Act Three
21XXX) "I didn't even notice." MARTI SPEAKS: "This was a real key scene in that…[we see Buffy] for the first time…kiss Angel when he’s a vampire…we wanted to show that she was really beginning to accept him and really acknowledge who he was and not be afraid of him anymore…And there’s Kendra, who’s seeing this, and obviously the other point of this scene was to show Buffy in the most compromising position possible, and we knew that Kendra wouldn’t know he was a vampire unless he was in vampire face, and so that was actually an instance where something that was good for the characters came out of necessity..." Marti adds that this was, in fact, Joss' idea.--Marti Noxon, DVD Commentary
ACCEPTANCE: "Up until now, the vampire side of Angel has been in Buffy's mind little more than a tool, Angel's weapon in the big fights. Here, Buffy accepts that being a vampire, including the urge for blood and the nasty fangs, is part of who Angel is, and makes the conscious effort to accept it."--Tchaikovsky, Fri, 02/14/03 at 03:12:05
FORESHADOWY GOODNESS: Earlier, Buffy said "something to Giles about hell freezing over, and in this shot she is standing on ice [while kissing Angel, in vamp face]. Ice can be treacherous. It can be deceptively dangerous. Who knows what lies beneath? It's yet another hint that the hidden depths that Angel contains could prove to be fatal for her."--Rahael, Fri, 02/14/03 at 03:30:10
21YYY) ...and she rises up onto the tips of her skates to get even closer. FROM THE ORIGINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT: "THE KISS. Still very much a work in progress."--"What's My Line?" by Howard Gordon & Marti Noxon, available through Pocketbooks, Inc., as Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Script Book, Season Two, Volume 2
21ZZZ) "... the Order of Taraka. It's a society of deadly assassins dating back to King Solomon." BIBLICAL FUN: "One of the first God-given Kings of Israel, taking over from King David. Solomon was both wise and virile, having the Wisdom of Solomon named after him, and having no fewer than 700 wives and 300 concubines."--Tchaikovsky, Fri, 02/14/03 at 03:12:05
21Ax4) "And didn't they beat the Elks this year in the Sunnydale adult bowling league championships?" SECRET SOCIETIES: "Xander is carrying on the jibe against the Order, stating that they are no different from any other secret society or club--a lot of myth, and a lot of talk about violence...but, basically, nothing out of the ordinary. Incidentally, the Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks was founded in 1868."--Rhys, Fri, 02/14/03 at 03:04:31
21Bx4) "That's enough, Xander!" BAD TIMING: An example of one of the many times in the series where as the situation grows more dire and life-threatening, Xander's jokes keep muliplying. And in this case, Giles actually tells him to stop, whereas in most cases, he would just ignore him. But it is very telling that immediately afterwards, he apologizes to him for snapping. Despite the lack of affection Giles usually shows for Xander, he does like him very much.
21Cx4) "'Cause you're the scourge of the underworld?" LINKAGE: This is an interesting choice of words, considering that the underworld, besides Buffy, has another scourge. In Hero, we meet a group of pure demons known as the Scourge who are intent upon wiping out all demons who have any human genetics in them, which is practically every demon in this dimension.
21Dx4) "You can kill as many of them as you like, it won't make any difference." THE DIFFERENCE: What makes these demons different than any other demons? The fact that they will not stop until they get the job done. They are not doing this out of personal desires, but out of a desire for chaos and pain in general. This is what makes them so dangerous. Unlike the Master and other Big Bads Buffy will face in the future, the Order of Taraka truly doesn't care if it takes them forever. This is the first villain from whom Giles actually begs Buffy to hide. The most famous instance of this will be near the end of the fifth season, when they run and hide from Glory in Spiral.
21Ex4) "Some are human, some... a-are not." HUMAN EVIL: This is another interesting thing about the Order of Taraka. This society is composed of both humans and demons. This is one of, if not the only cases where an established group is made up of both.
