PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS A SPOILER-RICH ZONE

PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS A SPOILER-RICH ZONE. If your diet requires you to dine on television spoiler-free ... good luck with that.

REVIEW ARCHIVES

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Power Girl to the Rescue!


Episode 2.18: Killed by Death. Original Airdate 3.3.98





"While hospitalized with a severe case of the flu, Buffy battles a demon that sucks the life out of sick children."


Zelda's Thoughts:


  • Poor Buffy's all fluey.
  • Alpert Mausoleum! This should be a drinking game.
  • Angelus really should have been able to kill her now, when she's all weak and dizzy. He's just useless this episode. They should fire him from being a vampire. I do enjoy how Spike repeatedly calls him out on the not killing of Buffy, at least.
  • We're singing along to the theme song again. D is drumming too. WE'RE SO COOL.
  • "Possible fractures?" What the - why? What? Why would he think that? No. Stupid doctor. He's fired too.
  • I like how seriously they're all taking this, and it's an unnerving shift on the show we're used to - nothing mystical about what's taken Buffy down, or the way we're dealing with it.
  • Poor delirious Buffy. She's so small and vulnerable. SMG is really good at that.
  • "Shhh. Hospital zone. No singing." And Xander grins. BECAUSE HE WILL INVOKE THE SINGING SPELL IN FOUR YEARS.
  • "You know that thing on her face? You know that thing. ... Am I the only one that's noticed that thing?" Never change, Cordy. No seriously. I hate your "growth" on AtS. Stay like this.
  • I feel like they would have taken off her jewelry.
  • Ew ew ew ew don't rip out your IV. I actually yelled at the screen. At least it was a dream?
  • This is the creepiest hospital that's not in a zombie movie/tv show. Creepy children everywhere.
  • It is nice of Xander to stand guard, even if he's not that effective a bodyguard, really. But he uses his brains to get Angelus to back down!
  • Angelus accuses Xander of still loving Buffy. Do we think this is true? While his hatred of Angel certainly stemmed from that, and has only grown, but I think it's its own independent animal of hatred now. I don't think I think Xander is still in love with Buffy, personally.
  • "Flowers for milady!" // "I think they call those balloons."
  • "Nobody told me I was supposed to bring a gift." // "It's traditional among ... people." I love Cordy. and Giles. So much.
  • Giles's theory the kids might be seeing the "true selves" of the adults, which manifest as evil deathy things, is awesome. It's wrong, but it's awesome.
  • Krispy Kreme!!!! I wants.
  • Der Kinderstod thinks it can battle Buffy by being all blinvisible. But she's battled the blinvisible before!
  • "This is your work?" Giles asks as he tries to find a constructive comment on the artistry.

Pot, kettle, sir?

  • This episode is funnnnnnnny. It's kind of a stupid title though.
  • "Let's go, tact guy."
  • Aw Giles is so annoyed at Cordy. "It asks endless questions of those with whom it's supposed to be working so that nothing is getting done."
  • Man this demon wins at the creepy. Good makeup and good physical acting by James Jude Courtney.
  • My friend Lucy's favorite line in the whole entire series: "No more frogs."
  • NOOOOOOOOOOES DON'T KILL THE CHILDREN.
  • Buffy, to Kinderstod: "You make me sick." PUNNNNNNNNNN!
  • Seeeeeeeee, Daniel? Joyce is being support-o-mom to Sick Buffy. And to moocherfriends Willow and Xander. [Yeah, but she's bogarting the cheesy chips - Xander]

Daniel's Thoughts:

  • Parking lot cemetery!
  • Cordelia: “We’re all concerned about how gross you look.”
  • Giles is cleaning his glasses a lot more lately!
  • There’s no thing on Buffy’s face, Cordy – but you have a weirdly shaped mole on your cheek you might wanna get checked out.



  • Creepy kid alert!
  • Hey, it’s German Freddy Krueger!
  • Power Girl!  The first incarnation of the Slayer!
  • I love how Giles ignores that Willow did all of Buffy’s assignments
  • Sunnydale General looks like Sunnydale HS. 
  • Willie Garson!  He’s so good.
  • “Fine, watch my back.”  And...stupid Xander looks and doesn't even smirk or appreciate Cordy's fine buttocks. MAKE A BETTER CHOICE, BRENDAN.
  • Aww, Cordy brought Xander Krispy Kreme even though he’s a dick.  That’s love.
  • Hehe, Willow was playing ‘doctor’ wrong
  • Also, thank god she was because it saved Buffy from a potential lethal dose of the flu virus
  • Why is basement access right off the children’s ward? Seems kinda dangerous.
  • Der Kinderstod – a pre-cursor to the Gentlemen?

