Season 2, Episode 13

“Surprise”

Sarah had a family emergency (everything is ok) so you are stuck with me for the next two days!

So we start with a dream sequence (Joss is amazing at dream sequences by the way). Later Buffy will think that her dream might be prophetic, but with dreams it’s hard to tell. I think that’s what makes dream sequences in Buffy so interesting because you can analyze them until the cows come home. Some things are just weird and abstract (Willow talking to a monkey in French) and others have lots of meaning (Drusilla staking Angel). So, at first I was a little upset that the monkey had no pants on, but I did a little research and what Willow said in French "L'hippo a piqué ton pantaloon," translates to "The hippo stole your trousers.” A nice little reference to the conversation between Oz and Willow a couple episodes ago.

We then move with Buffy through the Bronze, where next she runs into Joyce who asks Buffy “Are you sure you’re ready?” It’s pretty obvious that she is asking Buffy the question that Buffy has been asking herself in reference to whether she is ready to take that next step with Angel and have sex with him. Next, Buffy sees Angel, but just before she can reach him Drusilla stakes him. First, it’s always dumb to assume someone is dead if you don’t actually see it happen. (“Pics or it didn’t happen”) Second, this could mean so many things and rarely does it mean the most obvious. I highly doubt Dru will stake Angel, but in some way she is going to take Angel from Buffy. Now this could just be Buffy’s own personal fears talking, but later part of her dream comes true so I would be a little freaked too.

Buffy is telling Willow about her fears and also about what might happen between her and Angel. I sometimes forget how big of a deal it is for teenagers to have sex for the first time. Not surprisingly, it ends in disappointment, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

After talking to Buffy, Willow is a million times more courageous than the girl we saw in the first episode because she decides to go up and talk to Oz. I just love the conversations that these two have.

Oz: I'm gonna ask you to go out with me tomorrow night. And I'm kinda nervous about it, actually. It's interesting.

Willow: Oh! Well, if it helps at all, I'm gonna say "yes."

Oz: Yeah, it helps. It ... it creates a comfort zone. ... Do you wanna go out with me tomorrow night?

Willow: [slaps forehead] Oh! I can't!

Oz: Well, see, I like that you're unpredictable.

Seriously, sleeping kittens could not be more adorable than these two.

Error: adorable overload.

I like how we immediately cut to Xander and Cordelia to provide a nice contrast. Even though she is slightly more bearable, I still can’t stand Cordelia. We all have to have a least favorite character right?

Now we get to see what Spike and Drusilla have been up to. The audience knows that they survived, but for the first time we see what they’ve been up to. I have to say that for some reason when Spike says from his wheel chair "Just put it on the table" I had a total flash of "Put the lotion in the basket." 

So while Dru is throwing this “reassemble the Judge”, Buffy’s friends are throwing her a surprise birthday party. Buffy of course has a run-in with vampires on her way there, because that’s just what happens to The Slayer. The surprise is spoiled when she throws the vampire through the window and stakes him in front of everyone. The fact that Oz learns Buffy is a Slayer shows that he is going to be around for a while or else they wouldn't have bothered to write a way for him to find out. "Hey, did everybody just see that guy turn to dust?" Um…yeah… don’t worry about that. At least they don’t turn into glitter-dust.

"Why is there pink glitter on the floor?"
"Buffy staked a Cullen."

Most of this episode is just set-up for Innocence so I’m not going to get into the Judge really since it’s addressed more in the next episode. Same with whom Jenny really is. But in this part, they learn Dru and Spike are alive, they are reassembling the Judge, and Jenny insists that Angel take it to the other side of the world mostly to keep him away from Buffy.

Now some Buffy and Angel action. I mean they get into a fight on the docks! Get your mind out of the gutter. While saying good-bye, Angel gives Buffy the infamous Claddagh ring for her birthday. They are attacked by Spike’s men and lose the last piece of the Judge. So, let’s head back to the library for more exposition scenes research.

Buffy has another prophetic dream and creeper Edward Angel tells the group that she hasn’t been sleeping well. From the dream, Buffy decides to do some re-con with Angel and spy on Spike and Dru. They get caught, they escape, and then they get all wet.

Bella and Edward, eat your heart out... literally.

Back at Angel’s apartment, this scene is steamy and beautiful, with a slight bit of awkward shyness. Angel tells Buffy to get under the covers to “get warm”. Yeah, like I haven’t heard that one before. Then he wants to “looks at the cut on her shoulder”. I’m sure she needs to be completely naked for that right? But seriously now, this scene is really beautiful. We’ve been building up for several episodes that these two have intense physical feelings for each other, but we also know that it can’t last so this is the perfect time for them to have sex and everything go to hell. We skip the actual shots of them making love, which at first annoyed me. I thought either the episode ran long or they were cutting it altogether. But where they put that scene in the next episode makes it all the more heartbreaking, since in reality that’s what Joss is out to do- rip our hearts out of our chest and laugh as he shows them to us.

-Kali!