Act Three
42QQQ) Joyce picks up the teakettle from the stove and takes it over to the island, where she pours some into a cup for Spike to make hot chocolate. CONTINUITY CHECK: "Spike will refer back to Joyce's habit of sitting him down with a hot drink and talking to him in a normal way in Season 5, Forever, when he leaves flowers after her death."--Pip, Mon, 02/23/04 at 14:28:54
42RRR) "And so I said, 'You know, I don't have to put up with this.' And she said, 'Fine!' So I said, 'Fine, do whatever you like!' I mean, I thought we were going to make up, you know." MEMORY: Another example of Spike's selective memory. See 42LLL.
42SSS) "Well, Spike, sometimes even when two people seem right for each other, their lives just take different paths. When Buffy's father and I..." JOYCE AND SPIKE: Their unusual relationship began in Becoming II (see 34KK-34NN).
JOYCE AND HANK: See 10D.
42TTT) "You got any of those little marshmallows?" CANDY LAND: "Most forms of instant cocoa come in two kinds, one with and one without the mini marshmallows."--manwitch, Sun, 02/29/04 at 11:41:29
CANDY LAND II: "Spike's love for 'little marshmallows' in his hot chocolate is one of the endearing aspects of his character that makes his fans certain he can't be all bad."--MaeveRigan, Mon, 03/01/04 at 08:16:19
42UUU) Instantly he makes a dead run for the door, jumps the porch railing and tries to go in, but is surprised to find himself thrown back. FROM THE ORIGINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT: "Angel registers only a split second of disbelief before he reacts, growling and flying through the door, except OOPS, he can't, and he smacks into the invisible barrier with all the force of a really talented mime."--"Lovers Walk" by Dan Vebber, available through Pocketbooks, Inc. as Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Script Book, Season Three, Volume 2
LINKAGE: This scene was perhaps deliberately meant to echo the scene in Angel where Angel walks in on Darla, who had posed as one of Buffy's friends to get into the house, biting Joyce. In that scene, however, he can get into the kitchen, and Buffy arrives just in time to see him holding the unconscious and bleeding Joyce, and assumes that he was the attacker. Interestingly, in this scene, he has not been invited back into the house and so cannot get into the kitchen, and in that scene, although he can, Buffy tells him he is uninvited afterwards. In both cases, Angel had good intentions, although Buffy misinterprets them in the first scene, and Joyce does in the other. See 7GG.
Also, interestingly, this reflects the Angel-and-Spike-as-each-other's-shadows theme, since earlier in the episode, Spike looked in on Angel from the outside, and now he is doing that to Spike, albeit unintentionally. See 42PP.
42VVV) "He's crazy. He'll kill us." CONTINUITY CHECK: Joyce is remembering the events of Passion (see 29MM). See 42DDD.
42WWW) "Okay, I-I'm confused again." NEED TO KNOW: This line, as well as "Willow's a witch?" as well as this entire scene is a great follow-up to the befuddledness Joyce experienced in Becoming II, as she listened to Buffy and Spike's conversation (see 34OO). Buffy still obviously hasn't told Joyce enough about what is going on in her life.
42XXX) "And when did you become all soul-having again? I thought you outgrew that." CONTINUITY CHECK: Spike left Sunnydale, with Dru in tow, before Angel's soul was restored. See 34YYY.
42YYY) "Oh, my God. Is this some sort of residual werewolf thing? This is very disturbing." CONTINUITY CHECK: "Oz's werewolf scenting abilities will be a major plot point later in New Moon Rising." Also, as in that episode and Wild at Heart, the implication is brought up that Oz's human and werewolf are not as separate as he likes to think at this point.--KdS, Sat 02/28/04 at 06:54:25, with some additions by Rob
42ZZZ) "Need him? He's probably just got them locked up in the factory." WELL, OBVIOUSLY...: An example of Spike behaving stupidly, the fact that Buffy so easily guessed where Willow and Xander were taken implies the even greater irony regarding Willow and Xander's "impending death" kiss, since they were actually not in nearly as much danger as they had thought they were. See 42Dx4.
42Ax4) "I guess you had to be there." CLICHE SUBVERSION: This line is usually said by someone whose friend has just told him a story that is much funnier to the teller, who experienced the situation first-hand, than it was to the listener.
