. Gregory, the kindest teacher Buffy has ever met, dies, while evil people live. It sucks, but that's life. On a subsequent note, the "appearances can be deceiving" angle of the episode gives another little twist with the unmentioned fact that, for the She-Mantis to have attacked Dr. Gregory, he would have had to have been a virgin!--submitted by Rahael, with some additions by Rob See 4LL for more on "Natalie French as feminine stereotype"
LITERATURE CORNER: Dr. Gregory, who is killed by a giant bug, is perhaps named thus as an homage to Franz Kafka's classic novella, Metamorphosis, in which a man wakes up in bed to find that, during the night, he has turned into a huge insect. The man's name is Gregor Samsa. Interestingly, Dr. Gregory's death, and the symbol of his broken glasses, also has links to William Golding's classic novel, Lord of the Flies. See 6W.
Act One
4F) "Blayne had the nerve to question my manliness." (00:07:15) MANLINESS: "Xander and Blayne offer us a competing vision of manhood. Blayne plays sports; an experienced lady's man, far more competent and manly than Xander. Xander is dumbstruck by Miss French. He plays the fool, and thinks he is less cool than Blayne." Just as with the other stereotypes put forth in this episode, this one will be shattered, as well."--submitted by Rahael, with some additions by Rob
4G) "He's a very attractive man!" (00:07:40) XANDER VS. ANGEL: And thus Xander's jealousy of Angel begins! Over the past few episodes, Xander has tried so hard to be a man that Buffy might possibly some day find attractive, or maybe even date...and in the blink of an eye, Angel appears and effortlessly, completely captivates Buffy's attention. He has that special something, that ability to attract beautiful women that Xander craves so desperately, and, although Angel introduced himself as a "friend" in Welcome to the Hellmouth (see 1JJ), he is obviously not stuck in the "friend zone," as Xander is (see 3EE). In typical Xander fashion, Xander's hurt manifests itself in a joke, and, also, one which reflects on the theme of the rivalry between the sexes, and between people of the same sex, that runs throughout this episode.
4H) "No, you'll just give me a cryptic warning about some exciting new catastrophe..." (00:07:55) CRYPTIC GUY: Angel is still, at this point in the story, that myserious guy who appears every now and then and leaves Buffy a cryptic clue about the evil she will have to face. A great deal of the mystery of Angel is revealed in the first season episode, also entitled Angel.
4I) "Oh, right, give her your jacket! It's a balmy night..." (00:08:10) BUFFY & ANGEL: In this episode, Buffy and Angel are contrasted with another pair: Natalie French and the Fork Guy. Like the Fork Guy and Natalie French, "Angel is also a vampire, also a predator. Buffy has a dark center, the part of her which is primal, and predatory. But Angel doesn't save Buffy...[in this episode]...Buffy saves herself and Xander. Angel offers her a gift--the leather coat. It is both chivalrous (referring to a different side to the 'sex wars') and Buffy accepts it even though we know she doesn't need it. Xander tells us that it's a balmy night. Buffy and Angel show the love that has existed between men and women down the ages. Miss French and...[Fork]...Guy shows us the hatred. But there is also an implicit warning for Buffy. Is Angel all he appears to be? Should she look beyond the handsome exterior? Might she find something more monstrous there?" In the second season, Buffy and Angel will end up at war.--submitted by Rahael, with some additions by Rob See 4P.
