Teaser
34A) "You stupid little troll." NASTY SNYDER: This is the first time Buffy has ever insulted Snyder to his face, and, besides Xander's "tiny person" slip in What's My Line (see 21AAA), the first time we've seen anyone stand up to Snyder like this.
34B) ...and without warning backhand punches the officer in the face. FIRST TIME : With the exception of Patrice, the fake cop in What's My Line II, the is the first time we have seen Buffy strike a cop. The next time will be when she walks on the wild side with Faith in Bad Girls.
34C) She raises her gun and takes aim at Buffy. GUNS BAD: "The officer parallels Patrice, the Order of Taraka assassin, in What's My Line II. There the policewoman present at the Careers Fair turned out to be the assassin, taking a surprise shot at Buffy (see 22RR). Now a real policewoman does the same thing. These Sunnydale police seem very ready to take pot shots at an unarmed 16 year old girl, even if her Principal did say she had a bad attitude. [Of course she had just attacked one of the officers.]"--MsGiles, Mon, 06/02/03 at 09:37:24
Act One
34D) "Okay. That was about equal parts protecting me and copping a feel, right?" THE HUG: "Xander cops a hug, using the same concealment technique used by Angelus, hiding and getting a bite, in Passion (see 29D)." In Goodbye, Iowa, Xander reaches for Buffy, telling her they should pretend to kiss when a group of soldiers walk by them as they're infiltrating the Initiative. Buffy pushes him off, saying that in that case it would only attract more attention!--MsGiles, Mon, 06/02/03 at 09:37:24, with additions by Rob
34E) "The doctor said it was head trauma. She can wake up at any time, but, um... the longer it lasts, the... less likely it is." SYMBOLIC COMAS?: "Coma seems to be a relatively common injury or state in the Buffyverse. Here it's Willow, but Faith (Graduation Day II, Season 3, and Orpheus, in the fourth season of Angel), Buffy (in Season 5's The Weight of the World and Season 6's Normal Again and Billy (in Nightmares, Season 1--see 10KK) spend time in a coma. It tends to symbolize an escape from reality as well as a simple injury. Is that true here? Willow responds to Xander saying 'I love you' later on (see 34AA), so maybe there is an element of feeling afraid at the responsibility she has taken on with the spell, and perhaps even hurt from Xander's lack of support, which forced her to choose between his approval and helping Buffy."--MsGiles, Mon, 06/02/03 at 09:37:24
34F) "Oh, man. Um... I didn't even think. Um... I'll call him." FORGETTING OZ: "Perfectly understandable omission considering the circumstances but it also fits in with Xander’s pattern of low-grade hostility to his friends’ romantic interests."--ponygirl, Sun, 06/01/03 at 07:09:23
34G) "I ran. I think I made it through three counties before I realized nobody was chasing me. Not too brave." FORESHADOWY GOODNESS : It's quite interesting that Cordelia--bold, brash, self-centered Cordelia--would be so down on herself for fleeing. In a way, she is feeling bad, perhaps for the first time, about her own self-centeredness, wishing there was more she could have done. This is probably what inspires her to help Willow, Xander, and Giles with the slayage over the summer and into the start of the third season, and foreshadows her job at Angel Investigations in L.A.
34H) "It was the right thing to do." KIND BUFFY: "Even in the most stressful moments, and even with people who aren't really her friends, Buffy shows remarkable kindness."--Sophist, Sat, 05/31/03 at 20:49:38
34I)
"I wanna torture you. I used to love it, and it's been a *long* time."
TORTURING THE FATHER: "Giles' torture by Angelus
- Interesting that Angelus tortures Buffy's father figure, the same character
he goes after in Passion
and hurts the most in Passion
(see 29YYY). Angelus echoes Buffy's
paternal issues - her fear of not living up to her father's image of her. A
theme first introduced way back in Nightmares
with Hank Summers who tells Buffy in her nightmare that she is rude and not
worthy of his attention (see 10MM).
Later in Innocence,
the second to last scene is with Buffy and Giles and Buffy believes Giles is
really disappointed in her. Giles of course states the complete opposite of
Hank in Buffy's nightmare, he isn't disappointed in her - her actions while
reckless were out of love and understandable and human (see 26HHH).
Again in Passion - when
Giles goes after Angelus for killing Jenny, Buffy is upset at him for putting
himself in the line of danger (see 29Qx4).
