Teaser
43A) "Oh, God! Demon! Demon! What kills a demon?!" SPONTANEOUS EVIL: "It's unusual to see the Gang caught off guard like they are here. Usually they have some forewarning to the nature of their foes and know something of their weaknesses. In this case, it seems that they are (realistically) caught off guard by some random unidentified evil on the Hellmouth and need to improvise."--Charles Phipps, Fri, 03/05/04 at 01:26:40
43B) "Oh, Nerf! Not Nerf. Knife!" METANARRATIVE HUMOR: "Could this be a little reference to Nerf Herder, authors of the Buffy Theme Music?"--MsGiles, Mon, 03/08/04 at 07:45:03
43C) "If you guys hadn't been here to help..." THEME FROM "THE WISH": "I thought the lesson of The Wish was not so much, be careful for what you wish, but friends count. My old paraphrase: 'There are old slayers and lone slayers, but no old lone slayers.' The teaser for The Wish has Buffy being strangled by the whatever monster. She's saved because Willow throws her the 'knurf.' Shortly after, Xander ask her how she handles the rocky road of relationships. Buffy answers, 'I have you guys.' Later, when the bizarro-Buffy starts off to the factory. Bizarro-Giles suggests waiting for back-up. No, she works alone. Dies alone (wolfguard, May 22 21:53 1999)."--Masquerade, "The Wish" Analysis from http://www.atpobtvs.com See 43Qx4.
43D) "Isn't he gonna go poof?" NO POOF: "Wanting to make bad things 'go poof' is kind of a theme with Willow...When Xander and Buffy find her attempting to drown her sorrows over losing Oz, Buffy tells her she just has to get through the pain, and she asks, 'Well, isn't there someway I can just make it go away? Just 'cause I say so? Can't I just make it go 'poof'?' (4.09 Something Blue). As she starts her downward slide into power-crazed addiction, Tara suggests that using magic for party decorations was frivolous when they could easily have bought some; Willow's reply: 'Why bother? These are perfect. And extra biodegradable-y. In a couple of hours, poof!' (6.06 All the Way). The desire to solve her problems (and her friends' problems) instantly is one of the issues that leads to Dark Willow of season 6."--MaeveRigan, Thurs, 03/11/04 at 07:24:08
"Maybe the fact that, in early seasons, metaphorical problems have been killed in demon form itself has an effect on encouraging Willow to believe that all problems should be destroyed so easily."--KdS, Fri, 03/12/04 at 10:44:49
43E) "We'll have to bury him or something." MESSY SITUATION: "An in-joke referring to the fact that the main reason for vampires to dust on Buffy was to avoid annoying and icky problems of corpse-disposal."--KdS, Mon, 03/01/04 at 04:07:38
43F) "Couldn't reach her...again. She hasn't been hanging out much." CONTINUITY CHECK: For the most part, Faith has kept herself isolated from Buffy since the end of Revelations (see 41Qx4, 41Rx4). Also, interesting how Buffy would not admit to Faith that slaying makes her feel hungry or horny afterwards (see 37RR), and yet here she immediately reaches for a snack when she's done with her slayage!
43G) "Slaying's a rough gig. Too much alone time isn't healthy. Stuff gets pent up." LONE SLAYER: "A further demonstration of this will be made later in the episode. At this point the gradual alienation of Faith from virtually everyone, and her moral grounding, begins."--KdS, Mon, 03/01/04 at 04:07:38
43H) "We should try to do more socializing with her." NOT ALONE: Another instance that proves wrong some fan claims that the Scooby Gang ostracized Faith; in fact, she ostracized herself. See 37HHH and 37LLL.
43I) "Okay, we kissed. It was a mistake. But I know that was positively the last time we were *ever* gonna kiss." CONTINUITY CHECK: "Xander and Cordelia's relationship [as well as Willow and Xander's] has been endangered by Oz and Cordelia discovering Xander and Willow kissing in the previous episode, Lover's Walk (see 42Dx4)."--Tchaikovsky, Fri, 03/05/04 at 07:08:06
43J) "And they burst in, rescuing us, without even knocking? I mean, this is really *all* their fault." THEME FROM "THE WISH": Xander's line summarizes the main thrust of the entire episode. Although Xander is joking here and being sarcastic in blaming the wrong person, Cordelia, for what happened, Cordelia herself will be truly irrational and blame the wrong person, Buffy, herself, but without Xander's irony.
43K) "Your logic does *not* resemble our Earth logic." POP CULTURE TIME: "Buffy's use parodies human communication with aliens as portrayed in pulp science fiction of the 50's and 60's."--MsGiles, Mon, 03/08/04 at 07:45:03
43L) "...focus on school. That's the strong Willow way to heal." SELF-REGENERATIVE WILLOW: Willow's ability to psychologically heal from the most devastating situations is the major force behind her character arc in the seventh season.
43M) "I have you guys." GOTTA HAVE FRIENDS: This may be an overly obvious note, but again the importance of Buffy's circle of friends is stressed, to make its loss in the alternate universe all the more pronounced.