42Bx4) "She really is just kind of fickle." ANGEL/ANGELUS: "A really nice moment. Angel let’s a little bit of Angelus out in both tone and intent, to arouse Spike’s anger and jealousy just as he had a year earlier as Angelus. Its one of the rare times we see that Angelus is indeed a part of Angel’s personality if he chooses to let it out. They will make use of it when they 'play' Faith later in the season in Enemies."--manwitch, Sun, 02/29/04 at 11:41:29
42Cx4) "You're *not* friends. You'll never be friends. You'll be in love till it kills you both. You'll fight, and you'll shag, and you'll hate each other till it makes you quiver, but you'll never be friends...Love isn't brains, children, it's blood...blood screaming inside you to work its will...*I* may be love's bitch, but at least *I'm* man enough to admit it." SPIKE, IN A NUTSHELL: "The core speech for Spike's characterisation over the next few years, and a major division between those fans who find such an all-consuming conception of love romantic and those who find it immature and creepy."--KdS, Sat 02/28/04 at 06:54:25
IT'S ALWAYS BLOOD: The reference to love as blood and life ties into Spike's words in The Gift that of course Dawn's blood is "the key" to The Key, because blood is everything. Blood is symbolic of the force of life, passion, lust, anger, love...everything.
42Dx4) "Oh, God!" WERE WILLOW AND XANDER WRONG TO GIVE IN TO THEIR HORMONES?: "When Willow and Xander try on their outfits for the dance in Homecoming, they see each other dressed to kill and hormones flare (see 39HHH). Both were dismayed at their actions, but neither was quite ready to put on the brakes for the sake of fidelity to their respective partners. They continued their flirtation in Band Candy (see 40XX). While it might have been the candy on Xander's part, it wasn't for Willow; she was getting the attention of the boy she has always wanted. Willow almost confesses their illicit smootchies to Buffy in Revelations, then finds she can't (see 41TTT). Both try to put an end to the tryst in Lover's Walk, but in a final 'impending death' kiss, they are discovered by Cordelia and Oz.
NO
I think their timing was a bit off and maybe they should've either explored their feelings before they were involved with other people or waited until they were both available before they made a move, but...they're young they are both going to make mistakes. Feelings are what they are. They don't just go away and they seldom wait until it's convenient to express them. I do think that Willow is in love with Oz, but I think that her, not so much unresolved, but unrequited feelings for Xander will continue to cause her angst and confusion. Even though she is very happy with Oz, I think she will wonder how things would have been with Xander. For Xander's part, I think that he is just beginning to see beyond himself and is starting to see how special Willow is (WomanWarrior, Jan 31 19:58 1999).
Xander and Willow are in high school, and they aren't married to their respective others. i saw if they feel it, go for it. truthfully, i wish they had stayed together and left oz and cordy in the dust. because when all is said and done, i don't think willow and oz have what it takes. sure, he practically worships her like a goddess, but i truly think willow will get bored of that. she deserves someone that not only loves her, but that she truly loves back. and i just don't see that with oz. as for x/c, they were bound to end. i mean, realistically, nearly no high school relationships survive the college test. in my graduating class of 226, 1 couple from high school is still together (Bruces Mom, Jan 31 19:44 1999).YES
If Xander and Willow had kissed and realised that yes they loved each other and had had the courage to tell Oz and Cordy then OK. But the sneaking around and then when they were caught realizing that they didn't love each other made it quite different. Bad even (Fly-by-Nite, Jan 31 19:43 1999).
Yes, I think it was wrong for Xander and Willow to give in to their feelings...I think their behavior showed a complete and utter lack of integrity as well as a lack of respect for Oz and Cordelia. Their 'digression', as it were, was left as a pure lust thing, but unlike Xander's trysts with Cordy in the broom closet, his dalliance with Willow was secret and never meant to materialize into a real relationship. They could have exercised self-control and wouldn't have gone through the pain and heartbreak they went through. Their relationship with each other would have remained free of the awkwardness it has now, as well. (re: not being able to 'touch digits', etc.) (Megdalen, Jan 31 19:38 1999).--Masquerade, "Lovers Walk" Analysis from http://www.atpobtvs.com
FROM THE MOUTH OF THE ALMIGHTY JOSS: "I think all viewpoints regarding X/W are valid, glad to see I could cause some pain and dissention."--Joss Whedon, posted at The Bronze messageboard, Nov 18 22:43 1998, reposted by Masquerade, "Lovers Walk" Analysis from http://www.atpobtvs.com
42Ex4) The camera pans from her face over to her abdomen, where a long piece of rusty iron rebar is protruding from her left side, just under her rib cage. OUCH!: "Hey, maybe Cordelia was a Potential all along. Because otherwise, there is no way she should have been able to wear all those midriff-skimming costumes in AtS after this. ;-)"--KdS, Sat 02/28/04 at 06:54:25
Act Four
42Fx4) Xander gets through and drops himself down to the concrete below. DON'T IT ALWAYS SEEM TO GO...: Note how courageously Xander acts here. Now that he has betrayed and possibly lost Cordelia, he acts braver in attempting to save her than he ever did in the past.