4J) "Could you help me?" (00:10:08) FOXY LADY: "Miss French is...[the second feminine] stereotype...[that we encounter in this episode]...a perfect counterpoint with the stereotyp[ical]...helpless blonde...[from Xander's dream]...She is dark haired, competent, ruthless. She is sexually predatory and strong...[Just as Buffy woke Xander up from his dream t]his stereotype...[will also be] shattered by a rude awakening--again administered by the competent, confident, independent and kind Buffy. Who is both strong and non-predatory. Who is blonde, but also clever."--submitted by Rahael
4K) "I'm looking for Science 109." (00:10:15) NATURE VS. CIVILIZATION: "Miss French is fuelled by primal forces, instinctive, predatory. She bursts into the science lab, which represents civilization, the harnessing of those primal forces, the subduing of predatory instincts."--submitted by Rahael
4L) "He was a civilized man. I liked him." (00:14:38) NATURE VS. CIVILIZATION: This line reiterates the recurring theme of nature vs. civilization inherent in this episode. Dr. Gregory, a civilized man, was destroyed by a primal force of unbridled nature, in the form of Miss French.--paraphrased by Rob from a submission by Rahael
4M) "We'll find them and we'll stop them." (00:14:45) WILLOW POWER: This line is a great example of Willow's determination to help Buffy in the fight against evil. Over the course of the past three episodes, even though it is still early in the story, she has begun to gain a lot more confidence than she's ever had before. True, she is still the sidekick, but helping Buffy has made her feel important. Her words here could easily have been also said by Buffy.
4N) "We're on Monster Island." (00:15:53) POP CULTURE TIME: "...[This is p]erhaps a reference to the 1981 movie, Monster Island, aka Mystery of Monster Island, ostensibly based on Jules Verne's story, Mysterious Island (1875). The movie is the story of our hero, a young man in search of adventure, who is shipwrecked on an island with his bumbling tutor. They pick up a native Man Friday and a damsel in distress and brave the perils of the island which include giant monsters, cannibal tribes and ruthless pirates seeking the treasure that is hidden there. Mysterious Island was a desert island survival story which does feature Captain Nemo and The Nautilus...[from his famous book, Twenty-Thousand Leagues Under the Sea]...(neither of which appear in the movie)."--submitted by Lonesome Sundown; information taken from http://www.roogulator.esmartweb.com/sf/monsterisl.htm.
Act Two
4O) "Yeah, I lied. I'm a bad person." (00:19:15) QUESTIONING AUTHORITY: Buffy proves yet again here that she has a mind of her own, and will take her Watcher's words under advisement, but will not follow them blindly. This being-her-own-person thingy ties in nicely with theme of the previous episode, The Witch (see 3B).
4P) "How many things am I afraid of?" (00:19:55) NATALIE FRENCH & FORK GUY: "[Like Natalie French, the Fork Guy]...is also a predator...He has blades; Miss French can be defeated if she is sliced apart. They are uncomfortable opposites. But Buffy doesn't use a knife to cut apart Miss French--she finds a different way: bat sonar."--submitted by Rahael See 4I.
4Q) "We all need help with our feelings. Otherwise, we bottle them up..." (00:20:38) FORESHADOWY GOODNESS: This seemingly throwaway line by Mr. Flutie actually speaks a great deal about Buffy as a character. Throughout the years on the show, we will see that, usually when Buffy is faced with a serious emotional problem, she will keep it bottled up inside and let it fester inside herself. Among the numerous times we see her behave like this are in the third season, when Angel comes back from the hell dimension, and Buffy does not tell anybody, and in the sixth season, when Buffy keeps both her sadness at being taken out of heaven, and her subsequent torrid affair with Spike, to herself.--suggested by a submission from Sanjerine
4R) "We're sensitive to wrong touching." (00:20:48) SENSITIVE FLUTIE: These are the kinds of touchy-feely attitudes that the next principal, Snyder, will later attribute to the reason behind Principal Flutie's upcoming, untimely demise (see 9M).
4S) "I think you meant 'pollination' for number fourteen." (00:21:47) FOXY LADY : The answer for number 14 is very meaningful, since it points to the fact that sex is most definitely on Miss French's brain.--paraphrased by Rob from a submission by Rahael
4T) "It was the full-on 'Exorcist' twist." (00:22:17) POP CULTURE TIME: The Exorcist is a classic film from 1973, directed by William Friedkin, which made the American Film Institute's list of the 100 best films of the 20th century. Based on a horror novel by William Peter Blatty that was allegedly culled from true experiences, The Exorcist starred 12 year-old Linda Blair as a young girl possessed by a demon, possibly Satan himself. While under the power of the demon, the girl was able to turn her head a full 180 degrees, and that is why Buffy refers to this film in regards to Miss French.