43N) She has a picture of herself, Xander, Willow and Buffy all with their arms around each other, and is cutting each person off with a straight vertical cut. ALONE: "Note the cut from Buffy with Xander and Willow to Cordelia entirely alone - and her former friends will show their original shallowness by turning on her."--KdS, Mon, 03/01/04 at 04:07:38
WHAT IS LOST: "The fact that Cordelia has kept this photo of herself with the gang, and that it now becomes the symbol of their relationship to be destroyed, shows that it meant a great deal to her. She cuts off each person in turn (Buffy, Willow, and Xander), symbolically cutting off her relations with all three of them. Then she drops them all – including her own photo – into the bowl and lights them on fire. By consigning her own photo to the flames she attempts to destroy that part of herself that cared. The extra cut she gives Xander, slicing off his head, demonstrates her special loathing for him."--Ames, Sat, 03/03/04 at 17:06:10
"Cordelia just keeps on growing as a character. From the one-note joke of Welcome to the Hellmouth, we here have Cordelia as a real genuine victim of Xander's infidelity. It's one of the earliest knocks on a journey that makes her one of the most changed Buffyverse characters by the third s eason of Angel. Here it most notably pre-figures the loss of her 'rich kid' status after her father is caught for tax evasion in The Prom."--Tchaikovsky, Fri, 03/05/04 at 07:08:06
43O) She watches as the flames consume the image of Xander. FROM THE ORIGINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT: "Her eyes are red from crying and she looks just about as bad as an incredibly beautiful person can look...[S]he's wearing sweats and a sports top - and a LARGE WHITE BANDAGE that spans one side of her torso, covering the injury she sustained in episode 8. We also see that her ROOM is a TOTAL MESS. Littered with clothes and diet soda cans and junk food wrappers...She slices the heads off Buffy and Willow...Now Cordy takes the Xander portion and LIGHTS it on fire with a match. She drops it into an ashtray - watches the FUMES RISING - her expression betraying the chilling mix of hurt and fury that is unmistakably the look of a woman scorned."--"The Wish" by Marti Noxon, available through Pocketbooks, Inc. as Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Script Book, Season Three, Volume 2
Act One
43P) "How's it goin'?" CROSS TO BEAR: "Notice that Buffy still wears a cross around her neck here, but it’s a small gold cross – not the larger silver one that Angel gave her. Later in the episode we’ll see that Cleveland Buffy also wears a cross – a larger silver cross on a simple leather thong. In later years Buffy seems to fall out of the habit of wearing a cross, or using one against vampires. Perhaps the loss is symbolic of her gradual loss of belief in a higher power."--Ames, Sat, 03/03/04 at 17:06:10
"The costumer said in an interview (I think in BtVS magazine) that Buffy stopped wearing crosses in Season 4 to symbolize that she was able to take care of herself. It was a sign of Buffy's confidence. Though in Season 5 we see the return of at least one, very large, cross. Perhaps due to Glory's seemingly unstoppable presence."--Sofdog, Tues, 03/09/04 at 09:43:33
43Q) "Amy saw her last night at the mall." CONTINUITY CHECK: Of course, this is the same Amy first introduced to us in The Witch and last seen in Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered. This line is a nice reminder that even though we don't see recurring student characters such as Amy or Jonathan every week, they are still a part of our characters' daily lives. Amy will appear again in Gingerbread, later in the third season.
43R) Cordelia has the top down on her convertible. CONTINUITY CHECK: "Cordelia appears to be driving a Chrysler Sebring convertible – not the same car that she had in Reptile Boy (the one with the QueenC license plate), and different again from the sedan she was driving in Prophecy Girl (perhaps that one was written off after crashing into the school library). She goes through a lot of cars! The Sebring is a nice, but sensibly-priced American car. Strange that status-conscious Cordelia doesn’t drive a Mercedes SL or something of that ilk, especially in California where the car you drive is the ultimate social status symbol. Perhaps Mr. Chase’s problems with the IRS are already beginning to show."--Ames, Sat, 03/03/04 at 17:06:10
43S) She steps out looking very hot... FROM THE ORIGINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT: "CORDELIA, drop dead in A KILLER designer outfit and dark shades. Totally transformed from the night before - she looks both sexy and sinister."--"The Wish" by Marti Noxon, available through Pocketbooks, Inc. as Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Script Book, Season Three, Volume 2
43T) "Cordelia! You look amazing." FASHION CONSCIOUS: "Color always an important indicator on Buffy. Cordelia’s mauve outfit is close to the purple of royalty, symbolizing her desired return to the status of high-school royalty. But notice that Cordelia doesn’t wear much jewelry – nothing but a small pair of earrings. She has a lot of confidence in her natural beauty."--Ames, Sat, 03/03/04 at 17:06:10 See 43EEE.
THE STUDENT IS NOW THE MASTER: "Harmony has always been the chief sheep of the crowd and has taken over Cordelia's place as leader, even though its arguable she doesn't have any leadership qualities whatsoever whether vampire or human. However she is setting up Cordelia for a fall, no doubt the result of knowing she was in Cordelia's shadow for so long (or perhaps just because Cordelia's own state is so poor and it the clique's nature to pounce on social weakness)."--Charles Phipps, Mon, 03/08/04 at 15:12:43
43U) "You have to meet Anya." CONTINUITY CHECK: "The introduction of a character who will become a regular until Chosen, although it is a widely corroborated fact that Emma Caulfield was hired for only this episode, and was brought back as a fine comic actor and presence."--Tchaikovsky, Fri, 03/05/04 at 07:08:06
43V) "Nice bag. Prada?" POP CULTURE TIME: Prada is a very expensive and fancy brand name. Anya's recognition of the brand, by sight, is indicative of how she is now molding herself into the perfect tailor-made friend for Cordelia, in the hopes that she will become an ear for Cordelia to complain to, and to whom she would eventually make a wish. See 43HH.
43W) "...Prada from Payless." POP CULTURE TIME: As can be gleaned from the title, Payless is a company whose products (mostly shoes, but also handbags) are known as affordable substitutes to the more expensive brands. A fashion maven such as Cordelia would be able to identify this "cheap" brand on sight.
