There has never been or will there ever be an episode like this one in the Buffy series. After the 2-part season climax, we join the gang in the season finale for a series of dream sequences. Joss Whedon is the god of dreams, seriously. Not only that, but we have a special treat for the write-up… guest bloggers! Sarah wrote up Willow’s dream, Kali wrote Xander’s, our friend Nicole (aka pern_dragon or Good_Witch) wrote Giles, and Sarah's friend Meg wrote Buffy’s dream. There is a lot to talk about to go down so grab a snack, maybe go to the bathroom to prepare yourself…
We begin with the Scooby gang gathering at the Summer’s residence to watch some movies. Riley heads out in order to testify about everything that went on with the battle and the Initiative. Apparently the gang is too buzzed from the battle to sleep so they begin watching Apocalypse Now and before the credits begin, Willow, Xander, Giles, and Buffy fall asleep on the couch in front of the television.
Willow’s Dream
Now I'm sure you all are ready to concentrate on disecting Willow's subconscious and aren't at all distracted by Tara's hotness. Anyways, moving on to conversation!
They begin discussing Miss Kitty Fantastico and Tara asks if she's worried about not knowing her name yet.
TARA: You'd think she would have told us her name by now.
WILLOW: She will. She's not all grown yet.
Before I start analyzing, let me point out that this is all dreams so there is no right and wrong. I can say whatever I want about her dream and it all could be nothing like Joss intended it to mean. With that said, here are my thoughts on how to interpret Willow's dream.
I believe that this is a connection on Willow's recent "coming out." Unlike most people, however, Willow hasn't actually come out as something; she's just told people that she's dating Tara. I think this discussion about names and not knowing them yet is a reflection to Willow being confused as to what this relationship makes her. She was with Oz, so can she be a lesbian? She's not sure if she'll be interested in guys again, so can she be bisexual? The world of labeling sexuality is a difficult one and Willow is in the thick of confusion. I won't speak for everyone, but I know that for me, after coming out by telling people that I liked girls, I second guessed myself a lot and was so concerned that I was wrong. On the same point though, I think Willow telling Tara that "she's not grown yet" and that she feels "safe here" is her acknowledging that it's okay to be confused on what to call herself.
TARA: They will find out, you know. About you.
WILLOW: I don't have time to think about that. You know, I have all this homework to finish.
WILLOW: I don't have time to think about that. You know, I have all this homework to finish.
This part makes me think of Inception. Remember when they told the guy about the safe so that he'd put his important information inside of the safe? I think the same is occurring here. Tara is very vague and just tells Willow that they'll find out about her. This could be anything and only Willow knows which piece of her she's most afraid of coming out.
Willow opens the window and we get our first glimpse of a desert landscape which can only mean one thing...
"Are we in Nevada?"
Next we see Willow walking down the halls of school, on her way to drama class, and she runs into Xander and Oz who have this awesome conversation:
XANDER: So, whatchya been doing? Doing spells? (to Oz) She does spells with Tara.
OZ: I heard about that.
WILLOW: I'm gonna be late.
XANDER: Sometimes I think about two women doing a spell… and then I do a spell by myself.
In the commentary, Joss actually talks about how he shouldn't have had the last line because Willow left and this is her dream but it's too freaking funny not to include.
Willow then walks into drama and they're already getting ready for their first production! Both Harmony and Buffy are there to comfort her by telling her "not to step on [Harmony's] cues" and that "[Willow's] whole family is in the front row and they look really angry." And then Riley shows up, being awesome:
Are you guys done laughing yet? No? Don't worry, I'm not either. Riley's cowboy guy; this will never stop being funny.
Back to seriousness, Buffy says to Willow: "Your costume is perfect. No one is ever gonna know the truth. You know, about you." And again we get a glimpse at the idea that there's something Willow is trying to hide about herself.
Now done with seriousness; listen to how hilarious Giles is!