Also when Buffy is fighting with Angelus - Angelus states - 'shouldn't you get
your old man out of here?' (see 29Px4).
Giles is Buffy's Achille’s Heel in both episodes. And it's an interesting
contrast to Spike. Spike wants to save Dru (who we later learn is his sire)
and Buffy wants to save Giles (her father). Spike uses Giles as a bargaining
chip to save Dru, just as Buffy uses Dru as a bargaining chip to save Giles
(see 34PP). Another interesting
contrast - at the time we believed Angel was Spike's sire - or father. Spike
is betraying Angel to save Dru and the world, in effect choosing his lover over
his [grand?]father, Buffy is choosing Giles and the world over her lover, Angel."--shadowkat,
Sun, 06/01/03 at 19:02:07
34J) "Cause I *really* wanna torture you." FROM THE ORIGINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT: In the original script, Giles tries to escape at this point by punching a hench-vamp in the face and smashing him into Angelus. He makes it to the door, until Dru appears and gets him in a chokehold. "Okay. Where do we start?" Angel laughs. "Ooh. Fingers."--"Becoming, Part Two" by Joss Whedon, available through Pocketbooks, Inc. as Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Script Book, Season Two, Volume 4
34K) A police officer comes down the stairs to where Detective Stein is questioning Joyce and goes to stand next to him. CONTINUITY CHECK: We first met Detective Stein in Ted, (see 23FFF) another episode where he believed Buffy had committed a murder, and had trouble believing that Ted had struck Buffy first due to her lack of wounds (see 23HHH).
34L) "Your daughter has a history of violence. Doesn't she, Ms. Summers?" CONTINUITY CHECK: "Probably referring to Buffy's history of fights at school, and the Ted business which presumably was abandoned as part self-defence and part academic since the ‘victim’ recovered and vanished (see 23Hx4)."--KdS, Sat, 05/31/03 at 13:17:43
34M) "It wasn't supposed to go down like this...Nobody saw you coming. I figured this for Angel's big day. But I thought he was here to *stop* Acathla, not to bring him forth." PROPHESY TRANSPIRED?: "This implies that there was a prophecy that Angel would stop Acathla. If there was such a prophecy, the events of Becoming II do not contradict it. Although Angel is only a tool in closing the mouth of Acathla, he did do it, albeit skewered on Buffy's sword...'In the Buffyverse prophecy has real weight, so I'm ASSuming that yes, Angel's course was to at least some extent preordained (which would explain why Whistler knew so much about him, too, come to think of it -- if the prophecy was at all detailed, Whistler didn't have to have been tailing Angel for long or using other means of information retrieval to know what had been going on with him, at least in a general way, post cursing)' (Malista, May 26 03:34 1998)."--Masquerade, "Becoming II" Analysis, from http://www.atpobtvs.com
"This speech...set up the divide between predetermination and free will in the Buffyverse in a way that would remain stable for a long time, until Jasmine's and Skip's [possibly exaggerated] claims in the final episodes of Angel, Season 4 [Inside Out, Shiny, Happy People], muddied the waters."--KdS, Sat, 05/31/03 at 13:17:43
"As we saw in Becoming 1, Angel’s life has been constantly manipulated by fate and prophecy. Now we learn that even Acathla, Angelus’ inspired idea to redeem himself, was also pre-determined. Contrast this with Buffy, who subverts prophecy and the established order. The suggestion I take from Whistler’s comments is that Buffy, probably since Prophecy Girl, exists outside destiny (see 12MMM)[; unless, of course, Buffy was meant to defeat the Master--this gets very complicated!]. My speculation is that Angel and Kendra – who after all had the sword – were meant to face Acathla."--ponygirl, Sun, 06/01/03 at 07:09:23
Or perhaps the PTB this whole time knew the events would transpire the way they did, but did not tell Whistler. "If Whistler had known what the results of showing Angel Buffy's calling was [namely, the unleashing of Angelus], would he have done it? He was shown what he needed to see in order to get him to do what the PTBs needed him to do. Whistler is a demon that balances the scales of good and evil. Evil needs to exist in order for Buffy to become something. As usual, it was all about Buffy. Angel saw Buffy so that he would go evil and she would have to do what she did in order to become who she does. The PTB's know what the champion/hero is going to choose, as we will see later on Angel Season 4. Still doesn't negate the choice. If anyone is manipulated it is the Messengers. The champion/hero they communicate with still has to make the choice. That choice is important."--lunasea, Sun, 06/01/03 at 11:15:13
34N) "Maybe I should ask, what are you prepared to give up?" SACRIFICE: "This question of sacrifice for the greater good haunts Buffy for the rest of the series. When faced with the task of sacrificing Dawn in The Gift, Buffy chooses to give up her own life instead. Later in Lies My Parents Told Me, Buffy admits that she would sacrifice Dawn and others for the world. Here the line illustrates one of the central themes of season 2 – the balance between love and duty."--ponygirl, Sun, 06/01/03 at 07:09:23