42Gx4) "I'll find her, wherever she is, tie her up, torture her until she likes me again." UM...HOW ROMANTIC: "Another very ambiguous speech. Dru may be a rampant masochist, but still..."--KdS, Sat 02/28/04 at 06:54:25
42Hx4) "Xander? I can't see you..." TEMPORARY BLINDNESS: Cordelia's temporary blindness here can be interpreted as both literal and metaphorical. Xander has betrayed Cordelia, who had loved him beyond what she and many others thought her capable of, and now to her it as if she has never really known him. She did not see his capacity for hurting her, and now she will refuse to "see" (in other words, "date") him in the future.
42Ix4) "He created all things in order that they might exist. And the generative forces of this world are wholesome, and there is no destructive poison in them. For the dominion of Hades is not on Earth, for righteousness is immortal." TWISTAGE: "Big fake-out. If you've never seen the episode before, it may even work, because Joss has killed before. But not this time. Also, the clergyman's funeral service may be read as a kind of commentary on the show: As a creation, its intentions are 'wholesome,' not 'destructive,' despite the subject matter. 'Hades,' the Hellmouth, will have no dominion in Buffy's Sunnydale, where she represents righteousness, and is immortal--whether she wants to be or not."--MaeveRigan, Mon, 03/01/04 at 08:16:19
WHOSE FUNERAL?: "I've always thought that the funeral we're overhearing at the end of Lovers Walk is that of the magic store clerk, due to the New Ageishness of the language..."--Dead Soul, Mon, 03/01/04 at 19:37:35
42Jx4) "I never knew there was anything inside me that could feel this bad. For the longest time, I didn't know what I wanted. I wanted everything. And now...I just...I just want him to talk to me again." CONTINUITY CHECK: Willow's efforts to win Oz back will occur in the coming weeks.
42Kx4) "Stay away from me." LINKAGE: This scene is very similar in tone to a later hospital scene in the Angel episode, Forgiving, in which Angel at first seems understanding and forgiving of Wesley's decision to kidnap his son, Connor, (similar to Cordy's tone of voice that seems to imply she is being receptive to his apology), but then at the last moment turns on him and attempts to smother Wesley with a pillow. In this scene, however, the "attack" is done by the person in the hospital bed, not the other way around.
42Lx4) When he's gone, she begins to cry. FACADE: One of the most heartbreaking moments in the show's history, Cordy's refusal to appear weak in front of Xander echoes Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered, when Xander asks for the necklace he has given her back, after she has dumped him on Valentine's Day, and she insults the gift, even though she secretly loved Xander, the necklace, and what it represented to her about their relationship (see 28DD). In both scenes, she doesn't allow Xander to see her vulnerable side or how hurt she is.
42Mx4) "And I can fool Giles, and I can fool my friends, but I can't fool myself. Or Spike, for some reason." PERCEPTIVE SPIKE?: "The beginning of the 'Spike as truth-teller' trope, which will become very ambiguous and controversial when their sexual relationship begins. Certainly Spike can be extremely perceptive, but his demonic orientation tends to make him place the most cynical interpretation on things and he has something of a tendency to project his own desires onto his interpretation of other people's feelings."--KdS, Sat 02/28/04 at 06:54:25
42Nx4) Cut to Willow's room. BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO: Ironically, Spike, who spent the majority of this episode in a heartbroken, pathetic state regarding his breakup ends this episode feeling happier and more rebellious and upbeat then ever, whereas all of the other characters leave this episode feeling just as heartbroken and pathetic over breakups that occurred just as Spike was recovering from his. Of course, all of the breakups were also indirectly Spike's fault: Buffy and Angel realize that they cannot see each other any longer because of Spike's words, and Spike's kidnapping of Willow and Xander leads both to their kiss and Cordy and Oz's discovery of it, in trying to rescue them, as well as Cordy's nearly lethal fall.
42Ox4) Spike's car races by with Gary Oldman's version of "My Way" blaring on the radio. Cut inside. Spike rocks along and screams the lyrics as he smokes and defies the daylight, driving with only his blackened windows to protect him. MUSICALLY SPEAKING: See 42P.