What Am I, Saint Buffy?

Episode 3.18: Earshot. Original Airdate 9.28.99  

"Buffy fears she will descend into madness after she acquires the ability to read minds."

Zelda's Thoughts:

• I'm so excited, you guys. I'm already calling dibs on Buffy's speech to Jonathan as my favorite line of the episode.
• Wow, parking lot set. You are looking particularly parking lot-y tonight. 
• Oh hey, Wesley has learned how to snark! We're rubbing off on him!
• And they all get up and leave as soon as Wesley starts speaking. It's a thing of beauty.
• Buffy: Everybody who isn't currently Buffy.// D&Z: Awwww
• SMG is so funny. "Infect? Infect! Giles. INFECT???"
• "I usually enjoy lameness, and this is leaving me kind of cold."
• What's great about this episode is how very much it embodies what's good about the show. There's drama, there's heartache, but there's this amazing lighthearted play here, too. The banter of Oz and Xander, the bright sunlight. Amidst the sadness and angst, it's an optimistic show - a moment reinforced even more so with Buffy's climactic scene with Jonathan in the tower.
• Angel: "No matter what, I'll always be with you." ... until I get my own spinoff show at the end of this season.
• WHEE BUFFY CAN HEAR YOUR BRAINS
• I'm glad Angel invested in some curtains to cover THE GIANT WINDOWS AND DOORS in his stupid mansion
• I really like the way they explain away why Buffy can't read Angel's mind - comparing it to the mirror, that they don't reflect out. It's a cool twist. And a bit of a "be careful what you wish for" - Buffy wanted to know what Angel was thinking, and instead she gets to know what everyone BESIDES Angel is thinking.
• "In 243 years I've loved exactly one person." Cue schmoop.

And for once, he is. Thanks Lucas for the gif!

• Interesting character exploration: Cordelia speaks exactly what she thinks. Willow speaks support but inwardly frets. Oz gets metaphysical but just says "Hmm." Xander thinks about sex and is terrible at multiplication.
• "We think, therefore she is." Oz, you are my favorite. Well, one of my favorites. I HAVE A LOT OF FAVORITES OKAY
• "It's gotta get better. Please tell me it gets better." // "She doesn't even know I'm here." There's so much misery in high school. Accurate.
• "Who hasn't just idly thought about taking out the whole place with a semi-automatic?" and that is why they delayed airing the episode until September.
• "You had sex with Giles???" AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
• "We all have fantasies that we're powerful, more respected. Where people pay attention to us." That's Season Four Jonathan, Willow.
• "Moderate strain." Hogan, darling, you are not ... erm ... intelligent.
• Poor Buffykins. She can't fight the potential killer, she can't do anything, she's incapacitated by her metaphor-over-empathy.
• Yay Larry is out now!
• "Freddy Iverson." // "He's gay?" // "No." 

Uhhhhh yes he is.

• So is that ... um ... a shitload of sunlight falling on Angel as he feeds Buffy the antidote? Sheh-nan-i-gans.
• :( Poor sweaty Jonathan. Coming up to kill yourself. With an automatic rifle. Um. That's not an effective suicide weapon.
• I mean, it's another misdirect, but like ... it doesn't make actual sense for him to do that. All they needed was one throwaway line at the end to say that, and I'd be okay with it.
• Buffy's run up the staircase railing is so cool.
• "Stop saying my name like we're friends. We're not friends."
• "I don't think about you much at all. Nobody here really does."
• "My life happens to on occasion suck beyond the telling of it." I just ... it's such fucking good writing.
• Xander's rat poison just makes me think "Soylent Green is people!" and of course Buffy's freakout in Doublemeat Palace.
• The stunt lunch lady *cough* dude is just ... so incredibly clumsy in terms of editing. They couldn't pad the costume? Daniel's very excited because he'd never noticed before.

Seriously, they couldn't pad the guy?

• "What am I, Saint Buffy? He's like three feet tall." Hey!

