Buffy Rewatch; SCHOOL HARD

[Saturn 5]

School Hard;

A whole new era begins as Spike and Dru explode onto the scene!

The Good;
Pretty much everything. Spike and Dru spark right from the beginning, you get their swagger mixed with their very real affection for one another. Julia Landua did her 'Look at all the people' line once for me and it chilled me to the bone. I often think the secret of a successful show is to make the villains as interesting as the heroes and here Buffy does it in spades. Also a great ep if your a fan of the the Joyce/Buffy relationship (and face it, who isn't?)

The Bad;
Not much!

Best line;
Xander; Does anyone remember when Saturday night was date night?
Cordy; You sure don't!

Observations and questions;
First meeting between Cordy and Joyce, Cordy seeming to be appreciative of Joyce's milfiness, as Snyder comments, a mother/daughter resemblance (certainly when she hit's Spike with the axe). First hints that Snyder and the SDPD are aware of the truth about Sunnydale. For the record, no one died at Woodstock but Spike didn't say he killed anyone, just fed off them (and he lies a LOT). The very subtle handbag joke. Ironically whilst Spike later teases the Trio for their nerdiness he refers to Angel as 'My yoda'. Angel's 'Anne Rice routine' is so convincing you almost buy it for a second. Listening to Spike mocking the 'I'm so tortured' brigade you can't help think of 'Twilight' and laugh. Spike's fascination with Buffy could almost be there from the beginning, check out the way he looks at her in the Bronze. The first Spike/Joyce scene which are something to look forward to in the seasons ahead. It almost goes unnoticed amongst all the excitment but this is the first time Cordy is a full official Scooby, she's in the library making stakes with everyone else without any form of back story, she's simply an accepted part of the gang. The crucifixion is mentioned, confirming Giles' assertion that demons and vampires predate christianity but also confirming it as historical fact.
Interestingly at the end of this ep Cordy and Willow end up in the closet together. Will's out, how about Cordy?
Utterly fabulous 10/10

[Just Willow]

i really enjoy this episode. it's back when SPike was actually a good character, and ilove Drusilla to death!

it's a great plotline with the trapped in the school bit. only problem was how they made it seem like Angelus had sired Spike, when he's actually his Grandsire. loved when Joyce gets to be all BA and hit Spike with the axe.

9/10

[Saturn 5]

Spike was always a good character although here we see him in his 'sneering stud' phase. Love Joyce's Sigourney Weaver moment

[Just Willow]

i love when Cordy is praying and Willow's like "ask for some aspirin" "Oh, and could you please send some-- hey!"

[Reluctant Hero]

I agree that Spike was always a good character but come on girls: Who wasn't a little turned on my the whole "sneering stud" attitude that he had going on? The whole season I was like " Buffy, Spike. Just make out for God's sake!"

In case you haven't noticed: I've got a little bit of a thing for Bad Boy Spike

[Saturn 5]

Spike the child-murdering rapist? Ok, unfair but the devotion some Spikettes show to this extremely evil character borders on the scary sometimes

[Skytteflickan88]

You're not wrong, some are scary.

But I think you're targetting reluctanthero27 a bit here, even if you said "Ok, unfair".

And yes, the child-murdering and the rape-thing does take away from his charm.

[Reluctant Hero]

I agree that he has some definite draw backs, (Alright calling almost raping some a draw back is a definite understatement), but he's fictional so I'll cut him some slack. I mean Angel did some pretty horrible stuff but I still like him.

and a Spikette? Makes me sound like one of the silly girls from Beauty and the Beast. I wouldn't say I'm that enthused. He's just one of my favorite characters. I'd have to say after him is Andrew. I love it when he makes 'The Big Board' followed by Anya. I've always been very partial to the sarcastic types (even if Anya doesn't mean it to be sarcastic most of the time)

[bitca]

I love it when Buffy is bad at stuff...like making lemonade

[Saturn 5]

Yeah makes her more human, like Xena being unable to cook or play a musical instrument

[iamthewalrus]

Jun 16, 2009 3:29:12 GMT -5 Saturn 5 said:

Yeah makes her more human, like Xena being unable to cook or play a musical instrument

haha, yup, so much for Xena having many skills

anyway, i like this episode
i love the Willow and Cordelia bits
"hey, Cordelia, have some lemonade"

i never got why Buffy covered for Sheila being late tho
Sheila was lame, i wouldn't of covered for her

[drusillacakes]

^^Yeah, I didn't know why Buffy was trying to be all buddy buddy with Sheila. She was kind of a poser.

Another thing I never understood was why Buffy liked to study at The Bronze. How could anyone get any work done?

Best moment: Buffy asks Xander for a stake and he goes through her bag, only to pull out a yo-yo, a tampon and then a stake. The yo-yo was just the most random thing ever.

[Saturn 5]

Gotta say I missed the tampon first time around but I think they had to keep it subtle for the censor

[N.D.U.O]

Does anyone know the song played in the Bronze the ep (during Spike's "I want you" stalker-type thing)

It sounded cool.

[buffyfan21]

What's not to love about this ep?! Here, we get our first introduction of everybody's favorite bad-ass vampire couple - Spike and Drusilla! The moment these two came on the scene we discover that vampires, despite their soulessness, are just as capable of loving each other as humans are, perhaps more so given that the love between two vampires can literally, go on for an eternity.

Love the moments where Spike and Buffy first meet. It's so strange to look back at this ep knowing what unfolds between them later. As Spike watches Buffy dance in The Bronze, we can see that this is the start of his obsession with her. It's interesting to consider the progression of their relationship over the seasons - first you have mortal enemies, hell bent on killing each other, then it's lovers, then friends.

Love the moment of Joyce threatening Spike with the ax. So funny that she comes so close to finding out about Buffy's slayerness. i personally don't see how Buffy got away without her mom figuring it out. Love Willow shutting Cordy up with the bitter lemonade, and the two of them ending up in the utility closet together. Interesting to note that Cordy will later find herself in there with Xander, only instead of praying, there will be a lot of smooching going on!

Glad that Joyce cuts Buffy some slack when she finally gets to see a glimpse of the hero that her daughter really is. Who needs to listen to better old Snyd man, anyway?!

Also great to see Jenny and Giles still being all cuddly.

Jun 20, 2009 15:40:44 GMT -5 drusillacakes said:

Best moment: Buffy asks Xander for a stake and he goes through her bag, only to pull out a yo-yo, a tampon and then a stake. The yo-yo was just the most random thing ever.

Maybe the yo-yo was meant as a call back to "Some Assembly Required." Wasn't Buffy sitting on a tombstone playing with a yo-yo while waiting for the vamp to rise (or is that just my imagination)? Guess the Buffster likes to keep a yo-yo handy for those boring nights in the cemetery.

Jul 6, 2009 19:34:07 GMT -5 N.D.U.O said:

Does anyone know the song played in the Bronze the ep (during Spike's "I want you" stalker-type thing)

It sounded cool.

I believe the song you're referring to is "Stupid Thing" by Nickel. Love that song.