GILES: All right, everyone, pay attention. In just a few moments that curtain will open on our very first production. Everyone Willow has ever met is in that audience, including all of us. That means we have to be perfect. Stay in character, remember your lines, and energy energy energy. Especially during the musical numbers. Remember, acting isn't about behaving. It's about hiding. The audience wants to find you, they want to strip you naked and eat you alive so HIDE.
GILES: No…
RILEY: Props.
GILES: Yes. It's all about subterfuge. (to Harmony) That's very annoying. (to the company) So get out there, lie like dogs and have a wonderful time. If we can stay focussed, keep our heads and if Willow can stop stepping on everybody's cues I know this will be the best production of Death of a Salesman we've ever done. (to Harmony) Stop it.
Three things happen here. First, when Giles forgets the word for props and Harmony tells him he says she's wrong but accepts Riley's answer not even two seconds later. This is obviously because males are smarter than females. Or Riley's just smarter than Harmony. Second, again we see Willow's need to "act" infront of everyone she knows because they want to "strip [her] naked and eat [her] alive." Isn't that beatiful imagery? And third, lmao this scene is hilarious!
And now time for a little snack break:
Mr. Cheese Man =D
Willow then walks through some dirty curtains (seriously, listen to Joss's commentary and learn how rated R he makes these things), she runs into Tara who warns her that "If they find out, [she'll] be punished. [She] can't help [her] with that." And during this time, the play going on is insanely awesome:
passin' around the same worn out urge. Men. With your… sales.
Back to Willow, she loses Tara and is attacked by something outside of the curtains. Luckily, Buffy saves her and asks what Willow did wrong because she must have done something wrong. And Willow refutes this claim:WILLOW: No! I never do anything! I'm very seldom naughty. I just came to class, and then the play was starting…
BUFFY: Play's long over. What are you still doing in costume?
WILLOW: Okay, still having to explain wherein this is just my outfit.
BUFFY: Willow, everybody already knows. Take it off.
WILLOW: No… No, I need it…
BUFFY: Oh, for God's sake just take it OFF
Ha, just kidding...
And Willow is suddenly infront of a class full of her friends, reading a book report. She looks and sees Oz lean over and tell Tara that he tried to warn her.
Poor Willow...
She continues on with her presentation until she is attacked and knocked to the ground. But this time Buffy isn't there to save her. In fact, no one seems to care at all.
Buffy puts her head on her desk
And Tara and Oz flirt
Until it's too late to save her...
Thus ends Willow's dream. Now onto...
Xander’s Dream
First, I have to say that Xander’s dream has always been my favorite. While some parts are so easy to analyze, other parts delve much deeper into Xander’s character. This is also the longest dream of the four, which you might find odd since Xander has been feeling like the “unimportant” role this past season.
At the beginning of the dream, we are back in the living room not really sure whether everyone is awake or not. Buffy and Giles are watching Apocalypse Now while Willow twitches in the corner asleep (and being harmed by a strange primal being) and enjoying “New Car Smell” flavored popcorn. Yum.
Giles first claims that the movie is overrated, but Xander promises it will get better. I love Giles next line of “Oh, I'm beginning to understand this now. It's all about the journey, isn't it?” and as Joss Whedon says in the commentary how this applies to the episode, “It’s the journey of life, the journey through these people’s psyche- it’s not about the reveal.”
Xander excuses himself to go to the bathroom, and of course being Xander we have the standard “sexual dream about your friend’s mom”. Yet, it’s written well where there is a reference to how everyone left awhile ago, showing Xander’s fear of being left behind by all his friends. And there’s this great dialogue:
XANDER: I'm a conquistador.
JOYCE: You sure it isn't comfort?
XANDER: I'm a comfortador also.
Before Xander can have sex with Buffy’s mom, he heads to the bathroom where the entire Initiative is standing there watching him. Again, one of your typical dreams where you are doing something private and the whole world is watching. As Xander leaves, he goes through a door in Buffy’s house, but ends up in his basement. This is a recurring theme throughout the episode that I’ll touch on more a bit later. Just remember, “That’s not the way out.”
