PASSION; thoughts and review

[Saturn 5]

Been posting these on Buffytube but getting no replies so I thought I'd try here, the rest up to this point are all there if you want to look.

Passion

The Good;
Angelus's lyrical narration. Buffy and Joyce having 'The Talk' (you imagine one day Buffy will do the same with Dawn?). Jenny and Angelus' confrontation at the school. Buffy saving Giles at the factory. The twist in the tail.

The Bad;
It seems rather stupid that Buffy simply warns Joyce to keep away from Angelus, because that's going to keep her safe? In the past we're told that Angelus drove Dru mad by killing everyone she loved and nailing puppies to stuff. Here he just tells Joyce that he and Buffy had sex, doesn't even do it nastily. Although Will's fish aren't nice.

Best line;
Any and all of Angelus' narration. Plus Spike stopping Dru from helping Angelus "Not fair if he doesn't tag you"

Wheldon cliches;
Character death-1 (Jenny the 3rd recurring character to die)
Bondage-0
Knocked out-yep, Giles again
Shot-0
Women good/men bad-0
Kinky-dinky; Angelus/Spike/Dru

Questions and observations;
Wonderful scene where Jonathon and friend actually come into the library to borrow some books (reminiscent of the opening scene in Friends where they turn up at Central Perk only to find the couch taken for once). Surely Angelus doesn't need an invitation to enter a public area like a school? Or has Jenny done a spell to keep him out and the school motto meant it didn't work. Equally does the invitation rule apply to cars? Presumably Angel has also been to Giles' house in order to put Jenny's body in Giles' bed. We must assume Giles and Jenny have had sex before if she has a key to his place and he's not suprised to find her in his bedroom. Once again, roses don't seem to repel vamps in the Buffyverse. Does Joyce not question why the 40+ school librarian keeps popping around the house to see her teenage daughter? Willow collapsing into Joyce's arms is a sign of how close Joyce has become to the rest of the Scoobs.
Jenny is the 3rd recurring character to die, making it one every 10 eps or so, the shock and brutality of him killing her is awful. Giles knocked out again. Willow's dad is called Ira and he seems quite strictly Jewish. Willow says she's his only daughter, what about sons? I was always suprised fanficcers didn't make more of Buffy and Willow's sleepover after Willow finds her fish? If you can restore Angel's soul why not do that to all vamps? Although Buffy the Vampire Resouler is probably not such a good series.
10/10, running out of superlatives here

[gumgnome]

I've been reading the reviews in the Buffytube section, but didn't know you specifically wanted responses!
Here goes!
The very thought of Buffy having 'that talk' with Dawn makes me cringe. Buffy would be way, way, way worse at it than Joyce - I feel for Dawn...

The factory showdown is one of the greatest Buffy/Giles moments on the show and there are lots! Pulling him out of the fire, punching him, hugging him, telling him how much she needs him. It's definitely one of the most powerfully emotional moments of the show so far.

I guess I can understand your point about Buffy not warning Joyce enough, but I guess part of Buffy's protection of her loved one's always revolves around shutting them out completely (think of her relationship with Dawn pre-"Grave"), and Buffy's only 17! She doesn't want to have that conversation with her mother. I think it's understandable that she only gives her half-truths.

I agree with you about the library scene. In fact, I'm sure I remember outrage on the part of American librarians associations at the scene. When the show first started, they applauded the choice of a librarian as a key character in a teen show. Then, in one of the only scenes where someone actually asks him for a book, he practically shuns them!

One question: Why would roses repel vampires?

[Erica]

Yeah the school motto thing is kinda confusing. Spike has gone into a house that someone abandoned, kind of a stretch on the rule, and a school is pretty much a public place. If they can't get into a regular, non-motto-inviting school without an invite, they shouldn't be able to go to nightclubs either. If that makes any sense at all. I ramble, lol.

[Saturn 5]

Now that's more like it!

