Buffy: 2.10 'What's My Line - Part 2'

Kendra kicking ass and taking names.

Writer: Marti Noxon
Director: David Semel

What's the sitch?

The conclusion of the story set up in part 1. Spike discovers what he needs to cure Dru: the blood of her sire – meaning Angel. Angel is kidnapped by Spike after being locked up by Kendra who thought he was a bad guy. Buffy and Kendra arrive too late to rescue him. Giles and the gang discover what Spike is up to and Buffy heads off alone to the abandoned church to rescue Angel after leaving a stubborn Kendra to await orders from the watcher. Buffy arrives but discovers it’s a trap and is taken prisoner while Angel is bled to start healing Drusilla. As Buffy watches helplessly while Angel is slowly being bled to death, Spike prepares to finally kill the slayer...

What's the sitch beneath the sitch?

This continues the themes from part one and also examines questions such as is it what we do that defines us? Or is it who we are that defines what we do? Buffy and Kendra argue the point about what it means to be the Slayer. To Kendra, it is her life and an integral part of who she is, the major part in fact. It defines her. To Buffy, being the Slayer is a job. She’s Buffy, slaying is just something she does because she has to. Kendra is the textbook slayer. Cold, emotionless, lethal, takes orders, slays vampires and does nothing more. She has no friends, no family, no life outside of slaying. She is the polar opposite of Buffy. She thinks Buffy having friends and emotions and a life makes her weak. But Buffy counters that it is exactly that which makes her powerful. And she’ll be proven to be right. Textbook slayers like Kendra have a very short shelf life. It's often only a couple of years before they get killed. Buffy, because of her friends and family and support and her emotions will survive way beyond any previous slayer…even after dying twice. But by the end of this episode, Buffy has moved her viewpoint as well. Slaying is no longer just her job. She embraces it as part of who she is. Just not the only part.


Who's giving us the wiggins this week?

Spike and Dru

Why it rocks

It’s a great payoff to part one with some excellent character stuff and some top-notch fights. Buffy and Kendra make a fearsome pair and their tag team slaying at the end is wicked cool. Love the bit when Buffy yells “Switch!” and they roll over each other to change opponent.

Juliet Landau as Drusilla ups the insanity here with Dru taking twisted pleasure in torturing Angel for everything he did to her including killing everyone she loved, sending her insane and then turning her in to a demon the night before she was to become a nun. Landau is spooky eerie even if the accent is of the Dick Van Dyke type. The whole concept of Dru as a kind of mad vampire junkie is highlighted when we see her laid out in bed. She’s so thin and pale and her arms are covered in small bruises that look like she’s been injecting. Brrr.

Cordy and Xander bicker, argue, and yet keep making out despite them both being appalled at their lusty actions. The relationship and banter is very funny and hugely watchable. Nick Brendon and Charisma Carpenter make for a great love/hate double act.

Bianca Lawson is super hot.

Oz and Willow start to bond over Oz’s minor gunshot wound (received after he pushed Willow out of the way in part 1) and a box of animal crackers and Oz’s realisation that monkeys are the only animal that get to wear pants. Cute.

The Spike and Dru role reversal at the end and that really cool final slow motion shot of Dru carrying an unconscious Spike down the aisle of the old church

Why it sucks

It doesn’t. At all.

It's Buftastic

It’s a toss up between Oz and his Animal Crackers and Buffy yelling “Switch!” to Kendra to swap opponents in the midst of battle.

Dialogue to die for

Oz, to Willow: "The monkey's the only cookie animal that gets to wear clothes, you know that? You have the sweetest smile I've ever seen. So I'm wondering, do the other cookie animals feel sorta ripped? Like, is the hippo going, 'Hey, where are my pants? I have my hippo dignity.' And, you know, the monkey's just (French accent) 'I mock you with my monkey pants.' And then there's a big coup at the zoo."
Willow: "The monkey is French?"
Oz: "All monkeys are French. You didn't know that?"

Kendra: "Did I not see you kissing a vampire?"
Willow: "Buffy would never do that! Oh. Except for... sometimes you do that."

And another thing

Buffy says to Kendra, “Back off Pink Ranger!” referencing the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. It’s also an in-joke as Sarah’s stunt double on Buffy, Sophia Crawford, was also stunt double for the Pink Ranger.

Buffy tells Kendra to enjoy the in-flight movie on the way home, unless it involves Chevy Chase and a dog. This is a reference to the film Funny Farm, in which Sarah Michelle Gellar had a small role.

