Buffy ep by ep; FOOL FOR LOVE-fangs and flashbacks

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saturn5

Scooby
Joined
Sep 13, 2009
Messages
937
FOOL FOR LOVE

The Good;
All the flashbacks are great. It's also nice to see Riley who's been so put upon lately in full John Wayne mode, reminding everyone he can be pretty hardcore when he wants to be. Also love Dawn's pride at having participated in some Scooby-related coverup, it's clear that despite their sibling rivalry she actually adores her sister and wants her to be proud of her .

The Bad;
Not much this is pretty damn stunning

Best line;
Buffy/Cecilly "You're beneath me" (Stick it in and break it off why don't you?)

Women good/men bad;
In this case we see Cecily/Buffy destroy William/Spike with just a few words.

Jeez!;
The deaths of both Slayers are awful. Buffy stabbed is pretty vicious too

Kinky dinky;
Darla get's turned on by the thought of Spike and Angelus fighting. Buffy refers to her 'sexcapades with Riley' and once again Dawn seems to revel in the opportunity to burst in upon them at an intimate moment. Spike describes Buffy's wound as 'something nasty got a taste' which seems to be his plan. Dru sucking on Spike's bloody finger.

Captain Subtext;
Spike calls Angelus a 'poofter' Also love Dawn's pride at having participated in some Scooby-related coverup, she obviously longs to be in the gang. Buffy learns of a past Slayer who forged her own weapons and says that you "Gotta love a girl with her own anvil" Buffy tells Giles she loves him, obvious for a long time but possibly the first time she's said the words. Spike and Buffy at the Bronze could almost be construed as a date.

Guantanamo Bay;
Buffy beats/bribes Spike for info

Scoobies to the ER;
Buffy get's stabbed with her own stake. Thankfully Riley both saves her at the scene and patches her up afterwards.

Missing scenes;

Apocalypses; 5,

Wheldon Cliches (with kind permission from Boo)

Scoobies in bondage:
Buffy: 8
Giles: 4
Cordy: 5
Will: 3
Jenny: 1
Angel: 4
Oz: 1
Faith: 3
Joyce: 1
Wes: 1
Xander; 1
Dawn; 1

Scoobies knocked out: Buffy passes out offscreen
Buffy: 16
Giles: 10
Cordy: 6
Xander: 8
Will: 5
Jenny: 2
Angel: 6
Oz: 3
Faith: 1
Joyce: 3
Wes: 1
Anya;1

Kills: 5 vamps for Riley, even without his superpowers he's still a deadly warrior.
Buffy: 86 vamps, 30 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 spirit warrior & a robot
Giles: 5 vamps, 1 demon
Cordy: 3 vamps, ½ a demon
Will: 4 vamps
Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human
Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie, 1 werewolf
Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans
Xander: 5 vamps, 2 zombies, ½ a demon, ½ a demon
Anya: ½ a demon
Riley; 17 vamps + 7 demons

Scoobies go evil:
Giles: 1
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 1
Angel: 1
Oz: 1
Joyce: 1
Xander: 3

Alternate scoobies:
Buffy: 6
Giles: 3
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 2
Joyce: 2
Xander: 3

Recurring characters killed: 9
Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh, Forrest, McNamara

Sunnydale deaths;
83;

Total number of scoobies: 7
Giles, Xander, Willow, Buffy, Anya, Tara, Riley

Xander demon magnet: 5(6?)
Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?), Dracula?

Scoobies shot: how does Spike think he can shoot Buffy when he can't even aim the fake gun Xander brought him in the Yoko factor.
Giles: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 4
Riley; 1

Notches on Scooby bedpost:
Giles: 2; Joyce & Olivia, possibly Jenny and 3xDraccy babes?
Cordy: 1?
Buffy: 3 confirmed; Angel, Parker,Riley, 1 possible, Dracula(?)
Angel: 1;Buffy
Joyce: 1;Giles, 2 possible, Ted and Dracula(?)
Oz: 3; Groupie, Willow & Verucca
Faith:2 ;Xander, Riley
Xander: 2; Faith, Anya
Willow: 2;Oz and Tara
Riley; 2 Buffy and Sandy