34O) "Well, why don't you try getting off your immortal ass and fighting evil once in a while?" WATCHFUL WHISTLER: "'He's a Watcher-type...guides people, but doesn't really interfere himself. Annoying, but I guess that's how it works...[similar to how the Powers That Be operate on Angel. In most likelihood, in fact, he is a messenger from the PTB.] (Mircalla, Jan 3 20:01 1999).'"--collected by Masquerade, "Becoming II" Analysis, from http://www.atpobtvs.com
Many "argue that the PTB are more about preserving stability than promoting 'good', although this would again be left very unclear after four years of Angel."--KdS, Sat, 05/31/03 at 13:17:43
34P) "In the end, you're always by yourself. You're all you've got. That's the point." FREE WILL: "The standard justification of the presence of evil in a world ruled by a benevolent deity - that evil is a consequence of human free will, the preservation of which is more important than creating utopia. The position would be very clearly endorsed in the Jasmine arc of Angel, although the parallel events on Buffy would make it clear that, while humans have to fight evil on their own, it doesn't have to be just one human being."--KdS, Sat, 05/31/03 at 13:17:43
"Another 'mission statement' moment for the show – the idea that despite all the prophecies and semi-divine interventions, ultimately it comes down to an individual’s choices."--ponygirl, Sun, 06/01/03 at 07:09:23
"This line is echoed later in the episode in what may be the best-known 1-word line of the series: Buffy's 'Me'."--anom, Sun, 06/01/03 at 08:10:22 See 34Cx4.
"Both Whistler's comment and Buffy's reply, 'Me,' contradict the closing dialogue in Passion in which Buffy shouts at Giles, 'You can't leave me. I can't do this alone (see 29Qx4).' In the end she has to overcome Angelus herself. Xander arrives to remove Giles and Spike helps with the initial assault, but most of the work is done by Buffy. And for some reason Spike abandons her before the battle is over, although he clearly thinks that Buffy will fail to prevent Acathla's rise."--Sofdog, Mon, 06/02/03 at 10:46:29
"This also is a theme in Becoming and in the show as a whole: the group is important to Buffy, it's what has kept her alive when other Slayers have died (see 15Px4). Her friends, who are as close-knit as a family, are the whole which is greater than the one. But they are also all, ultimately, on their own. As they sing in Season 6's Once More With Feeling, 'Understand, we'll go hand in hand/But we'll walk alone in fear...'"--MsGiles, Mon, 06/02/03 at 09:37:24
34Q) "The sword isn't enough. You gotta be ready. You gotta know how to use it!" LINKAGE: "Similarly resonates with the issue of Buffy's 'power' and the Scythe in Buffy, Season 7 [End of Days, Chosen]."--KdS, Sat, 05/31/03 at 13:17:43
Act Two
34R) "Hey! White flag here. I quit." SURRENDER: "At this point the big turnaround of Season 2 completes. Angel, formerly the big good, has become the Big Bad. Now Spike, who entered the scene as Big Bad, now becomes...well, not good, but he swings away from destruction to preservation enough to make the difference in Buffy's final showdown with Angelus."--MsGiles, Tues, 06/03/03 at 07:11:06
34S) "You want to go around, pet, I'll have a gay old time of it." POP CULTURE TIME: "Probably a reference to the [line,] 'We'll have a gay old time...' in the theme song of the US animated sitcom, The Flintstones (which isn't an unlikely reference for Spike to use even if he had spent less time in the US, as the series has been frequently broadcast in the UK)."--KdS, Sat, 05/31/03 at 13:17:43
34T) "I'm talking about putting him in the bloody ground." IDIOM TIME: This is obviously just a figure of speech, for killing Angelus, since putting him, a vampire, into the ground wouldn't do much good.--MsGiles, Mon, 06/02/03 at 09:37:24, paraphrased by Rob
34U) "I told you. I want to stop Angel...I want to save the world." FORESHADOWY GOODNESS: This sounds a lot like Spike's speech at the end of Doomed, when he first realizes that, while his chip prevents him from harming humans, he can hurt and kill demons: 'What's this? Just sitting about watching the telly when there's evil afoot? Not very industrious of you. I say we get out there and kick a little demon ass! Can't go without your Buffy, is that it? Too chicken? Let's find her, then. She is the chosen one after all. Come on! Vampires, grrrrrrr - nasty! Let's annihilate em! For justice! And... and for the safety of puppies... and Christmas, right? Let's fight that evil! Let's kill something! Oh, come on..." Also sounds like when Angelus, pretending to be Angel, announced, "I have to go save the world!" in Calvary. Who could have guessed at this point in the story that in the last episode, Chosen, Spike would end up saving the world?
