Episode 17: Superstar

Now that we're done with Angel, it's time to get back to our true hero: Jonathan.

Season Four, Episode 17
 "Superstar"

I'm going to preface this with a confession: I sort of really dislike this episode. I feel bad about it, because Jane Espenson, who is one of my favorite Whedonverse writers apart from Joss, says this is her favorite and that she's so glad she got to write on it. However, upon rewatching it, I saw some shining moments so hopefully these moments can get us through this review and make it entertaining. Are you guys ready to party? Alright, let's get to it!

This episode starts as any other with the scoobies fighting some vampires. While fighting, Buffy admits that "it's too many for just us.  You know who we need."

Jonathan Levison: The Badass

Before Jonathan helps the scoobies slay the vampires, he goes to hang out at Giles' apartment where he masters ALL the things. He helps Buffy train, talks with Giles about the vampires motives, helps Willow find a way into the nest, and even opens up milk for Anya because Xander tears it and it gets all "sloshy." I think my favorite part though is him beating Giles at chess.

Jonathan and the scoobies go and slay the vampires and then they run into Spike. Apparently Jonathan, along with stealing Buffy's spotlight, stole her punning abilities...

Spike: "I live here. I wasn't exactly pining for a noisy visit from 'wonder Jonathan and his fluffy battle kittens'."
Buffy: "Yeah? You think that one up with all the time you spend not being able to bite people?"
Jonathan: "Careful, he's still pretty dangerous."
Spike: "Yeah, back off 'Betty.'"
Buffy: "It's Buffy, you big bleached..."  [music ends] "stupid guy."After this scene, we get some hot Willow and Tara action! If hot action includes hanging pictures up on their walls, which I do count as hot action. However, frames would have looked better.

Outside of the weirdness of this episode, it actually does a pretty awesome job at dealing with a huge issue: Buffy hasn't forgiven Riley for sleeping with "Buffy." And, just to show you why I thought it'd be easier to discuss Buffy and Faith's switch this way, look at how confused Willow makes everyone! "Oh yeah I know she's not over the whole Riley sleeping with Faith thing.  Oh.. you know I mean - Faith's insides and Buffy's outsides when her insides were out."

Buffy: Willow, do you have any idea what you just said? Willow: Not at all...

Anyways, back to my point (I swear I had one). A lot of this episode is about Buffy and Riley's relationship and how to fix the damage Faith has done. We start to see this theme through Willow and Tara's conversation and it continues later on.

After awkwardness between Riley and Buffy, she goes to Jonathan to discuss her issues. Again, despite this episode being silly and weird, Jonathan actually has some really good advice for Buffy. He tells her that she's angry at Riley for not recognizing it was her and, well, I'll just let the great one tell you himself:

Jonathan: "Buffy you know what I think:  I don't think this about you being angry with Faith, I think you're angry with Riley. I mean you have this amazing connection with him and then at the one moment when it matters the most he looks into your eyes and he doesn't even see that it's not you looking back at him."

And after this great moment, weirdness happens with Karen with a K asking Jonathan to sign her copy of the book Jonathan wrote. Everyone may now start laughing.

Next we see the commandos talking about Adam and ask their "tactical consultant" to come in to talk. Any guesses who this consultant is? That's right; it's Jonathan!

Graham to Riley:It's about time we brought out the big guns.

And, again, we get some important information here from Jonathan:

Jonathan: "Men, before we can locate Adam we need to understand him better.  And there's something that's bothered me almost from the start.  He doesn't eat.   We've known him to kill but never to eat the kill.  So I've pulled some of Professor Walsh's original design schematics and I've found something - his power source is not biological at all.  It's here" [points to center of chest in the skeletal schematic.]  "The design attempts to hide it, but I believe that there's a small reservoir of uranium 235."
Riley: "Sir, how long will it last?"
Jonathan: "Essentially forever.  It also means that cutting off his head is useless.  Killing Adam means annihilating him completely.  But first we have to find him."

Before I continue on, can we just discuss how stupid this design is? I mean, yeah it's smart if Adam turns out to be a good guy but Walsh didn't even know if this experiment would work and she made him essentially unkillable! Walsh is such an idiot.

Next is Jonathan giving love advice to Riley:

Jonathan: "She's ready to forget it.  You better be ready too."
Riley: "I don't know Jonathan. I mean I don't know if she'll really ever forget it. Every time I try to touch her..."
Jonathan: "She's scared."
Riley: "Scared of me?"
Jonathan: "Scared of what you're thinking about."
Riley: "What do you mean?"
Jonathan: "She knows that Faith is .... experienced." 
Riley: "What are you saying... experienced?  God!  Does she think that - what - that I'd be comparing?  She knows she's the one I... care about."
Jonathan: "Have you let her know that?"
Riley: "I think I - Haven't I? - She has to know"
Jonathan: "People can't always see what's right in front of them."What I find hilarious is that Jonathan isn't making this shit up, he's actually giving them this advice and it makes sense. I think this just once again proves how outsiders have an easier time understanding how to solve issues better than those in the situation. I mean, his advice is pretty obvious but Riley and Buffy couldn't figure it out for themselves.

My notes for the next part are pretty amusing so I'm just going to put that here instead of explaining it: some whore saw a monster that had a mark, that looks like the sign of the Deathly Hallows, on it. I mean, doesn't it?

Why is the sign of the Deathly Hallows on Jonathan's back...?

My next note is: DID YOU SEE THAT SHIT WITH WILLOW AND TARA? IS EVERYONE BLIND?!?