21Fx4) "That is a tense person." THE WONDER OF OZ: "Oz doesn't lose his cool even after the incident is over--showing that it's not a conscious, put-on coolness. And note the word he uses to describe Buffy--'tense.' Not 'crazy' (which would be an understandable reaction) but 'tense'--as in 'under great physical and/or mental and/or emotional strain.' Oz is observant...and, it seems, empathetic."--Rhys, Fri, 02/14/03 at 03:04:31
21Gx4) "I just wish we knew where she was." MARTI SPEAKS: "...they don’t know where Buffy is because she’s running scared from the assassins…[L]ogic might tell you she would go to her friends, but...Buffy isn’t necessarily going to do the most logical thing. She’s a teenage girl, and, if I were her, I would go look for my hunky boyfriend, which is what she’s doing!"--Marti Noxon, DVD Commentary
21Hx4) Cut to a sleazy bar. FROM THE ORIGINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT: "This is the kind of bar where the lights are so low it's hard to see your hand in front of your face. Which is a good thing. Because you wouldn't want to get a good look at either the surroundings or the patrons. It's after hours. A solitary stooped figure gives the floor a perfunctory once-over with a stiff broom. This is WILLY, a shifty-eyed bottom-dweller. In addition to being the bartender here, he's a small time hustler who moves in the underworld of the vampires - despite the fact that he is not a vamp himself."--"What's My Line?" by Howard Gordon & Marti Noxon, available through Pocketbooks, Inc., as Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Script Book, Season Two, Volume 2
MARTI SPEAKS: In the DVD Commentary, Marti confirms that Willy is one of the few Buffyverse characters that is one of her creations. "The thought behind Willy was basically that in a town of demons and lowlifes, there would probably be some lowlife human beings who are kind of like making their living off the underworld…Willy serves the demon world and profits from it when he can, but he’s basically a weasel, and at one point, we actually thought about making him an actual weasel, like he could turn into a weasel, ‘cause we thought that was pretty funny. But in fact, it’s not that funny…Willy’s just a skeevy little guy."--Marti Noxon, DVD Commentary
21Ix4) "Oh, uh...hey, Angel." FROM THE ORIGINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT: "WILLY'S demeanor changes. He's clearly afraid of Angel. Doesn't want any trouble."--"What's My Line?" by Howard Gordon & Marti Noxon, available through Pocketbooks, Inc., as Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Script Book, Season Two, Volume 2
21Jx4) "And I'm taking up sunbathing." FORESHADOWY GOODNESS: Pretty soon, thanks to Kendra, he almost will be.
Act Four
21Kx4) The girl charges him with the stake held above her head in both hands. STAKE FIRST: "There's not a lot of room for compromise in Kendra's world. There's her way, and there's a stake through the heart. Black/white. Good/evil. It's a simpler world view, and one undoubtedly trained into her by the Watchers, but it's not an accurate one. People in the Buffyverse--and I include vampires and demons in the definition of people--are rarely all good or all evil. Kendra has yet to learn that."--Rhys, Fri, 02/14/03 at 03:04:31
21Lx4) "I tink it is funny now. Dat girl. De one I saw you wit before?" WHERE IN THE WORLD?: "Kendra…has what I find to be an indecipherable accent…I could never tell you where she was from. She worked with a dialogue coach…This accent is actually from some place very specific. It’s like the second township of the third something of Jamaica, but I didn’t know that…But it’s pretty funny, because we were constantly sort of like, 'Where are you from? What is this?'"--Marti Noxon, DVD Commentary
21Mx4) "I...I have frog fear." F.O.F.: "There's actually a psychological term for frog fear--Ranidaphobia."--Rhys, Fri, 02/14/03 at 03:04:31 See 16AAA.
21Nx4) "You've gone quite beyond the call of duty." DUTIFUL WILLOW: This line encapsulates so much about Willow. Buffy had this gig chosen for her, but Willow does it out of her own sense of duty, and further a duty that she really took upon herself. She could just as easily have gone about her normal high school life without helping Buffy and Giles out. Giles here acknowleges her for the work she has done. She has done more than she's needed to, where most people wouldn't have even done less than was needed! It also foreshadows Buffy's decision in What's My Line II, which most would argue almost might have been beyond her call of duty.
21Ox4) "By George, I think he's got it!" WOULDN'T IT BE LOVERLY?: "Spike is slightly misquoting from the musical My Fair Lady (see 8OO). When Eliza Doolittle finally pronounces the speech exercise 'The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain' correctly with no Cockney accent, her teacher, Professor Henry Higgins, shouts triumphantly to his friend, Colonel Pickering, 'By George, I think she's got it!'"--Rhys, Fri, 02/14/03 at 03:04:31
21Px4) The top card is a picture of an angel. FROM THE ORIGINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT: "A beautiful image of AN ANGEL. But the angel is FALLING - plummeting through the sky to an all but certain doom."--"What's My Line?" by Howard Gordon & Marti Noxon, available through Pocketbooks, Inc., as Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Script Book, Season Two, Volume 2
21Qx4) "That's what a lot of the guys say, but it's just locker room talk." CORDY VIRGINAL?: Again, there is the question of whether Cordy is or is not sexually promiscuous. See 18F, 24M, and 27Q.