34V) "The truth is, I like this world...You've got...dog racing, Manchester United...And you've got people...Billions of people walking around like Happy Meals with legs. It's all right here. But then someone comes along with a vision. With a real...passion for destruction...Angel could pull it off. Goodbye, Picadilly. Farewell, Leicester Bloody Square. You know what I'm saying?" DECONSTRUCTING SPIKE'S SPEECH: "The clearest statement of the amoral, evil rather than Evil, characterisation of Spike for the next few years. Cultural references: 'Manchester United' (a currently highly successful UK football team. Ironically, they have the reputation in the UK at present of having large numbers of fair-weather fans who support them because of their success rather than because of any natural local allegiance. However, given Spike's age, he may be a genuine supporter who followed them when they were just minnows)...[and] 'Happy Meals' (a long-running promotion by the burger chain McDonalds)..."--KdS, Sat, 05/31/03 at 13:17:43
"A little bit older than most popular musical references in the show, the lines - Goodbye Picadilly, farewell Leicester Square - are...from the 1912 song by an Englishman, Jack Judge, It's a Long Way to Tipperary, about an Irishman away from home. The song became hugely popular in all the English speaking allied countries in World War I and is perhaps the most widely remembered song from that era."--Cactus Watcher, Sat, 05/31/03 at 20:54:18
The lyrics include:
"It's a long way to Tipperary,
It's a long way to go.
It's a long way to Tipperary
To the sweetest girl I know!
Goodbye Piccadilly,
Farewell Leicester Square!
It's a long long way to Tipperary,
But my heart's right there."--posted by Tchaikovsky, Sun, 06/01/03 at 04:09:52
SCRATCHING BENEATH THE SURFACE: "Others have already listed the references in this speech, but I think it’s also important because the things Spike lists are physical, tangible aspects of the world. It’s not a vague and too large to be grasped concept of the world that needs saving, it’s the familiar pleasures. In some ways this raises the stakes for Buffy and the audience – we can comprehend what will be lost. Also note that Spike mentions Angel's passion for destruction, another example of season 2's theme of the dangers of unrestrained passion. There's also the irony of Spike being a proponent of restraint (something Angelus does note later on in the episode--see 34GGG) especially considering his later role as someone who always argues for consuming passion (see Lover's Walk and much of season 6)."--ponygirl, Sun, 06/01/03 at 07:09:23
LITERATURE CORNER: "Spike's speech is reminiscent of a tradition of British/English patriotic elegy e.g. [a speech by John of Gaunt from] Shakepeare['s play,]...Richard II:
'This royal throne of kings, this sceptered isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall,
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England...'
And then there's John Major (UK Prime Minister in early 1980s): 'Fifty years on from now, Britain will still be the country of long shadows on county [cricket] grounds, warm beer, invincible green suburbs, dog lovers and old maids bicycling to Holy Communion through the morning mist.'
It did strike me as interesting that he remembers, seemingly, London as his happy place, even though he seems to have had no inclination to visit in the last 100 years or so, and seems firmly US based at the moment. Unless it's just Spike bullshit. These elegy speeches usually seem to have an ulterior motive. John Major was trying to identify the Conservative party with a fantasy of Olde England. John of Gaunt was obliquely criticising Richard II in the play, by describing a state of affairs he felt Richard's regime would destroy."--MsGiles, Mon, 06/02/03 at 09:37:24
SPIKE AND APOCALYPSE: See 25DD.