4U) "Inquiring minds want to know." (00:22:25) POP CULTURE TIME: This is the slogan for the famous American tabloid newspaper, The National Enquirer.
4V) "Actually, it's LaVelle." (00:23:28) TRIVIA TIDBIT: A nice little bit of trivia to remember, and also a reminder of the torture Xander's parents put him through.
4W) "I had a chum at Oxford." (00:25:05) GILES' BACKSTORY: Just a nice little peek into Giles' background there. We now know Giles attended Oxford. Check!
4X) "Wasn't here, didn't see it, couldn't have stopped you." (00:26:08) JUSTIFYING THE MEANS: "...[T]his is one of the first hints of ethical bendiness in Giles' starched personality." He tries not to openly support these illegal actions taken by Willow, but he doesn't reprimand her, as he sees them as necessary means to an end. Early on in the first season, there were very few shades of Giles' dark past, since he does a very good job at covering it up, even denying having ever cast a spell before the one he did in The Witch (see 3VV). Giles' ethics, as a Watcher, sometimes require him to take necessary actions in the fight against evil, actions that may not be necessarily just. The prime example of this, of course, is his killing Ben to stop Glory in The Gift. Willow has a similar "end-justifies-the-means" philosophy, but does not have as good a capacity to judge when rule-bending or breaking is appropriate and when it is not. Although her hacking here is an example of when bending the rules can be good, there will be many future instances when Willow has trouble separating an action such as innocuous as this from a more serious transgression.--submitted by Sanjerine, with additions by Rob
4Y) "I've met someone, you're jealous." (00:26:48) BUFFY CLUELESS: Buffy's reaction to this statement of Xander's is typically clueless. The idea that she might be attracted to Xander, and jealous when he finds another woman, had never even come close to entering her thought patterns. If she thought about it hard enough, she might be able to reach the next level of awareness--that Xander loves her, but, for the time being, her attention from this subject is distracted by the course of the conversation, which next leads to pheremones. By the end of their conversation, Buffy is confused, but, assumably, writes it off to Xander behaving weirdly due to the She-Mantis' hold over him. Xander's feelings for Buffy will finally be revealed to her in Prophecy Girl. For more on Buffy's cluelessness regarding Xander, see 4EE.
4Z) "What kinda girly-name is Angel anyway?" (00:27:12) MANLINESS: Here again we see the rivalry between members of the same sex come into play. Just as Blayne tries to make Xander feel like less of a man, now Xander attempts to do the same to Angel. He is trying to boost his own masculinity by questioning that of Angel, a character for whom he has great jealousy, due to his hold over Buffy.
4AA) "No, it's the most beautiful chest--dress I've ever seen." (00:27:48) XANDER'S DAYDREAM: Just as with his dream of Buffy at the start of the episode, Xander is led to Miss French's house by his drooling, in a manner of speaking--paraphrased by Rob from a submission by Rahael
4BB) "Like in that Greek salad thing with the yogurt." (00:28:10) FEED ME, SEYMOUR: "Greek Salad is a tossed salad usually including feta cheese, ripe unpitted olives, and a dressing made from cucumbers and yogurt."--submitted by Cactus Watcher
4CC) "I'm exempting Shwarma, of course." (00:28:15) FEED ME, SEYMOUR II: THE SEQUEL: Xander is misinformed here. Schwarma is not a Greek dish, at least not with that name, since there are no "sh" or "w" sounds in the Greek alphabet. With that said, it is a Mideastern dish which consists of, as Xander implies, a sort of hive-of-meat in a pita bread.--parphrased by Rob from a submission by Cactus Watcher