Now outside, Xander is at the playground with Giles and Spike on the swings and Buffy playing in the sand. Giles and Spike on the swings is pretty hilarious, but it also goes to Xander feeling like he has no true place in the group. In his dream, Spike is “like a son” to Giles and is being trained to be a Watcher.
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| A Watcher scoffs at gravity! |
We have a great moment between Buffy and Xander when he warns her about playing in the sandbox and she replies:
BUFFY: I'm okay It's not coming for me yet.
XANDER: I just mean ... you can't protect yourself from ... some stuff.
BUFFY: I'm way ahead of you, big brother.
XANDER: Brother?
This shows Xander really understanding the relationship he has with Buffy now. Up until last season, he still had some romantic feelings for her, but now he knows that their relationship is more like that of a brother and a sister.
Another typical dream element we have is where you sometimes watch yourself within the dream. Here we go from Xander watching himself be the ice cream man to actually being in that role watching Xander in the park. Now inside the ice cream truck, Xander and Anya have a very believable conversation about her getting back into the vengeance business. Just keep this in mind, Xander…
Of course, this being Xander’s dream, his mind jumps to this:
Do you want to come in the back with us?
While Xander (being a guy) tends to sexualize many situations and the females in his life, this goes back to what he was saying about being a “comfortador”. He wants sex, but deep down he is looking for the love and comfort that he is lacking in his home life. Xander crawls through the back and once again ends up in his basement. The pounding on his door continues, but we don’t know what is on the other side yet.
Then of course, in comes the best part of this episode.
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“These will not protect you” |
Xander runs into Giles, asking him what’s after him. Again, Xander’s friends have gone on ahead and left him behind. In addition, everyone is speaking French implying again that everyone has surpassed him. Xander gets lost in the crowd and his dream begins to mirror the movie that he was watching as he fell asleep (I love and hate when this happens to me, depending on what I’m watching). This scene is just too damn funny to summarize.
MALE VOICE: Where are you from, Harris?
XANDER: Well, the basement, mostly.
MALE VOICE: Were you born there?
XANDER: Possibly.
VOICE: I walked by your guidance counselor's office one time.
(The person sits up partway and we see it's Principal Snyder, with a towel around his neck.)
SNYDER: A bunch of you were sitting there ... waiting to be shepherded.
SNYDER: I remember it smelled like dead flowers. Like decay. Then it hit me. The hope of our nation's future is a bunch of mulch.
XANDER: You know, I never got the chance to tell you how glad I was you were eaten by a snake.
(Snyder sits up slowly. His face is all sweaty.)
SNYDER: Where are you heading?
XANDER: Well, I'm supposed to meet Tara and Willow. And possibly Buffy's mom.
(Snyder's hands lifting water from the bowl and pouring it over his bald head.)
SNYDER: Your time is running out.
XANDER: No, I'm just trying to get away. There's ... something I can't fight.
SNYDER: Are you a soldier?
XANDER: (shakes head) I'm a comfortador.
SNYDER: You're neither. You're a whipping boy. Raised by mongrels and set on a sacrificial stone.
XANDER: (nods) I'm getting a cramp.
Xander walks away and as he runs from whatever is chasing him, he goes through several rooms like Giles’s living room, Buffy’s dorm room, and the college corridor to end up back in his parents’ basement. Again, Xander states “That’s not the way out” while looking at the door to the basement that is still being pounded on. We think that it’s whatever is after everyone, but in fact it turns out to be Xander’s father yelling at him. This is Xander’s biggest fear. That no matter what he does, he will end up in his parent’s basement alone and friendless. He looks at his parents and knows that they aren’t “the way out” in regards to not just leaving the basement, but to leaving behind the life that he doesn’t want to live.
His father turns into the primal Slayer, who in turn rips out Xander's heart (since Xander was "the heart" in the spell they did). This is also a great symbol since Xander feels his heart is being ripped out by his parents, particularly his father.