34W) "I want Dru back. I want it like it was before he came back. The way she acts around him..." THE TRUTH: "Then in typical BtVS fashion Spike’s big speech is completely undercut when we find out his motivations are really about Dru."--ponygirl, Sun, 06/01/03 at 07:09:23
"Spike tells Buffy he just wants Dru back - he will betray his own kind, his father even, just to get Dru. Buffy hits him. Why? Because in Becoming Part I - she delayed in hopes of saving Angel and in doing so betrayed everyone else (not deliberately, but psychologically she may believe this), now she's faced with the fact that she won't get Angel back and will have to lose him to have everything else. So Spike at the end appears to get his lady-love, while Buffy appears to lose hers. Later we learn it's the reverse, Spike lost Dru because of his actions (see 18NN), Buffy regained Angel albeit briefly because of hers and possibly set him on the path of redemption. Actually if you really want to be ironic - I think she set both vampires on the path of redemption, but that's a separate point. What's interesting is both characters want to turn back time, when they were each other's worst nemesis - and Angelus was with Buffy and Dru with Spike. Yet there's no going back, Spike can never be with Dru again, not like he was before Angel lost his soul and Buffy can never be with Angel again, not like she was before he lost his soul. But they both desperately want to. I think Becoming II highlights the way Spike has been portrayed as Buffy's foil all year long."--shadowkat, Sun, 06/01/03 at 19:02:07
34X) "...and you want my help 'cause your girlfriend's a big ho?" BUFFY VS. SPIKE: "In some ways Buffy is giving Spike a version of the speech she got from Xander. Buffy may have said she wanted to protect others in re-souling Angel, but Xander saw her primary motivation was in getting her boyfriend back – just as Buffy sees through Spike’s speeches."--ponygirl, Sun, 06/01/03 at 07:09:23
"The difference seems clear to me: Spike did have that motive, Buffy did not. The proof is in the puddin'. At the end, Spike left Buffy and the world to their respective fates and rode off into the sunrise with Dru (see 34Bx4). Buffy stayed and sent Angel to Hell (see 34Gx4). Interesting to contrast the two scenes. Spike had a selfish motive which he frankly admitted. He behaved consistent with that motive. Buffy was not discerning a hidden motive, she was condemning his expressed one. Xander, in contrast, purported to know Buffy's hidden motive. While it's possible she may have approved the re-souling in part for a selfish motive, she had good strategic reasons for doing so as well. I'd be charitable enough not to judge her absent strong proof. And, as I said, her behavior contradicted Xander's accusation."--Sophist, Sun, 06/01/03 at 10:36:31
"I think Buffy's journey in season 2 was to get to the point where she would choose duty over love. Buffy may have reached that point in Becoming 1, and as you say had sound strategic reasons for the re-souling, but Xander clearly does not agree. In any case, I still think a comparison between Spike and Buffy is valid - in Becoming 1 Buffy wants to save the world but a large part of her motivation is [arguably] the restoration of Angel; in Becoming 2 Spike also says he wants to save the world but his real desire is to restore his relationship with Dru. By the time Spike makes his speech, Buffy has moved past that point, she has no hope of Angel's return. While there is no doubt that Buffy is capable of killing Angelus, it is still a shock that she is able to find the strength to kill Angel, that she does follow Spike's example and cast aside the world for a few more moments with her beloved. For me a large part of the impact of the final scenes is this lingering doubt about what Buffy ultimately is able to sacrifice."--ponygirl, Sun, 06/01/03 at 16:52:33
"I agree, but this is a little bit different than Xander's accusation. He said she was unwilling to kill Angelus because she wanted Angel back. I disagree...[because] after the fact, we saw that he was [wrong]; before the fact, I believe we are obliged to accept the more creditable motives of someone absent direct evidence to the contrary...The real agony of her dilemma, though, is that she ends up forced to sacrifice Angel himself. That was unforeseen; her willingness to go that far provides the true contrast to Spike's selfishness."--Sophist, Sun, 06/01/03 at 17:37:06 See 33Ex4 and 33Hx4.
SLANGUAGE: See 27O.