Crossfire!

Should we include Celia (young Buffy's cousin) in our death stats? She's only in flashbacks. You decide!

Favorite Lines:

Zelda: My bed is better than any bed that's not my bed. - Buffy
Daniel: Tact is just not saying true stuff. - Cordelia

Arc Stuff:


  • When Buffy was 8 her cousin Celia died in a hospital, so Buffy is scared of hospitals now.
  • Also when Buffy was 8 she had brown hair. 

Stats:
Voiceover - none
Dead Humans - 2
Dead Undeads - 1
Giles Unconscious - 0
Giles Cleans His Glasses - 1
Buffy Breaks a Door - 0
Evil Reveal - 0
Unevil Reveal - 1 (Dr. Backer)
Shenanigans Called -0
Apocalypse Called - 0

10 comments:

  1. CORDY DOES NOT HAVE ANYTHING ON HER FUCKING FACE!

    ReplyDelete
  2. "Der Kinderstod thinks it can battle Buffy by being all blinvisible. But she's battled the blinvisible before!"

    Never underestimate the power of the Blinvisible! Well...except that one time...and the time after that...and that other time. But other than that, never underestimate us! :P

    On Xander loving Buffy, I think a part of him always did. I think his hatred of Angel was part jealousy but a large part due to his first exposure to Vampires in that they were all evil. They also killed his, never again mentioned, best friend. Xander seems like the type of person that needs to see things as black and white, good vs evil. He doesn't know how to cope with gray areas, and can't grasp that evil things can sometimes be good or that good people like Buffy sometimes make the wrong choice. Not sure if I'm explaining this right but basically Xander doesn't trust or like Angel because he is a vampire and vampires are all evil to him.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. But do you think Xander is still *in love* with Buffy at this point?

      Delete
    2. Do I think that he has feelings for Cordelia? Yes. Do I think that if Buffy started showing genuine feelings towards him in this episode that he'd jump on the opportunity to date her? Yes.

      I think he was really conflicted at this point. Cordelia was a rebound thing, a way to get out his sexual frustrations and tell himself, he CAN get the "hot girl" but he still put Buffy first and would dump her easily to be with Buffy. However, ever since Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered, he realized that he does have feelings for Cordelia,more than just as a "plaything" but he still holds out hope that Buffy will eventually want to be with him.

      Delete
  3. I don't think Xander ever really got completely over Buffy. At least not by S6. Maaaaybe S7.

    That's not to say he didn't genuinely care for Cordy and Anya--I think he totally did--but a lot of his behavior stems from his almost-worship of Buffy.

    And I say include Celia. She does get killed by Sir Creepistod, after all...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Okay, but here's what happens if we include Celia, a flashback death, in our stats - every time in future episodes that we have a flashback death, we've gotta stat that too, even if it's not officially part of Buffy's battle against evil. This goes for all of Angel's hijinks in Becoming and Amends, as well as Spike's wild slayer-slaying adventures in Fool For Love. *Should* those count?

      Delete
    2. I agree with MAP. Xander kind of hero warships Buffy and by kind of, I mean definitely.

      Also, maybe make a new category called Flashback Deaths so you can keep that tally seperate from the official death tally?

      Delete
    3. I'm gonna jump on Blinvy's Flashback Deaths idea. New heading, yay!

      Delete
  4. I think there's a difference between hero worship and love.

    I think Xander was largely over Buffy by S3 from a love perspective. When he confessed his love to Willow at her bedside at the end of S2, I believed him. And I think he would have chosen Willow over Buffy at that point.

    And I think as the seasons wore on his hero worship matured to a more healthy and balanced relationship. But I also think he permanently signed on to Buffy's mission and it gave him a purpose in life more than his 9-to-5. But commitment to Buffy is not the same as romantic feelings.

    I also think what finally put the lid on any residual romantic feelings for Buffy was that he truly loved Anya. The speech he gave Anya at the end of "Into The Woods" was pretty convincing to me.

    ReplyDelete
  5. "Angelus accuses Xander of still loving Buffy. Do we think this is true? While his hatred of Angel certainly stemmed from that"
    Meh It will always be my personal opinion that Xanders Hatred of Angel stemmed from his hidden grief of losing Jesse, his feeling of inadequacy and repressed attraction to Angel.

    ReplyDelete