43X) "God, Cordy, when I heard about..." SCHOOL TIES: "Obviously Harmony and the Cordettes know what happened between Cordelia and Xander, and we find out shortly that it's all over school that Xander cheated on her. Who spilled the beans? It doesn't seem likely to be Cordelia - she'd be too embarrassed to say anything other than that she broke it off with Xander, and anyway she was taking a week off at home to recover from her injury and not answering the phone. I doubt Willow would say anything, and Buffy's not much of a gossip. Oz never says anything unnecessary. It sure looks like the X-man is responsible!"--Ames, Tues, 03/09/04 at 10:40:10
I disagree. Since it would only be to Xander's detriment to tell others about what happened (since he was the one at fault, and had no feelings of animosity towards Cordelia, particularly since he is the one who betrayed her), it is more likely that another student overheard Buffy, Willow and Xander, or some permutation of those three, speaking about what happened. I know from experience that secrets can spread throughout a high school without ever being able to trace exactly how anyone found out in the first place.
43Y) She leads her over to the outside stairs where Jonathan is sitting, nursing a soft drink. CONTINUITY CHECK: The Great Jonathan appears again. See 16Dx4, 17XXX, 22TT, 24WW, 32M, 36VVV, and 39SSS.
POOR JONATHAN: "The irony here is that Cordelia did sort of toy with dating Jonathan in Reptile Boy. Remember when she sent him back to the bar at the Bronze because the cappuccino he brought her didn't have 'extra foam'? (see 17XXX and 17YYY) And then commented to the others 'Young men are the only way to go.' It's surprising that Jonathan can muster a look of sympathy!"--Ames, Sun, 03/07/04 at 14:59:01
ALONE: "It's interesting to note Jonathan has no 'crowd' of his own. [The fact that Cordy doesn't either, and he can now identify her, is why he musters his look of sympathy.] While Willow, Buffy, and Xander have forged their own social circle (and before then Jesse replacing Buffy) there doesn't seem to be anyone for Jonathan before the Troika [the "evil mastermind" group he joins with Warren and Andrew in Season 6]. It's no wonder then that his friends are able to take him so far into their schemes in Season 6. It is this isolation that will lead to Superstar and the villains of Season 6."--Charles Phipps, Fri, 03/05/04 at 01:26:40
43Z) She laughs, and she and her group walk off. FROM THE ORIGINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT: "With that - Harmony moves off. Like lemmings, the rest of the girls follow."--"The Wish" by Marti Noxon, available through Pocketbooks, Inc. as Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Script Book, Season Three, Volume 2
"We don’t know the rest of the group besides Harmony and the new addition Anya, but just imagine how ditzy they must be if Harmony is the natural leader with Cordelia gone! Marti Noxon and the other writers continue to get in their digs at 'the popular girls,' probably sweet revenge for their own high-school years."--Ames, Sat, 03/03/04 at 17:06:10
43AA) "Just...You can leave me alone. I need to figure things out." LINKAGE: This is remiscent of Oz's need to make a dramatic exit and be alone, after learning he may have killed people while in his werewolf form, in Beauty and the Beasts (see 38NN).
43BB) "But maybe if we talk about it, we could..." IMPATIENT WILLOW: Another example of Willow attempting to seek quick, easy solutions to complicated emotional troubles. See 43D.
43CC) " Look...I'm sorry this is hard for you. But I told you what I need. So I can't help feeling like the reason you want to talk is so you can feel better about yourself. That's not my problem." FAIR AND BALANCED OZ: "This is classic Oz. To be able, after being the wronged-against, to tell Willow 'I'm sorry this is hard for you' is his trademark well-balanced, calm handling of a fraught situation. And yet he knows how he feels, and that the space he needs is his right."--Tchaikovsky, Fri, 03/05/04 at 07:08:06
43DD) From a distance it looks to Xander like they are kissing. LAUGHING ON THE OUTSIDE...: As with the hospital scene in the previous episode (see 42Kx4) and her return of the necklace in Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered, Cordelia refuses to let Xander see her in a position of vulnerability or weakness. See 28DD.
43EE) "If anyone saw me hanging with Xander Harris' castoff on top of that...Death, you know..." SOCIAL STUDIES: "The way that Cordelia is destroyed by the jibes from both John Lee and Harmony, unable to muster even a weak come-back, shows what a fragile state of mind she is in. Where’s the teflon Cordelia we’ve come to know and love, the one who can trade cutting insults with the best of them?"--Ames, Sat, 03/03/04 at 17:06:10
"Oddly this statement is more revealing than many other parts of the show regarding Sunnydale High's social dynamics. It illustrates
1. A re-affirmation that High School is a vicious pecking order that is run less by people than people playing to social rules even they do not understand. Much like Demons in the Jossverse.
2. Xander Harris is not invisible like Marcie Ross (see 11FF) in that she couldn't even get noticed, he and Willow have their own reputations even if abysmally poor ones.
3. Cordelia's lusty encounters with Xander in the broom closet and her man-chasing have given her a somewhat loose reputation."--Charles Phipps, Mon, 03/08/04 at 15:12:43
43FF) "Ever since we met this morning, I was, like, thank God there's one other person in this town who actually reads W." POP CULTURE TIME: "W is the updated, hipper slick-magazine version of high-fashion newspaper Women's Wear Daily. If I recall correctly, the revision came about in the mid-80s."--MaeveRigan, Mon, 03/01/04 at 08:54:44
43GG) "If that girl had an original thought, her head would explode." HARMONY THE SHEEP: "Harmony's sheep-like qualities are fairly well-documented, but with Cordelia in disgrace, she takes control, briefly, and becomes leader of the clique, for what it's worth. Her approach may not be original, but she is taking charge and--perhaps--taking revenge."--MaeveRigan, Mon, 03/01/04 at 08:54:44
43HH) "Is that Gucci?" POP CULTURE TIME: Another highly expensive brand name. See 43V.
