Buffy Challenge Post 43: Season 5: Episodes 9 - 10

Listen to Fear

Welcome back to another installment of the Buffy Challenge...... Opening with, what else...... Previously on Buffy............ We see Riley have a nibble taken out of him by some vampire chick he picked up from a bar only to pull out the stake at the last minute.. (Quick question to the Buffy experts out there in the Buffyverse how long does a vampire have to nibble before you become one?) We also see shots of Glory and her really annoying minion and Terra kind of figuring out that Glory is something new they haven't faced, Dawn is the key and Joyce has a brain tumor. Now that is plenty of exposition in one minute and 4 seconds but they managed to cover it. (Still it's 1 minute and 4 seconds of my life of being told what I already know and I'm not getting that time back.)

Oh hospital food, how I miss it. (sort of.....) The old school yard legends and how they spin way out of control, somewhere in Sunnydale there are feetless cows due to the Jelly (Jello in the US) in all the hospitals. Joyce has some good news and it seems that she is going into surgery, good thing that she hasn't lost her sense of humor. Buffy has a point, you can spend hours playing with the adjustable beds in hospitals (drives the nursing staff crazy though!)

Lets see what is happening in the local graveyard shall we, as most stake outs go, the crew is getting their butts handed to them by some Amazonian vampire women. Good thing Willow is nice and silent on the sneak up for the kills. No Riley to be seen (oh who needs him indeed Willow?) Riley has spiraled into a deep depression, where he is allowing some vampire chick to drink away at his arm. It seems she is really enjoying it.

Willow comes baring gifts at the hospital, a beer hat for Joyce, a book on spells for Dawn ..... or a book about the history of spells that is, and for Buffy MORE HOMEWORE!!!! and a YO-YO! (Yo-Yo's are cool!) Joyce seems to be very irritable due to the tumor on the brain. Whoa, did that guy just see Dawn for what she really is? Here comes Ben or the new Riley perhaps?

Terra is right Japanese commercials are weird.  Willow and Terra are spending a really romantic night together out looking at the stars, however it seems that Terra's knowledge of astrology has been all self taught. Conveniently while the girls are star gassings a meteor hits the earth. (only a small one.) The fish eye lense being used I guess is the Aliens perspective on the world as he jumps down and attack the crazy man who saw Dawn. (wait did I just write what I thought I wrote?)

ALIENS.......... come on............ Really? did they run out of idea's? So far not one thing from the previously has been expanded on except the really depressing Riley scene. Is it me or is Joyce being discharged really quickly for such a short amount of time? Xander is really annoyed with Riley on their way to investigate the meteor.  They discover the dead mental patient in the woods who was slimed to death. This looks like a job for........ oh they can't bother Buffy, so everyone goes back to do research (enthusiastically for a change) as Riley stays back and contacts his buddies in the army.

Back in the hospital where our alien bug thing slimes over another person. (This is ridiculous.) Joyce is on her way home which granted the record at this hospital is not great, but makes no sense for a person in her condition. The Army arrives to investigate what came from space. As we cut back to that annoying camera angle showing us the thing is in the Summers household.

Joyce is not in her right mind as it seems that Buffy may be regretting the decision to take her home. Now it seems that Joyce sees the real Dawn. (for a split second.) I don't know who is more upset with their mother, Dawn for calling her a thing or Buffy for calling her disgustingly fat? Dawn is starting to connect the dots as this is the 3rd time her existence has been questioned. Rejected Buffy Spin off time "KILLER SNOT MONSTERS FROM OUTERSPACE!" Xander is reading "Meteors and You!" another great addition to the "........ and You!" Series. Surprise, Surprise it had the answers they needed.

So this episodes villain is an alien who is summoned from the moon to "QUELL" crazy people. Why do I feel like I'm it's next target just for watching this dribble. Buffy breaks down doing the dishes while Joyce continues her rant at the queller thing.  It attacks Joyce who was fortunate to have Dawn save her. Buffy tangles with the thing as we go for a hunt around the room.

Spike arrives to save the day sort of, (not even Spike can save the episode at this point.) Buffy plunged a knife into it's armadillo like back and Just when it seemed that she was going to have a moment with Spike, Riley and crew come barging in.

Cut to Ben going home for the night, and if this episode couldn't get any worse he has the minion of Glory talk to him in the car. So Ben was the one who summoned the monster from space and has a connection to Glory. (I bet they are brother and sister). A big reveal wasted on a crummy episode. Joyce knows the truth about Dawn and Buffy confirms it. Another big reveal has been wasted. Joyce is off to surgery and the credits roll putting us out of our misery.

This has to rank up there with one of the worst episodes of any show I have seen period. I can't remember if I have done this before but this episode gets a ........

1/10

Into the Woods

Now before I start the second episode, I feel that this will be a good time to ponder how the crappy 45 minutes wasted on the last one will effect it? Will I be turned off automatically not giving this episode a fighting chance or will I think that nothing could be as bad as "Listen to Fear" - (which made no sense as a title for the episode.) giving the next episode an inflated score? hopefully it will be neither and I will judge it on it's merits.