34Y) "And I'm all you've got." FORESHADOWY GOODNESS: Buffy's line, 'I hate you,' and Spike's response, 'And I'm all you've got" foreshadows numerous arguments, revolving around the same crux, between Buffy and Spike during their sixth season affair.--MsGiles, Tues, 06/03/03 at 07:11:06, paraphrased by Rob See 34Cx4.
34Z) "Do you want some coffee?" SENSITIVE CORDY: "This is actually the most thoughtful and sensitive that we’ve ever seen Cordelia, and in keeping with this scene – in which characters are offering love to another only to find the other is focused elsewhere – Xander doesn’t grasp what she is offering until she spells it out for him ['I'll get it.']."--ponygirl, Sun, 06/01/03 at 10:01:03
34AA) "I love you." IN THE NAME OF LOVE?: "These are the words Willow was desperate to hear from Xander 6 months before. Did it take her possible death for Xander to realize his feelings, or did he lack the courage to say it before?"--Sophist, Sat, 05/31/03 at 20:49:38
"It is doubtful that Xander was expressing a romantic type of love for Willow..."--ponygirl, Sun, 06/01/03 at 10:01:03
34BB) "Oz?" POETIC JUSTICE: "Something of poetic justice for Xander, given that he forgot to tell Oz about her injury to start with."--KdS, Sat, 05/31/03 at 13:17:43
PASSED OVER: Willow's "reaction provides another instance of Xander being passed over for another. One suspects that these rejections paid a part in his desire for revenge against Angel."--ponygirl, Sun, 06/01/03 at 10:01:03
34CC) "I'm here." FORESHADOWY GOODNESS: "We don’t know how much Oz heard, but this does foreshadow the tensions between Xander and Oz over Willow in season three."--ponygirl, Sun, 06/01/03 at 10:01:03
34DD) He leans over her face and gently kisses her on the forehead. OUCH!: "People she has a head injury! Why does everyone keep touching her head? First Buffy, now Oz."--ponygirl, Sun, 06/01/03 at 10:01:03
34EE) The camera shows Giles in a chair with his hands bound behind his back and bleeding from rope burns. FROM THE ORIGINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT: "Giles is tied to a chair, his jacket and tie off and his sleeves rolled up. Blood has run down his forehead and out of his nose (a tasteful amount) and one of his hands is bloody and crooked from creative finger breaking."--"Becoming, Part Two" by Joss Whedon, available through Pocketbooks, Inc. as Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Script Book, Season Two, Volume 4
34FF) ...Angelus, sitting in a chair and watching Giles as he cleans his glasses. GLASSES: "Angelus's mocking tenderness with the glasses echoes Dru while threatening Dalton in Surprise earlier in the season."--KdS, Sat, 05/31/03 at 13:17:43 See 4E, 6W, 21O, and 25FFF.
34*1) "That I'm, uh... in a band. A-a rock band with Spike here." BUFFY BAD LIAR: See 5S.
34GG) "She plays the, the triangle." MUSICAL GOODNESS: "Our first suggestion that Spike is not as cool as he seems. His first thought is for the geekiest, most non-rock instrument."--ponygirl, Sun, 06/01/03 at 10:01:03
SYMBOLIC GOODNESS: Could this also be a symbolic indication of the literal love triangle between Spike, Dru, and Buffy that will become much more apparent in Fool For Love and Crush?
34HH) "Well, I sing." REAL-LIFE: Off-screen, James Marsters is the lead singer for a band called Ghost of the Robot.
34II) She pulls out a stake while Spike gives him a series of punches to the face. FORESHADOWY GOODNESS: Buffy and Spike's affair "is not even a glimmer on the horizon at this point, but it is interesting to see how Buffy and Spike are shown as almost instantly working perfectly together."--ponygirl, Sun, 06/01/03 at 10:01:03
34JJ) "Mom...I'm a Vampire Slayer." NORMAL AGAIN?: If one believes that the revelations of Normal Again are to be trusted, then this entire scene must be re-evaluated under the context of Joyce having already heard from Buffy in the past that vampires existed. Although the asylum revelation was undoubtedly not known by the writers at this time, it is quite remarkable how well this following scene works. Joyce's look of shock at this moment can be interpreted not just as freaking out that vampires are real, but also freaking out that Buffy had told her this in the past, she didn't believe it, and now she is seeing it with her own eyes. See 3NN, 23CC, 24H, 28GGG, 30ZZ, 34YY, 34ZZ, 34BBB, and 35WW.