43II) "It's an actual old thing, sort of a, um...good luck charm my dad gave me." BUFFYVERSE MYTHOLOGY: "A first, and somewhat mendacious, mention for the head of the Vengeance Demons, D'Hoffryn."--Tchaikovsky, Fri, 03/05/04 at 07:08:06
43JJ) "Apart from being without class, the guy's obviously blind. Deserves whatever he gets." DROPPING CLUES: One can infer from Anya's "blind" comment that she hopes that Cordelia will follow that up with, "I wish he really were blind!" That Xander later loses an eye in Dirty Girls is merely coincidental.
43KK) "Cordelia *belongs* to the justified camp. She *should* make us pay." LINKAGE: This sentiment is very much in keeping with how Willow helped Cordelia's Homecoming Queen campaign, out of guilt from kissing Xander (see 39MMM).
43LL) "...that crazy little thing called life..." MUSICALLY SPEAKING: "Not a hard gag, but a little shout-out to Queen's Elvis tribute song, Crazy Little Thing Called Love."--Tchaikovsky, Fri, 03/05/04 at 07:08:06
43MM) "He's actually making sense. We're young and free in America. How dare we be spun by love or the lack of same?" WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT?: "'Spun' as in 'spin-doctor'. Origins in journalism: 'giving a story a spin' is subtly altering it to convey a particular impression, often according to some personal or political agenda. In the 80's the term 'spin-doctor' came into use, applying to someone employed by (usually) a politician, to 'doctor' (ie alter), and create media coverage with a favourable 'spin'. Hence the verb 'to spin' and Buffy's adjective 'spun.'--MsGiles, Mon, 03/08/04 at 07:45:03
43NN) "That didn't work. Who wants chocolate?" LINKAGE: The sentiments expressed in this exchange are similar to the conversation the Scoobies have about their love lives, at the end of I, Robot...You, Jane (see 8TT).
43OO) "Tears of a clown, baby. Or is it...grins of a sad person?" HOW DO YOU SAY?: "A much used and often misused (as Xander demonstrates here) phrase, made ubiquitous due to a song by Smokey Robinson."--Tchaikovsky, Fri, 03/05/04 at 07:08:06
43PP) " I-I'm sorry. But if I wanna make things right with Oz, my hands...my--all my stuff--has to be for him only." CH-CH-CH-CH-CHANGES: This line has very interesting implications, because it represents a shift in Willow and Xander's relationship from which it seems they can never return, at least as long as she is dating Oz. Their whole life, they have been best friends, and casual touching has always been a part of that relationship. Now that they have, however, crossed a line, this touching cannot be interpreted in the innocent way it once was. Eventually, they will reach a point where they can even hug and kiss, without any underlying sexual implications (obviously greatly helped by the fact that Willow has realized that she is a lesbian), but for now they have to remain at arm's length.
43QQ) "Hey, Cordelia, wait a second." LINKAGE: Interestingly, this scene parallels a similar scene in When She Was Bad very closely. Buffy and Cordelia have always been shadow figures to each other and have thus been able to speak the truth to each other at certain moments when they haven't been truthful to others, such as Cordelia's admissions regarding the emptiness of her social standing in Out of Mind, Out of Sight (see 11UU). In When She Was Bad, Cordelia cornered Buffy, also in the alley in the back of the Bronze, and gave her advice--that she should treat her friends more kindly (see 13LL) or risk losing them forever--which Buffy promptly ignored, much as Cordelia rejects Buffy's well-intentioned attempt to empathize with her here.
43RR) ...Cordelia, who flicks a few pieces of trash from her dress and slowly climbs out of the garbage heap. POOR CORDY: Cordelia is (literally) "down in the dumps."--Charles Phipps, Fri, 03/05/04 at 01:26:40
43SS) "Why do *I* get impaled? Why do *I* get bitten by snakes? Why do *I* fall for incredible losers? And you know, I think I've finally figured it out, what my problem is? It's..." CONTINUITY CHECK: Cordelia was impaled in the previous episode, Lovers Walk (see 42Ex4), and she was bitten by a snake in I Only Have Eyes For You (see here).
43TT) "...Buffy Summers. That's when all my troubles started." BLAMING BUFFY: See 13K.
"Although strictly speaking, if it wasn't for Buffy, Cordelia should be horribly disfigured and/or dead by now."--KdS, Mon, 03/01/04 at 04:07:38
In fact, technically speaking, "Cordelia herself shouldn't have been...[in the alternate reality created by the wish]. She was brought to Luke as a victim by Darla in the Bronze during the Harvest and the only thing that stopped him from killing her was Buffy (see here)."--LittleBit, Sat, 03/13/04 at 17:09:53
43UU) Anya takes her pendant off. LINKAGE: "In the other Cordy/Xander breakup episode - Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered - the focal plot item was another pendant, the silver heart that Xander gave to Cordy (see 28DD)."--Rook, Sat, 03/06/04 at 19:30:32
43VV) Cordelia lifts her hair away from her neck and lets Anya put it on. CONTINUITY CHECK: "A very simplistic plot device to make sure the pendant gets into Giles's hands, and one of the big continuity flubs between this ep and later Anya eps (in which the pendant stays on the Vengeance Demon)."--KdS, Mon, 03/01/04 at 04:07:38
FROM THE ORIGINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT: Also important to note is something that many people don't realize while watching this episode, wondering how Anyanka can have her amulet back on her neck at the end of the episode, when Giles taken it from Cordelia's corpse: there are actually two amulets. Once the alternate history is set into place, and Anyanka disappears, the amulet Cordelia is wearing is not Anya's amulet, but an exact replica. In the shooting script, Marti Noxon writes that when Anyanka is throttling Giles at the end of the episode, he notices "HER NECKLACE Identical to Cordy's. It GLOWS with power." One might have cause to wonder exactly why Anyanka left a replica on Cordelia's neck. Perhaps it was a means of identifying to D'Hoffryn who had made the wish.----"The Wish" by Marti Noxon, available through Pocketbooks, Inc. as Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Script Book, Season Three, Volume 2 See 43Cx5.