I know, I know, your screaming at your screen to tell me to shut up and get on with it already. Ok here we go.......

Previously on Buffy...... Riley is cheating on Buffy, Spike has the hots for Buffy and Joyce has a tumor and going into surgery. (no mention of snot aliens thankfully) The crew is waiting in the hospital and Buffy is anxious, as the Doctor does the slow walk to Buffy to tell her........ ROLL CREDITS!!!!! (That is good use of suspense in the show right there.) Joyce is in recovery and the tumor has been removed and the doctor has told her that she will be fine baring any complications.

Anya calling Dawn emotionally scared, now that is the pot calling the kettle black! Anya still needs to get a hold of sarcasm. A chimp playing hockey? now that is a movie I'd like to see! Dawn let's Xander know that she is only crashing at their place so "Riley and Buffy can doink!" Is Buffy in for a surprise when she finds out about Riley and his new fetish! Snore, Riley and Buffy on screen together is still making me sleepy. Now that is just creepy Spike, having a crush is one thing but stalking Buffy while she is "doinking" Riley is another.

Man, Riley is like a Drug addict as he slinks out to the vampire bar to pick up another tramp. However this time Spike was there to see it happen. So is that what you kids are calling it these days? The military are looking to strike, as Spike shows up in Buffy's bedroom to lead her to the revelation that her perfect boyfriend is how can I put this? "Shooting up, vampire style!"

The demon hunting Army have rocked up to offer Riley a job killing monsters in Central America. He needs to make up his mind by midnight the next night. The Magic Box is getting ready for the holiday rush and by the look of the banner they are not discriminating against anyone! I think Anya has a valid point when it comes to the chicken feet. Anya bathes Xander? TOO MUCH INFORMATION!

Enter the moral dilemma of the episode, does Buffy go after the small fry vamps who prostitute out their blood sucking ability? or go after the main villain of the season? seeing we have a good 12 episodes to go why not attack the vampires who made her boyfriend into a junkie. Buffy and the gang find the house abandoned so rationally she burns the place down. Speaking of junkie boyfriends, Riley has decided to take out his frustrations on Spike for ratting him out! HE JUST KILLED SPIKE! or did he? nope, just a plastic replica stake. Spike has Riley figured out and vice versa. They both threaten to kill each other over a bottle of whiskey.

I have no empathy for Riley whatsoever. He had Buffy, and he went and screwed it up because of his ego. Another failed Buffy spinoff (one for the adults I guess....) "The tales of Xander and Anya's Sexcapades!" Buffy gets confronted by Riley and asks him to leave, he just doesn't get it does he? There is no excuse for his actions. Don't give me the whole "I wanted to even the score" He is pathetic, Riley is throwing the blame for his mistakes back on Buffy. Now he is throwing his decision to go back to the army on her. HIT HIM BUFFY! HIT HIM HARD! HE IS ASKING FOR IT! "I'm leaving, unless you give me a reason to stay...." it seems to me Riley you gave her a reason to leave! 

The vamps running the whore house is not happy that his house has been burnt. Why do vampires try to attack Buffy with sharp pieces of wood? haven't they learnt? It's like giving a gun to the guy who was only going to kill you with his bare hands and saying "please shoot me!" Well Buffy makes short work of the vampires. Xander shows up and to talk to his friend.

I so don't agree with what Xander is saying right now. Riley has to go he betrayed her trust and was nothing but trouble, Hey was not right for Buffy because if he was he would never of felt inadequate. Riley should of excepted Buffy for all she was the good and the bad. Buffy is heart broken again as she missed the chopper taking Riley away for good. Xander confesses his love for Anya which was a sweet moment. We end off the episode with a split screen of both Buffy and Riley alone.

There is some real meat to this episode, the themes that were brought up would lead to some really interesting discussions, I personally felt that Buffy didn't do anything wrong, the guy slept with her then went off to get his fix from another woman. Looking at the episode as a metaphor for substance abuse, it shows the lowest depths of the human psyche. I'm really upset that the writers threw the blame back on Buffy with the speech from Xander. This also gets me thinking about the importance of having open communication in a relationship. That was the first pitfall between the two, Had Riley expressed his concerns and own inadequacies to Buffy they could have worked it out before it got to the point where he felt he had to be "bit" to be satisfied.

The only time I felt that Buffy could have been more open towards Riley is when she was stabbed and felt vulnerable for the first time. This was when she could of leaned on him for support, having said that it still does not excuse his actions. I found it upsetting also that he felt no shame for what he did and instead he transferred the blame, or tried to justify his wrong doing as an act of heroism. (They need me.....I felt it.) Had Riley apologized and felt any remorse for his actions then I may have more sympathy, but putting his decision to leave on Buffy's shoulder like that was an act of cowardice from a broken man.

In the long run I guess they both will be better off without the burden of each others vices.

I would love to read what you all think...........

8/10

This episode was dedicated to D.C. Gustafson who worked on 70 episodes of the show in the art department and passed away on the 4th of November 2000. (I mention this because I always find it very dignified to remember those who work hard on these kind of things and are no longer with us.)