Dream in "Dead Man's Party"

[Jam]

For the first three episodes of season 3, Buffy has dreams involving Angel (I'm sure his appearances had a lot to do with contract reasons, but that's a boring answer). Buffy's dreams in "Anne" and "Faith, Hope, & Trick" both deal with her guilt over killing Angel and perhaps loneliness, but in "Dead Man's Party" Angel's appearance seems interchangeable in that anyone could've served the role in her dream.

The sun shines brightly down on the quad. Buffy slowly walks down the outside stairs, all the while looking around for any indication that anyone else is there. When she reaches the bottom of the stairs she turns out into the quad. She stops when she sees Angel coming toward her, but then keeps walking as he gets behind her and follows her across the quad.

BUFFY
I thought they'd be here.

ANGEL
They are. They're waiting for you.

BUFFY
Am I dreaming?

ANGEL
I'm probably the wrong person to ask. You'd better go.

BUFFY
I'm afraid.

ANGEL
You should be.

So my question is, how do you interpret this dream? Is it simply foreshadowing the argument between the Scoobies later on in the episode and thus doesn't really have anything to do with Angel? Dreams in the show are often laced with a lot of meaning, so I just have a hard time believing it's that simple.

 

[Carrie Hopewell]

I have no idea what to say other than filler, BUT, consider this: the "they" is actually Angel, who returns in the next episode.

"I thought they'd be here." means Buffy's sensing Angel's presence, in the sense that, she knows he's reachable. Angel replies "They are. They're waiting for you." which is true for him. Angel is waiting for Buffy to lay down that ring in his mansion.

The "Am I dreaming?" part is obvious. Buffy isn't dreaming, just foreshadowing something, and Angel is the wrong person to ask because he is in her head, and also, not even in her dimension.

"I'm afraid."/"You should be." might indicate the danger that is to come with Angel's arrival. I mean, Dead Man's Party is just a monster of the week episode - nothing special. But, in the next episode, Angel returns, and Faith and Trick show up. They are the danger.

Dunno... The "they" could be referring to Faith, Hope (Scott) and Trick too. They were all in town for Buffy. *shrugs*

 

[Skanky Vamp]

I thought the dream was about Buffy being home and being among familiar places where she would find friends and family yet she was still alone. She was the only one in the world, until Angel says they are there meaning she is not the one that's fully acclimated herself to her old life. She afraid of letting people get close again and letting them into her world. She should be afraid of letting them in because with it comes the potential for more pain and suffering when they disappoint you/die. It's the Buffy vs Kendra mentality.

 

[Mrs Gordo]

My take is “they” are her friends and family. She is dealing with worries over how her friends will receive her after she ran away. She thought they would be more supportive and understanding. She is afraid to face them because she knows she will probably be taken to task for leaving.

Angel could be interchangeable but I think Angel there has a meaning. He is Buffy’s comfort. Her security blanket, so to speak. And also because she has been living with her grief over him, he has been her constant companion during her time away from home.

 

[Grace]

So my question is, how do you interpret this dream? Is it simply foreshadowing the argument between the Scoobies later on in the episode and thus doesn't really have anything to do with Angel?

I had the exact same question on my last rewatch! I did ultimately decide that it's probably just the boring answer of having to get Angel into the episode and that it foreshadows the argument between the Scoobies, as you say.

However, Angel comes off as somewhat ambiguous to me in the dream. He's kinda smirky and a little sinister, and while not super Angelus-y, there are hints of it. So I could also see a little bit of the idea that he's there to represent what led to all the problems with the Scoobies.

He is Buffy’s comfort. Her security blanket, so to speak. And also because she has been living with her grief over him, he has been her constant companion during her time away from home.

He doesn't seem very comforting, though! It's interesting to see him as symbolizing her grief. As long as she continues to keep the fact that she "killed" Angel to herself, she is alone with him, alone with her grief. But letting them in is also scary.

 

[WillowFromBuffy]

Angel and Spike both serve to isolate Buffy from the rest of the Scoobies in some way. By leaving Sunnydale in Becoming, Buffy put her love of Angel above her love of the Scoobies. At this point, only Willow sympathises with Buffy's love for Angel, and even she feels betrayed by Buffy's departure, and Buffy doesn't know how hard Will worked to save Angel.

Angel often serves as the voice of reason in S3. In the dream, he assures Buffy that her friends are still there for her, even if it doesn't feel like it.

 

[Mrs Gordo]

Angel and Spike both serve to isolate Buffy from the rest of the Scoobies in some way. By leaving Sunnydale in Becoming, Buffy put her love of Angel above her love of the Scoobies.

Angelus causes the isolation when he puts Buffy in a situation where she has to kill Angel. Her grief over what she had to do isolates her, not Angel.

By leaving Sunnydale she puts her GRIEF over her duties, family, friends etc.
 

He doesn't seem very comforting, though!

Maybe comfort is the wrong word. He is her constant. She has been living with him, with her grief over him, with the memory of him, and that isn’t going away. He won’t leave her. He can’t, he is dead. But her friends and family may not accept her back.

 

[Jam]

I thought the dream was about Buffy being home and being among familiar places where she would find friends and family yet she was still alone. She was the only one in the world, until Angel says they are there meaning she is not the one that's fully acclimated herself to her old life. She afraid of letting people get close again and letting them into her world. She should be afraid of letting them in because with it comes the potential for more pain and suffering when they disappoint you/die. It's the Buffy vs Kendra mentality.

Yeah, this makes sense and is certainly in-line with Buffy's character.

Angel could be interchangeable but I think Angel there has a meaning. He is Buffy’s comfort. Her security blanket, so to speak. And also because she has been living with her grief over him, he has been her constant companion during her time away from home.