How many stakes?

It’s slaytime x2. 4 (out of 5)

Buffy: 2.9 ‘What’s My Line: Part 1’

Now that’s what I call girl power!

Writer: Marti Noxon, Howard Gordon
Director: David Solomon

What's the sitch?

Its careers fair time at Sunnydale High and all of the students have to fill in multiple choice questionnaires to identify their future career paths. This aggravates all of the scoobies but raises particular anxieties in Buffy about her own future. What kind of life and career can she have? She has her slayer duty and that seems to be all that lies ahead for the Bufster. Meanwhile, Spike is trying to decipher a text to find a cure for Drusilla, to restore her back to full strength. This requires a little tomb raiding, bringing his gang in to direct confrontation with Buffy and nearly ruining his plans. Annoyed, Spike decides to bring in the big guns: The Order of Taraka: the baddest of the bad assassins who will stop at nothing until their mark is dead. In this case a mark called Buffy Summers. But as the assassins start turning up in Sunnydale to each take their shot at the slayer, another new arrival has also come to town – a tough as nails girl from overseas who claims to be a vampire slayer.

What's the sitch beneath the sitch?

No real metaphors in this one but the underlying theme is all about the future – life, career, family. Buffy starts thinking about all of that; something most teens don’t bother with. She lies when Angel asks her if she ever thinks about the future. She says no. But she clearly has been. But as with most teens, the future seems so distant that she decides to ignore it as best she can…except that the inanity of the school’s careers fair is not gonna let her off so easily. Part 2 will continue this theme when new slayer Kendra arrives proper, giving Buffy the idea that she could possibly retire as the slayer and go off and have a real life and future of her own. It’s an idea that will resurface in season 3 when Faith comes to town.

Who's giving us the wiggins this week?

Spike and Dru and the various members of The Order of Taraka including the creepy bug man, the hulking dude and the lady cop.

Why it rocks

This is Buffy’s first big two-parter since the pilot episodes so the story is bigger and broader with more locations including planes and airports. The stakes are also higher (pardon the pun) and there are some new huge developments in the season arc and in Buffy lore.

Buffy’s future and her struggle for a normal life is at the heart of this story. And that’s always good seeing as how that continual struggle is at the very core of the entire show. Interesting questions are also raised about what will happen to her down the line and what kind of a life she can possibly have. When you actually stop and think about it the whole thing is kinda depressing. You really wouldn’t wanna be this girl. She seems to be stuck, along with the vampires she slays, in a never ending, never changing soulless existence with nothing to look forward to in life.

Xander and Cordy, trapped by the creepy bug man, give in to their passions.

Spike and Dru. ‘Nuff said.

Sarah looks good on ice skates, which involves a ‘cool’ use of said skates in offing a bad guy. Pun absolutely intended.

Mr Gordo, Buffy’s stuffed toy pig, being absently cuddled by Angel is chuckle inducing.

Bianca Lawson as Kendra the Vampire Slayer is ridiculously hot. Shame about that awful mock-Jamaican accent though.

Why it sucks

Bianca Lawson’s above mentioned accent makes my ears hurt.

It's Buftastic

The cliffhanger. Up until the very end we have assumed that the insanely cute girl with the awful mock-Jamaican accent who beat up Angel is one of the Order of Taraka. But as she faces off with Buffy, she announces: “Me names Kendra, the Vampire Slayer!” Cue Buffy’s shocked face, the audience going “Huh?” And the screen saying ‘To be continued.’

Dialogue to die for

Buffy (after Giles explains what a reliquary is): Note to self: religion: freaky.

Buffy (seeing Angel in her room holding her stuffed pig): Just dropping by for some quality time with Mr. Gordo?

Dalton: Yes, but... The Order of Taraka. I mean, isn't that overkill?
Spike: No, I think it's just enough kill.

Giles: You're behaving remarkably immaturely.
Buffy: You know why? I am immature. I'm a teen. I have yet to mature.

Cordelia: Oh, great, so now I'm your taxi and your punching bag.
Xander: I like to think of you more as my witless foil, but have it your way.

And another thing

This is the first Buffy script from Marti Noxon. She would go on to become one of the show’s head writers, then the exec producer alongside Joss, and would finally take over day to day running of the show in its last couple of seasons while Joss was off doing Firefly.

In this episode the gang are referred to as the Scoobies for the first time. Up until now they’ve called themselves the Slayerettes.

How many stakes?

The aptitude test score is 4 (out of 5)