LIE TO ME (2x07)

This episode has two strikingly large problems, one being the fact that Ford is an extremely boring character until the very end of the episode, and two being that there are some pacing problems. As I was watching this again I was thinking that it wasn't going to score very high, but then the fantastic foreshadowing and slowly building character development began to win me over. The end, of course, is also fantastic.

The episode begins at night as we see Drusilla, in her creepy white dress, approach a little boy waiting for his mom to pick him up (his mom must be really late). Angel arrives in a knick of time to spare the kid's life and have a little chat with Drusilla. This conversation is actually one of the highlights of the first half of this season. A truck full of foreshadowing is unleashed in the dialog between these two (which is stated below). This is the kind of stuff I eat up. Buffy comes in on the end of the meeting and sees Drusilla close to Angel then runs off looking hurt because she makes dumb assumptions about what was going on. This is one thing I don't like about Buffy's character consistently through the earlier seasons. She always overreacts to things she sees without knowing the context of the situation or the facts.

Anyway, at school the following day Buffy and Willow are amusingly passing notes in class discussing what Buffy saw. Buffy seems to have a cooler head about the situation now. Then Ford arrives out of nowhere and is introduced as a character we know isn't going to be on the show after this episode. I'm glad in one respect, because I really don't like Ford.

Ford being thrown into the group dynamic does create some interesting interaction. Angel lies to Buffy about his whereabouts which in turn causes her to give him the cold shoulder. That makes her eager to leave The Bronze with Ford because of all the romantic tension directed at Buffy by Angel, Xander, and Ford. All of this is too much for Buffy so she does end up leaving the building. I can't say I blame any of the guys for having the hots for Buffy.

There's a few extremely powerful scenes towards the end that really make up for the lackluster first half. One involves finally getting some hard facts about Angel's past. We discover that he killed all of Drusilla's loved ones and then mentally tortured her, all before turning her into a vampire. This naturally creeps Buffy out a bit, even though she wanted to hear it.

Another fantastic scene is when Ford reveals his cancer problem to Buffy. She reacts perfectly to this news, "You have a choice. You don't have a good choice, but you have a choice! You're opting for mass murder here, and nothing you say is gonna make that okay!" I also respect the writers for having a character who sticks to his guns and doesn't give into the "good guy emotionally moving speech." Ford decided not to help Buffy, even after she desparately tries to convince him otherwise.

All of this leads to the moving final scene where Buffy matter-of-factly kills Ford as a vampire and then asks Giles if life gets any easier or any less confusing (see final quote below). The dialog between these two really causes some thought. As you grow up things become more complicated. It's not as clear who's your ally and who's your enemy anymore. There certainly isn't lacking interesting discussion here. So while I don't particularly love this episode, I must admit that it has some truly golden scenes and a lot of beautiful foreshadowing.