Did some people actually not see this relationship coming? They held hands and basically undressed each other with their eyes!

After Tara leaves to go count her lucky stars over the fact that she will soon have the hottest girlfriend ever, she's attacked by the Deathly Hallows demon D=

Buffy starts noticing that something is weird because, when Jonathan heard about the demon, he said it was nothing to worry about and yet now it attacked Tara. She goes to Anya and asks if it's possible to have alternate realities and Anya is her useful, helpful self:

Cut to Xander's basement.  Anya is standing in the doorway.
Anya:  "Xander's not here."
Buffy: "Oh."
Anya: "You're not going away.  Why aren't you going away?"
Buffy: "Oh I was kind of hoping to look at some of Xander's stuff."
Anya: "Oh."  [Smiles] "Sure.  Come on in."  [Waves Buffy in.] "Make yourself at home. And so on."
Anya sits on the couch and starts reading Jonathan's book.
Buffy sees a poster of Jonathan, a Jonathan comic and lots of trading cards of Jonathan.  Many pictures of Jonathan adorn the walls.  After looking around Buffy sits on a table or couch arm near Anya.
Anya: "Oh you're still here." [smiles faintly] "That's nice."

I sort of love Anya...

Anyways, she ends up telling Buffy what she wants to hear and Buffy calls a scooby meeting. They all are weirded out that Jonathan won't be coming and that she's leading it herself. She continues on and asks Giles if he has Jonathan's swimsuit calendar that he apparently got as "a gift." Uh huh, everyone believes you, Giles...

Buffy sees in the pictures the sign of the Deathly Hallows on Jonathan's back and questions why he has the mark the demon has. Obviously, Jonathan walks in at this moment and tells them the truth: that he got it because he face up against the demon once and it is like "his kryptonite," according to Xander, so he got the mark tattooed on his to remind not to underestimate it.

Anyone else getting kinda bored here? Ya are? Okay, let's fast forward and bullet point the good parts.

Buffy and Jonathan go to fight the demon
Buffy threatens Spike
The scoobies research and Giles gets mad at Xander:

"Xander, don't read Latin in front of the books."

They all discover something:
Willow (confused):  "Buffy was right."  [trying again] "Buffy was right."
Anya: "It doesn't sound very likely, does it?"
Jonathan starts to get hurt by the demon and Buffy remembers how to fight like a badass
The demon was killed and the world goes back to normal

I think the end is so good that I'm not even going to summarize it, just read the transcript:

Willow: "I can't believe we believed it"
Riley: "It seemed so real."
Buffy: "Well, in that world, it was real."
Anya: "Alternate realities are neat."
Xander: "You know what I'll always remember?"
Riley: "The swimsuit calendar's sticking in my mind." 

 "Not in a good way."
Xander: "I'll always remember the way he made me feel about me.
Valued, respected, sort of tingly...  Now I'm just empty."
Anya is also depressed.
Buffy: "Poor Xander.  I guess Jonathan hurt you most of all."
Tara:"Ummm." *raises hand*
Buffy: "Except of course, after Tara."

Riley: "Did anyone else feel way too tall?  I felt way too
tall."

Jonathan: "Hi. I wasn't sure you'd come over.  Everyone's
mostly forgetting. But, I think some people are kind of angry."
Buffy: "Yeah!"
Jonathan: "Nobody's even talking to me.  And.. the twins moved out."
Buffy: "Why did you do it anyway?  No. I get why.  How?"
Jonathan: "After the thing with the bell tower and the gun, I went to counseling.  You know other kids with problems a-and one of them had this spell.  He glossed right over the monster.Well, anyway I just - I-I just wanted to apologize. Nobody was supposed to get hurt."
Buffy:  "Jonathan you get why everyone is angry though, right?It's not just the monster.  People didn't like being the little actors in your sock puppet theater."
Jonathan: "You weren't!  You weren't socks!  We were friends."
Buffy:  "Jonathan you can't keep trying to make everything work out with some big gesture all at once.  Things are complicated.They take time and work."
Jonathan: "Yeah, right."
He turns to leave but stops and turns back.
Jonathan:  "Hey.  Hey Buffy.  You remember I gave you some advice?"
Buffy [less than amused]: "Watch out for southpaws?"
Jonathan: "Uh, no about you and Riley.  I mean things are starting to blur but this cool thing I said, um, that I don't really remember...  I think it's right.  I think it's kind of the same thing you just said to me.  (Pause.)  About things taking work."
Buffy [thoughtful]: "Yeah, I remember."
Jonathan: "Good because it's true.  What you have is really complicated but it's worth it.  I think that's what I said."

- Sarah

Kali's Notes:
- Most importantly- TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY! So there won't be a Saturday post because I'm busy with birthday related activities today! I'll have Where the Wild Things Are up on Monday though.
- As for the episode, I'm with Sarah that I don't really like it. It has some good lessons and helps further the plot with Buffy and Riley, how to kill Adam, and the Willow/Tara relationship, but overall it's just "eh".
- This is the first time we have the reference about alternate universes made with no shrimp or entirely of shrimp. I love how this little detail is brought up again on Buffy and on Angel.
- Jonathan may not actually have any super powers, but he does give Buffy very helpful advice about Riley and he is the one to discover Adam's uranium power core, which eventually leads to Adam's destruction. I feel this episode shows that you don't need super powers to help people out.
- We also see Jonathan beginning to use magic which will play a much larger role in Season 6.
- Finally, this happens :

And it makes me squee a little bit. :)