Daniel's Thoughts:

• Falling fakeout!  “You demons can’t resist on a run and stumble, can you?”
• I like the fishy looking mouthless demons.
• Cool effect with the demon ooziness disappearing into Buffy’s hand.
• Buffy’s purse matches her outfit!  Good for you, girl.
• Wesley got one on Giles and Giles got one on Wesley. I love their rivalry.
• Sunnydale HS newsletter has an obits section…that’s disturbing
• “For a minute there, I thought you were going to make an expression”//”Not gonna lie. I felt one coming on.”  I like that Jane is writing an Oz/Xander friendship.  They don’t interact much.
• So many movies/TV shows have done mind-reading as a power and I never thought it was handled as well as it was in this episode.  Because people's minds never really turn off.  I know mine doesn't. And there are all these thoughts running around in there; most of which I don't want people to hear; most of which people shouldn't hear.  And not because I'm violent or a bad person or because I'm planning anything nefarious.  But because thoughts just happen.  But most of the time, that's all they are is thoughts.
• “The boys at this school are seriously disturbed,” Well, yeah.  They’re teenage boys.  All they think about is sex.
• Nancy dresses like she’s  Bree on Desperate Housewives:

Like a long lost daughter

• I bet this was Jane Espenson’s dissertation too:  The whole Iago/Othello thing that the teacher said was her dissertation.
• Seriously.  Terrible house for a vampire.
• David’s good with the “I just woke up” face.
• Great to add to the vampire mythology, Jane.  It makes sense that his mind can’t be read like other humans.
• Come on Buffy, he’s 243 years old.  You think he remained celibate in all that time?
• Oh Cordelia.  She’s amazing.  I love that they show her to think exactly what she says.
• And Oz thinks way more than he speaks.
• And Xander is a typical teenage boy.  I completely understand him wanting to bolt.  
• I love hearing all these thoughts.  And I wonder if some of these extras got “under fives” paychecks.
• Jonathan!  Poor sweet Jonathan.
• Why’d they bring her outside and not to the nurse’s office?
• Hey Xander figured it out!  In jest…
• I can’t take Xander’s fiesta shirt:

"What? This was my Uncle's."

• Even Buffy’s mom doesn't want to be around her. 
• “You had sex with Giles!?! Twice??"
• Ooh, they haven’t done this investigating students thing since the fish episode
• This time, however, Jonathan didn't just pee in the pool.
• “Apathy on the rise, no one cares”  - that's an amazing headline.
• You know what I’d do if I had this power?  See what puppies are thinking. But that's just me.
• Larry!  I love that Larry is totally out now. “I’ve got my grandma fixing me up with guys.” YAY!  The funny thing is – Xander never denies that he’s gay whenever Larry brings it up.
• When did Sunnydale high get a clock tower?
• Awww, Jonathan.  Oz is short, too!
• I think this is Jane Espenson’s best-written episode.  Sure, the metaphor is obvious but it’s explained so well.  I love Buffy’s speech to Jonathan about everyone’s pain.
• Also, High School sucks.
• And Xander’s ADD fat-ass has saved the day.
• Omg!  The lunch lady’s stunt double is a man! And a man half her weight!
• And the ending to this episode with Giles walking into a tree.  Awesome.

Favorite Lines:

Zelda: "You know what? I was wrong. You are an idiot. My life happens to, on occasion, suck beyond the telling of it. Sometimes more than I can handle. And it's not just mine. Every single person down there is ignoring your pain because they're too busy with their own. The beautiful ones. The popular ones. The guys that pick on you. Everyone. If you could hear what they were feeling. The loneliness. The confusion. It looks quiet down there. It's not. It's deafening." - Buffy

Daniel: "I don't see what this has to do with me." - Cordelia's thoughts. "I don't see what this has to do with me." - Cordelia 

90s Factoid:

Phone Booths:

Maybe Superman can still use this?

 This trend started in the 90s and unfortunately there are some who still do it today.  We just don't get it.  It's gotta be really uncomfortable:

"Sometimes I think my pants are gonna fall right off."

Arc/Continuity Stuff:

• Trivia: They delayed the airing of both this and Graduation Day: Part 2 because of violence/weapons depicted on school grounds - this was the year of the Columbine massacre, and Earshot was initially scheduled to air the week after. Luckily, there's not much continuity for the season arc, aside from the Bangel relationship.
• Recurring: Wesley, Percy, Larry, Joyce, and Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning Jonathan.
• Buffy now knows Giles and Joyce had sex in Band Candy. On the roof of a police car. Twice
• Willow's second time interrogating Jonathan.

Stats:

Oz's Hair - blonde 

Dead Humans - 0

Dead Undeads - 2

Giles Unconscious - 0

Giles Cleans His Glasses - 0

Buffy Breaks a Door - 0

Evil Reveal - 1

Unevil Reveal - 1

Shenanigans Called - 1

Apocalypse Called - 0