Questions and observations;
In 'School Hard' Spike claims the last Slayer he killed begged for her life. Here we find she didn't although maybe he changes his story as he's trying to get with Buffy. Later we'll find she did beg but maybe not out loud? Spike's reasoning on why Buffy has survived so long seems very sound though, he's also correct that Buffy can't win forever, eventually she and Faith are going to lose if it's just the 2 of them.
The scene where the Fang 4 are strolling through the Boxer rebellion is interesting, if you watch Buffy first it's as it appears to be. If you watch the Angel ep Darla you realise that 'Angelus' is actually a resouled Angel and has just been saving missionaries. Buffy says she's in the best shape of his life. Dawn is still shorter than her although that will change by season 7. Love the way Dawn takes such pride in covering up for Buffy, she really idolises her sister. Xander forgets the military signal Riley gives, his commando knowledge must have totally faded.
Willam the Bloody is just great. He's sired in 1880 which means he's NOT Jack the Ripper as some have suggested who terrorised London in 1888. Note that WTB has glasses but Spike doesn't need them. Now as a vamp his scar should heal so presumably the Chinise Slayer's weapon is enchanted.
This ep has one of the weirdest scenes ever where Buffy actually apologises to Giles that she's going to die young, implying that she's accepted her death and he hasn't?
Marks out of 10; 9/10 a stunning ep and to the delight of Spikettes everywhere.
 
This episode is really good. I love flashbacks!!

Not much else to say, you said all for me.

10/10.
 
I loved the flashbacks. And how Buffy have hurted Spike 🙂
Umm yeah, I think that is a sisters thing. They are fighting all the time, but in the same time they would kill for each other.

I think Spike lied about killing that Slayer in season 2. You know vampires love to big talk when it comes to killing.

8/10
 
U
ubi4soft
sadist
saturn5 said:
FOOL FOR LOVE
In 'School Hard' Spike claims the last Slayer he killed begged for her life. Here we find she didn't although maybe he changes his story as he's trying to get with Buffy. Later we'll find she did beg but maybe not out loud?
Click to expand...
That would be Dana's memories in Damage so Spike didn't claim anything, was just telling what he heard.
The scene where the Fang 4 are strolling through the Boxer rebellion is interesting, if you watch Buffy first it's as it appears to be. If you watch the Angel ep Darla you realise that 'Angelus' is actually a resouled Angel and has just been saving missionaries.
Click to expand...
Yes, Angel was cursed in 1898 as we already saw in S2, your clarification is outdated by 3 years.
This ep has one of the weirdest scenes ever where Buffy actually apologises to Giles that she's going to die young, implying that she's accepted her death and he hasn't?
Click to expand...
Except what you say in here didn't happened. Instead it could be observed Buffy's insensitive take on watchers' attachments to their slayers including Giles.

For a Spike centric episode you manage to mention any little bend of every other characters and touch nothing significant to his character. Do you really hate Spike that much? I also note your dislike of Spikette's (from previous reviews), so your dislike goes also to his fans (his female fans) ?

Drusilla:"The King of Cups expects a picnic, but this is not his birthday." - That probably is a reference to the cup of Mountain Dew.
 
ubi4soft said:
That would be Dana's memories in Damage so Spike didn't claim anything, was just telling what he heard.

Yes, Angel was cursed in 1898 as we already saw in S2, your clarification is outdated by 3 years.

Except what you say in here didn't happened. Instead it could be observed Buffy's insensitive take on watchers' attachments to their slayers including Giles.

For a Spike centric episode you manage to mention any little bend of every other characters and touch nothing significant to his character. Do you really hate Spike that much? I also note your dislike of Spikette's (from previous reviews), so your dislike goes also to his fans (his female fans) ?

Drusilla:"The King of Cups expects a picnic, but this is not his birthday." - That probably is a reference to the cup of Mountain Dew.
Click to expand...

Well....

