Episode 18: Killed by Death

Season Two, Episode Eighteen

"Killed By Death"

At the beginning of this episode, we’re faced with an issue I never imaged the Slayer facing: Buffy is sick, like, medically sick. This is why I love Joss. In most cases, when someone is a superhero, normal stuff like this is completely ignored. Joss goes for the normal and mundane happening to his superhero in order to show how she reacts and it's results are epic.

“World’s spinning a little bit but I like it, it’s kind of like a ride”-Buffy.

We meet Buffy in the graveyard, per the usual, out on patrol. However, the rest of the gang joins her and questions why she's out there. They say how one night in wouldn't kill her and she responds by saying “No, but it might kill somebody else.” She's feeling a lot of guilt over many things outside of her control right now, especially. She didn’t ask to be a Slayer, she didn’t ask to be sick, and she never could have known sleeping with Angel would have had such catastrophic consequences. This is the start of one of Buffy's main traits which is playing the martyr. This isn't necessarily a bad thing since she is the Slayer and this trait sort of comes with the territory it would seem; but it can get kind of sad.

And during all my rambling Buffy passes out after her friends save her from her "ex-hunny." And funny lines occur in the hospital:

-“She’s sick, make it better” –Xander

-“Yes, we’ll get those vampires; it’s best to play along” – Giles

Random tangent: What thing is Cordelia talking about on Buffy’s face? If anyone knows the answer to this, let me know, because I am confused. [/tangent]

Buffy wakes up and sees creeper child followed by the creepy big bad of today's episode. She doses off once more, and when she wakes up begins to take out her IV. I actually did that before. Not with an IV, but I had something in during an MRI scan to give me drugs to put me to sleep since I’d be in the machine for close to an hour. I ended up waking up and being loopy and slightly freaking out and I started pulling at the needle because I saw blood and, yeah, luckily I got too tired to continue or the outcomes wouldn’t have been very pretty. [/second tangent]

Buffy played as a superhero. How adorable.

Buffy couldn’t save her cousin from death

“yeah, stick them in water, maybe they’ll grow”

Next comes the gang entering with gifts that are so perfect for each of their characters: Xander brought “flowers,” Willow finished her homework, Cordelia brought nothing, and Giles brought grapes. Lol

Not flowers

Next is my favorite part! Buffy tells the others about the creepy big bad and Cordelia says “so this isn’t about being afraid of hospitals and conjuring up a real monster that you could fight?” Giles may be right about her not having tact, but you can't say she isn't smart. I mean, that's exactly what it seems like Buffy is doing! Obviously, it isn't, since we're on the Hellmouth and stuff like this happens very often, but this makes complete sense.  Giles even agrees later saying “death and disease are possibly the only think Buffy can’t fight”; it would be only natural for Buffy to create something in which she can fight. Cordelia’s all up in the know for this episode and calling everyone out, it’s sort of awesome in a funny/kinda mean way. Buffy’s insecurity and Xander being in love with Buffy; and her flirting with that security guy to help Xander get out is hysterical.

Tons of funny stuff happens next:

-Cordelia is irritating Giles “it asks endless questions of those it’s supposed to be working with so nothing gets done”

-Buffy almost drinking it pure xD

-“No more frogs”- Willow LOL

But the main point is still pretty clear. We see a flashback of Buffy "saving" her cousin while pretending to be a superhero. Cut now to her cousin dying while she watches helplessly. Now Buffy is an actual superhero and is able to easily kill this guy. She just sort of stares at him afterwards and you can tell she's thinking about how simple that was and how much she is able to protect herself and her friends now. The monster doesn't have to be insanely hard to kill because the purpose of him in this episode was to teach Buffy an important lesson: she isn't helpless anymore and she has what it takes to get the job done, no matter what the job is.

This just needs to be included because it's awesome

Favorite Line:  Willow: I'm good at medical stuff, since Xander and I used to play doctor all the time. Xander: No, she's being literal. She used to have all these medical volumes, and diagnosed me with stuff. I didn't have the heart to tell her she was playing it wrong. Willow: Wrong? Why? How did you play doctor? Buffy: I... never have. LOL

-Sarah

Kali’s Notes:

Just a few things I wanted to point out that I thought during the episode:

- Isn't the Slayer supposed to be all super-strength, so why is a flu virus kicking her ass?

- Cordelia is there, why isn't Oz? I WANT MORE OZ.

- My response to Cordelia when she is talking about fixing “that thing” that is wrong with Buffy’s face. Why don't we fix that thing that's wrong with your mouth? You know that thing where sound comes out of it.

- Why is Freddy Krueger here?

-"Tact is just not saying true stuff." While I dislike Cordelia, she has a point here. She's not necessarily out to be rude; she just doesn't have that filter that tells her not to say things that she shouldn't. She just says whatever she thinks. We see more of this in Earshot.

- Hospitals don't let you wear pajamas; they make you wear ugly gowns.

- I love Giles constant annoyance with Cordelia.

- Why is there a door with basement access in the middle of the children’s ward?

- Lol, Willow and her "Frogs!"

- During this episode, I was right there with Giles when he thought that Buffy was just hallucinating because she wanted something that she was able to fight and beat. After last episode, she has a lot of guilt over not being able to save people. Losing Ms. Calendar triggered a childhood memory of her cousin dying in a hospital and Buffy standing helpless at her side. Her guilt carries over into the next episode.

- Favorite Line, Xander: She's sick! Make it better!