Someone Wasn't Worthy

Episode 2.21: Becoming: Part 1. Original Airdate 5.12.98

"Angel plots to revive an ancient demon bent on sweeping everything on earth into hell itself."

Daniel's Thoughts:

• I wish they hadn't made Angel Irish.  I feel he could have done another accent better.  Spanish maybe?  Or make him American like Darla. [I would pay good money for a Russian Accent. That would be hilarious. - Z]
• Darla!  She's back!  In....a flashback!

"I didn't hear a about a chair shortage...oh"

• We haven't had a good ol' fashioned vamp slaying opening in a while.  Love it.
• Fish stick theatre!  Xander is doing something funny!
• I love the whole chair shortage conversation.  Willow/Alyson has hilarious timing.
• Snyder: This isn't an orgy people, it's a classroom//Buffy: Yeah, where they teach lunch.  HEE!
• London - 1890 - here's some stock footage.
• Interesting seeing Dru as a human and how they made her crazy.
• I like Willow in teacher mode.
• I still stay it's a ridiculous curse and I'll keep saying it until it stops. It punishes the man, not the demon!
• And Xander has the same idea as the g*psies: Punish the man, not the demon.
• Kendra is dressed like she's in the army!
• How the heck did Kendra get that sword through customs?
• Giles uses the Orb of Thesula as a paperweight!  Just like the shopkeeper said in Passions.  Yay for continuity!
• I'm not completely unimpressed with the Manhattan set. It's totally fake but well done.
• Flashback: Ewww, Angel's in love with a 15 year old girl.
• Mr. Pointy!
• I feel like they only brought Kendra back to kill her off...

Zelda's Thoughts:

• Hiya Darla! I'm glad you're not attempting an accent.
• I don't think we ever find out, even on his show, when Angel lost the Irish. It's there in some flashbacks, and then it's not.
• "It'll all be over soon." // "Yes, my love. It will." SHUT UP. At least when Ethan tries that sort of thing, Giles catches him at it and undercuts it.
• For our stats: 1 dead fishstick.
• "I think you'd sweat cute blood."
• THEY'RE ALL SO CUTE. Xander and Cordy and his fish hands, Willow and Oz and their Willow- and Oz-ness
• Aw human Dru. Still creepy looking.
• "I don't want to be an evil thing." This episode is not just about Liam becoming Angelus who became Angel who became Angelus, or about Angelus becoming the worthy vessel for the Tomb of Alfalfa, or even about Buffy becoming a slayer or an adult and whatnot. We've also got Dru becoming a crazyass vampire, or at least the lead up to it.
• Love the transition of "God is watching you" to full on crazy present Dru striding along.
• Spike reads the newspaper! He keeps up with current events! Our modern-day vampire.
• I love love love their realization that they're looking at the soul restoration spell. I love it so hard. This show, you guys.
• Hi Romania! You look kinda like the parking lot.
• So when they restored his soul the first time, he was drawn to where the spell was being cast, so the Romanians could give him the speech of "you suck." This didn't happen when Willow does it later - he doesn't even feel the spell coming until it hits.
• While Xander's right that Angelus is a killer, and is not ready to forgive that, Angelus and Angel are two separate creatures in terms of culpability. Angel will feel the remorse of his actions as Angelus, but they're not actions he would commit. If we can tolerate the Angel of S1 and S2 pre-Surprise, with all the murders he committed, Xander's point holds less power. The problem is the deaths are more personal now.
• This argument is so good you guys.
• Hi Kendra!
• "And we're sure this was the Tomb of Alfalfa." Oh Buffy. Sometimes you shouldn't say words.
• I think we shoulda let Angel keep eating the rats of Manhattan. Think of how much less of a vermin problem we could have in the city!
• Hi Whistler! Who the fuck are you and why do you never ever exist again? I like the idea, but why is he never used again (yes, I know, the original plan was to have him show up on AngeltheShow, but they had Doyle instead).
• "You can become someone. A person."
• Pre-slayage Buffy! So cute, so sweet, so shallow! I wants to keep her safe. Also, it's a pretty good wig, in that it doesn't scream wig. Maybe it's just extensions.

"Yeah? Hi! What?"

• Poor little Buffy! She's so scared and small.
• Wait - so when Angel smiles, after his day of stalking, it's when he's watching her cry in the mirror. wtf, dude. Though "I want to help her. I want to become someone." is pretty cool.
• "I want to learn from you. But I don't want to dress like you." And thus was born his penchant for dark button downs and black pants.
• "Someone wasn't worthy." And then he just sits there and tries not to laugh as Angelus blusters and Dru twitches. Love me some petty Spike.
• wtf, self-immolating vampire messenger. wtaf. How would he convince her to do that?
• I love Buffy's blue-green coat so much.
• Alpert!
• Al Franken.
• I'm aware the last two things barely count as bullet points. Shush you.
• Daniel and I both cracked up at DB's physicality as he jumps after "All right, we'll fight."
• Jesus. This fight is so brutal. I gasped when the bookcase fell on Willow. And poor Xander's hand.
• Oh God and Buffy's running as fast as she can once she realizes it was a trap. She's running as fast as she can and it's already too late.
• What an awful way for Kendra to die.
• Slow motion run. God. And the Buffy/Angel theme of sadness is playing, but with a muffled drum beat below it. Goddammit I love this show. It's just so freaking good.
• And we think we're at our last moment as she runs to Kendra's dead body, but then - for like the first time, there's police.

Favorite Lines:

Daniel: "It's a big rock.  I can't wait to tell all my friends.  They don't have a rock this big".  - Spike 

Zelda: "The big moments are gonna come, can't help that. It's what you do afterwards that counts. That's when you find out who you are." - Whistler. I mean, yes, all of Spike's lines, but also this.

Arc/Continuity Stuff:

• Oz has animal crackers on his tray.
• The disc that fell beside the desk in Passion is rediscovered!
• Buffy finds the claddagh ring Angel gave her for her birthday.
• Giles specifies that the soul-restoration spell would use black arts, not just rainbow happy magic.
• Giles keeps an Orb of Thesula as a paperweight, as the shopkeeper in Passion said people do.
• Angel saw Buffy get called to her Slayerness. Also, kind of a stalker.
• "And you fall for it every single time!" - He's referring to when she fell for a similar trap in When She Was Bad.
• Dru has hypnotic powers, which she uses to thrall Kendra into submission before killing her. Most vampires don't seem to have this power.
• Kendra, the next in the slayer line, is dead.

Stats:

Voiceover - Whistler's thing (not the official Buffy shpiel)

Oz's Hair - red

Dead Humans - 3

Dead Undeads - 4

Dead Flashbacks - 3

Giles Unconscious - 1

Giles Cleans His Glasses - 0

Buffy Breaks a Door - 0

Evil Reveal - 0

Unevil Reveal - 0

Shenanigans Called - 0

Apocalypse Called - 1