I forgot to mention this but part of why I thought he could be interchangeable is because the lines are delivered in kind of a flat way? Maybe that's not the right word, but something seemed a bit off. It's a little haunting, actually, which would be appropriate.

However, Angel comes off as somewhat ambiguous to me in the dream. He's kinda smirky and a little sinister, and while not super Angelus-y, there are hints of it. So I could also see a little bit of the idea that he's there to represent what led to all the problems with the Scoobies.

I'm glad you bring this up because – as I just mentioned – all of the line deliveries throughout the scene have always struck me as odd! I really like this explanation, though! Buffy is wandering around the empty school she was expelled from – a place in which she has spent so much time with her friends and Giles, and may represent her life pre-Becoming. So much of the conflict between Buffy and the Scoobies in this episode stems from Angelus and she knows these issues have to be confronted/she has to move forward, but she's uneasy about how this will go down.

 

[Mrs Gordo]

I have to go back and rewatch for Angelus-y cues now. It had never occurred to me that this could be Angelus?

 

[WillowFromBuffy]

Angelus causes the isolation when he puts Buffy in a situation where she has to kill Angel. Her grief over what she had to do isolates her, not Angel.

By leaving Sunnydale she puts her GRIEF over her duties, family, friends etc.

In some way or another, Angel several times comes between Buffy and her friends, which is why I think he plays that role in her dream. If someone can be blamed for placing this wedge, it is Xander and Giles.

 

[EarthLogic]

I thought the dream was about Buffy being home and being among familiar places where she would find friends and family yet she was still alone. She was the only one in the world, until Angel says they are there meaning she is not the one that's fully acclimated herself to her old life. She afraid of letting people get close again and letting them into her world. She should be afraid of letting them in because with it comes the potential for more pain and suffering when they disappoint you/die. It's the Buffy vs Kendra mentality.

My take is “they” are her friends and family. She is dealing with worries over how her friends will receive her after she ran away. She thought they would be more supportive and understanding. She is afraid to face them because she knows she will probably be taken to task for leaving.

This is pretty much how I interpreted the dream as well.

I don't think just anyone could have served the role. I think having Angel there does gives it a meaning that it would not otherwise have if it was say, Giles. First of all she's still dealing with her grief over killing him. She dreams about him in 'Anne' and in 'Faith, Hope and Trick', so him appearing once again indicates he is still on her mind. He is also the reason for her anxities over her isolation from the Scoobies, as Mr Pole says, the catalyst.

But remember Angel has served the role of her dream guide before. In 'Innocence' he's the one who helps her realise that Jenny is connected to the loss of his soul: 'You have to know what to see'. His line-delivery is similar here too: quite distant, emotionless and ambiguous. I think Angel fulfilling this role makes sense in general. His name comes from the Greek 'angelos', which means 'messenger', which was more literally his duty in S1 as bringer of doom-laden messages. In S2 and S3 this shifts to something less literal as he becomes both lover and confidant. She now aware of her duty, no longer needing direct warnings of danger or needing to be told to step up to her role as a slayer, and so he helps her resolve her personal anxieties over her life and job. He's the person she turns to for comfort and advice outside her friend circle so it seems appropriate that she would continue to seek that support in his absence via her dreams. He was also supposed to reprise this role as her dream guide in 'Restless' too but DB couldn't make it because of scheduling conflicts.

 

[Mrs Gordo]

He was also supposed to reprise this role as her dream guide in 'Restless' too but DB couldn't make it because of scheduling conflicts.

Darn you DB! Was he off shooting that horrible Crow movie? Grr.

 

[EarthLogic]

Darn you DB! Was he off shooting that horrible Crow movie? Grr.

No idea. I thought it was AtS scheduling conflicts, but maybe I'm wrong.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

Darn you DB! Was he off shooting that horrible Crow movie? Grr.

Can't imagine that being the reason.

 

[Mrs Gordo]

She does have an awful lot of Angel dreams though huh? Did we ever get an explanation as to how in Amends they were able to be connected in his dreams? Slightly off topic but it’s about Bangel dreams!

 

[Jam]

She does have an awful lot of Angel dreams though huh? Did we ever get an explanation as to how in Amends they were able to be connected in his dreams? Slightly off topic but it’s about Bangel dreams!

Bangel dreams could be its own thread, there are so many!

To answer your Amends question: a Christmas miracle, obviously! Seriously, though, I don't recall any sort of explanation. It starts with Buffy seeing a past memory of Angel's via dream, and later there is of course the dream which ends in Angel going into vamp-face and biting Buffy. So, it would seem like The First can somehow control dreams/mess with peoples' consciousness and they used it as a way to further torture Angel. Between Angel coming back from the hell dimension in episode 3 and everything in 'Amends' there are almost definitely higher powers at work.

 

[Mrs Gordo]

Yeah I would think the logical answer would be The First linked then but one wonders why it didn’t do anything like that with regards to dreams in S7?

I always wondered if whe Angel was dead (when he lost his soul) if Buffy wasn’t actually connecting to the soul in her dreams. Like in the Jenny dream. But of course that is fanon.

 

[Grace]

So, it would seem like The First can somehow control dreams

My memory of Season 7 is pretty shaky, but doesn't Buffy wake up after seeing The First as her mom? That would seem to support that.

 

[Mrs Gordo]

My memory of Season 7 is pretty shaky, but doesn't Buffy wake up after seeing The First as her mom? That would seem to support that.

Oh I don’t remember this.... I’ll have to pay attention during this rewatch.

 

[Grace]

Oh I don’t remember this.... I’ll have to pay attention during this rewatch.

The First really seemed to waste a lot of opportunities for mischief in Season 7. I'll have to see if that impression holds up on rewatch too. 🙂