43WW) "But Xander, he's an utter loser. Don't you wish..." EXPECTING A RESPONSE: "There's an implication that Anyanka is expecting a particular kind of response here. We learn a bit more about the usual bloodshed involved in vengeance wishes in Selfless, S7, when Anyanka is trying to resume her vengeance career and finding she's gotten squeamish." We also have the obvious dramatic irony in this line, because Xander will turn out to be the great love of Anya's life.--MsGiles, Mon, 03/08/04 at 07:45:03, with additons by Rob
43XX) "I never would've looked twice at Xander if Buffy hadn't made him marginally cooler by hanging with him." THE COOLNESS OF XANDER: "This is actually true in a manner of speaking. Xander saved her life in Some Assembly Required (see 14SS) and later in What's My Line II (see 22PP). Not to mention saved the world a few times by aiding Buffy against the Master (see 12JJJ). Buffy brought out Xander's heroic side."--Charles Phipps, Fri, 03/05/04 at 01:26:40
"A backhanded compliment from Cordelia, an admission that she actually rates Buffy quite highly. It's also a justification for the application of the wish to Buffy rather than Xander."--MsGiles, Mon, 03/08/04 at 07:45:03
43YY) "I wish Buffy Summers had never come to Sunnydale." WISHY WASHY: "Wishes are a powerful force in storytelling, expressing our desire to re-arrange reality to our own liking. In the Arabian Nights, [the poor urchin] Aladdin is able to do so with an unlimited number of wishes (as opposed to the standard three) remake himself into a prince."--Charles Phipps, Fri, 03/05/04 at 14:53:03
43ZZ) Anya turns back to Cordelia, who gasps to see that her face has suddenly become very wrinkled and raw-looking, the embodiment of Anyanka, Patron Saint of all women scorned. THE METAPHYSICS OF ANYANKA: "Anyanka is a wrinkled and raw-looking demon. Dubbed 'the Patron Saint of scorned women', she possesses great physical strength and the power to grant wishes. Appearing to a woman as the human Anya, her modus operandi is to bring out the hurt in the woman scorned, get her to make a wish (typically, no doubt, something disfavorable to the man in question), and then grant it. It seems that she must grant the first wish her target makes (otherwise, she would have waited for Cordelia to make a wish about Xander). Anyanka's power to grant wishes is directly tied to her amulet or "power center". Without it, she doesn't have that ability."--Masquerade, "The Wish" Analysis from http://www.atpobtvs.com
ANYANKA'S ORIGINS: "1120 years ago, Anya was a human being with some magical abilities, similar to Willow. When she was dumped by a man she loved, she performed some vengeance spells with the aid of the demon D'Hoffryn. He gave her the amulet that turned her into a vengeance demon...[as depicted in a flashback in the seventh season's Selfless]...he offered Willow a choice [to become a vengeance demon] as well in Something Blue."--Masquerade, "The Wish" Analysis from http://www.atpobtvs.com
Act Two
43AAA) There are far fewer students in general. The place is, in fact, rather a mess. Garbage and palm leaves are strewn about the quad. ALTERED HISTORY: "The alternate history was NOT another 'dimension'. Cordelia's wish destroyed the history of our Buffyverse as we know it and created a new history for the Buffyverse (like erasing a video tape by taping new material). This new history is essentially the same as the old history, except that Buffy never came to Sunnydale. We don't know much about the rest of the world, but bizarro-Sunnydale is rapidly going to the vampires. School is still in session, some businesses remain open, but a curfew keeps humans off the trash-filled streets and night-time entertainment is a thing of the past. Also, when Cordelia arrives with Anya's pendant still around her neck, she does not have her wound from Lover's Walk (see 42Ex4)."--Masquerade, "The Wish" Analysis from http://www.atpobtvs.com
CORDELIA'S MEMORY: "In the bizarro-world, Cordelia's memory of the old Buffyverse history is intact because she was the one who was granted the wish, and a wish is only as good as the receiver's appreciation of it. This is part of Anyanka's modus operandi. No one (not even Cordelia) remembered what happened when the old history of our Buffyverse was restored--it was as if the bizarro-world had never happened (the tape erased again and the original material re-recorded). We are taken right back to the same moment Cordelia made the wish in the first place and time resumes its course from that point."--Masquerade, "The Wish" Analysis from http://www.atpobtvs.com
POP CULTURE TIME: The events of The Wish are probably most directly inspired by the classic Frank Capra-directed film, It's A Wonderful Life, in which George Bailey, a man whose life seems to have been completely destroyed, wishes that he were never born, and a guardian angel comes down from heaven and grants his wish. By viewing a dismal alternate version of his hometown, in which an evil millionaire, Mr. Potter, has taken over the entire community, his wife is a lonely spinster, his brother had died at a young age, and other horrible events, George learns that his one, small life does make a difference and his being removed from history causes a snowball effect that ruins the entire town and the lives of everyone in it. Of course, since the Buffyverse counterpart to George Bailey is egotistical Cordelia, she doesn't want to erase her own existence due to the horrible things that have happened to her lately (if George Bailey were Cordelia, he would have wished for Mr. Potter's elimination, not his own!) but rather puts the blame squarely on Buffy. To her credit, she doesn't wish for Buffy's erasure but for her to just not have come to Sunnydale. Also, since this is the Buffyverse, the unthinkable happens: the George Bailey character is killed early on in the story (see 43Bx4), and when the normal timeline has been restored, she has learned absolutely nothing (see 43Fx5). The horrors of the alternate Sunnydale have been completely erased from her memory, because they have been written over and, for all intents and purposes (Doppelgangland notwithstanding) never happened.