I think this is why I love Xander’s dream out of everyone’s because I can relate to him here wanting to get out of your parent’s house, wanting to leave your life behind, but still having no idea what to do with your life or even who you are. And onto...
Giles’s Dream
Ah, sleep. To sleep, perchance to dream… Yes, I’m quoting the Bard’s Hamlet, but it seemed only fitting since this is Giles’s dream, and he’s British. *nods convincingly*
Here we launch into Giles’s dream, opening with him standing before a seated Buffy, telling her to “stop thinking.” He is dangling a watch (Oho! I see what you did there, Joss—he’s a WATCHer!) in front of her in the classic hypnotizing stance, which Buffy promptly calls “old-fashioned” and laughs. *sigh* Kids today…
We cut to a scene of a carnival in a cemetery (‘cause that’s where all the fun happens in this show, dontcha know) into which enter Giles, accompanied by his “orgasm buddy” with an empty pram, and a childlike Buffy with pigtails (clearly, Giles strongly identifies as a father figure to Buffy, and this shows his buried yearning to be a normal person with a normal family and life). Playing along with the Buffy-is-Giles’s-child idea, we see Buffy playing carnival games in which she attempts to stake a game-version vampire and Giles instructs her (proof that no matter how much Giles may long for a normal life, he can’t get away from Buffy’s Slayer birthright and his role as her Watcher), as well as Buffy wanting a treat, to which Giles tells her not to get it all over her face (showing how much Giles tries to keep things from getting “messed up,” but Buffy’s innocently-enough-intended flouting of the rules and marching to the beat of her own drummer always seems to ruin Giles’s most carefully laid plans). When Buffy turns to him with stuff smeared on her face, Giles says, “I know you.”
This glimpse of the primitive is quickly diverted by Spike calling for them, “Come on! You’re gonna miss everything!” He is standing outside of his crypt, and, strangely enough, there is an abundance of garden gnomes outside it (how… homey?). Spike says he has hired himself out as an attraction, and when they follow him into the crypt, a crowd of people are taking pictures of Spike in multiple poses (proof that they don’t take Spike seriously as a threat; oh, and the whole thing where people say “I’ll steal your soul!” when they take your picture… Spike hasn’t got one! *cue Nelson HA HA!*).
Upon entering, Giles passes his orgasm buddy crying, sitting beside the pram where it is on its side, still empty (further proof that Giles can never have a normal family life like other people; also showing the loss of innocence and disillusionment that continues to happen as the show goes on). Every time we see Spike being photographed, everything is in black and white, but all the rest is in color (equating Spike with old-timey movie villains who are rather antiseptic and caricatured, unlike the real world of the Hellmouth that is in color, showing how vividly REAL it is—plus, you can see blood and gore much more effectively in color than in sterile black and white).
The Cheese Man appears again and says, “I wear the cheese; it does not wear me.”
Now, I listened to the commentary by Joss, and I know he said that the Cheese Man is just the bit of something that means nothing because all dreams have that, but I disagree. I think the Cheese Man is there as a reminder of the “cheese factor” inherent in the premise of the entire show. It’s to remind them that, no matter how seriously they take things, and how straight they try to play them, the Cheese Man will always be lurking in the background, ready to draw attention to the fact that the premise and ‘verse of the show is not only fictional, but exaggeratedly so.
When we get to Giles entering the Bronze, we see his living room in the middle of it, with Xander (sans heart, of course) and Willow there with his beloved books doing research. Again, Giles’s role is such that he can’t escape it, even when (or particularly when) he tries to take a night off—like going to the Bronze for entertainment. Willow tells Giles that this is his fault, placing the responsibility on his shoulders, even in the midst of a place of frivolity, reiterating the idea that Giles must be “on” and “working” and “responsible” at all times.
