Season 4
Episode 11
- Determining our journeys – The
internal and inherent – Our histories – External forces: nature and others - Buffy
& Spike – Conclusion – Spicy
extras for James Marsters fans -
The
earth trembles at the beginning of the episode,
and by the end of it, everyone’s been “all shook up.” Each of our main characters spends some time feeling gloomy and
doomy. The entire episode focuses on
the powerful effects of our emotional make-up, our histories, and the external
forces that surround us, upon the unfolding of our lives, upon the course of
our individual journeys. Are you
destined for greatness or mediocrity?
Are you doomed? It’s all about
who you are, what has happened to you in the past, and the circumstances and
conditions of your present environment.
Symbolically, the
Vahrall demons are gathering three items to effect the end of the world: Blood (something internal and inherent), The
Bones of a Child (the remains of the past), and The Word of Valios (a talisman,
an external force).
Let’s look first at what is internal and inherent in our natures. Images and mention of animals are used to emphasize the way our internal make-up effects our perceptions of, and interactions with, the outside world. Amy’s rat instincts cause her to sound the alarm right before the earthquake. She has internally sensed the upcoming event, much as Buffy’s Slayer instincts will alert her to the world-ending danger the earthquake portends – even if Giles can’t see it. Forrest calls demons “animals” as a put-down, but Spike glories in his baser nature as he screams with joy: “I can hurt a demon! That’s right! I’m back! I’m a bloody animal!!”
Buffy mentions destiny, and she points out the fact that Riley doesn’t understand her because he “barely knows” her. Willow tells Xander they can’t let Spike “poof himself” because they “know him.” People have inherent characteristics that define them, and that affect the course of their lives.
Mention of individual, varying concepts of fun is also used to give us a glance at the way individual perception creates a subjective external reality around the core truth. The exchange between the external and internal is a two way street, after all. We absorb the world into ourselves, and we exude our own individual preferences all over our view of it:
· Buffy: “This thing isn’t digging up the bones of a child for fun.” Xander: “Well, a demon’s got some pretty hilarious ideas about fun.”
· Riley: “Look, I know the risks of what we do. I also know its more rewarding than any other job on the planet. And fun.” Buffy: “Fun?” The last person I know that believed that is in a coma right now because she had so much fun on the job.”
· Willow (to Spike): “So you can’t kill anymore. There are other fun things you can do.” And at the end of the episode, as he urges Willow & Xander to join him for some demon hunting, we learn all about Spike’s hilarious ideas of fun.
A lot of mocking also goes on, again emphasizing individual perceptions – e.g., Spike mocks Xander’s “let’s rock and roll” attitude in the high school, Forrest makes fun of Riley’s interest and possible belief in The Slayer legend, and Giles pooh-poohs Buffy’s apocalypse worries. Note that both Riley and Buffy are right, underlining the fact that there are times when we would do well to listen to others.
Images of suicide further point out the role we play in our own fates, in determining whether we are doomed, or slated for glory, or anything in between: The three Vahrall demons sacrifice themselves; Buffy is sentencing herself to a self-imposed, living death by allowing her Angel-experience to limit her future happiness; Spike tries to stake himself.
But
our fates aren’t determined solely by our instincts and inherent natures. With the ruins of the high school and the remains
of a child acting as vivid symbols, we explore how the past affects the present
– how where you’ve been during your journey through life results in where you
are, and how where you are plays a strong role in determining where you will be
going.
Giles (with some
bad advice to Buffy): “Will you stop
worrying about what may be, and concentrate on what is!”
Forrest
(describing demon tracking plans):
“Can’t tell where it’s going, but I’ve got a bead on where it’s been.”
Nearly constant
references to location (past, present or future) emphasize the continuous
nature of the journey through life.
There are too many references to list them all here – below are a few
examples of references to the importance of location, of being where you
belong, of finding your proper place:
Though all our
characters find themselves greatly affected by their pasts (in particular, by
the remains of the children they once were), the focus is on Buffy. The earthquake frightens her because she
died the last time she experienced one.