43BBB) Suddenly she notices that she no longer has her injury. A WHOLE NEW WORLD: "Everything has changed except Cordelia – she’s still dressed the same, still has Anya’s pendant around her neck, still remembers everything. But strangely one thing has changed about Cordelia – she apparently no longer has her injury (from Lover’s Walk--see 42Ex4)...But surely the way she’s dressed (inappropriate for this world, as we shortly find out) depends as much on the events of the other world where Buffy did come to Sunnydale as her injury did. Why has one changed and not the other?"--Ames, Sun, 03/07/04 at 13:29:57
This is possibly answered by Larry later in the episode, when he says, "That's Cordelia. It's better to look good than to feel alive," when he sees what she is wearing, implying that, even in this universe, Cordelia is in the habit of valuing fashion over her own safety.
43CCC) She sees Harmony and her friends at her locker... FROM THE ORIGINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT: An interesting description of the script, including some details that were left out of the final product: "Cordy moves down the hall, which is also far less crowded than usual. A number of lockers stand open - and the ones that are closed are draped with GARLIC and all sorts of freaky TALISMANS. Also - the walls are now decorated with PROPAGANDA TYPE POSTERS that say things like 'DON'T BE A FOOL - RESPECT CURFEW!' and 'DAYTIME DATES ARE FUN!' Now she walks past A FRAMED PHOTOGRAPHIC PORTRAIT in memoriam of PRINCIPAL FLUTIE. Below it is a PLAQUE with Flutie's name and his dates of service. Then she passes one in memoriam of PRINCIPAL SNYDER, and one in memoriam of PRINCIPAL JACKSON, and so it goes...Each one recording a SHORTER PERIOD OF SERVICE. Cordy doesn't notice the portraits - her focus instead on HARMONY and the CORDETTES, who are gathered at one end of the hall. She hesitates a moment as they spot her - not entirely sure what her reception will be. But the girls SQUEAL with delight and run to her. They look great as usual - but they wear more muted hues (still DKNY) and each sports a stylish CROSS."--"The Wish" by Marti Noxon, available through Pocketbooks, Inc. as Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Script Book, Season Three, Volume 2
"Notice that hanging prominently on the row of lockers behind Harmony and Cordelia are several large wooden crosses and at least two garlic necklaces. Look closely and you’ll see that all of the students are wearing crosses around their necks. Vampires are obviously on everyone’s mind in this reality, but Cordelia doesn’t notice yet."--Ames, Sun, 03/07/04 at 13:29:57
43DDD) "Look, every guy on campus has probably asked, but if you're not going to the Winter Brunch with anyone, I'd be honored, and we'd have fun." SWITCHEROO: "Brunch - meal between breakfast and lunch. Implication that all celebrating is now done in the daytime, when vampires are asleep."--MsGiles, Mon, 03/08/04 at 07:45:03
43EEE) "Cordy, you reign!" LONG LIVE THE QUEEN: "Harmony here underscores that Cordelia has been magically restored to her position of high-school royalty, to which she aspired unsuccessfully the day before with her 'royal purple' choice of clothing (see 43T)."--Ames, Sun, 03/07/04 at 13:29:57
43FFF) The teacher hurriedly gathers his things. SCHOOL DAYS: "From the blackboard it appears that the class is studying vector algebra, which must be fairly difficult to concentrate on in the circumstances – and what’s Harmony doing in this advanced math class?"--Ames, Sun, 03/07/04 at 13:29:57
In my opinion, the implication of Harmony being in this class is that the student population has shrunk to such a small number that they no longer distinguish between basic and advanced math, and honors and non-honors classes in general. Everyone is put into the same classes because there aren't enough students to warrant the need for more. And, as just mentioned by Ames, it is doubtful that anyone, including the teachers, are paying too much attention to what is being taught.
43GGG) "Well, yeah. They're dead." THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT: "The first hint that the consequences of changing an aspect of the past, no matter how small sounding, can have gigantic consequences, and are uncontrollable. The whole alternate universe conceit, used widely throughout Science Fiction, is based on a rather simplified idea of Chaos Theory: that a tiny difference in one place can provoke a huge change in another. The classic statement of this is that if a butterfly was to flap its wings in Europe, it could lead to a storm in the Caribbean."--Tchaikovsky, Fri, 03/05/04 at 07:08:06
43HHH) "You students aren't allowed to drive, and you know it." THE RULES: "The laws have been changed obviously to accommodate not humans but vampires. Humans would want automobiles to escape and furthermore they give a sizeable advantage over vampires in also self-defense. This is possibly another example of humans, perhaps the Mayor, making deals with the undead."--Charles Phipps, Fri, 03/05/04 at 14:53:03
While this theory is a possibility, if the local government were trying to accommodate the vampires, one wonders why the prom would turn into the "Winter Brunch" or why school lets out early. In more likelihood, students are not allowed to have cars to discourage them from going out of the house at night, and to make the curfew more practically enforceable.