As for the roses if you read Dracula or any number of books on vamps they're supposed to repel them, the reason we put flowers on graves is to repel evil spirits

[gumgnome]

Aug 14, 2009 4:14:57 GMT -5 Saturn 5 said:

Now that's more like it!

As for the roses if you read Dracula or any number of books on vamps they're supposed to repel them, the reason we put flowers on graves is to repel evil spirits

And there was me just thinking they looked pwetty.

[buffyfan21]

I love Passion. Definitely one of my fave S2 eps. I think the Angelus voice over at beginning and end is chillingly poignant. Hate that Jenny gets killed in such a brutal and violent way. Angelus watching through the window as Willow and Buffy get the call from Giles that Jenny has been killed and then relishing in their pain is very chillingly creepy and sinister. Buffy falling to the floor in utter disbelief and Willow sobbing and Joyce running to comfort her is very heart breaking and touching. Buffy and Giles taking comfort in one another as both are in pain over losing a friend is also very touching. The ending scene where the two are at Jenny's grave is so sad. And Buffy's guilt that she was unable to prevent Jenny's death at the hands of Angelus. I am at least glad that Buffy and Jenny got to come to some place of closure and healing Before she died. Had they not I fear that Jenny's death would have been even harder on Buffy, having already felt responsible for it. If one good thing came out of Jenny's early demise though it's that it brought Buffy and Giles even closer together and made them realize just how much one needed the other. Giles realized that he needed his slayer (his daughter) just as much as slayer needed watcher (her father). You see that the protection and love they feel for each other works both ways. It is nice to see them relying on each other to get through a difficult time. I also felt sorry for Buffy at the awkwardness of her mom finding out about her sexual relationship with Angel, but i suppose it had to come out sooner or later. Angel showing up to harass Joyce really made me fear for her life. I remember at the time fearing that he was going to do something to harm her. Buffy slamming the door in his face saying "changed the locks" was awesome! Giles offering to speak on Buffy's behalf to Joyce was sweet if a little strange, because what could he possibly say in Buffy's defense? Just another example of the father trying to protect his daughter. I could go on and on about this episode, but I think I will stop here for now. Passion is a heartbreaking, dark, creepy, classic episode!

[Saturn 5]

Yeah it's a heartwrencher of an ep alright, you really understand the series plays for keeps from then on

[Max]

i love this one ,i watched and re-watched it i don't know how many times^^
My favorite part is when Angel's is watching Buffy through the windows,and when we see her and Willow learning the news of Jenny's death...
Plus,the episode is the first to show the death of a love one,in the most tragic way .It's like if this episode was the first step to the "real" world .I mean,even if the thing with Angel was awful for the characters,this is the first time they have to face the death as an inevitable thing,there is no coming back,no magic spell,no way to change it .The scene in the cemetery,with Giles and Buffy was like the time of consciousness ,the time when she realize that even she fight every day against the darkness,she won't be able to save everyone...

[suemey]

little question. i was watching this episode with my boyfriend yesterday (it was his first time) we are currently watching the series entirely.

well, he told me that something bother him a great deal.

why the heck they need a spell to keep angelus out if on a previous episode (the one with darla bitting joyce and buffy blamed angel) buffy thought angel was bad again and she took back the invitation (and kicked him out of the window) and he was unable to enter the house unless invated again.

I don't remember if that happen or not (my bf might be confusing this with true blood or something)

but i have this doubt, can someone please enlight me.

at the end my bf said to me that this episode was pretty well done and they were able to handle drama very well.

[gumgnome]

The line from the Season 1 episode "Angel" is:
BUFFY: "You're not welcome here. You come near us and I'll kill you."

My take on this would be that rather than officially taking back his invitation, she's simply warning him not to come back. I think if this had been an official way bo reactivate the threshold barrier against Angel, the writers would have made a bigger deal about this, and we would have seen a moment sometime in a later episode with Buffy inviting Angel back into her home.

[suemey]

^^ thank you! i will pass that to my bf... now i can go to sleep

[Greer]

I notice that this review had been moved, so I'll put my thoughts up here!