And she rejects Riley because of her painful, high school experience
with Angel. Buffy is not wrong about
the earthquake . . . is she wrong about Riley?
History is important and can prove to be a very strong indicator of
future events. But it is also sometimes
contradictory (e.g., Giles also uses history to decide the earthquake was NOT
significant, pointing out that they are in Southern California, where quakes
are common). The past should not be
ignored, but neither should it be revered to the exclusion of all else.
As
most strongly symbolized by the earthquake itself, our surroundings – our circumstances and the external
conditions of our environments – also play a role in determining our
fates. Repeated references to
temperature remind us of human sensitivity to physical conditions: Percy thinks it’s “cool” to meet Willow but
he likes his women “hot”; Riley refers to how cool Buffy is, causing Forrest to
say, “She’s cool, she’s hot, she’s tepid, she’s all temperature Buffy”; Buffy informs
Riley that he can’t “melt” her reservations; Spike hopes to “melt” in hellfire.
Our external
environments aren’t made up entirely of the affects of earth, wind, and fire,
however. We all interact with our
fellow human beings. And posture as we
might about how little we care about the opinions of others, we are all
influenced by others, especially when we are young. Riley tells Buffy he’s “looking pretty hard at her” and Spike
asks Xander NOT to look at him. People
are looking past surface characteristics, and expressing incisive opinions
about others. This activity is
emphasized by the frequent mention of clothes – RILEY talks about his bruises
to Buffy saying “If you see me with my clothes off . . .”, A COLLEGE BOY
mentions naked limbo, SPIKE is mortified to be wearing a Hawaiian shirt and
shorts, and RILEY makes a point of telling his men to wear their “civies, day
clothes only” while tracking the demon.
XANDER wants to change out of his pizza-boy outfit prior to fighting,
and later, RILEY’s “GI Joe outfit” gives away his commando status.
Though Spike’s
surface – his Hawaiian-shirt outfit and his ‘merakun accent - protect him from
discovery, that works only because Riley isn’t looking very hard. With the gruesome image of an eye, carved
into a dead college boy’s chest, looming in the background, we find everyone
“looking hard” – i.e., examining each other with a “third eye,” so to
speak. Using penetrating words, they share
their insights, transferring them to the intended recipient:
·
Buffy
tells Riley what he’s all about: “You’re part of some military monster squad
that captures demons, vampires – probably have some official sounding
euphemisms for them, like unfriendlies or non-sapiens . . .” Riley is taken aback, telling Buffy she sees
things a “little too well.”
·
Willow
overhears Percy talking about her: Willow is attractive and her nerdiness no
longer shows on the surface, so Percy’s girlfriend is jealous. Percy sets her straight: “What?
Rosenberg? Yeah, right. She’s just some egghead who tutored me a
little in high school. Captain of the
Nerd Squad.” Because Willow is insecure
about her nerd past, and because she is also feeling rejected by Oz, Percy’s
words cut her right through to the quick.
·
Xander
explains the awful truth to Spike: “You look like a big mooch that doesn’t lift
a finger around here.” And later: “I hate to break it to you, oh Impotent One,
but you’re not the Big Bad anymore.
You’re not even kinda naughty.
You’re nothing but a big waste of space . . . ” Unbeknownst to Xander, Spike, like Willow,
is also a mass of insecurities about his own milquetoast past. And he’s still hurting from Dru’s
rejection. Xander’s words actually get
to Spike. Notice that Spike (astonishingly!)
tries to do the laundry (“washing skivvies for a blighter I wouldn’t have
bothered to bite a few months ago”) after being called a mooch. And later, the sting of the truth in
Xander’s “Impotent One” speech shows in Spike’s face, and, with a goodbye to
Dru, he attempts suicide shortly thereafter.
·
Riley
gives Buffy his viewpoint on her fear of starting a relationship with him:
“You have this twisted way of looking at things, this doom and gloom
mentality . . . mostly, I think you want to stay down in the dark place.” Buffy refuses to discuss it, but her change
of heart by the end of the episode suggests that Riley’s words had an effect.
