SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED (2x02)
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A review by Mikelangelo "MikeJer" Marinaro
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This episode is frankly a pretty big letdown after all the drama of the last one. We get a dumb "monster of the week" plot with one-dimensional villains who come out of nowhere. The only positive aspect to the plot here is that the pace is not slow! Things keep moving at a brisk pace so you rarely have the chance to contemplate just how poor the plot actually is. Where the episode shines is no surprise: character development and interaction. Perhaps I should come up with an acronym for that phrase; I certainly use it often enough. We begin the episode with Buffy and Angel having a graveyard chat about her actions during the previous episode. The "sexy dance" in particular comes up. Buffy thankfully admits she just did it to make Angel jealous. Angel's wearing an ugly-looking light gray jacket most of this episode. Boy am I glad we don't see him in that thing again. Giles and Jenny finally go out on a date, though I'm not sure 'date' is the appropiate term here. Giles accompanies Jenny to the football game, and it's wildly obvious Giles is not having a good time from the get-go. Jenny still shows interest, after the group stops Cordelia's head from being chopped off, in a second date. The continuing theme of their dates ending badly begins here. I'd also like to mention how much I adore the fact that Xander continues to stay in character with the jealousy of Angel, and that Cordelia's flirt-o-meter with Angel continues to rise from her S1 advances. Its overall boring plot and poor execution combine to make this the worst episode in S2. I just really find this episode mostly pointless and kind of annoying. This definately isn't a winner and feels like leftovers from S1 that aren't sitting well with me.
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| + | Buffy playing with a yo-yo while waiting for a vampire to rise. | | + | Giles practicing lines, alone, to use on Jenny to ask her out. | | + | Cordelia's screams; they work here. | | - | The science guy is a plot contrivance. He's only here because the plot needs him to be here, and it's a shame the writers act like Willow knew him really well. | | - | There's no way high school students could possibly assemble a body like that. | | - | The patched up brother (I'll call him 'patches') and his "photo guy" friend are unsympathetic and dumb. | | - | There's no way 'patches' would beat Buffy in a fight. |
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- Buffy's not as 'cute' this season and actually seems more…how should I put this…sensual. Maybe this is just me being very girl-deprived right now, but I think this is likely the writers setting up her growing sexuality which eventually leads to the big moment in Innocence (2x14).
- Cordelia was really impressed by Xander's heroics in saving her and actually comes onto him a little bit, but Xander completely doesn't see it. This is the very first sign that these two could develop a relationship, which they do in What's My Line? Pt. 2 (2x10).
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| BUFFY: | Being called an idiot tends to take people out of the dating mood. | | XANDER: | Hmm, it actually kinda turns me on. | | BUFFY: | (to Xander) I fear you. (to Giles) You also might wanna avoid words like 'amenable' and 'indecorous', y'know. Speak English, not whatever they speak in, um... | | GILES: | England? | | BUFFY: | Yeah. You just say, 'Hey, I got a thing, you maybe have a thing, maybe we could have a thing. |
| XANDER: | Y'know, this might go a lot faster if you femmes actually picked up a shovel, too. | | GILES: | Here, here. | | BUFFY: | Sorry, but I'm an old-fashioned gal. I was raised to believe that men dig up the corpses and the women have the babies. |
| XANDER: | Well, I guess that makes it official. Everybody's paired off. Vampires get dates. Hell, even the school librarian sees more action than me. |
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50
/100
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D |
Silly, useless plot. Poor execution of intended (if any) themes. No new important character development or insight. Offers no reason to bother rewatching it. |
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