A review by Mikelangelo "MikeJer" Marinaro
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There's a whole lot to love about this episode. We finally get Angel's story explained after a shocking moment in Buffy's bedroom (very well acted by SMG, by the way). The relationship between Angel and Darla is exposed (and Darla is much more in character here than she was in Welcome to the Hellmouth [1x01]). Darla's attack on Joyce was actually very creepy, although at this point viewers are sure that they'd never kill off a character like Buffy's mother, so I wasn't that worried when I first saw this. Additionally creepy was Angel darting across the wall earlier in the same scene with Darla at The Bronze. David Boreanaz's acting is significantly improved here, and when he talks about his history and the curse to Buffy it's completely convincing. Angel staking Darla at the end turns out to be incredibly significant in retrospect, but still meaningful without the knowledge we gain in future episodes of BtVS and AtS. Darla uses guns to fight Buffy which is very fun to see. The way the gunfire flare lights up Darla is a cool effect and was put to max use in that scene in The Bronze. This is the episode that really hits off the Buffy and Angel relationship. You can feel the romantic tension when these two are talking in Buffy's bedroom which really sets up the hesitation to kill Angel when she has the chance after diving for the crossbow. Overall it's a great episode that held my attention from start to finish and is my favorite episode from S1.
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| + | Cockroach party at The Bronze! | | + | Joyce's reaction and nuanced faces when first seeing Angel in her house with Buffy. | | + | I loved Giles' explanation for how he always knows everything about whatever they're facing. "You weren't here from midnight until six looking it up." | | + | I seriously love these brief training sessions between Buffy and Giles. | | + | The diary speech (see last quote below)! | | + | Xander's jealousy of Buffy's boyfriends continues; he jumps at the opportunity to kill Angel. | | + | I like The Master more than usual here. | | + | The cross scar left on Angel's chest from kissing Buffy. | | - | The Three. Very dumb. | | - | Darla never reloads her gun when she really would have needed to. |
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- The dislike of Angel is a persistent part of Xander's character and comes up in many important episodes including Becoming Pt. 1 (2x21) and Revelations (3x07).
- Future episodes when we learn more about Angel's last 80 years make his attraction to Buffy make even more sense than it currently does.
- After Buffy's mom got bit by Darla she calls 911 and is yelling "mom!" I had flashes of The Body (5x16) during this scene. Pretty chilling.
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| BUFFY: | (sees her diary's been disturbed) My diary? You read my diary? That is *not* okay! A diary is like a person's most private place! I... You don't even know what I was writing about! 'Hunk' can mean a lot of things, bad things. And, and when it says that your eyes are 'penetrating', I meant to write 'bulging'. And 'A' doesn't even stand for 'Angel' for that matter, it stands for... 'Achmed', a charming foreign exchange student, so that whole fantasy part has nothing to even do with you at all... | | ANGEL: | Your mother moved your diary when she came in to straighten up. I watched from the closet. I didn't read it, I swear. | | BUFFY: | Oh! (realizes she's given herself away) Oh. |
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95
/100
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A |
A sharply written episode consisting of zero major mistakes. Usually develops characters in a meaningful manner and is a joy to watch on repeat viewings. Near perfect, but not quite there. |
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