Firstly in School Hard Spike said that the last Slayer he killed begged for her life. When we see him kill Nicky here she doesn't. When we meet Dana in Damage she recall's Nicky's last thoughts which were her pleading for him to spare her and let her go back to her son Robin. So, maybe she begged but not out load?

I didn't say WHEN Angel had been cursed, yes it's a couple of years previously

I'll rewatch the ep but I'm sure Buffy reassures Giles that she'll live for years to come because he is so upset by the thought of her dying

I think I have loads of Spike-centric refs in my review. I don't dislike Spike but I get annoyed at the fangirl fawning over him

I don't know if Dru is referring to the cup in Destiny but it's an interesting theory
 
Maybe Spike assumed when the slayer spoke to him in Chinese, she was begging for her life. He couldn't understand her, and it's not a completely illogical assumption, though if he'd known Buffy then he probably wouldn't have made it.
 
Love love love this episode - it is my favourite. 10/10

and I don't know, but does Angel choosing not to eat the missionaries count as 'saving' them? 😉
 
U
ubi4soft
they were good missionaries
Um, maybe Spike was just boasting/exaggerating that the 'last slayer i killed begged for her life', y'know, like guys do, just to intimidate Buffy. I wouldn't put too much emphasis on every single thing thats said.
 
FANTASTIC ep!!! Really sweet stuff between Buffy and Giles, but it also contains one of my absolute favorite Spike scenes. It made the top 5! I love at the end when he sets off to kill her and he finds her crying and he ends up comforting her. It's the sweetest thing!
 
My favourite episode of Season 5! I am amazed at the amount of detail that went into creating so many different locations and periods of time for one 40 minute episode (but I'm thinking they must have justified the expense since there's an Angel episode that corresponds to this one.)

It's so amazing! The subway fight looks like it was straight out of Death Wish and the Fang 4 look pretty damn awesome too. Love it.
 
Another incredible episode. Buffy and Giles chat is emotional and represents everything good about there special relationship.

Flashback episodes are always good and this is no exception. Loved the interaction between Buffy and Spike, Sarah and James work so well together. The way Spike clearly scares Buffy but then is left humilated and starts crying shows how brillant a character Spike is.

This is a vampire who can clearly still feel emotional pain and it is perfectly seen in this episode, i struggle how anyone could not feel sorry for Spike when Buffy says "Your beneath me". In a way it reminds me of "I'am Sorry William". It has a similar effect on Spike. In "Fool for Love" it leaves him dejected and the same happens "As you were" as he knows its finally over.

The end scene is arguably the most interesting though. I can't help but wonder why Buffy doesn't realize that Spike's feelings for her have changed in the aftermath of this episode. It still takes Dawn to tell her Spike loves her when its so clear in this episode. The actual moment itself with her crying and him saying "What's wrong" is so lovely to watch and its scenes like this which are why we love the show. Its so deep, moving that even non Spuffy fans will appreciate it.

Both James and SMG deliver awesome performances in this episode, one of the best episodes in the show's history and that's high praise indeed.
 
B
Bungle Jerry
I agree about Buffy not knowing Spike's feelings being a stretch. I wonder this every time.
I just don't have a lot to say besides what's already been said. This was an amazing episodes, one of the best in the entire series. JM & SMGs performances were outstanding. Doug Petrie's writing was superb. OK, can I use anymore superlatives LOL? I love the simultaneous sighs at the end.
 
I love pre-sire Spike (as you should be able to tell from my avatar). He's the kind of guy I'd be friends with... such the outcast. He fell in love for a girl who doesn't love him, never will, and thinks she's better than him. We get to see all of that in this episode. My other favorite part of this episode is killing Robin Wood. Spike looks so amazing in this part... the heavy make up suits him well. I'm a lesbian, but I'd bang him. Seriously... so sexy, it's kind of unbelievable.
 
Huh? When did Spike kill Robin Wood?

I love this ep but I haven't watched it in a while. I don't actually on season 5 on DVD yet.

Haha. I'd bang him too. Maybe. If I wasn't WAY younger than him. 😀
 
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