·
Spike
delights in delivering a little payback to Xander (with Willow as a bonus
victim): “Buffy fights the forces of evil. You’re her groupies. She’d do just as well without you – better,
I’d wager, since she wouldn’t have to save your hides all the time . . . you’re
just the same 10th grade losers you’ve always been.” The looks Xander & Willow’s faces tell
us Spike has struck a shared nerve, and the look on Spike’s face tells us he
knows it. He can’t hit Xander with the
monkey wrench? Fine. In the hands of a craftsman such as Spike,
words can be used just as well to painfully break through the skull (and it’s
the most fun he’s had in weeks).
Buffy
& Spike follow very similar paths through the
episode:
BUFFY’s experience
with Angel is acting like a chip in her heart.
It causes her pain whenever she thinks of seriously loving someone. She firmly rejects a relationship with Riley
by telling him: “It’s just doomed, and I can’t do doomed again right now,”
Riley protests: “You’re not in high school anymore. You can change things.”
Buffy strongly disagrees. But by
the end of the episode, she has very nicely survived both a brief trip through
the ruins of the high school, and a visit into the Hellmouth - thanks to
Riley. Together, they watch the last
demon die. Going back wasn’t so painful
after all. Her visit was a
triumph. Buffy is ready to reaffirm
life, to take a chance – she visits Riley, and she kisses him.
The chip in
SPIKE’s head has left him in despair.
He attempts suicide, certain that he can no longer partake of the
simple, gory joys of demonhood. When he
expresses a desire to “melt in a sea of molten hellfire” Willow tries to coax
him out of his depression: “You
shouldn’t talk like that . . . You’ll
adjust.” Spike strongly disagrees. But by the end of the episode, he has
discovered that he can hit a demon without causing himself pain! Whaddya know? Life’s not over after all.
He can adjust. He’s no
longer suicidal, but full of pep and eager for action. Super-hero music swells behind him as he
tries to motivate Willow & Xander:
“What’s this? Sitting around watching the telly while there’s evil still afoot! That’s not very industrious of you. I say we go kick a little demon ass! What, can’t go without your Buffy, is that it? Too chicken? Let’s find her! She is the Chosen One after all. Come on! Vampires, Grrr! Nasty! Let’s annihilate them! For justice, and for . . . the safety of puppies, and Christmas, right? Let’s fight that evil! Let’s kill something. Oh, come on!!!!”
And speaking of
super-hero types, we have an interesting comment from Riley in trying to
understand why Buffy won’t give him a chance:
“Where’s the bad here?” he asks.
Precisely, Riley. Where is
the bad? Because listen to what Buffy
says to Willow later in the episode about her worry that Spike might stake
himself: “And that’s bad because . .
.?” See, Riley? She’s always looking for the bad.
And
ah Spike, that poor bad baby.
He has no idea what he’s messing with, trying to be bad and fight
demons, all at the same time. Though it
is extremely tenuous, halting, and minimal, Spike has begun to be accepted by
Buffy & The Scoobies. Xander pulls
him out of danger, and no one turns him in to Riley. His conditioning has also begun in earnest now, though he doesn’t
even begin to realize it. The chip is
providing an artificial means by which the nasty blonde vampire will be
learning two lessons: 1) In hurting
others, he hurts himself, and 2) It’s only in fighting evil that he can find
joy. What’s going to happen when those
lessons really sink in? Or can they
sink in? Can Spike truly internalize
these lessons, without a soul to snatch and safeguard them?
We’ll see. Maybe Spike has a shot at something here,
given the freakish extent to which he has retained William’s already freakishly
sensitive humanity. We’ve yet to meet
William, but his true nature is foreshadowed in Spike’s insecure, Willow-like
response to Xander’s blunt words. And
that scene where Spike throws the demon into the Hellmouth? Let’s see . . . he is so physically
stimulated and elated that he doesn’t hear anyone’s warnings, and he makes a
misguided attempt to help Buffy by throwing a demon (who is holding the bones
of a child) down a hole. His action
temporarily worsens the situation. But
it does shake up what’s left of that old high school. And those child-remains Buffy was so worried about? Gone without a trace.