43III) "Well, whadaya know? Cordelia Chase." FRIEND OR FOE?: "The idea of the morally-inverted alternate universe where heroes are villains and vice-versa has been used in many long-running fantasy and SF series (for example Earth-3 in Silver Age DC comics continuity, the 'mirror universe' in Star Trek, the Doctor Who story Inferno). The most direct influence on this episode is from Star Trek. The sheer nihilistic grimness, and sadomasochistic sexuality are taken from the 'mirror universe' episodes of Deep Space Nine. However, the general plot concept for the episode, in which a changed historic contingency creates a grimmer alternate universe, leading to the deaths of most of the regular characters before it is reversed again, is taken directly from the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, Yesterday's Enterprise. Such stories allow the examination of issues like historical contingency and the inherency of good and evil, as well as providing an excuse for a whole lot of sex and violence."--KdS, Mon, 03/01/04 at 04:07:38
43JJJ) "Buffy? The Slayer?" NAME RECOGNITION: "Apparently the Slayer is sufficiently well-known among the vampires that Xander has heard of her even though she lives in Cleveland in this reality."--Ames, Sun, 03/07/04 at 13:29:57
43LLL) "No! Buffy the dog-faced girl!" JOIN THE CIRCUS: "This is the second time Cordy references Jo Jo the Dog-Faced boy. The first was in Halloween (see 18*1)."--Rook, Sat, 03/06/04 at 19:30:32
43MMM) "Bored now." CATCH-PHRASE: "Marti Noxon probably didn't realise how long this catchphrase of Willow's would have reverberations. After being used again later this season in Doppelgangland, it is used to chilling effect in her sixth season episode Villains, where Willow flays Warren for killing Tara. The phrase there symbolises just how dark and desperate Willow has become; in being explicitly compared with her vampire self."--Tchaikovsky, Fri, 03/05/04 at 07:08:06
VAMP-WILLOW: "Vamp!Willow's sadomasochism, fetish costumes, bisexuality, sinisterly girlish attitude and (in Doppelgangland) sexual interest in her alternate self are strongly influenced by the crazed Intendant Kira Nerys in the Deep Space Nine mirror episodes (although she also has hints of a more rational Dru). It is notable that in the somewhat homophobic Star Trek universe the near-universal bisexuality of the 'mirror' characters (especially the women) is associated totally with decadence and evil. BtVS avoids this potentially homophobic atmosphere by later revealing that 'our' Willow also has lesbian tendencies."--KdS, Mon, 03/01/04 at 04:07:38
"Vampire Willow seems somewhat crazy, as if the turning caused some sort of mental malfunction. She's still intelligent, and she's powerful, dominating, but she's not all there. There's a detachment from the present; a playful, Drusilla like strangeness."--Ixchel, Sat, 03/13/04 at 18:47:14
"I agree. VampWillow's affect is very detached from her actions. It makes me think of the way Willow acted in the Bronze in Smashed as she and Amy played with their power. There was a certain detachment there as well, that makes me wonder what she'd have been like without a soul in that scene."--LittleBit, Sat, 03/13/04 at 20:45:19
"We have the examples of Vampire Willow (no soul), Willow at the Bronze in Smashed (drunk with power, and maybe some alcohol too), and Dark Willow in Villains etc (angry enough to lose her inhibitions). In each case, we see a similar side of Willow emerge. It looks more like this is an integral part of Willow's personality, normally balanced and held in check by her inhibitions/conscience/compassion. Remove those elements, and you get a personality that's unbalanced."--Ames, Sun, 03/14/04 at 07:36:40
FROM THE ORIGINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT: "CLOSE ON DARK, HIGH BOOTS as they step onto the sidewalk. We move up and find more leather, but these pants are girl style and of the lace-up variety... We continue up, finally revealing WILLOW'S sweetly beautiful face - wearing an expression that's anything but. It's somehow carnivorous and child-like all at once."--"The Wish" by Marti Noxon, available through Pocketbooks, Inc. as Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Script Book, Season Three, Volume 2
43NNN) "What's up with you two and the leather?" FROM THE ORIGINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT: "Willow comes to Cordy, getting into her personal space in a way that is both menacing and sexual."--"The Wish" by Marti Noxon, available through Pocketbooks, Inc. as Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Script Book, Season Three, Volume 2
43OOO) "Play now?" LINKAGE: "I always see Willow's very short, efficient sentences in this scene as a parody - the Willow/Xander couple here is being paralleled to last Season's Drusilla/Spike. Xander does much of the talking and explaining, while Willow wields the real power over him - all seductive and alluring."--Tchaikovsky, Fri, 03/05/04 at 07:08:06
"It's frightening how Xander and Willow...manage to take over the positions of the Master's chief henchmen [in such a short amount of time]. It makes a certain amount of sense though given Spike and Angelus were both made from very frustrated young men like Xander while Drusilla was made from a girl with similarities to Willow before she was embraced. It's a disturbing possibility that Willow's 'embrace' wasn't done before torture as well."--Charles Phipps, Fri, 03/05/04 at 01:26:40
43PPP) EXCISED Because of badness
43QQQ) "Aw, swell. It's the White Hats." POP CULTURE TIME: The terms "white hats," used to describe the good guys, and "black hats" to describe the bad guys derive from old Western movies, in which good and evil was visually delineated through the simplistic use of white as a symbol of good and black as a symbol of evil. The villains literally wore black or dark-colored hats, as opposed to the heroes' white or light-colored hats. Note that neither of these "hats" suit the Buffyverse; unfortunately, there are no gray-colored hats in the old West. ;-)
43RRR) The van screeches to a stop next to Cordelia... CONTINUITY CHECK: "Oz is driving a blue van, and it appears to be the same one he has much later in Wild At Heart – but it’s not the same as the blue van he had previously in Innocence. He must have traded in the original."--Ames, Sun, 03/07/04 at 13:29:57
43SSS) ...Giles jumps out with a large cross in hand to ward them off. They have to back away. At the driver's seat Oz has the crossbow trained on them. Larry and Nancy jump out of the sliding door, he with a stake held ready, she with another cross. PARALLEL LIVES: Although Buffy never arrived in Sunnydale, Giles is still using his Watcher training to defend the citizens of Sunnydale from the vampires, and has interestingly recruited Oz and, of all people, Larry. In most likelihood, Oz was never bitten by his cousin, Jordy, in this universe, although that cannot be confirmed (see 27OOO). Also note that Nancy is one of the few (possibly the only) character in this episode to not have a normal-Buffyverse counterpart.