21Rx4) "You wanna be a member of the Scooby Gang you gotta be willing to be inconvenienced every now and then." ...WHERE ARE YOU?: This is the first time Buffy and her friends were referred to as the Scooby Gang, a name which has stuck and is how most fans refer to the group. The name comes from the popular mid-70s Hanna-Barbera cartoon, Scooby Doo, Where Are You?, about a four friends (Fred, Daphne, Velma, and Shaggy) and their dog, Scooby Doo, who rode around in a van, solving supernatural mysteries. See 38RR.
21Sx4) "And that my first husband will be a balding, demented, homeless man." THE FIRST: "Notice--Cordy doesn't say that she hopes her husband will be balding, demented and homeless; she says that she hopes that her FIRST husband will be. Indicating, I think, that this is a girl who, for whatever reason, does not think of relationships as permanent; her automatic assumption is that love and marriage are both temporary. This doesn't bode well for any of her future relationships."--Rhys, Fri, 02/14/03 at 03:04:31
21Tx4) "...you're the lameness and she's the super chick, or whatever." CONTINUITY CHECK: Cordy will say pretty much the same thing to Xander later, in different words, in The Zeppo, however, there her words hurt him a great deal more because he had already been filled with self-doubt up in that episode, and her words all but confirmed them.
21Ux4) "Well, at least I'm the lameness who cares..." XANDER IN A NUTSHELL: Very economical writing! In one short sentence, Xander encapsulates his Zeppo and Hero natures, which will eventually literally be split into two beings in The Replacement. Yes, Xander might not have any powers (thus, lameness), but he cares. He is the Heart of the Scooby Gang, and that makes him heroic. See 10HHH.
Also, a bit harsh on Cordy, considering that, complain or not, she did get up to help Xander, and the other Scoobies, by extension, and just last episode, she expressed concern for Giles (see 20VV).
21Vx4) Cut to Angel's apartment. FROM THE ORIGINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT: "In contrast to the sun-washed storage room, Angel's apartment is a cool, dark tomb. A haven from the waking world. CLOSE ON BUFFY Curled in Angel's bed - arms tightly wrapped around his pillow. She is, for the moment, safe in his phantom embrace."--"What's My Line?" by Howard Gordon & Marti Noxon, available through Pocketbooks, Inc., as Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Script Book, Season Two, Volume 2
21Wx4) "Come on, don't make me do the chick fight thing." METANARRATIVE HUMOR: Buffy wryly comments on the way stereotypical way girls fight each other--pinching, biting, scratching--before doing it. The joke here is that these girls are above that kind of fighting, but because neither can truly best the other because their powers are equal, entering that type of fighting, even though it is beneath her, allows Buffy to regain the upper hand. She is imaginative; Kendra is not.
21Xx4) "Who are you?" NOW YOU ASK?: "Kendra speaks this line after nearly decapitating Buffy and getting in a fight with her. Clearly, she doesn't think in terms of learning about the beings she is fighting--she just thinks of them as targets. Again, this is in full accordance with Watcher training. But this narrow, incurious attitude almost got another human being killed. Kendra is better trained as a Slayer; but Buffy is the better human being."--Rhys, Fri, 02/14/03 at 03:04:31
21Yx4) "I am Kendra! De Vampire Slayer!" FROM THE ORIGINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT: "Buffy takes this in. Come again?"--"What's My Line?" by Howard Gordon & Marti Noxon, available through Pocketbooks, Inc., as Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Script Book, Season Two, Volume 2
WHAT'S IN A NAME?: "'Kendra' is from the Anglo-Saxon and means 'the woman who knows.' It suits Kendra perfectly--Kendra knows a great deal about being a Slayer, but she tends not to let herself feel. The schism in her personality between knowing and feeling often makes it hard for her to understand things that Buffy and the others comprehend quite well. Knowing, in the Jossverse, is not sufficient for wisdom; emotion and intelligence have to work together for that."--Rhys, Fri, 02/14/03 at 03:04:31