Passion is by far my favorite episode of the whole series. Granted, it still has some Season 2 quirks in it, such as cheesy lines and realllllly bad wardrobes, but otherwise, I believe it to be a masterpiece.

I'll start off with the music. There are two specific songs that encompass the feelings in the episode. First is "Angel Waits", which is the haunting song that plays when Angelus is stalking Buffy outside of the Bronze and also when Buffy receives the phone call regarding Jenny's death. I feel like it sums up all of the evil intentions and anger that Angelus holds towards Buffy(as he is so passionate about killing Buffy because she gave him such passion for love and salvation when he had his soul). "Remembering Jenny" is my favorite song from all of the Buffyverse, to start with. I love that they decided to use bits of ASH's voice in this song, as it showed his beautiful voice(which I later discovered on his CD). I feel like it really hits the sorrow and ecstasy of Giles's grief. It's perfect for the ending scene and end of the episode.

Onto the actual episode itself! Angelus's voice-over throughout the episode is a stroke of genius. I believe it really gives an insight into the violence that Angelus feels towards Buffy and the exuberant hatred that he has for her. After all, she is the one that made him feel human and like he had a part in the world. Angelus thrives on creating the chaos that destroys the world and everything in it. It's simply brilliant.

The different scenes in the episode play so well together and progress the story quite well. I enjoy the continuity of the sketches of different characters throughout the episode. I love the progression of Buffy to Joyce to Jenny, and how he gets into Willow's mind(not that I enjoy the torturing fish thing, but you get my point). It's quite the different approach that we don't see with many vampires(and villains, even) throughout the show. Angelus has such a distinct and artistic style to death, and he revels in the slow completion of his plan. It's nice to see the rage that Giles has towards Angelus when he discovers Jenny, and we don't see this much. It's a bit of the Ripper showing through, and it allows us to understand the type of feelings Giles had for Jenny, even when he blatantly pushed her away when she betrayed them in Surprise/Innocence. It will also set up the resentment that Giles will hold against Buffy for an extremely long time, in blaming her for Jenny's death. It's interesting to see that the blame on Buffy is still fresh in Giles's mind in two later situations: 1-In one of the possible scripts for Empty Places, it shows that there was a line about Buffy being unable to save Jenny, and how Giles is distinctly still angry with Buffy for it, and 2-In Season 8, I know that it's mentioned how Giles "loved that teacher", but I can't remember which issue it's in.

This episode is just the greatest. It showcases that Angel really has gone bad, and isn't just joking around. This is when Buffy really grows up and has to deal with the horrible consequences of what she's done, and it just pushes her into knowing that she is going to have to kill Angelus, because of what his actions towards her and her family will ultimately be if he isn't stopped.

10/10.

[gumgnome]

I disagree with you in saying that Giles harbours resentment toward for Jenny's death. I don't think he blames Buffy for her death at all, in fact. He never trusts Angel again, granted, but I think he trusts and loves Buffy as much after Jenny's death as before.

[buffyfan21]

Aug 31, 2009 13:50:41 GMT -5 gumgnome said:

I disagree with you in saying that Giles harbours resentment toward for Jenny's death. I don't think he blames Buffy for her death at all, in fact. He never trusts Angel again, granted, but I think he trusts and loves Buffy as much after Jenny's death as before.

Agreed.

[Saturn 5]

Reputedly in Conversations with Dead People there is a missing scene in the graveyard where Giles mentions jenny and confesses to killing Ben?

[genefreak]

I viewed this one recently and have a question: How did Angelus manage to get into Giles's apartment? Had he been invited before?

Great episode, by the way. The next one is extremely disappointing, though!

[gumgnome]

There is no specific moment in which we see Angel invited into Giles' apartment, so this must occur off-screen.

[Saturn 5]

Giles and Angel were meeting in secret due to the prophecy at the end of season 1, it's probably then that Angel comes to his house