43TTT) "Everyone knows that vampires are attracted to bright colors." BLOOD SUCKERS ARE ALL ALIKE: "A riff on the popular theory that pests like mosquitoes are attracted to bright colors (the scientific evidence is actually quite weak – mosquitoes are primarily attracted by other cues like body heat, odor and carbon dioxide exhalation)."--Ames, Sun, 03/07/04 at 13:29:57
43UUU) "That's Cordelia. It's better to look good than to feel alive." SWITCHEROO: Considering Larry's personality before he came out (see 27TTT), it is rather ironic that he is the one to complain about the shallowness of Cordelia. It is also interesting that Oz and Larry are the two "real-verse" characters who help Giles, because Larry came out as gay the same episode that Oz "came out" as a werewolf.
43VVV) A couple of the vampires standing outside feast on fresh victims caught out after dark. The two of them go into the club and check out the happenings inside. There are several cages containing terrified humans suspended a few feet from the floor. THE HARVEST REVISITED: One of the most direct effects of the Harvest is that what was once the local teenage hang-out, The Bronze, has become Vampire Central.
43WWW) When he sees them come in, the Master rises from his throne. CONTINUITY CHECK: Because Buffy, in this reality, was not around to stop the Master's plan to break out of his mystical prison in The Harvest (see 2AA), he succeeded and has been ruling Sunnydale ever since.
43XXX) "I'm trying to eat, and she *looks* at me." EYEFUL CUISINE: "Probably a rather Gothic spin on the notion that people are sometimes put off eating fish if they appear to be looking at them."--Tchaikovsky, Fri, 03/05/04 at 07:08:06
43YYY) "I remember that lust for the kill." HELLMOUTH METAPHYSICS: "The Master is free, but he never opened the Hellmouth; the world, for what it's worth, still more or less belongs to human beings. What's up with that?
'The only explanation for why the world has not gone to the demons with any independent evidence is that the Master now lacks the ambition he had in the first season. This is evidenced by his distaste of the predator role (Gina, Dec 10 12:08 1998).'"--Masquerade, "The Wish" Analysis from http://www.atpobtvs.com
Gina's theory is backed up by the assembly line machine that the Master created (see 43Wx4), as it turns blood drinking into a colder, more sterilized, mass-produced affair.
Another possibility is that Giles' cork-in-a-bottle theory was flawed and that it was in fact Slayer blood that the Master needed in order for both events to happen: his rising, and the Hellmouth's opening. Without the Slayer blood, he was freed, but there wasn't enough mystical strength to break the seal on the Hellmouth:
"My personal theory is that, given the implication of Prophecy Girl that the Master needs the blood of a Slayer to open the Hellmouth, in this universe the Harvest took place and freed the Master, but did not provide enough magical power to open the Hellmouth (see ). As I see it, the Master spent some time in fruitless efforts to open the Hellmouth until Spike and Dru arrived and managed to convert the Master from his earlier religious faith to the far more pragmatic and Spike-like philosophy he shows here, wanting to enjoy and conquer the world rather than destroying it. However, Spike and Dru were then probably dusted by Willow when they tried to take her 'puppy' away for Dru's revitalisation."--KdS, Mon, 03/01/04 at 04:07:38 See 12UUU.
43ZZZ) "What news on the Rialto?" BARDISH: "A quotation from Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, which was previously a strong influence on Out of Mind, Out of Sight (see 11H)."--KdS, Mon, 03/01/04 at 04:07:38
43Ax4) "Someone has to talk to her people. That name is striking fear in nobody's hearts." WHAT'S IN A NAME?: One of the rare times throughout the series that the silliness of Buffy's name versus her extremely serious and powerful position is directly commented on. In End of Days, the Guardian won't believe that that is actually the name of the Slayer.
43Bx4) "So you're a Watcher, huh? Watch this." FROM THE ORIGINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT: "Now he sinks his teeth into Cordy's neck...Her eyes go glassy with shock. Staring. ON GILES Watching - horrified - from the cage. rips it, trying to shake the door free -- but it's no use. XANDER Looks to Willow as he feeds. He NODS and she LATCHES onto the other side of CORDY'S NECK. They drain her in symbiotic ecstasy, Xander gripping-the back of Willow's head."--"The Wish" by Marti Noxon, available through Pocketbooks, Inc. as Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Script Book, Season Three, Volume 2
POP CULTURE TIME: The early death of a character who we had assumed was the protagonist for the first half of the story is reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock's classic film, Psycho, in which the character we had been following for the first forty minutes, is shockingly murdered, and the rest of the film is devoted to the investigation surrounding her death. A similar trick was also used at the start of the Kevin Williamson-penned horror/satire film, Scream.
LINKAGE: "The first in a series of deaths riffing on actual events in the Buffyverse, as Xander and Willow kill Cordelia just as they had 'killed' the Cordy/Xander 'ship in the previous episode..."--KdS, Mon, 03/01/04 at 04:07:38
ANYANKA'S WORK: "This certainly fits in with Anyanka's reputation for bloodsoaked vengeance - vengeance which seems also to have generally had the effect of backlashing on the wisher, like the girl persued by her giant worm boyfriend in Beneath You or the traumatised, nearly-massacred shy girl in Selfless."--MsGiles, Mon, 03/08/04 at 07:45:03