Anya is onstage, behind Giles, in the background as a stand-up comedienne, but is having a hard time. She serves as the corporeal manifestation of the things that are always in the back of Giles’s mind, serving to distract him, like his deep-down wish to be a rock star (which we see him singing/performing in other episodes, and I don’t just mean the musical episode). His inner rock star is a dream that wants to surface, so it does in this dream, and he takes the stage and starts singing. However, his “fun” is cut short by the looming responsibility and the music stops. He crawls backstage, following the cord to a huge, hulking pile of tangled cord, in which he finds the watch from the start of the dream (I see what you did there—he’s “tied up” and can’t get away from his responsibility as… wait for it… a WATCHer!).
The primitive shows up and Giles says, “I know who you are and I can defeat you with my intellect” and “you underestimate me; you never had a Watcher.” Of course, the primitive responds to this by scalping him, because, what better way is there to defeat Giles than to take away his “brain”? (BTW, does anyone else find it ironic that the actor who plays Giles has the last name of “Head”? *rimshot*)
After this, Giles’s dream is over, and we move on to the next, but that’s not my part, so I’ll leave that to my partners in crime to do!
Cheers!
~Nicole
And ending with...
Buffy’s Dream
And so we begin with Buffy waking up in her dorm room, with Anya lying awake in Willow’s bed. I don’t fully understand Anya’s presence, though I suppose it could mean that she’s one of the replacements of “high school Willow.” Though Xander and Willow maintain a close friendship in the later years, Anya has replaced Willow as “the girl who dotes on Xander.” Which he still needs at this point in the series, honestly. But all the same...
WHAT THE F***, JOSS?!
Seconds later, Buffy wakes up in her bed at home, and is then magically on the other side of the room with Tara. This scene primarily serves as the foreshadowing of Dawn. The clock reads “7:30,” referencing Faith’s line from Graduation Day Part 2: Little Miss Moffat counting down from 7-3-0. When Tara says, “Oh, that clock’s completely wrong,” she, of course, means that Dawn’s arrival is much closer than it was at the end of the third season. Though that always confused me, because 730 is the number of days in two years, and unless I’m as bad at math as Mr. Shue, there were way less than 730 days between May of 1999 and August/September of 2000...
WHAT THE F***, JOSS?!
Seconds later, Buffy wakes up in her bed at home, and is then magically on the other side of the room with Tara. This scene primarily serves as the foreshadowing of Dawn. The clock reads “7:30,” referencing Faith’s line from Graduation Day Part 2: Little Miss Moffat counting down from 7-3-0. When Tara says, “Oh, that clock’s completely wrong,” she, of course, means that Dawn’s arrival is much closer than it was at the end of the third season. Though that always confused me, because 730 is the number of days in two years, and unless I’m as bad at math as Mr. Shue, there were way less than 730 days between May of 1999 and August/September of 2000...
The making of the bed calls the Faith dream to mind, once again, and is already another reference to sleep. The mentions of sleep are cropping off an awful lot, and they do absolutely have a purpose.
“You think you know what’s to come. Who you are. You haven’t even begun.”
The importance of this line is apparent in its repetition, and in that it asks the age-old question of “who are we?” Or “who am I?” It foreshadows Buffy’s year of self-discovery in the fifth season, which is loaded with Slayer lore, of course. The line, “You haven’t even begun” could be tied directly into how much of Buffy’s character development is dependent on Dawn in the next season. Since Buffy isn’t an older sister yet, she hasn’t begun her role as the sibling protector...the one who will willingly sacrifice her life for another, however annoying, bratty, and useless said other might be.
“Be back before Dawn.”
F*** YOU JOSS WHEDON, for the existence of Michelle Trachtenburg’s character. I felt more sorry for her than anything else in the fifth season (except for when she got screechy), and I actually liked her in the seventh season, but I couldn’t STAND her in the sixth season. And I still think the show would’ve been better off without her.
