Buffy Season One Episode Eight

[koganbot]

15th-century demon inhabits world's online computers, but Willow comes to doubt his capacity to love. Meanwhile, librarian's first name revealed to be Rupert.

(One of the better episodes so far. I'd been a little disappointed in the Angel episode, since previously the caring, shyness, confusion of the incipient Angel-Buffy relationship had been given us in touching little hints; full-on as a story of love and loss, it was normal TV heartbreak. But in this demon-computer episode, Buffy gets to be the breezy girl who, behind the breeze, is observing and trying to see into her friend Willow. The show does a good job with the two computer nerdboys, one fighting internally to remain his awkward self, the other gaining a sense of presence as the demon endows him with purpose.

Buffy, after almost being electrocuted in the shower: "Tell me the truth: how's my hair?"

As usual, though, the action at the climax isn't as interesting as the psychology that led up to it.)

Comments

[martinskidmore.livejournal.com]

Can't say I was a fan of Magnum (apart from the moustache, obviously). There have been very few performers in screen history to match Keaton. I wouldn't wish to compare to either of them, but the characters' relationships and growth is central to the series throughout. Overcoming selfishness is key at the end of this series, and the idea of them all being incomplete but in some senses complementary is all over it - key at the end of season 4, for instance.

Season 1, despite the overarching Master plot, is much more episodic than any of the others, much more monster-of-the-week. The character stuff accumulates, and is more foregrounded as it goes on.