In the next scene, Buffy finds herself in the halls of UC Sunnydale, and visiting familiar places in one’s dreams isn’t all that unusual. But then she realizes her mom’s face appears through a hole in the wall. Joyce is on the other side of a wall, and it’s a place that Buffy can’t reach unless she breaks down the wall and crosses over to the other side. GREAT, now I’m just thinking about the separation of the Doctor and Rose in Doomsday. Not that walls separating characters metaphorically is at all unique in film and television (see also: Pushing Daisies), but I’ve got Doctor Who on the brain since the sixth season just started.
F*** YOU, JOSS WHEDON, FOR REMINDING ME OF THE SADDEST MOMENT OF TELEVISION EVER.
Buffy covering herself with grey goop and then light shoots out of her eyes? My first thought: OMG BUFFY’S THE AVATAR! (Airbender? Anyone? Anyone? Oh come on, they’re both The Chosen One but also normal kids who want to be treated as such...never mind.)
In the next scene, we’re in the same desert that Buffy will return to for her “spritual journey.” I wonder if that’s significant. I don’t really understand Tara’s role as the voice of the higher power/first slayer. I mean, Amber Benson has a truly beautiful voice that suits the identity of a spirit guide. There’s always the possibility that Joss gave her the chance to speak in this dream episode because she’s the quietest of the group, bless her heart (if true, this will be repeated in the musical episode, in which she sings a great deal because she has been keeping things bottled up inside of her for so long).
CHEESE! I LOVE CHEESE! There’s this Quebec cheddar that the cheese store in my college’s town sells that is just AMAZING...
The two Slayers get into a tussle! Time for a shot in honor of a clear sighting of the SMG stunt-double!
Before we know it, Buffy’s back in her living room, but the first Slayer’s still there, so she’s still asleep. Some dialogue and stabbing ensues, concluded with: “...What kind of impression am I making in the workplace, because-” And then she’s suddenly interrupted by waking up. I read this as another reference to Buffy’s Slayerhood, because she currently still views her slaying as a job. The graveyard is her workplace, and for those concerned, she’s not exactly well-respected. I never thought vampires found a petite, blonde girl all that intimidating (pre-stake-age, of course), and the Watchers Council certainly finds her irritating. It’s also a reference to how Buffy is a completely different kind of Slayer, and representing the change and modernization of who the Slayer is. Her choice method of criticizing the original Slayer is her fashion sense.
The most important running themes in Buffy’s dream are sleep and the act of waking up, and the absence of her closest friends and mentor. We’ll tackle the latter first, because it’s simple: Buffy is really alone in this journey. Sure, her closest friends are present in her life, but in her own life journey, she has to do everything on her own. She’s looking for their support, but they’ll never be able to give her everything she needs.
Sleep, of course, represents death. Joss’ overwhelming use of sleep and dreaming and symbols that we associate with sleep foreshadow the deep, long sleep awaiting Buffy at the end of this next journey, which is confirmed when she’s told that “death is her gift.” No matter where she is, Buffy can’t escape sleep. It’s like Inception. Except really well-written.*
CHEESE!
*I AM NOT COMPLETELY DISSING INCEPTION. It was a pretty good movie, but much more of a popcorn movie than a high-art one.
-Meg
Conclusion
Well, that was fun, huh? Hope you enjoyed this four person write up doingness. This episode is so important and awesome that we felt it would be really neat to have someone handle each person's dream. But to wrap everything up, this episode tells us a lot about each person's insecurities. These should all be remembered as we go on because, after this, we're back into real life where people don't normally talk about their insecurities but instead act on them and make decisions because of them and also to avoid finding out that there is some truth to their fears. Also, Buffy's run-in with the First Slayer in her dream will have a profound effect on her for all of Season Five starting with the first episode.
I highly recommend watching this episode again, with commentary and then without, and look for yourself to see what you feel everything means. As stated before, there is no way to correctly analyze a dream. A path is put into place by Joss for you to follow, but it is impossible for you not to add your own experiences, insecurities, and fears to their unconscious states.
Happy dreaming!
Best Wishes,
The Two Wits + their very special friends =)
P.S. Tomorrow there will be a written recap of Season 4, and HOLY CRAP Season 5 starts on Monday!
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